It’s my birthday! It’s Friday! Hooray! Two BIG reasons for me to celebrate!
Last night, Brian and I cashed in those two gift certificates for rock-climbing lessons I got at Christmas at Go Vertical in Philly. What an absolute blast! Our lesson was at 7:00, but we were having so much fun we closed out the joint at 10:00. They practically had to kick us out – it was that much fun. Needless to say, I’m a little tired today, but when you have a schizophrenic sense of adventure like mine, sometimes sleep has to play second fiddle to rocking and rolling. Luckily, Brian’s sense of adventure is just as bizarre and insatiable as mine, so we can share these experiences together. At least, until one of us kills ourselves ;-) But then how will we belay? Hmmmm….
At any rate, I recommend rock climbing to…well…just about anybody. It’s a lot less technical and a lot more hands on (pardon the pun) than I would have expected. Essentially, you get a half-hour crash course in how to safely climb and belay your partner (not as complicated as one might expect. Trust me – if I can do it, anybody can do it), and then they set you loose in the gym! As my instructor put it, “unleash your inner monkey.” How did she know I have an inner monkey?!?
So you clip yourself in to the rope, make sure your partner does the same, and up you go. About 5 stories up, to be exact. Unfortunately, I have this fear – well, more like discomfort – of heights that immediately causes my palms to sweat. Sweaty palms and rock climbing do NOT mix. I definitely need to invest in one of those cool pouches o’ chalk I saw the regulars sporting on their belts. Luckily, courses are marked with different colored tape, and rated for difficulty. The easier courses have deeper “thingeys” to grab (I need to find out what the name of those things are), so my sweaty palm syndrome wasn’t a big deal.
And when we were resting our tired bodies, we got to sit back and watch the experts dominate the wall, hanging upside down with nothing but technical skill, physical prowess, and an inhuman grip (I would NOT want to play thumb-war with these folks). It was really spectacular. We would look up and marvel and say “I want to be where THAT GUY is.” Really spectacular stuff. I mean – I always knew rock climbing was physically challenging, but seeing these guys expertly make their way across the wall in a way that would put Spiderman to shame really gave me a whole new appreciation for the sport of rock climbing.
I’ve pretty much decided that there are too many cool things to do in life. Work is really starting to interfere with my intense desire to participate in all things active and semi-dangerous. Between hiking, camping, horseback riding, kayaking, snowboarding, kick boxing, rock climbing, and any other hobby I may pick up, there really isn’t time for a 9-5 job. I need to win the lottery, like, now. In the meantime, I guess I’ll have reserve these activities for evenings and weekends only. Does that make me a Weekend Warrior? Maybe more like a Weekend Spaz, but I’ll take it. Anything is better than sitting in front of the TV. Anything.
Last night, Brian and I cashed in those two gift certificates for rock-climbing lessons I got at Christmas at Go Vertical in Philly. What an absolute blast! Our lesson was at 7:00, but we were having so much fun we closed out the joint at 10:00. They practically had to kick us out – it was that much fun. Needless to say, I’m a little tired today, but when you have a schizophrenic sense of adventure like mine, sometimes sleep has to play second fiddle to rocking and rolling. Luckily, Brian’s sense of adventure is just as bizarre and insatiable as mine, so we can share these experiences together. At least, until one of us kills ourselves ;-) But then how will we belay? Hmmmm….
At any rate, I recommend rock climbing to…well…just about anybody. It’s a lot less technical and a lot more hands on (pardon the pun) than I would have expected. Essentially, you get a half-hour crash course in how to safely climb and belay your partner (not as complicated as one might expect. Trust me – if I can do it, anybody can do it), and then they set you loose in the gym! As my instructor put it, “unleash your inner monkey.” How did she know I have an inner monkey?!?
So you clip yourself in to the rope, make sure your partner does the same, and up you go. About 5 stories up, to be exact. Unfortunately, I have this fear – well, more like discomfort – of heights that immediately causes my palms to sweat. Sweaty palms and rock climbing do NOT mix. I definitely need to invest in one of those cool pouches o’ chalk I saw the regulars sporting on their belts. Luckily, courses are marked with different colored tape, and rated for difficulty. The easier courses have deeper “thingeys” to grab (I need to find out what the name of those things are), so my sweaty palm syndrome wasn’t a big deal.
And when we were resting our tired bodies, we got to sit back and watch the experts dominate the wall, hanging upside down with nothing but technical skill, physical prowess, and an inhuman grip (I would NOT want to play thumb-war with these folks). It was really spectacular. We would look up and marvel and say “I want to be where THAT GUY is.” Really spectacular stuff. I mean – I always knew rock climbing was physically challenging, but seeing these guys expertly make their way across the wall in a way that would put Spiderman to shame really gave me a whole new appreciation for the sport of rock climbing.I’ve pretty much decided that there are too many cool things to do in life. Work is really starting to interfere with my intense desire to participate in all things active and semi-dangerous. Between hiking, camping, horseback riding, kayaking, snowboarding, kick boxing, rock climbing, and any other hobby I may pick up, there really isn’t time for a 9-5 job. I need to win the lottery, like, now. In the meantime, I guess I’ll have reserve these activities for evenings and weekends only. Does that make me a Weekend Warrior? Maybe more like a Weekend Spaz, but I’ll take it. Anything is better than sitting in front of the TV. Anything.
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