Tuesday, July 8, 2008
"Pine Beetle Devastation"

I backpacked in the Weminuche Wilderness over the 4th of July with Helen, Matt, Janie and Katie.   There were downed trees everywhere.  The pine beetles really wrecked havoc.  I knew there was a problem, but I had no idea it was this severe.  On our 8-mile hike towards Archuleta Lake, Matt counted 150 downed trees over the trail.  That made progress very slow and tiring while wearing a backpack.  Overall, the trip was great though.  Due to slow progress, we made the trip into two 2-day backpacking excursions.  The first excursion was a 4-mile backpack from West Fork campground to Rainbow Hot Springs.   The second was a 2-mile hike from Big Meadow reservoir to where we set up camp, then a 12-mile roundtrip hike up Archuleta Lake to the continental divide and to Mount Hope and back.   The views from the divide were astounding.  As my camera is currently in a poorly functioning state, I didn't bring it, but Matt and Katie took pictures.

I put my wandering jew hanging plant outside a month or so ago, and within a week, a bird had claimed it as a nesting ground!  So over the course of the following few weeks, the bird was constantly in the nest.  Last week, I peeked into the nest when the bird was gone and saw five eggs.  Yesterday, I looked in again and saw 3 baby birds!   Here's a picture:

Here's a picture with a bird in the nest, and the mountains in the background.    What a balcony view!

Thursday, June 19, 2008
"Thin Air Suffering"

I spent 4 days in Breckenridge this week to attend the annual CCSM conference (a climate modeling conference sponsored by NCAR).   This is my third time attending the conference....and my third time feeling the effects of high altitude.  I constantly feel tired, sluggish, unable to think, do not sleep well, thirsty, lethargic and weak.   Upon conversations with people, and observing other people, I discovered the huge range of abilities of different people to adjust to altitude.  Some people hardly feel anything, while other people feel terrible and have nausea, headaches, and involuntarily fall asleep during the conference.  Helen joined me for much of the trip, and hardly felt any effects of the altitude.  I would guess that am I near, but not at, the low end of the scale of ability to adjust to altitude.  And I have no idea why.  Is it my genes?  My attitude? My lifestyle?  I don't know.  What I do know is that I am sensitive to altitude, and that I should never try to summit a very high mountain peak.   I've found that I can handle 14'ers fine, but I double I will be able to handle much higher.

Otherwise, the conference was good.  I learned some new things are started to get to know some of the people involved with the WACCM model, which I am starting to use.  Helen and I took two hikes, one on the way to Breck, and the other on Wednesday morning.  On the way to Breck we hiked along the Colorado trail.  It was depressing to see the effects of the pine beetle infestation - brown and dead pine trees everywhere.  Another sad effect of climate change in a world already stressed by human population.  One high point of the hike was snacking by a stream near the 10 mile mountain range - the stream was roaring due to the peak spring snow-melt. Our other hike was along Pennsylvania creek and up to Mount Argentine.  It was not the most spectacular hike, but it was a fun adventure as there were very few trails and we used our orienteering skills to wander around.

Thursday, June 12, 2008
"Biking Colorado"

I decided to try long-distance biking across the Colorado mountains this past weekend.  I biked from Creede to Crested Butte with Helen and 4 of her friends.  It was an intense workout, due in part to the distance (130 miles), the terrain (high mountain passes) and the weather (strong headwinds).   On Sunday the winds were so bad we drove the last 5 miles.  They were approximately 30 mph sustained with 40 mph gusts near Blue Mesa reservoir.  This was a new experience for me, and a really good one.   At the end of the trip, I thought back to the ground covered and realized how far one can travel by bicycle.  It is quite amazing.  Along the way we had some great mountain views, some good laughs, and lots of food.   I posted the pics here.

On May 26 I ran the Boulder Bolder.  This was my first one.  I must say, it was pretty fun!  It was like a huge party - with 54,000 people.  There was live music, food, spectactors, and costumes everywhere.  I got a time of 51 minutes, 39 seconds, which put me in 6,257 place.   I just may do it again.   Later that day Christa and Joe had a BBQ which was a fun time with lots of people there.  It rained most of the day though which was rare for Boulder!

