True, dat...

i might, in fact, not get around to healing. Steph and i snuck off this morning for a 30 min. TR sesh. Mostly i wanted to get her in the gym and off the ground. She ended up doing three laps on a 5.7, and gave a try to a 5.8-- which i'm certain she'll be able to do fresh. Then i warmed up a bit and onsighted a 5.11. That was a cool feeling. (Ok... technically i didn't onsight, cuz on my first go i dyno'd for a crimp, and she had the rope so tight it yanked me off the footholds and i hung there on the crimp with my feet sticking perpendicular to the wall. Hearty laugh outta that one, got we. But i lowered to the ground and immediately sent.) Then we left.

Got a call long about 18:00 from a friend asking if i'd like to climb some. i'm thinking a li'l rope work wouldn't hurt anything, so i assents. Only i got there, and he wanted to boulder. This didn't go so well, cuz my biceps were insulting me in demonic languages; but it was fun anyhow. i didn't go too hard-- didn't send that v5, but also didn't damage anything beyond repair (for which i'm thankful.) Tomorrow will be an off day, though, methinks. Hopefully i'll get to lift. Good times.

Water aerobics? Billiards? Shuffleboard?

Had to put a couple of coats of sealant on the floor yesterday, and i've gotta wait 3 hours 'twixt coats (and can't, naturally, walk on the floor in the meantime) so i'm thinking what a fine opportunity to go bond with the fam and climb a bit. i talked Steph into it in short order, layed down coat numero uno, and gave 'er the call. Now understand: i wasn't precisely wanting to work hard projects as i had (and coincidentally still have) raging bicep tendonitis; this wasn't about me, dang it all. In fact, i took friday off just to heal, and didn't whine about it at all. Kinda' nice really. So i hauled all our gear into the gym, and meandered aimlessly a bit. Then i waited some. Then i decided to stretch nice and slow-like. And waited. Then i went for an easy warm-up of 5 or 6 laps up and down on the easy wall till i was sure my forearms were gonna Monty Python all o'er the room. Then, for a change, i sat and waited. Then i found myself on that project v4ish thing i mentioned earlier, and sent 'er second try. Then--egged on by a guy who was working kinda the same stuff as me-- i nearly sent a v5, and i'm 95% confident i've got the crux worked out.

Then Steph and the kids shew'd up. TR'd an "11-" (that probably really goes at ultra-hard 5.9). Made for a nice workout. i felt light, in spite of my omnipresent belly, "that shakes when he laughs like a bowl full of jelly."

Annie ran some laps on the 5.6 wall, which always draws pointing and smiles from the saturday crowd. She digs that, my li'l attention hound. i intend to make this a proper family Thang.

Today, methinks, will be an off day. That v5 crux is seriously lock-off dependant, and i need my biceps to function. For the moment it hurts to brush my teeth and pick up the baby. But if the music and the mood are right, it'll fall tomorrow... }>

Will work for NSAIDS

...and on a whim, i went back in to the climbgym today, and (i chalk this up to having something on the tranny what's not reggae, as was the case yesterday*) i sent a project v3, and onsighted another 3. Then i worked what i think will have been the crux move on what i further think will end up being a stiff v4.

It was odd. i got in my car to maybe head to school early and get a head start on some homework, and i just ended up at the gym. It's like a nervous tic. But when you hear that call, and yer body says, "Oh, i think so: do let's," you just gotta go.

Earlier on, i went for a 30 min. (+/-) session at the irongym. That felt pretty good. Got a decent ab workout in, and a decent straight-leg dead workout. Chest workout, as i mentioned on the phone, sucked. i'm thinking i'm gonna try to get in several times a week for a while for real short workouts with some really light weight to try and rehab my shoulders. i'll just baby-step my pushers back into shape. After all, my chest workout couldn't get much more embarrassing than it presently is.



*In my opinion, reggae was designed to thin out the herd. Far as i can tell, the only way to avoid clawing your own eyes out before putting the gun in your mouth on reggae is to smoke some heavyweight out of a glass pipe for "mood intervention".**



** i mean, who the hell'd think it'd be a good idea to try and work out to reggae, anyway? Who does that?

"i'm looking over/ a hopeless sloper...."

