The Force is strong with this one

I've always told people that the road to being an experienced (trad) climber is like an apprenticeship - a Padawan to Jedi road, if you will. At some point in the climber's career, they need instruction in the way of anchors, safety and gear placement along with all the movement that's basic to each climber. On that road the inexperienced climber (the Padawan) will eventually cross paths with a more experienced climber (A Jedi) to take them under their wing and train them. Eventually the Padawan will learn everything the teacher can offer and will leave them only to find their own padawan at some point. The Jedi teacher will eventually pick up another padawan and the cycle continues - one student, one teacher.

Last night at the climbing gym I crossed paths with a new climber. A tall, lanky guy with a 6'10" wingspan. From his footwork, I could tell he was new, but he was still good with his feet (later on I find out that he's a dancer which explained it. Dancers, Yoga practitioners and gymnasts make the best climbers). He seemed friendly enough and I gingerly started giving him some tips for the evening - "try moving quietly" or "hold your arms straight when resting". That kind of thing. For those 2 or 3 hours I had my padawan (incidentally, I "knighted" my last padawan - Johnnie - after she successfully onsighted her first jtree 5.7 trad lead so I'm currently padawan-less) and he was strong in the ways of the climber by soaking up everything I said immediately.

Eventually the evening came to a close and he left to take care of some things back home. I was left in the climbing gym, musing over what had just happened. I, Obi, introduced the young new climber to the ways of the rock. And his name was Luke. Luke and Obi(-wan). OMG - that was so cliche....

"messing around"?

Funny conversation with the pharmacy cashier guy tonight:

(I bring up a wrist support thingy to the register)
me: Just this please
cashier guy: Did you hurt your wrist (said with honest inquisitiveness)
me: (scanning previous statement for sarcasm... none detected. Considering jackass remark and rejects it. Instead goes for the honest response) Yeah. I went kayaking last week when I think I messed it up.
cashier guy: (with wide eyes) WOAH. You don't mess around do you?!
me: (scanning for further sarcasm... none detected). he he - no, I guess not.


I guess I don't mess around, according to the night shift clerk at the local pharmacy. What does that even mean? It took me a few minutes to realize that to him, I must be some kind of "extreme sports addict, living on the edge" kind of guy. To me, kayaking or any other outdoor activity, is a basic thing to do in San Diego. Like riding a bike to work or running around like an idiot with scissors in your hands. I think the vast majority of my friends have kayaked, and half of those friends are / have been kayak guides.

So it took me another few minutes to realize that once again, life has pointed out that my sense of what is normal is a bit skewed from the general public. I forget sometimes that people don't make sojourns in the desert to find themselves. Nor do I find it strange to ration your urine after making basecamp in the mountains to strategically pee out your "territory" to keep unwanted pests from raiding your camp. For that matter, I don't bat an eye when my friends (guys and girls) and I strip down to our undies in the morning to change into our daytime clothes after having spent 10 frantic minutes to unzip ourselves from sleeping bags in order to defecate in an ammonia laden pit toilet.

I need to find some normal people to re-calibrate my sense of "normalcy". To remember that these aren't the things that are experienced by typical city-folk.

But then again, as my friend Spot would point out - what is normal?

Me? Fit?

Had a physical today to check up on why I have such poor cardio. Unfortunately, the tests didn't show anything unusual - quite the opposite, the tests showed that I am apparently fit as a fiddle.

Which was quite a funny thought if you've ever gone on even a walk with me. I run out of breath walking across campus. I struggle to keep up with friends as they go down the block. I want to pass out after the end of a run on a treadmill. I'm so bad at cardio that the senior citizens on walkers shake their fists at me and tell me to get off the sidewalk (ok, maybe not that bad...)

Apparently, my blood pressure is 100 / 60. And lying down, my resting heart rate is 50. Granted, I was doing some light mental relaxation exercises in my head b/c I knew the "turn your head and cough" test by a female doctor was coming up and I was feeling a little anxious about that...

Still, to double check that the chest spasms and shortness of breath isn't caused by anything unusual, xrays were taken and a full battery of blood tests are planned.

Officially, the doctor's told me that I'm quite fit, I have no risk factors in my lifestyle (ignore the climbing part of it), and that I should "continue doing whatever it is I'm doing". Therefore, this has given me license to go sit on my ass for the next few hours and play Guitar Hero while snacking on some fried foods after I'm done posting this entry.

