ice burg mike

ha, i wish mike 'ice' berg was my killer.
he wasnt online tonite, though.
'mr hehe'
so anyways, this guy is my killer.
ice burg mike!

lolz

k2

this was my dad's snowboard - but it could find a better home..
..the boots don't fit me and they are required with these bindings.

i think i'll craigslist it.
unless you want it?

not practice

today was not practice!
(knot practice)

never before had i climbed at lighthouse park.
i've been there often and with many loved ones.
rae, grandma, mom, mikey..

..i followed my nose to a place i figured would work out.
my familiarity with the terrain led the way.
i knew there were a few formations to the west near the sea.



my focus surrounded rigging anchors and testing gear.
i havent been climbing in a while - if you dont use it, you lose it.

unfortunately, my camera battery was dead this morning.
i only snapped a few photos right when i got on the rocks.
make sure to click the photos in this post to see them full size!
the ones i took turned out pretty good!

i found a great place to climb just off trail and out of sight.
it overlooked the howe sound and vancouver island beyond.



the view and the crashing waves soothed me.
it felt great hanging on a rope in the sun.

key takeaway from today:
i love to use a sling as an auto-block for my rappel.
i used to use a piece of cord.
the sling grips better because of increased surface area.

in the picture below, the autoblock is the purple sling.

it is clipped to my harness leg loop and then wrapped around the rope.
the other end is clipped into the same locking carabiner on my leg.
thus, a friction knot below my rappel device (which controls descent)
the downward pull from my leg loop keeps the rope from feeding.
this effectively arrests my rappel to free my hands to build anchors.




click the picture below, check out the rope coiled on the ground!

click the picture below, check out the rope coiled on the ground!


i like the coils of rope on the ground in the 2 pics above ^


Tasks Performed Today:
* rigged a top-rope anchor using webbing around a few trees.
* practiced rappels at various speeds with various autoblocks.
* pre-equalized anchors before creating master clip points.
* created 2 and 3 point anchor systems.
* utilized sliding X equalization for lateral movement.
* placed cams vertically and horizontally.
* used traditional nuts and chocks in flares and cracks.
* created hanging belays using different protection schemes.
* practiced standard use knots.
* smiled.
* texted. (i love rae THAT much!)

____________________________________________________________________________

i wanted to document some of my rigging, but my camera was dead.
so i used my phone to take these last couple of photographs.

the section of rock i chose to climb today was perfect.
it was as if the heavens intended this day and place for me!
* a wide, sloping ledge for my feet.
* a great crack system at chest height for practicing anchors.
the horizontal and vertical cracks suited my needs nicely.
(this allowed for varying placement of the same pieces of gear)

there were plenty of places to hang gear off of cams or nuts!
notice my pack magically hanging on the rock in the pic below.





it was great to spend the entire beautiful day outside.
i became acquainted with the unique sea side cliff biometry.
the purity of my joy for staying in this one place was delicious.

i was raised to love sitting by a creek - looking, listening.
i am so thankful that my dad took me outside as much as possible.
instilled in the core of my being is a passion for nature.
everyone has this passion; children of mother earth.
some people just don't know how to connect with this core.

at one point, i marveled at the beauty of the different trees.
just hanging there, listening to the waves, looking at leaves.





after i was done climbing, i gathered my gear, coiled my rope.
i took one last look off juniper point at the setting sun.
i didn't even look for long, i intentionally wasted the view.
because its so close to home, and i gotta go back.

symbia

my friend jack's band is called SYMBIA.
he is a very important friend of mine.
i worked with him on his latest album art.
it was a great feeling to get the cd in the mail.
quite a treat to work on this with jack.
he knows what he wants and is a pleasure to work with.
strong design skills too, and great choice of font.

i used to wake up in chicago to the most beautiful piano playing.
it was my neighbor, jack, the rastafari!
i miss that, we learned a lot from one another as neighbors.

wolfgang jay

my friend david is in a band called wolfgang jay.
he is a very important friend of mine.

anyhow, he asked me to draw something.
so i did - and then i sent him a letter.
it felt so good to write a letter.
i hadn't for 2 months.

admittedly, the art i made isn't focused - just scribbles.
i 'draw' one of my most important virtues from the following idea:

the world is beautiful because everyone sees it differently.

along those lines, my drawing comes alive...
...when seen from different perspectives:

enjoy!















peace, light, and love!
(thanks yoshi)

April 1st 2010

ANDY --> "Hey, I'm wearing my invisible pants today!"

KIRK --> "uhhhhh...?"

ANDY --> "April Fools! I'm not wearing any pants at all!"


