Backflip

Excerpts from the trip:

Monday – Got up early to a freezing morning blanketed in frost. Water = frozen, shoes = frozen, path = frozen, me = frozen. We got da hork movin’ and made it to the car in good time. Of note on the trip were the prevelance of ice on the path since many of the paths follow small streams (or do the streams follow the paths?). Also finding an evergreen decorated like a christmas tree complete with stockings and ornaments. That was interesting. Not sure if I enjoyed it or not. It gets me really pissed how much people litter.

We were picking up trash all weekend and itz very annoying. I look at it as a completely selfish and lazy act where the litterer can’t be bothered to take care of their own trash (carrying it out) and so they just leave it for someone else to get. Man this really makes me mad. It’s completely disrespectful to the environment and to anyone else who might be out enjoying the scenery. To all you litterers out there – Please, stop horkin’ littering!

Back to the hike, after arriving at the car we headed into Gatlinburg for a very tasty (and warm) meal at Flapjacks. During our breakfast we decided to call it a trip and head home. We originally planned on doing more day hiking and base camping and leaving tomorrow but in light of the temperature and our soreness (ok, my soreness) we decided our adventure tanks were pretty full.

On the way home we called up some peeps in Troy and had a big get together at Applebee’s where we celebrated Amy’s birthday. Laura was our server and as always she was excellent. Included in the celebration were Jordan, Amy, Whitney, Matt, Dan, Ben, Bryan, Esther and I. While eating Dan realized it was his mother’s birthday and he hadn’t gotten her anything yet (urk!). So we all headed over to Kroger to get some flowers and then go sing Happy Birthday to his mom at her new house. Once there we got a quick tour and then were off to Dan’s house to hang out. (side note: I actually live with Dan but just rent from him. I don’t know how to say this in a sentence, so from now on my residence is going to be referred to as Dan’s house)

Mikhail and Zane joined us at Dan’s where we were just takin’ it easy. Jordan and I made the pudding pie we were going to make on the trail for Amy on Sunday night but decided to scrap the plan since it was so horkin’ cold. The pie turned out really well. It was great to have people over and it was a great end to a great extended weekend. As a bonus I am taking Tuesday off still so I have another day to hang out/recuperate.

Excerpts from the trip:

Sunday – Today we slept in a bit as the temp seems to have dropped during the night. It had stopped raining and we woke up to a frosted winter wonderland. It was pretty amazing. Jody and Stalls left fairly early. We took our time, tryin’ to stay in our sleeping bags as long as possible. Breaking out the stove and cooking up some tasty warm oatmeal. After gettin’ packed up we headed to the Mt. Le Conte overlook. Unfortunately the Smoky Mountains lived up to their name and the view was shrouded in clouds. It was extremely windy at the top and for the remainder of the day. I love the wind, I’d have to say it’s my favorite element. It’s so crazy that it keeps going seemingly out of nowhere.

After summiting the mountain we headed back to the Adirondack, grabbed our gear and headed to Icewater Springs. Hiking was mostly through frost covered trees and the hike was quite a bit colder then yesterday (no t-shirts). The temperature was continuing to drop and the constant wind seemed to be picking up. Testament to the cold is the fact that moisture from our breathe is freezing on Amy’s hair, Jordan’s beard and my hat. A very strange occurrence did take place during our hike. Today was Amy’s birthday, while hiking on the path Jordan noticed some trash off the trail and took a slight detour to pick it up. To our great amazement it turned out to be the remains of a “Happy Birthday” helium balloon. It must have floated up into the mountains and popped. So we gave it to Amy for her birthday.

During our trip to Icewater we took a side trips to an overlooks called “Jump Off” (silence recommended). On the trail back from the top we passed a middle aged man and women. The guy had the biggest goatee I’ve ever seen. It was very thick and braided. Amy and Jordan think it was his pony-tail wrapped around to come out near his chin. I think thatz ridiculous, it was definitely a huge horkin’ goatee. Unfortunately we never saw the couple again so I guess we won’t know for sure either way.

We arrived at Icewater Springs safely. It was about 8.8 miles with all the detours. I quickly visited the spring to fill up my water since mine was still frozen from the night before and I was x-tremely thirsty. We then set about gathering firewood since we could have a fire inside the Adirondack in a little fireplace. Once we had a sufficient supply of wood we headed over to the lookout at Charlie’s Bunyan.

