eateggs

Ya-hey!!

Hello from … Bangkok. How weird. Apparently I made it. The local time is… 1:50AM, and I’m wandering around the streets of Bangkok, drinking a strage Thai beer, with my roommate to be, Josh.

I think the first thing that strikes me is that… it’s 1:50AM and there are a LOT of places open, and people walking down the streets, and little tuk-tuks (death on three wheels, to be sure) darting down alleys. I had heard that Bangkok has great night-life, and already I’m getting strong indications that this is true.

This Internet Cafe is in a little better shape than the last– this actually has a clean, professional look, and the computers even have fully-assembled cases.

The flights over were… long, but shortened by my uncanny ability to sleep anywhere at any time. Go me!

On balance… things are significantly more Americanized (or westernized) than I expected. I recognize all the brand names, and there’s a Seven-Eleven on every corner. Half the TV channels are in English, and we get both CNN and ESPN.

And that’s all for now.

Zero.

Ke ke ke. I just played NES and SNES games for a half hour. Unfortunately, that’s all the longer that they were able to hold my attention. Amazing– I used to be able to play those games for hours. Hell, I used to make time to play those games. Now

I’m sitting on an airplane, just trying to pass the time, and I can’t seem to find the attention span to play Zelda for more than five minutes, or Z-Racer for more than a few laps. Sad.

It’s so strange to be in this monster airplane (a Boeing 747-400). In terms of space, it’s probably 1.5 times the size of my house, and it’s flying through the air. What’s more (except for a little turbulence that we’re going through right now) it’s outragously steady. Like… a house. It’s just strange. It’s additionally strange because all the shades have been closed for the last few hours, so it feels like we’ve been flying at night, despite it being… 2:00PM (with respect to our current

time zone) outside. It’s also strange that I’ve been on the plane for five hours and, despite having boarded at 1:45PM, it’s probably only 2:00PM. Yeah. Time is illusory. It’s a thief, a robber. Designed to devalue our lives and to turn our lives into quantifiable, marketable commodities. Eight to five. Eight to five. Five days a week. Punch the clock. They own you. The clock on the wall owns you. The atomic clock, keeping time precise within a few milliseconds over a few milleniums… unbending.

Unflexible. Steel bars that you can see life flowing past on the other side…

Ha ha. Random angst. =)

I’ll be in Tokyo in four hours, and Bangkok eight hours after that. How cool. I can’t even begin to explain how stoked I am.

The more I read about Thailand, the more I excited I find myself…

Twenty hours into this venture, I miss people, though. I see AOM and Counter-Strike on my computer… but who do I have to play them with? Who do I have to share a seat with, that won’t be annoyed at the American who fell asleep and fell on her shoulder?

Once I’m on the ground, however, I think that’s all going to be behind me. It’s just this damned plane ride– the seats are such that I don’t have any option except to gaze at my navel.

Hence the random-ass “time” angst, I suppose. Hmm. Back to my book. And Beethoven’s 5th. GOD I wish I had my headphones. These earbuds are TERRIBLE. By the same token, however, everyone around me, although they don’t know it, is very glad that my headphones (hopefully!!) are stowed in my duffle bag somewhere below us.

It is currently negative 63 degrees centigrade outside the cabin.

Speaking of which, I’m really curious now– I wonder if its possible to go downstairs into the cargo area from up the seating area, like you can in Rogue Spear. I’m half tempted to investigate, but doubtless someone would think that I was a terrorist (despite my obviously lack of a Walter WA-2000!) and I would get gunned down by an elite team of H&K MP5-weilding special ops units. Mmm. I miss Rogue Spear. I haven’t played that game in … forever. And I think it may still the title of “Mark’s favorite game of all time.”

Again, this is random, boring rambling. But it’s more entertaining than SNES games. Sad. I’m really going to go read my book now…

(posted from Narita International Airport, Tokyo, Japan)

One.

This is my last. day. in Cheyenne.

…

…

I. need. to. start. packing. Eek!

—

But talk about making the most of my last few days. They have just been absolutely wonderful– last night certainly was no exception. Sagar, Matt and I headed up to Veadeawoo yesterday afternoon and climbed a few routes. The rest of the group eventually showed up, and we enjoyed some hot dogs and cooked-to-golden-perfection marshmallows and smores.

When the sun went down, we split into two teams, and played two super intense games of capture the flag. God, they were fun. It was after midnight when the second game wrapped up– just in time to drive home and get a few hours of sleep before meeting Mr. Wacker at 7:30 for breakfast this morning– it was good to see him. Ha. What a guy.

But last night was great. It was amazingly warm– the stars were amazingly bright. It was wonderful to get to see the old group again. It was wonderful to see Sean get completely soaked in Mountain Dew– head to toe. When struck with a well-swung axe, a can of Mountain Dew will explode, just like an extra juicy fire-cracker, sending a flashlight-lit shower of Mountain Dew bursting in every direction. Way to take one for the team, Sean. And Matt still has his axe-throwing skills– yeah, he showed that tree who’s boss, and from ten paces away, too!

