climb time

red river gorge, kentucky

click on slideshow to the right to see all the pics

a few pics for a few missed days

sickness, homework and travel kept me from getting a few pics up these past few days--but worry not, for new pictures are here.

these are pictures from a marathon relay some of us did on saturday morning. yes, on the morning of my 21st birthday, i woke up at 5:30am and ran my part (5 miles) in a marathon relay. While many might cringe at such an unorthodox way to celebrate, I loved it--it was a blast. The race was followed by a trip to Ikea--another favorite place of mine that isn't close to grand rapids but was close to our race in dearborn, mi (detroit area). All in all, a fantastic (and tiring) birthday.

lots of martians on the course.
medals.
roomies. the runner's high didn't last too long--we are fairly sore today
the team
just under 4 hours!

today: beginning with 2:35 AM thunderstorm :)

gotta click on it to see it biggerand this is hail--not a bunch of mothballs.
animal crackers from my pops to make me feel better!

how is my nephew not on here yet?

my nephew, Ray.

april is for adventure

It has been a little quiet in the outdoor adventure area of my life lately. This month, though, I do have a few trips planned.

Next weekend marks a step in to another level of adulthood--my 21st birthday. I will be running in a marathon relay with Lindsey and four others. I find running a race to be one of my top ways to celebrate--tshirts, medals, free sport drinks, competition, buzz, commotion. Love it.

Five days of marching through classes and dutifully showing up to work after race-weekend puts me in a car for an extended amount of time on my way to Kentucky Trip #1. Only 3 days long, the trip is focused on trad leading (climbing). It'll be my first trip to Red River Gorge (a premier climbing spot), so I am stoked.

Surviving another 5 days of routine after that lands me back in the car and on my way to the Red for Kentucky Trip #2... this time a solid 5-6 day trip, it'll be climbing, chilling, camping, and climbing.

The trick is, midst all these trips, i've got articles to work on, papers to write, tests to take, and boxes to pack--May 1st is the big move in day for Lindsey and me. I've been looking forward to this for a long time. A little pre-packing this weekend got me set to just make the move already.

Did I mention the weather has been unnaturally pleasant?

And that I think I am getting sick?

mail time

no class today--time for the slackline!

80s today. and part 2

grand river, downtown grand rapids (one block from where i work).

this is at 12:30pm on a weekday... lunch hour.

grand rapids was voted 6th best fishing city in the nation.


PART 2:

what did we see?

spaceship acorn was inspiring

tiny town was empowering (and in someone's backyard)

giant coffee pot was humbling

paperweight museum was fragile

y-bridge was confusing

jean bonnett tavern was haunted

and hershey town was delicious.

i love these things--roadside attractions. though some of these took some finding. the acorn? randomest thing ever, way back in the farm hills of pennsylvania. it's just sitting on the side of a little road. apparently there was a gift shop, but we missed it.

jean bonnett tavern was an unplanned site. lindsey had picked it out of the hotel information magazine because the menu looked good. but it wasn't just a fabulous meal. it was a historic tavern/bed and breakfast--an old building filled with stories and ghosts. yes, ghosts. check it out here: http://www.jeanbonnettavern.com/ We explored the building after dinner, straining our eyes for supernatural sightings, trying to tap in to a sixth sense. No luck. It was one of my favorite stops though.

hershey, PA: the town that smells of chocolate. we rode the factory tour ride twice, ate the free samples, mingled among chocolate merchandise, and hung our jaws at the site of bowl-sized peanut butter cups and nearly coffee-table-sized hershey bars. life is not complete until you visit hershey town.

70s today.

junk mail and sunshine

the collection thus far

could it be? spring flowers?

wednesday in hershey world

pic and part 1

bowling in versailles, ohio.

PART 1 of the ROAD TRIP

Road trips. I’m a fan of them.

I like the bump and sway caused by cracks and divots in the road. Occasional clicking of the blinker. A Constant, low roar of tires on pavement drowning out the radio. The radio forever plagued with static—a natural side effect of covering a lot of miles, constantly driving in and out of range of obscure stations.

This particular road trip was from Greenville, Ohio to Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

In the back was our bag of fuel, something to the tune of peanut butter, jelly, bread, cookies and juice boxes. In the front, the driver and passenger. Miles of road could go by where the only words spoken were those sung along to familiar songs found on the radio. There was also the casual, “Do you have to go to the bathroom?” …AKA… “I have to go to the bathroom.”

