Spain - finally!

I made it to Spain! yay!

Ethan and I met in the airport with no drama, but finding the car was a pain in the ass because I booked through Travelocity with a company called "Payless" which actually turned out to be Sixt.  It took quite a while to figure out that Payless was Sixt, and I had to talk to pretty much every company at the airport, INCLUDING Sixt, who didn't know that they were also Payless before I got the car.  It all turned out ok though, because I think that they may have screwed up and given us a nicer car than I booked. We ended up with a diesel-hybrid VW Passat, which is the sweetest car I've ever shared or ridden in in Europe. I'm actually not sure that it's a hybrid, because it never runs just on electricity, but if it's in drive and you stop, the engine turns off.  The reason I think it was a mistake is because Sixt emailed me and said they had a computer error and asked for my license plate number.  Oh well, not going back to Madrid to get a cheaper car.  Plus it seems like a really good deal since it's about 340 euros for a full 29 days.  Doesn't that seem extraordinarily cheap?

update: I found the car on the webs. It's not technically a hybrid, but does get great gas mileage.

Anyway, traffic was horrendous because the Spaniards apparently like to do roadwork on Sunday afternoons.  We made it to Lleida, drove around for a while until I saw a sign that said "hotel".  By this time Ethan was driving because my brain had turned off, so we found this building that was by and large completely dark. I bet him 10 bucks that it was closed, and he bet me 10 euros it was open.  Surprise, the door was unlocked, but it was fairly dark and there was definitely no lobby.  And it was super creepy.  However on the way out we noticed this ATM-style machine and Ethan started poking some buttons.  As it turns out, this hotel is completely automated.  It's the weirdest thing.  No wonder Spain has high unemployment.  So we booked a hotel room via a machine, and it spit out a key. Ethan said "well, we could get a really good night's sleep, or we could get hacked to pieces." We took the elevator up, and when you get off of the elevator the hallway is completely dark until you step out, and then lights turn on as you walk down the hallway. So weird.  Fortunately we ended up with a good night's sleep and did not get hacked to pieces. I'm sure that if you are aware of automated hotels, and are used to this sort of thing it's not very weird, but I am not, and it was creepy.

It's a good thing that we did not try to find Margalef in the dark, because many of the roads are not signed. We kept cross referencing our crappy Sixt map which did not have the necessary details, Ethan's iphone which had the google maps directions, and my laptop which had a map that also did not have enough detail. By some sort of miracle we found Margalef and were climbing at the Finestra by the afternoon.

Since we have no camping supplies to speak of, we're staying at the Refugi, which is kind of ok.  I like it, but we have to share the actual sleeping room with other people. There's a nice place to hang out though, and they have wireless, which is sweet since I have a lot of work to do.  Here are a few photos I've taken so far (none very impressive, and they are mostly of birds and stuff. Sorry about that, but if you are reading this you are used to it by now.)

The climbing is tweaky sharp pockets, and I definitely need to warm up to it a little more. I did find a good tufa-y 7b+ to try (Montgronyeta), and I think I'll do it pretty quick (hopefully). Ethan is still shopping around for a project, though he did try some hard shit on the steep wall at the Finestra.  It looks heinous.

Today we are going to Lleida to get groceries, petrol and a stove. Fortunately when we arrived at the refugi, some folks were leaving and they gave us all their food.  Unfortunately, 3 more people have moved in, all Spanish, and Spanish people are fucking loud. This one chick said "aiii" about like, two dozen times when she woke up this morning between yawns and coughs.  Hmm.  That's all part of traveling though. We may get a cheap tent and camp out, but who knows at this point. It's super nice to be warm and dry at night, and have readily available showers as well.

I swear I had more to write about, but I've forgotten. I'll update regularly I'm sure. For a completely different take on the trip, check out Ethan's blog.

Pig Hunting!

It was looking like a pretty grim weekend. A huge storm was coming, it was cold, several people canceled due to the weather.  But somehow we prevailed and killed two pigs.

Kevin, Kris, Ben and I walked around the ranch (me on a bum ankle) for about 5 hours and saw about a dozen deer, lots of cows, a cool mushroom...but no pigs. As we were heading home though, we snuck up on some and Kevin and Ben each got one. At that point, watching them get killed and the fresh carcasses, I decided that I liked the idea of hunting way more than hunting itself. I think I'd be happy to go along any time, but it's pretty gruesome.  Don't scroll down if you are squeamish.  But hey - if you eat meat, you may as well have a look.  Following are some photos I took:

Not a double rainbow, but very pretty.

There was a spicy stream crossing. It rained so much that all of the creeks were running higher than I've ever seen them.  Plus the rocks were slick and wet and I was a bit concerned about my ankle.

