I'm Back (I Think)

I made it back alive from San Francisco and Berkeley. We had a blast. Yes, I did make it to the Berkley store- they are bigger and have a wider selection. But I cannot lie about this, Fresno's team is WAY nicer! No, seriously, we are. Alright, I must be open to the fact that maybe they were having a bad day, but still.

I'll elaborate more in coming days but the quick and dirty recap is: Wednesday- drive up, UC Berkeley, Telegraph Ave., check in to hostel on Ft. Mason, 1st attempt at GGB (too late). Thursday- GGB (DONE!!! 43-Things check), Haight-Ashbury, Union Square, Chinatown. Friday- North Beach, Ghirardelli Square, Japantown, drive to Ikea in Palo Alto, then home.

I worked on Saturday, no big deal.

Sunday I had off, so I went to the gym. There is a whole post in itself here, so I'll just say that I'm really sore from climbing for now.

Monday was Monday, and today is today. Hopefully I'll get some computer time tonight so I can elaborate properly.

I have tomorrow night off, so I'm trying to get together with a high school friend. Maybe we can do dinner. It's been a few years so we have lots to catch up on.

Sorry for the radio silence and for being too cheap to use the computers at the hostel for ten cents a minute.

Love, Yvette

PS- one month til my birthday people!!!

Two Posts, Two Posts....

Two posts in one!

Post One: Mom

Well, mom is in the hospital again. On Monday, she fell. She landed square on her butt and hurt herself. An ambulance was called and my mom was taken to the hospital. Scans showed that she fractured her L1- one of her vertebra. Unfortunately, due to some serious overcrowding at Fresno Regional, she spent over 24 hours on a gurney in the hallway of the ER before they could get her a bed upstairs. I'm not happy about that. She presented around 7pm Monday evening (I was at work) and wasn't admitted until 11:30 pm Tuesday night.

Yesterday, mom had a procedure done to repair the fracture. They literally inject some type of cement into the bone to seal up the fracture and it worked!!! She's doing much better and has complete relief of pain. Once she is cleared by the physical therapist, she'll be free to come home. Yippie!!!

I was nervous. Still am. You see, Mom and I were going to go to Yosemite for the day this coming up week. She has never been, and it's on my 43Things list to take her. I want to before it's too late. My last two attempts were postponed because she had hurt herself. I think I've mentioned this before, she is very fragile with advanced osteoporosis and she walks with a walker. So if she falls, it's usually serious. So, once she get home and rests for a day or so, she'll be able to tell me if she will be up to going. Don't worry, I never planned to take her on a hike, I just wanted her to see the sights. So we'll see. I'm just thankful that the procedure went well or else she would have been on bed rest for months, and it would have been too late.

Part Two: Like Mother, Like Daughter.

Yesterday, I fell. I'm not as graceful as I used to be. I was walking to my car from the office and I wasn't watching where I was going. We have two doves that hang out in the car port and sit on the roofs of the cars. I was looking at one of the doves and looking around for a nest hidden somewhere, my left foot (which was already hurting) hit an uneven section of pavement- a "repaired" pothole, and I went flying. I landed on my left side, banging up my thigh, tweeking my calf just a bit, and making my foot feel even less happy.

Thankfully just minor damage. Soreness and bruise. I'm more embarassed than anything. I am a little worried about my left foot though. My arch is weak and that foot has a prounounced pronation- meaning that it rolls in big time. My foot has been hurting since I went climbing. I don't think it's broken, or that I tore something, more like just a sprain. But I do get an occasion burning sensation on my arch when I'm walking, so that's not good. Now my foot hurts just a little more. I've been icing it in the meanwhile, and I'm temped to find an ankle brace for added support: Something light that will fit in my hiking shoe. I feel I should rest up a bit, but I'm on a good roll and don't want to lose my upcoming hiking time. Only 69 more days until Half Dome!

On a sad note, a friend told me earlier that Randy Pausch passed away this morning, losing his fight with pancreatic cancer. I'm sad. Another not-so-gentle reminder that life is short and to love hard and live life to the fullest. Do what you like, like what you do (Life is Good).

Love, Yvette

Pain Is Weakness Leaving the Body

Or

Yvette booked way too much stuff into her weekend and is now paying for it.

