What makes you tick?

Lately, I've felt very crowded. I am not enjoying working indoors. Don't get me wrong, I have a great job that is not too demanding, pays well, and leaves lots of time to do other things. However, I want to be outside. I want to go spend a few months traveling (if only I could afford the fuel.) I would spend some time revisiting places I saw last summer, only camping around more and hiking. I'd go visit many of the places I didn't get a chance to visit.

There is this article in the February-March issue of Gripped and it is about a husband and wife, with their dog and cat, living on the road: "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly. Reflections on Four Years of Climbing and Living on the Road." It's got some gross stuff, but only because modern conveyances are not readily available. Anyway, this couple spent four years (as you might have guessed from the title) out camping, climbing, meeting new people, and enjoying most of the things we neglect. There is this picture where they are at a open market in Mexico shopping for fresh food, and all I can think is how wonderful it would be if I could "afford" this kind of life. I don't know that I'd really want it all, but at the same time I fondly remember being at the Grand Canyon and a huge thunder and lighting storm was going on outside the tent, and while Sara didn't sleep a wink, the last thing I remember hearing was ... "You've got to be kidding me, you are not already asleep." Certainly not at that specific moment, but just as certainly within a few seconds ;)

Fortunately, I'm dragging Sara around outside. I've become a bit pushy and not really giving her much say, yet she isn't fighting really either. I take that as a compliment -- She could just put her foot down and be difficult, but really she just has trusted me to be extra safe and doubled checked my work. I say this hoping that we'll get our first multipitch adventure in a couple weeks. Speaking of which, I have some research to do...

Finally! Climbing outdoors.

Well, Sara and I finally got outside to climb. We went to Vantage and had a wonderful time at the Feathers. The first part of our day was climbing on ropes placed by people we'd never met before -- Ilee, Lea, Salus, and Alexa and husband/boyfriend (sorry I forgot his name), and Jessica and Kari. I should have gotten emails or something...But I guess being random is just fine too.

Our crew totally bailed on us, so Sara wasn't too sure about going all three plus hours. Fortunately, we went the whole way because back at North Bend it was raining and snowing. I'm very excited about our trips coming up. Late May we are headed up to Squamish B.C. for some bouldering and hopefully I'll get to do a mulitpitch (Sara isn't sure about doing that yet). I'm really excited about that.

Our Adventures Continue

We have not had a nice weekend yet that allowed us to climb outside. It has been a bit of a bummer, but I'm sure things will change soon. Sara will be making some changes too. It is a bit scary but I'm certain we'll survive.

Hana recently hurt her back. She jumped off the couch to go play ball, and something happened that made her very sore. We've been keeping her calm (as far as Labrador's are calm) for the last two weeks, and now it is all about working up to her full play potential. She thinks it is time right now.

I keep meaning to setup a big party but that just hasn't happened. Life keeps getting in the way. I think I may just start inviting people to meet us at a park and we can do a potluck and bbq...hmmm, I'll look into that.

What is you soul worth?

I heard a report about how in the U.S. workers are actually putting in more time at work and producing less results. It got me thinking -- how much money would I give up to be able to play more than I work? I mean, I'm fairly productive until I get so tired that I am pretty much useless. I end up looking at the screen and struggling to do the work in my schedule. Yet, if I only work a 6 hour day, I often get more done.

It interests me that companies in this country which are all about the bottom line, are not interested in an increase in productivity. I wonder how much companies lose because of a lack of productive work?

I wonder how much people lose because they waste their lives being unproductive at work?

I really need a weekend without rain so I can get out to the crag with my lovely Sara.

We're going Climbing...

It is our first weekend outside this season. Hopefully the weather will hold long enough to make the trip worth while. We are heading east to Vantage for some fun at the Feathers. It is a bit of a trip but has been mostly dry these last few weeks.

In other news, sara now has her own domain Sara Lingafelter.com which currently forwards to her blog (which is also a link to the right,) but ultimately will go to hour home server (if she decides to set that up.)

I have started my sites as well. Both, yes I have two so far, are in the works but you can take a look at Left Over Comics.com and my business site Natural Fuels which I hope to in the next month or so have the money to setup our first pump. It has taken a lot longer than I had hoped but now that Sara is out of school and back to work hopefully things will pick up soon.

Just jump for it.

Sara and I did the 4th and final bouldering competition of the series they do out here. It was a blast. Sara placed 3rd in her group, and one of our local climbers, Victoria, placed 9th in the nation (though our local comp had nothing to do with her national standing.)

