What I do on my holidays
Jun. 16th, 2008 10:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hawkwing_lbSo, today I got up at noon and went in to the gym. Hit the climbing wall, the treadmill, and the weights. In that order.
I discovered something new about myself. When there's no one else at the wall, I'm a total wuss at bouldering. If there's anyone there, fine, I'll go up to the top of the overhang, let my feet be four feet off the ground, no worries... On my own? I get two feet off the ground, and my brain starts to gibber What if we fall? We could break an ankle! You'd have to crawl to the door and yell! Let's not go higher, let's really not.
I stuck with really basic things, like hanging off the bouldering wall, and traverses along the length of the wall proper, never more than a couple feet off the ground. I still managed to whack my elbow a good one, though.
(An aside: why the hell do people always cancel on me when I try to find a mate to go with? It happens so often, it's starting to worry me.)
Running: I put in 33 minutes on the treadmill, for 2.5 miles. My legs informed me that they do not like running after climbing, so it was very uneven, with a lot of walking, some running, and a bit of flat-out 9mph not-quite-sprinting.
Weights: again with the do not want. But I stuck it out and got my sets, damnit. I haven't been at a gym since last Tuesday, and before then, not so much with the consistent effort during exam time.
I figure if I can go in again tomorrow and do much the same, and then do slightly less Wednesday, I'll be well set-up fitness-wise to take on the Asgard.
When I get back, I'm going to try to keep doing this, even if I do only have two weeks before I fly out for Crete. (My internets, I will miss you so! Checking email once or twice a week at an internet café will not be anything like the same.) I need to be as fit as possible before I hit the heat, to reduce the odds of immediate!death!collapse! the very first day.
I don't do well in heat, you see. But then, 25 Celsius qualifies as a heatwave around here, so I never have the chance to get acclimated to hotter.
I won't get back from Crete till September. Hopefully alive, fit, field-school-trained, and able to speak a modicum of modern Greek.
I hope to get my Advanced Open Water Diver qualification while I'm away, too. I need a refresher - a 'check dive', where they remind you of all the necessary safety bits and equipment care - and even if I can't get the AOWD, there's no way I'm not getting in a dive or three. Crete is actually affordable for dives, unlike Ireland. Also, warm, and generally good underwater visibility.
When I get back, I need to find a part-time job, pick up a lead climbing course, and find out what I need to do to get this qualification.
Because if I like climbing - and I do, a whole lot - there's no reason in the world I shouldn't consider ways of getting paid for doing something I like.
Academia could always fall through, after all. But that aside, one could always use a qualification for getting money while working one's way into academia.
What do you guys think? Good plan?
...In less than three days, I'll be on board a real live tallship.
When did I fall into this incredible life? For all the parts that suck, I really am having an unbelieveable set of great opportunities. I mean, this looks set to be an amazing summer. The Asgard. Crete. Field school. Diving. Possible lead climbing course in September, or if not, definitely in October.
A quarter-book that if not made of win, at least is not made of fail, and may actually get to be a whole book sometime within the next twelve months. WFC. Climbing. Greeks and Romans and Jews, oh my.
And if the economy sucks, and I'm stuck living at home for the next ten years, so what? I have mighty endorphins. I'll deal.
I discovered something new about myself. When there's no one else at the wall, I'm a total wuss at bouldering. If there's anyone there, fine, I'll go up to the top of the overhang, let my feet be four feet off the ground, no worries... On my own? I get two feet off the ground, and my brain starts to gibber What if we fall? We could break an ankle! You'd have to crawl to the door and yell! Let's not go higher, let's really not.
I stuck with really basic things, like hanging off the bouldering wall, and traverses along the length of the wall proper, never more than a couple feet off the ground. I still managed to whack my elbow a good one, though.
(An aside: why the hell do people always cancel on me when I try to find a mate to go with? It happens so often, it's starting to worry me.)
Running: I put in 33 minutes on the treadmill, for 2.5 miles. My legs informed me that they do not like running after climbing, so it was very uneven, with a lot of walking, some running, and a bit of flat-out 9mph not-quite-sprinting.
