See you in South Africa

I leave tonight for the World Flowboarding Championships in South Africa. For the last 3 1/2 years I've been hoping for the chance to ride the double barrel and I'm finally going to get it!

She's a beauty ain't she!
And more importantly, I get to see my flow peeps that I haven't seen since Singapore! If I know my South African friends, it's definately going to be a party. Standby for some epic pictures and video. How does one prepare for a 48 hour journey to other side of the world? Well, a great playlist certainly helps.

Around the World - Red Hot Chili Peppers
King of the Road - Roger Miller
Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
Ramble On - Led Zep
World At Large - Modest Mouse
Diamonds from Sierra Leone - Kanye West
African Child - Infant Sorrow
and of course

Africa - Toto aka the BEST music video of all time

You're welcome.....

22 things you've never wanted to know about me but I'm going to tell you anyway

1. I've seen EVERY episode of Full House starring John "I'd marry you tomorrow even though you're as old as my dad" Stamos
2. I dance in the car by myself. And I occasionally listen to country - that's right I said it. (I'm from Idaho, you should have expected it.)
3. Everyday I'm turning into my mother, which is a great compliment but scares the shit out of me at the same time ha!
4. I still pull all nighters with my grandma playing computer games and eating my weight in sour worms. And for the record she could kick any 12 year olds ass at Harry Potter computer quidditch.
5. I get creeped in the dark so when I turn off my light I make a giant leap to my bed in less than .5 seconds so my feet never actually touch the ground.
6. Free Willy is in my top five favorite movies. Although, I will admit the CG graphics of willey jumping the dike (and no I don't mean a Willie Nelson-Wynonna Judd benefit concert) were a lot more impressive when I was 11.


7. I've saved virtually every birthday card I've ever received since I was 7, and a lot of heartfelt love notes written on lined notebook paper from middle school.
8. I still have an extensive POG and beanie baby collection in my parents basement ( If I continue on with #'s 7 & 8, I'll be a great 2 hour special on the hit tv show "hoarders" someday)


9. I am the baby of my family, and I ALWAYS get my way. Your resistance is futile.
10. I am a seamstress. I have been since I begged for a sewing machine for Christmas in 2002. 3 things: #1. Who asks santa for a sewing machine when they're 14? # 2. If any of my crazy life ambitions don't work out I can always fall back on a career at some American Apparel sweatshop in Los Angeles. #3 Who believes in santa when they're 14?
11. I am the living embodiment of Peter Pan.
12. I've been in Love 3.5 times, had my heart broken, and lost all faith in marriage. Still hopeful there's someone out there that will prove me wrong someday.
13. If you wanna date me you better know favorite flower, color, and middle name.
14. I think puppets are creepy. If you don't believe me watch dead silence and try to sleep alone.
15. I love a good pair of stilettos but don't like to wear earrings because they're uncomfortable. (Somebody please figure that one out for me?)
16. Mission beach, Jackson Hole, Ucon Idaho, Half Moon Bay, Sentosa Singapore, Leysin Switzerland, Mt. Hood Oregon, and Ogden Utah will always hold a special place in my heart. (I know, that's a lot of special places for a little heart.)
17. There's probably not enough money in the world to make me eat a pickle.
18. Mess with my family and you mess with me. I realize I'm 5'2 but I'm not afraid to take off my shoe (as referred to in # 15) and stab you with it. (jk but seriously....)
19. I can't whistle
20. My alter ego is the front woman of a rock band.
21. My name is Jessica, but only strangers call me that or my mom when I'm in trouble (and it's usually followed by my middle name. )
22. Seizing the carpe everyday the best way I know how! LoveLife

Get a Yob

Re-vamped my resume a bit. Cut out the boring stuff, implemented some doodles.

"We don't have a lot of time on this earth! We weren't meant to spend it this way. Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements." - Peter Gibbons, Office Space

Ridin' Hood, Lookin' Good

I recently just returned from Mt. Hood where I was working at Windells Ski & Snowboard camp. Moving there for the summer was without a doubt one of the best decisions I've ever made. Everyday I took the time to enjoy the little things in life like session-ing new features each week in our private park, t-shirt weather on the glacier, getting served in the concrete jungle, and pegging kids with dodgeballs for free saga stickers.
Here's what my schedule looked like everyday:

