Archive for category Uncategorized
zzzzzzzzzz
Posted by orange in Uncategorized on September 20, 2011
No real updates. Sorry for the lack of posting, I just haven’t had anything meaningful going on lately. My standard routine is pretty boring: Wake up around 10-11am, sit on my ass for a few hours. Mix in some computer games and reading while at night working out.
I’ve been doing some more coaching the past few weeks and I’m happy about that. Despite not playing much the past few months, I still feel sharp enough to discuss and coach small stakes NL. Maybe it’s like riding a bike, I dunno…just seems so easy to discuss some of the topics/theory.
As for the dumb question that I receive every 2 seconds – “So what are you going to do now?”- I have no clue. I’d like to pursue a different career path for the time being in a National Park Ranger. But in order to do so I need to actually finish up my resume. I’m insanely lazy and things are moving slowly.
I’m working on a stupid little project right now that is totally unproductive and a waste of time. HOWEVER, it is something I enjoy alot and enjoyable. Enter Barcraft, a stupid event that groups starcraft 2 players around the world in bars, where they can enjoy watching starcraft 2 tourneys while drinking with friends. Novel idea, right?
Anyways, I’m organizing this event with a friend in Council Bluffs, IA/Omaha area. I got a local professional sc2 player to commit to the event, so I hope that he comes through with it. I’m excited (and a tad nervous) for this thing to go down and it will be interesting to see.
Our Facebook Page- https://www.facebook.com/pages/Barcraft-in-Council-BluffsOmaha/112809512158734
So yah, good stuff.
I’ve decided to hold off on martial arts for right now. Being out of work right now has really made me more conscious about my money and spending. While martial arts isn’t a huge burden financially, I am trying to trim down on some expenses as well as improve a bit more on rock climbing. Workouts have been fairly good for the most part though; I’ve started to run a bit and also reintroduced swimming.
Anyways, that’s all. College football is back and I suddenly have something to look forward to every single weekend. Fantastic. Oh, and more FTP news came out today- apparently they are more scummy than we originally thought. Check out any news media outlet for that stuff. GL GL GL
On Death…(RIP Thuy Doan)
Posted by orange in Uncategorized on September 7, 2011
This post is a reflection on the death of a fellow poker player. Thuy Doan was only 25 when she died a few days ago. She was very well known throughout the poker community and will be missed greatly.
I met Thuy a few years ago in Vegas, at a Leggo Poker party. My friends and I just thought she was some random chick at the party, unaware that she also played poker. Hearing that she actually did play was a surprise to us. Seeing a female play competently is a rare sight in the poker world, and over time, Thuy gained the respect of men and women alike.
Her death has affected me in numerous ways. Though I wasn’t close to her, Thuy’s death has made me realize how short life can be. She was courageous in her fight through cancer and documented her journey through her blog and twitter.
(her blog is here- Thuy Doan Blog)
I mean, how fucked up is this entire situation? You just wake up one morning and you find out you have a tumor in your leg. The tumor grows and soon you’re dead in like…2 years from the discovery. Unreal.
Sometimes I forget how good I have it. Not only are there millions around the world struggling each and every day to survive, but there are also people like Thuy, who get fucked for no reason whatsoever.
What an awful situation. It sucks when you see something like this that you can’t control in the least. You want to think “oh, I’ll try really damn hard and I’ll beat this thing.” But it’s not even up to you or your courage or your stamina- all of that probably has little effect in the grand scheme of the problem.
Thuy touched hundreds of lives in the poker world. She will be remembered. RIP Thuy Doan, life is too short.
September 2009 from her blog- “This is a tough spot but don’t feel bad for me. My life is still great. I have amazing people in it, a profession that I’m passionate about, and the potential for an incredible future. It’s a life worth fighting for and this cancer is just a hurdle. I won’t let it destroy me. I will beat it. Just watch.”
Yosemite- Climbing TR
Posted by orange in Climbing Trip Reports, Uncategorized, West Coast USA Road Trip on July 25, 2011
I met my friend in the north east area of Yosemite, in an area called ‘lee vining’. He has been climbing for almost 20 years now and had all of his gear with him. I’m (obviously) not nearly as experienced and was able to just follow/clean for him. I essentially had to drive through the entire park (which was hell, given how narrow the roads are) to meet him. It was a scenic drive all the way through though.
So yeah, I met up with my friend and we ghetto camped that night.
