Tuesday, October 28, 2003
So when people heard that I was going to climb Longs Peak...they laughed. And rightfully so. It is true that I have never really hiked any greater distance than about 2 miles. But who am I to doubt that I am capable of absolutely anything? So for the past week I prepped by running 3 to 4 miles a day. I figured if I could do that - I could hike uphill 8 miles.
The guys I went with were worried I couldn't do it either. One said that I was not aware of the challenge that lay ahead of me...but that he knew I was tenacious enough to accomplish anything I decided I wanted to. As we started our trek at 6am Sunday morning the only thought going through my head was, "What have I gotten myself into?" In fact, I psyched myself out - I got scared that I was going to suck this up big time.
I didn't make it to the top of Longs peak. However, I did make it to the Keyhole, and it was well worth the journey. I have some pretty fun pictures from the day - that I will post (hopefully sooner than later) and I made new friends along the trail. I also realized that I am capable of hiking 6 1/2 miles uphill (12 miles round trip). To say the least I'm proud of my first real attempt to conquer a mountain. And my buddies were fairly proud of me too. The way I look at it...this is only the beginning!
Comments-[ comments.]
The guys I went with were worried I couldn't do it either. One said that I was not aware of the challenge that lay ahead of me...but that he knew I was tenacious enough to accomplish anything I decided I wanted to. As we started our trek at 6am Sunday morning the only thought going through my head was, "What have I gotten myself into?" In fact, I psyched myself out - I got scared that I was going to suck this up big time.
I didn't make it to the top of Longs peak. However, I did make it to the Keyhole, and it was well worth the journey. I have some pretty fun pictures from the day - that I will post (hopefully sooner than later) and I made new friends along the trail. I also realized that I am capable of hiking 6 1/2 miles uphill (12 miles round trip). To say the least I'm proud of my first real attempt to conquer a mountain. And my buddies were fairly proud of me too. The way I look at it...this is only the beginning!
Monday, October 13, 2003
As most of you already know, I am attempting to become super sporty, outdoors, "i love water, leaves, dirt and enjoy hugging trees" girl. What I really mean by this statement is that I suddenly have the desire to go hiking on a regular basis and learn to rock climb. As the weather becomes colder - my long time desire to learn to snowboard (instead of ski) will also kick in.
Now I suppose the idea of me being really into nature could be somewhat humorous. For instance, when I worked in Minnesota this summer, where I never put on make-up and wore t-shirts, jeans, and tennis shoes on a regular basis, I was still referred to as the high maintenance one. This is due to the fact that all the girls there looked "earthy" in the same way, I was just the most likely to choose to see Legally Blonde II: Red, White and Blonde over canoeing. Anyway, we spent a lot of time at Great Outdoor stores, because the have a lot of those in Minnesota. One day as I was shopping with my boss and a co-worker, my boss turned to me and asked if I was a nature girl. Before I could respond my co-worker just started laughing and stated, "Are you kidding? Does she look like a nature girl?" Keep in mind he said that as I stand there in a baggy t-shirt and ponytail in my hair with my artificial-free fresh face.
So far my attempts to "become one with nature" have consisted of me attempting to climb a rock, which I did successfully once - but still have bruises covering my legs and bloody scratches on my hands that are still healing. And I have gone to the REI store to check out cool outdoorsy clothing. I shouldn't have been shocked that since I had just gotten off work and was wearing a skirt - all the salespeople looked at me in a way that said, "You've got to be kidding?"
So I know this isn't super interesting, but I just wanted you all to be forewarned that when I start showing up in mountain hiking boots and $70 Columbia jackets (wanting to get dirty is expensive - do you know how much rock climbing shoes cost?!?) you all won't be alarmed and think you've lost me to the evil "plain jane" side of life. I assure you I will still wear make-up when I decide to climb Mount Everest.
Comments-[ comments.]
Now I suppose the idea of me being really into nature could be somewhat humorous. For instance, when I worked in Minnesota this summer, where I never put on make-up and wore t-shirts, jeans, and tennis shoes on a regular basis, I was still referred to as the high maintenance one. This is due to the fact that all the girls there looked "earthy" in the same way, I was just the most likely to choose to see Legally Blonde II: Red, White and Blonde over canoeing. Anyway, we spent a lot of time at Great Outdoor stores, because the have a lot of those in Minnesota. One day as I was shopping with my boss and a co-worker, my boss turned to me and asked if I was a nature girl. Before I could respond my co-worker just started laughing and stated, "Are you kidding? Does she look like a nature girl?" Keep in mind he said that as I stand there in a baggy t-shirt and ponytail in my hair with my artificial-free fresh face.