Sara, of course, performed methodically and made all her attempts seem simple and flawless. She really is fun to watch.

My favorite moment, was after I had achieved my goal, and was attempting climbs that were difficult either because of my skill or because my arms were all pumped out (that means they were hard as rocks and over used). I was on a climb that a number of us were having trouble (we were all tired at this point). I got on it, and made it to the last move before the final hold. Now, if I were not so tired, I would have taken my time and moved my feet to support me, but I heard the kids below me saying "jump for it" so I did.

I missed the hold and fell to the ground. I laughed and said "Oh, yeah, just jump for it." They youth that was cheering me to jump said, "Well, if you'd just jumped higher."

It was great fun, and now Sara and I are very excited to get up to Squamish B.C. for a weekend. I'll try to get a few pictures up.

Zed Foo Bonbon Zip Gow

I couldn't think of a title today, so zed foo bonbon zip gow. That means I am fully capable of speaking jibberish. Not much going on. I've been spending a bit more time in front of the computer lately as Sara has been super busy with work. We've also been preparing for our house guest, Sara did most of the work.

I've been getting my website up and running. So far it has mostly been configuring my server. But you can now get to my home server leftovercomics.com and hopefully it will improve as I learn how to web design. Something that I have never been good at is web design.

Well, I guess one thing has been going on. Sara and I have been setting routes out our local climbing gym. Apprently, I'm quite the natural route setter. I've been asked to set more and I'm looking forward to doing at least one route every couple weeks.

Okay, back to the jibberish...zing zowy whip whip dong fong.

Damn kidney stones.

I blame my father.

Fourteen or so months ago I had lithotripsy, and now I'm still having problems. Fortunately, they seem to be small and flow out pretty easily...so far.

Okay, sorry to gross you out.

Sara wrote this amazing article about Washington's new anti-discrimination law that protects individuals from "Unfair Practices Based on Sexual Orientation." It is kind of long, but Sara says it isn't a "book" and that she has proof. I'm not waiting for the proof.

In other news, Winnie's mom is coming to live with us while she finishes her thesis, or so I have heard. Winnie will be super excited. She has lost a bit of weight, so I'm certain her parents will think we've been starving her. Certainly, Winnie will agree. Yet, she'll run like crazy for the ball.

I trust him with my life.

So I have been going through a background investigation to get security clearance, and the investigators drop in on our friends. Recently, the investigator stopped by a friend of Sara's and mine, and asked if I treat Sara well, and am I trust worthy. Our friend responded to the later with "Well, I rock climb with him, so I trust him with my life."

That just made my day.

And in a slight tangent my google page has a daily quote, and this is today's: "The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on." - Joseph Heller.

In light of our Veep shooting his "acquaintance" in the chest and face...And Katrina...And Iraq...

Stepping out of the Dial-up Age

Yeah! We finally are getting DSL in our area. It is really nice that I could download a new iTunes install, update my system software and surf all at the same time. Now Sara and I will be able to do some work from home and not have to stay late at the office all the time...More time with my sweetie...Good stuff.

Climbing like a girl

Sara and I competed in our second bouldering competition. I made the mistake of not playing the game, and just trying to get the highest amount of points. The problem with doing that is you climb more climbs and the more you climb the harder it gets. So I did have some fun pushing myself, but I ended up with a much lower score because I was too weak to complete all the climbs I needed.

Sara was spectacular as always. She wasn't even feeling her very best. She'd just spent the last week sick with a cold. Of course all the girls were kicking but on the problems. The best part for me was Sara telling me I climbed like a girl. It is really dificult to climb like a girl, and at the same time it is a complement to be told you can climb that gracefully.

Stupid is as stupid does.

So this young woman, Tiffany Cooper, asks the President this question:

"Recently 12.7 billion dollars was cut from education. I was just wondering how is that supposed to help our futures?"

The President, clearly confused (go watch the video clip), stumbles and responds "At the federal level?" And then proceeds to simply lie about the cuts. Now, the lie -- "Actually, I think what we did was reform the student loan program. We are not cutting money out of it. " -- is bad, but the question I have is this -- Does any state have a 12.7 billion dollar budget for education? Seriously, what state has that kind of money to cut from their education program? Most School programs are so strapped that 1.27 million would be a huge cut.

Forest Gump got it right.

