Ramblings from your neighborhood biology major

Junk in the trunk with a ghetto booty on the side

2010-05-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

The other day I was hanging with my awesome sister... which I should mention there are actually 2 awesome sisters but there only happened to be one at this instance. Talking about our cars and we decided that my Saturn L200 has got a ghetto booty to it. It has a slightly conical shape with the angle slanting down towards the front (that'd be a little strange if it was angling towards the back wouldn't it? might could make it more aerodynamic but I doubt it). This particular model happens to have a longer front than I've see in most 4 door sedans (or it could be the cone-angle doohicky already mentioned making it look longer) and the back is significantly shorter than on other sedans and it looks quite round(again this could just be an illusion and not the reality). So I told my sister that my car has a ghetto booty and she says it's got junk in the trunk just like I do. To which we talked about someone telling a black friend of mine in college that I have an ass like a black person. Haha! Love my sis!

Wow I'm back

2010-05-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

Oh blogosphere how I've missed you! I was rereading some of my older posts and forgot how much I liked writing when I felt inspired to address something. I think maybe one person will read this as I have been absent so long but it helps me to think better when I get all this stuff out of my head.

So the last year in summary:

-Got accepted to 2 top 25 Physician's Assistant Programs.
-Declined one program's invitation to attend classes next year (bilocating would actually be a rather useful skill for someone who enjoys taking classes)
-Worked in the Emergency Room for almost a year.
-Passed my EMT-Basic National Registry Exam and have been in 4 situations in public where my training came in handy; No life or death issues though I'm happy to report.
-Started dating a nice young girl I had met taking my post-bacs. in the Fall of 2008. We've been together over a year now. She's pretty spiffy and she's halfway through Nursing School What!What!
-Got said lady into climbing, rafting, and backpacking. She just doesn't have the time to enjoy these sports enough right now.
-Got seriously into Traditional Climbing (learned most of what I know not from formal instruction but from reading a book... if you're familiar with this form of climbing you'll understand the seriousness of that statement) I've taken 4 falls on trad. gear that I've placed and 1 of them was a 15-20 footer on my 0.75 Camalot! Cheers! :D
-Went to California and visited my awesome home-slice Kiki out in Berkeley California. Also hit up 4 national parks (hiking and backpacking) and 1 state park. Made Snow-angels with a buddy of mine in June and pretty much had a rockin time! I'd like to get back out there for some climbing one day. I need to call Kiki cause we haven't talked since my trip :(
-I've been in a holding-pattern for school as a result of my placement (we received the results in Sep. 2009) in the July 2010 class instead of January 2010 like I would have preferred and this has left me with a sense of stagnation sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I try to live life and enjoy it to the fullest but when you're just working and waiting to pursue your dream, the waiting part gets tough.
-I moved in with my brother and a friend of his. This friend is an online friend my bro. has been gaming with for years and this yankee friend of his decided to grace us with his presence. Dude-man's name is Nic and it seems like he and I get along better than my bro and he did. Whatev... he's a chill dude who's always up for doin somethin kinda like me.
-I worked on Christmas Day for the first time ever in my life. It was wierd... there wasn't anywhere to go for food during my meal break. Luckily one of the Docs brought some vittles for us.
-I've realized that while PA School is right for me at this current time in my life, Med. School is a possibility later if I get bored or feel frustrated at not being able to do more as a PA. I'll work my 4 year service obligation in the Army before I make any final decisions on that. Ha! It just struck me how premature that whole statement is... nothing about hoping to make it through school and enjoying being a PA, no no, I'm skipping that altogether because it's a given in my mind (kind of like when a theory becomes a law in math or science... there's just no questioning it). Again, Cheers! :D

I'm sure I'll think of more but that is it for now. Man I forgot the kind of euphoria that hits me when I take all these random thoughts and put them into paper. This blog is almost like my penseive (that's a Harry Potter reference btw) and I've been ignoring it for way to long.

Forgot one bullet: I started the Harry Potter series.

Oh yea... today I almost dropped red velvet cake on my foot. What a waste of red velvet cake that would have been... I mean that's like right up there with spilling your beer. You'd almost what to eat it off the floor like Peter does in that Family Guy episode where he drinks spilled beer off the floor with a straw.

Ciao!

Bandnerding at the beach?

2009-03-07T17:47:00.000-08:00

Got 2 weeks to go to at the US Army School of Music in Norfolk, Virginia. Should be pretty bad ass if I do say so myself. I'm flying up there tomorrow. To be honest I'm anxious, not about the training but the flying. I always get nervous. Don't know why... I'll raft class 5 rapids, rock climb, and do otherwise unsafe activities but flying (safer than driving) just gets to me. Maybe it's because while I understand that Bernoulee's Principle is used to explain the physics of flight, my mind really doesn't get how that works to lift a multiton airplane.

Anywho, lots of practicing my sax, learning to conduct ceremonies, learning to direct a marching band during a parade, and other shenanigans ahead. Did I mention it's right near the beach? Tough gig this army band thing is. Spake like yoda i did.

Interestingly enough I find myself hoping this is the 1 and only opportunity to attend the USASOM. That would mean that I'd be getting picked up for PA school in the Army. Losing an hour tonight = Lamesauce!

Giraffes?

2009-02-27T10:44:00.001-08:00

So i had a thought today as my power went out due to lightning... if a bunch of people get struck by lightning every year, how many giraffes get struck by lightning? Wonder if they have selected behaviors like laying down while its storming or maybe they stay away from exposed areas.

Hot Chicks Suck At Life!!!

2009-02-26T11:57:00.000-08:00

So the internet is wrought with advertisements of hot chicks on singles sites! They're all over myspace and facebook. For real! hot chicks, scantilly clad in their under-briches and with little left for the imagination. These visual sirens of the internets have no problem baring almost everything so they can be pasted in the ad section next to everyone's next facebook search. That's exactly what I want staring me in the face as i'm stalking my friends and wasting time on the good ole crack-book.

What's more, who knew so many hot chicks had issues finding a main-squeeze! Attractive people aren't supposed to have any issues getting hit on and picked up. Maybe this plethora of hot chicks have something in common. Maybe they suck at life!

or maybe it's all just a bunch of smut and trash where sites copy and paste pictures of women that actually are not there to get you (straight man or lesbo lady) to go to those sites thinking one site in particular has got all the good lookin ones!

Sent my shit!

2009-02-25T14:27:00.000-08:00

Sent out my Army Pa app today. The damned thing was almost a full pound. Sure that doesn't sound like a lot but that's a pound of paper! There were probably about 40 pages to the whole application. Won't hear until July so it's just climbing, rafting here soon, and trying to get a job in EMS or the ER someone until then.

Went out and practiced placing pieces in the rocks at Moss Rock Preserve. Feel like I've got a good handle on it so... I'm gonna try and do the traditional climbing on some sport routes so i have a cushion of safety if my pieces pop out of the rock this weekend when i go out.

lol

2009-02-23T09:04:00.001-08:00

http://www.britanick.com/videos.php
dont agree with any of this... but it was funny

# 22

2009-02-19T14:20:00.000-08:00

That's my official number on the alternate list at UAB. At least they can tell you what number you are on the list, but conversely, I have to pay more money and apply to the UAB Grad. school to stay on that list. I won't be doing that. If I were top 15 I would but 22 is just not going to happen. I don't understand why they have that many on an alternate list anyway... you're not going to lose 20 people out of a 36 person class. Not for graduate school.

Still kinda sucks to not make the cut. I'm a little irritated about a certain subject regarding people getting in, but I won't disclose that on here. Ask me sometime kiki! :-)

So this year I reckon it's Army PA School or bust! If I don't get in... well shit... i guess i'll have to pay an ass load of money to apply to 10+ civilian schools next fall. pray for me!

Mr. Obama

2009-02-08T04:30:00.000-08:00

I said something about him yesterday that gave me a personal chuckle. I said he was the first person to become a saint without being canonized by the catholic church, and with the high esteem everyone seems to hold him in, he may just be the second coming of christ!

:-D

News with angry rant.

2009-02-06T19:38:00.000-08:00

News did come today.
That was neither good nor bad.
More waiting awaits.

Sorry for the incessant amount of haikus. it's a great way to summarize stuff in a very brief few statements.

I heard from UAB today. Guess what... another alternate/wait list! Boy what fun...

Sure a lot of people would say that it's not rejection but I don't think many people have sat in a "not-rejected" status for 6 months (my last year's army app which i will be an alternate for until august classes) before getting another "not-rejected" status. Not rejected is the same thing as "hey, you're not good enough, but we'll give you some hope to hang on to". Not rejected is not "accepted". That's the bottom line and i'm so frustrated and pissed off that I'm so confident that I know where I want to go and all i keep getting is "wait a little longer. we'll see if our varisty squad makes it to enrollment". Fuck!!!

Yea my life's not bad and things could be worse... there's the obligatory perspective with a rant like this. I'm gonna go knock back some bailey's on ice and get my shit together for army shenanigans this weekend.

Waiting

2009-02-03T09:28:00.000-08:00

Not on customers.
On news whether good or bad.
Hard to keep caring.

Something I've thought about several times

2009-01-29T20:16:00.000-08:00

So... I have heard many times in the past that women don't make as much as a man. Something I've read in the past has made me think about this and want to cross exam the issue.

Before I start I'll provide my sources:
http://www.womensmedia.com/new/Lips-Hilary-gender-wage-gap.shtml
http://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug04/standing.html
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/769229.html
http://www.halls.md/chart/men-height-w.htm
http://www.halls.md/chart/women-height-w.htm

Since this is not being submitted to a pear-reviewed journal I will not screen my sources as if it were. We just say they are ball-park figures. They certainly seem reasonable at first glance.

Ms. Lips in the women's media article shows data that women make approximately 70 % of what men make. This will be roughly average considering I didn't calculate the average. The apa.org site states that there is a significant difference in the amount of money people earn per difference in height. Taking the average height for men and women (white; happened to be the first link on the page) there is a difference of 5.2 inches. Taking the statistic cited in the apa.org article of $789 per inch that amounts to a difference of $4102 per year on the basis of height alone (assuming the height article controlled for levels of education, ethnicity, etc. in the height study).

Now taking the facts from the 2005 census: Median income -- $24,325 Mean income -- $35,499 it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that $4102 on the basis of height is more than 10 % of both the median and mean salary/pay for the year 2005.

Looking at this purely speculatively and not seeking to publish this as excellent, peer-reviewed content, it's pretty easy to see that height may actually account for 10 % or more of the 25 % that Ms. Lips study cites. The remaining 15 % probably is significantly made up of gender biases but lets not forget that in terms of having equal access to jobs, women haven't been in the workplace all that long. It may take time for thousands of years of social evolution to be corrected.

My main point in typing this up is that I get irritated when femnazis get all fussy hurt about women making less but I quote the difference in height study and they don't believe it. So this is a little attempt to enlighten whoever might come across my blog that gender is not the only reason for differences in salary between men and women.

a haiku

2009-01-27T07:39:00.000-08:00

People take buses.

Each to their respective schools.

I can't get on yet.

This is really cool

2008-12-10T05:44:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_hiz-Kx0kM

2 pley a littul dres uph

2008-12-08T11:37:00.000-08:00

Went and talked with my contact who has sat on PA school interviews with UAB today. Things went well and I'm feeling cozy about my upcoming interview. When I got home I did something I haven't done in a long time.

I played dress up. There were some logical motivations behind the dressing up only to dress down 10 minutes later, but at the root of it was a childish feeling to get dressed up and see what grown ups look like. I put on my interview suit, tied a full windsor tie (learned that last night) and looked in the mirror. I realized that it's not really a just a feeling of being grown up anymore, I am a grown up... who just happens to live at home with his parents.

I put everything on as it would be for the interview, except the dress shoes. I walked around in my socks and looked in the mirror at the suit and myself. I'm 100 % positive I was having the masculine version of "I feel pretty" when I looked in the mirror. Somehow playing dress up, seeing the suit in its entirety (post being-tailored), and seeing myself in the suit made me realize that I've got nothing to worry about. It made me think of all the people in my life who have lent encouraging words. Sherryl thinks I'm going to do fine, Lisa thinks I'm going to be fine, everyone I know thinks I'm going to be fine, and now I feel it too ... simply from playing a little dress up.

