I haven't blogged in quite some time, but it's not for lack of things to blog about...so instead of sitting here for hours recapping the past month or so, I'm going to just do one massive catch-up blog - for the 4 of you out there that care :)
Books
- I've managed to polish off 2 amazing books to start off 2011, mostly reading on trains and subways here and there:
The Essential Gandhi: Once I saw this book, my long-held-but-never-cultivated interest in the man demanded I read it. The book was a fantastic compilation of some of Gandhi's writings with regards to himself, early 20th century politics, non-violent resistance, race issues, and general philosophy. The book was nothing short of a revelation of a man. The book itself was compiled a bit too much, in my opinion - with paragraphs written years apart weaved together with narrated touches throughout. It was really interesting how many of his thoughts resonate with more modern works I've read. For example, the following quote could have come from Ethan Nichtern himself:
Interdependence is and ought to be as much an ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being. Without inter-relation with society he cannot realize his oneness with the universe or suppress his egotism. His social interdependence enables him to test his faith and to prove himself on the touchstone of reality.
A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson: I've never read or heard anything about Bryson before Mike "Phattire" O'Hara thrust a copy into my hands one night on the way to BKB. To say I tore through this book would be an understatement. Bryson is the type of writer whose cunning narratives just make pages breeze past. The book is part narrative on his quest to hike the Appalachian Trail, and part historical background about the trail - interspersed with commentary about American's approach towards the outdoors. I felt like I was part of the journey, and the book really brought forth my desire to be spending more and more of my time outdoors. Simply put, this book was awesome.
- I'm currently reading Vector Basic Training by Von Glitschka - which is helping to teach me the finer points of vector graphics - of which I find myself using more and more.
GAMES
- It's no secret I've been busting my ass late at night and on weekends to get mine and Chris' game company up and running - with our first release due to hit shelves in July. It's crunch time for us, and to say there's a lot to do would be a gross understatement. I'm not really at liberty to go into a lot of detail right now, but the update's coming, I promise.
- I was in Toronto two weeks ago, and I got to check out Snakes and Lattes, a board game cafe on Bloor Street. The place was completely and utterly fantastic in every way. I got to play some games with welcoming Toronto locals, and enjoy some hot chocolate. The place has a chill atmosphere, is open all kinds of late hours, and has a wall of 1,500 games!
- Civilization 5 is simply amazing...even though my productivity took a hit when it first came out.
CLIMBING
- On that same Toronto trip, I was able to get my first climbs in another country, courtesy of Boulderz. This place was a small gym focused mainly on intermediate to expert bouldering. The routes were FANTASTIC, and for $14 I got to climb as long as I wanted and they loaned me a chalk bag (not something I was going to put in my carry on bag through the airport). For its small size, there was certainly plenty of challenges. They features some awesome traverse work (something I've been hankering for), a great inverted cave area (with a V2 that was quite simply the more fantastic bouldering route I've done yet), and the main wall featured lots of interesting angles, and allowed you to "top out", something I haven't encountered in a climbing gym. The people were very laid back, and the tunes were fantastic. Next time I'm in Toronto, I'm headed back there.
- Mike and I have been doing some amazing climbing lately, which is great because we're preparing to take on a lot of rock this outdoor season. In the 2 1/2 months I've been back climbing since I had a nasty shoulder separation, we've gone from 5.8's to regularly topping out on 5.10a's. V2's are being hit with alarming success, and we're toying with V2+ and V3 routes. I also completed a V3+ mantle problem on the first, second and third tries.
MMA
- I've been training pretty well, although the aforementioned shoulder injury keeps rearing its ugly head, especially when I'm grappling. I hate using as an excuse not to be able to do some things - but I tend to have my good and bad days with it. Injuries suck.
ENTERTAINMENT
- A few songs I've been hooked on lately:
Defend Atlantis - Flobots
1940 - The Submarines
Kara Remembers - Bear McCreary (from Battlestar Galactica Season 4 soundtrack)
- I'll just come right out and say it, True Grit was only okay. I love Jeff Bridges, but his character just felt really forced, and Matt Damon was not very good at all. The story was good enough, and I was entertained - but it just felt...flat to me.