100.5

It is the flu season. Last Wednesday I was at work and the day wasn't starting well. Fortunately it was one of those days we had a guest in the office. Basically, the day was going nowhere. I especially wasn't going anywhere. I apprently looked like I needed a nap. I left the office early and got home just fine. Ran the girls, and then lay myself out on the couch and took a nap.

Things seemed pretty good, until I had to drive to get Sara. I left the house and about half way there, my arms, chest, and face had gone numb. I should have stopped and called a friend of mine to go pick up Sara and drop her off at where I was parked on the side of the road. Instead, in my less than full capacity state, I drove on to meet Sara at the park and ride. I got there, and stumbled out of the car making my way over to the passanger seat. Sara was ready to take me to the ER. Yikes that was dumb. Turns out by the time we got home, I had a 100.5 degree tempurature.

I promptly crawled into bed, and slept for 14 hours. I spent the next two days laying around the house, and reading comic books. The sucky part of the flu is that you really have no energy even after you start feeling better. By Saturday all I wanted to do was sit and read comics or watch the boobtube.

Get your flu shots...

Say "no" to bad Judges...

Justice Alito ruled:

• "saw no problem with a police officer shooting and killing an unarmed 15-year-old who was fleeing from a $10 burglary" (The Supreme Court disagreed 6-3.)


• "sided with a hotel owner seeking dismissal without trial of a housekeeper's claims of illegal demotion and sexual discrimination." (He was out-voted 12-1.)


• "rejected a 17-year-old's claims that his public defenders [in a capital punishment case] had failed to use mitigating evidence of mental retardation and traumatic upbringing" (The Supreme Court reversed him.)


• "saw nothing wrong with a police strip search of a woman and her 10-year-old daughter thought there was no warrant naming them as targets of an investigation." (He was out-voted again.)

[From USA TODAY editorial, "If you cherish your rights, this nominee bears questioning," 12/26/2005]


Is this really the kind of individual you want making the rulings on the highest court?

Happy New Year!

Okay, so it has taken a few weeks to recover from the holidays. We've been running around crazy trying to remember if we actually slept the night before or not. I keep saying (mostly to myself) that I will get a location and have a big gathering. Of course I've been very slow in organizing that operation. And Sara and I both competed in our first bouldering competition. It was pretty fun.

Lot going on -- hiking, climbing, working, cleaning. Sara is getting used to her hourly requirements, which makes for a long week. She has X number of billable hours required, and then on top of that she has meetings, training, etc that she has to work in during the week. That kind of stinks. At the same time she is a super star. As though you had any doubt.

Work? I guess it is going well for us both, although as with any job there is always adjustments that are required. Actually, now we have our goddog for a lengthy stay. Yes, we have a goddog. She's a cute golden labrador mix. She's settling in fine even though her parents are moving to the eastcoast. During that transition Winnie will be Hana's playmate. Fun, fun. I like having two dogs though. Hana seems much happier too.

Why is Santa so Jolly?

Because he has a list and he knows where all the naughty girls live.

Sorry, it is one of the few jokes that I have heard and I can remember. So far the seasonal stress have been kept pretty low. I have been trying to do as much as possible to help Sara as she is gearing up for meeting the billing requirements. Starting next year it all counts and I can feel her stress already.

But the presents are in the mail, and this is the big weekend of running around. Hey, if you want to give the U.S. a present this holiday season you can sign this petition to censure and impeach President Bush. If you are a supporter of Bush -- I'm sure he would love to hear from you.

To Mom -- We miss you, Merry Christmas and Happy New Years.

To the Painter's, the Lingafelter's, and the Prince's -- Merry Christmas and Happy New Years.

To Dad -- Merry Xmas, we'll see you on the 24th.

To all our friends and family -- Thank you so much for helping us through the last three years. It has been a long road, and one that we've managed thanks to you all. Sara is proving to be an outstanding legal advocate, and I'm learning to cook -- when I can keep Sara out of the kitchen.

Happy Holidays.

Clearning the mind.

I need to go climbing. My brain is full. I have been reading a book called "Don't think of an Elephant!" by George Lakoff and it has really helped me connect the dots. I have often wondered how so many people can support the corruption of the Republican party? I mean when a Democrat is corrupt few rally around that party representitive, but with Republicans they can have money laundering, election fraud, mob relations, and these people will have the support of their party to the bitter end.

