Tag: usa
Exhausted. Bouldering at Governor Stable was very much fun. Everyone bouldered like champions. A couple of photos… of the first bunch of climbers walking in. I love the look of a herd of walking bouldering mats.
And of still life with chalk bucket. Which I won… for coming second in the intermediate female division, woo. It came with the bear, as well as some chalk, and an M-16 bouldering brush. I was wondering why there was a package with a picture of a rifle on it. “Originally designed to clean the internals of an M-16 rifle, the M-16 Bouldering Brush is the perfect tool for rock climbers.” Excellent.
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st. patrick’s day madness
It’s not like we don’t have St. Patrick’s Day in Australia. In Melbourne, St. Patrick’s Day means that pubs put green food colouring in the beer, people are more likely to be drinking Guinness, and the Irish pubs tend to be overflowing. And bands play Irish-style folk tunes, to which the drunken people dance, inbetween trying to drink the 6 pints of Guinness necessary to get a free tshirt.
I had some idea that Americans got a little more worked up about St. Patrick’s Day – hints came as I noticed the Irish flags beginning to make an appearance on the streets, and when every store, even optometrists and jewellers, introduced St. Patrick’s themed displays in the shop windows, shamrocks everywhere. And when the greeting card stands began to fill up with St. Patrick’s Day cards (oh, and don’t forget the upcoming ‘Administrative Assistant’s Day’ either). And there were St. Patrick’s Day parades on every street.
But even so, I wandered down the street here last night, and became alarmed. Everywhere there were people wandering around wearing green – lots of rugby tops, and also lots of silly green hats. Groups of drunken people running around in Starbucks. And a queue that covered half a block, outside the local Murphy’s Irish Pub (is there any city out there that doesn’t have a Murphy’s?). And it was only 6.30!
Anyway, I’m off to boulder at Governor Stable this weekend. Photos when I return.
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social security shenanigans
Me
(Walks into Social Security Administration Office, takes a number, fills out an application form, and sits and waits….)
Man
Number 46
Me
(Walks to Man’s desk, hands over completed form and other information, waits.)
Man
(Lots of typing.)
Man
Ok, that’s all done now, we just have to wait for these documents to be verified, so it will take about 2 months for you to get your social security number.
Me
…..
Man
Well, we’ll fax off the documents right away, so it might be a bit sooner, but probably around six to eight weeks.
Me
…..
(So I should have a social security number by the time I leave. Excellent.)
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exploits update
After this weekend, my number of states visited in the US has shot up to 6. Well, that’s counting DC, which I’m pretty sure isn’t a state (but cbatg). And not counting California, as I don’t think spending an hour wandering around on the streets really qualifies. So we have
States visited: GA, VA, MD, DC, WV, PA
And today, at the supercrag that is Great Falls, VA, I learnt how cold rock can really get. There was no snow on the ground, but as soon as you started a climb, the rock would just suck the heat from your hands. I had a hand warmer sachet in my chalkbag and was using the chalk bag in an attempt to regain some sensation in my fingers, rather than for chalk.
Still haven’t eaten an Ipod Shuffle.