Wyoming, via Colorado

Moose.

Photo credit of the moose goes to Antarctic friend and climbing partner (who also happens to be a rad scientist) - Pacifica Sommers

[Side note:  Pacifica's website has pictures of tardigrades and I like tardigrades almost as much as I like Pi. Which is to say, a lot.]

[Further side note: Please be aware I am exempting the above photo from this site's creative commons license, as that photo does not actually belong to me.]

We caught this idyllic moment as we were descending some crags in Wyoming; on the occasion of my birthday climbing trip.

Other moments of note:

I absolutely and completely lost my shit trying to hop down the overhang on the second Flatiron. Mental fortitude, or lack thereof, is a tough thing to work through. I cannot think my way out of the situation because my brain is the thing telling me that the movement is too scary or too hard. The only thing that got me to take the jump was reciting Pi, as a tactic of distraction.

This raises an interesting question (it does not 'beg the question' because, fun fact! to beg the question does not mean to raise the question*): in moments where my analytic skills fail me, what other tools do I have at my disposal to get me out of the stressful situation?
*to beg the question is to frame an argument where the validity of the conclusion is assumed in the premise.
For instance: When I jump off of the diving board at the second flatiron, I will fall.
This is actually quite an apt way of externalizing my brain spiral. The above statement is circular and fallacious yet nothing was going to convince me that it was not true. Indeed, Pacifica and the four other climbers trying to convince me otherwise can attest to the deathgrip that logical fallacy had on my nerves and composure.

Pacifica bakes delicious lemon bars; which I maintain are 1000% more superior to cake for their portability, stability, and scalability.

Cragging in Wyoming was an absolute delight and I am so glad we bailed on the temperamental weather in Boulder for an amazing weekend further north, as evidenced below:

View looking out from Dry Wall crag

of interest

Cory Doctorow's brain is full of interesting stuff.

Here's a conversation where some of that interesting stuff comes out in the form of words.

Wheeler Centre talk

christchurch

Back in Christchurch! A land with fast internet. And wifi. And streaming services.
End.

departing soon

My contract is up in eleven days, at which point I will be exploring New Zealand for a brief moment before flying back to Seattle.

Here are some things I look forward to:

-Trees

-Alpine environments (and the traipsing about within them)

-Pho

-Chuckanut!

-Rock climbing

-ANY music besides my one downloaded Spotify playlist or my circa-high school era selection

-Leafy greens, avocados, fruit

To go in-depth about my stint down here feels self-indulgent, even though that is the purpose of blogs, I suppose. Instead, I propose we hang out or go for a hike or grab some drinks and I will be far more inclined to share stories and pictures.

Bring fruit.

room with a view. penguin.

A boondoggle is an opportunity to travel somewhere outside the normal bounds of McMurdo. When it gets nicer, the station offers a boondoggle called Room with a View: you drive a snowmobile out towards Erebus and then stop. Then look at stuff. Then drive back. Room with a View.

Also you get some shots of a penguin. It hung around Hut Point for a number of days, either doing not a whole lot or running along the sea ice making noise. Penguin.

Not a penguin.

The islands from left to right are as follows: Tent, Big Razorback, Inaccessible, Little Razorback (tiny guy)