Yes Yes Yes Yes

• Ha! I was eating a little pre-packaged snack bag of carrots with a little thing of ranch dressing. When I was done, my pretty plump cat decided that she wanted to eat too so she stuck her head in the empty snack bag and suddenly the bag was attached to her face. She walked backwards toward the edge of the bed, shaking her head around, trying to get the bag off. I laughed so hard and desperately wanted to take a picture but I decided to save my poor cat from falling off the bed instead. Hilarious.
• I went to work yesterday. I left work with my boss riding her very handsome horse Santana. Not more than 45 minutes later, my boss calls me and says that a yearling, Foxy, has decided that he wanted to breed so he attempted to climb over the gate. The gate broke and caused such a stir that the other ponies broke through the other gate. Thus causing not just two but four paddocks to be thrown into an uproar. None the less Foxy managed to breed Daydream three times before my boss was able to remove him from her backside. This was very entertaining.
• Decided not to climb the Nose on Sunday. I admit that I was not feeling up to my feet being cooked in climbing shoes for several hours. Nor subjecting my boyfriend to the terror of climbing slab; fear does not promote a healthy sex life. So we went canoeing on the French Broad. We were both so excited about catching fish but apparently we were fishing the section of the Broad that does NOT have any fish. I knew as soon as the river started to smell like cow. So while my boyfriend paddled I sat in front with my umbrella, casting into all the slow moving eddies that floated by. (Ok, I paddled too, I'm not a total bitch.) Around the last bit of 6 o'clock, my boyfriend and I began to entertain the idea that we might have parked the second car along the wrong river and we would have to go all the way to Asheville to get a ride back. With each bend we became anxious to see the bridge we had parked at. Needless to say these thoughts were just plain silly but that is what happens when fishing trips don't involve any fish.

The Story of the River and How it Came to the Obed

One day the Great Father was sitting by a quiet stream when suddenly the Wind came and whispered in his ear that it had gone to Sphinx's garden with the Great Mother. The Great Father was intrigued by this and asked why the Great Mother had gone to the Sphinx's garden and the Wind replied that she was seeking a magical flower to resurrect her beloved. Of course the Great Father was instantly angered by this because of his jealous love of the Great Mother and at that instant he decided to put an end to remainders of Father Stone's work. The Great Father called forth the Water and commanded it cut into the rock and with those words the quiet stream turned into a raging torrent. Trees, dirt, and all life was ripped from the Earth and washed away. And slowly but surly the Water removed the rock but by doing so, the Water also made the remaining stone more prominent, beautiful, and featured than anyone could ever imagine. The reasons for this will be revealed in a much later Story but regardless the Great Father learned that attempts to tarnish memories will only embellish particular details.

Turning a Blind Eye

Into the Ring. It has gotten some negative reactions. Whatever. Silly people believe that it is sage advise not to let bullies, asshole, etc. bother you. They say to let someone put a negative shade on your day is major offense and clearly it is YOU not the asshole who has a problem but I do not believe this is the case. I believe that letting people walk all over you is an offense. I believe that turning a blind eye to ignorant behavior is a crime against society and to simply let nasty, cruel, and negative attitudes prevail is the major cause of all of humanities problems. Like a miniature invasion of Poland, people that don't put their foot down often do not see the cost of allowing such aggression until it is too late. The emotional nature of a person that seeks to inflict emotional damage on another being should never be placed in a position of power and turning a blind eye to that behavior is doing just that and nothing could be as foul. We owe it to the world to tell our friends, our partners, and associates, "Hey man, that was asshole thing to do/say." My former climbing partner was a firm believer in not allowing that sort of negative behavior to persist and she had no problem with telling someone that they were being an asshole. Lucky Badass is at Smith right now.