So far my attempts to "become one with nature" have consisted of me attempting to climb a rock, which I did successfully once - but still have bruises covering my legs and bloody scratches on my hands that are still healing. And I have gone to the REI store to check out cool outdoorsy clothing. I shouldn't have been shocked that since I had just gotten off work and was wearing a skirt - all the salespeople looked at me in a way that said, "You've got to be kidding?"
So I know this isn't super interesting, but I just wanted you all to be forewarned that when I start showing up in mountain hiking boots and $70 Columbia jackets (wanting to get dirty is expensive - do you know how much rock climbing shoes cost?!?) you all won't be alarmed and think you've lost me to the evil "plain jane" side of life. I assure you I will still wear make-up when I decide to climb Mount Everest.
Saturday, October 04, 2003
A Learning Experience
I work for an organization that strives to reach out to at-risk teens. This means a lot of the kids we deal with do drugs, have been (or are) involved in a gang, and cuss like sailors. Actually they probably cuss worse than sailors, because their mouths are horrible! I am sometimes apalled at what I hear through my office door as they wander the halls.
So with crazy kids, come crazy incidents. For example, at the location where I work there have been drive by shootings, graffiti on our building, etc. In fact yesterday, there were two gang fights that took place on our campus that had to be broken up by teachers. I suppose I just never realized that not everyone lives in the bubble that I grew up in. My biggest concern at 16 was whether or not my crush liked me, not who might try to shoot me at school. Of course, I always hung out with the "good kids" and I have always been what people would call innocent, I just didn't realize how much some youth struggle. In the midst of everything that took place due to the gang riots, one teacher got in the middle of the fight (that involved baseball bats and angry young men). He was able to break things up and come out unscaved, but he surprised me. At the end of the day at a staff meeting that discussed the situations from the day (in the midst of the tough circumstance this teacher handled), his only response to what had happened was...
"It was a great learning experience."
I have a lot to learn.
Comments-[ comments.]
I work for an organization that strives to reach out to at-risk teens. This means a lot of the kids we deal with do drugs, have been (or are) involved in a gang, and cuss like sailors. Actually they probably cuss worse than sailors, because their mouths are horrible! I am sometimes apalled at what I hear through my office door as they wander the halls.
So with crazy kids, come crazy incidents. For example, at the location where I work there have been drive by shootings, graffiti on our building, etc. In fact yesterday, there were two gang fights that took place on our campus that had to be broken up by teachers. I suppose I just never realized that not everyone lives in the bubble that I grew up in. My biggest concern at 16 was whether or not my crush liked me, not who might try to shoot me at school. Of course, I always hung out with the "good kids" and I have always been what people would call innocent, I just didn't realize how much some youth struggle. In the midst of everything that took place due to the gang riots, one teacher got in the middle of the fight (that involved baseball bats and angry young men). He was able to break things up and come out unscaved, but he surprised me. At the end of the day at a staff meeting that discussed the situations from the day (in the midst of the tough circumstance this teacher handled), his only response to what had happened was...
"It was a great learning experience."
I have a lot to learn.
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
I don't understand guys. This really shouldn't come as a shock to anyone, since I have never claimed to comprehend even an inkling of the male thought process. Since, I have recently moved into a house full of bachelors, this fact has become increasingly clear to me. Here is the most recent question that plagues me about boys...why are they so lackadaisical about practically everything, but go out of there way with details in other areas?
Evidence #1 - Where I live, nothing is organized. Absolutely nothing, except for my room. However the kitchen has dishes everywhere...but no order that indicates that there is actually "a place" for cups, bowls, etc. In fact, items are placed where they fit - which means the blender sits next to matches and cans of tuna in a cupboard. The living room is comprised of a TV that can only be used for video games (that's right, no movies shown at my house). Random bed frames, chairs, and luggage adorn the empty rooms, it sounds trashy but actually it just extremely disorganized. But here is the shocker to all of this. The boys I live with have somehow managed to contact the local milk delivery company so that farm fresh milk is delivered to our door on a regular basis. We can't find a cup to put the a beverage in...but the milks there to drink, fresh from the cows tit...whenever we want it.
