Now to be fair, she's a VERY sweet cat (except when Marc is inciting her to revolt) but when she gets spooked all bets are off. The first time she got me, she was standing on her back legs looking into a kitchen drawer that the front panel had broken off of. I picked her up so she could get a better look into the mysterious darkness containing my spoons and forks, thereby scaring the crap out of her. She landed a solid front claw on my adam's apple and a surprising amount of blood came out.
This time, I think she had a stomach ache after inhaling a can of Fancy Feast. When I went to pick her up, she freaked out (while I was holding her) and landed a powerful rear claw into the meat of my right ring finger. Three days later and the wound is still open and a little chunk of finger-meat is gone. She seemed to feel bad about this one, but let's face it, no one likes to be man handled when they don't feel good.
And think of this: she's an 8 lb. cat. I can imagine how swiftly a mountain lion or tiger could make mince meat out of soft, pink humans like me. Remind me to always stay on the good side of our feline friends!
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Blast that car of mine! The shop I've brought it to is stumped why it's shaking so much in the steering wheel. I wonder if they've ruled out demonic possession? Sadly, this is probably the nicest vehicle I've ever owned--here's a list of my cars and why they tended to stink:
1992-1995: 80' Grey Toyota Celica, AKA The Silver Bullet
My highschool car. Fairly reliable when I remembered to put gas in it. A bit too shaky to take out on long highway trips thanks to a bad radiator (often overheated). Actually ran pretty good and it didn't break down, it was "decommisioned" sometime in around 2002.
1995-1999: 1982 GMC Vandura
My roadtrippin' dream, this van nonetheless broke down with regularity. While my Dad, Uncle Bob, and I fought bravely to keep it on the road (after breaking off a wheel, fizzling out the clutch, shorting the battery, and various other minor mishaps) the engine broke down, possibly from the incident when it got stolen.
1999-2000: 80' White Toyota Celica
A car definately not made for the open road. I drove out to Colorado in this car-- on the way out the brake exploded in Pennsylvania, the exhaust fell off in Denver, and the whole time the thing threatened to overheat, prompting me to drive through the scorching plains of Kansas with the heat on full blast (to divert heat from the engine). Once here, the brake line failed and it was compressed into a hunk of metal sometime in 2001.
2000-2002: No car
2002-2003: 1994 Ford Explorer
Another vehicle whose engine simply gave up, before I could really even use it much. With 3 grand needed for a new engine, I sold it for scrap metal--Never lived up to its potential.
2003: No car again
2004-present: 89' Honda Accord
Well, it's been pretty good so far. I knocked the exhaust system off taking it on a 4x4 road up to Kite Lake (doh!) and it currently needs a new windshield and a few other minor tweaks, but it's been an ok ride. Hopefully, once my book comes out I'll have some extra dough to get something new but until then, this black beauty better hold out.
So there you have it. I'm still driving a car from the 80's and I've never owned anything to brag about (though I really wish I could have kept the van alive). I dream of a car with air conditioning or perhaps power locks. Somebody please, get me a spot on the Price is Right!
Well here it is, the fabled summit of Washington's Mount Rainier (14,411 ft). Ok, technically this is right behind the register canister which would be roughly 14, 403 feet. Behind me is Point Success, the apex of the incredibly difficult Liberty Ridge route (Sheila and I ascended via the standard Disappointment Cleaver route). If you're wondering where my harness and rope are, check this out--the summit of Rainier is a collapsed volcanic crater, so you can toss off your extra gear and hoof it over to the top unprotected. Of course, for some reason I left my headlamp/helmet on, but my crampons did help across the icy path cut out to reach Columbia Crest (the actual summit).
So this is highpoint number 34, finally! My last highpoint I got was Oklahoma way back on August 8, 2001 with Paul Lenhart (dang that seems like a lifetime ago). This fall I hope to clean up at least a few more: North Dakota, Texas, and perhaps some of the Midwest. With Gannet and Rainier out of the way, that leaves only Granite Peak (Montana)and Denali as the last two non-walk ups, though Mount Hood in Oregon offers a slight bit of technical climbing near the very top.
