Please sir, can I have some more?

I promised there was more coming, so here is more.  It started snowing here in Germany a few weeks ago.  Within a day or two it accumulated to about a foot.  I was pretty pumped to see the town covered in snow.  I went for a run on the trails and it looked even better.  The entire ground, normally blanketed in bright green moss, had been painted white with snow while the trees boasted a nice coating of their own.  I didn't get a picture since I was running but I managed to get a picture of the trees outside my apartment before the snow was melted away by rain the following week.

Since then we've gotten a few dustings on top, nothing more.  It was still enough to get me pumped for the skiing season.  I'm looking to plan a weekender in the Alps with some friends after the holidays.  Speaking of, I'll be coming back to PA this weekend!  I've been hording my vacation days so I'm able to spend three weeks relaxing at home with an additional week of work in Exton.  In all I'll be home for four weeks, which ain't bad.  With the German vacation schedule I'll still have 14 days of vacation for the next year.  That gives me about three weeks to play with, which is way more than we'd get in the US.  I'm looking at a trip to Gardasee, Italy in the spring with my mountain biking buddy from work.  We'll probably go for a long weekend.  After that I'll start looking at a trip to England.  A colleague of mine offered me a place to stay and a tour.  I'm thinking another long weekend trip.  That still leaves me with plenty of time to plan another trip or two before my time is up here.  I haven't put too much thought as to where else I want to go yet, but I've gotten a handful of suggestions.  I'm thinking Spain is a must.  It's all just words right now, but I'll post the pictures after it all happens.

Kicking some virtual ass!

No, I have not forgotten about this blog.  It's just that I've been spending a lot more time with my Playstation since Call of Duty: Black Ops came out.  That sounds like telling someone "it's not that I don't love you, I just love (insert name of love affair here) more."  My computer is a bit jealous too so don't feel bad.  For those not in the know, Black Ops is a first-person shooter video game based on the Cold War and involves a lot of shooting and outsmarting other players across the internet.  And it is ridiculously addicting.  I wouldn't call myself a gamer,  but I feel like some people who don't play video games at all have the wrong impression about games like Call of Duty or Halo where the simplified objective is "to kill people."  Yes, you kill people.  But it's not just the virtue of shooting someone that draws people to play such games.  It has a lot to do with entertaining your imagination as well as testing your strategic abilities.

Lots of folks like getting lost in books (I'm one of them).  Books give you the opportunity to imagine yourself as one of the characters, doing all the crazy things that they're doing.  Movies provide a similar outlet in that lots of viewers will imagine themselves as one of the characters, making them feel like a super hero, a genius, a badass or whatever.  Video games let you do the same thing but with a level of control.  That control is very rewarding in that you know when you've done something wrong, and failed, and when you've done something right, outsmarted the enemy and downright kicked some virtual ass.

I haven't turned into a hermit yet and I have proof.  You can click here to check out some pics of me hanging with my friends at a bar that just opened up in town a few weeks ago.  Girls like me here.  It doesn't hurt to be the only guy in the group that will dance either, after a few weissbiers of course.

More to come soon.  No lie.

Where's my stamp?

As I might have mentioned to a few people,  I was in Budapest this week.  A colleague was giving a presentation/training on our current pumps to some of our reps and distributors around the area (Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, etc).  I was there mostly to observe since this the same presentation that I will be giving all across the US when I return.  There were 16 of us that had gotten together at the Ramada hotel representing about 8 or so different countries and everyone spoke English, sort of.  The presenter is from England so he was the only real English speaker.  Americans don't really speak English according to England, so I didn't count.  Americans pretty much stole the English language and then started changing things we didn't like.  No wonder England doesn't like us.  We steal everything from them (e.g. music and David Beckham).  Some of the group could understand more than they could speak, which was fine since Netzsch would be doing most of the talking anyway.