Evidence #2 - Along with number 1...the guys I live with also have a rule that you cannot where shoes inside the house. This rule was instated to insure that the carpet is not destroyed with dirt and gravel tracked in from outside. What I don't get is that the carpet is already grungy. It's not despicable, but it's obviously been walked on, so why are we freaked out about ruin it after we've already set it well on it's way to destruction?
Evidence #3 - For this one I went outside my house to prove my point a bit more thoroughly. Recently I went to visit a friend from college. Unlike where I live, he and his roommate are relatively clean and maintain an orderly apartment. They even have candles in every corner of the their home - they say it is beneficial when it comes to "the ladies". So as my friend and I catch up on both past and present times, we start discussing a girl he went on a date with the night before. He tells me all about how he made her dinner, had a great evening, and even gave me an unnecessary description of what her lips felt like. However, when I ask "So do you think you'll go out again?" His response to me was, "No, I don't think so. I would never actually want to date her." But then he continued by explaining that he was going to see her again (for another date) in a couple of days. What the heck? I just wanted to turn to him and say, "You don't want to date her, but news flash - YOU ALREADY ARE!"
With all of that being said, I just wanted to back up the recent perception I have had of guys. They don't look at the big picture, they simply look at the details and only take the time to improve the small thing that strike their fancy at that particular moment. On the other hand, I like to think that girls go from the ground up...we aren't going to order milk from the farm until we have a set of crystal clear glasses organized in the cupboard. We won't take the shoes off to save the carpet until we have it professional replaced. Finally, we won't make the guy dinner until he has already taken us out enough times to prove that we'll actually want to date him. So once I again I wonder why people even bother to debate about who is the smarter gender?
Comments-[ comments.]
Evidence #1 - Where I live, nothing is organized. Absolutely nothing, except for my room. However the kitchen has dishes everywhere...but no order that indicates that there is actually "a place" for cups, bowls, etc. In fact, items are placed where they fit - which means the blender sits next to matches and cans of tuna in a cupboard. The living room is comprised of a TV that can only be used for video games (that's right, no movies shown at my house). Random bed frames, chairs, and luggage adorn the empty rooms, it sounds trashy but actually it just extremely disorganized. But here is the shocker to all of this. The boys I live with have somehow managed to contact the local milk delivery company so that farm fresh milk is delivered to our door on a regular basis. We can't find a cup to put the a beverage in...but the milks there to drink, fresh from the cows tit...whenever we want it.
Evidence #2 - Along with number 1...the guys I live with also have a rule that you cannot where shoes inside the house. This rule was instated to insure that the carpet is not destroyed with dirt and gravel tracked in from outside. What I don't get is that the carpet is already grungy. It's not despicable, but it's obviously been walked on, so why are we freaked out about ruin it after we've already set it well on it's way to destruction?
Evidence #3 - For this one I went outside my house to prove my point a bit more thoroughly. Recently I went to visit a friend from college. Unlike where I live, he and his roommate are relatively clean and maintain an orderly apartment. They even have candles in every corner of the their home - they say it is beneficial when it comes to "the ladies". So as my friend and I catch up on both past and present times, we start discussing a girl he went on a date with the night before. He tells me all about how he made her dinner, had a great evening, and even gave me an unnecessary description of what her lips felt like. However, when I ask "So do you think you'll go out again?" His response to me was, "No, I don't think so. I would never actually want to date her." But then he continued by explaining that he was going to see her again (for another date) in a couple of days. What the heck? I just wanted to turn to him and say, "You don't want to date her, but news flash - YOU ALREADY ARE!"
With all of that being said, I just wanted to back up the recent perception I have had of guys. They don't look at the big picture, they simply look at the details and only take the time to improve the small thing that strike their fancy at that particular moment. On the other hand, I like to think that girls go from the ground up...we aren't going to order milk from the farm until we have a set of crystal clear glasses organized in the cupboard. We won't take the shoes off to save the carpet until we have it professional replaced. Finally, we won't make the guy dinner until he has already taken us out enough times to prove that we'll actually want to date him. So once I again I wonder why people even bother to debate about who is the smarter gender?
