Update

I've been up to quite a bit since I've last updated... Where to begin? October- Climbing! I was invited, along with the entire class, by a professor to come to Pipeworks and try rock climbing. Incredibly nervous as I sat in the car, I was then surprised to see only one other person show up- my friend Katie! We both were instantly hooked and, needless to say, it's my new passion. Pipeworks is a second home and where I go to let loose and feel my best. I love the act, the art, the movement... everything associated with climbing. I am in it for the long haul. I'm addicted to progress and to the joy of it all.

November- After some prodding by my best friend(thanks, man!), I agreed to a blind date with someone who, two separate people assured me, I'd adore. And, lo and behold, I did! 11/11/11, Tower Cafe, Sacramento, CA. A slightly awkward introduction (no doubt made more awkward because it was immediately preceded by my walking up to the wrong women and smiling, thinking that it was Nahdxyeli), and we were off and running! For that hour Nahdxyeli and I ate very little and conversed quite a lot, and from the time I dropped her off I knew(read: hoped) that there would be something there... The very next day I anxiously returned her phone call, only to realize that I couldn't go jogging with her on the day she had hoped. That next night, though, I sucked it up enough to ask her if she'd be willing to hang out a bit. We did, we talked, we laughed, we spoke of our relative (dis)comfort about getting immediately into a relationship (which, of course, temporarily shot my spirits), but we shared a very light yet incredibly intimate kiss before she had to leave, and we've been arm-in-arm ever since! I love her, and I hope that we continue to make each other feel as happy and secure as we do now.

School- Philosophy? Music? Geography? Double Major? Triple Major? Drop out and travel the world? .... I'm still figuring it out, 130 units later, but, mostly due to rising tuition costs and a growing apathy toward the education system as a whole, I will likely be graduating in the Spring of 2013 with a B.A. in Geography (emphasis: GIS and land use planning) with a minor (though I'd love it to be my second major) in Philosophy. I've made some wonderful friends in the Philosophy Club, though, and hope to keep that bond even as I drift back toward my other major and plan to leave CSUS.

And now that the graduation mark has been pushed up, I really, deeply need to get all of my shit together this summer and figure out internship and volunteer/tutoring opportunities for the next year so that, if I still wish to do the Peace Corps come the year or two after school, I'll be ready to apply. Then again, I have no idea what I'm doing in a month, so why invest too much into next year just yet? I've come closer to adopting a 'one day at a time' approach, and have noticed my anxiety levels drop to nearly zero. Take that, life! Bishop- I've been to Bishop, CA (a notorious climbing mecca on the West Coast) for the express purposes of climbing twice now, but my most recent trip was a very special one. I went down with some friends and Nahdxyeli, played in the snow, saw petroglyphs, camped, hung out around the fire and messed around on the slack line, soaked in natural hot springs, saw bats, and climbed 'till my arms and fingers hurt and bled. I really hope to make it down again before it gets too hot... perhaps a two-day trip in early-mid June to the Buttermilks or the Druids (where it'll be a bit cooler...).

Food and health- I've recently gone vegan and have doubled my daily water intake, and am loving the effects. I am by far in a state much healthier than I've ever been, and am climbing harder and running much easier than I ever have been able to in the past. Yosemite and STF!- I've continued my volunteer work for Save the Frogs!, namely at the Oakland Zoo for their Action for Animals event, and most recently in Yosemite National Park as a participant in Save the Frogs Day! I'm loving the work the STF! does, and have grown more out of my shell as of late, my confidence level rising and my inability to speak outwardly and openly to a public audience is slowly diminishing. I hope to continue volunteering in the future and spreading awareness of the amphibian extinction crisis. www.savethefrogs.com