And to make things worse, I'm staring at an 8x10 postcard of Half Dome as I'm typing this.

Friday I worked most of the work-day in Porterville at the cancer treatment center. My partner and I returned to the office early because the medical records people weren't able to pull all the charts we requested, so we finished up earlier than normal. This was cool for me since I had to work Friday night. I guess I pretty much worked all day Friday, plus the drive to Porterville and back. It's never a fun drive, nothing to look at. I just don't like driving south ;)

Believe it or not, I had Saturday-day off. I guess if you follow me on Twitter, you would believe it. I didn't have to be at work until 5:30. It was both good and bad. I usually open every Saturday, the open until 5:30 shift, so this was a real fluke. It was bad because my zesty friend Korey (hat-tip to the Hoover Jazz Junkies) was having a party that evening and I had to miss it. It was good because it gave me time to do stuff that I normally don't have time to do during the week like get an oil change and wash. I did that in the morning, then came home and watched Billy Elliot. I had wanted to go to the climbing gym and get some vertical time in, but I was -- well, quite honestly, scared-- so I was procrastinating. I eventually made it over, in spite of the fact that the whole way over I was praying for it to be busy, so I would have to come back home. Well, sometimes prayers don't get answered, and it ends up being even better.

I got there, and it wasn't busy. Damn. So I grabbed gear and headed to the wall. I decided to ask one of the guys that worked there which wall section was the easiest wall to work on. I'm pretty glad I did. His name is Chris and he's a climber dude. He spent around 15-20 minutes with me, and it was awesome. I explained to him why I was there, the whole heights and Half Dome thing, about not being able to get back down off the wall, not being able to get all the way up. He gave me some great mental pointers and we were working this whole Last Samurai-no mind approach. It was awesome. I went from climbing back down, to letting go screaming with my eyes closed back down, to letting go with my eyes closed, to letting go. Up to yesterday, I was never able to let go. I always climbed back down, which is so much harder because you're trying not to fall. I wanted to keep going higher, but I used up all my energy and eventually my arms failed me. There is a reason that most climbers are 110lbs.

After that awesome workout, both physically and mentally, I ran home showered and changed for work. Work was good, we were super busy, and I would have been able to fly right through it except that I was exhausted, my arms were spaghetti and my feet were hurting from climbing. Either it's because I was using muscles in my feet I didn't know I had, or they were just exhausted from holding my weight up on such tiny holds.

At the co-op we sell national park passes. I sold one, and I'm supposed to hole-punch the expiration date into the cards. I had absolutely no arm strength, so I had to have the customer help me. My arms hurt like my very first taiko workshop.

After work I came home and crashed. Went straight to bed and slept like a rock, no pun intended.

Sunday morning I woke up sore. I didn't have to work, so did I rest up and try to recover? No. I went to Yosemite. I wanted to get some hiking training in. Let me tell you, going for a hike on feet that already hurt, is not the brightest thing I've ever done. Driving a stick shift with sore arms isn't too bright either, but I was going, and I went.

It was warm, humid, and off-and-on sprinkling in the valley, but I didn't care. I wanted to do a small hike to check my current level of non-fitness (the word I really want to use is gauge, but I hate the way it looks when I spell it- it always looks wrong. I really think it should be spelled gage, but it looks wrong too, but only because I know it is wrong.) I started at the trailhead and made my way to the bridge that goes over the Merced River below my favorite waterfall- Vernal Falls. It was a smooth incline, paved, no steps. I forgot how steep it was. I had to stop 4 times to catch my breath and slow down my heart rate. Not a good sign. I made it to the bridge in 50 minutes. Ideal time for Half Dome is 30 minutes, if you want to do the total hike in 10 hrs. My time goal is 12hrs, not including the time spent at the top (and I'll spend some time there because I have a list of things to do at the top.)

I rested, snacked and refilled my Camelbak. Of course I took pictures, which will be posted next week. (I'm scheduled at REI every night this week except Tuesday.) I sneezed and a U.S. Marine said bless you, and I gave him a hearty thank you with my best smile :) (Don't tell my family, because we're Army, but I've always had a thing for Marines. Must be that damn uniform.)

