Interests:frisbee, math, science, being a nerd, competitive dodgeball, canines of foreign decent, frolicking in the grass, Avon hair products Expertise:Comeback Kid; Taking it to the house; Rockin' it Old-School Style; Giving it to the Brother Man Occupation:Consulting Industry:Hospitality
Figured that I'd write an entry since I finished a 3 hour map about 5 hours ago, and I don't think I'll be falling asleep too soon.
Might as well just take this time to update on a number of things going on in my life.
Thanksgiving was a great time. Spent a lot of time with family. Caught a pigeon that couldn't fly - tried to catch others in a trap. Ate food and much conversation and laughter ensued. Played a 4-player game of kickball cricket. That turned out to actually be really fun. Then settled in for some kickball/handball raquetball and some wall ball. Tres, I hope your welt has gone down - I didn't intend for that to happen bro. Also played some Qwitch with the pregnant/puppy lady.
Speaking of pregnant ladies, we went down later in the week to see Rachel and Justin since they weren't at the Thanksgiving feast. Justin and I got the farthest we ever have on Altered Beasts for the Sega Genesis. We got to the level where we transform into Tigers! Justin was so proud of me because my skills significantly improved since the last time we played - i.e. I didn't die 2 levels before he did - we actually died at the same time. Learned a new move to add to my specialty move - the Up-Kick from the Ground. I will call this new move for now the Kneel on the Ground Forward Punch. I look forward to incorporating these new moves into real life when I walk around ancient sites and come across large, jumping pigs and gobs that want to jump on my head. We also went out to dinner and played Pictionary - guys vs. girls. The game was close and consisted of high-fives and "How did you get 'vocal chords' out of that arrow pointing at a circle within a circle?" So yeah, Rachel is pregnant - the baby is due in May. It was nice of them to have a baby in honor of my graduation.
My mom got me a hair pick. It's fun.
Update: I think my Nikes are on their way out. You may recall that the toe of one shoe was held together with duct tape. Well, we attempted to fix the problem while I was home, and it seems that there was some sort of malfunction, and the left shoe is no longer very comfortable. Also, the right shoe is about to suffer the same dismantling of the left.
RE-ENACTMENT
The new hole in the right shoe.
Moving on . . .
Did a job shadow at JPL on Monday. That was sweet. Learned so much about the Phoenix mission to Mars - lands in May! Also, learned a euphemism for the explosion of a spacecraft: "unintended disassembly."
Wow. Starting to run out of steam. Think I hit everything I had thought about while I took a shower a little while ago. At any rate, hope you enjoyed.
Panman
Profound Comment:
"What the $&#% is a phonograph?!" - kid from "Kid Nation"
For those viewers on Facebook, you should go to my actual xanga page to get the full effect.
Excerpt from my work on a NSF fellowship:
Describe any scientific research activities in which you have participated, such as experience in undergraduate research programs, or research experience gained through summer or part-time employment or in work-study programs, or other research activities, either academic or job-related. Explain the purpose of the research and your specific role in the research, including the extent to which you worked independently and/or as part of a team, and what you learned from your research. In your statement, distinguish between undergraduate and graduate research experience. . .
. . . One summer, I was working with a professor, who was actually out of it at times. Anyway, we needed a radioactive source for this project that we were working on. So, we found some sellers and settled on a meeting place in a parking lot of a large store. Unfortunately, when the sellers came, they also had guns, and started firing at us. Both the professor and I scrambled to get out of the way. I ended up jumping into this car we had been working on and sped off. They chased me, but then I hit some speed, above 80mph I think, and then I was transported into the past. I eventually came back and wrote a book about it. Later, it was made into a movie - actually, a triology. I'm not quite sure where my professor is at this moment, but if I did, I would have him write a letter of recommendation for me . . .
As I've been writing such mini-essays, I can't help but wonder what the readers on the panel would think if they came across something like this in an essay. I bet they would laugh - they would have to. I mean, who wouldn't? You must have no soul if you wouldn't get a kick out of something that ridiculous and gutsy. It seems that they want to know your ability to think and be original - to insert a story like this involves creativity, doesn't it? Sadly, I presume that, in the end, such "creativity" wouldn't be good for my score. But what if the rest of the application was just solid . . .
More to say, but I should wrap it up. Adios.
Panman
Profound Comment:
"No, that's just what they'll be expecting." - Airplane
I've been thinking for a while that I want to start posting again. The only problem is that I don't know my password. LIE #1
Well, it took me a while, but I remembered my password - it was the name of one of my pigeons. LIE #2 Actually, it wasn't, so it couldn't have been Samson, Fredrick, Tux, or Peg. (Man, that Peg is still "kicking" if you will - well, actually, he can't quite kick, at least with his bum leg.) In all honesty, these pigeons actually did/do exist.
