in a fog

Another one of those foggy D.C. spring days. Walking around the city in a cloudy mist, taking pictures of the not-yet awakened cherry blossoms. Tourists light, mud heavy. Like walking in a Poe's "Dreams"

I have been happy, tho' in a dream.
I have been happy— and I love the theme:
Dreams! in their vivid coloring of life,
As in that fleeting, shadowy, misty strife
Of semblance with reality, which brings
To the delirious eye, more lovely things
Of Paradise and Love— and all our own!
Than young Hope in his sunniest hour hath known.

'Twas a great day nonetheless. Much like last year's kite festival shenanigans with the pirate crew. I reckon they're soon to return, much as the tourists will when the heat of summer comes anew. Luckily, I'll be off somewhere else, avoiding the madding crowds.

ballin' out of control

Horseshoes are grand. Cornhole is highly portable and inexpensive. However, bocce ball has to be my favorite of all lawn-based projectile games. I was lucky enough to get to play on a proper court when I was in Gainesville on Friday night. It was pure pleasure tossing the bocce while we waited on our table for a typically long time at Satchel's.

I challenged Palmer and Margarita to a match. Before they knew what hit them, I was up 8-1 and looking to close it out. It wasn't a fair fight. I've played a few times myself, and Margarita was a rookie. At that point, I got a teammate, and Margarita got the hang of the backhanded toss. We lost 11-8. It wasn't pretty, and under ordinary circumstances, I might've pitched a wobbler. Eh, I was having fun with all the side talk and the old friends milling about.

The hell with a new rope for climbing. No need for new climbing shoes. Forget finishing up my rack of quickdraws. I am buying a bocce set for when it warms up and dries out. No need for a perfect, walled-in court. We've got flat grass by my place. We can bocce and drink Peroni in the sunshine.

I like this idea. Who's with me?

march already?

Where, oh where, did my winter go? This weekend the clocks spring forward. I know the Daylight Savings people are in some sort of plot to conserve energy by making me get up when it's dark out, but doesn't it seem awfully early for that mnemonic? They need to change it to "Change Your Clocks Two Weeks Before Spring". Doesn't have quite the same pop though...

It seems like months ago that I bought my plane tickets for two weddings in March. Realistically, I guess it was. Winter flew by like most football seasons do. I kept busy pretty much all winter long. Between snowboarding treks to Pennsylvania and ice-covered climbing trips to Maryland, my weekends filled up just as quickly as they do when the Ol' Boys of Florida are battling on the gridiron in the fall. It's been nice to have a lull in my schedule last weekend and this one upcoming. Nothing besides meals with my better half's family. It just isn't going to feel liks spring with all the snow still on the ground from this weekend's dump.

Wedding one next weekend will prevent Shamrock Fest shenanigans, but I think I'll have a better time with an old friend from the neighborhood. We haven't kept in touch nearly as well as we'd like over the years during and past college, but there's nothing like one of those old friends you can immediately feel at ease with. One whose mom you call mom because you spent nearly every afternoon there in the summer, perfecting your bank shot combo with a pool cue.

Wedding two will introduce my better half to a large number of my dirty stinkin' frat boy buddies all at once. Included will be the roommates of seven out of the ten years I spent in Gainesville. Good people all, but she's only met the groom and one of the roommates prior. It should be a good time in the sunshine, plus a bonus night with some family to boot.

Which reminds me, I still need to get rental cars and hotels for those weekends. Yeah, about that....

going big

Going big does always lead to going home. Going big too often leads to staying home sometimes when you'd rather be out enjoying life. This weekend was one such case of circumstances combining with fatigue to keep me in on what turned out to be a pretty spectacular weather weekend.

Too bad.

A lack of planning on our parts led to a lack of plans. Climbing would have been good; alas, the local place we chose in our shortsight turned out to be sketchy access, so we bailed on it. The weather turned out too warm to hit the slopes, so no riding either. Conversely, the temps were too cold for too much bike riding, so as you know, I was relegated to climbing in a gym with seemingly perfect, dry conditions.

I miss my Florida sunshine, but I reckon I'll get a good dose of it in a few weeks when I go back for two weddings. That'll be pretty darn close to springtime, and all I'll be hoping for up here is some warmer temps. That'll lead to bigger trips for bigger rocks and bigger sends. For now, I'll have to settle for the fleeting glimpses of sunlight I get through my classroom window and my windshield in the mornings. Lord knows I haven't been out of here early enough lately to catch those late afternoon rays!

