I am a little bit confused as to the direction I want this blog to head in. I've been looking at other blogs to see how it's done; ya see, the only blog I ever really kept was an old livejournal. That was way back in high school, and the lj was just a way for me to pour out my brains for my friends to see. Other blogs, at least all of those that last and have followers, have a common thread through all their posts, be it pictures of rock climbing trips, vegan recipes, or album reviews. I would really like to see some sort of theme develop in my own writing, instead of just wasting cyberspace with my brain vomit; that's what paper journals are for. I want a blog with direction, a purpose, something to drive me to keep up with it.
But then again, I already have a title that implies a theme. I suppose I could use it as an outlet for all the anxieties and joys I experience on my road to earning my secondary education certification. And there's no rule saying I can't use it to post the occasional photo of me climbing cliffs, a recipe I concocted, or a review of an album I just listened to. Teachers do have lives outside of teaching, after all. I suppose that it's just hard to start when one can go in any direction...infinite possibility is a fantastic thing, but it's also intimidating.
In any case, I think the only conclusion I can come to today is that there is a lot to talk about...so much so, in fact, that I thoroughly doubt that this little corner of cyberspace that I'm going to call my own will give you a decent picture of who I am. Then again, it will probably develop the more time I put into it. I hope I keep up with this one.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Musing!
I believe that yesterday is one of the best examples of the consequences of my caffeine addiction to date.
On Saturday I decided to give Missoula a miss and head to Discovery with Kate and her friends Justin and Anna and go snowboarding. I even bought myself a new cold-weather base-layer for the occasion; this is only the third time I've ever gone. After waking up at an ungodly 5:30, Kate and I hit up Ruby's cafe for some breakfast. Just as an interjection, I cannot stand half-crispy hash browns...nothing can ruin my morning faster than undercooked breakfast food, except maybe wet socks, a lack of good coffee, or a punch to the genitals. It was a good thing that my socks were dry, Ruby's had cream to cover up the bitter sludge they served us, and Kate was in a good mood. Otherwise I would have given up on the whole snowboarding thing altogether. But I digress.
After meeting Justin and Anna, we started off on the two hour drive to Disco, listening to music and chatting (and occasionally dozing off in my case). I went through the rental process, blah blah, and hit the slopes as best I could. My comrades told me I was getting the hang of it fairly well, but to be honest, I felt like a fish out of water in almost every sense of the word. By the end of the day I had almost gotten the hang of turning, but somehow never figured out how to keep the edges from catching the hard pack. It was interesting to go from the great rush of flying across the snow to the quick and painful realization that my mouth and jacket were full of snow and my head had twisted in a very awkward and painful manner. One would think that after the fifth or sixth time it would stop being a surprise. Even more embarrassing, however, was when I would lose all my speed and end up next to the tree line at a complete stop. In situations like this I could only unstrap one of my bindings and try to do a ridiculously awkward skateboard-esque shuffle towards the crest of the nearest hill. Only in hindsight do I realize it would have been much easier to just unstrap the whole board and walk. I guess my brain was just too tired and cold to work well.
But despite all the awkwardness, I had a lot of fun. There's always a learning curve, no matter what. I mean, hell, last year I could barely muscle my way up a 5.8, and I sent a 5.10b the other day. I've come a long way when it comes to climbing, and I'm sure if I put effor towards snowboarding I could make it a hobby of mine. Too bad I lack the funds...but anyway.
The next day was when I reaped the benefits of using all those never-used muscles. I thought I would be relatively okay since I slackline a lot, but I was sorely mistaken. Even my forearmes were stiff...when the hell did I use those? Oh yeah, catching myself every few minutes as I fell. Good thing I'm a restaurant worker and use my arms and legs for everything.
But here's the kicker; I went to the pantry and found that I was out of coffee. I had work, I was aching everywhere, and there was no caffeine. I ended up working until about 6. Needless to say, I was quite grumpy.
On Saturday I decided to give Missoula a miss and head to Discovery with Kate and her friends Justin and Anna and go snowboarding. I even bought myself a new cold-weather base-layer for the occasion; this is only the third time I've ever gone. After waking up at an ungodly 5:30, Kate and I hit up Ruby's cafe for some breakfast. Just as an interjection, I cannot stand half-crispy hash browns...nothing can ruin my morning faster than undercooked breakfast food, except maybe wet socks, a lack of good coffee, or a punch to the genitals. It was a good thing that my socks were dry, Ruby's had cream to cover up the bitter sludge they served us, and Kate was in a good mood. Otherwise I would have given up on the whole snowboarding thing altogether. But I digress.
After meeting Justin and Anna, we started off on the two hour drive to Disco, listening to music and chatting (and occasionally dozing off in my case). I went through the rental process, blah blah, and hit the slopes as best I could. My comrades told me I was getting the hang of it fairly well, but to be honest, I felt like a fish out of water in almost every sense of the word. By the end of the day I had almost gotten the hang of turning, but somehow never figured out how to keep the edges from catching the hard pack. It was interesting to go from the great rush of flying across the snow to the quick and painful realization that my mouth and jacket were full of snow and my head had twisted in a very awkward and painful manner. One would think that after the fifth or sixth time it would stop being a surprise. Even more embarrassing, however, was when I would lose all my speed and end up next to the tree line at a complete stop. In situations like this I could only unstrap one of my bindings and try to do a ridiculously awkward skateboard-esque shuffle towards the crest of the nearest hill. Only in hindsight do I realize it would have been much easier to just unstrap the whole board and walk. I guess my brain was just too tired and cold to work well.
But despite all the awkwardness, I had a lot of fun. There's always a learning curve, no matter what. I mean, hell, last year I could barely muscle my way up a 5.8, and I sent a 5.10b the other day. I've come a long way when it comes to climbing, and I'm sure if I put effor towards snowboarding I could make it a hobby of mine. Too bad I lack the funds...but anyway.
The next day was when I reaped the benefits of using all those never-used muscles. I thought I would be relatively okay since I slackline a lot, but I was sorely mistaken. Even my forearmes were stiff...when the hell did I use those? Oh yeah, catching myself every few minutes as I fell. Good thing I'm a restaurant worker and use my arms and legs for everything.
But here's the kicker; I went to the pantry and found that I was out of coffee. I had work, I was aching everywhere, and there was no caffeine. I ended up working until about 6. Needless to say, I was quite grumpy.
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