The requisite mushroom photo. This was a large artists's conk.

The actual hunting was a bit chaotic. Kris and I hung back while Kevin and Ben stalked up the road so that they could get a good shot of the pigs.  There at least a dozen, everything from tiny piglets to big sows. Pigs are stupid, and they can't see very well, so they were easy to get close to. Kevin and Ben crept up and Ben took a shot, but his rifle isn't shooting true so he missed it and the Kevin took the pig down. The pigs scattered, squealing and running.  Ben took off up the hill and shot a sow in the ass. This was funny because the whole time, from the drive up to last night to the walk today he was talking about how he wanted a small pig. The pig he shot stood there looking at him, and he shot it in the shoulder, walked over to it and cut it's throat. For all of that planning to take a little pig, he took the biggest one down. Pretty classic. Here are photos of the post-shoot fun:

Kevin and Ben dragging the sow down the hill.

Wet and bedraggled. The bottom of my rain pants was full of water from the last stream crossing. My feet were already wet so I just charged it.

More photos. Ben was still dubious about his huge pig with the ass shot out. He said "now the fun ends and the dirty stuff begins." Unless you're me and you say "nope, I don't want anything to do with this anymore."

Kris had a smudgepot in the shop that he lit for heat. We were all wet and cold by this time.

 Setting up to hang the pig for skinning.

Carcass. I was a lot better with the pigs after they stopped looking like pigs. Maybe I'd had time to get used to the idea.

This was a super fun weekend. It's always nice to hike around the ranch when it is pretty and green, even if it is muddy and raining 50% of the time. I would have been happy if we hadn't shot anything at all (especially since I wasn't carrying a gun).  I don't feel bad about shooting pigs.  Their population is pretty high right now and they do a lot of damage (and they are not native). They can have at least three litters a year, with up to a dozen piglets. The pig population will be fine. On the other hand, it's definitely a visceral (not necessarily positive) experience to watch something die in person. It's not altogether pleasant, and truly it shouldn't be. We were discussing this on the way back. I wondered if it was so unpleasant because we are so distant from the process of killing even though many of us eat animal products. However one of the things that comes very naturally to (many) of us is empathy. I wonder if we are born naturally empathic and then culturally desensitized to death if we are exposed to it (as in cultures where hunting and slaughtering animals is the norm). Of course other cultures have gone the other way and maintained their natural-born empathy (such as vegetarian cultures in India). Like most things there is probably a range of "normal" behavior, both culturally and genetically driven. 

I know that for me, I won't be picking up the gun any time soon, but I will go over to Kevin and Ben's house for dinner.

Oh fucking well, may as well hunt a fucking pig.

That's a lot of f-bombs.  I am inspired my Misty Murphy's blog. It's hysterical.

So it's raining. This has been a very rainy winter.

Since there is to be no local climbing outside (even Bishop looks spotty), I'm taking two guys out to my family ranch in Mendocino County to hunt pigs.  In the rain.  It's probably going to be pretty miserable, but I can handle a few hours out in the rain. It's nothing I have never done for the love of mushrooms.

I'm not actually going to carry/shoot a gun. I don't know the first thing about guns. But my friends are hunters, one is an avid duck hunter and the other grew up hunting deer.  I'm just the hostess.

It's funny the only time I'm ever outside and not climbing, it's usually raining. Not too surprising I suppose.

If we shoot a pig, then we'll skin it and quarter it there, and then bring it back home to do who knows what. I'm not entirely sure. Kevin and Ben are stoked to butcher it - fine by me. Kevin found some instructional youtube videos.  You can find ANYTHING on youtube now.  What a world we live in.

Finally, I'm going to Europe in ONE WEEK OMG SO STOKED.  I have about thirty quickdraws (including some sweet Petzl logos (thanks E), a relatively new pair of shoes, and a crappy rope.  I need a new rope. Hmmm. Better do that soon. The car is booked, we're sussing out the living situation at the crags.  The best option may be to rent a house with some other climbers. This could be extremely awesome, or it could be a weeks-long soul killing sprayfest. My favorite.

I need to get some software installed on my laptop so I can work on this phylogenetic project that I'm doing...

On strength. Am I stronger or weaker than I think?

Sometimes I get reminded of things, as we all do, that are upsetting.  Upsetting even after I've categorized it, dissected it, stomped all over it and filed it away as far back in the recesses of my brain as possible. Something will trigger a wave of emotions, or my stomach will drop. It's a very physical emotional response.

It sucks.  I hate it.

