Voting

I have never exercised my right to vote in the United States of America.

I am deeply ashamed of this. I can think up a lot of excuses as to why I didn't vote - I was never registered in Illinois (I hung on to my Maryland driver's license the entire time I lived in Chicago), my vote would've meant little in a state that is already very liberal and was voting for its own Senator into the White House - but the truth is I was lazy and unmotivated to participate in our election process. There are only a handful of moments I truly, 100% regret in my life, and throwing away two opportunities to vote is definitely in that handful. 

I'm happy to say that my voting dry-streak will end this year. I have been following the 2016 election more closely than ever - tuning into debates, donating to campaigns, and making hella sure that I am registered to vote at the Colorado DMV. I have also been learning about the intricacies of how caucuses and primaries and delegates and the electoral college work. My conclusion: the election system in the United States is like a complicated board game that someone made up, Ben-Wyatt-The-Cones-of-Dunshire-style. Everyone agrees it's stupidly arcane but we seem powerless to change it. Why is that?

The candidate that I support the most right now is Bernie Sanders. Even though he and Hillary share many of the same stances, I feel that he is more trustworthy because his funding comes from millions of individuals, not individual super PACs with millions. I also feel that Bernie is more authentic in his views and has remained steadfast in them over his long tenure as a senator (with a notable exception in his views towards gun control), whereas Hillary panders to the masses and seems to go with whatever is the opinion du jour.

Then again, I don't think Bernie is the be-all, end-all candidate. I prefer him to Hillary, but if he doesn't win the nomination, I will vote for Hillary. I want to remember that the media and news sources I consume, which are very Bernie-weighted (I'm looking at you, Reddit), tend to sensationalize the little details and promote divisive opinions. Bernie the socialist. Hillary's e-mail scandal. Carson the nut job. Trump the fascist. 

I want to make sure that all of my friends and family who are eligible to vote will be casting their ballots this year, especially those who might feel the way I did the way I once did, that my vote didn't matter. Yesterday's Iowa's caucus showed us that it's an exciting time for the Democrats and I can't wait to see how things unfold in the coming months. 

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.