So if you climb Half Dome twice, do you call it Whole Dome?

Greetings and Salutations! It's been a couple of weeks... sorry to keep all 1 of my readers in the lurch! I have just settled down from a couple of weekends of traveling. I was eagerly awaiting photos from my dear friend Erin and finally got them tonight!

So what's the hub bub, bub? A few weeks ago, Erin called me up out of the blue. I had a hunch something was off as she moved from Santa Monica(20 mins away) to Hermosa Beach(4 mins away) almost 6 months ago and I never heard from her again until now... She had just broken up and needed desperately to get out of LA. "I wanna get into the wilderness and I refuse to do it with anyone but you! I wanna do Half Dome!" For those of you who may not know, Half Dome is a national landmark made famous by the likes of John Muir and Ansel Adams. At almost 9000ft, it is one of the highest peaks in Yosemite National Park in the High Sierras. 3 years ago, I decided that I needed to ring in my 30th birthday by doing something new, adventurous, and completely outrageous. I did a 1 week excursion through Yosemite that took me across over 60 miles of terrain and traversed over 40,000ft in elevation, and all with a 75 pound pack and a pair of Skechers! I hiked Glacier Point, Half Dome, Clouds Rest and then did a white water rafting trip down the Tuolumne River through class V rapids! Just as a guideline, class VI is the highest category and is universally regarded as completely unmanageable by humans.

And off we went! 2 weeks ago we set off on the 4.5 hour drive north. We arrived around 9.30a, obtained our permit for wilderness camping, geared up and were off. We hiked about 20 miles and climbed a total of about 15,000ft! In 2 days!!! Needless to say, I'm not in quite the shape I was 3 years ago. But I managed. 65 pound pack and all. We camped about 2 miles from the base of Half Dome. Now I had been studying the forecasts for about a week and a half precluding our trip. They all said the same thing: highs of 60, lows of 30. No sweat! I have a +30 bag and plenty of layers. Well... leave it to meteorologists to drop the ball, and the temp... It got to -4 at night! It was f*#@ing cold! Erin and I had to squeeze into 1 mummy bag to stay warm. We also had a black bear come through camp looking for food, she kept me up for a while.

There was something profoundly different this time around. When I was up in the atmosphere the first time, I was awe struck at the splendor, however, I think that my sense of accomplishment overshadowed anything else. When I reached the peak this time, I was flooded with such a wave of emotion at the beauty around me, it brought me to tears. And then I instantly felt Papa, right there with me. I was filled with so much joy, comfort, peace... I love you Papa!

As I like to say, it was gorgeous but grueling! I'm glad I did it, and that it was with Erin. It was such a cleansing and life long experience for her and we really got to bond again. If ever you have the gumption, do it! You won't be sorry, I promise! Being surrounded by raw nature this way just feeds you and drives you harder and beyond any limits you think you may have! And the sense of wonder, astonishment, belonging and perspective you will acquire will stay with you for the rest of your life. Still, that week long trip I made is by far one of the greatest experiences of my life and I practically explode when I recount it!

Erin and I in full pack

Half Dome 2005 (Nice legs!)

The real deal...

I have to say I am extremely disappointed. In all of the debates, during all of the interviews, the candidates have been barraged with questions regarding the economy. What do they think will happen, what do they plan to do about it. All candidates have daintily danced around direct action answers. Not once has anyone addressed the simple truth: We, the people-the public, are the fuel in the machine! We are that which drives the economy! Most people are terrified of what's happening, sadly many are ignorant about it too. If the people are freaking out and pulling and/or withholding their capital from banks and the market, of course it plummets! And then there was the bogus bailout that failed to do anything! So now Joe and Jane Schmoe (most of us) have to foot a 700 Billion dollar bill for nothing!!!!

People think it's 1929 all over again, that because the market is taking a dive we're headed for another depression. It wasn't the Great Stock Market Crash that started the depression, it was the credit freeze that followed the crash. The government is backing up banks to kinoodle the credit crunch along. That's a start.

So what's the real deal? The correct answer is confidence must be instilled in us, in the people. That's not being done.

Entomological enigma explained!!!

Thanks to the superlative savoir faire of my dear fried Leslie, I have solved my mysterious insect invasion! My initial thoughts on the hive/nest/castle were termite in origin but the exterminator's ID had me befuddled. And the big bug was just extraterrestrially freaky. I was at Leslie and Stu's house this weekend past and began explaining the encounter. She told me it sounded like a potato bug and that she had dug one up in the garden years prior.

Now, I always thought those little grey bugs that roll up when you touch them were potato bugs. Oh nay nay! I showed her the photo and she confirmed that it looked like her bug. I then Googled (don't you just love how Google has become a globally accepted verb?!) potato bugs and BLAMMO! See for yourself:


So there you have it! The nest was created by termites and the big guy, also known as a Jerusalem cricket, which normally lives underground, feeds on decaying roots and insects. Apparently the giant gap under my front door and the building's termite infestation were an upsize-combo it simply couldn't resist!