NYC
- For a few short days, it feels like spring...and not a moment too soon. The city has just felt really gritty, grimy and slightly depressing lately. It's amazing how winter can just grow irritating by January/February.
- There seems to be a Complete Failure of Etiquette plague setting into this city. Nobody seems to give a sh*t anymore, and it's getting to a tipping point for me....I feel a cartooning project coming on...look out for it :)
- Chris
Showing posts with label climbing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label climbing. Show all posts
Friday, February 18, 2011
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Mount Washington
"Take a step to the right and you'll be a whole lot closer" - Eli
When Eli proposed a group hiking trip to Mount Washington, I was torn. My shoulder was feeling better, but still nowhere near fully healed - but having done nothing physical for 2 weeks, my mind and body were absolutely screaming for something to do. While I received quite a bit of unsolicited advice telling me "chill out" and "relax", I'm not about making up excuses to not have amazing adventures. I was totally bummed that I missed the last hike 2 weeks ago (right after I had my shoulder separated), so I simply couldn't pass up an opportunity to get out to New England for the weekend. If you've never been up there in the middle of October - you're missing out on the amazing colors of the trees, crisp clean air, and coffee shops every hundred feet.
Friday night was spent with friends in Rhode Island - a few games of Dominion followed by Thunderstone. We got to bed early, and woke up Saturday at 5:15. Eli and I were ready to go from the start, and after much wrangling of our crew of adventurers - we were headed up to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, a roughly 3.5 hour ride north. It was fun driving through Kingston, Warwick, Providence and Boston - places I haven't been to since college. I still miss New England, and after having left 5 years ago, part of me will always toy with the idea of moving back at some point.
We got to the foot of Mount Washington around 10:30 - and our crew of six geared up for the hike. The weather reports called for 1-3" of mixed precipitation, winter conditions, avg. winds at around 50 mph on the summit, gusting to high 60's, and a wind chill of -1 deg. F. I should note here form the start that this report was created my the Mount Washington Observatory (MWOBS), who monitor conditions constantly from a huge observatory at the summit.
We were well prepared with winter wear, snacks, and water - so onwards and upwards we went. Our plan was to tackle the Tuckerman Trail, a 4.2 mile hike each way to the summit, with about 4900 feet of elevation gain. The weather at the base was gorgeous, low 50's, and a light mist in the air. There were plenty of small waterfalls and steams at the start of the hike, and plenty of photos were taken. At this point, Eli and I decided that with the pace the crew was taking (admittedly slow), we would never make the summit in time, so we left our comrades and booked it up the mountain. It was a tricky hike, as we were basically navigating a ravine full of small boulders - so footing was very important. Gradually the weather got slightly colder, but it was fantastic in every way because you're heating up with all the hiking - so we were comfortable all the way up to the caretaker's cabin roughly halfway through the trail. We left word for our crew that they could drive home without us (as we took 2 cars up for this very reason), and set on.
The weather around this point started to get really interesting, as the snow started as just faint wisps in the air:
to light accumulation:
to pretty constant accumulation:
At this point we were reaching the top of the tree line, and we donned our winter gear. We were at the bottom of the mountains head wall, so we were still shielded by the winds. We were greeted to an awesome waterfall, courtesy of the melting snow and apparently not a regular sighting along the Tuckerman Trail. At this point all that lie ahead of us was rock, snow, ice and heavy wind. The ascent become increasingly difficult, as we had to navigate much slower and carefully - especially in my case as I could really only use one arm.
This video was taken at the bottom of the head wall we were about to tackle. At 10 seconds of the video, the plain white area is actually Mount Washington, it's covered in thick fog.
