30.12.07

Leprechaun Canyoneering

So...after riding down from Salt Lake through a blizzard, listening to how Dr./Det. Alex Cross would like to...(we'll just leave that there), and finding out that our reservations were actually made a day EARLIER...we fared pretty well. In fact, I'm even King of the Rock. You know it.
We got to the canyons about 8.30 in the morning, plenty of time to get a good day of sperlunk-a-dunking in. After hiking around to the mouth of the slot canyon, the right fork of it, that is, we started to descend into the slot canyon. I'd only been to the narrows before near St. George, and even this slot felt, well...more slottier.
Coming down was narrow, and we expected it to be cold, seeing as it's December 28th. However, regardless of the layers we were wearing, the weather turned out to be quite dazzling--blue skies, no wind, and to be honest, the sun was relentless while we were in her view. The gloves came off quick and I debated seriously about taking more layers off.
We hit a few small water hazards, nothing too much. Besides, the water was frozen solid; indeed in some places it was frozen uphill! That was cool. We even saw dinosaur tracks!!
After rappelling down to the "end" of our right fork, we were intrigued by the middle fork. We had been through some rather tight places, but had read that this one was darker, danker, and even narrower. And it was true! Being the lead dog, I went through first, and we hit some interesting hazards. We had to stem above and below rocks which had wedged themselves in the narrow, and there was even a stretch of about 30 feet where we were literally leaning back on the rock at a 45 degree angle just to pass! That was, well, pretty sweet. We pushed forward until we hit the area where left and middle fork come together, and decided to head back. Hehe. Yeah. Head back. Back down a nearly impassable...passage. I kept on trying to imagine being the first one down there...to imagine how it would be not knowing that you could really get out. Seriously, if a flash flood came down middle fork, you would have some serious trouble! But, we all made it out safe and back to the cars.
Fun trip, and we even got some sandstone for Brady's waterfall. Looking forward to more slots and a charged camera battery when I do!
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12.10.07

Night before

Well, this is it. This is the night before Saturday. Which makes it a Friday night; an exciting Friday night at that! Tomorrow is the Apple Insomnia Film Festival. This means that beginning at 7am tomorrow, I will want a lot of BAWLS. Mmmhmmm.
What it really means is that I will be having a great day tomorrow shooting a film in less than 24 hours. What makes it even more exciting is that I have a soccer game against Utah State at 10am. So it all comes down to how quickly creative can we be.
I've got an awesome team behind me; actually I would say that it's just an awesome team--no one is behind anyone else. We're gonna work hard and have some fun, and all of you that might read this, go and vote for our video! It'll be under Team L, (creative, isn't it?)
Until Sunday, we'll have some pics posted! See you then!

8.10.07

Coming home...

So, this entry is quite late...about 3 months late. It's hard to imagine that it's been so long since I've returned from Albania. I remember it so clearly, and yet it's such a distance away that I often forget that I've been there. But, I don't forget what I've learned there. I have, in recent weeks, seriously been missing everything about it--the people, the food, the places...even the transportation. Everything was so simple there, but so complex at the same time. I've always enjoyed foreign places, but I think I enjoy making them my home so much more.
To anybody who's reading this that has never traveled abroad, especially those who are frightened by the thought, I have one bit of advice: Go! Just go and do it! I guarantee that you'll never forget it. And don't settle for France, or Canada, or England. Really GO somewhere. Go to Egypt. Go to Turkey. Go to Madagascar. Do whatever you can to really go and see the world you live in.
On another note, even though it's been a while, I still haven't got all my Albania pics posted online. I'll be working (in my spare time, of course) to get them all descriptions and to put them up, but no promise. I've also got pics of my recent trip back east to Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and those fun states. Those'll probably come after.
This Saturday there is a film contest sponsored by Apple. I'll be entering that with the help of some friends. Hopefully this will lead to the opening of our production company. Everyone who reads this should go to apple.com/education/insomnia and with your AppleID (get one if you don't have one) vote. I'd say vote for mine, but that's selfish. Although, that doesn't mean you can't do it! We're under Team L. More info and pics on that later.
Anyways, I leave you all with this picture I took on the plane ride home. Good ol' British Airways (they rock house, btw) gave us some good laughs in the lavatory. Don't you just love ironies?
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25.6.07

this life

eh...my first post. well, i'm sitting here in fier, albania, getting ready to go back to my home in vlorë. only 2 more weeks and i'm...gone. whoa. 2 years in this country has gone by fast. i'm ready to be home, but i'll miss this place like no other. mostly, it'll be weird to get myself used to america's fast-paced life. i heard this week that some say that 'america is for americans.' i liked it. it's so true.
anyway, this blog is a new thing, so i'll be posting somewhat regularly. it'll be a nice introspective view of...the life. that's right. ciao.
sol