Indeed, she did get 'er job back, and started today. As a result, it is my not-particularly-secret plan to buy one of these bad boys. (Only i plan to get 'im in black.) Sickest sloper i've ever found.

Went in today for a session, and i might as well've gone for a bacon double cheeseburger for all the training i got accomplished. i am tore down plumb. Had that comp on fri. and royally rent some tissue asunder. Then we went in on Sun. afternoon, and i managed to snag a burly v3 i missed at the comp. Moreover, i haven't gotten in to the irongym at all in nearly a week. But it's been for a pretty good cause, i'd say: we got the silly cork floor down finally. Soon i may actually have time for some projects i actually look forward to doing (e.g. my dream campus board). i mentioned before that we got Steph a membership at the climbgym, so we're trying to get a schedule ironed out so we can actually be there at the same time. She's really psyched about getting into shape, and i'm psyched about having her there with me. i think it'll be good for both of us-- some "fireproofing", as it were.

On a beam of shimmering light.

Today was simply not bad. "It's LoOg, it's LoOg... It's big, it's heavy it's wood! It's LoOg, it's LoOg... It's better than bad: it's good!"

Ummmmmm, to begin with we started the day around noon (which coincidentally is when i believe days should be started.) Took Steph, Aeon, 'n' Katja to the climbgym, whereat we purchased Steph a climbmembership. (Yoy!) Then we went to Home Despot, and i got some tools, including a bloody expensive Dremel attachment. Finally, i went climbing at the comp. Turned out, it was an ABS event and i had to pay to get in, and there were probably 200 people there. i was mildly bummed 'cuz i didn't feel precisely 100%, and didn't care much about scoring points. But pay i did. Quite inexplicably, i had one of the finest sessions of bouldering i've ever had. i ended up taking second place in the men's intermediate division. (They gave out ribbons to the sixth place, so it could well be that there were only 6 of us in the division, but they were all skinnier than i, and 10 years younger.) anyhow, i climbed somewhere between 16 and 20 problems-- half of 'em v2 and harder-- and i flashed all but one. The problems were, as usual, not graded, but assigned a point value of 5, 10, or 25 pts. 5 pointers comprised v0 through soft v2. 10s were mid-range: v2 through hard v3 or maybe v4-. 25 pointers were v3 through anything above that. Halfway through the comp i got tired and stopped to stretch a bit and relax. Then i somehow sent two 25 pointers back to back, and flashed 'em both. i saw some strong dudes fall off of both of 'em, and i only saw one of 'em repeated while i was there. So that was a nice feeling. Then i had a Stella Artois, and won an ice climbing guide to Ouray in a raffle. Made for a nice friday. Made me think that if i could drop a few lbs. and work on some weak spots in a desciplined fashion (e.g. slopers), there's real hope for reaching the next level.

Congratulations, B, on getting formally hitched. Most awsome.

Congratulations, G, on getting a ridiculously heavy tire. May it scratch that itch much better than booze, and lower yer plood pressure to boot. (i'll give 'er a try next time i'm down there.)

Peace.

post-it note

Swam yesterday. That was like Zyprexa. i really love swimming. i have a boulder comp tomorrow evening, so i'm trying to not climb 'tween now and then for some healing, but i'm not sure it's gonna happen. i'm feeling that inexorable siren song of Movement calling to me, and i don't know how to resist. Climbed on mon., worked chest/triceps/low back on tues., and swam wed. just to mark the order down for my memory's sake. Now it's off to lay some more bleedin' cork flooring-- tobacco free, and (hopefully) rage free. Grace and Peace.

Sonnenaufgang

Feel good and broken this lovely Sunday morning. Swam for the first time yesterday since before i started the rig job.

Got in 1100m:
300 x warmup/drills
5 x 100s on a 10 sec. interval
300 cooldown

Then i got in to the irongym for a quick 'un on the way home last night. This is proving hard to get motivated for, cuz i have no chest left. i'm trying hard to just look at it like it should be looked at: eeeeeasing back into it without hurting myself again.

