I got new stuff. Lots of new stuff. Plenty of fodder for posting in the future. For now you should know that in the last couple of months I got a new TiVo, an iPhone, climbing shit, rollers, and today, the big purchase of 2008, a new MacBook. The box was cute and small. They emailed me my receipt (which caused my iPhone to buzz with delight as I was walking out the front door of the Apple Store). Moments after firing it up, my new mac was already performing a full system backup, wirelessly, to my Apple Time Machine. Brenda’s getting my MacBook Pro as soon as I get everything off of it and do a fresh install, and I’m psyched to be an all-Apple house once and for all (and I’m hopeful that the new graphics on the MacBooks will be adequate for my needs; for now, I’m pretty delighted with the keyboard, the form factor, and the new-to-me version of OS X).

The nice thing about learning to climb at the Boulder Rock Club is that the place is so packed with awesome climbers that you never, ever get it in your head that you are even in the same league as these people. Today Brenda & I were at the gym and I was totally mesmerized by these two women and one guy in particular. Muscle and tendon rippled underneath a thin veil of skin, with not a gram of body fat to be seen. These people owned the walls and I was totally amazed by their talents. At one point I must have said something like “holy fucking shit, look at her go!”, because some dude standing near Brenda & me said that the woman on the wall was one of the top female climbers in the country. It sorta makes you feel better about your own lack of ability when you hear that; at least you know you’re looking at the high-water mark of climbing ability, so you don’t feel so bad about your own lack of form or skill. It’s like everything else aerobic in Boulder; no matter how good you get, there’s someone about to pass you who makes it all look so easy.