Coast Track Round 2

An adventurous month for us indeed! To kill two birds with one stone, the next bit of adventuring we had was climbing at Bangor with some workmates. It was all kinds of fun, and climbing regularly lets me improve slowly but surely. I am starting to feel more comfortable and confident, which should come in handy for the trip we have planned from 1-7 of February for ARAPILES!

For those of us who are not aware of Australian climbing lore, Mount Arapiles is a big hunk of knobbly rock poking up out of a plain in Victoria. It used to be a sea cliff, in fact a few sea stacks still jut skyward as if defying the waves below from eons past. Since then, the sea has receded and left Mount Arapiles for rock climbers from around the world to enjoy. There are some seriously famous (and notoriously hard) climbs there, none of which I am even close to being able to do, but maybe one day.... There are climbs well within our reach too, so don't worry. We are going there to hammer trad placement and anchoring skills into our brains and soak up the climber-dirtbag lifestyle for one short week of smelly bliss. Ah, can't wait.

Also on the climbing front, Tom and I tackled Sweet Dreams on Sublime Point in the Blue Mountains. Sweet Dreams is one of those ultra-classic climbs that everybody has to do, apparently. It was Tom's 3rd time but my first, and also my first BIG climb. It was 177 meters, 5 pitches (we combined 2, normally it is 6 pitches, a pitch being the number of times the belayer catches up with the lead climber due to the limited length of the rope).  I was feeling totally, indeed utterly confident on 4/5 pitches, and all the pitches were well within my ability as a climber, but the 5th pitch was just SO HIGH and SO EXPOSED that I couldn't stop myself from wigging out a little bit. I wasn't piss-my-pants scared, but I did have to consciously make an effort to take slow, deep, even breaths to calm myself. I was 100% focussed on what I was doing, and such laser-like concentration is so rare and so rewarding that even being totally wigged out to achieve such as state was well worth it. And getting to the top, WOOT! What a feeling!

In between Bangor and Sweet Dreams we also ventured from Bundeena to Otford via the Coast Track, which is actually the second time I've ventured along that track (just in the reverse direction). The walk is actually surprisingly tough on the feet, mainly because most of it is along sandstone escarpments looking out over the ocean. A hat is absolutely required, and at times the wind was strong enough to make me miss my footing. My little monkey toes are still recovering from the hammering they got, and all the climbing we've been doing probably hasn't helped, but oh well. There wasn't much gain in elevation, although what climbs and descents cropped up were short and steep and left me a little bit puffed. But it was totally worth it! Seaside walks are always nice and cool because of the breeze, and there are always cool creatures and plants and geological features to ponder. We had a very luck trip in terms of fauna and spotted heaps of skinks, dragons, birds, bugs, crabs, and even an echidna! I love echidnas, such an unlikely animal, but so cute at the same time. Did you know that a baby echidna is called a puggle? Even better.

So next up is about 6 more days of work, then 7 days of holiday. I am being shifted from the city store to the Bondi store, which adds some extra time to my commute. I guess on the upside I will have more time to read on the train, and the hours are such that it will be easier for me to get a morning session in at the gym or getting sweaty in the park with our new boxing pads and mitts. Until next time!

Nowra trip

Since I last wrote, Tom and I have driven down to Nowra, about twice as far from Sydney as Wollongong is, for a climbing trip. The drive was pretty and the sun was shining- the makings for a good trip!

We arrived at the Shoalhaven zoo, which rents out its spare parking lot as a campground to people like us. It was kind of interesting setting up a tent with peacocks strutting about.

After we set up the tent, we headed off across the Shoalhaven to the sportsclimbing mecca of Australia- Nowra! We wandered up to an area called Thompson's Sunrise and climbed a few of the easier grades there, wondering the whole time why nobody was sharing this delightful place with us- we had it all to ourselves! It was pretty nice climbing, and I had fun. I honestly can't remember the climbs we did, but Tom might if I asked him. I was just glad to be out in the sunshine enjoying a bit of fresh air.

After Thompson's Sunrise we headed around the point to an area called Thompson's Point. This was not so nice as Thompson's Sunrise because the sun had been beating on the cliffs all day, resulting in some pretty quick climbing on my part to keep my hands a little less molten. The sweat was running off of me like I had just stepped out of the river sparkling so tantalizingly close down the slope. There was a point when the sun stopped being filtered by the trees and BAM! Suddenly it was like climbing in an oven. Tom and I figured out pretty quickly why nobody was there- this was definitely a place to climb in winter!

We finished up cooking ourselves and decided to go get some dinner at the local pub, which apparently becomes a nightclub after hours called "Slippery When Wet". Nice. The fish and chips was edible and Tom's chicken parmesan found an excellent home. We washed it down with some M&M's, and settled back into our campsite to watch the sun set on 2012. The mozzies were fierce and the fireworks were hidden behind a ridge down the river, but the startled peacocks crowing through the night was festive enough for us.

