On Missing Yosemite
Cecile, David, Tony and his brother and sister are heading out to Yosemite tonight. Meanwhile, I still have work left to do, and Marc needs to do some reviewing. I kind of feel the beginnings of some stircraziness again, as our Santa Barbara trip was only for one day, and we didn't do any climbing. So I expect the effects of that trip should be wearing off soon.
It took all of my willpower not to grab a calendar last night and start blocking off dates with Tony and Marc to go climbing/camping somewhere. J.Tree, Malibu, Echo, Red Rocks, New Jack, Yosemite, wherever! Anywhere but here.
But I am really disappointed that it's
this trip I have to miss when there's a bigger group, and consequently will be more fun. Tony's brother and sister are relatively new climbers, so I won't be afraid to jump in and climb with them, since I know Tony won't be doing any intense routes with them. And of course I would have jumped at the chance to check out the
Royal Arches again, which Marc and I still hope to climb sometime in the (near?) future (when I've gotten more used to trad - which, incidentally, will
not happen if I don't go out more, sigh.).
So another weekend in West LA beckons to me, and I have to drag my feet, because my heart is really somewhere up north, several hundred feet off the ground, looking out across the valley.
Santa Barbara
To cure my cabin fever, Marc and I spent a day in Santa Barbara, walking around downtown and doing the tourist route. We stopped off at the botanic gardens after shopping and lunch, then capped off the day with more shopping and a quick truck stop at In N Out (yum!). It was exactly what I needed: a mellow day in a completely new place. Here are some of our pictures:
Here's Your Virginity Back
This is an update to my post entitled "Deflowered". I had talked about setting a route for the very first time, so I thought it would be appropriate to name it that. Well, I guess it was still too racy for the rock gym gods, so when I went in last night and checked on the final verdict on my route (the final rating was to be determined by these gods), I saw that the title on the rating sheet had been wiped away. Oh, pooh on you! But okay, I guess even the toned down version of the title wasn't wholesome enough. Caca!
Bitten By The Makeup Bug
I never used to like wearing makeup, and consequently never knew exactly what to do with all the myriad of brushes and what-not that I would see at my aunt's or at Angela's, and I used to do such a horrible job at putting it on when the occasion demanded it.
But for some reason, since I started working at Kaiser, I've slowly become obsessed with it - foundation, eye makeup, blush, highlighter, you name it, I have it on my list of things to check out. I think it was because one of the first things my boss told me was to make sure I
always looked presentable. No biggie, and it is the professional thing to do.
I still try to keep my life simple outside of work though, so the minute I get home, I wash the makeup off and wear my naked face out.
But that doesn't stop me from wanting more.
Here is my latest purchase, from my 3:00pm work-break stroll today:
Beautiful Day
Because of a frantic eating binge that resulted in a tummyache that I knew meant I was about to burst through my clothes, I decided to *gasp* take a break this lunchtime and head out to enjoy the sun a little bit. Paseo Colorado is pretty close by, so I decided to walk over and browse for a little bit.
Man, was that the best decision I made today. It was beautiful outside, and I realized that there is a lot to see around the vicinity of where I work. There was a really old church, a little museum, several little hole-in-the-walls, and of course, lots and lots of shops! I was craving to go into Sephora, but couldn't seem to find it to my frustration. It was time to go before I could get enough, but I definitely will make this a lunchtime routine now. Thank God the rains have gone away, at least for now. I've been craving uninterrupted sunshine.
Also, because of work and Easter and just having to do things around town, I haven't been able to get out at all, and consequently have been suffering a sort of cabin fever. Not a pretty sight. I've been cranky, overreactive, and just generally restless. I didn't think it was possible but I was actually getting bored of Santa Monica and West LA.... and God knows I love living where I do. And I never knew myself to get this stir crazy, but here I am, and I'm going mental.
I need to get away!!!!!*kick and scream*
Koochikoochikoo!
Congratulations are in order for my cousins David and Christine. Look at this cute little addition to our family! What a cutie! Welcome to the world, little one!
Image pulled from Christine's blog
"Deflowered"
I've repeatedly said to different people at different occasions how I would love to learn how to set routes at Rockreation, just for the heck of it. I could imagine just how fulfilling it would be to see people try your route, and have fun on it.
I asked Jean-Michel more than a month ago if I could learn how to set, since he was the route god there. He answered with a blunt, accented, "No," and said it would be a lot of work for him to teach me how to rig the ropes so that I could set without any assistance. So much for that.
As fate would have it though, Tad was around when I asked JM, so when we bumped into each other again that same night without JM lurking around, he said he would help me. He had already finished his quota for March, but he said come April, he would have to set four more routes again. I would definitely be able to get some pointers from him then.
That was a couple of weeks ago. I didn't see Tad around the gym after that.
That is, until this weekend. I had wanted to go climbing but I had to work and Marc had to put in some time studying. But we decided to swing by the gym to at least see Mike, who was spending the afternoon there. As I walked in, I saw a short stocky figure, arranging black holds in the beginner wall.
I rushed in and gasped out, "Tad! You're setting!"
Cut to about an hour and a half later, I was the proud co-owner of a 5.8 route, aptly named
Deflowered (
Devirginized was not too good for the kids who usually climb that wall). And apparently, Rockreation might be losing one of its easy-route setters, so that will definitely be a fun opportunity for me. Whoopee!