Pigeon Posse. Don't mess.
As you probably guessed, I cannot write a post if I can't access my account, and accessing my account requires a password. NOTE #4 I just used cannot and can't in the same sentence.
But actually, I had to update my password - something about safety, which I am TOTALLY all about. You may have seen my video . . .
Right now, I just have all these thoughts going through my head, and I don't necessarily feel like doing any work. It could be the fact that I'm already on the weekend, or the fact that I just found out that I passed the physics comps exam with distinction, which I am totally stoked about. (And stoked that I can use the word stoked since I've lived in CA long enough and have surfed/tried to surf at least once.)
Or it could be that bag of sour gummy worms that I consumed earlier.
At any rate, I feel like writing. I haven't written in my journal in a long time, and I actually have a lot that I should write down in my journal - and serious stuff at that. Also, my wanting to write could stem from the fact that I don't get to do a lot of cool, creative writing anymore. The only writing that I do now is scientific papers, and the pros recommend that you don't try to do anything "fancy" or "clever." So, if I was to, say try to make a plasma physics joke somewhere in the middle of my honors paper, and even if it was a sweet transition between ideas, that action would get a big thumbs down, or a grounded dump gate, if you're feeling me with the plasma stuff.
Well, I'm running out of steam - it's about time to wrap this up. I'll probably wake up in the middle of the night remembering all the other witty things I wanted to say but forgot. Toodles.
Profound Comment:
"Winning is everything when it comes to Russian Roulette." - Creed
So I assume that this is my last post while I am here in Colorado. I leave for the wonderful state of Arizona on Saturday morning.
Update - list of outdoor things I have done:
Six 14,000 foot peaks:
Bierstadt, Evans, Grays, Torreys, Longs, and Quandary.
Three 13,000 foot peaks:
Fletcher, North & South Arapahoe Peaks.
Three challenging ridges:
Sawtooth (between Bierstadt & Evans), Kelso (up to Torreys), and the ridge between North and South Arapahoe Peaks.
Fishing:
Big Thompson River, Pinewood Res, South St. Vrain River, Gross Res, & S Boulder Creek.
Three mountain bike trials - two of which kicked my butt.
Maybe I will add something to the list tomorrow, which is most likely the last evening I will have to do something. Not too bad of a list I must say.
Feel free to ask me more about any of these later.
So I feel inclined to tell of some of my other exploits:
Free Running for Hockey Ball
For most of the summer, on Sunday nights, I hooked up with the college group at First Presbyterian to play a little street hockey on top of a parking garage. Great fun it was. Well, on the last night, it seemed that we had much trouble keeping the ball in play, as several times it flew over the side into the streets and buildings below. On this night, we already lost one ball, and as the night progressed, another flew off the garage. Alas, people were searching and it could not be found. I heard the guy who hit it say he thought it might be on the roof of one of the buildings. I thought, "roof = free-running," and I was down on the bottom. I eventually spotted it on a second floor balcony, of which, the door leading to the staircase was locked. So I did what any normal person would have: practical use of free-running skills. So I easily got over the brick wall surrounding the place. Then I put a foot on a window-sill of the first story, then reached up to the bottom of the second story railing. With each hand grabing its own vertial piece of railing, I let myself dangle and pulled myself up the top of the railing, grabing higher on a rail with one hand and then the other and so forth. Then I got over the rail, grabbed the ball, and went down the stairs and out the outwardly locked stairway door. Got back to the top of the garage, but the people were already packing up. Oh, well, I got to have some fun.
