News 2010-2013

January 6 2013 - 2012 in Review

I received a couple of holiday card/letters which do a nice job of filling me in on my friend's lives over the past year. Since I stopped sending Christmas cards in the mid-90s, I fell just a brief touch of guilt when going through all the cards sent to me each year. I like to at least reply back to some of the more distant friends via email to say thanks for the card/letter, and so can direct them here for what's been happening in my life.

2012 was definitely a most enjoyable year for me, falling strongly in the column of "high quality years". As always, feeding the needs was an important factor. It had been a long time since any serious mountaineering. I had to glance over Excursions to recall the last was Breckenridge in 2010 which was a fairly easy day trip and then back to 2009 (another one of those "high quality years") in Colorado and Wyoming, the details of which are noted on my Climbing Resume. Furthermore, the last high altitude, big mountain trip was in 2007. So as thing finally aligned at the beginning of 2012, it seemed the next big alpine goal would be Denali (AKA Mt. McKinley), in Alaska. I spent the first five months of the year bent to this task - planning, preparing, and training. Aside from work and sleep, little else received my attention.

After the month-long trip in May, the month of June was spent just barely treading water as I returned to a hectic work schedule and a six-month backlog of neglected "life". In July, my work contract ended (somewhat unexpectedly but most welcome!) and I spent the next 3 months putting my life back together. Searching for a job for the rest of the year became my job (I believe I'm finally close to a new one here in January.) I took the opportunity to sign on with the Boy Scouts and work their Camp Guyasuta COPE course where we had over 6,000 elementary and high school participants this year.

I've given a lot of attention to the Explorers Club of Pittsburgh (ECP), finally becoming an officer (Activity Chair) and have just been re-elected for another term in 2013. I continue to serve as committee member and instructor for the Mountaineering School, and also instructed for our 2nd annual Backpacking School. I've given a load of time (one of the dangers of having a little more than usual) to club activities this year. There's an old phrase (lyric) from that "other" Canadian Trio, Triumph, I've always been fond of: "The love you send out returns to you in time." And it certainly did this year as I was nominated and voted in by the membership as the latest Flag Member, the 30th in the club's 65 year history.

It's often said that you either have the time but no money or money but no time. I've long ago realized that time is the most precious of all and even when money is tight you have to take advantage of having the time. This year's annual trip to Kingdom Trails fell into September which was meant VT dressed in glorious fall colors. Autumn in PA is nice, but VT really blew me away. Next, thanks to the persistence, organizational efforts, and gracious offer to join Glen and Jenny on the second half of their European vacation, I finally visited Germany including the notable Oktoberfest.

In general, I made a strong effort to reconnect with long out of touch friends in the latter half of the year and consider it highly successful. It was wonderful catching up with everyone. One high point was finally getting out to Seattle to visit Adam since he moved there 7 years ago (and reminded me as such with every passing year).

This year was densely packed with milestone events for many (birthdays, anniversaries). I won't mention specifics, but those we celebrated were my mother, father, sister, brother-in-law, aunt and uncle, and another aunt. Sadly, we lost some very special people: my Uncle Vince and "aunt" Shirley. This was also a family reunion year, so family was definitely in high focus this year.

Though the to do list is still long as ever, I did spend some time organizing future plans. 2013 has quite a few great adventures lined up. 2012 will be a tough act to follow, but try we must!

January 5 2013 - This is (clearly) not a Blog

So I'm a bad "blogger". Ever since they came to the web, I've held the opinion that they weren't practical, or at the very least, not MY style. Frankly, I am surprised that they have apparently become a well-established web feature. While blogs are a good format of personal/professional broadcast for many, I always felt a full-fledge website was a more appropriate web presence. I guess I'm a collector and cataloger at heart. As I see my last post here was back in 2010 I guess I haven't changed. And though I know and believe personal journaling is important, I sadly don't keep up with that either.

November 19 2010 - Test For Echo

<echo...echo...>

Is anyone still there? Am I still here?

Seriously. nearly EIGHT months since the last post? I wish I had a story of world wandering, a vision quest, or alien abduction. Alas, it's just been one hell of a "busy" period. I've been in reaction mode on just about every front. Nuff said. Moving on to some news capsules...