LOL

2008-12-02T06:05:00.000-08:00

So this showed up on the "Today" portion of hotmail. I think most guys have said something about each of these at some point.

I llike #7 the best. :-)

http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-look/makeup-skin-care-hair/staticslideshowglamour.aspx?cp-documentid=11770815&imageindex=7

A song that speaks.

2008-11-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

Not many songs create any kind of stirring deep down inside of me. I guess I don't look for meaning beyond the chords,lyrics and overall sound of them. However one of John Mayer's songs has really touched me to the core. This song made me realize that if I end up getting married in life (i certainly hope to) it's going to have to be someone who wants to go outside and do "outdoors-y/gronola-y" things like I do. There's no way I would be happy with a wifey that stayed home all the time whilst I wrote her 3x5 post cards of my adventures. I couldn't be happy always telling stories of my adventures, I would want a spouse to experience them with me.

So here's the song: 3x5 from his room for squares album. Read the lyrics and go listen to it.

I'm writing you to
catch you up on places I've been
And you have this letter
you probably got excited, but there's nothing else inside it
didn't have a camera by my side this time
hoping I would see the world through both my eyes
maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm
in the mood to lose my way with words
TODAY skies are painted colors of a cowboy cliche'
And its strange how clouds that look like mountains in the sky
are next to mountains anyway
Didn't have a camera by my side this time
Hoping I would see the world through both my eyes
Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm
in the mood to lose my way
but let me say
You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes
it brought me back to life
You'll be with me next time I go outside
NO more 3x5's
I Guess you had to be there
I Guess you had to be with me
Today I finally overcame
tryin' to fit the world inside a picture frame
Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to
lose my way but let me say
You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes
it brought me back to life
You'll be with me next time I go outside
no more 3x5's
just no more 3x5's

for those of you who haven't been to the Ham in a while

2008-11-24T06:25:00.001-08:00

http://blog.al.com/archiblog/2008/11/red_circle_makes_for_hue_cry.html

what the hell do we pay these people to do? spend $213,000 to paint a fucking street?!?!?!

AGU The Onion

2008-11-24T05:57:00.000-08:00

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=46714374

funny clip

omg stats

2008-11-23T19:41:00.000-08:00

did stats all day. at one point i was so frustrated with this one topic that i literally wrote WTF on my page of problems i was working.

skipping surgery tomorrow to study for physiology. it's unfortunate since last week i was allowed to scrub in so i could stand right next to the doctor so i could see the patients spine. oh well... such is life... 2 weeks until these post-bacs. are done.

PA School interview on Dec. 15th. In the process of getting my suit tailored. Apparently the sales woman at S&K didn't realize that me being a young and athletic dude, I needed an athletic cut suit. So i ended up with a suit that had lots of room for a gut. I'm getting all that taken out and hopefully will look nothing short of stunning for my interview! Haha jk :-P

Hard bein a god-fearin dude

2008-11-22T17:05:00.000-08:00

So I went to a party a few weeks ago. I was asked by a very attractive young lady there what I what I was doing after the party. This wasn't just a casual hey let's go grab tea and crumpets kind of asking. I know the young lady and she's very attractive and some would probably think me silly for not responding with a quick "going to your place (this is what she was expecting)" but that's just not my style. Why is that not my style? Well for one I'm not the kind of guy that is looking to sleep around as much as possible (yes... we do in fact exist). What's more is that I declined the implied invitation because it goes against my catholic/moral upbringing. Did I say no because the bible says I should? No I said no because I believe in my faith and in the existence of a superior omnipotent being. I believe that declining said invitation is the only way to live my faith. I must say though, it is very difficult to say no to temptation when the fruits of following faith are not always apparent. The eternal life thing kinda sits on the back burner sometimes, very nondescript, and gets forgotten about as temptation sits in front of it holding up a sign that says "pick me".

I really don't know why I'm writing this.... I think I just needed to get the negative energy out.

confirmation

2008-11-21T14:58:00.000-08:00

yep... i'm pretty sure i'm on that cyclic thing that does in fact happen to dudes. that whole man-period thing. little shit has been pissing me off and getting under my skin all day today (I doubt anyone has noticed because i usually do a pretty good job of keeping that shit on the DL). stuff that really shouldn't be bothering me. i get like this sometimes... angry/frustrated at the world for a few days every couple of months. then it passes... much like a black cloud comes to visit for in the afternoon in the summer. maybe this cloud will be gone by tomorrow. off to study stats.

Uncle Flow must be in town

2008-11-20T20:45:00.000-08:00

In a bit of a mental funk. Everything is going well in life except for a few select items and I can't seem to focus on any of the positive stuff. Seems to be the human condition: almost everything is going well and we always find things to bitch about or be unhappy with. Maybe it's my man-period manifesting for it's once every 3 month visit. oh well... going to bed. Got a busy day tomorrow and won't have any time for wallowing.

Shits gonna piss me off every time i hear it

2008-11-09T08:50:00.000-08:00

Watched "This Week" with George Stephanopolis. One of his guests said something that was absolutely rediculous albiet not unecpected.

It was a seemingly black woman (she had the kind of mixed skin tone where you can't tell if they are part black, hispanic, indian and i can't remember her name) but here's what she said:

"There are plenty of qualified people of color [for appointment to Obama's cabinet]".

There are so many things that go into picking cabinet advisors. Let's hope that color is not a big consideration.

You could take the present situation to the extreme through logic just to accentuate the ridiculousness of it.

Start with Obama being elected. Everyone is super ecstatic about it. Big deal because Obama is first black american elected to President's Office. Milestone because black people finally feel equal (as many have stated on video clips from election night) Now we get to picking cabinet/advisors. Statements made by some black professionals imply he should choose "colored" advisors. So they were excited and saying "finally a black president" and then the following week implying that a black president isn't enough... he needs to have "people of color" in his cabinet. What's next, we'll need to have people of color be the leaders of congress as well? Should every appointment based slot be filled with a person of "color" in order to make right the wrongs of the past? When does the color issue stop coming up? When can we stop talking about choices being made that don't have some people reverting back to the "color" issue?

Warning: White guy will use the N word in context. Freak out if you want.

2008-11-08T06:19:00.001-08:00

So me sister was telling me about this person she heard about through a friend. This person said: "I hope obama does to white people what bush did to us!". It's a no brainer to guess what her ethnic persuasion is. This kind of statement reflects the kind of antiwhite bias that runs rampant in some of the black community. Just as some white people have spray painted "Nigger" all over shit as a result of obamas election. these kind of racist comments don't unite the country and it does create the rare occurence of feeling offended deep down inside of me. I don't understand comments like these being made by people who voted for Obama because his message is to bring the country back to center and fix a lot of problems. You can't do that be spewing devisive hate speech as some of his supporters are doing.

I understand comments like that from some white people 1) because mccain didn't win and 2) there's a lot of people that live in the sticks still growing up with racist parents. I understand the comments made by black people because they say all their lives they've grown up with people telling them they can't and with parents that have lived through the aftermath of the civil rights movement. I understand that race will ALWAYS be and issue at some level.

Some questions I'd like to ask racist black people: What did George Bush do to them? Is the economy related to this statement? (If so the economy also affected poor white people, of which I believe there are more poor white people than poor black people. It seems like a statistical thing although i have not researched it) Why is it ok to publicly wish for bad things to happen to white people just because they are white? Is it perceived that white people stick together to gang up on black people (as implied by the statement of getting back all white people for the actions of just one mr. bush) Why is it ok to talk about a white person as being a "white boy" in a rude and derogatory sense that seeks to exclude when I can't call them porch monkeys or niggers in the same rude/exclusive sense? (I don't think I'd ever call someone these; I'd resort to non racist cuss words if I felt ill about someone)

Some questions I'd like to ask racist white people: Why the fuck can't you get over yourself? You just don't understand how good a black president can be toward healing the racial issues between SOME white and black people do you (I say some because I don't feel like all white and black people have issues between them)? When did you choose to remain racist? (I've got a theory that racism is 1/2 indoctrination by parents/friends/family and 1/2 choice; in this regard the question would be appropriate to ask racist black people as well)

exactly the way i feel about politics

2008-11-07T19:56:00.000-08:00

i lean conservative but i would say i straddle the line between liberal conservative and conservative moderate :-)

http://generationpatriot.blogspot.com/2008/11/building-moderate-identity-post.html

when it comes to some things...

2008-11-04T20:00:00.001-08:00

some guys have all the luck...

Nablomo whatever

2008-11-02T16:07:00.000-08:00

Went climbing today and have to freak out about a test on tuesday since i'm working tomorrow night.

thinking about the type of suit to wear to my interview... any suggestions?

Lots of new shinanigans

2008-10-31T13:46:00.000-07:00

So I paid off my car loan today. My car is mine!!! Like not on loan from the bank anymore!!! It's freaking sweet! Now I'll have an extra $170 a month with which to use and i don't know, maybe buy outdoor gear??? Anywho, I'm stoked about it!

In other news, I went to a "does god exist" debate this week. I think I'll talk about that in a future post because it's waaaay too much to write right now.

Statistics test 2didn't go as well as i had hoped but whatev... it doesn't really matter anymore because... big climactic news coming...... wait for it.....................................

...................................I got an interview with UAB's PA School!!!!!! It's pretty rediculous considering my application was a last minute shot in the dark send off. Now I've just got one more hoop to jump through before I'll know whether i'll be in school next fall. I just have to decide what kind of suit to wear... wait i forgot something, I don't own a suit so i'll have to decide which one to buy first.

I starting climbing hard this week. Been 3 days so far and plan to go with my bro on Sunday so that'll make 4 days in a week. I'm hoping to really get my strength back by the end of November so i can start projecting V4s/5s (bouldering) and 5.10s (routes).

Went out to the lake last saturday to practice rolling my kayak. It was plush! I rolled every time except once which was when I was practicing my off-side roll. Which means that I only missed my off-side roll once all the times I tried it. This is big for someone who's just started boating. I'm looking forward to lots of cold/wet boating when the rain comes over the winter.

Lastly, i've been observing surgeries at a local hospital. It's awesome!!! I can't describe how awesome it is to be feet away from a heart that has stopped beating and stays that way for 45 minutes until it's warmed back up and starts beating on its own, or to see a surgeon saw and hack away bone pieces (some of which have landed on my shoes) from an arthritic knee getting replaced. It's amazing!

All in all things is pretty good right now. *Thanking the big guy for all my blessings in print*

Republicans Screwed Their Constituents?

2008-09-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

John Kerry just said that the republicans who voted against the bill today were showing cowardice and screwed their constiutents. I haven't seen any data but i'm pretty sure most people didn't want the bill to pass because they didn't think these issues on Wall Street would affect them. They emailed and called their respective congressmen and those congressmen voted. So how is it cowardice to vote the way your constituents want you to? I mean maybe cowardice to not say "I know better than they do" but then you just look like a pompous ass hole who doesn't care about what your constituents think.

Side question: why the fuck can't people fucking get along when the entire economy is at stake? It's like being on the play ground in fucking elementary school again playing the blame game, only everyone is wearing a suit!!! We pay these people a lot of money out of our taxes to handle these issues and they just want to talk about who's at fault. ugg!!!

10s go for 10s

2008-09-17T18:38:00.000-07:00

an interesting read about men who don't know where they "rank socially" (that's a term I use to describe where people fit in, and looks are a part of that fitting in).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26631462/?GT1=43001

pwnage

2008-09-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

all over physiology! it is the second time through the class, but I am still learning new stuff and am actually enjoying myself. I expect to pwn the test on Thursday.

Excitement and confusion

2008-09-14T05:43:00.000-07:00

There's a little bit of both running around my head. Both are stemming from thoughts of a woman... they [women] just have this way of monopolizing the male brain.

On a side-[and completely unrelated]note: I mailed my supplementary application into UAB's PA Program on Friday. The initial application was a last minute shot in the dark kind of thing but it seemed to work out one step further than I thought it would. I figure if I can get an interview, I feel like I could talk myself into a class slot... but I'll just keep myself grounded until I hear if I've got an interview or not.

