it's may already?

time has flown by incredibly fast. the evenings of feeling miserably cold and huddling by the heater have gone, for now. the afternoons of desperately trying to climb while chasing the sun no longer exist. i have almost come full circle since moving here last june. it's hot again :) AND... it has been almost a year! a year since my life switched from school to "real life." however, i find it incredibly difficult to believe that "real life" is this life.

well, what is new? i'm feeling like a true desert rat, that's for sure. unfortunately, the feeling doesn't come from spending months climbing sand stone cracks and desert towers but from spending about 95% of my time sleeping in sand, dodging yuccas, plucking cholla spines out of my legs, keying out half dead water deprived flora, wearing 8 layers of sun block, damning the sun and wind, dreaming about ice cold water, putting on crusty socks every morning... the list goes on. and the other 5% of my life is devoted to climbing as much as possible in the eastern sierra and the unassuming mojave desert. BUT... alas! work has peeled me away from regular climbing and spending time in a place that i have grown to love... err... really like.

i wrote last summer that the smells here in bishop were not familiar. they were sweet and inviting, but not yet something that sparked a warm sense of comfort. it took almost a year, but i think i've found it. i think i've found a place that, if i had to, could stay for a while.

music in the living room

a harmonica pierces through the living room and a shaker shakes... guitars resonate through my ears and i'm sitting back. relaxing. feeling warm and happy. it's sunny outside, i'm going climbing, i had my morning coffee, it's my day off... i can't really ask for more. my job is the shaker... hah. but i'm slacking right now so that i can remember this moment, keep it and lock it away. it's a simple thing really. that's the beauty of it. it just starts. someone picks up the guitar. someone whips out a harmonica from their back pocket. someone places a shaker in my hand. someone stomps their feet on the ground. someones starts to hum. then, people start to smile.

the desert is the best teacher there is

some wise words courtesy of paulo coelho... i have found these quotes to be inspiring and quite intriguing. it's appropriate that i'm in this stage of life; a time to learn, a time to sit back and reflect, a time to look ahead with hope, and a time to enjoy.


"if you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man. you'll see that there is life in the desert, that there are stars in the heavens... life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we're living right now."


"the desert is the best teacher there is"


"if you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. and, if you improve on the present, what comes later will always be better... each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity."


"you will never be able to escape from your heart. so it's better to listen to what it has to say. that way, you'll never have to fear an unanticipated blow."


"there is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure."


"if there hadn't been a sixth day, man would not exist; copper would always be just copper, and lead just lead."



...good thing i'll be getting close and personal with the desert in the coming months.

i'm going to talk about climbing

i've only been able to climb outside twice since i got back from mexico. it's a shame, really. one of the climbing days was a bad one and the other one was quite awesome. i'm not going to dwell on that particular bad climbing day... they happen. just as the good ones do too.

one big lesson that i took away from climbing in mexico was to believe in myself. i needed a little self confidence to get over the fear of leading (sport that is... trad is another story, another trip, another day). there are routes that i KNOW i can do and i'm learning how to not let my mental block stop me. so this is what i decided to say to myself every time i wanted to or even thought about backing away from a route: "just suck it up and do it already!!!" yes... i sound silly because i end up talking to myself half the time and while climbing, but so far... it's worked. before mexico i was reluctant to lead anything harder than a 5.9. yesterday, i onsighted a 10b,c and d! these are humble grades, but to me they represent a step in the right direction. up.

i'm jonesing!

jonesing to climb. jonesing to run. to cook. to travel. to be free. to hike. to crochet. to get busy. to climb somewhere new. to climb with someone new. to just freakin climb!

i'm jonesing to write something worthy. i've been trying to write something that is interesting or at least thoughtful and i've had immense writers block. i just spent the last month climbing... and i don't have anything to say? bull shit! i have plenty to say but it just isn't flowing out of me. maybe some pictures? okay...



... climbing is just so much fun...



...and pretty pretty...



...and pretty cool...





... because sunsets and dusk are my favorite time of day...



...activity other than climbing...



... goodbye cerro gordo... i'll see you again...



well, i still feel the blockage of writing. so, i'm going to go read. let tomorrow come smoothly, happen thoughtfully, and leave full.