Spring break is fast approaching, and plans are set to see some big walls. Yosemite granite is calling my name. I doubt I'll get on El Capitan or Salathe Wall, but I might try to soak up some history via Midnight Lightning. Lyn Hill makes it look so easy on video. I doubt my lanky frame can do what her nasty strong five feet two inches breezed through, but it'll be fun to try.

That's all I got. Back to the grindstone.

wrong again...

fifty percent chance of rain. doesn't mean that there's a fifty percent chance it will, it means that on fifty percent of the days that conditions were like this, it rained. i'm not too sure about the distinction, but it seems to me that it removes the looking forward part of the forecast. makes it seem like all meteorologists do is look to the past to make their "predictions". they may as well use a magic 8 ball.

anyhow, after a winter of predicted snows that never came, i guess i shouldn't be surprised that the predicted rainy nasty weekend we were supposed to have never came. yesterday, i got up with the rooster's call to climb some rocks. it turned into a six-mile hike with a crash pad on, peppered with some bouldering. 80s, blue skies, no rains until after the baseball game last night. it was supposed to hit mid-afternoon.

radar this morning looked no better, but i wanted to see that trail without a twin mattress strapped to my back. scenery was beautiful, and i had the time to stop and enjoy the view (and me without my camera!). today was overcast, cooler temps, less fellow hikers. the trail had dried out in some places and muddied up in others. three points of contact scrambling. rock-hopping on the high banks of the potomac canal. i want to make a point of hitting this trail at least once a month from now on. it's good for the soul.

stressed

this morning was one of the most stressful conferences i've ever had. i don't suppose i'll understand how it feels to get negative feedback about my child's progress until i have one of my own. karma tells me that mine'll be full of piss and vinegar like i was, but there's enough adderall and ritalin in the water supply to settle things down. hopefully, it doesn't take nearly as long for my offspring to move from outcasts to outgoing. i'm wiped out emotionally from the conference, as her mother fought back tears of frustration at me, at school, about what to do. i'm drained and it's not even my child.

42 days left. seems so far away. this year will be far different than years past in that i won't have to say goodbye to this class. they'll all be at the same school for the next four years with me. hopefully the senioritis of second grade won't set in. now the real stress of the year begins. work creeping into my dreams. normal destressors having no effect. i don't feel any relief from climbing, running, moving. i'm just as tired when i wake up as when i went to bed. i hate this part of year. don't let me dwell on it outside of work, ok?

unexpected beauty

springtime around here has a wholly different aesthetic vibe than that down south. i don't know if i didn't notice them in florida or what, but it seems to me there are far more flowers in bloom up here in the springtime. the only way i noticed springtime in florida was the need to use air conditioning to avoid sweltering. i enjoyed the return of beach weather, for sure, but being so far from one here, i can't say i miss that. summertime comes, i'll be outside in the sunshine regardless, and it may even be more tolerable.

the flowers are eye-poppingly beautiful. tulips in vivid reds, pinks and oranges. daffodils in sunshine yellows. cherry blossoms in pure white. even the dandelions look amazing. coreopsis in florida, while varied in color and pretty hardy condidering what it puts up with can't quite compete with the flowers growing alongside the railroad tracks and in median strips. there's a few places i want to shutterbug, but for fear of bodily harm and mutilation by train or speeding commuter, i'll refrain.

wake up and smell the roses has a more visual aspect to it than i knew. sure, the fragrant blooms make themselves known as well, but their overpowering colors take the cake. keep an eye out for new photos when i figure out how to capture what i've composed in my head. those diamonds in the rough. the beautiful things i'm beginning to see in not-so-beautiful places. i kinda feel like ricky fitts from american beauty,

It was one of those days when it's a minute away from snowing and there's this electricity in the air, you can almost hear it. And this bag was, like, dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. And that's the day I knew there was this entire life behind things, and... this incredibly benevolent force, that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. Video's a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember... and I need to remember... Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in.

pain is temporary...

pride is forever. or so goes the motivational t-shirt. today, i disagree. pain feels permanant, and my pride is bruised at least for a little while...

it hurts to walk after yesterday. when trying any new physical activity, it's best to not go into it full bore. like a bat out of hell. like a chicken with its head cut off. willy nilly. i should take that advice more often. i was battered and bruised in late december after my first mountain + snow excursion. i had trouble moving oh-so-many years ago after my first jaunt into the realm of rock climbing. yesterday, she and i decided to go on a leisurely bike ride.

leisurely, eh? my quads and seat contact point disagree. sixteen miles and one hot tub soak later, i'm still thinking ibuprofen may be coursing through my veins for a few days. my woefully inadequate bicycle and skill set spent the majority of the ride realizing that i'm dating a well-rounded athlete. what was a casual bit of recreation for her was pure exertion for me. i warned her she was going to run me into the ground. after a half-mile, my quads agreed. at least the weather was nice. 40s. overcast. headwind both ways.