Got a physiology test on Thursday... in the class of idiots who can't find an appendix in the book. I feel sorry for them, because I think this professor is going to test on a level that is higher than they are expecting. It will be an sort of Academic Darwinian Selection. :-)

Are you serious?!?!?!

2008-09-10T16:42:00.000-07:00

this actually happened in class yesterday... the "MM" stands for Mountain Matt (a nickname of mine amongst some friends. They were the primary recipients of the cartoon. for real... this actually happened!!! college students not knowing how to find the appendix!

Sweet!

2008-08-12T04:52:00.001-07:00

Went out to the lake yesterday and rolled for an hour. I did about 30 rolls and didn't have to swim out of my kayak once!!! Freaking Sweet!!!! I also saw Coach Atkins (now no longer a coach) from Thompson High School. He was going to ride his mountain bike around Oak Mountain. We talked for a bit and we plan to paddle together some over the winter.

Oh and normally I'm not a fan of the NY Times but this wasn't written by one of them peoples. It's written by a doctor and it's quite a good little essay:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/health/12essa.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

The results are in...

2008-07-31T08:53:00.000-07:00

So my PA results came in. I was selected as an alternate. I do not know how high or low on the alternate list I am. I will try to finnagle that information from the program manager here in a few weeks (I'm sure his email will be full for the next week from the other alternates wondering the same thing). I was super bummed out this morning when I read the list... a horrible sinking feeling came over me. Like nothing I've felt in a while. It was very similar to feeling like I failed miserably at something and I can't do anything about it. So what did I do?

I went and ate breakfast. A big greasy, egg, sausage, hash browns, coffee, and biscuits with gravy breakfast. Upon completion of breakfast I had come to terms with my emotional rut and am doing what I always do when things don't go my way: I figure out a way to make them go my way next time.

I am going to assume (unless I get a favorable email from the program manager) that I will not get picked up this year. I will reapply for the program next March. This Fall I will take that course that I have to. That and gaining clinical experience are the only ways to improve my application. To gain clinical experience I will find a PA at UAB's hospital to shadow and I will attempt to shadow the military PA who wrote my recommendation. If I get selected this year then the clinical experience will only help me and if I don't my application will be more competitive against the combat medics and other active duty health specialists whom I will be competing against next year.

On a side note: I don't think I've ever had as many frustrations or setbacks in any other facit of life as I have in trying to get into this program. Perhaps it will make me appreciate it a lot more when I finally get there.

Combat Rolling

2008-07-14T17:16:00.001-07:00

No this isn't a post about rolling through the dirt in combat. I recently started kayaking and I figured I must share some things I have learned about the sport. First things first: it is scary as shit being inside a boat stuck upside down under water!!! It goes against every instinct in your body (Don't be stuck inside of something, Don't be upside down under water, Don't panic whilst being upside down under water). The first thing you have to learn when wanting to become a white water kayaker is the expensiveness of the gear which you must have:
1: PFD - Personal Flotation Device $100
2: Helmet - Preferably a composite helmet $100
3: Spray Skirt - Keeps water from filling up your boat $100
4: Paddle - anywhere from $100-300
5: Kayak - $500-1000

That's just to get started. There's all kinds of bells and whistles to buy after that (But I must admit that it's cheaper than golf) It's a lot like all outdoor sports though: expensive to start, but gear should last a while.

Now the learnin part. The next thing you learn about after the expensive gear is the "Roll". When a kayak flips over (with either a white water or touring kayak) you can't just get it to right itself by struggling to get your head above water. If you try to get your head above water without performing the proper movements with your body and paddle, you'll only be stuck upside down... under water. You have to perform a complex series of movements that involve bracing your body against the boat and snapping your hips to get the buoyancy of the boat to work in your body's favor. The last movement you must perform is keeping your head tucked down (as in away from the air above the surface) so that it keeps your body in the right position for the boat to flip back over (naturally when first trying this you try to lift your head out of the water which only forces the boat to roll back over; the head must be the last thing to exit the water). Once you can do this somewhat confidently, you are said to have a Roll. Once you perform this roll in moving current (one typically learns their roll in calm waters like a lake or pool) you are said to have a combat roll.

I have combat rolled only once. The second time I tried I was fascinated at how the different water features shook both my body and my kayak. Oh did I forget something? How, if I didn't combat roll the second time I tried, am I still here? One thing I forgot to mention was if you don't roll up, you pop your spray skirt off of the rim of the kayak and swim out of the boat. This is better than drowning but only by a little bit and here's why: once you leave the boat you leave 60-70 gallons of air keeping you at the surface of the water, this means you can get foot entrapped in the rapids or banged up on rocks, also you can lose your expensive equipment by swimming. Clearly it's another one of those extreme sport for adrenaline junkies, much like climbing ;-)

There's your kayak lesson for the day. It's about all I know so far ;-) Ideally I'll be able to update on the PA School thingy by the end of the week ;-) in an Un-Ideal world I could have to wait until August... :-/

How about a 1 hard-drive, over-medium... make sure it smiles too

2008-05-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

Luck would have it that plans to plug up my new power supply to order a back up hardrive would be a little too late. After plugging up the power supply to the hard drive, I turned on the computer. A natural thing to do. Next thing I see is smoke [not as natural] coming from my computer case where the hard drive is. FUCK!!! I turned off the computer within seconds of seeing this and removed the hard drive.

There's a nice little burned spot on the green card on the outside of the hard-drive ... it speaks to me... saying I should have backed stuff up sooner...I stare at it for a minute, agreeing with it's sentiment highlighting my ineptitude in getting it done sooner ... it speaks to me again "might as well break out the vasilene and lube up because you're going to have to bend over and take it to pay to get the data inside me retrieved..." I can almost see a devilish smile in the charred spot...

Why not 4 sheets to the wind????

2008-05-25T23:06:00.000-07:00

So i've imbibed a bit of the adult beverage and am wondering why settle with saying 3 sheets to the wind? why not got for 4 or 5 or 10 sheets? maybe its atypical to see more than 2 sheets on a bed so 3 sheets satisfies the atypical behavior of being drunk??? i dont know... i've had a bit to drink and already I feel like i've exceeded my backspace count for this writing. went to a wedding yesterday... it was great! im happy for my friends who got married! go melissa and david, may you never meet the real life encament known as divorce!!! you guys would have wonderful intelligent babies so at least procreate before any trouble hits! met a young woman who climbs at the wedding... fancy that?! shes single and cute... too bad i'll be out of town all summer... maybe i should go "40 year old virgin style" and "plant seeds"? i'm going to call her tomorrow night to set up a climbing get together for wednesday at the boulder fields... good luck to us i think? i don't know... as i think about getting to know somebody new the thought of dating, and exclusive-ity (even in my drunken stupor i know this is not a word) seems utterly lame and the thought of just hanging out with someone who shares an interest in the outdoors seems much better... no pressure... just the birds, the bees, and nature... hmmm maybe that was the thought process when condoms were thought up??? wow what an ADD post... just figured i'd post some whilst i felt compelled...

A red-neck... in Australia?!

2008-05-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

Australian Man Fined for Using Seat Belt for Case of Beer, Not Child

LOL

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355265,00.html

A soliloquy for someone I know not

2008-05-07T09:48:00.000-07:00

Young female at the movie theater, I'll give you an E for effort in at least trying to establish some kind of communication with me, however I must critique your methods. Acting like a giddy high school girl does not appeal to a 23 year old. Asking how old I am, was an acceptable way to start a conversation as far as I'm concerned but to follow it with asking if I'm single with a high-school-esk little grin sent you spiralling down to crash and burn almost like a plane with a wing torn off in mid flight. Unfortunately for you I don't date people I don't know, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I didn't find you attractive. Sorry about my hasty response to the single question ["I'm always single"] followed by a retreat to the movie in which I planned to see [Iron Man, quite good actually] but I figured it was the easiest way to be direct, not lie, and avoid any awkwardness.

A lot of girls wouldn't even ask those 2 starter questions. Guys sometimes have issues getting over the hump of starting a conversation with girls they don't know and girls like you make that easier. So keep your chin up and keep trying, someone will find your questionaire-ing attractive and pursue further conversation with you.

What Nobel Prizes should be about...

2008-05-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,217701,00.html?sPage=fnc/scitech/naturalscience
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,300645,00.html?sPage=fnc/scitech/naturalscience
http://www.time.com/time/time100/scientist/profile/watsoncrick.html

NOT THIS:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21262661/

Discussion:

Yes, Mr. Gore is a very smart man. He is very passionate about alerting everyone to climate change. He alerted everyone to potential disaster via media. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a fancy-smancy award for media-based awesomeness? Oh yea, that's right... it's called a Pullitzer. So how does one compile the scientific research done by someone else into an educational film and get a Nobel Peace Prize for it?!

It's long past the event, but I felt inspired after reading about the 2 Nobel's on the foxnews page.

Found a "stone phallus" :-)

2008-05-06T11:07:00.000-07:00

yet another great article on sex. found in the natural science part of Foxnews.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269115,00.html

Adult Content - Not suitable for kids

2008-04-23T11:52:00.001-07:00

You've been warned. this article http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352278,00.html sites a study that found men who masturbated more than 5 times per week were 1/3 less likely to develop prostate cancer. That's one out of every 3... that's pretty good odds for what amounts to a few minutes of "work" every day.

Now the problem: what if someone is Christian and their religious views are not accepting of masturbation? what about that awesome grey area that fundamentalists claim doesn't exist?

Masturbation is frowned upon for the lustful thinking, taking away the value of the human body, and waste of "seed" (seemed like the most appropriate word). However, in this sense one could pursue the deed 5 times a week in the mind-set of self preservation in order to do more of God's work here on Earth before they die. Now if one were to choose not to masturbate for religious reasons, they are giving up a 33 % chance of not having to deal with this often fatal form of cancer. Sounds like it could go either way. Also contrary to popular belief, not all guys do the deed that much. My information comes from casual conversation with dudes throughout my life so I can't claim my "not all" qualifier as scientific. Some guys may not prefer to masturbate that often, but if they decided to "bite the bullet" and do it for health reasons... is that wrong?

Just some adult food for thought.

On a side note: The article sites the ejaculation of fluids is the most likely reason. So in a monogymous, STD-free relationship, I'm sure the same benefits would come for sexual intercourse or other sexual activities leading to ejaculation 5 times a week.

Paying for a forced review!

2008-04-16T08:42:00.001-07:00

Confusing title eh? Well my Mammalian Physiology class is not being accepted Human Physiology by the Army PA Program (Even though UAB's PA Program accepts it). So I must take Human Physiology (a freshman level pre-nursing class) next fall in order to keep my packet eligible for selection. I was pretty bummed about it when I found out because the Mammalian class was all Human, we didn't study any other mammalian systems. Also, the Mammalian class is a senior level Biology Major course which is substantially more difficult than the pre-nursing class (elitist biology major jab to the face of pre-nursing students). I'm in the process of being re-admitted to UAB in order to take the class in the Fall. I'm putting a positive spin on it (even though I've got to pay $500 for a class I've already had) and saying that it's an oppurtunity for review and to get back into the swing of the academic world before PA School. I'll probably work here at Mountain High again but only 2-3 days a week (not on weekends) to get good prodeals and make some cash on the side.

Here's to the Asians

2008-03-27T10:11:00.001-07:00

Got my SAT scores online today. I scored a culmulative 1890 out of 2400. My 2 english/writing sections averaged in the 77 and 79 % which is fine. English has never been my forte really. My essay was good i guess, I got 4's from both readers (out of a possible 6). If you know me then you know my opinion about writing a quality essay in 20 minutes :-P However, I will giggle quietly about my Math score - 710. I only missed 5 questions and I scored in the 95 %. I'm betting the only people who scored better were Asians... so here's to them. Anywho, this score is more than enough to qualify me for PA School. I needed to score a 1500 and the recommended score was a 1600 or better so I'm well above the cuff. On a more self-deprecating note: being a college graduate I was kind of hoping for a 2000 but I'll take the ballin math score and the typical english scores. Once I receive my scores via mail, I will call and verify that the right people at Fort Knox have received them and just chill out. There's nothing more to do after that. I'll sit and wait until August.

