And I would walk 500 miles......

So we go hiking sometimes. We live in a little beach town and a quick 5 minute drive down a hill get us to a little area that's terribly charming- a little levee to walk along the beach where locals take their dogs out for their evening jaunt. No, really, everyone has dogs.

But at the end of this little stroll are hills. Hang on, I'm not making this dramatic enough. At the end of the walkway there are Cliffs. Sheer drop-off Cliffs that loom high above the ocean and carry on down the coastline connected to one another. It's truly a gorgeous area so it draws plenty of people to climb around these Cliffs. For fun. I don't pretend to understand where the fun in that activity is. Usually just stare fondly at the area surrounding me while I take a stroll in the beach air because I am not what you would call an "athletic" person (unless you call getting up from the couch to pour myself another glass of wine "exercise").

Told ya. Cliffs.

However, yesterday we decided to go for a hike. I was under the impression "hike" was simply a euphemism for the usual walk - a way to catch up on the daily putterings of The Guy and a perfect excuse to wear my lululemon yoga pants.
We parked the car, got out and walked along the levee, passed the pier and sauntered along the marsh that feeds into the ocean. Usually when we get to the Cliffs, we turn around and walk back along the beach. Hey, that's a perfectly legitimate workout! Walking in sand. Right?
Well, this time, the conversation turned to "Let's try going up to the point!" and, hey, I'm feeling good, why not? So we get up there and say again "Let's keep going!" and for some godforsaken reason, I think this is a brilliant idea. So I bravely soldier on.

And it gets steeper.
And the trail is becoming less like a trail and more like ruts the rainwater has worn into the landscape.
And my legs are kindasorta burning.
And OHMYGODISTHATASNAKE?!
Oh. No. Just a piece of rope. (I am maybe not the most outdoorsy girl. All that Girl Scouting never really took, I guess. Unless you count eating Thin Mints.)
And then we get to another crest and turn around. Hey, look how far we've come!
Oh.
Oh dear.
Guess how far away my car is?

Yup. It's that far away.

I have never wanted a hang glider more in my life.

In Which I Create a Video Game Analogy for My Life

I work in tech retail and computer repair. I’ve always been a little bit of a geek (and I stress “little” as I have issues operating a coffee maker) but one thing I’ve never really gotten into is gaming. I’m more of a cards and dominos kinda girl. At the very most I’ll play Pocket Frogs or maybe a word scramble puzzle or the like. But recently someone has gotten me into a game called Braid, which was originally out for Xbox and is now available as a game from the OSX App Store. 

It’s a pretty classic seeming game, very similar to the Mario world (things to jump over, bop something on the head and it falls off the screen) but there’s a pretty fun catch; you can control time! You died? That’s cool, just rewind. Realized you actually needed to be on the other side of the environment? No worries, just hold down that shift button. And voila! you’re right back to before you messed up. Even the music rewinds. But some objects in the game aren’t effected by time though, so you can take things back with you when you rewind. Things like keys to open doors.

And I’m finding that I am identifying with this game very much in my life right now. I’m sitting outside a classroom at a college campus, hoping to crash a course, for the first time in 2 and a half years. I’ve been here before, I’ve done this. Not at this particular school, mind you, but it’s not much different here. A while ago I would have considered this a step back from where I was working full-time in the “real world”.  But now I feel like I’m really moving forward even though I’m kinda back in the same place I was about 3 years ago. I’ve taken things from the past with me this time, so I feel more prepared (still overwhelmed, but prepared), like I can really make this happen and it’s going to work out.

So let’s so this.

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I think the thing I've found so difficult about writing daily throughout my life is the intimidation of a new journal. The crisp, blank white pages, unsullied by silly ponderings or the same habitual scribbles that have found their way onto binder margins since I was twelve. What if the first few musings aren't epic enough? How did I think I could actually fill this book with thoughts from my head? Can I possibly get everything down onto paper with as fast s my thoughts are flying? I've known so many people who write that are giddy with the anticipation of a Brand. New. Journal. They speak of the possibilities that could eventually find their way to be bound between two pieces of leather.

It seems as though the same feeling of intimidation can be applied to a brand new blog.

I keep telling myself that here in Digital Land, I don't need to be intimidated by the feeling of needing to fill anything! I can stop whenever I want and not worry about feeling like i haven't "completed" something because it's done when I'm done. But the feeling still lingers a bit. The "title" bar lays empty, it's blinking cursor proving my insecurities true.

But maybe this time I'll actually do it. Maybe...

So even though I find myself repelled by the idea of resolutions, let January 1st, 2011 be the beginning and leave the worrying of the "end" to later.