hurts so good

best last day before the "big push"

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i heart chelsea piers

• set-up: instead of taping down climbs, they color code routes with holds. ingenious, much easier to navigate up a wall.
• music: it might have just been yesterday, but the soundtrack for the afternoon put me in good spirits. sade, phil collins, marc cohn. i sang along to "walking in memphis" on my climbs
• scene: very chill... there was never more than ten people in the climbing area at a time, and they were all very friendly. the route to climber ratio was magnificent... never had to wait to get on the wall
• ethan: a good climbing buddy is hard to find (believe me, i've been around) - ethan is patient, knowledgeable, laidback, while also refusing to accept me saying: "i think i'm too short for this climb," which is the excuse i employ occasionally to justify using an off-route hold. he coaches me up my challenging climbs and knows when to push me and when to bring me down. and, most importantly, i trust him to catch me when i take risks, so i'm not afraid to jump for things out of my reach. xoxo, ethan!
• les: i've never used a grigri to belay anyone before (i'm old-skool atc) and after ethan taught me how to use one (did i mention that he's a GREAT teacher?), les came over to hone my skills. he's also an excellent teacher, and amused me greatly when he said, deadpan in his fabulous german(?) accent, "now remember, if you smell burning skin, that is your hand, so you are letting him down too fast."
• soreness: refer to title of the post. i will get a massage today.

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i heart the dog run in union square: it is the happiest place in new york city on a beautiful afternoon. i kind of feel like a creepy dog stalker... but i miss having a dog in my life.

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i heart crooked tree: i like crepes. no surprise here. i happened upon crooked tree during spring break, when caroline and i were ousted out of el dar, the morrocan restaurant in alphabet city. crooked tree is cute, romantic, and simply delicious. and they have great sangria. i recommend the chicken, goat cheese, and sundried tomato. tracy had the black forest ham and jarlsberg cheese. finished off with a nutella crepe (have you ever known me to pass up a nutella crepe?)

crooked tree: 110 st marks place (btw 1st and 2nd avenues)

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i heart david sedaris: 'nuff said. if you've read his books, you already know why he is awesome. (and he's even better live). if you haven't, then you lose major points in my book. kidding. lucky for you, i have a lending library in my apartment.

i will say that i wish my diary entries sounded like his. *sigh*

oh, and david recommended a book. which i will read, of course, once finals are over. i pass the recommendation along to you:

who do you love: stories by jean thompson