Charlie’s was about 2.1 miles round trip and had a few very long drop-offs and some amazing views. The wind was really picking up and it was starting to get dark as we headed back to camp. On arriving we met John, a 35 year old structural engineer, an avid biker and a bit crazy. He was hiking alone in the winter and he hadn’t been hiking in over 17 years. He was also planning on being out on the trail for 7 days and was having great difficulty in starting his kerosene stove. But he was a nice guy and we were able to hang out and share our food  with him which was cool. On the menu tonight was Bratwurst on Bagels (since buns would get smashed in the backpacks). Our plan was to cook them over a  roaring fire however we ran into some difficulties.

The fire turned out to be quite an ordeal. Let’s see if I can paint this. Temperature is steadily dropping (found out later it was around 0 degrees and somewhere around -20 degrees with the wind chill), the wind is really blowing outside. Thankfully the shelter has a tarp blocking the 4th “wall” so the majority of the wind is diverted but the gusts still manage to come down the chimney. We have tons of wood, lots of small stuff, fire starters, paper, lighters and determination. Usually 2 Eagle Scouts and a Gold award recipient would have no trouble starting a small fire. Well this was no usual situation. After 2 hours of constructing, lighting, blowing, coaxing, singing (“Come on baby light my fire” as well as “Never gonna give you up”) and trying everything from using a stove (for flames) and standing inside the fireplace to block the wind from the chimney the fire was still not living. Looking back we think our problem arose from the fact that all our wood was wet and frozen. All the rain the night before certainly didn’t help the situation. It just wouldn’t horkin’ start.

Soot covered, exhausted, cold and hungry we gave up on the fire and decided to boil our bratwurst instead of roasting ‘em. A bit into this process Jordan happened to look down from the “top bunk” while cooking in his sleeping bag and mentioned something about looking at the fire. Lo and behold, it was burning! On giving up we had left our work smoldering in the fireplace and I guess some of the wood eventually tried out enough to burn. So we had a fire! It wasn’t the best fire in the world and ended up being rather temperamental but it kept us entertained and warmed till we went to sleep later in the night. We stayed up after dinner chatting with each other and with John until we felt tired enough to slumber through the night. When camping in extreme weather it’s important to stay up as long as possible before headin’ to bed because sleeping is much better then lying awake with nothing do to (especially if one is cold).

Once the fire died down and the sleeping bags were mummified the real adventure began. All night I was struggling between sleep and staying warm as the wind howled outside and the temperature continued to drop. It’s funny, I remember thinking “Why am I doing this? I could be home, safe and sound in my nice warm bed.” And I did have some doubts if I would be able to make it through the night without getting up and movin’ around. But now I’m very glad I went through that experience. I realized that life is pretty amazing and we as humans are amazingly resilient (as Amy pointed out). And it might not have been the most fun night ever but we survived (I think Jordan mentioned he was sweating so he was definitely more prepared). We pushed the envelope and were able to walk away, perhaps changed. I know I didn’t have a warm enough sleeping bag and had hoped to get by. Well I did get by but I definitely didn’t conquer the cold like I had hoped. I gotta give that another shot.

Excerpts from the trip:

Writing curled up in my sleeping bad sometime in the early AM.

Trip so far has been x-cellent. Jordan, Amy and I left Troy around 7ish yesterday (Friday) after eating a quick dinner (thanks Debbie!) and gettin’ loaded with gifts from Amy’s mother. The car trip was uneventful and very enjoyable. We all drove and had fun enjoying each others company (at least I did).

Went through Pigeon Forge (read Las Vegas) and Gatlinburg to arrive to the Smoky Mountains National Park around 1:30 AM. After discovering the campsite we were to stay at was closed we had to drive across the park to another site and didn’t get to sleep till about 3ish. It was really warm (50ish) so this was a very restful night.

The next day (today) we slept in till 10, ate some breakfast and headin’ to the danger zone!

Our first challenge was discovering how to cover the 4 miles from our parked car (where we would end up) to the trail head. The most direct route was along a busy road so we decided to try to hitch hike (which is another form of hiking). This was my first attempt at hitching and it was quite successful. Jordan saw a guy (turns out his name is Tim) wearing some 5-finger shoes (the ones I like to wear) so I wandered over and struck up a conversation over his shoes. During the course of the discussion I discovered he was going the way we needed to go and asked for a lift. Tim happily agreed and loaded us into his Hummer. After some small talk and many thanks we were dropped off at the trail head and began our hike around 11:40. Our destination was the top of Mt. Le Conte.