6:30 Alarm goes off...snooze button
6:45 Wake up, grab coffee, get lift tickets
7:00 Pry remaining sleeping campers out of bed with crowbar & clean cabin
7:15 Second cup of coffee. Find the one camper still in bed if necessary use super soaker
7:30 Breakfast
8:00 Campers load vans and head to mtn
8:00 - 8:20 Cat nap
8:30 Head to Hood (3rd cup of coffee if I'm feelin jazzy)
9:00 - 2:00 Lap park (lay out at lunch and chit chat with friends, grab a cobra dog in Govy-extra cobra sauce)
2:45 Staff Meeting-"you're killin' it, pick up trash"
3:00 - 6:00 Staff Stations (My usual job was dealing candy like crack in Super Awesome Information Game Lounge or SAIGL for short.)
5:00 Video Review
5:30 - 7:00 Wait in the world's longest dinner line
7:00 Rome Thrasher night (hide n' go seek, I get to find kids and draw mustache and swastika tattoos all over their faces)
7:30 Gatorade Scavenger Hunt. (They think they're getting free gatorade but it's just an excuse for us to surprise attack them with a waterfall of Blue Glacier Freeze)
8:00 Zombie Dodgeball (I get to express my artistic creativity with face paint)
9:00 Campfire (Some nights I teach etiquette or provoke rap battles while we roast starbursts)
10:00 Back to cabins
10:30 Lights out (the girls usually talk about their crushes at camp till 11:30...which is hilarious, and I love to eavesdrop)

Eat.Sleep.Ride.Repeat

2 things I learned at hood: Wear sunscreen and never take the night train express.... because you won't make it home.

Hang loose mother goose

I've had lots of people ask me my plans after graduation. I've decided to go a completely different direction for this summer and am thrilled to announce that I will be joining the staff at Windells ski and snowboard camp at Mt. Hood, Oregon. For me, it's the opportunity of a life time because I'll be snowboarding almost everyday at a facility with top coaching that I always wanted to attend as a youth. This doesn't necissarily mean that flowboarding will taking the back seat, but I will be doing less stops on this summers waveloch flow tour than originally planned. I look forward to the stops I will be attending in-between camp sessions and I'm hoping for the chance to wild card again at this years World Championships in Durban, South Africa. I have an exciting month ahead of me with this weekends CBS Alt Games at Wavehouse San Diego, relaxing in Orlando, and stop number three on the flow tour in Gulf Shores Alabama. Thank you to my friends and family for all your support during my time at Utah State. I couldn't have done it without you.
Hope to see you this summer somewhere along the journey.
xoxo
Crush

You're Invited

Decided to go with a non-traditional photo for my graduation announcements

Terry, when you're in Miami you're still an ambassador for Reno!

When I applied for college I was fortunate enough to receive the ambassador full tuition scholarship at Utah State University. For the last four years I've given tours, made phone calls, visited high schools in Idaho & Utah, and helped high school students get to college. But most importantly I had the pleasure of becoming friends with 90 of the brightest minds, kindest hearts, and funniest personalities in the state of utah. Not to mention working with my friends and advisors who helped shape my education and changed my life just by knowing them. The other day I was talking with Tad, one of my advisors, and It made me realize just how much being an ambassador at Utah State has changed my life. I probably wouldn't have moved to Utah. I probably wouldn't have lived in Ogden that summer after my freshman year. I probably wouldn't have applied for a job at the Salomon Center. I never would have become a flowboarder. I never would have had the opportunity to live in Switzerland, travel to Paris, London, or Singapore. I never would have met my best friends, shewolfs, my ambassador family, the professionals, and my flomily (flowboarding family.) It almost feels like coincidence but I know God led me to USU for a reason and for that I am thankful. I just want to say thank you for everyone who helped make my college education possible at USU. Thank you to all my friends and advisors. And of course Katie Jo, Katie Ashcroft, and my wonderful group of Freshman. It truly has been a pleasure working with you and I will miss you all dearly. I can't tell you how proud I am to call myself an Aggie.

Here's a few things I'll miss about being an ambassador (sorry if these of these are inside jokes.)
-Hanging out in the ambassador office, having life chats with Hanah Gillman and Landon Pope.
-Eating Old Grist Mill & Cafe Sabor at every university function
-Giving tours in blizzards, and running into lamp posts walking backwards
-Fall retreat. Sleeping on the lawn
-"Hang Tight" Walker Vellinga
-Tuesday mtgs (what in the world will I do with my time now on Tuesdays from 4:30-7:00?)
-Chase Pendleton
-Carrie's Candy Bowl
-Scooping Ice Cream @ Open Houses
-Rallying the University Impala w/Vanessa in Vegas
-Whitney Putnam's undying love for Beyonce. Thank you for passing that on to me.
-Wilkey's scary summer sales stories about bisexual prison inmates eeeeekk. rit it doooo


My Freshies

The whole famdamily