I always like to figure out the tone of the car ride before too many miles go by. Some people like to chat chat chat their way to Chattanooga, others prefer a comfortable silence while snoozing is yet another choice. Asking a single “What if” question is how I tend to gauge what to expect. The chatters will take the question and turn it into a philosophical, soul-searching conversation, the silents respond with an indifferent “I dunno” and/or a shrug, and the snoozers are out before the question is even spoken.

I really don’t mind any of the various types and have myself dabbled in the practice of each of them. The thing is, you’ve gotta know what your dealing with—otherwise you chat up a silent and annoy the crap out of them, you ignore a chatter and scare them, or you wake a snoozer and—well, never wake a snoozer.

“Hey Lindsey. If you could live in any state, which would it be?”

With a tinge of obvious stress (she's not a big fan of these kinds of questions), “I don’t like to think about that. I don’t know.”

“Okay, you just have to live there a year?”

“Stop.”

“A month?”

“Stop!”

I laughed. I turned up the radio a notch, sat back and enjoyed the blur of farm fields and trees in a comfortable silence. The occasional cow or funny sign would spark a conversation here and there. It was a good car ride.

tiny town, pennsylvania

note size of cat.

bedford, pennsylvania

acorn spaceship

kecksburg, pennsylvania

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/16860

*this was only one of today's many exciting stops... stories to come soon.

bridge again

ohio's longest covered bridge

and so begins "a picture a day"

today in berlin, ohio.

birthdays and barns

line dancing. have you ever tried it?

two weeks in a row now a group of us have gone to the farm museum in coopersville (or cooperstown, i can't quite remember). and yes, i said farm museum--complete with tractors, quilts, fake cows, and pie graphs about corn.

our group excluded, the average age of those who attend is probably around the upper 60s. they've been delighted to have such young'ins around. we've become known amidst the group--the college girls. we're the ones who are a bit more aerobic with our movements, aka we move our hips.

so line dancing. that's what it was until we showed up. the first night, it took a while to pick up on how it's all supposed to work, turning it in to more of "blob" dancing. but by the second week, these girls were old pros. we might not have shiny belt buckles, boots, or hats--but we do have enthusiasm.

. . . .

my buddy lindsey just had her birthday this past weekend. i tell ya, this kid is pretty cool, and it was a blast celebrating yet another year of life completed. i like celebrating the birthdays of other people. so much fun.

. . . .

the internship--not too much going on there, still a lot of the same stuff... writing, writing and more writing.

i'll tell you what... i am ready for spring break. a week of no classes, no work? yes please! hopefully it will still be warm like it has been for two weeks now. i think it's time to bring out the bike, and, maybe, the unicycle.

. . . .

question of the day:

you are eating m&ms one at a time. you get down to the last three. two are blue, and one is yellow. what color do you eat next?

i have a theory about this...

why no post in a while?

i know, it's been forever since i last posted. why is that?

sorry, i've been busy wearing flip-flops and t-shirts, turning my face to the sun, and walking particularly slow. every single day of march so has been warm and sunny, and a glance at the forecast reveals the mercury will keep rising and the skies will continue to stay clear of clouds.

march came and the weather turned a corner--could it be, could winter be over? most shake their head--no, it cannot be. it is but march, and a typical winter brings snow through april sometimes.

i like to hope, though. not that i dread winter; i'm just ready to spend more time outside.

well the sun is only up for so many hours a day--why couldn't i have updated at night? well, i must confess that netflix instant play is to blame for that. more specifically, the bbc robin hood tv series. i shan't begin to go into it though. just know it is my favorite tv show ever (that's right--i used bold print) and i wish to drop out of college and become a common outlaw in robin's band of merry men. i have the sudden urge to learn archery as well. the middle school pe unit wasn't enough. middle school, or high school... i can't remember.

anyway, with only one season left of robin hood to go through, you will likely see a lot more of me on the blog again. and if this early spring turns out to be but a dormant winter, you can surely expect more updates.

february

a new semester, first publications, and a nephew--february was a fairly filled month. funny how that works out, what with it having the fewest days of all the months.

