Climbing - my new addiction

For the last 3 weekend saturdays I've been fully consumed in trying out climbing. Didnt think I would be that into it. Went the first time as I knew that sometime I would have to try it out with C - but didnt really want to be the only newbie and make a fool of myself. Then my newly reacquainted friend Miss M had been convinced to give it a try by her friend Tony (also a new friend of ours) who is also a climber. So we all made plans to go together. Miss M and myself being the girl newbies and the boys being the experienced climbers. It was great and has been really good starting it with a fellow girl.

From the first 6 hour session we have been addicted and cant wait till the next saturday to go climbing! The sense of achievement that you have when you walk away at the end of the day is great. And even the incredible sore muscles are worth it. It feels more satisfying then the sore muscles you would get from going to the gym (which is just so boring compared)

getting the instant gratification from it. WhenIt is also really awesome pushing yourself to do soemthing you dont think that you can do and you push yourself to get up a 15m wall and make it when you think you cant you get such a rush ! I've also learnt that i'm a very strong willed and will not be defeated by a wall or a route.

After 3 weeks i'm already climbing in a grade which is uk 4A which isnt even the very bottom grade at all. I do have to push myself to do some very hectic moves as I am short and dont have the reach that others have. So I have to get very inventive!

There is a great deal of learning to trust yourself and others and what you body can do. You have to trust that you will be able to stand up of tiny little grips, you have to trust that you can use your shoes and hands on the wall. you have to trust that you can hold on and pull up on the grips and that you can pull off moves that you dont think you can. The other trust element is trusting the person that is belaying you (holding you on the rope) Miss M and I have now learnt to belay and we were both the first people we belayed which is a huge element of trust.

Eventually we will also learn to trust our climbing skills to be able to lead climb instead of just top rope climbs. The difference is that with top rope the rop is already placed at the top of the already has you pretty tight and you wont fall much at all. But with lead climbing you are placing the rop as you climb which then means that you mostly dont have the safety of the rope to rely on . You will fall further then the top roping but you still have the rope as safety compared to solo climbing without ropes.

Well i could go on and on about my new obsession ...but i'll leave it for now and just add some pics of yesterdays climbing. And to just say that I hope to even get myself a pair of climbing shoes asap :)

Sorry for the unrotated images - i have no idea why they are like that!

Visuals

Am going to post some visuals of designs i've done lately ...I cant say for who and give any details ...but am going to post them anyway. They are a secret so dont tell anyone ;)

Shoes, shoes

shoes, shoes glorious shoes. Its it strange that a pair of shoes can make you feel so great! It is the strangest feeling when you put on that pair of shoes that just suits you so well, that makes you walk down the road with a strut that makes you feel like a million bucks.

A couple of weeks ago I bought my most expensive shoes to date. They are a pair of leather boots in a tan colour (a colour that I never thought I would get) and again with the killer heel height. I was actually out looking for a pair for shoes with a lower heel for work - but these boots just beckoned to me. It also didnt help that the bf was also drawn to them (he has such good taste!) I tried them on fulling intending to take them off and leave the store sans the shoes. But they were beautiful. It was like they were just made for my foot alone. The perfect fit !

I've wore them to work a couple of times and they always get noticed. my boss commented that you couldnt miss them as I was struting up and down the office. And as I was walking home today bobbing along to my ipod in my beautiful boots I realised how great I felt in these boots! and was amazed that something as simple as finding a great pair of shoes that fit you just right and suit your can change how you think of your body. I felt thinner, more confident and just generally felt good. It was then helped by the fact that the bf commented once again about how great they really are !

So all I can say now is that i'm screwed as I have a thing for great shoes and this comes at a price. firstly the costly price tag that most of the shoes I like come with and secondly it makes me even more fussy about the shoes i buy. I'm not willing to compromise for an ok shoe that maybe a necessity but will only want the amazing, wonderful and stunning shoe. And this is a very hard thing to find when your trying to find something practical ! Oh why do I love such expensive, killer heeled shoes!!!!!

Chat with Boss

Today saw me finally making it out of bed (thanks to being literally dragged out by the bf) and into the bus to get me to work. The bus being thanks to the whole tube strike thing!
So i'm sitting at my comp all blurry eyed wondering how to wake up (even the coffee wasnt helping) when the answar was presented in the fact that I just had to as the boss wanted to take me to coffee to discuss my future --- eeek. Well it doesnt sounds as bad as that. It was more about the fact that the design dept is needing some more structure and organisation and I def need more support from a senior designer. But since we were running low on those i've been having to just cope with figuring things out on my own. Now we have taken on 2 new senior designers and another designer at my level and have some set CAD support people as well as hopefully moving upstairs soon (as we are bursting out of where we are) So it was just to discuss where I wanted to fit in and whos team I wanted to be part of etc. So it was a good meeting and nice to have an update on how i'm doing and also to know that the hard work is appreciated.

It was def an interesting conversation and I had a strange realisation, well more like a reminder cause I definitely forget, that i'm very strong willed and that made sometimes it isnt a good thing. I can be a bit pig headed and can cause me to get very defensive when there is no need to be.

I then started to think where I was at in life this time last year. About how I could never have imagine back then that I would be here in London working in a pretty high profile company getting to learn some great concept design and practical tools that are going to help me some much later. And it is strange to think that the company I'm with actually sees me having a career path with them and what to help me along it as much as possible. That other people see the ambition in me that I even have trouble seeing. But then I also get scared that the ambition I have is let down by my body mostly not being able to keep up sometimes. But I feel that it is all about steps and that I'm getting to make them now. That the career success will come with practice as my skills are developed and life management skills with come with that and I will get everything I want. Well as C says that first one to 100k pa gets to be the breadwinner. ... Now if they could only figure out how to get males to take on being pregnant - LOL

I just wanted to say how lucky I feel in my life and how grateful I am for the man I have in my life to love and support me and the great job (even when it is stressful) and the extremely interesting city that i'm now living in!

Apple Trailers...

So I just have to say that after sitting and watching 2 and 1/2 hours of trailers online that we are officially one very nutty couple !!!
LOL
This consisted of us sitting with my actual Mac and the one they got wrong (needs to be returned to them sadly) and we would queue the trailers up so that once one had played on the first laptop we could play the next one on the second laptop.

So Movies coming up that we think look great ...

Dedication - Def looks very qirky - talk about Obssesive complusive
Eastern promises - Viggo mortensen playing Russian mafia type
Descent
Stardust
The Hunting Party
Self medicated (most award winning independant film of 2006)
Dan in real life
Elizabeth, the golden age - Squel
Lars and the real girl - most interesting use of a blow up doll so far
Resurrecting the champ - Samuel L Jackson is one amazing actor
Things we lost in the fire - the ever brooding benichi (sp?) Del Toro
The Darjeeling Limited - Got love owen wilson and adrien brody
December Boys - Daniel Radcliff with an australian accent (he is actually a very talented actor - as I witnessed in the west end play Equus)

Our trailer watching site: www.apple.com/trailers

Evil Hangover

I'm suffering today - am not a very happy person and moving my body just feels wrong! I havent had a hangover like this in a very long time ! And I dont understand how i went from tipsy to so ill so quickly. Oh well it is done and today i'm suffering. I personally think it is a very very bad idea when club sell you bottles of booze instead of shots! It was still a good night out tho - minus having the boyfriend walk you out the club and home and to the bathroom and undress you and put you in your nightie and put you to bed. He is too good to me ! ok i'm going to go back to suffering and watching 'the riches' tv series.