A lesson in humility

Try as I may to be as conscious an individual as possible and to not judge people or play into stereotypes, I still at times, unaware in the moment, do. Last week when the exterminator came over to tend to my mysterious insect imbroglio, I passed a judgment. He was a tall, husky young man, soft spoken with a weighty presence. I, in hindsight, immediately followed the mental path of: this guy's a blue collar worker, an exterminator, burly, uncaring, trudging along, just makin' a buck, will clod all over my shoeless apartment... I later apologized to the Universe.

Aaron was, is an incredibly sweet and compassionate individual and had a very peaceful energy. He arrived before the manager and so we struck up a conversation. I invited him in and offered him a glass of water. He sat and observed. I began taking my daily morning regimen of herbs and supplements. He inquired about them and of course that brought up my ex girlfriend. She is a doctor of ancient Oriental medicine and herbology and was creating and supplying me with herbal formulas. And this led to a brief explanation of our break up.

Aaron was extremely sympathetic and empathetic. He talked to me of his previous relationship which was also long distance. It ultimately failed. He is currently involved in a 4 year relationship with a woman. He began to speak of how they came to be and how they still are. He said that at some point he sat with her and discussed all of the things that annoyed or bugged him about her, had her do the same and proposed ways to deal with those nuances. I am a firm believer and preacher of open communication. It's a dire necessity in any relationship. Not all people can do it, or do it in a supportive rather than harsh and critical way.

My attention was already deeply entrenched. He then said that people get themselves in trouble when they put themselves before their loved one. "You have to put the other person first. If you put yourself before your partner it just won't work." In the moment, it was profound. It's a notion that I've practiced all my life, however, have never put it into words or conscious thought before. Here was this young, unassuming man before me, awakening such a simple yet universally critical idea.

I later gave this much thought. Now I am one who has sacrificed much of myself for others to the point of infirmity and great malfeasance to my being. For this reason I have slight issue with the idea of always putting someone else before me. We do need to take care of ourselves. There must be a balance; a healthy balance, one that allows us to help and sacrifice a bit, without losing or harming ourselves in the process.

I began overlaying this idea atop my relationship with the Doctor. In the beginning and well into things, I was willing and excited to help her. To be with her. To pack up my life and move across the country. She had 2 practices in NY, I"m an artist. It seemed a no brainer. I was so eager to help her with her business and get her to the place I knew she belonged. While she would constantly throw in the towel due to her insecurities and fears, I forwent the pain it caused me over and again and always talked things out to her, lifted the veil so that she could see that she was valuable and deserving and had nothing to prove. Eventually, I grew weary. The incessant doubts, unsupportive tones and insults ultimately cracked my iron foundation. Suddenly I began thinking about what I wanted or didn't want. I didn't want to move back to NY. I didn't want to leave my beloved California. I didn't want to have to worry about attempting to gain employ in a consistently plunging economy. I didn't want to deal with her 2 dogs and 6 cats. I didn't like pet hair. I didn't want to have to walk them all the time. I didn't like how arrogant she was all of the time or that she never took accountability, et cetera, et cetera. I was putting me first. that's when the relationship began it's decent for me, consciously.

Aaron's wisdom has been both comforting and self assuring for me. I am very pleased we met. We exchanged numbers and I am looking forward to our next conversation.

Mommy, where do street signs go when they die?

I spotted this great little trove hiding in Culver City.

Visitor from afar...

Well, Santa came to my house early this year! I had pulled my sofa away from the wall to vacuum and found this:


Needless to say, I was perplexed! And then I found this:


My hypothesis was a termite hive. The exterminator came today. He said it's an Egyptian cricket. I thought, "Wow! From the land of the Pharaoahs! What an honor!" So I looked it up and this looks nothing like said creature.


Perhaps it is a species of mole cricket:

I've been scouring the web with my net and have as of yet come up empty handed. Whatever this guy or gal was, they were a busy little bugger to spit or poo a 2ft x 1ft nest/hive/sand castle behind my friggin' sofa!

Made your decision yet?

So are you still swaying? Did you watch the VP debate tonight and think, "Wow, Palin actually held her own and did a great job! Maybe she's got what it takes after all."? Well then please check this video response out by Lawrence Lessig. He's a law professor at Stanford, as well as a political activist, co-founder of Creative Commons, a proponent of looser restrictions on copyright and trademarks for technology advancement purposes, and launched the website Change Congress to bring light to and counter political corruption. And that's just a snippet of his resume.



Now ask yourself the same question...

The Human Condition?

Why do people hurt each other? Why do we put ourselves and others through such emotional turmoil? Is it because we are really so unhappy? It's sad. I am sad.