A Little Bit of Crazy? Nope, a Lottle...

Watching them gather, as they exited the plane and moved into the terminal, most of them meeting for the very first time, it was hard to believe that I already knew their fate.  They gathered their belongings and shook hands, like anyone would do while introducing themselves, with no knowledge of their future.  In just a handful of weeks, a mere dot in a lifetime, five of them from two groups would perish.

Everest.  The top of the planet.  Sagarmatha.  Chomolungma.  It's completely insane to think an average mountaineer would ever even consider it...

But that's exactly what I'm doing.  Seven Summits, culminating with Everest.

Sitting here writing this, I've recently just turned thirty-two years old.

Before my thirtieth birthday, I'd begun to start having this sinking feeling. The feeling that I don't have alot of time on this planet.  Sitting alone in a hotel room one night in Dayton, Ohio it hit me. All of a sudden, as if a bomb dropped from the heavens and exploded inside my head, it hit me.  I couldn't believe all the things I had seen, places I'd dreamed about or all the stories I'd heard.  All the things I'd thought I'd have done with my life by the age of thirty, but here I was, alone and unaccomplished. Alone in a room in, of all places, Ohio.  With a whirlwind of recent personal problems, I couldn't think of anything better than to get moving.  Get up and get out, but how? What do I do, how do I go about doing it?

It took me awhile to get that implemented.  I was in a rut and I continued in said rut.  It's hard to dig yourself out of a hole.  One bad things leads to another and you just keep getting deeper.  As was my situation in life...

It wasn't until I was offered a job working overseas that I really got my shit together.  Only a few months ago I took a job in Africa, and it's been eye opening to the possibilities that life has to offer. Places to visit, people to see, things to do.  The world is much bigger than you realize when you come from the middle of the United States.

Ok, I know, so what does this have to do with Everest.  Let me move onto that now.

When I mentioned making that travel list above, I'll be honest, I was in a bubble.  The places I put down were typical tourist spots, cliches to "traveling", whatever you want to call it.  I was naive. Now this is the important part.  Moving to Africa and meeting my co-workers, who come from all over the planet, has changed my perspective tremendously, and for the best, of this I'm sure.

From a young age (middle school-ish), I have enjoyed climbing.  From an even younger age, my grandparents took us camping.  During these camping trips every summer we would canoe, hike, grill, animal watch, etc.  All sorts of things were learned from my grandpa back in those days and combining that with enjoyment of climbing and my newfound outlook on travel and life, I've decided to undertake a very large task.  And to think it was inspired by a tragic movie... The Seven Summits!

If you don't know what that means, I suggest you look it up on either Wikipedia or here http://7summits.com/.  And this is how the title of the post comes into play.  This is not just a little crazy for a thirty-two year old to decide to do, it's a lot of crazy.  I'm relatively fit and I already have the affinity for being outdoors, climbing, and hiking, so I thought, "why not?"  I've already lined up trips this summer to Mount Elbrus (Europe) and Kilimanjaro (Africa).  These are the easiest summits of the top seven and have some of the easier weather conditions compared to places like Everest, Denali, or Vinson (Antarctica - brrrr).  My hopes and dreams are to start small, building my knowledge and experience and be able to transition my efforts into yearly climbs.  I may not accomplish a member of the seven summits every year, depending on where my career takes me, but I hope that within a decade I can stand on top of the world and say that I did it.  I made it.  What a sense of self-accomplishment this will be...

So yeah, a lottle crazy, huh?

Fell Down Hard... But I'm Back On My Feet.

Well life tripped me up and I fell... hard.

There's been far too many up's and down's to mention since the last post, so we're going to skip that, and focus on the second half of the title of this blog.  "But I'm Back On My Feet," and boy am I!

The world has been looking up for almost a year now.  Last October and November were tough, very tough.  Probably the toughest months of my entire life.  What happens after you hit rock bottom though?  You go up, and this is where the my current life-story begins.

There's certain things out there that inherently bring happiness; albeit sometimes you don't see them right away.  A child being born, a career change, new friends, a move across the planet, true life-changing events.  And that's what has happened to me.  All of those.  Every single one.

Let's start with the easiest to explain, new friends.  You grow up, your friends change, people move, it's all a part of life.  I like to think that I've made some really good ones over the years, but don't we all have room for more?  Through motorcycles, family, work, and travel, I had made some great new friends from across the USA.  My friend from Idaho who I met while ice climbing in Ouray, Colorado.  My family from Kansas City, Missouri who shared 41 Penn with me.  A cute couple that was my landlord in Pittsburgh (they've got the two cutest/ugliest dogs I've ever met, besides mine of course).  A co-worker that I reconnected with after seven years and many different jobs, eight hours away from Indianapolis, who turned into one of my closest confidants and best friends.  Which leads me to my next point...

A career change and travel.  While typically they don't go hand-in-hand, my scenario does.  I took a job with a company that specifically does international work, and my first assignment is Djibouti, Africa.  Wow, what a change.  Boom, like that I jumped on a plane and moved 9000 miles away. That's not a simple move, not for anyone, but I wanted something new, so I did it.  This was easy to get here, but it's not been a cake-walk since I landed.

The biggest and hardest realization I've come to since October, is that I was on a plane over the Atlantic Ocean the day my child was born.  And this is not a job where I get to fly back every couple weeks.  Fortunately, the lil one gets tons of pictures taken of her and they almost all get emailed or sent to me by the mother!  I am not in a relationship with the mother and this is not something she has to do; however, she does it willingly and is so far a great momma.  As far as the new one goes, her name is Eliza Rae and she sure is a cutie.