to top it all off, when i was taking a post-beating nap, someone liberated my bike from my possession. i guess this means that my fifteen year-old bike now resides in some teenagers garage. my only hope is that an overly-curious bike fixer upper gets a little too nosy about the gainesville, coral springs, and sunrise, florida stickers from various police agencies and bike shops. i was already contemplating selling it on craigslist as it were. guess i'm out a few bucks.

any suggestions on used road, hybrid, or mtn. bikes?

tourist times in the new town

it's hard for me to believe sometimes that people actually want to come to the district on their vacations. i'm so far removed from the tourist culture of south florida that i forget people go on vacations and might randomly choose where i live. someday, i'll figure out how to avoid the maddening crowds when they do come. as yet, i'm not that lucky. a lot of my exploring, adventurous nature manifests in the very things that tourists want to see.

case in point numero uno. two and half years ago, a friend had an internship at a vet clinic in the district. i'm doing the legit tourist thing with his girlfriend while he's working. it's triple digits outside, even our floridian bodies were screaming for a/c. smithsonian museums are free, let's go there! air and space: comfortable, but crazily crowded. sidenote, woman wearing all black from head-to-toe passes out on steps in front of us. bad omen.

case in point numero dos through cien. weekend. nice weather. national mall. memorials. smithsonians. fuhgettaboutit!

today. previous cases in point. add cherry blossoms to the mix and ninety-nine out of a hundred of these tourists is ansel adams in disguise. [full disclosure: yes, i'm in that 99, but i was trying to avoid the cliche shots of out-of-focus monuments in the background with blossoms in the foreground and 27 unrecognizable people screwing up the shot.] makes me want to play hooky from work this week to go take picures. perhaps some day after work to try to get cool pictures with a sunset in the mix. i'm mildly disappointed with my addition the the glut of cherry blossom pictures that will soon be flooding the web. you'll see mine, but my camera's eye and mine don't often agree. an upgrade is needed.

surreality

spring snows settled silently last weekend. not quite as surreal. oddly, i've gotten used to snow, though little we had. i guess being out of my environment at granny's may have had something to do with that. early in the winter, when we actually had snow on the ground for a day or two or three, it seemed odd to me. growing up with rain or harder rain being the only likely precipitation possibilities, adding snow, freezing rain, and hail to the equation still throws me.

it's not snow that has been the most confusing to my brain. these colors and blossoms and new trees, none of which i can call by their proper names. in the fall, it was the eye-popping colors when the leaves changed. springtime, it's proving to be the never-ending rows of blossoming trees. my brain registers it as entirely surreal. a cgi hack job. photoshop brought to real life. surreality. i don't quite know when my mind will revert to appreciating the beauty in it rather than simultaneously questioning its very existence...

one thing's certain, i'm enjoying the resurgence of my interest in photography. pictures to follow for sure.

i've been everywhere, man...

i've been everywhere, man; crossed the deserts bare, man; i've breathed the mountain air, man; travel - i've had my share, man; i've been everywhere.

florida, georgia, tennessee, kentucky, indiana, ohio, michigan, illinois, missouri, kansas, colorado, wyoming, utah, nevada, california, arizona, new mexico, texas, louisiana, mississippi, alabama, south carolina, north carolina, virginia, west virginia, maryland, pennsylvania, new jersey, new york, delaware, connecticut, rhode island. later today, massachusetts. unless i miss my count, that's 33 states in all. and ontario in my only foreign excursion. all from the captain's seat of my truck.

yesterday was the most expensive drives, toll-wise, that i've had. per mile cost, only the pennsylvania and kansas turnpikes even come close. a lincoln here, a hamilton there. 400 miles and change came out to about $30 in tolls. it's all those damn bridges and tunnels along the way.

i loaded up the mp3 player with one song from every artist i wanted to listen to and the battery held out for the trip. too bad i forgot my charger. even driving across the bronx, i know why new yorkers spurn cars. even on a sunday morning, it was stop and go. the coastline scenery once i got into connecticut and rhode island was pretty awesome. unlike anything i've seen since being on the pacific coast highway near san diego or on seven mile drive in monterrey. once it stopped raining, it was pretty nice to open the back window and let the cool air trickle into the cab. i'm beginning to long more and more for responsive handling and peppy acceleration, but i think my truck's brain knows when highway on-ramp acceleration is needed. even in her old age, she does alright. i just wish she performed as well on long inclines.

off to boston for st. patty's. may the road rise up to meet you. may the wind always be at your back. may the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.