I was very tempted to continue on upward to Vernal Falls, which was only another mile up the hill via the Mist Trail. But I didn't trust myself to have enough energy to make it to the top plus make it back all the way down. Going down is easier than going up, but it's still not easy. So I made it back down, in 20 minutes, stopping to rest my knees at flat sections. I need to pro-deal myself some trekking poles. I have my eye on a set of Black Diamonds. Along the way down, I saw a customer that I had seen the previous night at REI. We chatted briefly as he and his friends were on their way up.

Once I was back at Happy Isles, I decided to walk around a bit before taking the shuttle back to the village. I ran into an office colleague, Lesley, and we chatted for a bit. I then made my way to The Fen, which is a marsh I'd never been to before, and took pictures. While I was taking a picture, I heard the snapping of twigs behind me. I turned to look, and I saw a coyote walking by. I'm glad it didn't care for me, because he was close enough that he could have caused me some serious damage if he wanted to.

By this time I was hungry, so I shuttled into the Village for some lunch. After I ate, I walked around for a bit, bought a postcard at the Ansel Adams gallery, found a book I want to read, and then bought a pair of earrings for my mom.

I was tired from walking, my feet were killing me by now, but I had one more stop to make- Glacier Point.

The drive up wasn't complicated. I really wanted to check the handicapped routes for my mom. When I went up in April, the road was still closed. I stopped at Washburn Point, took lots of pictures. Man, you think Half Dome is huge when looking up at it from the valley floor. Looking straight across at it, it's MASSIVE. I then continued on to Glacier Point.

Now, I could have totally left this part out, because I'm embarrassed. But it's humbling, and humility will be my strength in this endeavor.

At Washburn Point, you get a direct side view of Half Dome; you don't see any part of the face. At Glacier Point, you are a little more in front of it, so you see front and side view of the rock.

I was standing there, near the amphitheatre, looking straight across at Half Dome. And it started sinking in. The reality of my situation. This was no longer theoretical. This was no longer a someday. This was no longer in the same category with when I lose weight, when I get married, when/if I get my Master's degree (still not decided).

This is real. This is happening. This is happening in 74 days (Sunday) whether I am prepared or not.

I was scared. No, you're not listening to me. I. was. scared.

I was less scared on the wall yesterday. I was scared- the kind that makes the world spin and you think you're going to throw up, then pass out.

The tears were welling up in my eyes. I had to turn around and walk away. I almost backed out on the spot and was on the verge of having my first panic attack since 1999.

The thoughts in my head: What am I doing? What did I get myself into? What have I agreed to do?

I had to talk myself down from the mental ledge in my head. It was pretty bad, and sad too, now that the crisis has passed.

I just don’t want to fail. I know it wouldn’t be the end of the world, and it’s not like if I don’t make it, I’ll never have another chance again. I just don’t want to fail.

Love, Yvette

The Gauntlet is Down!

A funny thing happened on the way to the gas station yesterday....

I stopped by REI to pick up a new TSA-approved lock for my luggage that is going to Michigan without me (I was one lock short). Of course as I flow through the store I say hi to all my wonderful co-workers. I say hello to Alyson, totally awesome Outreach Specialist (she goes to schools and such) and we begin to chat. Of course I'm horrible at recounting conversations verbatim, so I am totally paraphrasing.

Me: "Hi Alyson"

Alyson: "Hi Yvette"

Me: "How's it going?"

Alyson: "Good. Hey, we're doing Half Dome the first weekend in October. Kim got a campsite, it will be Kim & Terry, me & Tyler, Heather (blah blah blah didn't hear the rest)... you in?"

Me: *jumping and screaming like a little girl* "I'M IN!!!!!!!!"

I AM SO IN!!!

So now the gauntlet has been thrown down. The challenge is on. This is part of my 43 things, and to cross it off my list, there is another item I have to cross off first.

Now most of you are thinking, Half Dome, so what? I've already done it x times. I'd bet money that 98% of you could turn around and hike this thing tomorrow. I, right now, cannot. I am out of shape, overweight, and deathly afraid of heights (I can't even stand on a chair to change a lightbulb). so this is a VERY big deal for me. I have wanted to hike Half Dome since I nearly died (of out-of-shape-ness) on my first hike to the footbridge below Vernal Falls in the mid 90's. It's been over 10 years.