Weights: again with the do not want. But I stuck it out and got my sets, damnit. I haven't been at a gym since last Tuesday, and before then, not so much with the consistent effort during exam time.
I figure if I can go in again tomorrow and do much the same, and then do slightly less Wednesday, I'll be well set-up fitness-wise to take on the Asgard.
When I get back, I'm going to try to keep doing this, even if I do only have two weeks before I fly out for Crete. (My internets, I will miss you so! Checking email once or twice a week at an internet café will not be anything like the same.) I need to be as fit as possible before I hit the heat, to reduce the odds of immediate!death!collapse! the very first day.
I don't do well in heat, you see. But then, 25 Celsius qualifies as a heatwave around here, so I never have the chance to get acclimated to hotter.
I won't get back from Crete till September. Hopefully alive, fit, field-school-trained, and able to speak a modicum of modern Greek.
I hope to get my Advanced Open Water Diver qualification while I'm away, too. I need a refresher - a 'check dive', where they remind you of all the necessary safety bits and equipment care - and even if I can't get the AOWD, there's no way I'm not getting in a dive or three. Crete is actually affordable for dives, unlike Ireland. Also, warm, and generally good underwater visibility.
When I get back, I need to find a part-time job, pick up a lead climbing course, and find out what I need to do to get this qualification.
Because if I like climbing - and I do, a whole lot - there's no reason in the world I shouldn't consider ways of getting paid for doing something I like.
Academia could always fall through, after all. But that aside, one could always use a qualification for getting money while working one's way into academia.
What do you guys think? Good plan?
...In less than three days, I'll be on board a real live tallship.
When did I fall into this incredible life? For all the parts that suck, I really am having an unbelieveable set of great opportunities. I mean, this looks set to be an amazing summer. The Asgard. Crete. Field school. Diving. Possible lead climbing course in September, or if not, definitely in October.
A quarter-book that if not made of win, at least is not made of fail, and may actually get to be a whole book sometime within the next twelve months. WFC. Climbing. Greeks and Romans and Jews, oh my.
And if the economy sucks, and I'm stuck living at home for the next ten years, so what? I have mighty endorphins. I'll deal.
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no subject
Date: 2008-06-16 11:17 pm (UTC)And I cannot tell you how I envy you the tall ship. Skylark in the rigging for me!
no subject
Date: 2008-06-16 11:28 pm (UTC)...It's kind of incredible. I don't think I actually believed that this was my life until it occurred to me I should start thinking about what to pack. This much coolness usually happens to other people. :P
no subject
Date: 2008-06-16 11:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-16 11:34 pm (UTC):D
Date: 2008-06-16 11:47 pm (UTC)Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-16 11:51 pm (UTC)...I can't help it if my interests are such that it works out that way, though, can I? :P
no subject
Date: 2008-06-17 01:41 am (UTC)Good plans, and a summer full of fun! Now all you need is the Indy fedora, and you're set for life.
(Bullwhip is optional.)
Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-17 03:10 am (UTC)Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-17 01:52 pm (UTC)Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-17 03:54 pm (UTC)*waits for whip*
no subject
Date: 2008-06-17 03:58 pm (UTC)...I needed a wide-brimmed hat for Crete. I didn't realise until after I bought it that it actually resembles a paler version of the hat Michael Shanks wears in early Stargate.
A fedora would be cooler, but not within my budget.
Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-17 08:41 pm (UTC)Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-18 01:44 am (UTC)Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-18 09:38 am (UTC)Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-18 04:18 pm (UTC)Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-18 04:43 pm (UTC)Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-18 04:50 pm (UTC)Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-18 04:59 pm (UTC)I'm sure there's a genre of office cosies, somewhere.
Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-18 05:07 pm (UTC)Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-18 05:11 pm (UTC)Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-18 05:12 pm (UTC)Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-18 05:12 pm (UTC)Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-18 05:14 pm (UTC)(Totally not my fault. I'm still waiting for the whip. :P)
Re: :D
Date: 2008-06-18 05:33 pm (UTC)Drat, he beat me to it. Oh well, I wasn't going to use it anyway. There's a secret way out.
::slips into the darkness, avoiding the skeletons::