Destination: Laptopistan by David Sax was an interesting read. Only now do I realize that the word “laptop” is in the name. I like how Sax introduces with a scene, gives history, then goes back to the same scene of the tree falling. Laptopistan (which makes me wonder if he made up the name himself) is located in the Atlas Cafe. There, people gather in silence to do work. Laptopistan’s motto is “Silence is Golden”. Sax compares the area to a library without the actual librarian since no one will actually shush each other with words. He slowly learns why and what types of people gather there. People from all under the spectrum, such as yoga teachers, product designers, novelists, architects, event planners, database designers, classical musicians, film editors and app developers can be found in Laptopistan. At the incident of the tree, Sax realized he was becoming one of them when his thought was, “time to get back to work”. All of those people gather in the cafe to work because the feeling of being watched and being around those who are also working fuels the urge to get work done. It creates an environment where a person is acceptable for doing work without getting distracted much.
As a side note, I laughed a lot when Sax mentioned the product designer’s clock being sold at MoMA. (Museum of Modern Art) Just yesterday, the art students went to New York City to see galleries at Chelsea (spelling?) and to go to that specific museum. My group got lost in the subway so we didn’t even go to MoMA which makes me very sad now that I hear of this clock.
This bus stop goes down Western Ave. from the city to the mall. A lot of students like to get on it to go to the mall. There are lots of other people too. There are a lot of random conversations to listen in. I have a personal distaste for buses so I am somewhat biased about using it even though it is better than everyone of those people having a car. Buses also create less traffic because of less cars. People of all ages are seen on the buses and waiting at the stops.
This stop works from 5:30am till 11pm on weekdays, but has different hours on Sundays. (7:40am til 7pm. ) This 10 bus is part of the Capital District Transport Authority (CDTA). CDTA has buses running around Albany to Schenectady, Saratoga, and Troy.
In particular I am scouting the stop at Partridge. It is in front of UAlbany. Inside, there is a map, advertisements and if you look up, there is “bong” in graffiti. I suppose the people who did the graffiti like to ride the bus too. In overhearing conversations, I can conclude that silly under aged kids who like to get drunk and smoke pot like to ride the bus. Old people with personal problems like to talk about them. There are school kids and the normal people too. I don’t remember seeing any businessmen before though.
1)The park. It will probably be Washington Park. It is a short walk from campus with lots of trees and people. The bus that takes art students to and from Picott goes through the park. I see parents with their children, dogs, and once saw people practicing with wooden swords (which I assume is Kendo). Since I’ve been there at night time, I know there are people who ride bikes, walk their dogs, and “hang out” there too. And there is this crazy homeless guy who likes to hang around the lake and scream about no fish. Plus, I’ve found condom packages which I can assume there are other things going on too. As long as I have a friend, the park at night is really not that bad. I wonder if any one else likes to climb trees like I do. People are really nice in this town because they always tell me to be careful or come down. Someone else should like to climb trees, yes? A challenge could be that no one really wants to talk to me or they’re mean people. Or, they could just be the same simple story with no interesting notes. -might I mention that the squirrels are adorable.
2)Bus stop. There are almost always people there. I met this one Asian dude trying to get to the mall to get drinks for his dorm, and neither he nor I realized it was Sunday and that the mall was already closed and we spent a couple hours there. I have over heard peoples conversations about the mall, or what a dick her friend was, or pot. People of all ages go to the bus stop. People are sometimes ridiculous or funny. There could be the chance that no one wants to talk to me. I also really hate buses, so going onto the bus would be terrible for me.
I am out of ideas….
3)Sidewalk to some store? People are always walking around on the sidewalk. Perhaps around Price Chopper. I know a lot of college students like to stop by at 2 in the morning. There might be funny stories that the customers come up with. Drawback could be that one homeless guy who mumbles might try and bother me again. No, I do not have money for you. For you or anybody.
4)I could possibly write about the art studio too. The one below in Bru. I could ask who is the professor of the art students. The other students are probably just getting food in the little cubbyhole in the corner. (by cubbyhole, I am just making fun of the “cafe”) Most of the time, the students are drawing boxes, or glass bottles. On Fridays, there are Figure drawing lessons with a model. (might I add, nude?) I’ve had the easels fall on me before. I could ask about their woes with things falling on them or how often they come out covered in charcoal and other stuff. A drawback could be hearing the same stuff over and over.