We woke up the next day and drove south towards Point Perpendicular, about 30 minutes down the road from our campsite. Point Perpendicular is a protected area, and is actually part of the ACT! I was so close to having visited another Australian state, but no! We were denied because it was so hot that there was a fire danger, and with only one way in and one way out the area was closed. Wah-wah. Instead of moping, we went to the beach and body surfed instead, then had an ice cream, some lunch, and then drove back to Sydney.

We called up our friend on the way and met for a nice afternoon session at Bluebell, where I took my first big lead fall! It sounds awful, but it was really good to get it out of the way and to learn to trust the rope. After that we bought a milkshake and had a swim, and then came home and unpacked all of our camping gear. Ah, a good trip.

Since then I've been working non-stop. My next days off are Friday and Saturday, and on Saturday night there's another night of climbing goodness planned at Bangor! Yaaaay! I'd better lap up all the fun I can before I start school again. Then I will look back on entries like this and think, one day, one day...

last for 2012

This is my last post for 2012. How exciting!

I think I'm pretty happy with this year. Lots has happened to me (see "braaaaains"), and a lot of really exciting things have happened in the lives of my friends and family as well. Of course, some not so great things have happened to me and mine too, but I have hope that some of them will resolve in the future and those wounds and losses that are irreversible will eventually heal.

Tom and I are closing out 2012 down in Nowra, a popular sport climbing area, ringing in the New Year at a campground based at an animal park, then spending New Year's Day at a trad climbing area called Point Perpendicular. I'm super stoked!! I hope I have some awesome pictures to share, but chances are I will not have my hands free.

In smaller news, I had a massive cold a couple of days ago that knocked me flat for a full day. I'm glad I generally get over these things in about a day, but my back and neck were stiff for a couple of days after the big knock-down. Yuck. My head still sort of pounds if I stand up too fast, and my appetite is about 1/4 of its normal self. Serious stuff! So look out everyone, something nasty is about. Wash your hands often and never rub your eyes.

Until next year! 

flex

It's probably no secret to anyone who knows me even slightly that I like to keep myself reasonably fit and strong. I always enjoy a good bout of exercise, the more rigorous the better. I feel happier and energized after a good workout, and conversely, I get pretty cranky when I haven't done anything physical for a little while.

I'd say I'm pretty fit, although I do probably eat too many baked goodies and I have a horrible weakness for anything chocolate. Oh, and ice cream. I can never say no to ice cream. Still, overall, I'm pretty pleased with my body and how it looks, but I'm even more thrilled that I have had the good luck to avoid both major genetic issues and catastrophic injuries so that I can still do (nearly*) all the exercise I want. I think I forget how lucky I am way too often, and even more often, fall into the trap of judging my body by standards set by people concerned with appearances alone (pop culture, magazines, advertisements, television, etc.). I guess writing that down makes it seem a little bit ridiculous, but I think all of us, men and women, boys and girls even, are under so much pressure to look a certain way that we forget how amazing we actually are, despite an 'imperfect' shape.

I am so impressed at some of the stuff that humans can do with their bodies, and some people** inspire me to keep working on mine. A lot of  other people perhaps don't share this sentiment, and may find themselves considering those who spend large amounts of time and care on their bodies to be freaks, or perhaps 'having no life' except for their sport. I even know some folks who consider fitness junkies to be hopelessly self-centered.

I don't want this blog to turn into some sort of fitness-tracking or diet-watching board, since I'm not really that interested in everybody knowing my business, and I'm certainly not interested in publishing how many Tim Tams I ate or how bad I'm supposed to feel about it. No sir! Instead, I would like to occasionally publish a few milestones, such as the fact that I can now do a one-legged (aka pistol) squat on my left leg, and am patiently persisting on getting the right one up to speed. I think that's pretty cool, and perhaps I will inspire a couple folks to try to do something they normally never would have tried. Just make sure you warm up first.



* Nearly- I tore my ACL in high school and have given up all sorts of field and court sports in the interest of keeping my leg in one piece. I miss those sports sometimes, but in general I'm pretty happy with a mix of climbing, running, swimming, yoga, gym-type stuff, and whatever else comes my way.

** These people include crazy awesome climbers whose physical strength and mental grit is almost beyond understanding . I am also impressed by people like my old yoga teacher, Alyona, who has incredible calm and cheerfulness combined with amazing strength and flexibility. And if anybody out there wants a humbling workout, check out Zuzana Light. Don't be fooled by her scanty attire and the chesty camera angles, her workouts are tough as nails.

10: piled higher and deeper

Competing for biggest, most meaningful news story of the year is the fact that I have been accepted into a PhD program at UNSW. What's more, I applied for a scholarship and somehow that worked out too. I will be examining communities containing invasive plants, and my project will have something to do with characterising communities which get invaded or figuring out when invasions happened. Or even if that is possible. It's going to be a long and winding road, full of heartache, sleep deprivation and "whoops" moments, but I'm pretty excited about it and for the first time in a long time I feel like this is really something I want to do. I have been warned by pretty much everyone I know that this is a terrible idea, but that's alright with me. Most of my friends don't understand why I like to cling on to cliff faces at terrible heights either.