On May 31 Helen and I took Jenna to Boulder reservoir.  She loved the water!  It was neat to watch her so excited about the water.  We jogged around the reservoir, did some swimming and had lunch.  Later that day I went tubing in the Boulder Creek with Kai and Portia.  The water flow was pretty powerful, at 300 cubic feet per second, which made for quite a rush.

Grass Roots Ultimate started last week!  This is my first summer that I'm trying it.  So far, so good.  We had a double header last Tuesday and lost the first game and were winning the second...until it was cancelled due to lightning.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
"The Grandest Canyon on Earth"

Helen and I visited Janie and Eric in Flagstaff last weekend.  We took a 2-day backpacking trip in Grand Canyon.  The view of the canyon is indescribable.  But I'll try.  The canyon is 5,000 feet deep and 18 miles wide.  The Colorado River has been eroding away the rock for 6 million years at an average flow rate of 30,000 cubic feet per second.  The walls of the canyon consists of a variety of types of rock, exposing earth's history as far back as 1.8 billion years.  Over 1,500 plant, 355 bird, 89 mammalian, 47 reptile, 9 amphibian, and 17 fish species are found in the park.  We backpacked down 3,500 feet over the course of 5 miles from Grandview trailhead to Cottonwood creek at 2pm in temperatures of 90 degrees.  The next day we were smarter, and started our hike at 7:30 am, with temperatures in the 60's.   I was particularly interested in a plant called the century plant, which has a single stem/trunk which can grow 15-20 feet tall.  Everything was beautiful and I'll post pictures on my web albums soon.  Why not now you ask?  Well, the camera was sort of left on the shuttle bus between Flagstaff and Phoenix airport.  It is going to be mailed to me in a few days.  

Two weeks ago Helen found a tick on my back.  I'm pretty sure I got it while doing yoga at Chautaqua three days prior.   That was a little scary, and as far as I know, the first tick I've ever gotten.  Helen pulled on it with tweezers for 5-10 minutes as it slowly retreated out of my skin.   The recovery period since then involved some red skin, a scab, some swelling due to a minor infection, and lots of worries due to wondering if I got some sort of disease.  Fortunately, it is mostly healed now and it doesn't appear that I got anything more than a localized infection due to a healing wound.

Due to the glorious summer weather that's settling in, I've been getting into "summer shape".  In addition to the intense backpacking trip last weekend, I ran to school yesterday (6 miles, uphill, with a backpack), am starting to bicycle 4 to 5 days a week, I have a 3x/week yoga class starting in June, and am playing summer league of ultimate frisbee also starting in June.  Also, I'm running the Bolder Boulder with Helen, Judy, Christa, and Laura this Monday.   Hopefully I can get another run or two in to prepare my lungs for the 10k race.

Thursday, May 8, 2008
"Mental and Physical Successes"

What a month.   Last Wednesday, April 30, I passed my oral comprehensive exam.   It was so much work and stress preparing for it.   The exam itself actually went pretty well; what made it stressful is that it was so unpredictable.   I could have been asked all sorts of different questions, and I wanted to make sure I was prepared for that.   Mostly, I'm just glad it's over.    Also, coincidentally, the night before was the intramural ultimate frisbee championship game.   Out team ("BISCUIT") won open-league!  Although, I didn't play very well due to being fixated on my looming comprehensive exam the next day.  It was still good to get out and run around.

My friend Lou came out to visit this past weekend.   Helen, Lou and I did a lot of fun hiking, walking, and eating.   Over the course of the weekend we went to Golden Gate Canyon State Park, Chautaqua Park, Royal Arch, Flagstaff Mountain, NCAR, and Boulder Falls.   We walked all around CU campus, Boulder Creek Trail, and downtown Boulder.   We ate at the farmer's market, the teahouse, an ethiopian restaurant (Ras Kassa's), a mexican restaurant (Rio Grande), a nepalese restaurant (Katmandu) and a mediterranean restaurant (Bacaro).   It was an action-packed weekend.  And the weather cooperated nicely - it was sunny and in the 60's and 70's much of the time.

