Another fast weekend

Friday Night:
Been having insomnia lately; by Friday night I hadn't slept for over 24 hours straight. After work I went to hang out with a friend. We went to an art fundraiser for a local nonprofit, then had wine and dinner since we were downtown.

Wine makes me sleepy. I should drink more so I can sleep easier. I agreed with friend in doing an "8000 meter challenge" (where you run up and down 3 mountains in 24 hours). Some say the challenge is tougher than a marathon. It should be in September so we don't have much time to train. My little brother called; he wanted to borrow my truck for a month. I agreed to that too. Maybe I shouldn't agree to things while drinking. Got home 'early', fell asleep immediately.

Saturday:
Woke up early. Packed my gear in preparation for a day hike up Mount Baldy; it's one of the three mountains that's part of the 8000 meter challenge. This is part of our training and we're not wasting any time. Picked up friend, drove to LA. I decide to try this hike in beach flip flops just to see if I can.

Made the hike up and down in 4 1/2 hours including breaks. We're both out of shape (at least relatively). Hiked up to 10,084 feet elevation. Saw snow on top. Neat.

The US vs Ghana soccer game was recorded. Coming back, we avoided looking at our text messages/calls. I had 3 missed text messages and friend had 6. We're tempted to ask a random stranger to look at our text messages to screen for world cup comments. Friend buys whiskey before watching the game; good for celebration or for numbing the pain of a loss. We do burritos and whiskey. Yum.

My little brother shows up. We finish watching the game and then watch new Futurama episodes. Such a disappointment on both fronts; we continue drinking.

Sunday:
Woke up. Started to watch Germany vs. England recording. Shitty refereeing. Again. What's with this World Cup? Too early to start drinking? My older brother visits. I don't remember when all my brothers got together. It feels surreal seeing everyone; I feel like we're in middle school. We grab pizza and watch the Argentina vs Mexico game. Even more shitty refereeing. Ok, now I can grab a beer.

I clean out my truck and move my gear into my younger brother's vehicle. I find cleats, shin guards, climbing shoes & harness, soccer ball, sleeping bag, sleeping mattress, ski jacket, frisbee golf discs, and other misc. items in my truck. My brothers leave and I hurry to play on my co-ed soccer team at the YMCA. Then I grab beers with the other team after our game. I arrive back home and do laundry. Now it's time to read and write.

Tomorrow's Monday again. Where does the time go?

Currently...

Listening to Frank Sinatra Christmas Classics at the start of a San Diego summer on a random 3:00 am.

Barefoot Running

I've always been terrible about taking things slow. When I get an idea, I might do a little initial research, but I usually start running before I fully comprehend walking. Switching to barefoot running was no exception.

My first barefoot 'test' run was over 3 miles on concrete and blacktop. To my credit, I started at a very slow jog, getting used to my first steps without the protection of cushioned soles. Almost immediately, my surroundings seemed to come alive.

On a normal run, I could drown out all my thoughts. My body simply placed one foot in front of the other ad infinitum. Although barefoot running is still essentially the same as running with shoes, it was also slightly different; I became conscious of a new layer of thoughts and feelings.

Now my actions needed to be very deliberate; my mind and eyes had to race through each individual step, calculating where it was safest to land. If I stepped on what I previously considered even the most minuscule of rocks, I could find myself flinching in pain. I'm far from a sadist though. If there were only pain involved, I would have quit easily.

However, where there's bad there's also good. The positive aspects was being able to feel everything from the gritty dirt on the road to the blades of grass passing through my feet with each stride.

Aside from what I was stepping on, it was more important focusing on how I stepped. Running barefoot naturally forces your feet to land on your soles first instead of the heels. Initially it felt slightly awkward; for lack of a better description, it was like tip toe running.

As I picked up speed, I noticed how light my feet felt (and it wasn't simply the missing weight of some absent shoes). My feet felt lighter because I used less force when landing.

When wearing shoes, I would strike the ground without being keen on how much pressure was placed. (I wonder if this is why many runners have bad knees.) By not wearing shoes, I instantly felt the jolt of my first few misguided and harsh steps. I learned very quickly to only use the bare minimum force between strides. Not only did I expend less energy, my knees were also grateful.

I completed my run quicker than usual. Once again, there's a positive and negative side. I looked at my feet, finding that I had a few blisters. I probably should have built up my callouses by walking barefoot first. Even with the blisters, I found it interesting. My right foot is more dominant and had more blisters. Hmm, that makes sense, but I wouldn't have thought about it like that.

Some people say that I shouldn't run barefoot for a number of reasons, safety being one of them. Like with anything in life, I take the precautions I think are necessary and then leave the rest up to fate. (If we all lived sheltered lives, we wouldn't have things like motorcycles - which I have my license and think is far more dangerous than barefoot running)

While I can't say that barefoot running is better or worse, I can say that it is a unique experience. I'm glad that this instance of "running before walking" didn't turn out disastrous.

Chris Sharma

He looked taller in the videos and pictures. Chris Sharma, arguably the world's best rock climber, was giving a presentation at my local climbing gym. He talked about his experiences traveling and climbing around the world and how it sculpted his life.

Interestingly enough, it was his time spent not climbing that I found most fascinating. Chris seemed candid in his self-reflection during the moments he took breaks from climbing; he mentioned how it wasn't about the climbing itself, but what was really important in life were the relationships he formed with the people he was climbing with. That's a tough thing to say, especially when you're speaking through a mic that resonates your voice throughout a gym full of climbing addicts and more importantly, all your climbing sponsors. Maybe that's what made it seem genuine.