The Smoky Mtns rock! It’s very refreshing and peaceful being in nature and these mountains imbue a sense of ancient life that I find astonishing. It’s as if they are almost immortal and they ooze peace and reflection.

We stopped at Alum’s Cave for some lunch which was hard boiled eggs, summer sausage, cheese and crackers. We hiked about 5.8 miles up Mt. Le Conte with about a 3,000 feet change in elevation. We made good time and arrived at the adirondack (3 sided cabin) around 3ish (I think).  We arrive amidst a light rain which steadily got worse as the night progressed. The temperature is dropping and clouds are rolling in. We met Jody and Steven (Stalls) who are from Kentucky. We hung out with them most of the night playing WoW on the laptops we brought. I mean, playing games with the cards we brought. Played some Michigan Rummy, Indian Poker, Crazy 8’s and Pass the Pigs. It was a fun time full of laughs. For dinner we had burritos filled with sausage, cheese, rice and green peppers which was very tasty. I’m awake for a bit in the middle of the night and all is quiet. It’s very peaceful and calm and I’m content.

This past weekend was x-cellent. I spent most of the weekend in Cincinnati visiting my sister and Brian (her husband) and then a jaunt over to Columbus for Ben’s graduation ceremony.

Cincy was great. I met my parents and my brother down at IKEA where we picked out a new mattress for my brother, a new office chair(in birch) for myself and a new sink faucet for my parents. My sister wasn’t there so she didn’t get anything (haha). After that we headed to Lis and Brian’s house and picked up a box spring and frame (for the new mattress). We then all headed out to Dewey’s for some good pizza. It was great to have everyone together and having a good time. My parents and brother headed home with his new bed and I stayed at Lis and Brian’s. We played a bit of WoW and called it a night.

On Saturday I slept in (sooo nice) and just bummed around until headin’ to Skyline with Greg to eat some delicious chili. After Skyline we headed over to Greg’s place where I got to check out his pimped up Rock Band drum set. While I’m not a huge fan of playing the drums I have to say that this set was pretty sweet. I’ve played on one or two real drum sets (by played I mean hit some stuff) and Greg’s set is pretty horkin’ close to feeling like the real thing. After leaving Greg’s I stopped by Benchmark Outfitters to pick up some supplies for a backpacking trip this upcoming weekend in the Smokey Mountains then headed out to eat with my sister and brother-in-law (If you haven’t noticed, I can’t really figure out an easy way to refer to them yet). We ate at some really ancient and sweet bar/diner place that had an electric train circumnavigating the dining area on a track near the ceiling. It was pretty cool and it was great to hang out with them.

Saturday night I headed over to a Miami Christmas party somewhere north of Cincy (side note – I used the GPS I got free from Sogeti this weekend and it weekend and it was a lifesaver. Those things are so amazing, it’s pretty much impossible to get lost). (I don’t actually know if I can have a period within a “( )”, oh well) It was a great party, my friend Lynsie and some of her friends made/baked about a million different cookies and bread and hummus and cupcakes and all sorts of other awesome food. It was neat seeing a bunch of people I haven’t seen in a while and to catch up. Highlights of the party included making a gingerbread house (yup, we actually did), swapping stories, British “crackers” (party items that make a large cracking noise when opened and which have some goodies inside), and discovering a new non-alcoholic party beverage created by my friend Patrick. I’m not a drinker of alcohol and while I am perfectly satisfied with my choice it can be a bit strange at times during get togethers is I’m just drinking pop or other “regular” beverages. It is nice to do something special or order something different from time to time. Enter Patrick with his “Lux” mixture. Essentially it’s Sprite, Cranberry juice and a bit of orange/tangerine juice. It tasted great.

I left the party around 12ish and headed back home to Troy. On Sunday the little kids in my church put on a Christmas play which was cool and the choir sang a song in which I have a solo. This post is already quite lengthy so I won’t go into my struggles of singing in front of people. Let’s just say I listened to the recording and was not impressed with myself. However people in the audience seemed to enjoy it so I’ll just have to relax a bit next time and not get all junkhoused.