:-D

Nice to know

2008-03-18T11:45:00.000-07:00

If I ever question my sexual preference, I've got options. Saw this as an advertisement on Myspace.

www.gaymilitarydating.com

Remember them

2008-03-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18338428/

As I consider a career in the military medical field, I have to acknowledge and come to terms with the fact that I may one day be one of the soldiers on this web page. It's important to take a little time to appreciate and remember those who gave all. Soldiers like these are the very reason Americans can read this blog in English.

I'm a dynamic leader

2008-03-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.personaldna.com/report.php?k=wfsDercFRKngGeX-OL-AAACD-183f

those of you who know me will find this report to be spot-on. Thanks kiki for the link (you didn't know it but i saw it on FB). amazingly accurate!

Just worship your omnipotent being, and i'll worship mine

2008-03-05T10:01:00.001-08:00

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,334822,00.html

read the article. it's about someone in denmark reviving offensive muslim cartoons. everyone in afghanistan is upset. well if they made a cartoon about jesus and the bible, i wouldn't care. i wouldn't get my panties in a wad about what people in another country are able to choose to do under their laws.

2 statements in the article are worth addressing:

'Spanta said freedom of speech should be used to promote "equality and peace between nations" and to exchange information.'

-No argument here. we should all try to be peaceful people, but it is not a requirement of our existence.

'"Freedom of speech must not be used to make a billion Muslims cry," he said.'

-Why are they so ready to cry about it? Maybe it's a difference in beliefs, but in christianity we are called to suffer and be persecuted. So if someone were to attack our beliefs, we should not fret about it.

Maybe i don't understand muslim beliefs in regards to their religion being attacked but still... it's a rather large world with a lot of people in it and it doesn't make any sense to get upset when someone doesn't agree with your beliefs and exercises their right to speak about it. just ignore it and continue to worship your omnipotent being.

Taken it to the General!

2008-02-29T19:30:00.001-08:00

Went out climbing today. Shortly before meeting aaron and bryan out at the rocks, I went and got some hard climbing in, since i would just be showing them around and doing stuff i'd already done. One guy showed me a problem called General Lee. Staring at it you really wonder the finger width cracks are good enough to hold body weight and the scant foot features are intimidating. At a tall (approximate) 18 feet high, it's definitely a difficult problem in more ways than one. I stacked my crash pad on top of Jim's and he showed me the beta for it. Then i hopped on. Starting on a big horn, working feet up almost to my waste allowed for the first reach to a solid crimper. Locking off with the thumb i eyed up the next move. Again, fastidious use of feet on this problem is key, as one would need super-human hand strength to just pull up on the crimpers without any solid foot placement. Next move was rather strained: work feet up slowly, bumping one up, then the other. Contraction of the abs into the wall and stretch right hand out. Bam! Another solid crimper but the amount of ab and footwork getting to this point starts to take its toll. Next move is to the worst crimp on the problem, but only 3-4 feet from the top of the problem. I work my feet, reach and barely grab it and fall the roughly 12 feet to the crash pad. It took me many attempts to get this worked out beta but i feel it is awesome that i worked it all out in one little 20 minute session (with lots of help from Jim). It's goin down next time! A fabulous problem and boy it makes for an exhilarating fall when you're near the top of it.

JLH look alike

2008-02-29T07:01:00.000-08:00

saw this girl out at the boulder fields yesterday. of course in outdoor fashion, she was surrounded by several dudes, but this is to be expected. she seemed really cool and damn she was hot. she has lean feminine features that reminded me of Jennifer Love Hewitt... only more attractive! she was even shit talking one of the guys about his climbing. maybe ill get lucky and will be able to catch her climbing by herself one day so i can talk to her.

Some women just need a security blanket

2008-02-27T09:58:00.000-08:00

im not bitching, more explaining a thought process when i read a statement such as the following:

“I do not call guys until we’re dating exclusively. I let him take the initiative.”

—Amorales314, Memphis, TN

I mean really... you have to put a label on things to call someone? Has he asked you out? If so he has already taken initiative... you know that he has the ability to. Not calling at all may make a guy feel like someone isn't interested.

Someone having this philosophy when it comes to dudes sounds like a way for them to make the guy stroke their ego. If they call you, you know that they want to talk to you. You are being paid attention to. Maybe if a guy doesn't have enough self esteem to call it quits when it seems like you aren't interested enought o call him, he'll make for a wonderful security blanket who will be able to shower you with the attention you need to feel good about yourself.

lol sad really... but still funny

It's out of my hands now

2008-02-22T11:52:00.000-08:00

My packet for PA school is en route to Fort Knox. There's nothing else I can do except move on with my life and wait for word of either acceptance or lack there of. I feel as if I have grown attached to this little bundle of paperwork, after all I've put about 50 ish hours into preparation and paid nearly $100 (if not more) to get everything that I needed. I anticipated needing a moment to work up the courage to mail it off, being that once it's sealed in an envelope, it's completely out of my control. Interestingly enough, I felt as if I were about to audition for something on my saxophone. Countless hours of preparation all pointing toward one event in time that either produces fruit as result of the effort, or leaves me wanting. On the drive to the mail center I was nervous, running through every sheet of paper in my head, visualizing all the signatures I had gotten and making one last mental check. Entering the mail center felt like entering those judges rooms from sax auditions. The nervousness went away while I focussed on the task at hand: putting the proper mailing address on the envelope and selecting the right form of mail. Addressed and paid for I walked out of the mail center with little recollection of what I wrote, but just like with auditions where I forgot the music after I left the judges room, I knew with complete confidence that my preparation and planning came through and that I did not need to worry about it. Everything is in order. It's out of my hands now.

It's all in the fingers

2008-02-14T20:31:00.000-08:00

I went climbing today. It was awesome! I started working a little V2 problem that I had never really tried. First time back in a few months and it didn't go so well. That was to be expected though so I kept trying, changing my feet, grabbing at different parts of the same hold from different angles. It shouldn't be too hard to make the top-out reach next time. We shall see nameless-V2-problem-that-lies-20-feet-to-the-left-of-shapeshifter! I moved on to go and work another V2 problem called Long Shot. This was a painful endevour in more ways than one. For startes my fingers were talking to me from my short work on the other V2; screaming in the absence of any kind of callous on any of the fingers. Next my knee hurt a little bit when i had to do the starting heel-hook. It's felt funny before but I've never tried it more than one time while being out there. Today I worked the start 3-4 so my knee is a little sore. It's weird cause it's rooted in the outside of the knee, almost like it's a problem with a tendon that is connecting to the lateral epicondyles of my tibia :-) Luckily there were a other climbers who wanted to climb Long Shot too... and they smoked my ass! But it true hippy style, they were not arrogant and were eager to give me pointers (known as beta in the climbing community). I finished my 2 hour session working on a problem that is probably a V1 called Cheese is Good. I've tried this one in the past but today I got 2 moves higher than I ever have. I took a nice 8 foot fall onto my brand spankin new crash pad. It's the first real fall it took. It has been deflowered :-P

The fingers are sore but they will be for a few weeks.

A beautiful afternoon and day outside, I cleaned my car, drank two beers, and tidied up my room a bit. Didn't even realize it was V-day til about 5:00 this evening.

Euphoric 2 weeks

2008-02-02T16:42:00.000-08:00

The past 2 weeks have been absolutely amazing!

1) Ordered some "higly discounted awesomeness" as I told Bob.
2) Hung out with Bob, Kiki, Jon Payne, and Mackenzie last weekend!
3) Took the Combat Lifesaver Course at Camp Shelby MS... This bullet deserves it's own post. More about these 4 days of nervana later!
4) Got almost all of my paperwork mostly or completely filled out!
5) Wrote my letter of intent to the PA School and sent it to my PA who wrote my recommendation!
6) She said that it was great and very thorough. She said not to change a thing. Nice little ego boost to the writing skills there.
7) Went and ate at Ryan's last night. Anyone who has eaten there knows that they don't have cooks in the back, they have chefs! And its all you can eat!
8) Im getting paid for 1.5 weeks of Army duty.
9) I'm going to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousin tomorrow and will visit my grandpa on Wednesday.
10) I have a cup of coffee next to me, family, friends, a job, plans for life, no disabilities, and a positive attitude.

11) Added late: I had 3 friends that I hung out with regularly while taking CLC at Camp Shelby.

What an awesome two weeks. When I think about all of that, it further solidifies the fact that I feel blessed by all the good fortunes in my life and my upbringing. Sure I don't have a lady friend, but hell! with all that stuff I've done in the last week and a half, I don't have time for one anyways so here's to being single, enjoying life, and taking advantage of opportunities!

My stack of paper

2008-01-25T12:20:00.000-08:00

The word to describe my stack of paper would have to be redundant. There are several sheets of paper all with the same information on them arranged in slightly different ways. This stack of paper is most of what i'll be submitting for my attempt at this army PA deal. I have to fill them all out and get various peoples signatures on them. I went and picked up a letter of recommendation today. Things are starting to come together but there's still A LOT to do. I'll be at camp shelby next week for a Combat Lifesaver Course. The following week I'll be in New Orleans. The next week I get back I'll take my SAT, get my Army Photo, and mail off my packet. wow... it's so close yet so far away.

Navajo Hills I Laugh at Thee!!!

2008-01-18T18:24:00.000-08:00

So I have been running 5-6 miles 3 times a week as of late. It started very laboriously and now it has gotten to where I'm starting to want to run longer than an hour, farther than 6 miles. At first it was very difficult because of the hills in the neighborhood I live in. These hills are monstrous at first glance, but they seem to get smaller every time I run up one. Tonight I ran after it got dark, so instead of leaving the neighborhood for a few miles and coming back, I opted to just do a long circuit in the neighborhood so I wouldn't get killed by the idiot drivers on the road racing to buy milk and bread for the impending snowstorm. I ran almost all of the really big ones in the neighborhood, either running up them, or running down them after getting up a big one. I can only think of one that I did not even go up... I will devise a circuit so this hill will not be left unscathed on my next run.

On that note, there is a poster at work that says that mountain running is a powerful narcotic. It's an ad for expensive trail running/technical running shoes. While the hills in my neighborhood do not amount to mountains, I can see how the mindset of "I will run that hill on my next run" can monopolize workout plans and become very addictive. I'm to a point in my fitness and ambition that I wish there were larger hills and mountains to run up. I have one or two in mind but after that what will I run up? I'm also considering running some of the powerline hills in the area. Ya know those long high hills on the side of the road where there are powerlines and no trees? Yes those... we'll see how that works out.

Music people are successful

2008-01-16T19:40:00.000-08:00

83 % of people making 150,000+ a year have had musical training. Band nerds/Choir geeks unite! I wonder where the jocks stand... :-D

Here's the link:

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/financial-planning/family-estates/article/higher-earning-power-adults-music-kids-ears_389845_30.html

Im an idiot!

2008-01-16T19:02:00.001-08:00

When it comes to verbal reasoning questions where I cannot ask and verify the intent/implications of what is being said, I am absolutely retarded. Tonight whist working a reading comprehension test i missed 15 questions out of 60, down from 20 on the 2 previous tests... yay... but boy howdy on the analogy/complete the sentence sections I missed 28 out of 60. *Waves frantically in the air* "Hey Mom! I broke 50 percent!!!!" Never before have I realized that when I communicate, I'm always asking questions and verifying that I am interpreting the messages people are sending me correctly. And never before have I been more frustrated with not being able to ask those questions. I will continue to study though, in the hope that it my SAT score will benefit. My only wildcard up my sleeve is that I am using professional-level test prep books (MCAT, GRE, GMAT) to prepare and hopefully this stuff is a lot harder than what is used to evaluate a junior in high school.

In other news more positive: I deposited a nice sum of money in the bank today, my parents are still letting me reside in their home while I get this shit done, and I had warm clothes and food on a very cold day.

After that last paragraph life isn't bad at all. I just have to get those little minor frustrations out so that they won't pollute the good ... non-frustrations? yea, that'll be what I'll call them.