Now, here's where all of this gets interesting: I cannot start my PhD until I get a piece of paper from the Australian government that says I am legally allowed to be here as a permanent resident. My end of the paperwork mountain is done and handed in, but governments being what they are, the paperwork won't get squinted at until February the 23rd. That means I have approximately one month's worth of working days for somebody in Melbourne to tick all my boxes and send me a really, really important piece of paper. And then I will be ready for 3 to 4 years of real stress. If it takes longer, I won't be able to start this semester and I will lose my scholarship. That means I will have to defer and then re-apply for a scholarship in the coming months. I'm really hoping that piece of paper makes it through in time. So, if you really like me, go ahead and put in a few positive thoughts for me next time you have a spare moment and brainwaves. In the meantime, I just keep telling myself it will be fine.

3: so-called career

As requested, I will now chronicle my post-student days in Australia.

First, there came the job in the lab. It was really good, mostly. I liked pretty much everyone I worked with. People were friendly and helpful. I felt respected, and my extra efforts were rewarded with praise and appreciation. When I stayed late, people thanked me and meant it. When I worked hard and delivered something, people thanked me. I got to start (within reason and with notice) anytime between 7 and 10 am, and finish 8 hours later. I got tea breaks and a lunch break. I could opt to work an extra 1/2 hour every day in return for a 9-day fortnight. 

The best part about that job was that I got to spend hours looking down a microscope at all the nifty little things that live in Sydney's water supplies. Most of it was dead, but occasionally there would be times when I got to spy on the intimate, under-appreciated lives of tiny critters. It was awesome! And I literally got to learn something new almost every day. Well, at least every day where I was working the 'scopes. But there were other days where all I did was extract chlorophyll from algae, batch after batch after batch, and my mind would go a bit numb with boredom. Either that, or from the acetone fumes. Still, it wasn't a bad gig at all, and in retrospect, sometimes I wish I hadn't quit.

I left that job thinking that I could do better with my mind, thinking that I would like to work on my writing skills and perhaps develop my potential for leadership into something more solid. I kind of felt that working in a lab might be a pretty dead-end sort of place to be, unless I got extremely lucky. I left the lab for the world of private consulting in contaminated land, and by goodness, I think that was the dumbest thing I may have ever done. At the time, it seemed like a really good idea. A lot of cringe-worth stories start that way, don't they?

Consulting is pretty crap, and I don't really recommend it to anyone who doesn't love money more than their personal time, hobbies, family members, and health. I think it could have been a rewarding career for someone else, but not for me. I'm not sure what exactly made it so horrible, but I think it was a combination of the unpredictability of both the hours and the location of my work, the random and unforeseen long days, the filth and smut of the construction sites and construction workers I was around, and the boys-club culture of the company. The work wasn't hard, but all those other things wore me down big time, and after six months I had had enough. I think I lost it one day when I was counting trucks of contaminated dirt and made up my mind that I was done. My last day was right before the wedding, and I started a new life with the same old retailing gig that got me through uni. Ah, the smell of leather boots in the morning.

Sadly, my old stand-by couldn't give me enough casual shifts to keep me and the kitty in a respectable state, so I picked up a full-time job in a competing outdoor retailer and have been there since September. I think I will be there until March-ish, when I hopefully start my PhD. It's a bit of a tight squeeze with the PR paperwork, but hopefully it will all work out. If not, I'll have to figure out something else. 

And there is the state of my career... pretty sad when I write it all out! I guess I gave it my best shot, but I have yet to figure out something that works for me. At least I know biology is where I belong now, and I learned a lot about what I really value. I guess it's not all bad if I learned something from it, right?

(images from http://www.nps.gov/sitk/naturescience/stream-ecology-autochthonous-input.htm and  http://www.camillatraining.co.uk/Articulated%20Dumptruck.htm, if you care to learn about freshwater ecology and dump truck sales)

Melbourne

This past weekend, Tom and I flew down to Melbourne for Tom's (and my!) uncle's 60th birthday party. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip, but we made the most of it! We found this little French cafe that served the best gallettes ever, especially washed down with a dark, smokey, chocolaty coffee. Melbourne is such a visually stimulating city and the public transport is admirably clean, punctual and easy-to-use. Tom and I were half wondering if we should head back to Sydney by the end of the visit. I guess we should visit in winter to see how we feel then.
The party itself was nice because I got to meet quite a few members of Tom's dad's side of the family that weren't able to make it to our Blue Mountains wedding in October. Everybody was lovely and I felt really lucky to have gained such a great group of folks as family.
Christmas is looming closer and closer, and slowly but surely we are getting ready! We finally got our Christmas tree up today (and by we I mean Tom did it all), and what's more, my family from back home have sent me presents, so we are already looking very festive! It's hard to be so far away from everybody back home, and some of these Australian traditions are a bit strange still. At the same time, a summery Christmas has its perks.