We drove a bit closer into the park the next morning and did Cathedral Peak, a 6 pitch 5.6 classic. Some pictures:
One of the anchors for one of the pitches:
So for those who don’t climb- we put in pieces (also called protection or cams and a billion other names) when doing trad(itional) climbing. Stupid example (this was not going to fit, just wanted to show you a piece up close)-
The top:
The next day we climbed inside the valley. We did Bishops Terrace (I think it was a classic 5.9) along with several others. I’m awful at crack climbing but still had a fantastic time. I don’t have many pictures from that day, but…
The last day we went to an off-the-beaten-path climbing area called ‘Shuteye Ridge’. It was super hell to get to (the ground was super shitty, pretty much just driving through huge roots/forest the entire time…not the brightest idea when you don’t have a spare). That said, it was really great- super isolated, beautiful scenery, cool rock, easy walk off at the top. The only problem is that we didn’t really have a guidebook for it. We saw some bolts leading up a crack and met two other climbers who had a guide book. We deduced that it was a 5.8 3 pitches.
This was probably my favorite climb of the weekend. It was all stemming (where you shift your weight back and forth using footing and balance…think climbing up a chimney, back and forth) and layback moves (where you can hold both hands in a hold and lay back on it, working your feet and hands up). reminded me alot of gym climbing in a way and it was incredibly fun.
Some pictures of the area (none of the climb, unfortunately)-
Cool bouldering area before the actual climbing spot-
The view from the area-
very cool. I’d like to go again.
So that was my first 3 days of the trip. Unfortunately, my friend had the beginnings of strep throat and had to check out early. I decided that I wanted to do the Half Dome hike, a 15 mile round trip hike that had a very large amount of elevation change (I can’t recall what the total was, something like 5-6,000 feet if I recall). I’ll post that TR next.
Kings Canyon and Sequoia part 2
Posted by orange in Uncategorized, West Coast USA Road Trip on July 24, 2011
After doing the touristy stuff and seeing the Generals Tree and other things, I decided to move south, to an area called “Mineral King’. It’s much more isolated and was a brutal drive (at least by inner-park standards): 1 hour for 25 miles, winding on shitty road throughout. Annoying.
Anyways, the camp itself was quite beautiful. The entire area almost seemed like an entirely different park all together- everything was lush and green as opposed to super dry and barren.
I met two chicks the previous night before at the past camp site and I hiked with them at Mineral King.
We decided to do this lake trail (I can’t remember the name, awful)…here was the trail head-
It wasn’t an overly difficult hike- probably about 9 miles round trip. The weather was fantastic; and even though there was snow, it was still great.
We finally reached the top-
The pathing was a bit shitty at times, but we managed.
So yeah. I actually got altitude sickness later that night and threw up all of my food. I felt pretty weak and attributed it to not drinking enough water throughout the day. I think I gained something like 5500 feet in an hour and didn’t adjust accordingly.
Anyways, went to Kings Canyon afterwards. I got a flat on my way there (I got a flat back in Zion, same tire) and had to fix that all of the first day. Sucks alot but whatever, it’s to be expected on a trip this long.
I didn’t really do many tough hikes in KC. I only had a day or so and limited gas. I was going to meet my friend in Yosemite that Wednesday and was quite excited for that, perhaps one of the reasons why I wasn’t as impressed with KC.
That said, did a nice 12 mile or so hike around the area.
And yeah…not many pictures from KC, whatever.
Yosemite is next. I did some climbing and a very long 15 mile hike there…fantastic.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon part 1
Posted by orange in Uncategorized, West Coast USA Road Trip on July 19, 2011
Sorry I haven’t updated in a while; my internet has been awful. LA was LA, don’t really have much to say about it. Ate some good food, went to the beach, climbed in the gym a few times, fun stuff.
Anyways, decided to go north to Sequoia. Sequoia and Kings Canyon are joined together by a long road called Kings Highway. I decided to do a few different hikes. First day I did the touristy area and saw many of the massive Sequoias in the area.
Perspective shot:
cool burnt tree-
Entered a cool cave- Crystal Cave. Super awesome and well worth the tour:
A formation called “Jabba the Hut”-
Yeah, really cool stuff. The guide actually took me on an unofficial short caving experience after the tour, which was really cool. I presented alot of interest in caving and he wanted to show me some basic stuff. I think it’s something I’ll definitely pursue in the future in terms of my next big hobby/etc (when I get the chance).