It's Over

Hey all. Been awhile since my last post on TGA. This leg of the journey has been over for more than a few weeks now and I'm starting to feel a bit lost.

I should begin working in the next week or so, so that isn't the problem. The problem is that I'm not sure exactly what to do next. Work isn't an adventure, so I need to come up with something, some goal that I can reach for. I don't want to stagnate again, ya know?

I was thinking about maybe doing the Las Vegas Marathon (or the Half-Marathon) in a few months. Not a lot of time to get ready for it (it starts on 12/4), but an idiot like me can push through any physical pain and relearn to kick ass again, right?

So what's to stop me? Well, there is that whole smoking thing to begin with. But that's not the tough part. I figure the easiest way to quit smoking is to not light one up. So we got that knocked out.

The second hurdle is my health. I haven't run in a good 9 or 10 years. Well, I figure I can fix that pretty easily to. Start running, duh!

I think the hardest thing for me to get past will be mental, as it's always been. So what I need are some good motivators. I have a few things in mind that are good reasons for doing this, the first of which is to just plain finish something.

I want to be able to look myself in the mirror and tell myself that I didn't give up on SOMETHING. But more than that, I want to do something that will be a gateway to doing something bigger than myself.

The way I see it, in a marathon, I'll just be one runner out of many. We'll all have our individual reasons for doing it, but in the end, I think that finishing will be at the top on every one of our lists.

So what do you folks think? What are some other good reasons for doing something that to most people would seem pointless. Why the hell would anyone want to run 26.2 miles anyway? Should I do it to try raising more money for the St Baldrick's Foundation? It's an idea, for sure. Hell, if I can happily get my lovely locks removed, I should be able to take a few aches and pains, right?

If you read this post, please comment. Give me some motivation or just some encouragement. Also, if you find any good websites for the beginning marathoner, feel free to let me know.

I have to do something, because right now, I'm completely insane. I'm doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. This needs to change, and it needs to change now.

Thanks for reading the rambling.

Job Interview, Nature at its Finest and Great Company

Now, after my last post (you know, the one where I rambled a LOT - and don't any of you say "which one") I promised that this next one would be short, but picture filled. Well, this will be the first one where I have video, because you absolutely MUST see where I went hiking today. The video won't do it justice (do they ever?) but if any of you have been thinking of coming out here to go hiking with me, this might just help solidify those thoughts.

Before I show you those pictures though, I'm gonna show you where I went on Tuesday. It was pretty darn cool, but not nearly as cool as today's hike.

But I digress. First of all, today I had my first interview. Hopefully, it will be one of a few. I say "a few" because I want to land a good job, and soon! The interview went well and I very much hope for a call back.

Next, Andrew, Liz and I (along with the doggies) went for an wonderful hike. As much as I love writing, I can not put into words the beauty that I saw today. I'll post the pictures and video at the end of this post so you can get a sample of what's in store for those of you who come out and visit.

Finally, tonight I went and saw the New York Philharmonic Orchestra's revival of "Company". The big names heading the cast were Neil Patrick Harris and Steven Colbert. And, while I've heard that they weren't nearly as good as the last group that did the show, they were phenomenal. If you don't catch it in theaters this week, be sure to check it out on DVD or Blu-Ray.

I went to the movie by myself, which is the first time I've done that since...damn. A LONG time. It was nice. I lost myself in the show, laughed hysterically, cried and did a lot of thinking. I might be reading into this a bit too much, but it's interesting to me that it just happened to be showing when I decided to come out here. And I'm glad I saw it.

Anyway, that's it for this one. Short (er), as promised. Now, enjoy the pictures and vids!

First up, the pictures and videos from Tuesday. I don't know where the hell I was, but it was a good hike. The first video is kinda weird - the sky looks pretty crazy. Rest assured, you are not on acid (though what do I know; maybe you are) - but really, I think my camera was just having some trouble.

Cacti. In the mountains. Nifty.

Of all the videos for this day, please watch the following. It took HOURS to upload for some reason. It's not great, but dammit, this is what made the blog post take so long!

Now for June 16.

Kayla might wanna think about this.

Hmm. She didn't think it through.

I would soon be walking on this. Looking at all the downed trees and debris, you get a good sense of how powerful nature can be.

This guy and I had similar ideas when it came to taking pics of the little waterfall. However, my retard card allowed me to get some better angles, as you'll soon see. :)

So, yeah. If you thought the pictures I took while driving through the Rocky Mountains upped my chances of joining the "Retard Hall of Fame", well, these ones pretty much make me a shoe in. 

I'm not stupid, just a bit reckless. Bit of a drop though, isn't it?