Yeah, my brain is full. The deciet of the GOP party is almost too overwhelming. That must be why so many people continue to support them. If they actually thought about the party they follow they'd be shamed, embarrassed. I mean think about this -- the GOP says we need "tax relief" so they cut taxes, and they spend billions each week causing the government to be so straped that they have to cut social programs. Now some would say that is great, we should support the causes we believe in, but the reality is that these people secretly don't want to be responible for anyone but themselves. They don't want to be kind to their neighbors. Pretty soon, medicare will be gone, Social Security gone, how about unemployment?

I often wonder if my mom had kicked me out at 18 where would I be? If not for my mom's "social" program I'd probably gone from minimum wage job to minimum wage job. But she gave me room and board for three years of junior college, and then she paid my rent for five more years as I went to university. Yeah, I had to work for it, but we are talking eight years my family supported me to give me a chance at a better life. And without my mom's taxes paid to the government, I probably wouldn't have even gotten to the university.

Yeah -- clearly I need to go climbing.

This I believe

There is this interesting "This I Believe" written by Penn Jillette, of Penn and Teller. I really enjoyed the essay, as it has a few profound points (to me.) He writes, "I don't travel in circles where people say, "I have faith, I believe this in my heart and nothing you can say or do can shake my faith." That's just a long-winded religious way to say, "shut up," ..." I found that to be true, and sad. Especially since so many people who, despite truth and fact and faith, stick their heads in the sand and ignore the very foundations of morals, freedom, peace, etc.

Anyway, I liked the article. I like that someone can just accept that maybe what we know as truth can actually change. That truth has a perspective and we can impact that truth. In physics it was believed that Newton's laws were absolute. Then along comes Einstein and he sees the laws as guidelines and ends up appending the laws, changing the laws, providing new truths.

Being wrong is not really new to me as I have for years professed that I try to keep my opinions flexible and I am male. Who am I to say my opinion is better than yours? Of course, we should all do everything we can to support and understand our own opinions. Too often do we hear someone elses words and claim them as our own without doing the research. How hard is it to listening to the opposition and then either accept an verify the information, or disagree and disprove the information?

Okay, it is difficult. Some of the crap that comes out of the talking heads is so offensive, so hateful ... Yet, you have to spend the time or you wake up one day and you've lost sight of what is important in your own life. Whether that includes a faith in God or not.

This I believe...for now.

Any other day.

The last month and a half have been long, and we are getting into a routine. We had one of our first weekends without a million things to do, and as usual one of us got sick. Sara, the dog, and the cats are pig piled on the couch with a nice warm blanket, and I sit typing while I download 33MB iTunes over my 44k modem. So that gives me lots of time to figure out something good to write about...I read a funny comic the other day. Okay, I'm won't tell you about the comic, but I did recently get over to a comic book store, and was in heaven. I don't really know why I like comics, but I find the reading and artwork to be where my imagination can be most inspired. T.V. just doesn't seem to do much for me. Most tele just irritates me, and has me wanting to open a book or comic to read instead. If I were a better writer I would try to create something interesting but I have enough trouble in my efforts to come up with dinner ideas.

I made my mom's Kung Pao Chicken last weekend. It turned out pretty good and instead of using chicken I used quorn as a substitute. It had been a number of years since I made that recipe and it turned out delicious. I have also gotten some other cooking done the last few weeks. I made a completely vegitarian lasagna which lasted half the week, and palenta with veggies for a quick dinner last week. I enjoy the cooking. I just need some more experience. And some additional recipes that I can cook when I don't have much time in the evenings.

Made my first holiday purchase for my nephews. I certainly hope they enjoy the gifts. These boys are really neat kids, very much a boat load of trouble, I hope they enjoy the gifts since I'm not the most reliable as an uncle. Now on to more seasonal depression. I need to write down my ideas more often. I keep thinking up things and then forgetting them...I need to find a way to have a better memory.

Your word is your bond

Nothing new has really happened. Mostly we have shifted to a mode of "work, work, work." I had really hoped to organize a party for the family and friends so we can just celebrate seeing each other again after so much time has passed. It has been over three years since we have seen some of our friends, and those that we stay in touch with the most have fallen to about once a year at best. I guess I will have to work on something for the spring.

Last week I went and watched Sara be sworn-in to the Bar. It was a bit entertaining, especially the part about abstaining from offensive personalities. That part had many family members snickering. We followed up the ceremony with a quick breakfast and heading back to work. Woooo, so exciting. Actually, we did go and watch a bouldering competition in Redmond, and that was pretty cool. These kids are simply the most amazing.

Oh and today is my oldest nephew's eight birthday...Happy Birthday Justin.