Helen and I are growing a garden at her duplex.  It is very rewarding.  Although it's not going perfectly - the cilantro and lettuce are struggling a little bit and we're not sure if it's sunlight, wind, temperature, or soil.   The broccoli, chard, and onions are doing well though.   We transferred the plants to the garden on April 13.  On Tuesday night (May 6) we planted seeds in starter pots for some flowers, tomatoes, and hot peppers. 

Last Friday (May 2) Helen and I had a "Beltane" dinner with Leigh and Pat to celebrate the arrival of summer.  It was a good time.  We ate lamb and asparagus, read some poems, and reflected upon some things in life.

Life is finally settling down a little.  I'm now looking forward to unwinding and re-discovering some hobbies that have been on the backburner. 

Saturday, April 12, 2008
"Ultimate Frisbee Skillz"

This season our intramural ultimate frisbee team decided to try the Open league.   This is the most skilled league and club players (e.g. professional college athletes) are allowed to compete.   Our team picked up three club players and retained many of our team members from the past.   We just finished the regular season 3-1.   It has been a great experience to improve my skills.  I never thought I'd be able to keep up with college ultimate frisbee players (especially in my 30's).   I've continued to improve my skill level and our team has improved as well.   It has been a lot of fun.  Next up is the single-elimination tournament starting in a week or so!  

Helen's birthday was yesterday and we celebrated with a few activities.  On Thursday I cooked chicken parmesan for her, on Friday I went out to the Golden Peacock (Indian restaurant) with Helen, her mom, her sister Judy and her niece Jenna.  And tonight, we're having a dinner at her place with about 8 or 10 people.

My Comprehensive exam is looming closer!  It is scheduled for April 30.  I can't believe how hard I've worked and how much I've learned in the past couple months.  I've been putting a lot of hours in, and fortunately, it's paying off.  I'm going to give Brian a second draft of my Comps 2 paper this week.  Then I have 2 weeks to issue my final paper and review lots of concepts in the field.  It's going to be an intense few weeks.

On a new topic, I continue to be dumbfounded (and annoyed) at what parts of the U.S. budget people focus on (usually Republicans).   Check out this chart below.  The two obvious conclusions are: 1) if we want to balance the budget, we should reduce military spending (if you're afraid of terrorists, check out this site and think again) and 2) weaning ourselves off of oil not only would be good for the environment and national security, but it would be good for the economy too!

Monday, March 31, 2008
"Spring Break"

Last week was spring break at CU and campus was empty.   However, I was there working on data analysis for Comps 2.  I did get a short vacation though.  Helen and I took a 3-day trip to Crestone, CO.  We spent some time hiking in Great Sand Dunes National Park, hiking in the Sangre De Cristo mountains, and soaking in Valley View Hot Springs.   It was a very fun and relaxing vacation.  This was especially good as I had been sick for 2 weeks and in need for some recovery.   Also, I've been very occupied preparing for my Comprehensive exam, which is coming up on April 30.  Life is going to be pretty hectic between now and then. 

I forgot to mention - in January/February I took a 6-week Massage class.  It was just a quick introduction, but I learned some good techniques and was glad I took the class.  However, it was ....interesting to say the least.  I didn't really think about the fact that a bunch of people who have never met before would be massaging each other. Over the course of the class, I massaged both men and women ranging in age from 19 years old to 50+.   It was an odd experience to say the least.

Saturday, March 8, 2008
"Happy Anniversary, Webpage"

My webpage celebrated its 1-year anniversary on March 5.   And what a year it's been!  Admittedly, any year is an eventful year.   Creating the webpage was well worth my time, and I found it stimulating, creative, and fun.   Due largely to its link on the ATOC webpage, it has seen its fair share of hits.  Looks like there's been 1,500 hits since its inception; probably 500 were by me, which leaves 1,000 visitor hits to the site.  I hope visitors have found it entertaining, enlightening, and/or a useful way to keep tabs on my life.  However, given the fact that it's been nearly 6 weeks since my last blog entry, it's clearly not a very thorough update on my life!

This delay in blog entries has been due to my life being in a whirlwind.  Between preparing for my comprehensive exam, applying for fellowships, tutoring, other school responsibilities, winter outdoor activities, social life, and dating life, I've been extremely busy.   My oral Comprehensive exam is coming up sometime in April.  After that, things will calm down a little bit.  And it will be summertime!  I'm looking forward to the change in seasons.  It keeps life exciting.  I've spent a lot of time snowshoeing and downhill skiing over the winter, and I'm looking forward to hiking, camping, backpacking, and ultimate frisbee.  Our Intramurals team is playing Open league (the most skilled) this semester and the season starts on Tuesday.  At the very least, we'll get some very challenging practice!