I went to http://www.rockclimbing.com/ (yeah, how simple) and I looked at the beginner’s articles. I may be in on this little world, but I did not know so many terms existed for every single thing such as “barn door” (the body swings away from the rock due to the angle) or “G-Tox” (a method of shaking out the arms which utilizes gravity to shorten muscle recovery time). It seems that a lot of these terms are put to use by natural reaction from the climber to the rock. It’s as if walking were to have specific terms from “amble” to “fast-pace” and more in between. In the articles, Clinton Anderson described how beginners should base their shoes. He mentions a lot of my experience with getting used to climbing shoes. Climbing shoes are designed specifically and should feel weird on normal ground. Anderson started with shoes that have to be tied up, and so did I. We look with envy upon other climbers who have Velcro shoes while we take 3 minutes taking our shoes on and off.
Holy #%*$. On the article on climbing.com, there was a publish from Dougald MacDonald about a new route in Fisher Towers(Utah). Jeremy Aslaksen and Paul Gagner established the climb “Trick of the Tail” on the Cottontail Tower. (V 5.10+ A3) (in other words extremely hard). Those two have estabished 3 other climbs(the King Fisher, Titan, and Echo Tower) within the last 3 years. A lot of that time is recovery from injuries such as broken feet. But in Jeremy’s own words, “I was a forceful little monkey and a few weeks later we returned to the Fishers with one thing on our mind…a new route on the West Face of Cottontail!!!!!! WOO HOO!!” These two are physicked about making new climbs. Just look at their crazy pictures. Their solo-climbing involves having to bolt in their own safety devices but that also means they have to climb free above the ones they set which makes an extremely rough fall. Plus, they have to pretty much climb for the entire day without much in the way of breaks or food. They are insane, but those kind of people are the ones who make fun for the rest of us.
Kyoko Mori’s essay “Yarn” is inspirational. The most important thing to learn from yarn is that the small mistakes disappear when the garment is where it belongs. Mori’s distaste for “sewing” is almost a concept for more than just clothing. She states, “It is infinitely more relaxing to listen to a yarn than to a lecture whose thread we must follow”. Being creative and free, such as her making up things as she went along with the sweaters, leads to be more calm and not in the “purgatory of mismatched hands”. (such a funny line) The sewing could represent the stiff people who are stubborn and boring while the yarn are people who accept life as it goes without much complaint.
I had no idea about the two hundred wedding mittens. The history of knitting is interesting, and that there were guilds of knitters and the tabi that Japanese men would make. Knitting, I had though, was done by specific Mori is right about the skill of patience and meticulousness. I admire her motto “I would rather knit from a complicated pattern and make a few mistakes than execute an easier one flawlessly.” I had once tried to knit and it turned into a a giant knot. Its easy to see how the yellow mittens messed up multiple times and where did that one story go? The three brothers with only left hand each. What happened to them? How did the yellow mitts not make her give up knitting forever? Sure there were beautiful sweaters that Sabina had, but still, why would she continue?
I have an little affectation for yarn and making/designing apparel. With that, I can kind of relate to Mori and her love of making things.
After a week of bouldering my hands were rubbed raw from spending whole days on rock and making marshmallows around the campfire (and often putting my hands too far in the fire). My fingernails were filed down by multiple encounters of desperately grabbing onto anything my hands could reach. The slight chill of the winter air in Alabama was setting itself into my core and my hands would slightly shake if I weren’t moving. I looked at the new puzzle my sister had shown me. Contraband seems like an easy climb at first but it is an underhang. I get into the starting position which is nearly upside-down and am glad for once of having short legs. Taking my hand off the first hold, I can feel my body shudder to keep itself up. My stomach muscles ache from the extended use. I grimace as my taped-up hand grips the spiky surface of the crack. I can almost appreciate the numb that the cold gave my hands or I might have felt how much the gritty rock bit into my previous wounds. I make it slowly to the corner where the tricky leg movement starts to play. I start to lift my leg to a position higher than my center of gravity (which is around my chest at this point) and then my hand can’t take my weight anymore and I slip off the rock and fall onto the crash pad. I swear loudly and go back to the starting position. I make my way up the crack again though I can feel the pain more since my body has warmed from the exertion. At that point again, I lift my leg and fall. This time though, I swung more because I did not want to let go. The inertia threw me off in the other direction and I crashed into a tree stump and rolled around on the ground. All that frustration and I only get to limp away promising myself that I’ll defeat it next time.