ray andrew galatioto, my nephew, was born today. actually, he was born in japan on february 27 (which was feb 26 here), so we kind of get to celebrate his birthday again tomorrow. he's the first of the next generation in my family, the start of another branch on the family tree. i can't wait to begin fulfilling the new role of aunt.

the march issue of grand rapids magazine went out this week, and it was the first issue my work showed up in. i have heard mixed stories about people's "first publishing" experiences. a week ago my supervisor had actually came to my desk and handed me the issue--she could tell I was fairly excited. my first publishing experience was definitely memorable. seeing my name in glossy print (a few times in this issue) made that spot right below my sternum well up with a kind of thrill. at the same time though, i experienced something i've heard in nearly every other "first publishing" story. looking at my articles, all i could think of was, "i want to do it again, and i want to do it better."

i like the periodical publishing industry--a lot. time to step it up.

writer's block

An honest pen is hard to come by. A block often wedges itself between mind and pen. It catches the raw and revealing insight mustered from the core of our being. Until I find a way through it, I am incapable of writing.

No, I am not at a loss for words. Moreover, a million words are wrestling in my conscience at any given moment. I think it’s more a matter of my words being lost—lost, or perhaps cowering in some obscure corner of my thoughts. Clearly, it’s a case of page fright. My reputation—my very identity—is being held up at ballpoint. No words want to be forged under such pressure.

Yet it is a writing exercise like this that reminds me there is no reason to be pun-shy—where there is a quill, there is a way.

Huzzah! I’ve found the gap in the block. It is time to write.

[live] animal sighting

When the coyote trotted up, all I could manage was a wide-eyed stare. It heard her. “Lindsey. Lindsey. Lindsey, look!” My roommate, who had jokingly howled not but ten minutes earlier, was still in the tent while I melted some snow for hot chocolate. I must have startled it as much as it me—he darted back the way he came. Part of me had wanted to lure him over for a game of fetch; another part of me wanted to run screaming into the tent for cover. Though the coyote was gone, I resorted to the latter, but with more a squeal of delight in the wild I just witnessed.

dinner time

After 8 o’clock, dinner options dwindle. The pot roast requires too much time, ratatouille takes too much work, and ordering yet another pizza costs too much money. Peanut butter and jelly is a quick fix; however, why have for dinner what was for breakfast and lunch? Most give up by now. Indecision will undoubtedly lead to starvation. That’s when the desperate raiding of the fridge happens; if it can be microwaved in a minute or less, it’s dinner.

bowling

Rolling thunder, spontaneous crashing, a heavy fog of smoke... and have you ever noticed that it is impossible to feel like you are in any other decade but the 80s when you go bowling? It's not just because of the unimaginably old and colored carpet with stars on it or the dinosaurs of televisions hanging above each lane--there are still the cliched bowling leagues where the people still have mullets, the shirts are still tucked in to whitewashed jeans, and the alcohol flows between frames.

there is no such thing as a modern bowling alley. and that's part of what makes the bowling experience so great.

This week I went bowling for the first time since the summer before freshman year of college. Long time. Very long time. My first two games sucked horribly, and to be honest, I wasn't the happiest camper. I'm not a big fan of not being good at something (competitive much?), and I'm definitely not a fan of having a first-generation color TV tell me I'm not good at something. I think color TV might be stretching it... is there such thing as a blue-and-white TV?

The third game made up for my frustrating scores of 63 and 54... I bowled 5 strikes in a row. My competitive tendencies want to brag. But I will leave it at that.

The lane next to us was occupied by a couple of parents who brought four children to bowl. Have you ever watched children bowl? Generally speaking, there are three techniques children employ when bowling.

#1) The Demolisher: This is the kid who, despite the disproportion between the mass of child and that of the bowling ball, manages to run full speed and launch the ball in the direction of the pins--the child remains fixated on the ball (however slow it may be travelling), and awaits the glorious moment of impact the the child thrives on.

#2) The Hit and Run-er: This is the kid that approaches timidly, drops the ball at their feet (with hardly any forward momentum) and then runs away to hide behind mommy, not even interested in the end result. For them, the fun is in carrying a heavy object and then releasing it--who cares about knocking pins over.