As we entered the Arctic Zone, the winds really picked up now, and the ground cover was anywhere from a few inches to a few feet, and it was a small victory to make it to each stone cairn - which served as our trail markings. At this point in the ascent, the wind was blowing fiercely into our faces, driving snow into our eyes, so each step became harder and harder. At the same time we were contending with poor footing. There were portions where we simply had to get on our hands and knees and crawl past some sections. And boy, did it get cold. However, Eli and I refused to give up even though our energy was getting sapped with each step. We refused to yield to whatever Mount Washington was throwing at us. If conditions had been any worse, we probably would be forced to head back down...but as we got about 0.6 miles from the summit, we realized it would be much safer to reach the summit, go into the observatory building to warm up and change into dry clothes than to turn around and head back freezing our butts off.
An hour later, we approached summit and the feeling was absolutely amazing. Eli and I were pretty jubilant, but at the same time - we both knew that we couldn't enjoy the moment for long. Winds at the top of the mountain were peaking at 70mph, and the snow was very significant and everything around us was caked in thick layers of ice. Visibility was extremely poor and we had a hard time finding the right building. After 10 minutes of searching frantically among the high winds - we found the right door - and entered to a the dimply lit ranger station. We were greeted by 2 other hikers, and some unfriendly rangers - who made it quite clear that what we did was a pretty poor idea all around - and we didn't look all that prepared. One guy in particular was pretty gruff about the whole idea - and wasn't afraid to put some fear into us - and to be honest I can't really fault him. I'm sure he's seen some pretty messed up stuff on the mountain - but that being said it didn't exactly help to imbue any confidence on those going to head back down the mountain.
After thawing out (Eli's beard was frozen solid), refilling our water and changing our socks, we looked over the topographical map of the mountain with the rangers. We had 2 problems - tackling the rough weather, and daylight. The ascent took us about 4.5 hours, and the late start means it was about 3:30 and we had about 3 hours of light left. The ranger presented us 2 options:
A) Go down the Mt. Washington car road.
This involved an extra 4 miles of hiking, then a 2.5 hour hike through the woods back to our car - in total darkness. In addition, the majority of the road was covered in thick ice and completely exposed to the 50 to 70mph winds we got blasted by on the summit. The advantage here was clearly on the ranger, who could search for us by car should we never get down to the cabin.
B) Go back down the way we came.
We thought about it, and realized it would be a trickier hike, but we could go down the steeper, shorter, but rougher Lion's Head Trail. It provided the quickest decent vertically, but would involve some very rough terrain. We decided to go down this route.
The first 0.4 miles of the way back involved the same route we took up the mountain, which took us around 45 minutes of intense effort. Luckily for us, going back down was WAY easier. The fact that there was a thick snow and ice cover allowed us to sled down big swaths of the route on our butts, as long as we were careful to take it kind of slow and avoid the rocks. It was actually a lot of fun, and it took us all of about 10-15 minutes to get to the cairn which marked the trailhead for the Lion's Head Trail. As an added bonus, all of the snow I accumulated on my frozen jeans from the sledding actually acted as an insulating layer and my legs warmed up. (Wearing jeans was not a good idea in general though)
The Lion's Head was amazing. As we were really moving as fast as we could (burning daylight, after all) - we took very few pictures after this one:
For part of the trail, we were actually walking the ridge line of the mountain, and the setting sun cast a gorgeous glow over the snow and ice. It was here where the quote from the start of this post came from. The weather was still windy and vicious, but we were in very high spirits and enjoying the journey. The path down involved a lot of tricky bouldering and poor footings - but we were able to make it back down to the end of the trail just as dark enveloped the mountain.
It was an epic journey - and definitely one of the most arduous things I've ever done. Physically I was sore, but my shoulder, and the remnants of the cold I'd had for weeks were significantly healed - something I credit to the energy of the mountain, and some well spent time in nature. It really beats the crap out of life in the city - and the trip helped to solidify the notion that I should be spending far more time out of it.
- Chris
Monday, August 30, 2010
A Weekend in Rhode Island
"There are a thousand reasons for failure, but not a single excuse." - Rudyard Kipling
It had certainly been a strange couple of weeks leading up to this past weekend. Something was most certainly off - and I found myself becoming more and more disconnected, regardless of what I tried to do to "jump start" myself. While I was certainly being very productive, I was finding myself being very insular and at times short with people. I get like that sometimes, but never really for a protracted period of time.