Did 3 x 10 on DB Press (wherein m' faithful old shoulder injury started whispering from beyond the grave about coming back and haunting me), tried some Dips, but that promised to be almost certain injury, and settled on one set of Incline DBs with 40s. i could just curl 'em right up there, but i only managed one set 'cuz my shoulders and (strangely) bicep tendons were creaking and whining so loudly i couldn't do any more. Then i did 3 x 10 on Hanging Straight Leg Lifts (which i sorta wished i hadn't done with hiking boots on), and they went ok. Finished out with some one-arm Cable Tricep Presses, and Pec Deck.

i was a little disappointed that i haven't healed from all that yet. i swam, and an old ankle injury came back to nag me when i kicked, and i benched and that shoulder injury woke up and growled-- and i haven't had any thoughts at all of either injury in a long, long time. Anyhow, maybe i can keep it light enough to do some rehab.

Quicquid cognoscitur...

Odd day today. Slept like doodoo last night. No alcohol, no dip, chilled in the hot tub, and i still managed to sleep nearly not at all. Went to the climbgym this morning and the lack of sleep shew'd its haggish heed: clumb like puppy diarrhea. (To my head's credit m' forearms were still torn down from climbing a coupla' days before.) Ah well... it was a workout of sorts. Spent the remainder of the day laying cork flooring. By the grace of God i managed not to have a dip, although i was alone. By the end of the day i was having a proper Luther-esque hallucinated self-war/anxiety attack, but i didn't even cuss much (although i shore did want to). Finally i gave up screwing up otherwise innocent cork planks, and went climbing again. Didn't get much better, but it felt good to stretch. i eschewed most of the hard stuff and did a "tour of twos"-- all the v2 i could manage. Did snag a new 3 earlier, although i questioned its 3ness. Also got a 4 that i'd say goes at stiff 2.

Moreover, i scored a big hangboard for $15 'cuz the gym needed the space for a new one. Happy.

The next Stone Cup is this fri. so i'm gonna take most of the week off from climbing. i do want to get in to the irongym for chest/tris. Also gotta start hitting abs with masochistic ferocity. And i must start swimming and running again. Biceps just won't heal--which is right screwing me climbing up-- so i'm hoping a week off of pulling hard'll make a difference.

If i could just find a way to stop thinking so damn much that doesn't involve wholesale self destruction...

Nuevo ano, nueva pagina

i'll say (with no mean tone of urgency) that it's time for some new year's resolutions. Dragged daddy to the climbgym with me yesterday for one of the worst sessions i've come through in one piece in a long time. i felt fine, and after a solid week off my hands felt pretty dang good. But i felt really sluggish and heavy. Fell off of crap i was sticking dead tired last week. i was getting frustrated (and tired of missing v2s) so i started working a couple of v4+ just to see what happened. Interestingly, i made some good headway on 'em. That was reassuring, and i know i can send if i get back in with my head on straight. Resolution #1: No beer before workouts. ;)

Today Nate came over and helped me work on flooring, so i didn't dip. Strangely, having had no liquor and no tobacco i feel fabulous. Also, by God's grace, i managed not to rage much today. Never have been one for holidays or new year's resolutions and such, but it really does feel nice that it's a new year, and it seems like a fine time to set some goals. i'm mighty tired of poisoning m'self (...and the congregation said'a...??). It's a bit nauseating to look back on this last year and realize how little i've accomplished. i've been paralyzed by my demotivators. i could use some prayer for that too, lads. i gotta quit dipping.

Here's the goal: i wanna lose 15 more lbs. and get down below 180. If i can do that, i won't be gunning for v5-- i'll be gunning for v10. It's not impossible, but i've got to get my eating under control, and i've got to start training like a fiend and training smart. And i've got to get out from in front of this damned computer. Li'l help here? Anybody ready to get strong? Sounds like G's in, and has a leg up on me. i didn't get on the bike last night, but i wish i had. i'm proud of you bro.

...Are we human, or are we dancers?