So what is that other item I have to cross off my list? #5 I have to climb to the top of the climbing wall at my gym. Haven't got there yet. (Want to see my complete updated list? See link in sidebar --->). I get about half way up, and then freak and come back down. I'm doing this because of the cables. I'm afraid to hike all that way, get to the base of the cables, and then chicken out and not be able to go all the way.

When I do this, I am going all the way. It's put up or shut time. So the challenge is on: I am losing 15lbs to help my knees out, for hiking. I'm riding my bike more, for cardio. And I'm getting my ass to the top of the wall, for confidence.

I am ready, the sky is not the limit.

Love, Yvette

P.S. Here is a link to the awesome youtube video of Carlos Whittaker and friends doin' the 'Dome. LINK

Yosemite (Finally)

Okay, let me preface this blog post with some thoughts. I was holding on to this post because I was trying to get it "just right", but then I realized, I'm going on a month holding this post, and it will be another six months before I can take some time to get it "just right". So, here it is, incomplete thoughts, bad grammar, and all.

Why? Check things out for mom. It's on my 43 things list to take my mom to Yosemite.

What? Drove down into the valley, hung out way too long at Bridalveil Falls, took lots of pictures at the creek. Drove around, walked around, took lots of pictures.

Stood under the veil- got properly soaked. Good thing I was properly outfitted. Drove the roads. Odd, not used to it. Used to parking and shuttling it around. Looking for parking and handicapped places. Then, since drove around so long, couldn't find parking :( After driving around some more, found parking near the infamous Camp 4. Shuttled to food then went to Lower Falls. Walked the handi route to see if it would be mom-friendly. If it's good enough for a wheelchair, then it's good enough for my momma's waddle. Moved the car to the day lot because could only park there until 6. Spent money at the gift shop like a tourist. Found a cute t-shirt especially for work at REI. If I think about it, I'll take a picture and post it.

Then TRIED to come home. I kept stopping. The views at sunset were stunning. From the moment I got in my car, to actually leaving-leaving, took about 90 minutes. Stopped to see Yosemite Falls, then El Capitan, Bridalveil Falls, then Half Dome from the other side of the tunnel (Wawona Tunnel). Of course once I finally got on my way, I got stuck behind a big tour bus going -10mph.

The drive from Fish Camp to Oakhurst was wild in the dark, and I was surprised by the full moon. I didn't even know there would be one that night. Once upon a time, I was very into the waxing and waning phases of the moon, but not anymore. But still, a big full moon is always pleasant on the eyes.

LOTS of walking. Not my normal "wear", but enough to break in the Merrell's. I've done some 5 mile walks, in both the Soles and the SuperFeet, I like the SuperFeet better. In honesty, I was hoping to be won over by the Soles, just because they have Ed Viesters name on them, but nope, this super girl likes her SuperFeet. (Mental note to self- need to do the write up on all the Chacos I bought).

Anyways, I stopped in Oakhurst for dinner, but was too tired to get out of the car, so I went through the drive-thru and then parked and ate in my car. What I found funny was that I wasn't the only person doing it. There was a man in the car to my left, and a couple in the truck to my right. I wonder if they all spent the day in Yosemite too.

Got home sometimes between 9-10 I think, then immediately downloaded my pictures. Of course I wore my shirt to work the next day. I couldn't wait, and now I'm just waiting to have another break in my schedule so I can go back. Hopefully with Mom. I want to go during the week, hopefully before memorial weekend. Because that's when tourist season starts. My goal is to go back for a total of 8 times before my pass expires, but with the price of gas, I don't know. Lately I've been paying 3.73-ish a gallon at Costco (as of 4/19/08), but I don't know how long they can keep it up (or down). 8 years or so ago, I was bitching about paying $2.50/gal. YOWZA. According to my high school senior scrapbook, gas at the AM/PM that used to be on Blackstone and Gettysburg near my childhood home was .89 for 87. But that was 1991. Yes, I'm O.L.D. (but my kind REI colleagues swear I'm under 30-- I love them!).