Plenty more to come...

My Favorite Beer...

is a free one...

All joking aside, there are thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of beers world wide... Who can choose one?

My favorite beer varies with the mood I'm in, the company I surround myself with, and my location...

EXAMPLES:
1.  Sitting around a fireplace in the middle of a cold winter = dark, thick, robust porter or stout.  Something deep in color, rich in malts, and smooth.  The higher the alcohol content the better.

2.  Having a cookout in the backyard with friends and family on a hot summer day = a crisp white or wheat ale, potentially something with an orange or lemon undertone.  Lower in alcohol content than the winter beer.  Something with a clear or hazy light color and light on the hops.

3.  Tailgating = I don't know about this one.  I tend to drink a miller light, for the necessity of having a can and glass typically not being allowed.  Most quality beers are not offered in a can unfortunately and therefore your selection is limited.  If I branch out further than the typically domestic light beer, something with a little hop is good here.  Recently I've become a HUGE fan of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.  Crisp, hoppy, refreshing, higher in alcohol than a domestic for when you need a quicker buzz.  Delicious.

4.  Out to dinner = No matter what restaurant I'm in, no matter what food I'm ordering, from seafood to a burger, from Morton's Steakhouse to Olive Garden, my favorite sipping beer is a nice brown ale or Scottish Ale.  Two that come to mind first that fit the bill are Leffe Brune and Three Floyds Robert the Bruce.

Asides from the obvious, a brown ale is brown, they are typically smooth, clean beers, lower in hops, and have a nice malty taste that sticks to your tongue.  They can be higher in alcohol content, but not always.

The Scottish ales are FANTASTIC.  They are enjoyable with any food.  Typically a stronger taste than the brown ales, similar in color, but normally with a more malty finish.  They are sometimes slightly hoppy, but not necessarily.  Scottish Ales are usually higher in alcohol content (Robert the Bruce is around 7.5% ABV) and will leave you with a smile on your face.

5.  Sitting around doing nothing what-so-ever/playing videogames/watching a movie/etc. = Open for whatever I may have in the beer fridge.  My beer fridge is full of variety.  I typically have at least a few of the following in there:  Blue Moon White Ale, Newcastle Brown Ale, Leinenkugels Summer Shandy, Yuengling Lager, Miller Lite, Abita Purple Haze, Abita Turbo Dog, Rogue Dead Guy Ale, Leffe Brune, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Sun King Wee Mac, Oaken Bucket Ras-Wheat... you name it.  My taste while doing any of the above mentioned activities can range from bizarre to fruity, from crisp to dark and robust.

As you can tell, I love my beers.  I have and always will enjoy trying new local microbrews in places I go on vacation and will never stray from my favorites I've already established.  If you ever have a question about a beer you may or may not like or just want to bullshit about hops and malts, lets talk... over a cold one of course.

Money Cant Buy Happiness... Or Can It?

Ok so maybe not true "happiness" (whatever "happiness" means...), but lets break all of this down.  Money, I think, can do alot for someone, a couple, or a family.  I'm not talking about millions, tens of millions, I'm talking "just enough" to make it. 

When someone says, "Money can't buy happiness", it must be put into perspective.  Lets say the average American family is living paycheck to paycheck, hoping to make ends meet, praying that a furnace doesn't go out or that nothing happens to a loved one that would require medical bills, for example.  What would an extra $1,000.00 a month do for this average American family? 

"Peace of Mind"

I'm not saying that peace of mind alone is happiness.  What I'm attempting to say here is that peace of mind is a stress reliever, a pain reliever, a way to dismiss a little burden.

Stress = nothing good.

I know when I am stressed out because of bills, expectations, financial burdens etc., I'm not happy.  I get anxious, nervous, unpleasant.

Money alone cannot provide happiness... but I think it can provide peace of mind, and THAT can lead to being happy, being comfortable, and the obtaining ability to enjoy life...

11:11pm - Make a Wish

As a child, I'm sure your parents told you that you could make a wish if you caught the clock with all the same numbers showing. ie 2:22, 4:44, etc.  Just so happens I glanced at the clock last night as it displayed 11:11pm.  I immediately thought to myself, 'this means I need to make a wish.'  I sat and thought for a second, only to come to the conclusion that I completely lost as to what to wish for.  My mind was blank, yet simultaneously overflowing with thoughts, I just couldn't think clearly.  For what does a 28 year old wish for?  Surely I could wish for money, health & well-being, power.  Those all seem like logical quick answers, but I was trying to think of something else, something that pertained directly to the situation I'm currently in.  I decided I needed to wish for something more specific.

Clarity seemed like the right answer.  But alas, I questioned myself again.  Obviously clarity did not present itself immediately, or else I would not be questioning myself so quickly.  And so my decision was to sleep on it.  Ponder it awhile, and let it settle.

It's now 8:30am the following day, and I believe I am still entitled to my wish.  Just because the moment passed, does not mean I lose my wish.  Surely not.  That cannot be the way a children's game works.  It would be expected, however, for a child to make a wish almost instantaneously, not "hold" the wish for a later time, but I'm going with it.

So what did I come up with.  A laundry list of things passed through my head, but ultimately through all the haze and fogginess, the only wish I could truly wish for, was for clarity.  That is what I did.  Who knows what may come of it?  Whether it will come true and give me some insight into the random, convoluted mess of thoughts in my head or be a complete waste of time?  Only time will tell.  I prefer and hope for the former not the latter, but we'll see.

So my first blog post might leave someone wondering what my current situation is... For that you might just have to continue reading my blogs.