Yes, anyone with dietary restrictions or people who can't lead sedentary lifestyles are allowed to hate me at this point.

benevolent dictatorships?

I was thinking the other day (yeah it happens occasionally) about what people attach emotionally when statements like "He's a dictator to his people and must be stopped!" are spoken. The word "dictator" seemed to have such a negative connotation I was struck by it.

Which got the little hamsters in my head to start really moving in their wheels: "but there are such things as "benevolent dictators".

Which made me consider God.

If you're a religiously inclined in a monotheistic deity, wouldn't it stand to reason that you're all for dictatorships? I mean - God being all powerful and all that seems to me like a benevolent dictator. He dictates / speaks / smites / enacts to the benefit of his people (whoever that may be). So... if you believe in his rule, then you must consider that his style of governing over his people and kingdom to be just... therefore... dictatorships are not necessarily bad?

I know, I know - the key word here is "benevolent". God's the only dude we can trust to be completely altruistic. Still - just a random thought for the day that maybe if Saddam was a really really *really* nice guy, he should have stayed in office. Although I suppose the random kiddnappings and torture kinda marred his record for benevolence, didn't it?

Me wanty... beer.. bleh....

Beer is good. Especially during those times of one's life of extreme stress whether that be right after / before a particularly hard climb, taking that one hard final exam as a student, or in my case this week a site visit from NIH for a 5 year resource grant to my lab. An oversimplified analogy I often give my non-science buddies is "it's like a scientific audit by the government...". Yeah - it's that painful and mind boggling that you just want to rip your brain out through your ocular cavities just so you have a good reason to stop thinking of the details on how best to present your data.

So this week, the day before the site visit I decided that I needed to come in refreshed for the big day. I figured after spending numerous 10 - 12 hour days for a couple of weeks, I should go to the oncampus pub for dinner and few beers. Mmm... how lovely - the entire length of the walk that I staggered to the front doors I thought about what to order. A nice smokey porter? A dark rich stout? Maybe a sharp red? So many to choose from.

I should have gotten the hint when I noticed obstacles in my path to my ambrosia. When I neared the pub, I noticed some construction that forced me to go off the pavement and walk through the eucalyptus trees. No matter - easily done. Then I started tripping over my own feet in the failing light as a I neared the doors. Whatever - I'm just tired.

And then, my heart sank.

The pub was dark. It was closed. IT WAS SPRING BREAK FOR THE STUDENT RUN PUB!

I tried the door a couple of times to make sure my brain hadn't failed to interpret what I was seeing correctly. It was. And I was sad. :(

So I staggered and tripped all the way back to my lab to work another hour and a half. I decided to try to make the best of the situation and let my work numb my brain instead of the expected alcoholic imbibements I just wanted before the gov't arrived. Let me just say that letting your brain soak up work instead of alcohol to relax isn't anywhere near as refreshing.

Speaking guidelines

I often have problems knowing the right thing to say, when to say it and how to say it. It often comes at times when someone is feeling vulnerable and wants to talk... the worst time to say something inappropriate!

I was listening to my Zencast podcast the other day and the speaker, Gil Fronsdale, suggested 4 rules to ask before speaking:

1) Is it kind?
2) Is it helpful?
3) Is it true?
4) Is it timely?

I suppose the trick here is to know if what you are saying is honestly kind, helpful, true or timely, but it's still a good guideline to keep.

$1.50 to a gyro

I had lunch with Eitetsu today during my lunch break and a random conversation with him made me laugh. It went like this:

Eitetsu: "How's your gyro?"
Obi: "...."
(Obi's mind: "I think the Euro is doing quite well these days. In fact, I think it's about 1 Euro to $1.50, which sucks when travelling in Europe. Could be good to stock up on their currency though. That or gold. Gold's useful - like when you use it to align the tilt series in electron tomography. Since those are only 10 nm gold particles, a bar of gold would last me a long time if I ever wanted to make my own immunogold for labelling. Speaking of, I should probably get back to work soon. Why is Eitetsu asking me about Europe's financial market? ... Oh... he meant 'gyro' and not 'Euro'. That's funny. They sound the same")
Obi: *chuckle*
Obi: "I thought you said 'Euro' instead of 'gyro'"

And that's what I muse about during my lunch break.