Milwaukee

Memorial Day Weekend in Milwaukee with my mom and her horse, Mr. Big. Here's a photo of them, looking pretty at Pigeon Creek.

I even did a little riding myself, but I think for now...I'll stick to rock climbing.

Thesis published!

check it out...
http://infranetlab.org/blog/

Aid Climbing?

Matt aiding the first pitch of Mordor Wall (Cathedral, A2+)

I'm not exactly sure how this happened...but somehow I became convinced that it was a good idea to learn how to aid climb. I think it all started as an El Cap fantasy...

So, after a self-rescue course a couple of weeks ago at Sundown, Matt and I did a how-to-aid lesson last weekend on Black Jack Crack at Rumney. (I know, I know...the thought of aid climbing at Rumney is ridiculous. At least we free climbed the crack first....and by 'we' I mean Matt on lead, me on tr.)

Then I did my first aid lead this weekend -- the second pitch of Mordor Wall. No epics (yay!)...just a little nervousness over the scary fixed heads up top (which I think is perfectly reasonable.) And now Matt's all excited about us aiding on Cannon. Yikes...what have I done?!

Aid Lesson #1 / Fighting black flies.

It's official!

Chomsky / Palestine

Noam Chomsky speaking at MIT for Palestine Awareness week.

It's frightening to think that if the reality of the situation in Gaza + the West Bank is halfway between what Chomsky says and what Birthright says...it's still pretty terrible.

Weekend at Sundown

My new project/favorite climb, Eyeless in Gaza [12.b]. [Photo by John Bachman]

Matt, John, and I drove up to Sundown Ledges (near Conway, NH) for a weekend of climbing, camping, and a self-rescue training with Mark Synnott and several people from the Harvard Mountaineering Club. Best weekend of climbing in a long time...Sundown is amazing, Mark is awesome, and climbing might be the greatest thing ever.

For more photos of the weekend click here.
For an awesome video of Matt flashing Vultures [10.d] click here.
For 4 seconds of hilarity (as Matt and John try to get our rope un-stuck) see below.

Homeless

252 Pearl St. [my old apartment] at its most zen.

I am apparently not an adult.

Stuff I took with me when I moved out:
5 boxes of books [currently in storage]
2 boxes of sketchbooks/journals
1 box art supplies
laptop, speakers, extra monitor, 2 hard drives, ipod
2 Rubbermaid bins full of clothes
1 backpack + 1 bag of climbing gear
1 box of camping gear
2 towels, 1 set of sheets, 1 down comforter
furniture = 1 ikea table + 1 easel + 1 desk lamp
1 box 'kitchen supplies'
[cast iron skillet, coffee bean grinder, french press, coffee mug,
2 travel mugs, spice collection, 4 bottles of wine]
dishes/silverware/pots/pans = none

This is probably some sort of neuroses, but the process of packing, purging, and moving feels incredibly cathartic for me. It's almost as if moving officially signals the end of an experience....like now that I've moved out of my place, I am truly finished with architecture school at MIT.

I just have one sinking feeling...other than the extra letters after my name, I'm not sure how much life progress I've made in the last 5 years.
5 years ago: just finished school, opted for a few months in India over a 'normal job', then moved to an organic farming community in the middle of nowhere; stayed with my boyfriend and his roommate in Portland, where I worked at a flower shop and did a lot of rock climbing.
today: just finished school, opting for a few months in Israel over a 'normal job', moving to a kibbutz in the middle of nowhere; currently staying with my boyfriend and his roommate in Somerville where I'm working at a gym and doing a lot of rock climbing.

hmmm.....