on my mind

life, What I'm...

I've been working my way through the complete collection of Ernest Hemingway and came across this bit in the preface of the first section. It's been on my mind off and on for the last few weeks and last night it really hit home with me. I suppose it helps explain what in the crazy-world I am doing up here.

“In going where you have to go, and doing what you have to do, and seeing what you have to see, you dull and blunt the instrument you write with. But I would rather have it bent and dull and know I had put it on the grindstone again and hammer it into shape and put a whetstone to it, and know that I had someting to write about, than to have it bright and shining and nothing to say, or smooth and well-oiled in the closet but unused.”

~Preface to “The First Forty-nine” Ernest Hemingway, 1938

So here's to this crazy experience of moving to Alaska and loving it.

weekend recap

intern, life, local first, poor yorick, The U, volunteer, weekend, What I'm...

I just had one of the busiest weekends I've had in a really long time. There was everything from shopping to volunteering to working. And school starts tomorrow! No time for sleeping in anymore, it's all business from here on out!

My weekend started Friday with a coffee date to Nobrow Coffee and Tea, a fun little local shop. I had a 3.5 mile run to complete that morning so I decided to run to the shop instead of getting up earlier and running before. I'm so glad I did! It was a fun little experience. And the coffee was great! We went specifically to try a local roaster, La Barba, and it was wonderful. I'll be looking out for them in other places too.

Friday afternoon I met with the roommate and her boyfriend at The Leonardo, a museum downtown for an after hours event. They shared some interesting information linking information overload and science with visualization. Not stuff I would normally seek out, but it always turns out to be interesting. After the presentation we headed over to Squatters, a local brew pub, for beer and dinner and it was so yummy. I've never really had anything there that I didn't like. It's a definitely must-visit if you are ever in the SLC area.

My favorite summer sandals while waiting for our table.

Saturday morning started with a bike ride to yoga and back. My legs and arms are sore a day later and I love it. Shortly after I got back from yoga the roommate and I went to Poor Yorick Art Studios to help set up for the Local First “I Am Local” photo exhibition. I'm the media intern for Local First so it was part work part volunteer hours. The exhibit turned out really nice and it was fun to get all dressed up and head back in the evening to shmooze and chat up interesting people from the community.

Open studio event posters from Poor Yorick.

Me and the roommate at the party.

Between Local First appointments I covered a story for the Salt Lake Tribune. It was a home invasion self defense class taught at a karate school in Sandy. I had never been to a karate class before and it was pretty interesting. I don't think I'll start taking any classes myself, but I would totally be interested in any future bambinos being involved. I really liked the things they teach kids about self-esteem, confidence and focusing on defense instead of offense.

The teacher is on the left. The kids loved jumping on each other when it was time to partner up.

After the Local First photo show I went with a good friend to his cousin's birthday party. We drank too much and stopped at Burger King for cinnamon rolls at 1 a.m. They were wonderful. Totally not paleo but so worth it.

Sunday brought early morning errands, a hangover headache, getting the last of my school supplies and grocery shopping. A volunteer meeting for the Beer Fest next weekend and my first day back at The Daily Utah Chronicle for editing and work for our first issue of the semester. It is still smokey and hazy here, we really need a good storm to blow all this nasty air away. But it was all sunshine and the mountains still look beautiful.

I'm very much looking forward to school starting tomorrow. I'm excited to get into the flow of the newspaper and classes and homework. It's going to be a busy semester and I just can't wait.

back to climbing

bouldering, life, rock climbing, the front climbing gym, What I'm...

The other night I pulled out these bad boys and slipped them on.

It was as uncomfortable as I remember, and just as worth it. I was nervous on the way to the bouldering gym, it had been nine years since the last time I went climbing. But I've been thinking about trying it again, and the opportunity presented itself. So I went.

Just another lesson that if I speak my intentions out loud the universe will deliver. It works every time. I just have to be willing to accept the form in which my intention is delivered.

We climbed for a couple hours. I completed a few, five I think, problems, the easy ones of course. Better to complete the easy ones than fall, get injured or tire out too quickly. And, apparently I can hardly do a pull up anymore. *Sigh* I'll have to work on that. My feet and hands hurt for a while after we finished. Nothing that a bit of conditioning can't take care of.

Today my hands are stiff and there are a couple tender spots along my arms and shoulders. Love it. Hopefully I'll be able to go again soon. I'd love to make bouldering a more regular thing.

Do you hear that universe? Affordable and regular climbing please. Thank you.

a visitor this week

Boston terrier, dog sitting, life, she said, What I'm...

The roommate offered to watch a friend's Boston terrier a while back and this week he decided to cash in. The pup's name is Dido.

I'm not certain of her age, but she is a hoot to have around. Though it does add a different element to walking the dogs in the morning, now there are three. The two dogs and I have our morning routine down pretty good so adding an additional pup has been interesting.

I can say that there have only been small scuffles and no fights. For this I count my lucky stars, three female dogs in the same house can be difficult. Other than a few jealousy moments they are all getting along fine.

Dido is quite the personality. I've always thought of Ellie as spunky and I still stand by this. I would call Dido quirky. With her different colored eyes, pig-like snorting and deep snoring it's hard for me to call her anything but quirky. She's a doll to have around, obedient and not rowdy. Though she loves to go on walks and will pull your arm off until she finds a spot to releive herself.

turn up your volume, don't watch, just listen to her snoring.

She insists on sitting in my lap which I'm fine with but is always a struggle. She is a few pounds heavier than Ellie and she does not sit still. If you stop petting for a moment she quickly turns to lick your face and remind you what you are supposed to be doing. She cracks me up with her snorting and licks.

She'll head home sometime Sunday. It's been nice having her around, and I'm sure I'll miss her when she's gone. I've enjoyed her enough that if there is ever a time in the future when I get a new dog, I'll consider getting a Boston.

what do you eat instead?

meal replacement, protein bars, student life, The U, university of utah, What I'm...

Since starting school, when 2pm comes around I'm hungry enough to consider eating my foot. And since there are so many meal replacement/protien bars on the market these days, I decided to try them and find the best one for me.

I started with Pro Bar. It's made in Park City and, honestly, that weighed heavily on my choosing that one to start. And it's not bad! Fairly dense and hearty, it filled me up and held me over until I could grab something to eat after classes were over.

Y'know how some meal replacement bars have a kind of… dirty flavor. Like it's made of protein powder and gross dates blended up to hold the mass together? This kinda has that. But with the many flavors available (Cran-Lemon Twister being my favorite) it's not nearly as bad as say, a Power Bar. Because those things are yicky.

Next was the LaraBar. Which I did not like. It was pretty lemon-y. And for way fewer calories but waaay more saturated fat and less protein… not what I was looking for.

Third was the Odwalla Berries GoMega. It was pretty good, like one of those breakfast ceral bars. With less calories, fat, and sugars, it would be a good option. But it just didn't hold me over.

I mentioned my little experiment to Lauren, she suggested I try the Special K protein meal bar. That was the one she liked. I wondered if it really could be that simple.

And you know what? It totally is that simple. The fewest calories, double the fat, half the carbs, half the sugar, more protein… and it keeps me from gnawing on my foot.

I'll be sticking to the simple stuff from now on.

(But if there ever is a time when I need something organic, vegan and non-gmo, I know where to go.)

Marjorie Clark

Mountains are Life

What I’m…