Apparently Ignoramus was an understatement

2008-01-14T07:21:00.000-08:00

So they managed to fuck things up again. One more trip to Montgomery, still no physical. I'm so pissed I don't even want to fucking talk about it.

Todays word is ignoramus

2008-01-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

it must have been fate that this word was selected for today. I just drove to Montgomery AL to get a physical done so i could go active duty. Well, when i got there, turns out they didn't have all the right people to fill out my paperwork so i'm going to have to go back another day. All that wasted gas and time because an ignoramus gave me the wrong information over the phone. so yea, i'm fucking pissed off right now... but at least i got a chuckle out of the choice in the word of the day.

Perspective from the Fallen

2008-01-07T09:28:00.001-08:00

Go read this gentleman's last blog post. It may take a few minutes to read, but if you don't see yourself as being someone who could serve in the military, at least take a few moments to read about it and remember those who do. It is a testament of the kinds of individuals who serve their country in our military overseas and at home.

http://andrewolmsted.com/archives/2008/01/final_post.html

RIP Major Olmsted.

In my dreams

2008-01-04T06:24:00.001-08:00

I dreamed of this years river season starting. Seeing all my buddies up there and going down the river. I can't wait. It's going to be a great year, I can feel it! Now that I pumped up and ready to go I've got that little issue with it not starting for 3 more months :-P

AHHHH!!!!

2008-01-03T10:33:00.001-08:00

Only 6 weeks to do all this paperwork, take the SAT, and shadow a PA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UGGGGG!!!! I've never experienced nervousness like this before, but then again I've never had all my eggs in one basket when it came to life before either!!!

ok... i feel better that i got all that negative energy out of me.

Backpacking

2007-12-30T19:33:00.001-08:00

Went backpacking with some peeps these last 3 days. We went up to Savage Gulf in middle Tennessee. We hiked in 6 miles the first night and I wowed everyone with a trick to start a fire i learned from "Backpacker" the magazine. The crew consisted of myself and another very experienced backpacker and somewhat novice outdoorsman and the rest of the bunch were noobies (robert, taylor, max, kelly, leah, and emily who wasn't a noob), otherwise known as noobz from here on out. The first night I decided to sleep outside in my sleeping bag by the fire. It's an amazing thing to sleep in the woods under the stars without any roof over your head. It is quite possibly one of my favorite things to do backpacking :-) Then one of my least favorite things happened: it started to get rained on in the early morning. I had setup my tent the night before just in case and quickly got all my stuff in the tent before anything got really wet. I decided while it wasn't raining hard that I'd fertilize a plant or two before the storm got really bad. Right in the middle lightning struck and the flash practically blinded me. At first I thought it had been close so I stopped and ran to my tent. After getting into the tent I realized that the thunder was late and that the lightning strike had occurred many miles away. Turns out that the clouds seemed to have acted like fiber-optic cable with the light from the strike making it seem like the strike was right next to me. Pretty swanky if you ask me.
The next day we got up VERY late. We didn't get on the trail until 10:30. Usually on my trips that I take with experienced peeps we are taking our first or second break at 10:30. The reason for getting up so late was the rain. It rained on us all day Friday. We had a pretty rigorous last mile and a half or so up this hill. We had to go up hill whilst scampering across wet rocks right next to cliff edges. Cool stuff :-D Anywho, we got to our campsite and we started to setup. I saw a dead tree and had a bit of a survivor-man moment. I ran over and started cutting away wet bark and sure enough the core of the tree was dead DRY wood! Robert asked if I had been through survival training. I took it as a compliment and told him that I had read a lot about survival. Later that night it took us an hour to build a fire. An hour of blowing on embers, feeding wet wood, getting smoke into our eyes and lungs, and then starting over with the blowing. It was the hardest fire I've ever had a hand in starting but it was the best and most appreciated fire I've ever had a hand in too. Later that night I went to the privy (read outdoor hole in the ground) with the 3 girls. I told them about how concerned I was that morning with it being rainy and how I wasn't sure how they would hold up. I then told them that they had done a great job and proceeded to teach them how to find spiders in the dark with a flashlight.
The next day we got up late again. Taylor and I got up early and drank all of my hot chocolate (2 packs each). I would have offered some to anyone else up... but no one was up so our second cups were our rewards for being the early birds of the group. We left and hiked the 8 miles over relatively flat terrain compared to the day before. After that we ate at Ryan's buffett. AMAZING after 3 days in the sticks. Then we drove home.
I forgot to mention that I possibly recruited Robert to come raft with Hi-C next summer. He's an awesome dude and the company would be better with him on staff provided he makes it through training.
It was an awesome 3 days for old friends, new friends, and the strangers we met on the trail. We toughed out a day of rain to have a beautiful third day on the trail. All the noobz said that they would do it again given time to recover and I told them that they were no longer noobz. It's [backpacking] a narcotic I need to get a hit of more than once a year!!!!!

New Experience

2007-12-30T19:27:00.000-08:00

I experienced the closest thing to what i would call the feeling of "love at first sight". Cheesy yes, and a more accurate description would be infatuation at first sight. I saw her and everyone in the room disappeared. I was fixated on her light blue eyes and had to consciously tell myself to keep from staring at her. I wanted at that moment in time to just get to know everything about her. I can't explain the reaction... anywho... we hung out a bit and after getting to know her, I can't stop thinking about her. Too bad she has a half way decent boyfriend :-P She grew up with multiple siblings and doesn't appear to be selfish/high maintenance. She enjoys doing things outside too. She has a kind smile that would light up a room and a ready laugh that she uses a lot. All very spiffy traits with the ladyfolk. So basically I'm pretty smitten for this girl after A) knowing that she has a bf B) knowing that she lives not here in birmingham and C) there is probably little chance of anything happening between us. But still... I am left in a state of awe... I don't understand it. Perhaps she will fade from my mind with time, or maybe I'll always think about her. Maybe we will meet later on in life or maybe we were only meant to meet each other once. We'll see how this new experience affects me.

just for clarification: i don't expect this to be a permanent imprint on my mind, i just felt like writing about it since i never feel like this after seeing someone.

Going backpacking!!

2007-12-26T06:44:00.000-08:00

Going backpacking and then climbing on saturday. should be an excellent couple of days for it. we'll be up at Savage Gulf TN. I'm totally stoked!!! Lataz!!!!

Just a few good reasons to partake of the marital fruits.

2007-12-18T12:15:00.000-08:00

this is awesome. if you ever have a spouse who just isn't into it as much as you are, you need to refer them to this link.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,317189,00.html

Some people would be better off smothering themselves with their pillow in their sleep.

2007-12-17T21:36:00.000-08:00

Had an awesome customer tonight. She was the biggest bitch i've ever seen... in my life. She starts off by coming in wanting to return a really technical piece of climbing equipment. Our policy is that we can't do any kind of refund or exchange on climbing equipment. To save you the specifics on why, i'll just generalize and say that you can't guarantee that the equipment was treated properly and hence can't rely on it to save someone's life. It's a policy to protect both the customers and the store. There's the background, here's the rest:

She comes in wanting to return an Ascender. She says that it's a left handed ascender and she needs a right handed one. I told her that we couldn't take them back, but called over a former manager to verify. She then gives me this monologue about how she's spent 60 dollars in gas to come get it and then to bring it back and our company shouldn't have sold her this piece of equipment and we should have known which one was the right one... i stopped her and simply stated that she'd have to wait for our current manager to come back. I then tried to ignore her but she kept wanting to talk about how that's not right for us to do that and we could take it back and send it to the manufacturer; it's our loss if we lose money, she shouldn't be held accountable.

Now let me take a break to highlight some alternatives to what she did
1. She could have known what the fuck she was looking for before she bought a piece of equipment that is going to save her fucking life!!!!! HOLY SHIT!!!!
2. She could have asked if we did returns on merchandise just like every other customer.
3. She could have read the sign stating that we cannot do returns on climbing items once they leave the store.
4. She could have called ahead to verify before she drove all the way from fucking tuscaloosa to return something.

So now that i proven that she is a dumb ass let me continue.

My manager gets back and she gives him the same sob story. Mr. B, being the awesome manager that he is, told her he couldn't do anything about it and the responsibility of the purchase is on the customer. She insinuated that we didn't know what we are talking and that we should know about these things and he simply replied that we are knowledgeable about our products but if she were buying a technical piece of gear like that, she should have known what she was looking for because it's kind of an issue of her life and all. Apparently she realized that she was cornered so she then said that she didn't appreciate us tricking her into buying faulty/wrong gear. On a side note: the guy who sold it to her was there and said he pulled out both ascenders and that she chose which one she bought. i don't remember the rest but Mr. B held firm and informed her that we were qualified to sell the equipment we carried but again that it was her responsibility to know about what she was buying. (I think that she thought that since we work at an outdoor store we must be certified professionals in every facet of the outdoors)

Take a breath before you read this next sentence.

She then called her daddy (he was not present at the time of purchase and the ascender was not for him) and tells him that we tricked her into buying this and now she can't get her money back and we are just a terrible company and handed her cell phone (with her dad on the other line) to Mr. B.

Fucking awesome isn't it?!!? This girl is fucking 20 something years old and calling her daddy to help her because she's a fucking dumb ass.

So anyways, since he had gotten the skewed version of what happened, Mr. B spent about 10 minutes talking to him and explaining why we couldn't take it back. Apparently peoples lives and federal regulatory laws don't mean shit when his little girl is upset.

Mr. B told him to call one of the owners. The owner called Mr. B and made him take it back. On a relevant side note, before calling her dad she called her boyfriend and he came in wanting to know why we couldn't take the Ascender back. Oh wait, we were just kidding, she was a woman and didn't know what she was talking about but we'll let you get the money back since you are the boyfriend. While Mr. B was talking with the girl's father, she was standing off to the side pouting and he was trying to console her like something terrible has happened. I wanted to beat his fucking ass for being such a spineless bastard and a waste of sperm as a man.

Mr. B was not happy about being told to do the return and im not either.
1. This girl has just been shown that all she has to do in life is run to daddy and he'll fix everything. Maybe when she needs him for something important he'll be seriously ill or unable to answer the call.
2. Mr. B has basically just been told to stuff it when he was looking out for the interests of everyone else except for this one customer. He was upholding company policy and keeping other climbers safe. Apparently that wasn't important enough because this one chick had never been told "no" in life.
3. Worst of all the owner just put other customers at risk. This girl said she hadn't opened the box and she probably didn't but that doesn't mean the next person will be the same way. All they have to do is come back and whine and they can return something without verification that it is still able to save someone's life when they need it. Just for clarification: these pieces of equipment are made out of aluminum to save on weight, but aluminum if dropped can get micro fractures that can cause equipment failure... not a good thing when your life depends on it.

i said this to a friend when i got online:

me: if i would have had a ____ (object edited out in interest of self preservation) i would have _____ (action edited out in interest of self preservation) her right there in the store... not to satisfy my frustration but to rid her fucking genes from the damned gene pool before she procreates

Friend: aww

couldn't you just beam some x-rays at her pelvis and sterilize her?

me: she could still be a surrogate mother

Friend: sigh

me: really... the fact that we have to breathe the same air bothers me as of tonight

Friend: but then her genes wouldn't carry on

me: before i never knew her but now that i know she and people like her exist... it really bothers me

new experiences and passion actualized

2007-12-14T13:57:00.000-08:00

i went to camp shelby for 2 weeks of leadership training. it was awesome. i ended up graduating at the top of my classes and i learned a lot of stuff about the normal army that i never knew (since im in a band unit and all). i met 16 other unique individuals and had some new experiences as a result. the most notable experience (not related to military stuff) was meeting and talking to a fellow biologist who happened to be at Outback steakhouse one night when we went out to eat. She was sitting next to one of my classmates and he started talking to her. Once he found out she was a biologist he promptly goaded me to switch seats with him (he was married and knew he wouldn't understand her biology speak anyway). Her name is heather and we got together for dinner/coffee two more times. she has restored my faith that there are sane/smart/attractive women out there; that is not a cut at katie, kiki, nancy, and the very few other females who would be exceptions from that statement. anywho... i got her phone number and email and hope to keep in contact with her because she is quite cool.

this training has motivated to get my shit together for the PA program more than anything ever has. i love getting up early to work out with those i will work with all day. i love slaving through bullshit with soldiers only to go out at the end of the day and down some drinks together like we have been lifelong friends. i love the discipline and attention to detail that is required to be in the military. i love the camaraderie of it all. i always thought my main passion was science and medicine, but i realized at this school that my main passion is to work with soldiers, with all that science/medicine stuff a very close second. Soldiers are some of the finest individuals you could ever meet from a professional stand point and i can't wait until one day i am in charge of taking care of their health needs. luckily there is a job in the Army that takes care of fulfilling both of my passions. now its just a matter of some paper work and some waiting and i'll get my answer as to whether the PA deal with happen next year.