Monday, January 28, 2008
"Third-world eye-opener"

I finally visited Megan and Levi in Honduras.  They've there in the Peace Corps for 2 years, and they have just a few months left.   Wow, what an eye-opener.  The city of Choluteca has about 100,000 people (the size of Boulder), the poverty is overwhelming, as is the hot weather, as is the culture shock.   The average person makes about $3 a day, with many people making less than $1 a day.   The streets are dry, dusty, dirty, polluted, and littered.  There's no trash cans.  You just throw your trash on the street.   Water gets turned on every other day - you store it in a basin for use during the off-days.   Crime is a problem and the nice neighborhoods hire Vigalantes to walk around with a gun and protect the neighborhood.  The machismo culture is prominent, with women having no rights, rape is common, and men cheat on their wives as a standard.    After an experience like this, one can appreciate how far we've come with gender equality in the USA!   The weather was atrociously hot, with highs in the 90's and lows in the 80's.  I had mild heat stroke one day.  

Although this sounds depressing, it was a very good experience to have.  It keeps us with an open mind to understand different parts of the world and it is adventurous to experience a new culture.  And of course, I got to spend some quality time with Megan and Levi.  The trip had some "touristy" high points too.  We spent a day at the Cedeno beach on the Pacific Ocean, swimming, playing frisbee, and sitting under the thatch roofs drinking beers and eating fish.   And we wrapped the trip up with a couple days in La Tigre National Park - a beautiful, cool cloud forest in the mountains.   We stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast with breathtaking views of the valley below and delicious food cooked with fruits, herbs, and vegetables grown onsite.  I posted some pics here.

Otherwise, life has continued to be eventful in other areas this past few weeks too (hence, the lack of journal entries...)  I'm busy with research, and making progress (finally) on understanding computer models/languages and starting to generate results.  I hosted a potluck at my place on Friday which was fun.  I made mango vegetable curry which turned out pretty well.   Also, Matt and Marty made fun of my eclectic music collection which included some 80's music, soft rock, and pop.   What can I say, I like variety!   On Sunday I went for a hike near Sunshine canyon with Dave, Jill, and Evan.  Evan had a trampoline at her house, and, after wanting to jump on a trampoline for 10 years, I finally got the opportunity.  Yes, it was fun!  No, I didn't break any bones.  But yes, I did fall off and landed in the snow in my socks.  Oh well, could've been worse.

Saturday, January 5, 2008
"A New Year, a New Leaf"

Lou and I were talking on New Year's Eve and she asked if I'm making a New Year's resolution.   I replied "..No.." and thought more about it and realized that I have never made a New Year's resolution.  Ever.   I've always found that changes in my attitude and my life don't tend to follow the calendar very well.   Thinking back on my life, I've made many resolutions, some very important, that have stayed with me, but they have never occurred on New Year's.    I do feel like 2008 will be a good year.   No, I'm not planning on winning the lottery.  I've discovered that one's attitude is all we need in life.   And I feel hopeful that I can keep a good attitude, and will have a good year.

I spent a week in Michigan over the holidays and caught up with family.   I watched my adorable nephew Shawn walking around with endless energy.   I got to bond with the family in friends that I only get to see a few times a year.   All in all, a good trip.  Except for the fact that my plane almost crashed when landing in Flint.   Yeah, that's right.  I was scared.   Now I'm one that loves thrills - driving fast, hiking along cliffs, being in severe weather, rollercoasters etc - and when we were landing in 80 mph crosswinds in our tiny jet I was excited at first.  But that excitement turned to fear when the plane's shaking increased and started swinging violently from side to side right when we were landing.   We ended up landing with some screeches and violent swaying and leaning, and we all jerked around in our seats a little, but the plane wasn't damaged and we came to a complete stop.  What an experience.  Perhaps partly because of this experience, when I was looking for new inspirational quotes to use as my email signature, I found one by Picasso that hit home:  "Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone."

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