Madman Ranting

Well I just felt like the new format of the "Life Outside The Rat Race" page called for a nice long post. Believe me the frustration of palpable over most of the posts of late being either pictures of or somehow relating to my continuing obsession with Star Wars. There just haven't been any really exciting revelations lately. I think finishing school and moving into a work-a-day life has somehow stunted my creativity. In fact, I know it has. I have tendency to go all in with any new endevour and the job is no exception and takes up a lot of my brainpower. (The parts I haven't managed to slowly annihilate with beer. Speaking of beer, we haven't been on the best terms lately. My age is catching up with me folks and while my tolerance for the sweet brown liquid is at an all time high, my tolerance for the after effects is pathetic. The nature of hangovers has changed. While I've figured out how to avoid becoming debilitated the day after, I still fall victim to the more subtle after effects. These after effects include: the charming phenomenon knwn as beer shits (all well and good if you've got a whole day to waste but not so easy to explain to your co-workers why your leaving the office and interrupting conversations heading to the bathroom with a sense of urgency every half hour or so.) Then there is anger. I don't know if any of you have experienced this before but I tend to get fucking angry a day or so after a decent bender. I could be doing nothing but watching TV, but if I drank too much the night before, I get overwhelming urges to through my shoe into the TV screen. Then of course there is the anxiety. Yet another new side effect of alcohol in my old age. I wake up with strange anxiety attacks the ngiht after or even 2 days after drinking too much. I'm sorry, I'm bringing you down. Don't worry, part of all this is my lack of exercise over the last 6 months. All that unused energy is manifesting itself in strange ways. But not to fear, I'm on the case. I've started doing First Water every chance I get. And its helped. Soon I'm going to have to upgrade to something harder, after all we have Half Dome looming just over the horizon. Speaking of which, you'll note in the links section of the blog I've change the name of the Webcam link to "The Half Dome Society" I suggest that those of you who are commiting to climb with me this summer, take a look at that page once a day or so. If you will permit me some advice I would say that there are two ways up that big rocky bastard, and that to either learn to absolutely hate it or absolutely love it. You can climb out of spite or out of a sense of connection. Immediately after doing it the last time, I swore that if I ever did it again it would be out of spite, out of a sense of revenge for the pain and humility inflicted on my last trip. Now that I have some distance I feel differently I feel like if I get in good enough shape by this summer to climb the rock with less hardship than last time, then I owe it a sense of gratitude. So I'm gonna go in with a good attitude and do what I always do when I hike, and thats just keep walking until the trail runs out. I'll go slow and I will enjoy myself. Thats not to say that I will denegrate the efforts of those that choose the other approach. Hate can be a powerful ally. (Here comes the obligitory Star Wars reference) You can think of Half Dome like the Emporer, "Release your anger, only your hate can destroy me." Or was that Vader? Anyway, I choose Yoda's advice when he says, "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."
What else? Oh Yeah I would like to formally apologize to Emily for missing you at the crown on your birthday. What can I say? I'm a bad cousin. It was just one of those things, the night got away from me and I couldn't make it. I owe you one.

Here's a list of songs you should download on your iTunes Right now:
Old 97's Time Bomb also Question
The Monkees Porpoise Song
Cat Stevens Tea For the Tillerman
The Coral Dreaming of you

Well thats long enough and thats all for now.