Solid excrement!

2007-11-09T20:16:00.000-08:00

Believe me, after my week it's totally worth celebrating!

Eyes are the window to the soul

2007-11-02T21:11:00.002-07:00

The learning curve of working retail is like a graph of y=0 which means that there is no learning curve. it takes being told how to do something once and that's it. I didn't anticipate learning something more than how to entertain myself when the only customers coming in the door want north face jackets. I checked out several young customers tonight, probably in their high schoolish teens. Several of them seemed to be frustrated with actually having to deal with money and pay for things. One had a credit card in her name which mommy and daddy pay, she had over charged it and then proceeded to call her mom and bitch about it until her mom came down to buy her the jacket. I've started noticing peoples' eyes. If you really know me you know that I like looking at ladies' eyes, but I've started noticing how you can tell if someone's eyes sparkle or if they are just dull; devoid of any happy sentiment. I guess I felt like I truly understood the eyes being the window to the soul tonight. A young girl probably about 16 had really tired eyes. She seemed like someone who lacked patience and she was very abrasive when asking about checking out. Another girl had seemingly rich brown eyes and she was quite bubbly. Some shit went down with the register and I had to switch and she didn't mind a bit; she was probably 15.

Finished rafting, wanna-be's, and the SAT

2007-10-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

So a lot has happened in the last month or so. I have finished rafting this season. It's nice cause the other guides have left me alone the last month of the season. I guess I had finally earned my place in the hierarchy that they have established up there. One guide even went far enough to say that I was the rookie of the year, but I'm sure this was also a result of the fact that I was the only one that stayed and partied with them on Friday and Saturday nights. I am definately looking forward to returning next year, not so much to push around first year guides, but to have a season where I'm not catching shit. A season to just chill out and not have to answer to anyone because of the number of years I have been guiding. And I'll have a boat or be getting a boat by then so I'll be able to really get into kayaking. *Fingers crossed on that last bit*

I have begun 2 things in the last week that are fun at the moment. I am working at Mountain High Outfitters in the mall and I am starting to study seriously for the SAT. I am already growing cynical of the way we make money at Mountain High: selling north face jackets to people who only want the brand name, not an actual jacket that will be durable for outside activities. They are all wanna-bes in my opinion. I know I mentioned that it's fun there; the fun part is when I actually get to talk about gear and activities and help people find exactly what they need. I must say though that a lot of them what me to make a decision for them. They don't realize that it's my job to present their options so they can choose.

I'm glad I decided to check out a prep book for the SAT because I'm really going to need to hit it in order to get a good score. I felt like "i have a degree, im smart, i took calculus..." but none of that is really applicable to high school BS that I've forgotten. All that wonderful algebra 2 that you never use in calculus. I'm thinking about making a study schedule but I never do well when I make a written schedule. As long as I keep track of things in my head I'm usually ok (I think it's weird how it works but whatever).

Thats about it. I'm going to learn 5 words now.

Probably more than you want to hear

2007-09-25T17:26:00.000-07:00

I was listening to a radio broadcast this morning and a woman said that she's is called a dirty whore by her husband frequently (in a good, "I have a healthy sex life" kind of way). It reminded me of something kiki once thought of for a T-shirt: "monogamous slut". Aside from the fact that these two phrases make my mind stray to less than moral thoughts, it also confirms that this kind of mentality is something that is definitely a must in a future wifey. Someone who has a healthy outlook on sexuality and would have a very open mind in regards to it.

I survived and my custies did too!

2007-09-24T15:01:00.000-07:00

So i guided the upper section of the ocoee this past saturday! it was intense. it was all that difficult, you just have to really be on your game because the consequences of messing up are severe. For example the upper doesn't run as much as the middle so the rocks are less eroded and are still pretty sharp. But anywho, i ran through the upper without a hitch. i got a verbal slap on the back by all my fellow guides on the trip for not dumping my crew at the 2 rapids that flip people. it was a combo trip so we guided the middle section after the upper and several of the senior guides messed up and had to buy beer. Yay for drinking on account of someone else's mess up. i had an extremely weak crew on the upper, which is not that good. the rapids are a lot bigger and you need more momentum going into them to run them correctly. anywho... my bro came up and we ran the middle section in a smaller version of a raft. it was awesome. i dumped him out at a safe spot and he enjoyed it. we also surfed at a good spot and he giggled like a 12 year old girl the whole time! it was awesome! a good weekend fo sho.

Natural Highness

2007-09-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

Got a big runner's high tonight. I ran 6 miles and walked another one :-) I'll take it considering i've only been back into running for a week and a half! woot!

My brother can be such an ass hole

2007-09-16T22:17:00.000-07:00

So i get in late tonight from the river. I'll write about the weekend when i'm in a little bit better mood. so i get home and the bro is on his computer. the light is on. i try to go to sleep. doesn't work too well. i don't say anything. then i hear said bro say to a friend online that he would call them. now he doesn't realize that talking late at night can keep people from going to sleep when they have to be up at 6:00 in the morning. It's 12:20 now. yay... so anywho... i ask him if he could please go downstairs to talk to this chick so i could get some sleep since oh yea... i kinda do have to be up at 6:00 in the fucking morning. he tries to shush me and tells me i won't hear him and proceeds to interrupt all of my fervent protests against this action of his. i mention that he's being a fuck wad for interrupting me; if you don't know, i can't stand to be interrupted repeatedly, to me that is a verbal slap in the face and i won't stand for it. so anyways i make the point that i need to be up early and he's going to keep me up, he says that i've had my computer on before with my sound up and it kept him up. I mention that he never told me it bothered him and he responds with something like "yea, that's because i'm not a baby and i deal with it". yea... great way to difuse the situation dude... im the one tired from a weekend and have to get up early and you instigate an argument over something as simple as walking downstairs to talk on the fucking phone. it's all a power trip and him wanting to get under my skin. great night to have that happen. i guess tomorrow when he wants to go run i'll just tell him that i need to run faster than he can go to get all this extra stress to bleed off. i need to type it again, what an ass hole!

Picturesque?

2007-09-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

So I've been back in alabaster for a week and a half or so and I have been doing a lot of browsing of myspace. One thing I have noticed with a lot of people is that they have like 3 pages of photos of themselves. Now these aren't 3 pages of them doing different things and such, it's 3 pages of personal photo shots. Side profiles, frontal shots, shots from behind with a mirror. Do these people lack friends and activities such that the only thing they can do in their free time is take pictures of themselves? Maybe it's just me, but it seems like one would want to put a lot of pictures up that help a browser get a flavor for who you are. My pictures include myself, wildlife, nature shots, climbing pics, family pics, goofing off pics, etc. Lots of different pictures that help people gain insight into who I am. Now the insight I get when browsing multiple facial shots is that someone is either in need of attention, or they are stuck on themselves. Either way my interpretation of it is negative. Spice those profiles up with more than just your face and butt.

The human condition and enlightenment

2007-09-10T20:07:00.001-07:00

It seems that people are always having issues with the opposite gender. It's amusing sometimes and very annoying others. I wonder if these issues existed in ancient times when life was a lot simpler, or if by advancing and stratifying our society did we inadvertantly create differences of gender that seem to cause problems. Who knows.

on a similar note. I have decided to change something about myself. Everyone knows that in high school and for some the early years of college that exceedingly attractive people didn't have a whole lot going on upstairs. They seemed to be concerned with social pressures and specifically girls, from my point of view seemed to act ditzy because that's what guys seemed to want. As a result of these disappointing behaviors, I have been very cynical as to whether I would be able to find a young lady who was gorgeous and intelligent. Because of this cynicism, I have in the past written people, who were attractive, off in my mind who displayed any behavior that rubbed me the wrong way. Well i was thinking the other day that I certainly won't find anyone who has both a beautiful exterior and interior if all I do is write off those who are attractive when they do anything wrong. We'll see how this epiphany plays out.

So wtf happened?!

2007-09-09T21:19:00.000-07:00

Really!!! What the fuck happens to everyone when they turn 21? It seems that everyone loses their abillity to have fun if it doesn't involve alcohol. It's amazing how many people say they like to party all the time and go out for drinks and such. What is all that doing for the individuals? I mean I like to have a few beers every now and then but holy shit, to party more than once a week seems excessive. How did people have fun before they could buy alcohol? Oh wait! That's right, they had uninhibited conversations that weren't influenced by any kind of drug. They could go out to the park and walk around. They could go to a movie or listen to music. The problem seems similar to college football. As of late you have probably noticed that testosterone laden males have had conversations ad nauseum about what play was good, who has the best whatever in football, and how next weeks game will go. really... listening to these conversations make me wonder how these dudes manage to have a conversation when its not football season. It seems that every waking thought is centered around the sport. Now for the tie it: this seems to be the same mentality when it comes to drinking alcoholic beverages. Everyone wants to hit up the bars for a drink in the evening. Well how about driving up to vulcan park and looking up at the stars with a friend and contemplate the making of the universe. so i don't mind getting drunk every now and then (once every month or 2) but i do mind that all people my age want to do is drink. What spawned this rant was something said by a guy the other night. I was out and overheard this guy say that he got wasted on his birthday. REALLY?! Wasted on your birthday? Why not go do something with friends. Go to a sporting event. Go out to eat and then go to a spa or something. Go outside and enjoy nature with your closest friends and family... i don't know. Alcohol has become this form of currency amongst adults. If you mess something up or forget about something, you offer to buy someone a bear or take them out for a drink. I wonder if any future civilization will discover our wonton use of this chemical that does nothing beneficial for us as irresponsible and then wonder if we wouldn't have been more technologically advanced without it. i obviously needed to vent about this subject. there... all that negative energy is on the page and out of my head :-D

Perforated what?

2007-08-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

We had a river-boat cruise the other night. Our owner sponsored it so we got to go party and eat for a few hours. Apparently I've been allowing my personality to come out as of late because a few of the guys have mentioned that they are corrupting me. Not allowing credit where credit is not due, I have been quick to correct them that I do not act like myself if people are finding any excuse to harass me. Because this was my rookie year, they were riding me a lot and just nit-picking eveything, but now that the season is coming to a close, they are loosening up. Since they've loosened up I feel like I am able to be myself and do/say smartass things. I made a really smartass comment the other day and somebody said that I was catching the asshole-itus. I told him that I always was a smartass except in positions without authority. Anyways back to the fun stuff, we got kicked out of the Mellow Mushroom in Chattanooga after the cruise because apparently 2 random dudes felt like they could beat up 20 athletic raft guides. Ha!!! I ended up getting thrown into a table trying to restrain one of our guys. Noone was hurt and the cops came. It was an exciting night.

I have a perforated ear drum. The doc gave me some antibiotics for it and i have a check up tomorrow. Apparently my river manager doesn't know what perforated means because i had emailed him telling him that and he called me and was surprised when i mentioned that the hole in my ear drum might take a few days to heal. He's not dumb, just not an english person.

I met this exceedingly attractive river guide the other day from another company. She and I were in an eddy and we started chit-chatting. My logic may be flawed, but if a girl can look cute in a PFD, Helmet, and guide shorts, she's got to be hot in regular clothes! Anywho, I'm going to try and find her at the huge party this weekend. They'll be showing the carnage video of all the mess-ups on the river at this company called Adventures Unlimited. Perhaps we'll be able to meet and actually have a conversation that ends with myself getting her phone number. We shall see...

That's about it. Got one more busy week of full-time rafting. The river shuts on during the week after this coming monday and it'll only run on the weekends through the end of October. It has been an awesome season.