_____________________________________

that conversation played out over and over last thursday.
except, of course, i had it with everyone i work with.
bobby wilson suggested the idea to me on March 31st.
i got so excited - i had to go through with it.
i decided not to wear pants to work.
_____________________________________

when i left my house that fateful april fool's morning..
..i wasn't wearing any pants.

of course, i saw my neighbor from my floor, 3 apartments down.
he happened to be waiting for the elevator when i got out.
of course, out of the whole building, someone from my floor..
..anyways, i said "HEY DID YOU SEE THE DONKEY!?!?"

he was like.. "what donkey?!" all interested and such.
i said "yeah, theres a donkey out front! APRIL FOOLS! im not wearing any pants."

then i left for work.

it was great.

i got anxious and decided i might upset my colleagues without pants.
so even though i drove to work in my boxer shorts..
..i put on my pants in the parking garage.

luckily, i saw my art director, Kirk, right as i got in.
i told him the donkey joke, then what i WAS going to do.
he said, oh man, you gotta do it, Andy!
so i took my pants off, right then and there.
i didn't even put them on for lunch, as seen in the pictures above.

i am regretful for second guessing myself at first.
i am so thankful to have an encouraging and creative art director.
he got me to take my pants back off with a single sentence.

so, yeah, i didn't wear pants to work.
or to lunch.
or to the music store when i bought my capo after work.

it was.... ....great?

men who stare at goats

this was a great movie.
my mom and i watched it together.

i like jeff bridges.
did he play the dude in big lebowski?

anyhow, its a compelling story with great emotional portraits.
the film ended with More Than A Feeling playing over the credits.



MORE THAN A FEELING
written by Tom Scholz
performed by Boston (1st album)

INTRO AND VERSES

Dsus4 D C G
------------3-----2-----------------------------------------
------3--------3-----3-------------3---------3--------3-----
---------2--------------0-------0----------0----------------
---0--------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------3----------2-------------------
----------------------------------------------------3-------
I looked out this morning and the ...

------0--------0--------------------------3-----------------
---------3--------3-----3----------3---------3-----0--------
------------0--------0----------0-----0---------0-----------
------------------------------------------------------------
---3-------------------------2------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------
slipped away...

Am Am/G bass D
-------------------------------2----------------------------
------------1-------------1----3----------------------------
---------2-------------2-------2----------------------------
------2-------------2----------0----------------------------
---0--------------------------------------------------------
-----------------3------------------------------------------


PRE-CHORUS RIFF:
e|--------------------------------------------------------|
b|---13-12-12h13p12-10---13-12-10h12p10-------------------|
G|---------------------------------------12---------------|
D|--------------------------------------------------------|
A|--------------------------------------------------------|
E|--------------------------------------------------------|


CHORUS:

G C Em D
IT'S MORE THAN A FEELING (MORE ....

G C Eb
'Til I see Marianne ....


Em7 Asus4 A A2 A G D/F# Em D
---0--------0----0---0--------3-----2---0---2---------------
---3--------3----2---0---2----3-----3---0---3---------------
---0--------2----2---2---2----0-----2---0---2---------------
---2--------2----2---2---2----0-----0---2---0---------------
---2--------------------------2---------2-------------------
---0--------------------------3-----2---0-------------------
I see my ...


So many people have come ...

-CHORUS-


MAIN SOLO:
e|----------------------------------------------------------|
b|-------7-7-8-7h8p7---10-8-7h8p7-----7-8-7h8p7---7---------|
G|--6-7-9-----------9-7--7-------9-7-9-7-------9-7-9-7-6-2--|
D|----------------------------------------------------------|
A|----------------------------------------------------------|
E|----------------------------------------------------------|


--------------10-10-9-7h9p7---------------------------------10-9-7--19-|
7-7-8-7h8p7----------------10-8-7-8-7h8p7-------7-5h7p5----------------|
-----------9-7-------------------7-------9-7-9-7-------7-6-7-----------|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------|

When I'm tired I'm thinking ....

-CHORUS-

========================================================================

Chords used:
E A D G B e
Dsus4 X X 0 2 3 3
D X X 0 2 3 2
C X 3 2 0 1 0
G 3 2 0 0 3 3
Em 0 2 2 0 0 0
Eb X 6 8 8 8 X
Em7 0 2 2 0 3 0
Asus4 X 0 2 2 3 0
A X 0 2 2 2 0
A2 X 0 2 2 0 0
D/F# 2 X 0 2 3 2

Notes:
For the chorus bar chords sound nice on an acoustic, power chords sound
better on electrics.
The chord changes for the solo are as follows:
/D G /A G /D G /D A /D G /Bm A /D Bm /Em A /G / DF# D/
with / / representing 1 measure.

========================================================================

Guitar #1: 12-string acoustic
Guitar #2: 6-string electric (rhythm, power chords)
Guitar #3: 6-string electric (leads-melody)
Guitar #4: 6-string electric (leads-harmony)
Guitar #5: bass guitar

========================================================================

I looked out this morning and the sun was gone
Turned on some music to start my day
I lost myself in a familiar song
I closed my eyes and I slipped away

It's more than a feeling
(More than a feeling)
When I hear that old song they used to play
(More than a feeling)
I begin dreaming
(More than a feeling)
'Til I see Marianne walk away
I see my Marianne walkin' away

So many people have come and gone
Their faces fade as the years go by
Yet I still recall as I wander on
As clear as the sun in the summer sky

It's more than a feeling
(More than a feeling)
When I hear that old song they used to play
(More than a feeling)
I begin dreaming
(More than a feeling)
'Til I see Marianne walk away
I see my Marianne walkin' away

When I'm tired and thinking cold
I hide in my music, forget the day
And dream of a girl I used to know
I closed my eyes and she slipped away
She slipped away

It's more than a feeling
(More than a feeling)
When I hear that old song they used to play
(More than a feeling)
I begin dreaming
(More than a feeling)
'Til I see Marianne walk away