Anyway, I took this "funk" (for lack of a better term) with me on a road trip to Rhode Island - to visit with friends. After a brutal 5 1/2 hour bus ride to New London, CT (thanks to traffic on I-95, it wasn't Greyhound's fault) - I met up with Gabe, who had a softball game. I started watching the game, and then some friends met up with me to take me to go play some beach volleyball - which was completely unexpected. I hadn't played since goofing around in college, but it's one of those sports I seem to play pretty well. I think it's got a lot to do with my willingness to flail myself at any ball within a 100 foot radius without any permanent damage.
It was perfect weather that night, and we had a blast. Gabe and I went back to play plenty of board games - and went to bed knowing we were going to go climbing @ Lantern Hill the next morning! We met up with Eli early in the morning, and you couldn't have asked for better weather to climb - maybe 80 degrees, a slight breeze, not a cloud in the sky...yet I was still feeling...off.
The view from the top of Lantern Hill is amazing, albeit there's a few man-made eyesores. The hawks and vultures soaring right around you makes up for it though. We setup top ropes and began climbing. For all the reasons mentioned earlier, I just kept freezing on the wall. I found myself coming up with so many lame excuses for barely being able to stay on the wall - simply put, I felt weak.
Typical of my feelings then: The heights are causing me to feel sick to my stomach, my fingers scream in agony just placing them on rocks, I'm not comfortable with the ropes, my shoes aren't sticking very well, my shoulder's bothering me, I don't want to look like a schmuck, I climbed this rock better in sneakers 3 months ago!
I was so down on myself then, but I kept trying to hack away at the frustration and just fucking enjoy myself. The company was good enough (another group joined up with us), and then I just got on the easy wall - and was urged on by Gabe and Eli to get to the top of the wall come hell of high water. I got setup at the bottom of the wall and just said to myself "Stop feeling fucking sorry for yourself and get your ass up that wall"
So I started to climb. I took a slightly awkward route, which was proving to be pretty fun for the first 40-feet or so, till I got to a point where I had to navigate a traverse that earlier in the day I bailed on because it was making me feel very vulnerable to the heights. Eli continued to urge me on while belaying for me - and the confidence he showed in my ability (which I didn't feel was warranted by my previous attempts to ascend the wall) pushed me right through the traverse! This put me on a very large comfy ledge about 75% up the climb, where I took a minute, turned around and sat on a rock outcrop and took in the view. A peaceful calm washed over my body - and for the first time in weeks I felt simple and at peace. At that moment, a hawk flew past very majestically. It's just one of those moments that will always stay with me.
It didn't matter that this was the "easy" climb, or that I was struggling and needed prodding to get to this point - I was just present in the place I found myself - connected to the reality of it in a way I'd missed lately. I was happy.
Eli urged me to continue the climb, and to my surprise I finished it strong and came back down. I proceeded to climb pretty well the rest of the day - with my mind and body much more co-ordinated and elated. The rest of the weekend was awesome, and I got home feeling much more at peace with things.
I'm pretty grateful I've got friends who push me to always get better - and the ability to kick my own ass when I truly need it.
- Chris
It had certainly been a strange couple of weeks leading up to this past weekend. Something was most certainly off - and I found myself becoming more and more disconnected, regardless of what I tried to do to "jump start" myself. While I was certainly being very productive, I was finding myself being very insular and at times short with people. I get like that sometimes, but never really for a protracted period of time.
Anyway, I took this "funk" (for lack of a better term) with me on a road trip to Rhode Island - to visit with friends. After a brutal 5 1/2 hour bus ride to New London, CT (thanks to traffic on I-95, it wasn't Greyhound's fault) - I met up with Gabe, who had a softball game. I started watching the game, and then some friends met up with me to take me to go play some beach volleyball - which was completely unexpected. I hadn't played since goofing around in college, but it's one of those sports I seem to play pretty well. I think it's got a lot to do with my willingness to flail myself at any ball within a 100 foot radius without any permanent damage.