Alaska and working

2007-08-14T15:12:00.000-07:00

So I went on my trip to Alaska. It was amazing! I saw several things that brought me back to my days as a biology major and I just couldn't get enough. The ecosystem there is totally different than anything I've ever seen. In one area there is a thick conifer forest, and in another nothing but taiga and tundra. We saw several creatures, critters, and buggers which kept us entertained, except for the mosquitoes! We saw Mt. mckinley, the highest peak in north america. There were a few down sides to the trip: 1. we didn't do nearly as much hiking or backpacking as I thought we would due to rain and cold 2. there were a few incidents that just left me with a bad taste in my mouth about a certain individual. All in all it was a good trip and a few of us plan on going back next year.

I have spent some time thinking about it and I emailed my first sergeant today about getting mobilized for 6 months if I can. I figure it's the best way to work and make money since I've been promoted a few times. It would be work filled with practicing and performing and hopefully in the off-time I'd be able to climb/kayak (once I get one)/hike/backpack and just generally chill out and save money for more travels. It seems like a sweet deal so keep your fingers crossed for me. Nothing too unique and interesting; just a summer update. I'll be driving back up to the river thursday morning and have a moderate work week ahead of me.

I never thought I'd say this but I am looking forward to the end of the river season. It's been a lot of fun but I don't really make a lot of money, which translates to my not being able to travel and do fun trips. So here's to a fun first season but to better money in the next few months.

On an unrelated note: An acquaintance of mine from the climbing wall at UAB died last week. His name was David and he was an ER surgical resident. He was always a nice guy to me and a great climber.

Summer Fun and Future Travels

2007-08-02T18:26:00.001-07:00

So i've been up on the river for most of the summer and I've had a few chances to get away, some planned some not. So far I've had 12 customers fall out of the boat throughout the season, which is not too bad. 6 of them were from one "dump truck" where everyone in the boat including myself fell out because i very ineptly guided the raft into the wrong part of the rapid. No one has been seriously hurt from it so hakunamatata. I don't think anyone knows but my grandma on my dad's side of the family died last month. It was very sudden and unexpected but at least she didn't suffer long. Love you grandma; i think of you every day on the river :-)

I have learned a lot about myself and about others my age on the river. I have been verbally praised about my convictions and been verbally harassed by drunk raft guides about my unwillingness to sleep around or just "fool around". Yea, excuse me for not cheapening something that should be more than just a first name and a hangover in the morning. I see a lot of these raft guides wanting someone to care about them, although a few seem only to want this transient life style where they are not accountable to someone of the opposite gender. I see many of them initiating relationships with members of the opposite sex by having sex with them. It might just be me but this doesn't sound like the miracle cocktail for a successful relationship. I think a lot of them have been relating with the opposite gender like this for so long that they wouldn't even know how to just have a friend and not sleep with them at some point. What started this is an experience at the bar the other night. I was the designated driver for the evening and one of my friends from birmingham was up hanging out and we hugged and said hello and she went and danced to the tune the band was playing. One of the guys told me that she totally wanted me, to which i responded that we were just friends and it was going to stay that way. Apparently when your inebriated you feel as if you have stumbled upon superb arguing skills because he proceeded to tell me that i don't have to have sex with someone to fool around with them, and that if i didn't want to fool around i must like little boys. Ha! i didn't hold it against him because 1) he was drinking and 2) i'm sure he's never really been exposed to someone so confident in themselves and their independence that they didn't feel the need to have someone there to fill some kind of void (im really not trying to sound egotistical on that point). Well, anywho, maybe next season my behavior will rub off on some of these guys and they'll realize that the only way to find someone and have a relationship with someone is to talk and hang out, at least for a while before you sleep with them.

I've had a lot of time to think while i've been up there and it has been so therapeutic. I've spent a lot of time these last few months thinking about something my aunt told me, she said "if you aren't ready to settle down, then it won't work out if you do find the right person". It's so simple but the more I've thought about it, the more she's right. I would only be having half the fun up there that i would normally be if i was worried about some kind of lady friend somewhere. I would have to call and talk, and sometimes when i get off the river, i just want to hang out with my fellow raft guides and have a beer, no talking involved. I've realized that over the course of the next year or two there is a lot of traveling that i want to do and having someone in my life would be counterproductive to that. It's amazing how something can bother you and just keep you thinking until someone says something simple and obvious and it knocks you out of a trance. Anywho, I started playing with travel ideas tonight. Here they are:

3.5 weeks in australia
3 weeks in northwest USA
3 weeks in southwest USA
Hiking in Europe
Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike
(Climbing trips spread throughout these travels)

With a little bit of optimism, a wee bit of inherited logistical dexterity, and a small slice of catholicism on the side, I'll be able to make most of these happen. Here's hoping!

Update

2007-06-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

So heres new stuff kiki...

The last month has been a whirlwind of running around, driving, whitewater rafting, and generally feeling tired all the time. My gaggle of weekend hash kind of died once i started having stuff to do all the time. A brief update on my river guiding adventures:

I am comfortable in a raft with customers now. I took my first trip out with them last week under the supervision of a senior guide. I just have to make two more trips with the custies without anyone falling out of the boat and I'll start making money. I really like High Country now. After we had Hell Weekend they really seemed to at the very least respect us for making it through training. I'm just ready to get up there and settle into the routine.

I got all my stuff out of my apartment and it feels awesome to be done with it. The lease isn't completely up but I'm not living there anymore being reminded every day of the financially disabled roomates I was with.

Now I'm up here at fort knox on our 2 week summer thing with my reserve unit. It's been pretty laid back with us just practicing and PTing. Today I really worked out my arms and shoulders. I did an almost continous workout isolating various muscle groups over the duration of about 45 minutes with light weights but a lot of reps. Tomorrow we have a day off and I'm going to play golf.

As a reminder to myself I need to blog on my thoughts about the next few years of my life. I'll write those nexxt weekend when i get back from here and before I head up to the Ocoee for the summer, which does not have internet :-(

Lataz

Some day

2007-05-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

I come home. I do not hear a sound. Normally I would announce my presence, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I shouldn't. I set my brief case, containing a few patient histories to look over tonight, down in the kitchen like I always do. I walk upstairs and find that my suspicion was correct. She's laying there, in our bed; peacefully laying there creating such a serene and surreal scene that I'm scared to move for fear of making a disturbance. I take off my coat and uniform and glide onto the bed next to her. She's beautiful in an astounding way; so beautiful I wonder how I managed to have the privilege of calling her my wife. I lay next to her, feeling warmth radiating from her soft and feminine skin. She takes a deep breath and lets out a tired sigh that is indicative of her being in a deep, sound slumber. Lucky for me she is laying on her side; I put my arm around her slowly so as not to wake her. Almost as if she realized what i was doing, her hand wraps around mine and pulls it close to her chest; she mumbles something incoherent, but obviously important in whatever dream she is having. I lean in and kiss the back of her neck, afterwards just laying there, treasuring that moment, the quiet perfection that filled our bedroom.

maybe i'll get to experience it some day.

The Hotness!

2007-05-02T07:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday i was watching a TV show on String Theory and quantum mechanics. At one point they had a woman rock climbing. She proceeded to explain how she had a break through in these theories from climbing. So here is a woman who was attractive, a rock climber, and a professor of physics at harvard! wow... i was very much turned on as she started to spew the specifics of the string theory she was working on :-D I bet a lot of guys would have issues with this, but i am very attracted to a woman who can talk about something i know nothing about or something i would have troubles understanding because she would have to be intelligent to be able to do so. This woman wasn't like supermodel hot, but man, climber and physics professor just did somethin for me hahahaha

Weekend Hash: Round 3 - First Impressions

2007-04-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning feeling like I had been in some kind of vehicle accident. Everything muscle in my back and thighs ached and there was a deep tendonitus-like hurt in my triceps. I woke up early to take my developmental pysh exam this morning and even though I got 7.5 hours of sleep, my body definately needed a few extra from missing so much this weekend. We ran the river 5 times this weekend (this is the most likely explanation for my body feeling beat up); without being cocky i feel like i am developing my guiding skills very quickly and am rapidly becoming comfortable in the raft or swimming in the white water. Yesterday just for fun, our trainer had us surf the most dangerous spot on the middle section of the river and at the end of the river, we attempted to flip our raft. The raft went up on it's back side and then fell over sideways, not quite flipping but dumping all of its occupants into a raging but safe rapid :-D

Saturday night I was called cocky once again, by a drunk girl. This insult was not delivered from someone irritated with me like two weekends ago. A girl who isn't a guide but hangs out with the High Country guides introduced herself and was asking me a few questions, to which i responded honestly. Then she said, oh hes cocky! he'll fit right in around here. It may be the booze, similar personalities in both girls, or the fact that i am really apathetic when it comes to impressing people, especially when i first meet them. I say a lot that i'm the kind of person that is not really arrogant or cocky, but i definately straddle the line between confidence and arrogance without ever going too far. With people i first meet though, i think my apathy and confidence are misconstrued as being arrogance. Whatever... i don't really give a shit, it's just interesting. Now fastforward about 10 min, after us trainee people had to run and get firewood, the same girl came up to me saying that she had to nut check me, which amounts to her making sure i had a pair. I promptly backed away and said no. She tried to pressure me to let her, saying that i would get hell on the river if i didn't, but again, being confident and apathetic, i said hell no, and informed her that i don't let people i don't know touch my nuts. Once she realized i wasn't budging, she took her drunk ass over to another conversation for a few minutes, but ran over real fast and told me good job for standing up for myself... my initial thought was "bitch please! i don't need some drunk ass telling me that i did a good job not being a fucking man whore!" lol well she sneak-attacked me later on in the evening and managed to invade my groin area before i could react... then i grabbed her arm and pushed her away. She wasn't mad, she had accomplished her mission. Oh well.

We almost had a throw down Saturday night. This guy who was visiting with a friend there was sitting on a bench and someone tipped the bench over (a common occurence with this bench... it happens to everyone). Well dude-man on the bench didn't realize that it was just messing around and ran at the offendor with a foot long mag-light, the two collided right next to where i was sitting. Everyone jumped on the two of them and broke them up and things got straightened out with noone getting hurt. The guy realized that it wasn't personal and the two of them were hanging out and joking around 10 minutes later.

In a final bit of news, the girl who i pissed off 2 weeks ago doesn't seem to be holding a grudge. She was hanging out with us saturday night and before she left she said that it was good seeing me again. I asked her if she was upset about 2 weeks ago and i apologized explaning that i was drunk and such and she said that it was all cool. we had seen each other earlier on the river that day and she waved in our direction, but i thought she was waving at our trainer. After i apologized about 2 weeks ago she said that she had waved at me on the river. Hmm, maybe someone does want my body hahaha! jk.

What a weekend. now im off to study for finals.

Weekend Hash: Round 2

2007-04-24T06:06:00.000-07:00

Soi went and trained on the river again this weekend. It was a lot better than last weekend. The guides were a lot more chill, the weather was a lot nicer, and all of us trainees were doing a lot better on the river. We got to swim our first couple of rapids and it was awesome! I about drowned on the first one because every time i took a breath of air, i got splashed in the face with water. Our trainer that day really spent a lot of time telling us about the ins and outs of the river, how to swim and not drown, and working with us to teach us how to get off the rocks if we pin our boat.

When we got off the river saturday, the guides were cooking up some tuna steaks and they let us have some, much to our suprise. We looked at them in a very confused manner the first two or three times they said to grab a plate, and then one of them said "Look man, we're going to fuck with you guys because you're trainees, but at the end of the day we'll all have something to eat and chill with you"... it was amazing! it really is like a big family up there and we are just going to be the retarded siblings for this season: we'll get made fun of a lot inside the family, but they'll still be cool with us being there and they won't let us take shit from other people outside the family. One little fun story about saturday, there were only 2 of us trainees on saturday so we had to do all of our own boat loading and everything like that. We had to help pump up and load 8 other boats as well. Now i would say im a strong guy, but those rafts are heavy on 2 people. Anywho, at the end of the day we were going to run the river one more time and so our trainer went to drop the van off at the take out. Being two very eager trainees we went ahead and moved the raft down to the put in, down this very long ramp which was about a 20 degree angle. Well, while we were down there the river turned off so we had to drag the raft back up the ramp and wait for our trainer to come back. it was rough but we got it.

