The world stops for no one

The world spins round

We wake we sleep

We live we die

And the world spins round

Last week a friend from a life 10 years ago passed away. And I didn't even know he was living in LA. The day he left I was working. I ate dinner with Brandon and had a short night class. We watched True Dectective. And I didn't even know he was living in LA. I went home at midnight and went to bed. And the world didn't stop. I didn't stop. 

We don't stop enough. 

Forgiveness

The only way to learn forgiveness is to be betrayed. You might understand the intellectual concept of forgiveness, but you will only learn how to truly forgive when someone has done something that requires you to love them and let it go. Life demands these hurtful experiences for you to learn how forgiveness feels, it could be not other way. If there is anyone in your life that you must forgive, instead of seeing them as someone who has hurt you, try to see them as someone who was sent to teach you forgiveness and thank them for this previous gift - then forgive them and let it go. 
-Jakson Kiddard, via The Daily Love

Blackout

Yesterday the city was doing work on our block and cut he power for two blocks in my part of town. It was out for about 30 mins before my neighbor called the city and they told us it might not come back on until 6am. So I shrugged and found my headlamp, blazed some candles and made dinner. It was really nice actually because it reminded me of huddling in our house after Hurricane Ike and Rita. How we didn’t have power for a week, but the mall did and how everyone would just go and plug in their cell phones. How my mom cooked ALL the meat in a few days and we had to eat nothing but pork and beef for 3 days, breakfast, lunch and dinner. I remember going to the FEMA trucks to get ice and just hanging out in the heat. Life is so much simpler without power. 

Death Valley National Park, Surprise Canyon, Panamint City

Surprise Canyon

This past weekend Brandon, Mihai, Albert, Trewdge, Lea and I drove up to Death Valley for a casual visit. We drove up to Novak camp at the base of the hike to Panamint City, passed out then got up the next morning for a good long hike. This time it was 5 miles but a strenuous 4,000 ft climb starting at 2,000 ft elevation. The hike was great!
We walked through a stream that flowed through most of the trail. Parts of the trail were actually on top of the stream and most of it was through the valley. Being close to fresh water was really refreshing. The water came from a spring and we would stop to refill our bottles. This part of Death Valley used to be a small city with a road leading up there, but long ago floods washed out the road and people abandonded the town. We came upon lots of abandonded trucks, mining equiment, and eventually homes and trailers. It took us about 5 hours to get to Panamint City and we stopped at this makeshift bench and firepit to have a well deserved lunch. The house by the pit had already been claimed by two campers that weren't around. There was another pitched tent across the way but no one else around. We guessed they had been there for a night already since there were other cars at the trailhead.

After lunch and a nap we found a good spot for all of us to set up and it got COLD. We were anticipating 50 degree weather but got low 40s or so. So when dinner time came around we scarfed down our food and jumped into our sleeping bags for the night which I didn't mind because we got time to enjoy the stars. Probably the best starfilled night I've had in a long time.

Devil's Golf Course

The next day we hiked out this time taking 4 hrs and was pretty good since we had eaten away lots of weight and were going downhill the whole way. We got to the cars around 1pm and then drove through the desert to Death Valley National Park and visited all the sights like the Devil's Golf Course and the lowest elevation in the world at 230 ft below sea level.

All in all a fun time and lots of cool things to see in one of the hotest places on Earth.

Musical Daydreams

Someone once asked me, “What are the three things you love most?”

I thought a moment and said, “Bikes, food, and yoga.”

He looked half satisfied and half bothered, so I asked, “What’s wrong? You don’t like my answer?”

“What about music?” he demanded. “We go to concerts and talk about music and share music and it’s not even on your top 3?”

I was taken aback, so I searched for the answer. I said, “I guess I don’t think of music as something I love anymore because music will always be a part of my life. To me it’s like breathing air, a reflex of sorts. Seeking it out is effortless and spending time with it is unquestionable.”

