Busy Weekend (Updated)
My trip back from Albuquerque was much more pleasant. I got upgraded to first class! The hours pass by very quickly when you're comfortable. The free liquor also helped. Upon my arrival, I had to prepare for my camping trip, which I was leaving for the next day, right after work.
I get to work, and have to run a teleconference with a supplier. My mind was everywhere, I began the meeting with, "Why are we here?" It went well, I just couldn't make sense of why one of the attendees was wearing club gear. She does this all the time, but I never had to work with her. Maybe she doesn't realize that the perceptions she gives others will precede her work reputation.
Latino Musica
I came across a radio station tha was jamming! It was a Latino Hip hop station. I don't know what they were saying many of the songs, but they had me bouncin' my head to the beat while I was cruising in my Chevy Malibu. Spacious car, but it had absolutely no power, compared my supercharged ride. Anyways, most of the songs were same as the ones on the other hip hop stations, except that the lyrics were replaced with spanish-speaking rappers/singers. Hooks were the same as the original. And they were TIGHT! Even the all spanish songs had me wanting to pull over and dance on the hood (thinking back to Freaknik days). My favorite song: "Papi, Rip My Bumper... Papi, Rip My Bumper..." That was the only english phrase. It was like, some spanish crunk shit. It was tight.
Camping
Last year, at this time, it was dark & raining when I arrived at the campsite. It's no fun setting up a tent in those conditions. This time was more pleasant. The following day had some drizzle. So I passed on the planned horseback ride, and enjoyed the white water rafting when the sun came back out. Campfire discussions were quite animated. The typical topics.
White Water Rafting
So the sun finally came out, and headed off for some on-water adventure. Why were the biggest 2 guys in our group acting like the biggest punks? The biggest one, was so scared, he couldn't shut up! Just talking mess, not listening to instructions... we didn't have a full boat, but we made sure that scardy-cat didn't make it onto our boat. Nor the other guy. Good thing we didn't, he fell in twice.
Now our boat had 5 folks in it, so they put two guides in our boat. One guide had 14 years of experience. The other girl was new. She said she a guide last year, uh huh, yeah, whatever. This chick got us STUCK on EVERY single rock that we were supposed to miss. Of course, I was sitting in the front seat, and I started calling out ahead of time, watch us get stuck on that rock right there. Sure 'nough... I called it every time. Our boat never lost anyone, so at least she was able to do keep us all in the boat.
Before we got in, I told the guide that I wanted to hit a kayaker. Not to be mean, it's just that when you're in a 7 person raft, you cannot maneuver the thing to avoid a very agile kayaker. Kayaks know, the rafts have the right of way if they are up stream. An idle kayaker in the travel lane is roadkill. They should rest on the bank of the river. The second rapid we hit, we came real close to hitting one. I had to take my oar out the water to avoid smacking him in the head (tempting). I was thinking my goal was not going to be achieved. Then we reached the last rapid. A kayaker was apparently having a little difficulty getting enougy power to get himself unstuck. The way some of the rapids work, the water may run backwards, forming a swell, trapping victims who navigate poorly. So our raft came, and hit him dead on right on his back! He should thank us, it was just the push he needed to unwedge himself. Don't worry, no one got hurt.
I forgot what it's called, but kayakers can get turned upside down, and their head can be rattled & pulled down into a swell that is several feet under the surface. So there are two huge rocks with a gap in between with water rushing between them. If the kayker doesn't have enough force to upright himself, his gets rattled like a bell inbetween the rocks, stuck in the swell. Yes, a horrible way to die. One time, I saw someone stuck in that position. I noticed the kayak upside down for several seconds. Suddenly, he uprighted him self, gasping for air, scareed... it was a kid. I'll still to rafting, leave the kayaking to the more adventurous folks.
Off-Roading
I have a precious ride (to me). Designed to rule the highways! Supercharged Grand Prix GTP. On my way up to the campsite, the paved roads disappear. So of course, I tread slowly & carefully. Then there's this one spot... trail intersects a stream... my ride apparently was not going slow enough to avoid scraping the underside of the front of the car. **OUCH* *ARRGGHHH* I felt every cm of pain that my car felt. It lasted for several hours. On the way back, I tread even more slowly to avoid the same fate. Didn't work. This time I scraped the underside of the back of the car, probably my exhausts. *ARRGGHH* I'm feeling the pain again, just thinking about it.
Just Chill
OK, so my name seems like it's very inappropriate me, because I'm never sitting around, doing nothing for long. To me, it's more of a chill mindset. I hardly ever get high-sprung, or overly animated. No matter what I do, I have a laid-back style of doing it. So I plan on chillin' somewhere, doing something with a chill style, every few weeks or so.
posted by Jez Chill @ 6:23 PM
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