Adventures in Big Bear

So, initially I thought this was going to be a great relaxing weekend in Big Bear. Ryan Blake has moved to Texas and this was to be the last time we would hang out in his parents cabin. It was relaxing up until the day we left.

Ryan decided that this was to be a weekend free of video games and full of quality time talking and playing board games. I'm glad to say that we stuck with the plan. It was great to talk with people and play games. We played frisbee in the snow, talked about sleding, and warmed up in the spa. I have never seen it snow like this before. When I stuck out my hand a perfect star shaped snowflake fell on it. I had always thought that the paper snowflakes we used to make when I was little was just an adaptation of what a snowflake looked it. I had no idea it actually did!

Anyways, after we had enjoyed our stay we decided to pack up Sunday morning and head home to make it in time for church. Before we could leave town the adventures would begin!

Cars were slipping and sliding on the roads despite the fact that they had four wheel drive and chains on. There were many accidents which resulted in more traffic. After slipping and avoiding other cars ourselves, we decided to go back to the cabin and wait for the roads to improve. We turned down a side street to avoid making a U-turn in a traffic and accident infested area. As we were slowly and carefully driving down a slight hill the wheels on the Suburban began to slide and Ryan didn't know what to do so he turned the wheel so we would hit the snow embankment on the side of the road. Better to hit snow than a neighbor plowing their driveway or a tree.

We tried to back up but one of the front tires was stuck behind a curb that we had gone over. The road was so icy and slippery that the tires could not get enough traction to pull the wheel over the curb. A friendly and helpful neighbor put some salt and then ashes behind the tires, which was enough to pull the Suburban out.

As this was all happening, there were cars coming down the same road, but had stopped at the top of the hill when they saw that we were stuck. We yelled to warn them that the road was really icy and not to come down. It was taking a while to get the Suburban "unstuck" (about 2 hours) and these snowboarders were getting antsy to hit the slopes. One car stayed to the left side of the road and was able to get down with their car under control. A truck saw that they were able to make it and decided that they would do the same.

The truck was going too fast and its wheels were not gripping the road. As they struggled to gain control the back end of the truck fish-tailed. They were coming down the hill backwards! All of us in Ryan's party jumped off the slope to escape the out-of-control truck heading towards us. We got out of the way just in time as the back of the truck hit the side of the Suburban.

After getting our chains on and the truck driver's information we headed back to the cabin as we were planning before all the excitement. We calmed down, ordered some pizza (that they delivered!), and played a few games of Clue.

The weather looked better and we wanted to leave before it got dark so we decided it would be a good idea to try again. This time the roads were much less icy and more salty. We were just a few blocks from the cabin when we heard a "thunk thunk thunk". One of the chains had broken off. Great, now we have to find new chains. After a search through two different stores we found the correct size. Chhay and Derek were great to put the chains on very secure.

We began our excursion for the third time. We were just about out of the snow area when we heard another "thunk thunk thunk" which was the sound of the other chain breaking off. At this point it didn't make sense to stop and put the other new chain on so we continued on. We went a few more blocks and then took the chain off. We had made it safely down the mountain!

We stopped for a break and a bite to eat and continued our drive snow-free.

This was definitely an eventful day and were all glad to be back home. Yay for Big Bear and lots of snow!

Chapman Economic Forecast

I attended the Chapman's Economic Forecast on Wednesday, December 5th. It was the 30th anniversary and they decided to invite alumni. I have been coming to see the forecast for 3 years now. I enjoy hearing Doti and Adibi speak not only about Chapman (which they brag endlessly about) but also to see what is predicted in our economy's future. It seems that all three years have been saying pretty much the same thing. Everything is decreasing! Well not everything, but they are predicting a recession. Not for 2008 necessarily, but for the years to come. I know some may be thinking that they could have predicted that themselves, but there was a lot of research and calculations to show this decrease. I was so amazed at the ability to predict these things that I even took Econometrics with Prof. Adibi my senior year. I could have been taking photography, but no, not Nicole. I had to take something hard. Great. Actually, I learned a lot and it is a great networking tool to have a famous economist know you. :) I went up to Adibi at the forecast and it was great that he still knows my name. That is definitely one reason why I would like to stay at Chapman for my MBA. I know going to a different school would be a chance to network with other people, but I like to have few but more meaningful relationships and would like to take another course from Adibi in the future. I have to start studying for the GMAT and apply soon so I guess we'll have to see how everything pans out. Sorry for the long awaited update. I have more to talk about later!