Soon To Be Gumby

Hi folks,

My goal for next week: write posts that are not spin profiles! "The Tasty Spoon" is supposed to be about all my hobbies, not just spinning, so I'm going to make more of an effort on that part.

Lots has been happening the past few weeks, including APPLYING TO MED SCHOOL, running, climbing, spinning, MOVING, yoga, Body Pump, movies, ALIAS, eating, and day dreaming about climbing trips out West or to Mexico...

My climbing obsession has peaked [again] in the last month--have been climbing at least three times a week and pushing myself to climb more challenging routes. I have broken into the 5.9's and have been consistently climbing 8's very well. Also, I have gotten back into Sunday lead climbing sessions with Howard and Chris. I will sit down and write about this over the weekend! Lead climbing is so different from top roping--it's more about keeping your cool than anything else. My partners and I have been trying to figure out outdoor climbing trips this summer (the Gunks, El Potrero Chico Mexico, Rumney, North Conway...). It's getting me very excited!

I moved a few weeks ago. This was a big deal as I'd been at my place at 11th & Pine for 2.5 years--longer than I'd been anywhere since high school. I moved in with two, very laid back dudes near 18th & Christian. So far it's been going well. I was worried about living with other people after having been by myself for so long, but there hasn't been any transitional difficulties thus far. One of my housemates, Adam, and I have been watching Alias together. By the way, I am a huge Alias fan and own all the seasons on DVD. Adam had never seen Alias, but thought he would like it (side note: I was very pleased to discover that he is also a Smallville fan!). So, little by little we have been making it through season 1: only have 2 episodes left! It's really nice to bond with someone in this way and share my obsession for the series with a housemate. FYI, he's totally obsessed now too!

NEWS FLASH: I have also taken up yoga. If you know me, you are probably familiar with my extremely inflexible hips. My hip flexors feel like rods, my IT Band (at the hip insertion point) cramps up, and I can't sit up straight (let alone lean forward) when in the sitting V position. It's thoroughly pitiful. Running and spinning do nothing to help this. Climbing does get me moving around, but the more challenging 5.9's have been forcing me to get into positions that make my hips cramp, burn, and shake. It's only my will and pure stubbornness that have gotten me through those moves! After one particularly stemmy 5.9 a few weeks ago, I decided it was time to fix this problem: it's only going to get more inflexible as time goes by. It's not going to magically get loose and limber. I've got to take action now! So the very next day I went to Philly Power Yoga Studio. It was awesome! So invigorating.

Since then, I've been trying to find the right style for me. I liked Power Yoga, but it was more of a workout than a therapeutic stretching session. I've tried Iyengar, Power Yoga, and Ashtanga. Tomorrow I'm going to a Vinyasa class. So far I have liked Iyengar the best because it went at a slow pace and focused on correct alignment and technique. I'm planning on writing a whole post on this soon...

I'm also planning on a huge baking session this weekend. It's been since Grant's Goodbye Dinner that I've baked anything (over a month). I haven't had much inspiration to bake, but I've been eying some recipes in my favorite dessert book, "The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle."

I will be making more of an effort to make this site a bit more well-rounded. If you judged my life by my posts, you'd think I just taught spinning all the time. On a given day, I'm prepared to do at least 4 different activities (running, climbing, spinning, yoga--my mat stays at the lab so I can go right to the studio when I get a chance).

Alright, more to come this weekend. Must get back to my PCRs, Western Blots, and cell culture here in the lab...