Abi Normal

I did not get the opportunity to train last night due to the fact that I had an abnormal pap smear. So I had to go to the doctor to have the cells on my cervix checked out. Bullshit. It was incredibly painful. Fucking biopsy. I cramped all last night and my poor boyfriend had to listen to me complain every time I woke up with these god awful pains that ran from the balls of my feet to behind my belly button. Fucking cervix. I would rather have the whole thing removed. I certainly don't plan on using it anytime soon or ever, for that matter. The funny thing is that I more than likely I deserve it; karmic backlash is one hell of an opponent. I stopped doing it but never ever do cocaine. The karma will haunt you for a very long time.

Getting in the Ring

When one begins to understand the psychology of war only then does one begin to win. I used to competitively spar in my more pathetic years but that sort of fight does not compare to the battles we often times fight amongst ourselves. Battles of wits, egos, and sheer poweress in trying social situations. I'm am not one to confine all of humanity into the box of 'assholes' 'dumb bitches' and 'cunts' but every now and then you run across people that would like nothing more than cut you down and make your needs subservient to their own. People that would be more than willing to rip their crash pad from underneath you because you got further on their project than they assumed you would. People that would hope with every fiber in their being that you won't or cannot do something that they themselves have done. People that despise any sort of success you have had because they could not accomplish such a task and then they are more than willing to base their judgement on a set of ethical frameworks that they do not follow themselves. Basically, these people exist and I, myself, would rather pull out my own fingernails than to see such people victorious, especially when they are toe to toe with me. I have seen it countless times where the meek or the yellowed bellied are easily over run by the fuckers and it breaks my heart. But nothing is better and nothing so sweet as when the time comes for them to run into someone like me or greater. This is where the psychology of war comes into play and how to turn any bitter shit head into a cowering chicken. It is not what they say or how they say it but the root emotion the speaker is trying to hide. Many will try cloak their true intent with snide comments, attempts to weaken your argumentative framework, or shit talking behind your back but that is when you stand up nice and tall, look them in the eye, put on a devilish smile and say "Who are you again?"

Crap.

New routes in the gym and I only trained once this week (tonight). Crappy training, if you could call it that. Ok. Learned my lesson, clearly I cannot take four days off and expect to climb well, good or great. I am excited about new routes though and I even set one myself. My first gym route! Hurray for my side! P.S. Beware of the rangers at Ghost Town. Hopefully, going to the Obed next weekend. Also, I got a text message from this guy that I apparently had really great sex with but I did not recognize the number. Once again I am proven correct...they always come back even if it is for their own reasons. (I am such an asshole.)

Dear Dave S.

Captain New England, I must admit that I was looking forward to getting the FA on the aid route at Ghost Town but none the less I am also willing to admit that a project such as that would take many years for me to complete. You, being an incredibly strong climber (I mean wicked strong), deserve the FA much more than I do and the only thing you truly did was prove to me that it is possible and my route reading abilities have not failed me. So thanks and you better stay away from Invisible Airways... just kidding. I'm not sure I want to work THAT hard.

Things on my Mind

Going to the Red River this weekend. I had a lousy training day Tuesday so I hung out with the Brevard College kids for a bit and then headed home. It seemed like a total waste of time but then I realized that I was the only girl and the only human in the gym that night who could pull off 'get-ups'. Also, I realize that rest is a vital aspect of any training program so is eating three hot dogs, a large tater tot, and a vanilla shake. Yummy. I've made some progress but I still have a long way to go before I can send the way I used to before my back problems. I listened to an interview on YouTube of Lynn Hill and her progression in the art of climbing and it was very interesting (Although, I do not follow any pro climbers on a regular basis. ie: meeting Chris Sharma and not knowing it was him) The genius student that wrote the thesis on how climbers progress in three general steps was phenomenal and absolutely true. Sometimes when I'm climbing now I very rarely feel the 'flow' but before it was an easily attainable aspect of my climbing. Of course, it could have been the setting, Smith Rock is a stunning place and the energy is other worldly. Perhaps I just need calm myself and realize that I have something really fabulous to look forward to in the future.