And now I’m hanging out at the Welcome Mat. Ludicrous, really… I’m leaving the country for ten months in less than fifteen hours, I haven’t even started packing yet, and I’m down listening to homeless guys tell stories… about the history of the United States… talk about getting some work packing up rides at the carnival… speculate about the weather. “nah, I got my G.E.D, though. I’ve been to a half dozen trade schools. If I were to go to college, I’d study water. Hydrology. But it’s a little late for that, now– I’m 45. But if you could go to college, get a degree in hydrology, make some pretty good money, and maybe learn some about geometrics and mathematics… ” And I haven’t started packing yet.

But there will be time. There will be time.

Three.

And Long’s Peak was an incredible hike, the summit was absolutely worthwhile. Breathtaking. 14,255 feet. Whoo!

Here’s a picture of Long’s Peak, from the base:

I somehow managed to roll out of my tent by 3:30AM this morning, and started on the trail by 4:00AM. In truth, I was one of the later starters– the parking lot was nearly full by the time I arrived.

I’d like to take a moment to thank the find folks at Petzl– you make wonderful headlamps, and your handiwork was greatly appreciated this morning.

The sunrise was beautiful.

I set a good pace, and kept moving, such that by 7:00 or so, I had passed everyone on the trail (35 or so people). Literally, although I didn’t know it at the time.

The interesting thing about being at fourteen thousand feet is that there’s about zero oxygen. Well, that’s a slight exaggeration, but it was an interesting sensation– being short of breath, having a headache, having my stomach feel like A Perfect Storm, and my oxygen-starved brain functioning not quite as well as it should have. The fortunate upswing of this, however, is that I believe my lung capacity has doubled, tripled. As a matter of fact, I took one breath at about the time I reached Cheyenne, and I suspect I may need to take another one later on tonight, but only needing to breath a couple times a day is quite nice. (ok, well, I’m exaggerating again, but I think you get the point.)

After ~3 hours and 35 minutes of steady hiking, I reached the summit at 7:38AM. On July 28th, 2005, I was the first to arrive– both an honor and a privilege. I had the whole summit to myself, and the view, the experience, the lack of oxygen, the early morning breeze… all amounted something of an incredible moment. I must admit being nearly euphoric as I filled out the hiker’s register, and was the first one to put an entry under 7/28…

The next group arrived about twenty minutes (thirty minutes) after I did. They told me that they had left about ten minutes before 2:00AM. One of them was kind enough to take my picture:

(for the record, the hair style you’re seeing is called the “I just climbed Long’s Peak in 3 hours 30 minutes” look, and by brain was too oxygen starved to think of smiling for the picture.)

I was sitting next to the USGS elevation marker:

which marks Long’s Peak as 14,255 feet above sea level.

The trailhead was at 9,400 feet, and it was 7.5 miles to the summit, so I covered 15 miles and ~9,800 vertical feet, between going up and coming down (I made it down by 11:20AM).

Most of all, I was thrilled to have accomplished a goal that I set. I’m rather new to this goal setting bit, but I had made Long’s Peak one of my goals for this summer. The sensation of having accomplished a goal of mine… was just the best feeling in the world. Not only did I accomplish it, but (all modesty aside), I did so exceptionally well. Speaking of which, I’ve removed “climb Long’s Peak” from my goals for summer of 2005, and I’ve added “climb Mt. McKinley” to my list of life goals.

After getting back to Cheyenne, I took what might have been the best nap of my entire life, and now I’m off again–

Four.

Long’s peak was declared non-technical this morning. Perfect timing. I’m headed out in about an hour to go camp at the base tonight.

I worked my last day for Heartland today. Because today is Cheyenne Day (or Cheyenne Drunk Day, as it’s more commonly known), we finished at noon. On balance, landscaping for Heartland provided me with exactly what I wanted– I was able to work outside, bake in the sun, and dig in the dirt. I think I even managed to bulk up a bit.

Will I go back next summer? Probably not. I’m going to need something that pays better, and I want something that requires a little more responsibility and … intellect?

Since noon, I’ve eaten a Big City burrito, mowed the lawn, talked to the ‘rents, and wrestled Chester to the ground. Several times, as a matter of fact. He thinks he’s all big and tough (except when he tries to sit in my lap, of course), but I showed him, that pup. Yes I did. (heh… that was all typed with think cowpoke accent running through my head… must be thinking about calf wrestling– a rediculous sport if ever there was one!)

I’m going to miss him. A lot.

Now it’s time for me to shower and pack up. It’s a two hour drive down there, and I want to be able to get a decent camp site, and maybe spend some time in Estes Park.

Thanks to everyone that wished me a happy birthday, and thanks to everyone who didn’t, too (and those of you who tried not to =) ).

Four.