Sweater-vests and Cowbells
Every Thursday evening, the Boulder Cruzer Club has a fun ride all around Boulder. I have gone twice: once with my Safety Steve vest and helmet, and a second time that I will shortly explain. See, everyone gets dressed up for these deals and has a good ol' time. We ride through the streets yelling, "Happy Thursday" and other things to people. We also give high fives as we ride by. We also have stopping points where people ride in circles and others gather around the outside. Well, when I went my first time, I realized I forgot something of most importance: my cowbell. How I forgot, I don't know. So the cowbell was planned for the second time. So I fastened it to my bike using exercise bands, put on a polo shirt (the only one I own), and over that, yes, you guessed it, a nice sweater-vest that Caroline got me from Goodwill. So we were off. I was very hesitant at first to strike the cowbell - see, cowbell is a great thing, when used at the proper time. Luckily for me, the theme that night was rockstars, so the music bike was blasting rock-n-roll songs - the best kind of music for cowbell. So early on, the cowbell didn't get much play, but then we stopped in a parking lot, and people began to ride in circles around the music bike and other people who had also stopped in the middle. Of course, a dance party was breaking out in the middle around the music. I rode around the circle for a while, still I didn't break out cowbell. So I went to the outskirts of the circle where my friends had stopped. Not much was going on with them - then it happened. The ZZ Top song, "La Grange" came on, and you be damned if you have a cowbell and don't play along. So I knew what I needed to do. I started circling the music again, steering with one hand, playing the cowbell with the other: greatness. Words for "more cowbell" ensued. When the song was over, I took a break. More good music came on, and I wanted to join the dance party, but none of my friends wanted to. Then the ride moved on - got a "nice sweatervest" on the way out of the parking lot. So later in the ride, its dark by now, we arrive at North Boulder Park. It appears a dance party has begun under a shelter where there are picnic tables. I am being called. If you have a cowbell in this situation, you can't not play it. I move to the edge of the dance party, but I don't get the nerve up to start playing and the music stops. Then my friend Andy comes up. We want music. It starts up again. We join the orgy. We get up on the tables with the others, start dancing, and most importantly, the cowbell is rung. The people love it, can't get enough of it. I play to "a little less conversation, a little more action" (the remix), "shook me all night long," another rock song, and last "I want to rock and roll all night." But the end, we are all profusely sweating and I am quite tired from stroking the 'bell. I would pause and people would be like, "more cowbell" and make the motion. A guy even asked if he could play it for a while - I let him. When he gave it back, he was like, "wow, that's awesome." (I must interject that it is very likely that many people could have been taking or drinking a little something something). But yes, that was my first cowbell perfomance in front of a crowd. Greatness it was.
A few days later, this video was on the Cruzer Club homepage. When the camera pans all the way to the left, you can see my hands in action in the back, top left hand corner. But most importantly, you can hear the beautiful sound of that cowbell throughout. Yes.
Well, this is getting a bit long, but I guess that is what happens when you don't update for over a month.
Also had went home the first week in August for cousin Marissa's wedding. It was a great time - you really had to be there. Maybe I'll comment on it some time. But for now, those who were there know all that went down. There are some goodens', so I will probably discuss them later. I should probably also tell of my exploits this last weekend with Hiking Girl and Everest Man.
And last - the hair has officially reached "Beast" level - up from "Getting Occasionally Out of Control." In related news, I need another head-band. Ack.
Might need to do some practicing - good thing I happen to own my very own cowbell. Ask anyone who knows - I'm really, really good.
This just in - I love English because I get to use a word like "own" to mean two different things in the same sentence. I'm glad I was raised in a German speaking household.
At any rate, had an interesting weekend. Hiked Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park this last Saturday. What began as fun and games quickly became an epic journey. So three of my friends left around 1am from the apartments to get to the trailhead at 2. Pat and I, since we tend to hike relatively fast, left a little before 4am and hit the trail at 5, planning on meeting up with the guys at some point. There were flowers, singing forest animals, and general happiness early on. As we climbed, we started to get into the clouds. This would be our companion for the rest of the hike, in addition to a constant shower of rain. We continued on and the visibility plummeted to around 50 yards or so, and we reached a formation called the Keyhole - still no sign of our friends. They must be further on, so we continued on in rain, wind, and fog with a visibility of about 30 yards. This is where it got more dangerous as the trail now resided on the side of a mountain with a faily steep decline, with rocks quite slippery from the rain. We eventually caught up with the other guys a distance from the peak, on the most difficult part of the trek. Nope, no hiking to the top - mandatory scrambling. Although not vertical, it required all limbs and was technical in locations. Not to mention that it appeared one could slide down a large rock slab and off the moutain if they lost grip in the right place. But we all persevered and made it to the top to . . . more rocks and fog - how beautiful! We stayed for about 10 minutes and decided it was time to get back, tired of being drenched and cold. I, having no waterproof clothes and wearing shorts, tended to start shaking if I stopped for too long. I did have my red Nike soccer socks, which keep your legs and feet remarkably warm even when completely soaked, and very fashionable at the same time. I must also mention that as we climbed that final stretch, we were quite exposed to wind and rain, which sometimes converted to sleet. But anyway, we got down and hauled back to the trailhead.
Later, we agreed that we probably should have gone back at the Keyhole and not tried to summit. However, of all the groups that hiked that day, we were one of the few groups to make it to our destination. In addition, not turning around made for a good story, and I don't know about everyone else, but in an odd way, I kind of enjoy things that add a little danger to my usually comfortable life - even though I may tell myself in the process that I will never do such a thing again because I could actually really injure myself. But it was a good experience - a nice change from the sunny hikes of past hikes. However, I did miss being able to see the surrounding landscape as we climbed. That was probably the most disappointing part of it all, but did leave with a sense of accomplishment.
So far, I've climbed five 14,000ft peaks since I've been here. Think I might go fishing this weekend . . . naked.
Panman
Profound Comment:
"Almost out of bread again. Looks like we'll have to ban someone."
Some parts much more dangerous and difficult than this. Yes, it does drop off.