The next few weeks promise to offer Colorado-based adventures. My car's steering wheel feels like it's going to rattle off, so I'll need to fix that before trekking out again. I also have this whole book I'm writing that needs to get a'rollin'. I have to admit to feeling a little blue being back. I forgot how much fun being on the road is, waking up in a new place everyday, having adventure being as commonplace as Captain Crunch in the morning (bad analogy, unless you're me). But be proud, MEOW lives! Let's hit the sooner than later, ok friends?
1992-1995: 80' Grey Toyota Celica, AKA The Silver Bullet
My highschool car. Fairly reliable when I remembered to put gas in it. A bit too shaky to take out on long highway trips thanks to a bad radiator (often overheated). Actually ran pretty good and it didn't break down, it was "decommisioned" sometime in around 2002.
1995-1999: 1982 GMC Vandura
My roadtrippin' dream, this van nonetheless broke down with regularity. While my Dad, Uncle Bob, and I fought bravely to keep it on the road (after breaking off a wheel, fizzling out the clutch, shorting the battery, and various other minor mishaps) the engine broke down, possibly from the incident when it got stolen.
1999-2000: 80' White Toyota Celica
A car definately not made for the open road. I drove out to Colorado in this car-- on the way out the brake exploded in Pennsylvania, the exhaust fell off in Denver, and the whole time the thing threatened to overheat, prompting me to drive through the scorching plains of Kansas with the heat on full blast (to divert heat from the engine). Once here, the brake line failed and it was compressed into a hunk of metal sometime in 2001.
2000-2002: No car
2002-2003: 1994 Ford Explorer
Another vehicle whose engine simply gave up, before I could really even use it much. With 3 grand needed for a new engine, I sold it for scrap metal--Never lived up to its potential.
2003: No car again
2004-present: 89' Honda Accord
Well, it's been pretty good so far. I knocked the exhaust system off taking it on a 4x4 road up to Kite Lake (doh!) and it currently needs a new windshield and a few other minor tweaks, but it's been an ok ride. Hopefully, once my book comes out I'll have some extra dough to get something new but until then, this black beauty better hold out.
So there you have it. I'm still driving a car from the 80's and I've never owned anything to brag about (though I really wish I could have kept the van alive). I dream of a car with air conditioning or perhaps power locks. Somebody please, get me a spot on the Price is Right!
Friday, August 26, 2005
Well here it is, the fabled summit of Washington's Mount Rainier (14,411 ft). Ok, technically this is right behind the register canister which would be roughly 14, 403 feet. Behind me is Point Success, the apex of the incredibly difficult Liberty Ridge route (Sheila and I ascended via the standard Disappointment Cleaver route). If you're wondering where my harness and rope are, check this out--the summit of Rainier is a collapsed volcanic crater, so you can toss off your extra gear and hoof it over to the top unprotected. Of course, for some reason I left my headlamp/helmet on, but my crampons did help across the icy path cut out to reach Columbia Crest (the actual summit).
So this is highpoint number 34, finally! My last highpoint I got was Oklahoma way back on August 8, 2001 with Paul Lenhart (dang that seems like a lifetime ago). This fall I hope to clean up at least a few more: North Dakota, Texas, and perhaps some of the Midwest. With Gannet and Rainier out of the way, that leaves only Granite Peak (Montana)and Denali as the last two non-walk ups, though Mount Hood in Oregon offers a slight bit of technical climbing near the very top.
The next few weeks promise to offer Colorado-based adventures. My car's steering wheel feels like it's going to rattle off, so I'll need to fix that before trekking out again. I also have this whole book I'm writing that needs to get a'rollin'. I have to admit to feeling a little blue being back. I forgot how much fun being on the road is, waking up in a new place everyday, having adventure being as commonplace as Captain Crunch in the morning (bad analogy, unless you're me). But be proud, MEOW lives! Let's hit the sooner than later, ok friends?
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Hey all-- just a quick post to let you know Sheila and I reached the summit of Mount Rainier on August 15th; we had awesome weather and a good, strong climb. We're pondering heading to Mount Hood in Oregon. we may climb it or just hang out in the park, either way it will be fun. More details will come later; we're at an Internet Cafe near the Goonies house in Astoria, Oregon. A short visit to the maritime Museum and we'll be headed east to the Mount Hood Area.
Pictures n' stuff will come later! Hope all is well--
Pictures n' stuff will come later! Hope all is well--