Let me take a step back for a second.  I met up with my colleague from England and we took a taxi to the hotel.  We got there around 2PM and didn't have to be anywhere until 8PM for dinner at the hotel.  So we dropped our bags off in the rooms, grabbed a few maps and headed out into town.  Budapest is divided into two areas, Buda and Pest (pronounced Pescht).  They are divided by the Danube River.  Our hotel was on the Pest side.  Anyhow, we walked into town and managed to navigate to the subway and locate a place where we could get some food and a couple beers.  Afterward we trekked down to the river which would lead us to the Parliament building.  It's one of many buildings there that still maintain that old style architecture that looks like it came from ancient Greece or Rome.  Magnificent sculptures and artwork on the outside of the buildings.  Well we got a little too close to the Parliament building and a security guard in a green poncho swooped down to the ground like batman to scold us.  A little startled by this angry man, we laughed and continued on our way.  My partner in crime thought it was funny that he immediately started yelling at us in English rather than Hungarian.  I suggested that he knew we were foreigners because no other idiots would hop over the chain-linked fence that surrounds the building.  After that we used our inherited manly sense of direction to get back to the subway that would get us within walking distance to the hotel.  We even managed to buy the correct tickets from the automated machine rather than going up to the teller.  After getting off of the subway we were greeted by more security guards at the top of the escalator asking to see our tickets.  Fuck.  I had just thrown mine out in the trashcan at the bottom of the escalator.  I figured I was already off the subway so I didn't need it anymore.  Well they weren't buying it.  My accomplice and I both tried to talk our way out of paying the fine but they weren't budging.  6000 forints ($1 US = 200 forints).  Having been defeated, I payed the 30 bucks so they would shut up and we could get back to the hotel for dinner.  My stomach was a rumblin!

Dinner was pretty interesting.  The food was good, but the portions were pretty small.  I'm still hooked on the American diet which means I don't want to see any white space on that plate.  Fill it up!  I ate everything that was put in front of me and made short work of the bread bowls.  The rest of the night was filled with lots of international jokes and conversation that kept us up until about midnight.  The presentation went fairly well the next day.  I enjoyed the witty jokes that were mixed in while also learning a bit more about some technical issues regarding our pump design.  The technical information proved to be too much for some people while others were simply overloaded.  The presentation took about 8 hours, plus all the coffee breaks that kept everyone awake (mostly).

After the training was over we all got ready to go out for dinner at a local Hungarian restaurant.  Again, the food was good.  The portions were a bit better than the first dinner we had, but still falling short of the 'American standard.'  Following dinner we drove around to some other historical buildings that were dressed in the same ancient looking architecture as the Parliament building.  Imagining how these building were made without all the modern technology we have now is mind blowing.  It's incredible how they were able to much such large structures back then and make sure that everything is in perfect alignment.  We made about 4 or 5 stops before arriving back at the hotel around 1AM.  Lucky me, I had to be up at 6 so I could be on time for my flight back to Munich.  I was pretty destroyed by the time I made it back to the office.  Somehow I snapped out of it just before a web conference that afternoon.

When I got to Budapest no one checked for my passport.  There was no check in point when I got off the flight.  You simply pick up your bags and leave the airport.  Where the hell is my stamp?  What good is a passport if you can't fill it up with stamps of where you've been?  I want proof dammit!  I asked someone at an information center and she told me that you can travel pretty much anywhere in Europe without needing to show a passport (other than to get your boarding pass).  There are a few countries that this does not hold true with, but they're like the red headed step children of Europe.  I made sure to hold onto a handful of Hungarian cash and coin, so at least I've got something to show for being in Budapest.  Aside from nearly getting arrested for trespassing and not having a subway ticket that is.

Prideless Independence

A week or so ago I had a conversation over the phone with a friend of mine, all in German.  At first I didn't think too much about it.  Heck I've been here for six months I ought to be able to hold a conversation, even if I still sound like a 3rd grader.  The next day when we got together, he told me how surprised he was that I never once broke out of German.  Even more surprised was his girlfriend.  She had asked who was on the phone and was taken aback when she learned that I was on the other side of the call.  It would have been a dead giveaway had we been speaking English, but since we were conversing in German there was no direct indication that it was me.  I'll admit, both of their reactions made me feel good.  It was a sign that learning to speak German, somewhat fluently, wasn't going to be impossible.