It was perfect weather that night, and we had a blast. Gabe and I went back to play plenty of board games - and went to bed knowing we were going to go climbing @ Lantern Hill the next morning! We met up with Eli early in the morning, and you couldn't have asked for better weather to climb - maybe 80 degrees, a slight breeze, not a cloud in the sky...yet I was still feeling...off.
The view from the top of Lantern Hill is amazing, albeit there's a few man-made eyesores. The hawks and vultures soaring right around you makes up for it though. We setup top ropes and began climbing. For all the reasons mentioned earlier, I just kept freezing on the wall. I found myself coming up with so many lame excuses for barely being able to stay on the wall - simply put, I felt weak.
Typical of my feelings then: The heights are causing me to feel sick to my stomach, my fingers scream in agony just placing them on rocks, I'm not comfortable with the ropes, my shoes aren't sticking very well, my shoulder's bothering me, I don't want to look like a schmuck, I climbed this rock better in sneakers 3 months ago!
I was so down on myself then, but I kept trying to hack away at the frustration and just fucking enjoy myself. The company was good enough (another group joined up with us), and then I just got on the easy wall - and was urged on by Gabe and Eli to get to the top of the wall come hell of high water. I got setup at the bottom of the wall and just said to myself "Stop feeling fucking sorry for yourself and get your ass up that wall"
So I started to climb. I took a slightly awkward route, which was proving to be pretty fun for the first 40-feet or so, till I got to a point where I had to navigate a traverse that earlier in the day I bailed on because it was making me feel very vulnerable to the heights. Eli continued to urge me on while belaying for me - and the confidence he showed in my ability (which I didn't feel was warranted by my previous attempts to ascend the wall) pushed me right through the traverse! This put me on a very large comfy ledge about 75% up the climb, where I took a minute, turned around and sat on a rock outcrop and took in the view. A peaceful calm washed over my body - and for the first time in weeks I felt simple and at peace. At that moment, a hawk flew past very majestically. It's just one of those moments that will always stay with me.
It didn't matter that this was the "easy" climb, or that I was struggling and needed prodding to get to this point - I was just present in the place I found myself - connected to the reality of it in a way I'd missed lately. I was happy.
Eli urged me to continue the climb, and to my surprise I finished it strong and came back down. I proceeded to climb pretty well the rest of the day - with my mind and body much more co-ordinated and elated. The rest of the weekend was awesome, and I got home feeling much more at peace with things.
I'm pretty grateful I've got friends who push me to always get better - and the ability to kick my own ass when I truly need it.
- Chris
Sunday, August 15, 2010
A Sunday
My birthday party Friday night was fun - although attendance was sparse, everybody had fun with some Telestrations, Dixit & some drinks.
In general I've been a bit distracted this past week...for all the great things going on in my life right now - I haven't been finding any spiritual fulfillment in my day to day life. For all the reading & intellectual efforts I've put in trying to understand faith, spirituality & truth - I've finally realized that it's all bullshit unless you put it into practice in everyday situations. It took somebody this past week helping me make the connection between my MMA training and spirituality to see this...
Let's say 2 years ago I decide I want to learn MMA - how to kickbox, grapple, train to defend myself and get into great shape. Motivation isn't the problem - let's go kick some ass...to the library! I'm going to read every book I can find on the subject - and when I'm not reading I'll sample for sources on the Internet, YouTube videos...and I'm going to be ready to step into a UFC title bout!
Now it's easy to see that this is impossible. Thankfully, 2 years ago I walked into a Tiger Schulmann's gym, signed up for classes - and I've put the mileage on my body to get where I am today. The journey has shaped me into a much more confident, fit & healthy guy. I have received expert mentoring from some of the best in the business. While my learning is never complete, and I continue to develop - I have put the mileage on my body so that I can perform the moves with confidence. You can't get that from a book.