Chris and Robert

I sat down at a local bar and Chris bought me a drink.  He told me how much he loved visiting Louisiana.  I thought to myself, Louisiana, that sounds like a nice place to visit.  We talked a bit about traveling. That's the first and probably last I'll see Chris.  He was a random stranger that did a nice thing for a random person.  Whenever something nice like this happens, I try to pay it forward.

I was on the way back from work when I saw Robert standing on the side of the road.  He was in his late 30's, Hispanic with tattooed forearms, a lip ring, a black shaggy beard, and dressed in grungy black t-shirt/shorts.  Robert held up a small brown cardboard sign that had "Hungry" written boldly across with a black sharpie.

"Hey, if you're hungry, I'll buy you dinner at In-N-Out."

Robert gave me an incredulous look, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, grab your stuff," I replied.

Robert snatched his skateboard and backpack just in time to jump into my truck before the traffic light turned green.  We drove down half a block to the In-N-Out and we each ordered double-double burgers with drinks.

I didn't ask, but Robert seemed compelled to share his story.  He told me he was kicked out by his roommates for not paying rent.  He used to work construction for 10 years and described to me in detail some of his previous projects.  He was born in LA, raised in San Diego, had a stint in jail (where he got his tattoos), is trying to clear his criminal record so he could find some work, and found it irritating when his parents compared him to his more successful brother.  He also loves gardening.

Today's panhandling earned him a few dollar bills, half a roast beef sandwich, and a hit of chronic.  He offered me the hit, but I had to politely refuse. He's now off to visit his girlfriend, whom he cheated on before with some other girl named Tammy. He felt ashamed that he's homeless and didn't want to admit this to his girl.

At least that's the story that he told me. I didn't offer any money (only the meal) and just waved goodbye to Robert after we finished eating. It was simple; we both came in hungry and left delightfully full. Most likely, we will never meet again.

I like to think that Chris just fed Robert.

Tuesday 4/20

I don’t know who the mailman is, but we should leave him a note thanking him for all the hard work that he does.

Warm, fuzzy, vibrating feel, and slight, constant pressure centered on my chest (feels like slightly above the solar plexus); I can feel the vibrations pulse like radar when I breathe in and breathe out deeply.

My roommate and I both look at each other. I say, “Dude, I want some chips”. He replies, “Dude! I was just thinking that!”

Tingling feel in arms as I type. Senses seem heightened (in taste) and admittedly worse at thinking and hand eye coordination. Psshh... hand eye coordination is overrated when you're sitting on the couch.

Ate probably 50 sour patch kids since I started typing. They taste sooo sour!!!

I can control my senses!!! If my mind moves to a different part of my body, I can feel the different sensations. For example, if I think about my head, I see a picture in the back of my mind. This ‘picture’, it has a black backdrop, looks like an x-ray where my skeleton is outlined in white. The image it zooms in and focuses dead center on my head. I feel a high / floating feeling on the top of my head, feels like my head is pulsing in and out.

Eyes strained. Eyelids pounding head, eyes squinting, may be because of bright light in the living room. Light switch is about 10 feet away... I decide it's too far.

I blink and it feels like I only blink 2/3 for each full blink. Not X X X where each X = 1 blink, but more like X X X where each blink is only 2/3 of a normal blink. Adjusting rate of blink to compensate. Rate of blink for normal blink =1 and Rate of blink for blinking while high is =1.25 x (rate of blink while normal), wait… 1.5 x…

Right leg just twitched; there was a quick jerk on my upper thigh / hip. Tickling sensation in my wrists. Whole body feels warm and tingly, like being on morphine. Was laughing at something on tv, snorted out loud.

Concentrating my senses to ‘point’ to my nose and I feel my nose ‘high’; it feels more like a pinch on the bridge of my nose (similar to stopping a bleeding nose). I’m exploring all these new senses! I concentrate on my chin; it feels like a vibration on the tip of my chin. Slowly moving my concentration 'beam' towards my lips; I feel the 'high' concentrated on my lower lip.

My mouth is open, hanging somewhere between a smile and a grin. Right foot just involuntarily twitched about 45 degrees upward. I’m half sitting (top) and half lying (bottom) on the couch. My butt and spine feel slightly numb. Mouth still sour and now dry/thirsty from earlier sour patch kids.

I’m closing my eyes for a little bit in order to rest. Opening eyes to see Mitch Hedberg playing, how appropriate. “You have to sleep on the floor. Damn gravity”. “You happen to be a king? Well you won’t guess what I have in store for you. A King sized bed! It’s made to your exact specifications.”

Show’s topic is now focused on food; I’m hungry. Nuked up some hot dogs, don’t have any buns, so really just eating half a pack of kosher hot dogs from Costco. Sandwiches. Yummm… Subway. They have triangular cheese slices, can tessellate across entire bread. Why do they stack the cheese over each other so they overlap instead? Finished all three hot dogs now.

Eyes feel slightly blurry; eyelids feel like I’ve been reading for hours by candlelight. Who uses candles still? Sleepy. Sleeping.

Note to Future Self - Deep Fried Oreos

Dear Future Will,

Here is the recipe for 'Deep Fried Oreos'.

Makes 30 cookies:

* 2 quarts vegetable oil for frying
* 1 large egg
* 1 cup milk
* 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
* 1 cup pancake mix
* 1 (18 ounce) package Oreos

You are welcome.

Sincerely,

Past Will