A few days later, I revisited those thoughts and it made me realize something else.  Since moving to Germany I've become more independent as well as learning how to ask for help.  That's not an oxymoron.  I've always thrived on being independent.  For as long as I can remember I've always been one to do things on my own, to do things my way and to do it without help.  Yeah, I was that stubborn ass and I still am.  It is that quality though that drives me.  It is the fuel that gets me through grueling track workouts, the fuel that gets me up the mountain, or simply the fuel that gets me through a shitty day at work.  It has been the driving force behind my determination and persistence in nearly all that I do.  My tenacious character isn’t all gravy though.  In fact it’s come back to bite me in the ass on a few occasions.  Like when taking a gamble that I was right about something, only to get it really wrong and watch it blow up in my face.  Or procrastinating something for too long because I was too stubborn to ask someone for help.  But when learn from our mistakes.

Living in Germany has taught me how to better balance the two.  There are times where I needed to be self sufficient while also needing to check my pride at the door.  Case in point, my survival instincts kicked into high gear when I needed to get some food in the fridge.  When I first got here, I had no means of transportation other than a good pair of running shoes and no means of calling anyone unless I wanted to make like Croc Dundee and wake up the whole neighborhood.  So I laced up my shoes and started my hunt for town.  On the border of walking home in defeat after not finding a store after an hour of searching, I made a final push and asked someone for directions (in German).  I made it to the store that day and stocked up.  I could tell similar stories of finding the laundry mat, or establishing a bank account, or getting a cell phone.  Some things I could manage with a determined search through town while other things I needed to ask for help from my friends.  I wasn’t really interested in messing up something like a bank account or getting raped by a ridiculous cell phone plan.

Being independent has taken on a new meaning since moving to Germany.  It means being able to get past the fear of trying new things while knowing when to let go of your pride and ask for help.  I checked both at the airport.

Boundary Line

The climbing vs. running analysis spawned from thinking about my climbing technique, strengths, weaknesses, goals and my interest in trying new types of climbing.  

Spending a good deal of my time at the climbing gym after work (at home), I generally flock to the boulder walls as many do.  It's a great way to build power and expand your quiver of climbing maneuvers while sharing the excitement of working a project with other friends and climbers.  It's also more convenient than enlisting a climbing partner to share belays with on the lead wall.

I really enjoy bouldering and the sensation you get after unlocking the moves to a tricky problem and nabbing the send.  After spending month after month in the gym and occasionally outside, my bouldering strength went up.  I pushed myself to climb outside of my comfort zone and started sending problems that were a grade or two above what I perceived to be my climbing ability.  It wasn't long before I started to wonder what I was capable of on roped climbs.  What could I do if I pushed myself outside of my comfort zone in lead climbing the way I had in bouldering?  That's when I started looking at my strengths and weaknesses as a climber and compared them to that of my running abilities.

While lead climbing together, a mentor of mine told me that I climb with intent in that every hand and foot placement is chosen carefully and mindfully to prepare for the next move, a skill that is generally present among efficient climbers.  Efficient climbers.  Kinda sounds like a distance runner doesn't it?  I started making comparisons and quickly found that my strengths as a runner (stride efficiency, moderate power, moderate endurance, race strategy) dictated my strengths as a climber.  Racing mostly at 800 meters - 5k, I fall right into the 'mid distance' or 'sport climbing' range.

I started redirecting my efforts to top rope and sport climbing at the gym whenever I could snag a partner.  Before long I was toping on 5.12's and leading 5.11's.  The grades themselves were nothing to brag about, but for me it was huge progress.  When I stopped thinking of climbs as impossible or 'above my level' I started climbing harder. I learned to do away with the fear of failure and started pushing that boundary line out farther and farther.  Now that I know more about my strengths and weaknesses as a climber (and a runner) I know where to focus my efforts to push the boundary line out even more.

