Review: The Martian by Andy Weir (no spoilers)

I recently finished reading The Martian by Andy Weir. If you haven't heard of the book or its movie adaptation starring Matt Damon by now, you must have been living under a rock, or perhaps on Mars, like our protagonist Mark Watney.

The Martian is about a misfortunate astronaut who gets left behind by his crew mates on Mars. He is the only breathing, living thing on the red planet and his chances of returning home are not very good. You'd think that the author, Andy Weir, would have spent some time really taking us through Watney's mental journey - his loneliness, his fears, him missing his parents (who weren't mentioned until like a third of the way into the book), and all the other terrifying and depressing thoughts that come with being marooned on another planet. But no, there's almost none of that; Weir affords Watney very little page-time to indulge in his feelings or his reflections. Instead, the book is written like a mechanical diary of events that take place and how Mark applies his engineering/botany/defecating skills to fix the situation, punctuated by funny, sarcastic remarks ("I'm a space pirate!") that read more like top voted reddit comments than the gritty sentiments of a hopeless survivalist. It took me a little while to get used to this writing style and there were definitely times when I felt frustrated by the lack of character development, but it did allow the story to focus more on the action. And there is quite a lot of action.

I had already watched the movie by the time I picked up the book so I pretty much knew what was going to happen plot-wise. For a novel that was so focused on the math, physics and chemistry of how Mark Watney outsmarted his life-threatening situation du jour, or rather du sol, it was a surprisingly approachable and light read. In retrospect, I think that's because seeing the movie, hearing the dumbed-down explanations by a grinning Matt Damon, and having a good visual really helped me follow what was going on, even through the more technical parts.

What I loved most about the book (and the movie) though was how realistic Weir made life on Mars out to be. His meticulous research paid off in the little details of the novel, in particular with his descriptions of the the advanced space technology that NASA had developed for the trip. I've been getting into watching space movies and videos for a while now so reading about a manned experience on Mars was extra thrilling and made me all the more psyched that in a generation or two, we will hopefully have made human contact with the red planet.

I recommend The Martian if you like anything survivalist or space-themed. Enjoy the ride of the events and don't go in with expectations around profound character development. And hey, I'd be lying if I said the last few pages didn't manage to tease out a tear or two, so the book isn't entirely without its poignant moments. Just be prepared for space poop jokes along the way.

Climbing

One of my favorite hobbies is rock climbing. I have been climbing off-and-on for almost three years now and recently have been enjoying it to the point where I think I’d happily climb every single day if my schedule and body allowed it.

When I first started climbing, I was not particularly keen on the activity or interested in its mechanics. Getting up the wall was challenging and somewhat fun, but that was pretty much the extent of my enjoyment as a climber. And after I caused a belaying incident (where thankfully nobody was injured but everyone’s nerves were really shaken), I was absolutely terrified to belay anybody ever again and I refused to do so for months afterwards. If that wasn’t enough, I also felt uncomfortable with heights. Sometimes I’d get to the top of my route and I would be afraid to let go. I’d have to shout to my partner, “You got me?” and they’d respond “Yep, gotcha!” and I’d say “Are you sure?” and they’d say “Positive!” and I’d say “I’m so scared!” and they’d say “Let go of the damn wall already!”. This was top roping, not even lead climbing (where falling does have more risk). So yeah. I began my climbing journey scared shitless of belaying and scared slightly less shitless of climbing itself.

Over the years, as I learned from much more experienced climbers, I started to get a better grasp of the physics involved, both as a belayer and a climber. The boy and I bought a GriGri device which is designed to auto-lock, i.e. be idiot-proof, and that helped a lot with my confidence as a belayer. We also watched climbing videos on YouTube to learn common techniques and would excitedly practice them at the gym the next time. At the peak of our routine, we were climbing three times a week. With every route, it got easier to trust the rope, trust myself, and trust my partner. My brain slowly rewired itself into being more comfortable with letting go of the wall. And the more my fear and discomfort subsided, the better I could focus on how damn awesome it felt to be doing moves or completing routes that once appeared impossibly scary. I still remember feeling incredulous the first time I did a pull-up. I felt like I was having my own personal Peter-Parker-the-morning-after-that-radioactive-spider-injected-him-with-super-human-strength moment. 