Discovery
In PRG (Philadelphia Rock Gym), my sister showed me the “cave” area to climb. In it was all underhangs. The starting position puts people parallel with the floor. Instantly I can feel how much core muscles play a role in climbing which is why so many people look so buff when doing this sport. My stomach started out with a very small throb as I reach for each hold. I also notice that long fingernails get very much in the way when climbing and I took a small break to go cut them. (they will rip off if you are not careful: cut them) I start back on the plastic holds and make my way to the entrance of the “cave”. At this point, the climber is to climb up and top out (finish the climb/reach the top). I reach up to try and grab a hold and fall because my core muscles gave out. After a few tries, I decide to do something different from what I was trying. At the mouth of the cafe, I take my foot and put it on a hold far to the left and line up with the opening. I reach up and grab a hold which now positions me hanging on a wall with nothing below my upper chest. My foot extends to my far left and I heel-hook on a hold almost level with my hands. Grappling up a few more holds I finally make it to the top. At the top I can feel my body shaking from the enormous effort. Satisfaction washed over me. I had done it. “I want to do that again.” I rush down the stairs at the other side and go back to the start and climb it all over again. My body is stiff the next day but I still wanted to climb. Even the next day I wanted to climb some more. I admit to myself, “This is something fun.”
Here are some pictures and a link. The are just some pretty examples of an artistic view.
Lithe Lightning starts with a victorious finish. Potwardowski mentions she is only a freshman (of college) who is up against seniors in a race. She uses thick details to bring you to the exact moment. In the second paragraph, she goes back to the beginning and starts to explain the situation. She gives the general information then sends us further into detail through a list, “it is a challenge physically, mentally, and emotionally”. Potwardowski has us focus on the rhythm of running and using emotions to have the reader fueled to run. The mentions of the difficult runs portrays the drag and effort and sometimes anxiety of putting more into running another day. The rain is to put the spirits of the runners down but to also symbolize that the runners can’t always control what happens to anything but themselves. They run to run. The most touching part of the essay is the description of encouraging the opposite team. The dignity to be supportive verses spiteful is an uncommon quality in opposite sport teams.
At first, Seven Things to Kill Yourself With was extremely confusing. That was the point. The story is arranged in a way so that you slowly get details and piece the puzzle together. When the realization finally comes around, its so stark that it pulls on raw emotions. Willer has the opening in the view of Sarah and switches back and forth between her and her sister. The sister misleads the reader by describing the hardship of her activity which turns out good after all. At her best moment, she finds that Sarah’s situation as turned for the worst. The reader than starts to realize what is going on. It may seem such an unbelievable situation, but it probably happens more often than we care to think about. Willer’s “I threw Holy Water on her… literally” decreases the tension for the reader only to plunge the reader right back into the sad situation. It’s such a moving statement, “Knowing the hard choice is the right choice still can’t fill the hole in your heart”. As humans, we can’t help but make mistakes.
Objects:If you have anything at all whatsoever, have climbing shoes. (they do rent in gyms). There are beginner and performance shoes. Beginner is more toned to a normal shoe for comfort while performance has a curve downward which puts weight on the toes. (pointed toe too) Try on different kinds for different feet types. Sis started me off right away with performance. Performance will bite into the tendon behind the ankle so find a good one to prevent raw blisters. Performance also crams toes tightly together. Walking and climbing are different.
carabiners — have locks on them. There are screwing locks and auto lock. These are mainly for the belayers or if you are doing a lead-climb.
rope — secures you to wall, if you fall, the belayer will make sure the rope catches so the fall is arrested. The main safety knot is the double figure eight. My sister’s friend taught me the easy way to remember how to make one. “take the rope and make a man, then strangle him and poke him in the eye!”
belay device — There are manual and auto-locking devices. I have never personally seen the autos in use before, though I know the manual. The rope at one end is attached to the climber, it goes to the top of the climb where a safety device is bolted into the wall, and comes back down to the belayer. The belay device is attached to the harness. When/if the climber falls, the rope will have frictions of both the hook at the top of the climb and the belay device to stop the fall and the climbers weight is canceled out by the belayers weight at the harness, which should be at the center of the belayers balance.