So now I look at my efforts in spiritual practice over the past 3 years - and I'm left wondering why I've settled for the first option. Sure, I've visited some temples on occasion, even happening in on some dharma talks & Buddhist rituals...but I have been trying to learn through intellectual effort. Spiritual development is no different than the physical development of a skill. While it's been definitely helpful for learning the terminology, history, theory & helping me to develop wisdom...it hasn't manifested in the spiritual "blooming" I've been yearning for. I simply haven't got put the miles in - haven't experienced spirit - just read about it in books.
So I took this person's advice, put down the books for a while and did something about it. It was a calm Sunday morning, and I woke up early and headed down to the Zen Center of New York City, a Zendo near Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn. I was happy to wake up early enough to make a stop at Starbucks for some tea and sketching time before heading down - and I was able to really enjoy the fact that it was a quiet, calm day.
I arrived at the Zendo and was warmly greeted and shown around. Zen Buddhism has always intrigued me, and it's central focus is on self-development of one's mind through Zazen. Zazen is a method of meditation where one focuses on bringing the mind to a stillness - and develop the ability to be present in the moment you find yourself in. For more info: Wiki
The Sunday service began with some liturgy and chanting (a first for me to hear some chanting in English - which doesn't flow as well but helps to make more of a connection to what's actually being said). This was followed by an introductory lecture for us newcomers where we learned some effective postures and some information regarding the temple and goals of zazen, etc... While I knew a lot of what was being said - I was happy to maintain the "beginner's mind" and pick up a lot of valuable pointers.
After the introduction, we rejoined the rest of the students in the main hall for seated zazen, lasting a little over 30 minutes. I was then able to join the group for a 10 minute walking mediation - something I had never done, and was initially skeptical about (ah, the danger of those darn books). I really enjoyed this, and the senior student that gave a discourse afterwards really resonated a lot with how I've been feelings lately.
I can't say it was an overpowering experience when I left the Temple, but I was definitely feeling more connected to the pulse of everything around me. Having planned ahead, I walked the 10 blocks or so to Brooklyn Boulders, for some solo bouldering. My calm state helped me to visualize my routes better, and I was really enjoying completing some difficult V1's that I hadn't done before. I completed about 20 ascents out of 30-35 tries, which made me very happy.
So, in closing it's been a very calming day - and I mean calming in the sense that I feel a lot wiser for coming to the realization that I can't control change - even the good kind. I can't sit here and regret that I hadn't made these realizations sooner. The only thing I can control is what I do with where I find myself now - and for the first time in a long while I can say I find myself with some modicum of serenity.
- Chris
In general I've been a bit distracted this past week...for all the great things going on in my life right now - I haven't been finding any spiritual fulfillment in my day to day life. For all the reading & intellectual efforts I've put in trying to understand faith, spirituality & truth - I've finally realized that it's all bullshit unless you put it into practice in everyday situations. It took somebody this past week helping me make the connection between my MMA training and spirituality to see this...
Let's say 2 years ago I decide I want to learn MMA - how to kickbox, grapple, train to defend myself and get into great shape. Motivation isn't the problem - let's go kick some ass...to the library! I'm going to read every book I can find on the subject - and when I'm not reading I'll sample for sources on the Internet, YouTube videos...and I'm going to be ready to step into a UFC title bout!
Now it's easy to see that this is impossible. Thankfully, 2 years ago I walked into a Tiger Schulmann's gym, signed up for classes - and I've put the mileage on my body to get where I am today. The journey has shaped me into a much more confident, fit & healthy guy. I have received expert mentoring from some of the best in the business. While my learning is never complete, and I continue to develop - I have put the mileage on my body so that I can perform the moves with confidence. You can't get that from a book.
So now I look at my efforts in spiritual practice over the past 3 years - and I'm left wondering why I've settled for the first option. Sure, I've visited some temples on occasion, even happening in on some dharma talks & Buddhist rituals...but I have been trying to learn through intellectual effort. Spiritual development is no different than the physical development of a skill. While it's been definitely helpful for learning the terminology, history, theory & helping me to develop wisdom...it hasn't manifested in the spiritual "blooming" I've been yearning for. I simply haven't got put the miles in - haven't experienced spirit - just read about it in books.