I was talking to Karrigan about it, and he thinks it's sort of a fight or flight response, a bit like a PTSD thing. I'm reluctant to say that I have any kind of PTSD given what people who really have it have been through, but the principle is the same, just at a far milder level. Life isn't black and white, and there are many shades of experiences, and they are all relative to what one has experienced before.

It's probably fair to say that I've had some traumatic experiences, relative to someone who has never been diagnosed with a disease, lost a sibling, or had traumatic relationships (friendships or otherwise). But to think that things so far in the past can still bring up feelings that dwell in my subconscious is depressing. I want to be free and easy!! I want to not ever have bad thoughts!  I want to be calm and cool and collected! I want to never have self-doubt!

Karrigan suggests to take a meditative approach, and observe that it isn't a real feeling and let it go.  However I find this a bit depressing as well, because then I'm admitting that I have feelings that aren't "real", or aren't really applying to anything in the here and now. Just ghosts of emotions in the past. I know that's a defeatist way to approach it, and that he's right. Somehow it just trivializes something that is so real. I have to try to reconcile the two realities: the reality of the past and what happened and the reality of what the present is. Because they are inseparable, and trying to categorize or make something either this or that is not working for me. It's a very simple way to look at life, but it's not operationally useful...you don't really get anywhere with that paradigm. Time for a shift.

online scrabble

Hey y'all --
if you want to play Words with  Friends (aka Scrabble), my username is my first and last name.  Obsessed!

Reason #5,673 why I'm stupid

I'm beginning to think that this blog is mostly about how I'm an idiot. I'd say retarded, but given that is no longer pc, I'll go with the more positive term of "special needs".

I went to Bishop Thursday night to hang out with the adorable Jackson girls + Lauren.  Jeff was in town so I went over to Andrew's house to hang out with him and his Denver/Fort Collins friends and drink a beer and watch a horrible Lisa Rands video.  The video only lent support to my general policy of "no climbing videos."  They are bad bad bad. I guess they're not that bad if you put them on mute and play your own music, but who has the energy for that?

ANYWAY, the next morning we drove out to the Buttermilks and I followed the boys up the "ridge solo" behind the Iron Man Traverse.  It's like 5.3 or something. That went all fine and dandy until the down climb where I attempted to "sack up" and jump across a small chasm to another boulder.  I've faced these situations before and always been kind of chicken, so this time I was going to go for it.  I went for it alright. As it turns out, the boulder is steep and grainy where my feet landed.  Instead of the sick pro-sticky rubber landing I was hoping for, my feet flew out from under me and I had a Vertical Limit moment where I snagged the boulder just in time to avoid sliding down the glacier to my death. Just kidding. But I WAS just hanging on to the top of the boulder with my hands.  It scared the shit out of the boys.  They just stared at me, though I think I heard an "oh shit!"

Something was definitely wrong with my ankle, and I had to take a moment to assess how fucked up it really was. You know how it takes you a minute sometimes to realize how injured you really are?  Yeah, that's what it was like.

I bailed on the rest of the "official downclimb and instead walked down through some boulders and met up with them on the other side.  I did get to watch this crazy skier dude do some flips off of a rock and land in the sandy gully. Seriously. It was CRAZY. and AWESOME.

So actually my ankle didn't feel that bad and I kept climbing a little and wandering around the buttermilks with the Jackson girls, who were immensely adorable and entertaining.  I forgot what it was like to be a beginner and TRY SO HARD.  It's inspiring.

We were done by about noon...the ankle was hurting and the Jacksons were tired.  So we wandered into town, went shopping at Wilson's, and then drove out to see the pupfish, where I cracked the front bumper of my car because we drove the right wheel through a ditch that I didn't see. Another notch in the stupid belt.

Either way, the fish were great and it was hot and sunny, so we drove back to the park and Maki came by and chatted, and then we got beer at Whiskey Creek. After that we moved over to Maki's to hang out with her and James and Stu.  I brought James his favorite cookies - cherry chocolate chip, so I was stoked to give them to him (and celebrate that Maki got into grad school and James sent his project!) It was a good trip.

At that point I was definitely limping pretty badly, but I still held out hope for climbing in the gorge Saturday.  Though this hope was definitely fading quickly. Maki gave me an ace bandage and some 800mg ibuprofen.  People were starting to dote on me, and look concerned, which was kind of nice and kind of went against my denial that I'd really done my ankle in. I think it's because I'm limping pretty badly and generally just look pathetic.  It's hard to walk for sure.

I also realized that I must have slammed my hip into the wall because I have a big bruise on my right hip bone.  And lots of scratches on my forearm.  I'm glad I stuck it with my hands at least!

Fast forward to this afternoon and I'm home. It would have been stupid to try to hike a pack down into the gorge and climb.  I'm going to Europe in two weeks and sorry all you gorge lovers - the gorge ain't worth it.

