Halloween Hayride

I've been in school for almost two quarters and have felt a bit more disconnected from old friends than I was last year. Perhaps it is because we all have busier schedules, we are dating or married--I'm not sure the reason, but today I ran into an old friend at the children's cafeteria and tonight I was able to go on a Haunted Hayride with a few other old friends. How very archaic.

We went last year, and it was quite similar: riding on a cart behind a tractor, being accosted by a crazy bee keeper and an insane farmer that looked like a member of ZZtop, being chased by a headless horseman, and having creepy characters stand very close to us and follow us around prior and post to the ride. Thankfully we had Naked Steve with us this year to make the latter more interesting. A Jason-look-a-like with platform shoes saddled right up to him and looked down. Steve had bear hugged him with strong fervor during the walking portion or the haunted hayride, so I think the fella had grown fond of Steve. Well, Steve, of course, stuck out his tongue up at him as we screamed and laughed in horror. Ah, the strangeness of halloween.

Dreary Eyes

some recent thoughts:

I have been wrapped up in PT school for almost the last year and a half. Wow. I never thought I would be here; I never thought this is what I would do. In fact, I never really knew what PTs did until just a few years ago. And yet, while I hope from the deepest parts of my heart not to forget my previous passions, I do have a deeper appreciation for the current path upon which I've embarked. This is because movement is so intrinsically related to happiness. I so often become disgusted with the culture in which I live because we are so inactive...often myself included. I started to study Outdoor Education in hopes to show people that there is more to life than the television set. Perhaps this is not a normal goal for someone studying that field, but for me it was a huge draw.

Now I am studying PT, and the goal is still similar: I want people to LIVE their lives. Sometimes this inactiveness could come from impairments. Hopefully I will be able to help restore people so they can at least have the choice to move and do what things bring meaning to their lives.

Suicide Runout Climbing

Suicide resides across from its mate Tahquitz (the rock in the picture) in the town of Idyllwild. While the climbs weren't as long as those I've done at Tahquitz, I must say the approach is mucho menos grueling.

Here's the list of this weekend's climbs at Suicide:

1. Chatsworth Chimney 5.7R
2. The Fiend 5.9R
3. Mickey Mantle 5.8R

The little "R"s basically mean we were friction climbing the whole wall with tons of feet between bolts. SCARY! Um...I lead none of the climbs.

The Trough

Olivia and I did our first multipitch together out at Tahquitz. I lead the first two pitches and she finished the last two. We had gone out to Tahquitz with two guys and had gotten a fairly late start due to morning classes and such. While climbing we took our time making sure our gear was correct and dealing with the snafu of a fallen nut and forgetting to exchange the cordelette. I had to fashion an anchor out of carabiners. That is definitely not the best idea, but at least the pitch was a 5.2 or something, so I wasn't too worried.

Around the third pitch, ever sunny California started rolling in massive fast moving clouds. Olivia and I both mildly freaked out. What had been a warm day turned cold and dark and my stupid Raynaud's disease was turning my hands numb. Thankfully Olivia booked it up to the top and the guys happened to meet us just at the right time to descend. The guys gave me another jacket (I already had on two) and some closed toed shoes to warm up.

Tahquitz has a crazy frictiony decent and we only had two head lamps between the four of us, so we had to go down a bit slower than normal. When we finally got into the town of Idyllwild, it was around 8 or 9PM. I called Darren and he told me he and some of my roommates (poor Burt had damaged his eye on Darren's ginormous car rack getting in the vehicle) were on their way to find us. Olivia and I were shocked they were scared because they knew we had left late. I told him not to worry, and then got some weird rasberry hot chocolate from a devilish cafe. The cafe was scary because there were paintings of devils and heavy curtains draping the walls. I think it contributed to my distaste for the drink. I was too creeped out.

Our epic day ended with some chatting around a bonfire and then a triumphant return to the Linda.

Gretchen Wilson on the Res

We didn't know many of her songs, but Gretchen Wilson rocked it out!  We had fun seeing the backstage antics thanks to Mandy's roadie friend.