Saturday, March 25, 2006

Waking up at half past four in the morning and spending our only day off school rolling down a mountain until we had snow coming out of our every orifice was definitely my cousin Shadi’s idea. She was thirteen and I eleven and somehow she had got it into her head that the only way we could get out of spending our every weekend with our grandparents was to start skiing! So we did.
The first year was terrible. I could not ski to save my life and to make matters worse, I looked like this:


Nice!

This season I was mostly wearing: outfits that were three sizes too big for me, very old skis with most of the colour chipped off them and a lovely pair of goggles (shudders)

The father of my good friend Roshanak, Amoo Farid once told me this anecdote. He said one day he was passing the beginners' ski slope and he saw an instructor trying to teach an English lady to ski. Now for going slower, the beginners are taught to point the tips of their skis towards each other and open the ends. In Farsi this is called a Hasht; the number eight, which looks like this: ^ But this poor lady did not speak Farsi and so had no idea what the man shouting at her: ‘Hasht kon’ ‘Do the hasht’ wanted her to do. As she got dangerously close to a group of kids and was about to run them over, the instructor suddenly had a bright idea. ‘Madam’ He shouted, ‘Madam do 8’ which incidentally (as illustrated above) is what I looked like I was trying to do for the whole of my first year.

The good thing about looking like that however is that there is only room for improvement and as I’m sure you will agree, here in the second year I’m looking a lot cooler.



This season I was mostly wearing: a big pair of jeans with two tracksuit bottoms underneath, a pink and white hand-me-down jacket from my cousin in Canada, pink sweater with matching earmuffs and a pair of fake Ray Bans from Tajrish bazaar, made with real glass so if you were not the patient type to just wait until the nonexistent UV protection did its thing and made you go blind gradually, you had the option of getting it all over and done with very quickly by either falling flat on your face or simply asking someone to give you a nice punch in the eyes area.



This season I was mostly wearing: my dad’s clothes with a pair of fluorescent pink gloves to add a touch of much needed femininity.

And finally the piesta resistance!
Ok those trousers were far too small for me but they were definitely an improvement from all those really huge ones I had been wearing up until then.



I know what you’re thinking, ‘How can this human embodiment of cool, end up becoming a geeky blogger?!’ Well my friend I’m afraid I can’t help you there as I myself am just as baffled about this as you are ‘,:-\

13 comments:

jarvenpa said...

I loved this post, and your pictures. (Especially the pink outfit). Shall we create a world wide phenomenon called "Geek Chic"??

Shirin said...

Great idea Jarvenpa! ;-)

Anonymous said...

It is good to think of those days of ski. I wish you could make a picture of me too. Maybe you don't remember how was I equipped. Anyway I'll explain just for its fun. During the first year I was dressed in boys clothes with big glasses and the skies which belonged to 1950s or 60s. The following year however I changed the skies but for the clothes, I think it took a while before I look as fashionable as the others.

Shirin said...

Of course I remember your outfit Ostan! In fact just before posting this, I was describing it to Kamyar. You had this very seventies style brown ski-suit (which was probably Alireza’s or Mehdi’s) with big red goggle, red boots (I think) and a knitted balaclava type hat, either in brown or red. Can’t remember your skis though. I was probably too busy falling over ;-)

Anonymous said...

Excellent. I shouldn't be so proud of my memory. You remember my outfit better than myself and if you don't remember my skies themselves it's normal. Because that year you and Shadi were not coming to ski. One or two years later when I had new skis and when Saghi expressed her interest for ski, my mum proposed her to use those skies but she didn't accept them.

Anonymous said...

You are so talented! Great post as usual...

Anonymous said...

Nice pictures Shirin, but you are so more beautiful than those in the pictures.
By the way the book arrived, AND, Now the Google shows the (2R) on your link!

Shirin said...

Ostan, the thing about Saghi not accepting your skis is hilarious! Hee hee.

Especially at dressing myself for skiing it seems AA ;-) Thanks. You’re too kind to me.

Thanks for telling me about the book Anonymous, I was wondering what had happened to that :-)

Anonymous said...

i'm laughing so hard Shirin joon. You're just waaaaaaay too funny for me :-) Love you - Homa

Unknown said...

I am completely taken with the tajrishi raybans and the scarves... lol

nyx said...

"human embodiment of cool".... sweetie, i just love your wittiness

Anahita said...

woowoo, thats certainly a trip-- think you should come and teach me some styles and some skiing- my experiences with skis have been very mixed, its been 11 years since i learned/last went!!

Shirin said...

Love you too Homa-joon :-) Hope you’re having fun with your friend. xxxxx

Hi Hamesha, oh yes the Tajrishi Raybans were very classy ;-)

Hee hee, thanks Nyx :-)

I’d love to be your ski stylist Anahita. You just practice your 8 for now, we’ll go bandana shopping next week, I’ll get you some of those Raybans from Tajrish when I go back home and I’ll grantee you’ll turn a few heads on the piest this winter ;-)