kicking it old skool

Deals where made, and broken. Goals where set and met. No prisoners where taken.

Highlights: SQL 2005 upgrade project; the Download festival; birthdays birthdays birthdays; the Three Peaks challenge; discovering (and pushing beyond) my own physical, spiritual and mental limits; reconciliation of old fears, thoughts and perceptions; burying of ye olde hatchet; making new lifelong friends.

Lowlights: realizing, yet again, I’m only human (meh); trying too damn hard to “fix” things; unleashing my ego and letting it run rampant(!); wanting things that I cannot possibly have; subjecting myself to control dramas I should have spotted a mile away (had I not been running after afore mentioned ego).

Bad puppy…sit, heel.

So yes, June was, without a doubt, one of the most amazing, hectic and fun months I’ve had since we’ve been here. Heck, maybe even for as long as I can remember! I was initially going to blog about each thing we did but instead I feel that the whole experience rather than the microcosm of each event means so much more for me.

One write up I feel is worth mentioning is around the Three Peaks Challenge, and since many folks have asked “WTF”, I’m going to shamelessly copy and paste it here. This was written by our fearless leader, who pretty much set everything up, organized the routes, navigated and was just an all round super-fucking-hero. If it came down to a fight, I’d want him having my back:

"We set out from our Hotel in Betws-y-Coed, Wales at 06:30am on Saturday with heavy rain and thunder forecast across the UK. Snowdon passed without major incident providing us with cool, dry conditions. The summit lay in cloud from 600m, so we missed out on the spectacular views during the climb. We were overtaken by several competing teams on the way to the summit who were running to complete the mountain stage of their event before a 20km cycle and canoe race to finish. We didn't envy the competitors trying to reach the top in less than an hour and a half! We completed the first of our peaks in a time of three hours and forty minutes, bringing us 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Having stocked up with a hot meal, we set off for the Lake District in our 17 seater minibus with a speed limiter to 60Mph! A traffic jam on the A55 cost us 35 minutes of valuable time, but the journey on the M6 gave us no further delays.

Arriving at Scafell around early evening, the team seemed focused and determined to make it back to level ground before nightfall. Conditions remained dry but we were slowed by the slippery conditions and poor visibility. Upon hearing the words 'Marshall's at the top', Mike mistakenly heard 'Marshmallow's at the top' and was off like a greyhound out of a trap disappearing into the cloud. Finally catching up with Mike & Steve Harland, we were persuaded to take the 'right fork'. Half an hour later, we found ourselves scrambling up a steep rocky climb, with some anxious faces around. A quick check of the map & compass then we were back on track towards the summit. Reaching the summit just before 20:00, we paused for a quick photo before our mission to get back before nightfall. Scafell Pike: Three hours and twenty minutes.

We reached Ben Nevis at around 04:30. By this stage, we were all very tired and bleary eyed and stumbled out of the bus. Most of us had been rudely awoken earlier by a near miss with a stag (the animal, not a drunken Scottish groom) in the road through the Highlands! A quick breakfast & we were off. Someone must have told Mike that there were cakes waiting at the top as once again, Mike & Steve disappeared off into the cloud. In our haste to begin the last climb, we had turned off too early and realized that we had parked at the Visitor Centre and not the Glen Nevis YHA as planned. This set us back about 20 minutes, but the team remained undeterred and determined to make up some lost time. A couple of injuries and sheer fatigue saw a couple of the team head back to the bus early for a mug of tea and a snooze. Climbing Ben Nevis was certainly the toughest of the three, and the climb with poor visibility seemed to last forever. Reaching the final section revealing snow and a brief glimpse of sunshine, we received confirmation that Mike, Steve, Gerhard & Vinny had reached the summit just after 07:30.. With 20 minutes to spare for our 24 hour challenge! Seeing the end in sight the remaining members pushed on to the summit. A quick photo & we were on our way back. Ben Nevis: Five hours, five minutes. “

So there you have it. Epic cannot even begin to describe the experience. In total, we raised well over £4000 for the NRAS! So, pretty stoked about that.

On reconciliation: I really, well and truly feel like another chapter in my life has been closed and a new one has started. And the exact moment it happened was about 3 weeks ago. Beefcake and I went to go see Pirates of the Caribbean and while strolling home we just started chatting. And chatting. And then a pint, and more chatting. More pint, etc.

It was the last piece in the puzzle for me. The final checkbox on some weird list of things I needed to get off my chest (and vice versa). After that night, everything has been different. Why it’s relevant is because we’ve known each other for going on 20 years. We’ve seen some shit! And what was funny, is how after all this time, we can still totally misunderstand each other! But it’s all in the mix of the lessons we had to learn.

And learn them we did.

So what’s next? In the near future, we’re gonna go check out Turkey, maybe for a Formula 1 race. I’ve started hitting the gym again, after a 6 month leave of absence. I look forward to a pepperoni pizza at my favorite Italian joint.

What’s next?

Don’t rightly know. But I’m gonna just let it happen.

[G], out

the love of the loveless