The CragBaby

Early I posted a quick blog about the then upcoming 337 project. I ended up visiting the 337 project on its opening night with the Mr. Math as KNB gave us his tickets, allowing us to avoid the 3 hour wait.

The project was utterly astounding, and just as astonishing was the Salt Lake community’s interest. The 337 project was a gallery “exhibit” I would expect to see in Chicago and New York, not in conservative Utah. Yet on opening night the wait to get in was 3 hours and I heard rumor that the next night was just as popular.

Word on the street is that some folks are lobbying to keep the project open. I have mixed feelings on the topic as I believe part of what makes the project so special is it’s finite life and I have to wonder if the artists created these pieces with the life line in mind. On the flipside, it could be a great tourist attraction and could be a monumental hangout for each gallery stroll. It have also heard that the deciding organization has chosen to keep the building open for a longer period of time due to the popularity, but I haven’t seen any confirmation on this fact either.

This was probably my favorite piece. The artist had full reign over one of the bathrooms and on the mirror had created a collage of all the fears that people worry about, cutting out the shape of a person within the collage.

I haven’t written any climbing updates for a while because I have been waiting for some pictures from a Maple trip two weeks ago. Yep, if you are reading this KNB, I am still waiting for the cd. =)

Last year I tried to travel every weekend to a new climbing destination as there are at least a dozen climbing spots within a five hour drive of Salt Lake. However, the continual traveling became tiring and I missed being refreshed for work on Monday morning. This year I have decided to tone it down a bit and travel every other weekend. So two weeks ago the crew headed down to Maple Canyon.

I am not a huge fan of Maple for weekend trips because it is a 2 hour drive away (meaning that it could easily be a day destination), the climbs are all essentially the same and many SLC’ers head there every weekend. I prefer the more secluded scenic crags; yet, for the one-footed climber Maple is a prime location with its conglomerate rock and steep climbs.

The crew (this time being KNB, Shaft, Ry, Ms. Pear, Toots and I) all headed down on Friday evening and hit up the Minimum, Zen Garden and Black Box Small (I think it is called) within the weekend. The highlights included Ms. Pear blazing up Groundworks at the Minimum, getting Shaft out on a rope and me attempting a boot-hand match.

I am a huge goal setter. I live my life through daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals. However, this new year I never took the time to consider where I wanted to focus even though I was eager to do so. It was as if I let myself get wrapped up in life, letting life control me rather than me controlling my life.

About a year ago my mother had given me a book concerning writing down goals and it stated that the physical act of writing goals was in a sense letting the universe know what one wanted. I found the book to be extreme in some scenarios, but due to the book I have implemented taking the time to physically write my goals and have honestly noticed a huge difference. One year I had my year broken down by semester since I was still working toward my undergraduate degree. I allowed myself to put any ridiculous idea on the paper. And surprisingly at the end of the year everything I had written down had actually come to pass.

Due to a odd little hiccup in my memorial plans, I am in a coffee shop with three hours to burn and finally have taken the time to set my annual goals. I feel extremely motivated and look forward to trying to achieve my new ideas.

This Friday will be the third Friday of the month, meaning it is time once again for the Gallery Stroll! This Friday’s line up is extra exciting as it includes the 337 Project: 1 Building, 42 Rooms and 129 Artists. The 337 display will only be going on for two weekends, so better get out for opening night on May 18th. The building is located at 337 South 400 East.

There have been a couple news releases lately concerning the proper disposal of compact fluorescent lightbulbs. To be honest, I had no idea that CFLs contained mercury and can not be disposed of by throwing in the trash until I read the articles.

A local article was published this week in the Salt Lake Tribune recommending the website Earth911.org On the homepage of Earth911, entering an Utah zipcode will produce a list of environmental resources available, including places to dispose of CFLs.

It scared me that I had widely read that as a consumer I could take a step towards being environmentally responsible by switching my light bulbs yet had no idea of how to dispose of them properly. Shouldn’t this be written in big letters on the packaging?

Last Thursday I went up with some Adam and Ms. Pear to hit up Goodro’s Wall. We all ran Six Appeal, a 5.6 that both Adam and I despise, and then ran Goodro’s, a classic 5.10 crack. I didn’t think I could make it up Goodro’s with the boot on, so was pleasantly surprised when I hit the chains.

Great news! This year’s Salt Lake Climber’s Alliance annual fund-raiser was a huge success, raising $4500!!!!! Thank you for all of you who supported the event!

Special thanks to The Front, BlackDiamond, Petzl, Liberty Mountain and Backcountry. Thank you also to the Quarry, Momentum, Arc’Teryx, Revolution, Rockreation, Unitah, Ikon Printing, Sterling Rope, Utahclimbers, Prana, IME, Evolv, Intermountain T-shirt Company, Momentum VM, Rock & Ice, Mountain Hardwear, Metolius, Barbacoa and 5.10.

A big thank you to Agnes Ciao, our great volunteer coordinator, and all of our volunteers.

For information on our upcoming events, check out the Salt Lake Climber’s website. Or to check out the rockin’ party photos, go to this link at UtahClimbers.com.

I think many of the bummer days are happening due to the lack of climbing. I figured it was time for me to start asking around and start finding some new partners. So this week I hooked up with some of the Utahclimber guys to hit up a couple of the Little Cottonwood boulders.

I met up with Shaft, Doughy, Mike and Chaz and were soon joined by Rich. We started at Cabbage Patch and then made our way up to the Campus Boulders. I tried to climb a little, but my ankle is just not ready for bouldering so I spotted and took some pictures.

I have had quite a few bummer days within the last couple weeks, so to combat the blues I thought I would think of 10 things that either make me really happy or that I am really grateful for. I was going to just post this in my personal files, but I thought it might help others to brainstorm of the things in his/her life as well. So here is my ten things for a bummer day.

1. My dog. She is the only constant living being in my life and I adore her. Her love seems to have no end, something that I find utterly refreshing.
2. I am really happy when I am excersing, be it climbing, running, biking, etc. I notice how much I enjoy it now that I have been “out” for a little bit with my foot.
3. I am grateful that I live in a country where I feel like my dreams honestly can be achieved if I put forth the effort to make them happen. Though I am always try to get out of the country, I am grateful to be an American citizen.
4. I feel like I have been lucky when it comes to finding jobs that I enjoy and I am grateful for that fact.
5. I am grateful for my large circle of friends that serve as a support system and as a source of motivation.
6. I love the fact that I am from Utah. Utah is a great state for a number of reasons, yet is still somewhat of a secret.
7. Simplicity makes me really happy. I currently live in a simple apartment with not very many belongings and I love it.
8. Funny little events that randomly occur make me smile from ear-to-ear.
9. The beauty of nature and how sometimes it takes me by surprise. For instance, I saw a coyote while driving to the boulders a couple days ago. It made my whole evening!
10. I am even grateful for the bummer days because usually they make me learn something new or grow in some way.