We ran the river twice on Sunday we had two other trainees show up. We all got some good stick time but I was having a great day guiding cause it seemed like all the rapids were just coming easy and the boat was going exactly where i wanted it to and such. I even dodged this huge rock at the bottom of a rapid called tablesaw by about 2 feet... sweetness. Next weekend we should be swimming some of the bigger rapids at the end of the river... i can't wait.

Weekend Hash: Round 1

2007-04-16T07:54:00.000-07:00

So i went up to train for the first weekend of raft guide training on the Ocoee this weekend. It was a weekend full of cold water, getting to know the senior raft guides, and borderline hazing behaviors from everyone there who was not a trainee.
Our first river run we were trashed the entire time by the river guide manager Patrick Oshay. He would take us to rough spots on the river and get us to fall out, flip out, and any other term that could be used for getting thrown from the boat. To give you an idea, he told us in a normal season from May to October, he might have 50 people swim and thats running at least one trip a day 5 days a week. In contrast to that relatively conservative number between the 6 of us trainees in the boat, we fell out of the boat and had to swim 24 times in 1 run on the river. And yes, this was all intentional.
In other events, on Friday night i believe i irritated this young lady up there. She first came up (shes training with a different company) and saw that i didn't have a beer so she got me one. Major cool points and we were talking and she was talking amongst the guides she already knows there and such. At this point, being a new trainee i had been handed a few drinks from other people besides her so i was tipsy borderline drunk. I went over to talk to her again and she said something that seemed incorrect so i corrected her on it... or something like that since drunk memories aren't always that accurate. Some talking ensued and she proceeded to call me cocky... yea, let me take those cool points back now. So i was trying to get her to tell me why she thought i was cocky and she wouldn't tell me; i had a wonderful idea amidst her stubbornness. I decided i really was going to act cocky since she was being such a hobag and all: i told her, "I think you want my body!" :-D Now this didn't exactly defuse the situation, but i didn't care... i did however get her to make the most genuine disgusted noise i think that i have ever heard and she just went off. It was most entertaining :-) My friend Tiya who has worked on the river for a few summers told me drama like that happens all the time and that i will probably enjoy myself. Sweetness! I can't think o fanything better than pissing off immature bitches all summer :-D
Yesterday we ran the river once and the trainer said that it was too cold for it to be safe for us to run it the rest of the training day... seeing as how we had very little cold weather gear. His name is Jason and he seems awesome!
That's my weekend of training. I think i shall be writing these on Sunday nights when i get back or the next day. I'm off to study for my micro lab final now.

imus

2007-04-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

If you find Imus' comments on the radio to be slightly odd or maybe even inappropriate, you are a normal person. If like Al Sharpton you believe that noone has the right to say such things on the radio and that what Imus said is racist, you are 2 things: An idiot and a bigot. Short of threatening to kill someone we can all say whatever the fuck we want on the radio unless otherwise stated in a written contract so lets just act like grown ups and ignore name calling that we don't like... some of the basketball players were crying after talking with Imus, shit grow some thicker skin and realize the world is not a nice place. Someone says something you don't like, tell them to fuck off and ignore them... it's not worth getting all emotional about.

On a positive note CNN had a black news editor this morning who had similar thoughts to mine although he was more gentle about it. It was really cool to see a black person who seemed to be tired from all these non-important issues that are seemingly made important because Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, or any of their other zealots cry racism!

Why i keep my distance

2007-04-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

I see her on campus. She is deserving of the term gorgeous. She has jet black shoulder length hair. Her eyes are a rich brown, not too dark, not too light. She has a smile that can be described as nothing less than amazing. Her figure is properly proportioned, not fat, not anorexicly skinny. She commands this feminine aura that drives me to appreciate her every time i see her. I do not know her name nor do i care to. Knowing her as more than one very attractive young lady would ruin everything. Before I saw her as often as i do now, i had seen her once in the library. We traded smiles at each other... everything was right with the world as we went about our business on our respective computers. Her significant other at the time walked over and i observed her behavior. It was very reminiscent of cristi's in that it was clear that she was in need of attention. Leaving the library that day i didn't think much of it. Now i see her at least twice a week, although smiles are not traded. I see her and sneak a glance here or there... never attempting to get close enough to know her. Never getting close enough to start a conversation; she was marked off limits in my mind from the time i watched her in the library. At an age where it is rare to be this attractive in body and also be attractive in mind i will not allow myself to hope that she is any different. I would much rather admire her beauty and be blissfully ignorant, keeping my distance from her, than to take the chance of having my criticisms and thoughts of disappoint about girls my age further proven correct.

my morning starts.

2007-04-10T05:52:00.001-07:00

just as i hear the coffee machine summoning for my caffeine laden morning beverage i am having this chat conversation with kiki:

me: i had an almost inappropriate dream about Jaybee (censored name - that girl who i was calling and she never called me so we stopped chit-chatting)

Kiki: hee hee

me: i was apparently trying to be inappropriate and she was busy or something

but she definately is a hottie!!

Kiki: haha you got pwned in dreamland

me: hahaha

Kiki: that's hilarious

i got owned and got told in the same morning... ouch :-)

Today

2007-04-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day... although it started off a little rough. I overslept my alarm, which amounted not to me being late for class, but rather getting up just in time to make it on time to class without any studying or reading this morning before said class. Found out in my frequently skipped core classes that i have a quiz wednesday and a test friday... yay... after micro lab i went and ran. Let me extrapolate on this "run"

I left my keys in the car. The chilled wind nippy at my exposed and thunderous thighs. I stretched more so than usual before i run knowing well the problems that the concoction of improper stretching and cold make when mixed together before running. The ominous sign of the days run was the initial heavy breathing. Labored breathing is always expected for the first mile or so, but today was different. It was as if the air was not holding enough oxygen for me to breath in. Also my lungs did not like the onslaught of the too-cold-for-this-time-of-the-year air making forced entry and taking up residence for a second or two. My "run" was further foiled by my ipod acting up... i guess thats what you get when you buy used ipods... go Apple! Finally, as if running in the cold weren't enough, my meticulous stretching effectually did nothing to prevent the cramps in my calves and sides. It started in my right side... i have this funny little way of running with my hands over my head for a for hundred steps and it stops the cramps. After this, my right calve started cramping, so much so that i had to stop and stretch it out. After beginning to run again the series started over with a cramp in my left side and then cramps in my calves. My goal was to run about 3.8 miles or so... well shortly after 2 i stopped and walked about 3 ish and left. It's been a while since a run of mine has been totally and completely stopped as a result of cramps in multiple locations. I guess my lungs liked running in the warm air last week and were incahoots with my brain to stop this insulting cold air by creating cramps. i will go back to that track wednesday... i will settle the score with my body.

After my harrowing defeat on the running trail today, i came home, ate and did a few pushups to prepare for my up and coming PT test and went to read for my quiz wednesday. toodaloo

weekend was good

2007-04-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

Hung out with the family... went fishing today. All is good but for some reason i'm not in the most chipper moods. i think its the money situation with the roomates that is irritating me. sometimes i feel like im partnered with individuals who don't know how to manage their finances... because all i ever hear from both is that they don't have any money in their accounts... a most important life lesson learned... only four weeks left until im out for the summer.

i also heard there is supposed to be some kind of fee for posting now... this is an attempt to validate that... we shall see.

amazement

2007-03-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

i really am amazed at emotional immaturity... through and through it's got to be one of the most confusing things to me... especially at an age where people should be acting like adults

Grown up just a bit

2007-03-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

So today i had interesting run ins with female persons all day... not unusual because the ratio of female to male is roughly 50:50... a sad world on the day that i wouldn't run into female company at any point during the day, oh wait, those sad days happened at basic training hahahaha!! But anywho, today i was observing female persons as prospective datees and some were attractive. However, i got past the attractiveness of the females and did something that i haven't really done in the past, which is unbiasly observe their mannerisms and behavior. Not let myself get caught up in the fact that they are cute and seem nice (guys can easily fall victim to this) and i just really observed what made them tick as people. After doing said observations i realized that although some of these female persons would make great flings, i didnt really find someone who i really liked as they were (i didnt observe all female friends like this). There were a few that i thought, if they did this or if they grew up just a bit, or blah blah. But if i were to pursue a relationship with any of these, i would not be happy with them as they were and they would essentially be just a project girlfriend. So i feel in making these kind of observations and realizing that these people would just make better friends... i feel i have grown up a little in terms of how i approach a relationship with a potential suitorette.

For those of you who think i have no soul

2007-03-19T20:30:00.000-07:00

Tonight i cried watching We Were Soldiers... i've seen it about 5 times before and it never gets old. The movie does an excellent job of making real to the viewer the pain of losing a loved one at war. A very moving movie.

It's not nice to insult yourself...

2007-03-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

so i saw this survey on myspace earlier today... notice the headline implies you are taking the test to see how not stupid you are. now look at one of the statements after headline:

Headline: 18 or lower means your not stupid

[x] You have ran into a glass/screen door.

See anything wrong? well if you said no you may or may not be stupid by the authors terms, but by mine you are retarded! Notice... it should say "you have run into a glass/screen door." not ran! So really this begs the question how stupid is someone who is deemed stupid by a stupid person? I mean really, if i were to make a survey that would show you just how retarded you actually are, I would make damned sure that every sentence would be gramatically spotless. Actually... i checked with my good friend kiki to make sure it was incorrect... so as to make sure i am not explemplifying any stupidity by making fun of potentially false stupidity.

whoever made this survey should not procreate and should forfeit their breathing privileges.

Bitches

2007-03-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

This is the word that comes to mind for females who are insecure. They lack a confidence in themselves that would make their world totally freakin sweet. When insecure females (aside from not being happy alone) are fortunate enough to land a boyfriend, they often wonder why a their boyfriend is with them and seek out signs and symbols that prove that the boyfriend is in fact interested in them and not just "hanging out" with them. These symbols are usually ill founded and follow a line of thinking that already has condemned that guy, a line of thinking that might be summarized like: "he's too good for me... what's the catch? why is he with me, im so ugly... why would he date me over her..." the list goes on and on, but in this mentality these girls actively search for flaws because they will not let themselves accept that the guy likes them and that they do in fact deserve to be with him. It's a vicious cycle that creates a negative feedback loop with the girl continuing to find flaws (since none of us are perfect... not even myself) and continuing to feel as if she is not satisfied by a truly awesome relationship. This very type of relationship will end, assuming the guy has self confidence and gets frustrated, in a very disappointing break up leaving the guy feeling like the girl went nucking futs. I can say i have been in this very type of relationship and it is not fun... in fact it left me feeling like the girl i was so attracted to initially, checked out and left... leaving an different person with personality traits that i had never seen before behind for me to deal with.

Today at lunch my sister and i decided that this type of insecurity does have an evolutionary advantgage and that is that women who are emotionally immature are more likely to be emotionally manipulative of their men. Both my sister and i agree that men fall victim to emotional manipulation much the same way that women fall victim to physical manipulation. But back to the Darwainism of Insecurity. Men are prone to trying to make their women happy... this makes sense as the burden of the species-child birth rests on the shoulders of women. Men must make women happy in order to inseminate them and then protect them for years in order to pass on genes to offspring. Now when insecure, women can capitalize on this need to please by being emotionally manipulative of their men. This emotional manipulation ensures that the men stick by the woman and ensures that the woman too is passing on her genes and being inseminated.

I do know one thing is fact: i will not go through another relationship with someone who is insecure with themselves. One of my female friends is extremely confident in herself and she is very attractive as a result. Confidence in one's self is one of those mental image things that can make up for what god didn't give you physically, and no, i was not implying that my female friend linked above is not attractive... but i would date someone who didnt have stellar looks but had confidence, poise, and composure over a girl who was gorgeous and was always stressing about what everyone else thought of her. All you have to do is observe confident people and you'll see that confidence and happiness are proportional to each other. Those that lack confidence in themselves are not happy with life... those that are confident are happy.

So lets spread the word, confidence is ... well should be in!