Harness – For both climbers and belayers. Not for boulderers. It attaches to the waist and thighs. Guys who try to wear baggy clothing see how painfully stupid it is to not have it secured right to their limbs because it will slide all over and hurt the you know what area. Harnesses should be tight to your skin/clothing.
climbing tape – It is just normal-ish paper tape that covers blisters and scrapes on fingers. It is similar to paper tape. I’ve seen guys rock pink tape all over their hands. There are other colors too.
climb on — Lotion bar, intensive skin repair, bees wax with other therapeutic essential oils. “For climbers, cyclists, runners, rogues, and rock stars!” For cuts, scrapes, split tips, callouses, blisters, cracked cuticles/heels, burns, dog pads, diaper rash, eczema, etc. “Feels good”
chalk – basic white powdered chalk. It keeps hands dry and makes sure you don’t slip off the holds.
Apparel: – People wear normal clothes that don’t get in the way of safety or feet. Guys sometimes roll their pants up and completely take off their shirts. Women sometimes strip down to just their SPORT bras and slim yoga pants. Winter climbing is less picky as long as it doesn’t impair the climbing.
More stuff:sd
HP40 is so far my favorite outside bouldering place. Bouldering can be indoors and outdoors. Climbing areas will almost always be natural. Most areas are in/near mountains, but HP40 is an odd amount of rubble on top of a mountain.
It is unspoken that there is no messing around with other people and climbing. If someone is being stupid, then they are endangering the lives of multiple people and are severely punished for that.
Those who have climbed for some years often are ripped and like yoga. There are some guys who develop muscles that I didn’t even know existed.
Climbing can hurt. That can be for both beginners and experts. There will always be blisters, scrapes and bruises. It is rare that there worse injuries. The thrill of climbing almost always outweighs the pain. I personally am afraid of heights but I climb anyways because its fun. My muscles will ache and I will barely be able to move without fire in my arms and legs the next day, but I’ll still climb. The benefit of continuing another day is you acquire strength, poise and determination.
Use the buddy system when climbing. That person(s) will be the one to save your most fatal fall. They are the thread that keeps you from falling into the bottomless pit. Buddies will also keep you from hurting yourself by making silly choices. Fresh people can’t think well when up on the rock. I could never remember that there are more foot-holds below my knees and for a while I couldn’t figure how to reach the holds just out of reach when I could have just pushed myself up with a crimp at my knee.
Techniques:
Remember that there is always something you can use even if it doesn’t look like it. Just take your time.
Jugs- holds that you can put your entire hand to hold onto. (aka- the obvious ones) (the ones climbers love)
Pinches – holds that are literally pinched. (small and big) Uses mainly the tips of fingers and thumb. These will greatly increase fore-arm strength.
Sloper – Hold that is rounded. The climber uses only friction and surface tension. Its like trying to hold onto a basket ball with one vertical hand. They’ll mostly look like slick bumps on the wall or rock.
Crimp – Small hold that uses only the tips of fingers. Thumb would only be for balance. The way the body is angled plays a huge part for these.
Have straight arms. You shouldn’t by trying to climb like up a ladder or pulling up by your arms. Body movement and the center of gravity should be kept in mind while up on the wall. When unbalanced, your muscles will be worked uselessly and you’ll become tired before the end of the climb.
Other again:
When moving to another area of climbing (when outside), take off shoes and put on normal shoes to walk to the other area. When in a new area, study the climb before going up. See was looks like a good hold and which way seems like a dead end. Chalk marks often show the common path. Be sure to keep up with the crash pad so there can be safe landings.
halokat 