Sadly, DR. IVAN L. JIRAK passed away at age 84, peacefully surrounded by his family, on Thursday, November 18, 2010. I last wrote of him here. As the founder of the Explorers Club of Pittsburgh (ECP), he blazed the trail of exploration and adventure from Pittsburgh to all corners of the world and built an enduring family to keep the paths well-worn. Thank you Ivan, you'll be missed but will shine on in the stars that guide our way.

October 15, 2010 would have been KC's 19th birthday. Sadly, she shared the fate of Julius Ceaser (not the stabbing part) and fell on the Ides of March at 18 and half years. She was a fine feline friend for many years. As a gift from Dan at a time when pets were prohibited where I lived, we got off to a rocky start. We spent a few years apart, rejoined, suffered failing kidneys in the final years (the house will suffer the stains and smells forever), and enjoyed many sunny days on the patio together. She'll be missed, but that was my first and last long-living pet. I still sometimes experience a mirage of her coming around a bend into the room, or hear phantom footfalls and even a meow or two. Her spirit lingers.

In her final, feeble year, she pulled down the wine rack breaking only one bottle - a miracle in more than one way. The one that broke was the oldest, prized bottle: a Chateau Mauregard Bordeaux from 1990. I'm not a wine snob, but I did purchase a few finer bottles back in the day, and this was the jewel that remained. I wonder what it would have tasted like. Time to buy another Bordeaux and I'll check back in 20 more years I guess.

I returned to coastal Maine this year, had a class reunion (not telling which one), finally found someone that would hire me, am winding down my last company, bough a new (used) car and sold the old one for a total of 5 vehicle buys and sells in the past 2 years. I've attended to a couple of long-overdue house maintenance projects, put financial affairs in order, saw Rush and Roger Waters in concert, also saw Porcupine Tree and The Flaming Lips.

I think that about catches things up. Don't touch that dial!

March 27 2010 - Brainwashing with Bottled Water

<mounting soapbox>

Ridiculous! We all thought bottled water was ridiculous. Remember the early days of commercial expansion, when packaging of smaller amounts than the Polar Water gallons first began and Perrier started to see its first competition (here in the US)? We all thought the same thing: "who would pay for water? It's free!" On a trip to Europe last year it was shocking to wander through old villages and towns where public fountains were prominent and often times free-flowing instead of having a valve release. I was feeling the effects of a concept counter to the brainwashing.

I'm bothered by a LOT of things increasingly over the years -- the incredible waste of our disposable society being pretty prominent. Bottled water epitomizes it. And it isn't as simple as plastic waste; There's the issue of energy waste in its production and community destruction through corporate exploitation of "free" resources. There are so many evil prospects it makes the bile rise in my throat just writing about it. <reaches over to take a sip of a glass of tap water>

Even friends that I consider to be very intelligent people still seem oblivious to the issue (I assume by the disposable water bottles in their hands). This post may not serve for personal venting and it may not reach very many people and actually enlighten them, but it will stand as proof that I recognized serious problems of my age and stood against them. Perhaps my related descendants will skip over my name in their curses upon the foolishness of those that came before them.

I've written on the Story of Stuff before in my May 29 2009 - Things are Thieves post. Its brilliant creator, Annie, has expanded her campaign to use simple and creative illustrated stories to wake us up to some pretty big issues. Her new Story of Bottled Water is worth 8 minutes of time (and her other stories are worth viewing too). I still recommend Flow: For Love of Water, a favorite movie of mine in 2008. I still support the Article 31 campaign. Blue Gold: World Water Wars was an OK 2009 documentary.

Need a few more points of reference? Visit here and then learn about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. C'mon people, it isn't hard. Use a reusable water bottle if you must have portable water. Refuse to buy bottled water. Refuse to drink it when offered. It's too easy not to do. Never forget how appalled we first were at the notion. Shake off the heavy marketing blanket corporations have thrown on us and the bottled brainwashing which has occurred over a very short period of time. Don't let them privatize what is a fundamental human right to clean water, because quite frankly that is exactly where it is heading. Stop being lazy and stupid. It should go without saying that we've all stopped using or accepting plastic shopping bags, right? Right.

<stepping down, reluctantly>