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Is my apartment so cluttered that Ivy can’t find a clear spot to sleep, or is he simply taking up some new hobbies this summer?
Last week I caught him nestled up with Mathematica. This afternoon, seems he fell asleep reading Marathon! by Jeff Galloway. (Mind the drool!)
It was a weekend of many laughs and much pain.
After one boozeless week of putting only good things into my body, Friday was my chosen night to throw tofu to the wind and indulge on many pieces of Parlor pizza. Thanks to Marcella, we’ve honed in on a very tasty pizza combination: gorgonzola cheese, basil, black olives, and artichoke hearts. In a word, delicious. I was happy that so many people came out despite the rain, and equally happy that my glass of Fireman’s #4 never seemed to go empty. By the end of the night, it was me, Tim, Dave, and Rachel on my porch getting drunk on Corona and listening to Guns n’ Roses. I had such a great night, and didn’t remember passing out on my bed.
When I woke up the next morning, I had the worst hangover I’ve had in a very long time. My head hurt so bad that all I could do was take an ibuprofen, lay back down, and wait for the pills to kick in. The headache went away, but my body was sore all over and my stomach was unhappy. It was absolutely miserable. No regrets, though. None! I watched 3 DVDs that day:
Firefly (disk 1) - I got hooked on this show immediately. It’s a space-western!
City of God - about gangs in the slums of Rio De Janeiro and one aspiring photographer who wanted something more. It was a very disturbing film but also extremely colorful and riveting and highly recommended by yours truly.
Big Lebowski - Ginger wanted to watch it. The dude abides!
While reading through the NY Times, I happened upon this article about Reinhold Messner, the first person to scale Everest without bottled oxygen, the first to do it solo and the first to conquer all 14 of the world’s peaks over 26,200 feet. The article is mostly about his battle with his critics, but it got me curious about the history of mountain climbing. I started clicking around, and became more and more fascinated by mountain climbers. When I think that 1 in 8 people die climbing Mount Everest, I have to wonder what the draw is. It seems to be more than merely the spirit of adventure, but also the challenge of pushing oneself physically and mentally to places normally deemed impossible. Mountaineers are among the most visionary and courageous people I can think of; their primary adversary is their own capacity. I’m awe-inspired by the people who demonstrate what our human bodies and minds are capable of doing. Maybe I’m so fascinated by this because I want to feel like I have potential and strength.
Regardless of my yet-to-be-determined reasoning, I’m going to get to the bottom of this mountain climbing sport. On Sunday, tired of the cluttered internet, I picked up The White Spider by Heinrich Harrer, author of Seven Years in Tibet and the first in a group of four to climb the north face of the Swiss Eiger.
But if links are your thing…
Here’s a photo of George Mallory’s body, forever entombed on Mount Everest.
Check out this article on Michael Brown’s “Farther Than The Eye Can See”, the first high-definition account of an Everest climb. It follows Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person to conquer the peak.
Also on Sunday… got fitted for running shoes at RunTex! Many thanks to Tim for the b-day Asics. That night we tried em’ out. For 30 minutes, I ran on clouds.
Dennis‘ cargo-short wearing robot goes LEGO on We Three Jerks.
I don’t like these wet and gray afternoons; they make me so lethargic. My neighbors were supposed to have a garage sale tomorrow, but this weather’s made it impossible. Damn, Stacey was going to make sangria, and I was going to make muffins.
When the power went out, I felt like burning my to-do list on one of my lit candles. Instead, I did some dishes, had some tea, and walked around my apartment with my camera for a bit.
It’s so warming to see Ivy curled up with Mathematica.
Meanwhile, Tom maintained his post on my porch. Tom is deaf and currently has staples holding part of his skin together, so I don’ get too rough with him. Instead, when Ivy longs for the outdoors, I carry him over Tom and down the steps — FREEDOM.
techseekers.net has posted some “spy” photos of the new apple g5 with liquid cooling. science!
the tickets have been acquired.
tim and I touch down in London on Sept. 2nd 2004 at 9:55 at Gatwick. many thanks to the anonymous donor who fed my tip jar this month. your generosity will not be forgotten.
turns out, i’m not as short as i thought.
