One picture Tuesday

The advantages of living at the other end of the universe are that you can pick your garden while everybody else is freezing.

How not to die during bouldering

It's very simple: get a good spotter and ensure s/he is spotting you when you climb. It's as simple as that, really.

Yesterday I was trying this route in the grampians. It has to be probably the hardest v4 in the world. I think it's the kind of problem that San would absolutely love: you start with your right hand on a sloper and your left on a jug, on a roof. Your left foot is hooking and toe-ing at the same time, on two knobs. Your right leg is stepping. You let go of your left hand, come to the side of the roof on the right, on two crimps, to a big overhang move.

Anyway. Yesterday I tried it 20 times an left it. Came back at the end of te day, with my fingers sore and dead tired. On the last attempt though, i managed to get to the end topout. And then I slipped.

It was a microsecond fall. Luckily, my spotter was spot on and saved me from banging my head on a log. However, he did this by literally pushing my head forward. Which made me really bite my tongue. I almost chopped a side off, and it's now hanging by a thread. But I could have died without him.

So yeah. Get a spotter. Make him or her actually spot you, not talk to other people or whatever. It will save your life.

One picture Tuesday

I may have a chili addiction problem. Nowadays I'm so tired and stressed that I need a double shot of chillies to get me happy!

Melbourne

I have been traveling with my mom for this past weekend, in Melbourne. As usual when we travel together, we pig out and walk around like madwomen. A bit of shopping, a bit of eating (ha!) but most importantly, about 15 km per day.

Good thing that Melbourne has some free tourist buses that go around the city. They make for good afternoon naps, I tell ya!

One of the reasons I like Melbourne is that they have ornamental chillies all around!

I really don't like this February

First of all, I turned 30. Who would have thought?

Second of all, my old dog died. He was 16. He was an old gentleman indeed. My first ever dog, he taught me how much of a puppy I really am. I guess I am still processing this. I get random bouts of crying when I think of him and of how he died alone in my mother in law's house.

My mom is visiting me right now and she left him with my mother in law. I am really looking forward to a new month.

I killed my phone.

With my sweat. That's how I killed it. Because this is how you kill phones.

This Saturday I went for a longer run, about 20+km. This run involved running up a very steep hill 727m. Twice. So I went up, down, up, and down again.

It was raining, and half-way through marian returned with my rain jacket. Which I dutifully wore (thanks babe!) but I put my iPhone 4S (goddamit!) in its pocket.

Turns out, especially if you run uphill for a long time, your body heats up a lot, especially since the jacket does not allow for breathing. And so, water condenses in it. Especially in the pockets. And then, the iPhone 4S, is not waterproof, unlike his cousin, the iPhone 1.

Lo and behold, the jacket that killed my phone!

Fuck it, I'm 30.

Another year gone, another year closer to death. And with this I guess I could close this blog and go to sleep, for like 20 years or so. And wake up around 50, because apparently this is when you feel that 30 is. Young.

I've been terrified of dying since I was 3. And ever since it was possible, I have been living my life as if I were to die the next second. I will admit that this is kinda intense, but I had never thought that it might be a problem. Or that it might be (too) tiring - am finding that sometimes, it might just be, too tiring. I have been close to death once. I felt it. It was crisp, clear, silent, and very close, and it did not bother me much at the time (only afterwards it was ohmygodohmygodohmygod).

I am coming closer to death now, as i'm growing older (damnit!) and leukemia (a.k.a the bitch) is once again threatening people around me. I guess the main problem with this kind of possibility of death is that it is much more overwhelming than the one you walk into because you just enjoy doing stupid things. And you can't just kick it in the balls and tell it to "LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!"

So yeah. 30. And rambling (still). Might still have 30 good years in me, so this is not the end of the universe, although it sure feels like it.

One picture Tuesday

My colleague has leukemia. Damn it. And as a result I have five, FIVE, zits on my face.

And Sydney has vending machines with flip-flops. Spot the two trivia.