Enough talk about gas, it's too depressing. Here! Look at my Pictures: PICTURES It's not all the pictures, I'm still formatting them, but I will let you see what I have so far. Once they are all uploaded, I'll let you know.

Great trip, my only complaint is that I didn't drag anyone with me. I would have liked to have had my picture taken at the Tunnel View. I guess I could have asked one of the tourists to take one of me, but I swear (ok, not really) I was the only person there speaking English. Lots of other languages, most I recognized, some I didn't. And I love the black sock with sandals look-- NOT!!!!

Love, Yvette

43 Revisited

And one night (or was it day?)
I was awoken from a dream
I was dreaming of someplace like I'd never been
And I heard someone say
Someone's fallen in and they can't swim
So I leaned out and I pulled them in
And he was holding his head
And it was huge and shaped like a fish
And he slid down to the crook of the keel
And when I was sure he'd fallen asleep
I fell back to my reverie
--At the Beginning of Time by Jane Siberry

I've been meaning to get back to this list. My first edition of this list was back in 2006. You can read it HERE if you'd like. It's not required reading. I found it interesting that there were items on that list 2 years ago, that I don't care about anymore. I change. I'm still growing. I bet that 2 years from now, there will be things that drop off this new list. The items that made it on both lists I've bumped to the top, because, I guess they are core things. Things that may never change.

This new list has some new formatting, just for my personal organizing. You know how much I like cataloging ;)

Oh, and technically, I'm still missing one. :) Enjoy!

My 43...er...42 Things:

01. Donate Hair to Locks of Love X 11/17/06
02. Wear a Sari X 10/28/06
03. Learn Taiko Drumming X 12/10/06
04. Participate in a big charity/fund-raising project X 05/05/7 (Relay For Life)
the core list:
05. RIDE- Climb to Kaiser (and finish)
06. GET- My Passport
07. RIDE- A Century (a 100 mile organized bike ride)
08. HIKE- Half Dome
09. VISIT- Kyoto, Japan for the gardens and the blossoms
10. MEET- Lance Armstrong (yes, still)
11. SEE- Peter Gabriel in concert
12. LEARN- How to Play Guitar
13. LEARN- How to Make Sushi
14. VISIT- Deanna in Washington
15. MOVE- To Sacramento (In spite of everything, I still want to go)
16. RIDE- In a Bike Race
17. BE- A Bridesmaid (still hoping)
18. VISIT- The Grand Canyon
19. LEARN- Pointe (again): Take a Pointe Class
20. VISIT- Devil's Postpile
21. BUY- A Condo/Small House
the new additions:
22. SEE- The Aurora Borealis (in person)
23. WEAR- A Kimono
24. CLIMB- To Top of the Climbing Wall, AND GET BACK DOWN (I have serious heights issues)
25. SEE- Mt. Everest (in person)
26. VISIT- Pyramids at Teotichuacan
27. VISIT- Machu Pichu
28. VISIT- Egypt
29. VISIT- Death Valley (really visit, not this drive through at night shit)
30. VISIT- J-Tree
31. LOSE- Weight/Goal: 134 (not unreasonable, it's 20 over my dancing weight)
32. PAY- Off Student Loan (this is the one that feels least possible)
33. VISIT- Auschwitz (some things we should never forget)
34. LEARN- How to Tune-Up My Own Car
35. PET- A Tiger (a real one)
36. SEE- A Ghost (but just once)
37. LEARN- How to Scuba dive
38. VISIT- Take Mom to Yosemite (she's never ever been)
39. LEARN- Ballroom Dance- the Latin Dances
40. WALK- Across the Golden Gate Bridge and Back
41. LEARN- How to Do Cake Decorating.
42. VISIT- The REI Store in Seattle, WA
43. ???????????????????????????????????????????

What dropped off the list? Learning Japanese, Giving up soda, getting a tattoo, spending a weekend at a spa, learning to drive a motorcycle, going skiing, being published, writing a short story, taking a wine-tasting class, catching a fish, inspiring risk, introducing a couple, getting really good at yoga, and going to the chapel Madonna Del Ghisallo in Italy.

Does anyone else do this, or is this just my list fetish gone wild?

Love, Yvette