Got a call from Charles and courtfitz last Sunday (Happy Summer Solstice). Don’t know why, but I got the feeling that something about Charles had changed. I knew exactly what it was: he cut his hair. Everybody’s cutting their hair! Is this a sign that everyone I know is getting older and fessing up to harsh real world realities?
Charles has a great stash of photos from the “Happy” Valley days… I’ll never forget the failed marker-board art project (failed because I never finished it), or minigolf, or building charles’ coffee table. I really miss chuckles and fitz, they’re good people and great friends. And I owe it all to MASS 2000.
It was a great culmination to a really awesome weekend. Nothing major happened, it was just wonderfully low-key. I got a sunburn down by town lake, I cleared out my computer and reinstalled everything from scratch, watched Big Fish, got some gym shorts and a book on CSS. I went running. RUNNING. I hate running, but I think I’m going to try to embrace it by easing into it. I am not ashamed by my 13 minute miles.
I’m learning so much this summer about my body (wink wink). What I mean is, I feel devoted full time to getting fit. This means I’m not using the gym as a justification to spend all night drinking beer. Instead I’m using the gym as a justification to eat right and make my workouts as productive as they can be. Coming soon: the Vegetarians Guide to a High Protein Diet.
I was feeling like crap for a long time, I think. I could have spent this entire summer sitting on my porch drinking beer and smoking cigarettes, getting drunk, eating pizza. I think it’s time for something good to come out of this past year.
Coincidentally appropriate, Blame It On The Rain is playing on Club 977 right now.
Gotta blame it on something…
If I were to buy another scooter, I think I might buy an Aprilla Scarabeo 500. Someone on campus drives one, and it’s a beauty.
At 9:45 ET this morning, SpaceShipOne became the first private aircraft to fly in space. I have never had a religious experience, however, I think traveling in space would change that. Now, time to get rich.
“It is hard for me to talk right now,” says Burt Rutan, the brains behind SpaceShipOne.
“There were several times during the flight that in mission control tears came to our eyes because we had reached a specific part of the flight where we had gotten over a milestone…Up there in mission control there were three or four times during the flight everybody was extremely emotional,” he said.
“I just can’t tell you how pleased I am that the feather, which was our big risk, worked perfect, and how pleased I am that we have a ship that cannot only go to space but it is the first time that a winged-vehicle — that can make this beautiful landing on a runway — can make a care-free reentry. That is an enormous thing for safety.” [read more]
Last night, Tim and I tried to catch the sunset from Mount Bonnell but were deterred by ominous rain clouds in the distance. Clouds and mosquitos. So many mosquitos. Then I recollected that John’s “secret bar” was somewhere in that vicinity.
Turns out, the secret bar is pretty easy to find. And it’s still as cool as it was last year. Tim got a Shiner, I got a Miller Lite, and we chilled out on the roof-top patio for a while. There were a few people around, most of them with massive guts despite their decision to drink light beer. So I looked down at my Miller Lite and started thinking: do people decide to drink light beer when they’ve decided that they can’t afford the calories of regular beer but are also unwilling to cut down their total beer consumption altogether? I had always wondered what the appeal was of light beer, but there I was, taking moderate gulps of Miller Lite as if I actually liked the stuff. I bought it because I was worried about the calories I’d consume by drinking Shiner, a delightful beer in comparison! So I decided that’s bullshit. I really like beer. I really like good beer. I like to enjoy the taste of beer. Furthermore, I have the willpower to reduce my caloric intake by cutting down the amount of beer I drink. But I shall never again cut the quality! I’m moving to London, for chrissake, beer is to be savored and enjoyed!
In other startling realizations, I kind of want to see the movie, Dodgeball…
I haven’t listened to an mp3 in days because the iTunes radio is AWESOME. Often I listen to Club 977 (The 80’s Channel — ‘cos I’m a cheese) or Indie Pop Rocks! (exclamation mark included in the title — ‘cos I like music that tastes like crying).
This afternoon, I’m listening to sounds and discussion from my neighbor, Patty Griffin, on LA’s KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic radio show. If I ever go the other way, it’s good to know that I only need to walk a few yards with my heart on my sleeve to learn what it’s like to be rejected by a woman.
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