Dunno. Some gay drivel i heard on the tranny at the gym.

Today was the first day in rather a long time i felt at all like a human.* Last night i breached the mind-warping looney bin of pre-xmas Wal-Mart 'cuz i was so desperate for glucosamine. This was unwise, and i left in a blank stare wondering if the universe could really tolerate such a dense profusion of entropy in such a small area; but i prevailed.

Seriously: electrons are not particularly intelligent or predictable, but they do what they're supposed to do. That is, they stay the hell as far away from each other as they can manage. Wal-Martians, on the other hand, although approximately on average of the same intellectual bent as electrons, are mutually convinced that they, individually, are the only ones in the damned store. While electrons are arguably not convinced of anything whatever, they do strangely, by their God-given aversion to other electrons, thereby acknowledge the presence of the others.

i found myself, with my glucosamine, deodorant, and contact solution in the oxymoronically labeled "fast lane/self-checkout" line. There probably exist stores where self-checkout kiosks are a fine idea, but if i'd noticed that caveat on the sign when i got in the line i'd have nipped off and found me a nice half-mile long line with a cashier. i was second in line to check out. Second.

You get numb to hearing about the brain-dead exploits of the Wal-Mart crowd, i realize. Normally, though, they're just irritating-- maybe in the same way you or someone dear to you becomes wretched and irritating upon entering Wal-Mart. But this woman had three children and long about 200 items in a self-checkout line. That'd be plenty irritating, but she apparently thought it'd be socially acceptable to let her 11 year-old girl scan everything. Hijinks ensued. The lady behind me (and very likely several of the ladies in the 2 miles behind me) started cursing and gnashing her teeth. Fifteen minutes later, after learning which bit of each package she'd need to scan in order to make the robotic voice stop accusing her of theft, and having fetched a cashier from an otherwise smooth-flowing line to help her scan a picture frame with no tag on, she mercifully paid to end our misery. Only, lo and behold, the eleven y/o had reserved several items in the cart she wanted to pay for with her own money. Finally, she turned around and apologized to me that she'd never have expected it might take so long to check a mere 200 items (or however she phrased it in Ghetto). Then the yotch traipsed off, left her effin' cart parked right in front of me (like that's where, as far as she knew, Wal-Mart tends to store their carts), as well as her sparkling daughter, who was still trying to figure out from which complicated hole her change was gonna emerge when i took my receipt and bolted.

It was worth it though. i went to the climbgym today, and felt like i was gunning above 50% for the first time in months. Still not close to full-bore, and my ring-finger tendon and biceps still bark at me, but they let me climb. Retro-flashed a v4 endurance problem, almost got my project 4, and then tagged the penultimate hold on another 4. Nothing earth shaking, but it was awful encouraging to know i can still climb. Now to address those new year's resolutions...




*Or rather, like myself in a previous, better state. Couldn't rightly say i've ever felt like a human. Never been close enough to one of 'em to say if we've anything in common.

Fell on. Black days.

Imagine something bovine, swinging from a couple of those stretchy sticky rubber whips you used to wet down and irritate friends and teachers with as a lad, and that's about the correct picture of me in today's training session. we're staying at Steph's parent's house whilst replacing the flooring in ours, and for large chunks of the day there's nothing to do but eat while i'm watching the kids. The tendonitis has abated nearly not at all, although i've taken at least four days off. Plus, today's the first day of trying to quit dipping, so i feel like butter scraped over too much bread. (i just came up with that analogy, just now.) So instead of laying flooring, i'm drinking beer and trying not to think of how nice a dip sounds, nor of how much i'd like to strangle someone till they stop twitching. Maybe i need a hobby...