My ankle isn't that swollen, so I think it will feel better in a few days, but it still hurts like a BITCH.  I do wish that I had crutches though.  I might go to student health and rent them or something.  I can walk around, but it's damn slow and it hurts.

Sunsh is coming over to dote on me tonight and help me grocery shop and do shit around the house, and Karrigan looked for crutches for me, but to no avail.  It's times like these when I realize that I have generous and giving friends, and it warms my heart.

Hopefully it feels better in a few days. I really think that it will.  Super bad ankle sprains always swell up dramatically, and that's not happening. I may have just hyperextended it.

Jeff - this is ALL YOUR FAULT!! But it was still great to see you :)

Cloudy outside, Sunshine inside

No climbing outdoors this weekend.  The conditions are probably decent, but I don't want to pay for the gas to get to Jailhouse, and Gold Wall is wet.  Instead I went to the gym and bouldered with some friends.  I did well!  At least for not really bouldering too much.  I did a couple of 4s and 5s. If I can do a V5, that's pretty good for me. I think that tomorrow I'm going back to do a 4x4 with Sarah D. That is if she decides to go...

After that Sunshine came to Davis and we went to the farmer's market for Pig Day. It's true. There were people dressed up as pigs and lots of pig flavored things to eat and also little piggies to pet. So if you ever want to hold a pig while eating bacon, Pig Day is the day to do it. Or you could buy a farm.

The pig hunt at the ranch might still be on before I go to Europe, though I'm not counting on it. Only a few more weekends to go!  But it would be cool to shoot some bacon. Pigs are so destructive in California too. I don't feel bad about killing them and eating them.  I just don't want to butcher them. Fortunately, since the property belongs to my family, my guests will do the butchering. I don't really want to butcher a pig without watching someone else do it first.

In other slaughterhouse news, I was chatting with the guy who shares the garden plot near me, and he said that he's going to start raising rabbits to eat.  Rabbits breed...like rabbits. You can eat them after 40 days, and they have induce ovulation, as soon as they have sex they ovulate. They can get pregnant almost right after they give birth and they take 30 days to gestate. Seven kits per litter. There will be two does and a buck. That's a lot of rabbits.  Anyway he said I could go in on his rabbit ranch if I helped out with feeding and watering occasionally. Fine by me. Plus he does the slaughtering. He had a job as an undergrad in TX slaughtering bunnies...I'm guessing he's good at it. I don't think I've ever eaten rabbit before.  He says it taste like chicken.

Sunsh and I were walking back from the farmer's market today and thought up one of the best blog ideas ever, though it would probably have to be anonymous to truly be honest and make it funny.  "Stupid shit my ex boyfriends said."  Man oh man.  She has some good ones, and so do my friends.  I've never dated a guy who said stupid shit, so I can't contribute.  Damn. I'll have to live vicariously through my friends.

The latest to-do list

In an attempt to up my productivity and get shit done, here is my latest to-do list that EXCLUDES the labwork and data analysis that I need to do (which is a whole other long-ass to-do list)

1. Apply for grad studies travel award and make sure that my advisor sends in his letter of rec - March 15
2. Apply for AFS travel award, submit abstract for September Seattle meeting - March 11
3. Call dude from Vegas to ask for Nevada samples and figure out what I NEED first (more complicated than it sounds) - today
4. Call dude from Oregon to ask for Oregon samples
5. Read through final minor revisions and SUBMIT THIS FUCKING MANUSCRIPT ONCE AND FOR ALL OH MY GOD. - March 10
6. Apply for TA positions 2011-2012 (backup plan) - unsure of deadline
7. Apply for Sac State lecturer positions (backup plan B) - unsure of deadline
8. Taxes - fax my crap in so that someone who knows what they are doing can figure it out for me. Federal job + grad student + whatever investments my parents made = confusing tax return. - before March 26
9. Book a rental car in Spain

Wow that doesn't seem that bad wen I write it down like that.  I like the colors.  This is good.

In other news I am STOKED OUT OF MY DOME for Spain.  Chatting with Ethan definitely ups the motivation level. I even went to Pipeworks in the AFTERNOON yesterday! I never do that.  I pretty much only ever go Tuesday mornings super early or weekend mornings when the crags are wet. But I need to get stronger and fitter for Spain so that I can CRUSH BUNNIES. Unfortunately/fortunately, Ethan has been climbing with some of the other best climbers in the world.  So there is a very high chance that when I get there I'm going to feel like the worst climber in the world.  Which is unfortunate.  On the other hand, it's got to be better than my first two trips to Spain. Yeah. It's going to be awesome. I'm super super psyched.