I took an extended break from climbing for a lot of 2015 to focus on marathon training/moving to Denver but started it up again towards the end of the year. I'm now going at least once a week to maintain my strength and am hoping to get back into the 3 times a week schedule. I also started to ask my friends and family to join me. I loved showing them the ropes (literally) and seeing their thoughts change from “No way in hell am I doing that” to “Wow! I got all the way up there!” I went recently with a friend for her first time climbing and she loved it so much that she wanted to go again the next day. I was elated (and happily obliged, of course.)

In the grand scheme of things, I am still very much a novice at climbing. There’s so much to learn still. And there are always harder routes to try and techniques to master. I’m happy to have found an activity that I enjoy so much and that I can experience with others. It’s become my favorite way to spend a long afternoon on the weekends, or a couple of hours after a workday. And it’s one of those rare activities that you can do with friends on a regular basis that doesn’t need to involve alcohol (although a cold beer after a few hours of climbing tastes incredible!). And it’s something you can take outside, too. I could go on and on... but at the end of the day, climbing is the perfect intersection of a mental, physical, social, and fun activity. If you haven’t tried it, definitely give it a go. And take me with you.

2015 report card and 2016 resolutions

In 2015, I resolved to:

1.) Stop working so much.

I think I did okay in this area. I still put in many hours and got ridiculously stressed by work at times. But looking back, I think the bigger intent of the resolution was to not let my job take over my life and to start looking for meaning and goals outside of my career. This year I certainly took some strides in that direction, mainly through the move to Denver, which was entirely a lifestyle-driven decision and one that involved me resigning from ThoughtWorks at one point - luckily, we were able to work things out and I'm still with the company (and very happy to still be a ThoughtWorker). In 2015 I also took on new types of challenging work both for my clients and internally within the company, so I feel good about that and I want to continue pushing myself out of my comfort zone. B.

2.) Find and promote females who are doing awesome things, including reading 8 books by female authors this year.

I read 6 books authored by women last year. They were:

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling's pen name)
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein

Reflecting back, choosing to read books written by women seemed like a good idea in theory but was a strange and to some degree, uncomfortable resolution in practice. I felt more restricted by it than like I was learning or hearing more about women. I think that a better way to go about this is to pick some genres and to read books about women or women's issues, of which only Lean In and The Invention of Wings focused on (and to some degree, Mindy Kaling's book). I suspect most of those would be authored by women as well, and would yield more meaningful results.

In terms of supporting women elsewhere, in 2015 I joined an organization called Chicago Books to Women in Prison where I volunteered a few times a month on weekends. As the name describes, the group sends used or donated books to incarcerated women. I encountered upon the organization after reading The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander and finding myself desperately wanting to do something to help out those who are incarcerated. I had a wonderful time volunteering with CBWP and organized a book drive in our ThoughtWorks Chicago office. I miss the group of volunteers there - I need to find something like that to get involved in here in Denver! See this year's resolutions. B.

3.) Run a marathon.

I did this! And without injury or being completely turned off from running (though I did take a nice two-month break from running afterwards). A+.

In 2016, I resolve to:

Read and write more. In 2015 I read and blogged less than I ever have before, especially in the latter half of the year. I grew to view both activities as chores rather than hobbies. Much easier to turn on Netflix and veg out to an episode of Dexter. I also feel like as I am growing older, the range of what I blog about is very much narrowing into just the realm of accomplishments and vacations - I used to blog more about recipes, movies and books, restaurants, or just whatever the hell was on my mind. I miss the pleasure of reading for fun and writing or showcasing goofy things in this blog. I resolve to read 12 books this year and to blog at least 3 times a month in 2016.

Make friends & get involved in the Denver area. Okay, let me just say that making friends in your late 20's is weird and difficult. Without some consistent activity or classes to bring you together, it can be really hard to summon the time and energy to form a meaningful relationship with someone you barely know. While we have gotten plenty of social interaction from friends coming in town, I don't want to rely on out-of-state friends as an excuse not to make new ones here in Denver. This year, I definitely want to get more plugged in to my new home town - joining a run club, or finding another volunteer position, or even making myself a regular at the neighborhood bar - and to make some local connections.

Just two resolutions this time, and approximately a million others floating around in my head that I'd probably like to get done but don't necessarily want to commit to. 2015 was an awesome year for me and I think 2016 will be even better. Life is good!