CFS

Sat. and mon. i went in to the climbgym. Been gone for the last three weeks straight, so i had to reacclamitize. Sat. i sent a v3 that'd eluded me at the comp, but not much else to speak of. i feel like i have chronic fatigue syndrome or something-- like i really need to sleep for about 20 hrs. straight to get caught up. Plus i have screaming tendonitis in most of my upper body, especially m' hands. On the other hand, i came pretty close yesterday to tagging my first v5. i was kinda going through the motions and not feeling very good when i hooked up with a coupla' other blokes throwing at this v5. i watched 'em for a good long while and started thinking it looked doable. Couldn't establish quick enough on the crux pinch 'cuz my hands are so torn down, but it felt possible if i can just heal. i'm kinda' excited about being home again. Even though i'm looking down the barrel of probably getting another monitor tech job (or something equally low paying) i'm excited about getting to heal up and start working out seriously again. No matter what i end up doing, i'm certain my attitude will be better now because i know how shitty it can get. And that's a blessing (albeit a weird one). Also, i might actually get to go back to school without Steph having to work if i can snag a 12 hr. shift job. i'm very motivated to get into PT school. i don't want to be a tech forever.

Sweet n Low

As always (and i have an astonishing number of time chords that'd fall under the heading "always"), it's a bittersweet bolus to choke down being unemployed. On the one hand, there's one helluva weekend with which to get stuff done. On the other, there're many slitted, derisive eyes insinuating at every turn that there's probably some better way i could be spending my time than whatever i'd be doing. At any rate, it's come down to a true battle of priorities for us. Being gone for 9 out of every 14 days (and spending 24 hrs. a day around oilfield trash) is having a clearly deleterious effect on my li'l family. On the other hand, i can't come up with anything that pays even in the same ballpark as rigwork that gets me home every night. i know there's something out there, but i don't know what it is. Bit nerve-wracking. i'd take a big pay cut to get to be close to home, but i can only realistically take so much before we can't pay our bills. Prayers please.

Tard

It's been a while since last I wrote, and i'm gonna see if I can post from my phone. Every tendon in my body hurts, and i'm looking for a new job. Getting 5 days out of every 14 to see my family is unacceptable-- i'm not man enough for it I suppose. Plus i'm kinda' sick of having global tendonitis that never has time to heal. Anyhow, i'd appreciate your prayers. Cheers mates.

Pull and Grass

Yesterday was this year's annual Yank 'n' Yard climbing comp at ye olde rockgym. That was good clean fun, that was. i didn't climb anywhere near capacity, cuz m' hands were tired when i went in the door, but i did get second place in my age category (31-36 y/o). Guess i was pretty happy about that. And i won an Access Fund t-shirt, and a "Women of Climbing" 2009 calendar (which has so far failed to make Steph as happy as it made me.) i'll be curious to see what some of the grades on those routes end up being, but i felt like i was climbing a lot of v2. i might be surprised, but nothing i got felt much harder than that.

Well, i hope you guys are still in one piece, and you had a good weekend of it. Happy bachelorism, and i'm sorry i missed the party, B. Hopefully i'll get up there with you guys one of these times. Peace out.

...a mind to rhyme and two hyped feet...

Yeah baby! Daddy's like some kind of rabbit's foot or something for me. Snagged two v4s yesterday. That one i sprayed about last week i went up to and yanked first try. Got a bunch of other stuff, and then settled into working another 4. Ended up not getting it before i ran outta time, but i linked through all the moves. Just couldn't hang on long enough to put it all together. Then Mama and Daddy showed up, and i sneakily took him back to the gym with me on an "errand run." He jumped on it and sent with the yoga-gorilla beta, but i didn't have that kind of game. Finally got it old school cuss-at-it-till-it-falls style.

It's amazing how much the rig work takes out of my arms. It's different muscles than i typically use for climbing, but it makes for some weird failures. i get two weeks off of using my crimpers, so i've gotten strong as hell on crimps, but the huge "easy" buckets and pinches i find myself totally juiced on. i have ongoing tendonitis from my shoulders to my palms.

Funny note: last thurs. was the filthiest day of my life so far. i swam for eight hours or so in drilling mud. we were tripping joints out of the hole, and every time we'd break a connection mud would spew out all over the place. i had the luxurious job of holding a piece of plastic over the connection when this happened. The other guys had on rain gear, but i had no warning. i was so covered in mud, i'd stop between connections and slick the crap off of me. we're talking every orifice on my body was crammed. There've been some times when confronted by public toilets that i've layed down some prophylactic toily paper to save me from Hep-C, but this was the first time i've ever felt compelled to put the paper on the seat to protect it from my ass.