So I took this person's advice, put down the books for a while and did something about it. It was a calm Sunday morning, and I woke up early and headed down to the Zen Center of New York City, a Zendo near Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn. I was happy to wake up early enough to make a stop at Starbucks for some tea and sketching time before heading down - and I was able to really enjoy the fact that it was a quiet, calm day.
I arrived at the Zendo and was warmly greeted and shown around. Zen Buddhism has always intrigued me, and it's central focus is on self-development of one's mind through Zazen. Zazen is a method of meditation where one focuses on bringing the mind to a stillness - and develop the ability to be present in the moment you find yourself in. For more info: Wiki
The Sunday service began with some liturgy and chanting (a first for me to hear some chanting in English - which doesn't flow as well but helps to make more of a connection to what's actually being said). This was followed by an introductory lecture for us newcomers where we learned some effective postures and some information regarding the temple and goals of zazen, etc... While I knew a lot of what was being said - I was happy to maintain the "beginner's mind" and pick up a lot of valuable pointers.
After the introduction, we rejoined the rest of the students in the main hall for seated zazen, lasting a little over 30 minutes. I was then able to join the group for a 10 minute walking mediation - something I had never done, and was initially skeptical about (ah, the danger of those darn books). I really enjoyed this, and the senior student that gave a discourse afterwards really resonated a lot with how I've been feelings lately.
I can't say it was an overpowering experience when I left the Temple, but I was definitely feeling more connected to the pulse of everything around me. Having planned ahead, I walked the 10 blocks or so to Brooklyn Boulders, for some solo bouldering. My calm state helped me to visualize my routes better, and I was really enjoying completing some difficult V1's that I hadn't done before. I completed about 20 ascents out of 30-35 tries, which made me very happy.
So, in closing it's been a very calming day - and I mean calming in the sense that I feel a lot wiser for coming to the realization that I can't control change - even the good kind. I can't sit here and regret that I hadn't made these realizations sooner. The only thing I can control is what I do with where I find myself now - and for the first time in a long while I can say I find myself with some modicum of serenity.
- Chris
Monday, May 3, 2010
Week In Review
It's been an interesting week. I've been challenged by others, I've challenged myself, and it's caused me to think about a lot of things. Instead of a succinct narrative, here's the week in review as footnotes:
- Wednesday I realized that there's not many people in my life these days that are challenging me. I've become so used to being challenged from so many directions, that now when it does happen I tend to get defensive and try to "resolve" the challenge ASAP. It's hard for me to totally comprehend the wisdom in "living the question" instead of obsessing over getting it solved and move past it. Of course this is easy to write after I've had a few days to think about after someone
challenged me on Wednesday...but I'm modest enough to know when they're right and to step back and look at things honestly.
- That being said, I was pretty down on myself Wednesday - so I decided to train extra-hard @ Tiger Schulmann's. I ended up smacking around a heavy bag for 30 min, followed by an hour of grappling, an hour of kickboxing, another hour of grappling, and one last hour of kickboxing. I left there no longer feeling down on myself, and quite a bit sore.
- Thursday was a better day, and I was able to think with a more level head. I went back to TSK and did another 3.5 hours of work for good measure. It's a great feeling to work through the plateau I'd been stuck at for a few months.
- Went climbing at Brooklyn Boulders on Friday with my new climbing gear, and my buddy Mike of Phattire fame. His blog has some snapshots and video links, courtesty of his iPhone. It's more than a supplement to my martial arts training, it's another way for me to challenge myself. More than that, it's a great opportunity to chill to good tunes, enjoy the awesome climbing community, and hang out with good people like Mike:
Chris: "I've been trying to blog more - it's a good way for me to share my thoughts. I've stopped caring about what people will think about what I have to say, and just say it."
Mike: "Well I don't care about what you have to say."
...good times.
