Nine Days Til Lift Off

Holy cow, I can't believe it's getting so close! Bikram yoga teacher training in Acapulco begins on Sunday, September 14th. I'm leaving at the crack of dawn on Saturday. Then a 13 hour flying day to get there. No problem it will give me time to study more dialog. I have 26 postures to memorize and I'm only on #14.
I just got back from the most incredible climbing trip to Tuolumne Meadows near Yosemite Valley in CA. I met John over there and we squeezed in one more climbing trip before I leave next Saturday. What a place!!! Crisp, sunny skies and pristine, perfect granite cracks! We would wake up to 37 degrees (in August!) and it would warm up to perfect climbing weather. Oh, and the fact that it's one of the most breathtakingly beautiful places on the planet doesn't hurt the experience either.
My last climb, and one I'll relive again and again, was a 5.9 crack that I led, called "Super Chicken". It was old school ratings (hard for the grade) and was PUMPY and hideously HARD!! I was sweating bullets all the way up and working like a dog. A really steep, hand crack. At the top, after 120 feet of burley climbing, I was greeted with a super sketchy, thin exit move to the anchors. Tiny, dicey and balancy. I thought I was gonna die! By the time I got to the anchor I was literally shaking! It was so amazingly awesome! When we got back to the van, around 7:00 PM, we just sat there wasted and exhausted and quaffed a cold beer to celebrate another great day on the rocks. Pushing myself silly makes me happy. What can I say?? I thought I would mellow with age like everyone else I know (except you Janet, I love ya!), but, hmmmmm... I'm still waiting for the mellowing phase of my life. Maybe when I'm 90. Or maybe not. Anyway, that could be the attraction to this 9 week yoga boot camp. I think of it as personal growth.
Whatever, Bikram yoga teacher training is my thing and it's happening. I know cause I've already paid for it and it costs a ton of money. Nothing says reality like money spent, know what I mean? I'm excited and afraid at the same time. Two classes a day 5 days a week, one class each Saturday. Oh, and did I mention class is 90 minutes of challenging (?!) postures in a 105 degree plus room? Learning over 40 pages of dialog verbatim, posture clinics, lectures, etc. etc. I can't wait to immerse myself in this stuff.
A quick thank you to Jenn Steff of Seattle who blogged during the spring teacher training. She was such an inspiration. Every morning I'd wake up excited to read her daily blog entry. She was so helpful with her list of "things to bring" and just talking about the day to day happenings at training, so the readers would know what to expect. Thanks Jenn, and I hope to meet you someday. I do go to Seattle occasionally.
I have a list a mile long of things that Jenn suggested to bring. I am going to start shopping today. I also have to make sure that the needs of the guide service and the shop are taken care of, since I won't be able to even care what happens to any of it for 9 weeks! First Ascent Climbing Services and Redpoint Climbers Supply are our businesses. Luckily, it is off season for the guide service and John will be here to deal with Redpoint issues.
My daughter Kristen just texted me that my grandbaby Aaron took his first steps today. Yay for Aaron! He's on his way ~ lookout world!