#3) The Second-Thinker: Upon releasing the bowling ball, the child regrets the decision and chases the ball down the lane, learning the painful lesson of traction-less bowling lanes. This is usually a brief phase, and the kid will generally resort to one of the first two techniques mentioned after learning the startling lesson of traction (or lack thereof).

Adults approach bowling much differently. I will only go into one type, though. This is the type that believes there is still some shred of control over the bowling ball after release and display such belief through leaning left, kicking their leg out right, turning the head, crouching down, waving the hands... yes, somehow leaning to the left will make the ball go left.

It's rather ridiculous, yet a lot of people (including myself) do this. Absurd, really. I control the release with a specific target in mind, dislike the path the ball is taking, and then flail my body about as if I can somehow control it and change the course.

on the list

I went to open the door. It was locked. I waited for the lady standing on the other side of the door to open it.

She opened the door and looked at me, waiting for me to identify myself.

"I'm with Grand Rapids Magazine."

She looked down at her clipboard. Looked up. "And your name?"

"Cristina Stavro."

She looked down at her clipboard and then smiled as she highlighted my name, "Welcome Ms. Stavro." And with that, she led me through a second set of locked doors where I found myself in the company of three cameramen from local TV stations (and their respective anchorwomen), a reporter and photographer from Grand Rapids Press, and a handful of other people pulling together this Press Junket.

A large sign reading "Welcome Media!" stood next to a table where I was asked to pick up my badge. It was my Front of the House Press Pass, and my name was on it.

Matt Giraud, a singer who placed fifth on American Idol last season, was performing a concert later that night but was holding a Press Junket at 2:30 first. He's somewhat of a local guy (from Kalamazoo--hour away).

To be honest, I know nothing about American Idol... I've even stopped watching those first episodes you watch just to see the sucky people. What season are they on anyway... tenth? Twelfth? Anyway, never heard of this guy, but I still felt like this was a big deal.

And it was.

So he performed two songs for just the press, and then we all had time to sit with Matt and interview him.

I was pretty nervous for the interview. The three TV stations and the GR Press went before me, so I got to watch and listen in on what their interviews were like.

Something that caught my attention was the technology present at this junket. There were photographers and camera guys using their ipods to record snippets of the performance and interviews... snippets that would go on TV. There were the usual large video cameras, but I just couldn't get over this one guy using his ipod for one of the stations.

The interview went well, and this Matt guy was really nice, so that made it a bit easier.

I loved being on that list. It was sweet. And it was even cooler to have a badge and be able to say, "I'm so and so with blah blah blah." Cool stuff.

http://www.fox17online.com/news/

go here, scroll down to the video of the guy on the piano (its really big). watch it. i was right next to them when they were interviewing, and the shots of him playing for the piano in the jacket was his performance for us.

i personally thought they would edit out that lipstick part... but i guess they didn't.

small request

ever have the need to feel really small?

feeling surrounded in a really big hug, craning your neck at the foot of a mountain, experiencing the vertigo at the edge of a cliff, standing in a crowd of people you don't know in a place you've never been...

they are humbling moments, and i don't think they happen enough.

adventures outside the cubicle

the phone rang. it was the first time ever. i let it ring again. "operator" appeared on the phone screen. i picked it up mid third ring.

"this is cristina."

according to the voice on the other end, i had an audria on the line for me.

that's when it hit me. what do i say to that? what do i say to the operator? Do I say, "okay," or, "patch her through," or, "that's nice."

so I said "ya."

my phone rang a second time that day. this time i responded to the operator with a simple, "thank you."

I'm a seasoned pro at the telephone at work now. I've made plenty of outgoing phonecalls.

* * *

The same day of my first incoming calls, I made 4 ventures: 2 to the water cooler and 2 to the vending machine.

The water cooler was no problem--i had my cup, filled it up, walked back to my desk, and downed it.

Vending machine. That was a whole other beast. I was very self conscious about getting some good ol' fashioned candy out of the vending machine. I felt it would age me--oh look at her, she's just a young intern, her and her vending machine m&ms.

once the courage was mustered up, i quietly walked the 20 or so paces to the vending machine.

the dollar went in. then it was spit out. i jumped at how noisy the rejection was. i tried again. failed again. try. fail. the sound of the repeated fails at the vending machine was attracting to much attention so i hastily grabbed the dollar and shamefully walked back to my desk.

20 minutes later, the same exact thing happened.