After church I headed to Columbus with Dave and Jordan to go to Ben’s graduation ceremony at THE Ohio State University. It was a great ceremony with notable moments being the guest speaker impersonating Paris Hilton and seeing Ben raising his diploma on stage showing that he heard us cheering for him from all the way across the building. I do believe Ben is the first one in his family to get a college degree and it’s awesome that he persevered and achieved it. After the ceremony we went out to eat and Ben gave a great speech.

After dinner just headed home, logged some hours in WoW and called it an early night. A great way to end a great weekend.

I just took a long weekend (Thurs, Fri + Mon) and travelled to the amazing city of Boston. My friends J and Liz live in the city (in Somerville) and it was great to see them as well as hang out (they put me up for my stay). My trip was surprisingly educational. Whether it was the retired CEO I sat next to on the airplane or seeing the historic parts of the town or meeting J’s family there were lessons to be learned all around.

Meeting Paul Mondo (maybe Mono?) – I sat next to Paul on my flight from Dayton to Philly. I really couldn’t believe it was happening but he was freely imparting gems of information. We discussed many things on the short flight but here are some highlights that really struck a chord in me:

• He is a retired CEO of some Insurance company in Cincy. 
• He graduated college with a degree in Physical Education and ended up as CEO of a company.
• Very humble and unassuming, he attributed all of his success to his mentors and to his team. 
• Integrity – he was very adamant about the fact that if people don’t trust you progress slows to a halt
• Beginning with the end in mind (Covey: 7 habits) – Think of the very worst possible outcome, are you willing to accept that outcome? If you aren’t perhaps you shouldn’t make that decision.
• Most important skills – people skills (soft skills)
• Always keep your dreams alive, perhaps you can’t fulfil them today but keep them stoked in the background until the day when they can spring into a flame
• If ever we get to the age of retirement and are trying to decide what to do first think of what you’ll do once you retire. Then think of what you’ll do after that. Then think of what you’ll do after that, etc

I arrived in Boston and was picked up at the airport by J where we then went under the Boston Harbor (or bay) to get to his place in Somerville. On the way we drove through many neat streets and also right past Harvard (which was neat). We got pizza that night and Liz, him and I hung out and played some Guitar Hero World Tour (great game). Their place is super nice and very cozy. The next day I spent touring the city with my friend Esther.

Tour of Boston - The Freedom Trail is a walking trail of many of the historic sites in Boston. Included in the tour is the Old North Church (One if by land, 2 if by sea), the site of the Boston Massacre, “Old Ironsides” (the U.S.S. Constitution) and more. We took about 6 hours to tour the city and grab food and see the sites. Some events really stood out:

• Boston rox – from the Boston Commons to the North End every part of the city is interesting and lively. So many cultures, so many sites, great accents, friendly folks, very inviting and safe. It seems like it has all the benefits of a big city but with a small town feel.
• Hanging out with Esther – we walked everywhere and chatted all the way. It was a very relaxed and enlightening tour (thanks Esther! Hope you have fun in Texas). I also drove the 12-13 hours home with Esther and she definitely breaks the stereotypical bad woman driver mold. Heck, I’d even go so far as to say she’s a better driver then me (which might not be much, but it was amazing to me).
• I don’t know quite how to say this but there are many hidden treasures in the world and it is very exciting when one is found. This treasure wasn’t really hidden per say, just unknown. It was a section of the Boston Public Library. You might be laughing, a library being a hidden treasure? But let me tell you, it was horkin’ amazing. Towering stairs, domed ceilings, paintings on all the walls and ceilings depicting amazing events. Life size lion statues, exhibits, books, simply amazing. And I think the best part was we were expecting a normal library and got an amazing x-perience.
• There are so many horking people in the world. I don’t know why i am constantly amazed at the number of people but dagone! There are way too many of us.

That night I got another opportunity to hang out with Liz and J which included some great food, some great chats and more Guitar Hero. On Saturday we visited the Museum of Science and were treated to an indoor thunderstorm complete with lightning and a dude in a cage getting struck by lightning (the cage, not the dude). Legal Sea Foods for dinner and more chilling and hanging out.