If it's all a dream, I don't wanna wake up (but hopefully I don't roll over - all that green behind me is a good 40 or 50 feet down).

Fremont Street is for Zombies, Mary Jane Falls is Sweet

This weekend was pretty darn good. My buddy Liz and I went out to Fremont St for the Vegas Streets festival. There was food and free bands playing. The atmosphere was one of fun and excitement. In typical Fremont St fashion, it was like one big party.

However, last night, I noticed something that I found interesting. As many of you might know, a good portion of Fremont St is covered by a large canopy that is basically a giant screen. Every hour, the music starts bumping (it was the Doors last night - very cool) and a great show gets put on right above you. Not that the people zip lining down the street isn't a good show in itself.

From a local perspective, surprisingly (to me anyway) this light show is actually kind of annoying. If you've ever seen the movie Land of the Dead, you'll recall that the heroes would set off fireworks to distract the zombies (and if you haven't seen it, WTF?). I imagine that the hourly show on Fremont would work in much the same fashion.

As we were trying to make our way back to the car, the music pumped, the lights came up and damn near EVERYONE just STOPPED. Like the zombies in the movie, they stop and look up at all the pretty lights. Not a problem in itself, except that Fremont is PACKED with people which made it very difficult to get where you want to go.

SO...if you're ever in this neck of the woods and would like to enjoy Fremont St, please, try to stand off to the side or something. The locals, and anyone else who doesn't go completely retarded over pretty lights, will thank you.

I didn't get a lot of pictures while we were there, but we did cut through the Golden Nugget on our way back, which has this.

It's a shark tank. With a water slide that goes through it. Nuff said. There was also a "Super Hero Pub Crawl" last night, which was pretty cool. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of them. Maybe I was distracted by the...nevermind.

ANYWAY, as much fun as THAT was, today was much more fun for me. This morning, we headed out at about 09:00 and drove north. Liz wanted to show me the Mary Jane Falls, and I'm SO glad that she did!

After about 30 or 40 minutes of driving, it's like we were in a completely different world. The mountains loomed all around us. The elevation change made me dizzy. The base of the trail starts at 7840 ft. and the top is 8880 ft. A 1040 ft ascent, no big deal. Add loose stone and steep drops and you have a recipe for fun!

It took me about 15 or 20 minutes to get used to the higher elevation. Once I did, it was no problem, but I was definitely huffing and puffing for awhile. The ironic thing is that I really wanted a cigarette. Yes. Sometimes I'm an idiot.

The scenery was beautiful and the weather was pristine. The trail zig-zags up the mountain for quite some time. The lower parts of the trail, as I mentioned above, are mostly loose gravel. However, once you get past all of the switchbacks, it's mostly sturdy, solid rock. Basically, the hard part is near the bottom of the trail. Go figure.

Once you're at the top, the falls await! The falls are actually the runoff of the snow melting from the tops of the mountains. Regardless of where it comes from, it's definitely a sight to see. Once you're up near the falls, the air is cool and the mist from the falls are very welcome after the long hike up.

That big "white rock" is actually a HUGE pile of snow!

Unfortunately, my pictures simply do not do the falls justice. Sorry, but once again, you'll just have to come out here and see them. I'll be happy to take you (actually, I plan to go there again on Tuesday and take the day to explore). Though from what I hear, the best time to come is mid-May when the thaw is first beginning.

To the West or North West of the falls is a big old cave. Of course, being that I am me and ever curious, I had to go check it out. It isn't very deep, but if were to start raining, it'd be a decent place to be.

Anyway, after hanging about the cave and the falls for a bit, we started making our way back down the trail. On the way, I felt the need to stop for just one more picture.

If you're in the pristine beauty of nature and feel the need to write "E=MC2" on a mountain wall, or write out Pi to a mere 4 decimal points, please take note. You are not clever. You're a pretentious ass and I hope you lose your footing on the way down the trail. Don't be a douche.

Speaking of losing your footing, through out the trail there are numerous shortcuts that skirt the main trail. These shortcuts are quite steep. While I only took one on the way up (to get around some folks and their dog), I took quite a few on the way down.

The experience of getting low and sliding down the side of a mountain is pretty cool, but I am definitely thankful for the large stones that DON'T move when you get to them. More than one of them saved me from tumbling down the face of the mountain (though they did NOT save me bumping my butt a few times). So did a large tree that had fallen. No harm done to me, but if you're going to do it, I suggest having someone else hold your camera and tripod (I almost lost them a few times).

That was it for the weekend. Maybe not quite as cool to some of you as the drive out here, but for me, it was like magic.

Anyway, I got job interviews coming up this week, but if I do get out again on Tuesday, I promise I'll make the next post more show and less tell. I know. I can ramble. :)