On a brighter note...

The fam and i, along with the bro-in-law et familia, went to Las Conchas on sat. we got there a bit late ('cuz one of the dogs kept puking in the back of their car every 15 mins.), but we got some climbing in. Annie got that 5.6 we started out on. Just before we left, i insisted on doing that 10d/11a just to the right of that route. It was so cold i couldn't feel my hands, but i got the route with a couple of hangs. would'a got it onsight, 'cept for the cold i think. It definitely isn't 11a. i'd guess it's a bit closer to 10b/c. Still a nice feeling that i go fairly hard on real rock. After floundering like a fish on that 9 with you guys, i wasn't sure. The day before that, i went in to the gym. Couldn't even start that v5 i've been wanting. The first move is reeeeal shouldery, and my week on the rig pretty much decommissioned my left shoulder for a bit. But i did send a nice handful of v3s, a long string of 2s, and i nearly second-tried a v4, but i ran outta gas for the final throw. The one seriously joyous facet of rigwork is that i came home an easy 5 lbs. lighter than when i left. i just live on high-cal breakfasts, turkey sandwiches, and granola bars. Gotta be burning 3,000 cals/day, and i'm eating around 1,800. Skoal, it turns out, is low in saturated fat. If i can just hold my decrepit body together, i might come out of this a better climber. Solanjy var.

Plumb beat the hell out of

Just got home yesterday evening. Worked eight 12 hour shifts in a row. Nothing in me works the way it's supposed to. i managed to fall in the cellar of the well twice (once from a ladder), and i ended up cutting off a chunk of my own ear with scissors.* If i leave my arms in one position for more than a couple of minutes they'll both go to sleep. And two days later i still can't fully close my hands. 96 hours of good, clean fun, that. The upshot is that, well, it's over. But i think it won't take me long to be running my own rig. Turns out ain't nobody on these things what've been there more than a year or two. i've been told i'm grossing a bit over 70K as a swab, but drillers edge the 6 figure mark. i think you should both come work with me, and we can take over a rig. It's long hours, but you get 6 months off per year. Not too bad if you don't mind working your ass clean off and collapsing at the end of the day. i don't think i'll be hurting this bad once i get used to the work, and a week off every other week is some extra fine road-tripping time. And seeing's you likey the strongman schmidt, G, you'd get to spoon with 1,000lb. chunks of steel on a more frequent basis than you ever have before. Whaddaya say?

*I'd appreciate it if you don't mention any of that to your coworkers, g.

Perfectly gravid

Didn't get m' wee v5 today. On the other hand, i did get all the moves and linked through the crux. She'll fall if i can get back in with 90% or better in the tank. It's very pumpy, you see. Wed. i thought i'd overdone it on my right bicep. Wasn't sure, but there was a funny twinge. Today there was no doubt. There was an innervated piano wire running down me arm preventing the lock-off i really needed to do. At any rate, assuming i ever get back to the climbgym, i'm pretty sure it'll come down.

i start in Springtown on mon. Bought me some steel toes today. Steph's last day at work was today. i guess i'm ready to just get on with it. i think we're gonna leave tomorrow (i.e. sat.) to head that way. Pray for us, eh.

Muy Thai

There's a funny myth in professional medical circles that food takes at least 12-24 hrs. to be processed and passed through one's digestive tract fully. i can't, in all honesty, speak for the remaining constituents of last night's green curry, but i can say with authority that Thai chiles have the preturnatural ability to bypass most intestinal decomposition like Teflon, and can move faster downward therein than the same chile would move under the mere influence of gravity, were you to, say, pick it up and drop it on the floor. In fact, i have vivid memories of such chiles threatening to exit my colon before i'd managed to put 'em in my mouth (quite in defiance--one's intuition is apt to assert-- of several important physical laws.) Let me be the first to posit the nexus of cosmological physics and culinary art: The Thai Chile Wormhole. Just remember that you heard it here first, folks.