"Fear nothing.  Defy your boundaries."

Climbing vs Running

Coming from a running background, I think of different climbing styles in terms of race distances.  Bouldering is most like sprinting because both practices require raw strength and power with dedication to form.  I look at roped climbs as mid-long distance events due to the focus on endurance and efficiency.  During some eh, spare time, I gave the analogy more thought.  This is what I came up with.

100, 200 meters = Bouldering
400 meters= High Ball Bouldering
800 - 1600 meters = Sport Climbing / Top Rope
3200 - 10k = Marathon Sport Climbing (Sharma style)
10k - Marathon = Trad/Big Wall Climbing
Triathlon/Ironman  = Mountaineering/Alpinism

I didn't really put much thought to top rope but decided to throw it in with sport climbing under the 800 - 1600 meter range because most top rope climbs are the same length as single pitch sport climbs.  Marathon sport climbing gets its own category because people like Sharma have noticeably pushed the limits of single pitch sport climbing.  A lot of the routes he's established, like the ones in Catalunya, Spain or Yangshuo, China, required a special rope made by Petzl.  The next tier is Trad and Big Wall climbing.  I chose the race equivalents above because most Trad climbs dip into multipitch territory.  Trad climbing is often the gateway drug into Big Wall climbing just like 5k's and 10k's eventually lead to half marathons and full marathons.  Often times marathons lead into the ultimate challenge of Triathlons, Ironman's and Adventure Racing just as Trad and Big Wall climbing may one day lead to full-on mountaineering and alpine climbing.

I didn't add ice climbing to this list because I didn't want to unfairly place it somewhere.  I would probably put it alongside both the Trad and Mountaineering/Alpinism categories because the skillset is different than other forms of climbing, just as marathoning and ultra-marathoning are far different than your local 5k.  In marathons and beyond, you have to worry about replenishing nutrients midrace, unlike a 5k or 10k.

The comparison was just for fun, but if you have any comments feel free to leave them below.

Funkin' Foot

These last few days of having a hole in my foot have posed a bit of a problem.  I generally walk or bike to work, or anywhere else I need to go for that matter.  On Monday I was able to walk to work (my bike was still in the parking lot from not riding it home on Friday) since the hole had already begun to close over the weekend and was starting to feel better.  Thanks to the new hole the doc made that afternoon and the plastic apparatus he placed in there, I wouldn't be walking anywhere far.  By Tuesday afternoon I got fed up with my immobility and rode my bike home using mostly my left leg and very slight assistance from my right.  I could only place my heel on the pedal but I was able to travel pain free, sort of.  Stopping was a bit challenging because my natural tendency is to put my right foot down first.  Not smart.  I rode to and from work the next day and had the plastic insert removed that afternoon.  Now the wound could officially start to heal and I would be able to wear a shoe again.  NOW WE'RE TALKIN'!  Yesterday I was able to walk around without anyone noticing a problem.  My arch is still tender where the nail went in but it's healing nicely now.


So for the last week I kinda felt like this guy



The nail was the same size.  My reaction wasn't quite the same as Marv's, but it sure didn't tickle.  Today I'm finally able to wear a sock and shoe again, which means I can cover up the colossal funk that spawned from my foot being bandaged up for 7 days.   I can even ride my bike with my feet properly positioned on the pedals.  The doc says I should be completely pain free and ready to rumble within the next day or two.  WAHOO!  As much as I love having a 'get out of jail free' excuse for playing video games, I'm looking forward to playing outside again and getting back in the gym.  The guy I weaseled into climbing with me before all this happened will be away on vacation next week, but I've got him locked in for climbing the week after.  That gives me plenty of time to make up for the training I missed out on because of this:

After the hole was re-opened and slightly enlarged