“How is that different from loving food?” 

"Food is something I have to find or work for, but music is something I can get anywhere at anytime. I can hum or sing or think about a song. I can go without food for a while, but I never have to be without music."

Uber Heavy

The other day I grabbed an Uber from LAX. The driver was a middle aged man from Jordan who had moved to the US to get away and make a living. Our conversation went something like this...

"How has your day been?" I asked. 

"Very good! Everyday is a good day. I have no stress because I have patience." 

"Oh thats great." I totally agreed so I had nothing to say. 

He continued, "God gives me patience and for that I am grateful. I have a job and I am alive and I have patience so I am good. You know I lost my wife and I lost $300,000 but God gives me patience so I am happy."

Wow. He really opened up in our 15 minute cab ride. For the sake of anonymity I'll call him Jerry. Jerry had a lot to say so he talked and I listened. Jerry told me that his wife really wanted a baby and he spent $300,000 on tests and what not to try and have a baby. But after 13 years of marriage she was barren and the doctors told him that it was because of him. So he and his wife separated 2 years ago not because they don't care about each other but because of their own personal goals and situations. Jerry has an older brother who fathered 13 kids from two marriages, 9 boys and 4 girls. So why did God make his brother so fertile but gave Jerry no success? Jerry said it's all part of Gods plan and he had faith because God gave him patience. Otherwise why would he be in this situation, driving an Uber, happy for his now remarried and pregnant exwife, and happy for himself in just two years if God didn't give him patience. He didnt feel the need to be angry or sad about the place he was in now. Instead he felt hopeful and content because he was making his money back in America and when he goes home he will find a new wife. 

And that was that. 

Backpacking in Big Sur - Cone Peak

Almost at the top of Cone Peak

This past weekend I went back to Big Sur, this time with Brandon, Mihai, Lea, Eric and Jesse. We hiked the Vicente Flat Trail up to Cone Peak (the highest coastal mountain in the US) and then camped at Goat Camp and hiked back out through the Stone Ridge Trail. The first day was amazing, tough, and frustrating. We drove to the trailhead overnight and camped right beside it. Then we got up early the next day and started hiking at 830am. It was about 5 miles to Vicente Flat camp and then another 7 up to Cone Peak. We climbed 5000ft in total and made it to the top for a beautiful sunset view at 530pm. It was the most beautilful hike I've ever done. The first 5 miles were coastal so you could see for miles up the pacific coast and for miles until the horizon took the sea away. Then we were just walking through forest and Big Sur vegetation which changed a lot as we got higher and higher up. The top of the mtn was close to the water so it was really beautiful. I really couldn't remember anything cooler. 

Brandon and Mihai filtering agua

 The summit was hard, but doable. However the next 4 miles were rough. The sun set quickly and we left to hike with only our headlamps. It was a relatively new moon, so the stars were beautiful but we had to rely on our headlamps. I think the hardest part was not really knowing how far away the camp was. We had an idea and knew the length but just being in the dark, not being able to see anything, and being really tired and hungry gave us all some extra anxiety. We finally hit Goat Camp around 9pm, threw our packs down, cooked dinner, and got ready to pass out. We didn't bring tents and slept under the stars so it was awesome.

The next day we got up and could see the water right from camp. It really was a great campsite. We packed up and left around 9am and spent the whole day hiking 11 or so miles back to our cars. The second day was not as strenuous, but all our feet hurt more so it was kind of a trade off I guess. The sun was warm, but we were in and out of the trees so the weather was really perfect. After we all got to the trailhead I think we spend an hour just laying down and recovering. That night we drove through San Luis Obispo and had clam chowder in a bread bowl and tons of fries. We took turns driving legs and finally got home around 1030pm. I can't really believe I'm doing all these things in a weekend without having to take time off work or a long weekend. California is so close to everything that vacations can really be a weekend thing. I'm spoiled.