I went hiking in the Sleater-Kinney album this past weekend. I got to see stuff like this.

luckyshirt:

One day I’ll learn to avoid looking at these, and my faith in humanity will be restored.

That day is not today.

What.

What, no “Glenngary Shandling, Glen Ross”?

(via frageelaytwit:weselec:timheidecker)

A sense of place #5

This is the third year my friends and I have rented a house in Vermont to take a mid-winter vacation, and a few of us usually squeeze in a day or two of downhill skiing while we’re there. The house we rent, the trails at Killington, and the magnificent views are becoming quite familiar even though we only go once a year. But it hasn’t gotten old. The vistas, the exhilaration, and the relaxation are something we all look forward to once winter hits the city.

This year it was a little different as our friend group did a little re-adjusting in the couples department. But minus a few minor scares on unplowed snowy roads and some last-minute drop-outs from the trip, it was another great excursion.

Discovery

Space

I went hiking/snowshoeing last weekend with friends. We headed uphill on a trail that repeatedly denied us the apex. Each ridge we approached was just another staging area for the peak. We continued to climb past the dormant deciduous trees and eventually reached the pines arched over the path, creating a tunnel that, when it finally broke at the peak, revealed a beautiful vista.

It’s a metaphor!

(It’s not.)

Oops. Already did “discovery.” I don’t have to work too hard to make this one about space. Not literally, of course. It’s a little too personal to go into here, but it has to do with the person in the picture.

Also, still a metaphor!

(It’s still not.)

Using the “blocker” method (follow the fast driver with the radar detector on their dash), I made this trip in an uncomfortably short amount of time. I’m simultaneously proud and ashamed.

Also in driving adventures this weekend: on the way up, I found myself fishtailing down an unplowed hill in Vermont. I was able to drive out of it successfully without hitting oncoming traffic. The adrenaline didn’t make it seem so bad at the time, but reflecting on the incident now I think I’m going to have nightmares about it tonight.