- Saturday was spent with Alexandra, and we toured the Botanical Gardens, happened upon a street fair, she got her mani/pedi, and we did dinner @ di Nico's in Little Italy (I'd give it a 7/10 - good food at a fair price). I surprised her later in the night by taking her past the White Rabbit bar, and lucked out that her good friend Orion was 'tending. Orion is the lead guy in The Orion Experience, an incredible band I've gottent to see live once, and they're getting very popular lately, with songs on major TV shows, and playing some big venues. I'm not a big music guy, but T.O.E. is very very good. Afterwards, we stopped for snacks at the Sugar Cafe, 2 blocks east on Houston & Allen St. - recreating the last 2 stops of the night we
first met almost 15 months ago. It was a great day to relax and simply enjoy time with Alexandra.
- Sunday was brunch with Alex, then cleaning/work/reading time while Alex wrote a paper. At night it was another meeting of the fledgling Upper Manhattan Dancers, Gamers & Drinkers Club (acronym and by-laws still a work in progress) :) A fun evening of Dixit, Carcassone, and Kill Dr. Lucky ensued.
The most important part of this past week was being able to sit back, enjoy time spent with my friends, while still embracing the challenges of others, as well as challenging myself to grow. More and more I've able to stop being a self-critic, embrace my flaws, and just go out and try new things, meet new people, create new things, and develop more wisdom.
- chris
- Wednesday I realized that there's not many people in my life these days that are challenging me. I've become so used to being challenged from so many directions, that now when it does happen I tend to get defensive and try to "resolve" the challenge ASAP. It's hard for me to totally comprehend the wisdom in "living the question" instead of obsessing over getting it solved and move past it. Of course this is easy to write after I've had a few days to think about after someone
challenged me on Wednesday...but I'm modest enough to know when they're right and to step back and look at things honestly.
- That being said, I was pretty down on myself Wednesday - so I decided to train extra-hard @ Tiger Schulmann's. I ended up smacking around a heavy bag for 30 min, followed by an hour of grappling, an hour of kickboxing, another hour of grappling, and one last hour of kickboxing. I left there no longer feeling down on myself, and quite a bit sore.
- Thursday was a better day, and I was able to think with a more level head. I went back to TSK and did another 3.5 hours of work for good measure. It's a great feeling to work through the plateau I'd been stuck at for a few months.
- Went climbing at Brooklyn Boulders on Friday with my new climbing gear, and my buddy Mike of Phattire fame. His blog has some snapshots and video links, courtesty of his iPhone. It's more than a supplement to my martial arts training, it's another way for me to challenge myself. More than that, it's a great opportunity to chill to good tunes, enjoy the awesome climbing community, and hang out with good people like Mike:
Chris: "I've been trying to blog more - it's a good way for me to share my thoughts. I've stopped caring about what people will think about what I have to say, and just say it."
Mike: "Well I don't care about what you have to say."
...good times.
- Saturday was spent with Alexandra, and we toured the Botanical Gardens, happened upon a street fair, she got her mani/pedi, and we did dinner @ di Nico's in Little Italy (I'd give it a 7/10 - good food at a fair price). I surprised her later in the night by taking her past the White Rabbit bar, and lucked out that her good friend Orion was 'tending. Orion is the lead guy in The Orion Experience, an incredible band I've gottent to see live once, and they're getting very popular lately, with songs on major TV shows, and playing some big venues. I'm not a big music guy, but T.O.E. is very very good. Afterwards, we stopped for snacks at the Sugar Cafe, 2 blocks east on Houston & Allen St. - recreating the last 2 stops of the night we
first met almost 15 months ago. It was a great day to relax and simply enjoy time with Alexandra.
- Sunday was brunch with Alex, then cleaning/work/reading time while Alex wrote a paper. At night it was another meeting of the fledgling Upper Manhattan Dancers, Gamers & Drinkers Club (acronym and by-laws still a work in progress) :) A fun evening of Dixit, Carcassone, and Kill Dr. Lucky ensued.
The most important part of this past week was being able to sit back, enjoy time spent with my friends, while still embracing the challenges of others, as well as challenging myself to grow. More and more I've able to stop being a self-critic, embrace my flaws, and just go out and try new things, meet new people, create new things, and develop more wisdom.
- chris
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