Sunday we headed down to Cape Cod to see J’s mother play the harp in the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra (which was VERY enjoyable!). Afterwards we headed over to J’s Grandparents house for a party. I didn’t quite know what to expect and when I walked in to see the average age of the people in the house had to be 70+ I was a little worried I was going to be in for a less then exciting night. However, that initial feeling was very far from the truth:

Party at J’s Grandparents – Right off the bat J’s Grandma made sure we were introduced and given food and drinks and invited into the party with a beautiful smile and welcoming arms. Once inside I had many a good conversation with her friends, everything from politics to the economy to the weather to college to the future to old stories were discussed and enjoyed. So many amazing people at that party that I don’t really know where to begin. Perhaps I’ll just speak of one of the ladies that really stood out. Her name is Adalay (sp?) and she is 95. She likes to publish books (still) and play tennis (still). She is one of those people who probably does more in one day at the age of 95 that I accomplish in a month. Simply amazing.

Also amazing was J’s family. His father and mother along with his Grandma were so welcoming and awesome. Everyone was relaxed and chatting and encouraging. Itz not as if someone said one thing or did one thing to make me feel welcome. It was their whole manner and attitude that was refreshing and fun. What a great night (even though the ferry couldn’t run because of the wind, that car drove off the road and we got a stick stuck under our car and drug it along the road for a ways).

Thanksgiving.  My holiday weekend went very well. On Thursday, the whole immediate fam got together at my parents in Troy. The 6 of us, me, mom, dad, Drew, Lis and Brian had a great Thanksgiving lunch. We ate so early because my sister and her hubby were eating dinner with his family (they get 2 T-giving meals in one day, crazy huh?). My dad and I ate steak while the rest of the fam got turkey (haha!). Food was excellent as always and hanging out with everyone was very nice. I’m pretty fortunate because all my family is within’ about an hours drive so we actually get together fairly often to hang out and catch up.

Other then seeing my family it was great to see Ben, Bryan, Scruff, Whitney as well as the people I normally see. They are in school and were home for part of the holiday (woo!). Itz kinda crazy thinking that we are growing up and getting together is a bit different now then it used to be. Different not in a bad way, just things change and people change. Itz interesting to see people after big changes, kinda like boomeranging around, catching glimpses every now and then.

I pretty much reverted back to a college schedule over break where I was up till 2 or 3 in the morning hanging out or playing WoW and sleeping in till 10 or 11. It was x-cellent. I thought today might have been a bit harder but so far I’m doin fine. It’ll probably hit me tomorrow (2 day sleep rule).

Speaking of playing WoW, I can’t post about my weekend without sharing the realization I came to over break. I think itz confirmed. I’m addicted.

Addiction – “addiction is sometimes applied to compulsions that are not substance-related, such as problem gambling and computer addiction. In these kinds of common usages, the term addiction is used to describe a recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity, despite harmful consequences to the individuals health, mental state or social life.” - wikipedia.org

Ever since the release of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King I’ve been trying to determine if I’m actually addicted to the game or not. However, I think this past week (and a few events leading up to it) sealed the deal. Over the 5 day holiday I think I spent over 40 hours logged into the game.

40/120 hours = .33333 repeating

I spent about 1/3 of my holiday time playing WoW.

If I counted it as a job I’d be close to having 2 full time jobs.

If I slept for about 1/3 of my hours that means I played WoW 50% of the time while awake.

I’m a bit addicted. 

There are a handful of instances where it’s evident that I’m harmfully impacting my social life. I feel as if my mental and physical state are doin ok (no worse then they were before). 

One of the instances occurred Friday night. I was hanging out over at my friend Paul’s house with some people, Ben and Bryan included. We were just chilling, messing around on some instruments, eatin’ some pizza, watching some movies. Well almost the entire time Bryan and I were playing WoW. Most other people there had laptops at some point and were doing other things on their computers so it wasn’t as if I was being completely anti-social. But it was enough. I could have been using that time much more productively with friends I don’t get to see very often. The point struck home when Ben made a comment later that night about WoW and if I was sad it had taken over my life and made me anti-social. He took it back but I think it needed to be said. I am saddened by my dependence on the game and not being able to set it down for a bonafide real life activity.

I didn’t think I’d mind being addicted but now that I’ve taken a small step back and observed my behavior I realize WoW is just a game. It doesn’t matter in the long scheme of things. Letting relationships slide and opportunities be missed is not a fair trade for some immediate, fleeting entertainment.

I see the problem (at least a little), but fixing it is another matter all-together. I’m hoping my upcoming trip to Boston to see J, Liz and Esther will help ween me off the game. I plan on logging zero hours from Thursday afternoon till Monday night. Since I’m going to Boston to see friends and the city I don’t want to spend anytime in a virtual world which I can be in at home. Wish me luck!