I <3 hiking.

You folks out there must be thinking, "What? Three posts in a single calendar month? Someone get a hold of this man and throw him in the looney bin, because that's not the Matt Barham I know!" What can I say - I'm living dangerously these days.

...which would explain why I have multiple cuts on my hands and legs of jello... but yet I couldn't feel better!

Let me back up. When I realized I'd have some extra time on my hands this week, I thought I'd go hiking around Pilot Mountain but didn't get around to it until this morning. And let me tell you, this was the worst job of preparation I've ever done for a hike: I failed to check the weather, which meant I didn't bring my hat or an appropriate rain coat, so of course it rained on me. Then I somehow brought three pairs of uncharged batteries for my camera, so I have exactly zero pictures to show for my efforts, plus my cell phone died on the way up. But I soldiered on despite these disappointing revelations, and proceeded to have a blast. The biggest surprise of the day came when I found a group of hundreds of ladybugs, just chillin' out in the rocks like it was the most natural thing in the world. I dunno about you, but a mountain in 50-degree weather is not where I'd go if I were a ladybug. Not that I often daydream about being a ladybug...

It was nice being out in the rain because, even though I got soaking wet by the end of the morning, nobody else was around. This meant I could have humorous conversations with myself and not worry about weird looks from other hikers, plus I could have a little fun striking poses on the tops of outcroppings and singing goofy renditions of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain." The biggest downside to the rain and fog (besides the obvious) was that I managed to get lost for about 15 minutes because I couldn't find the trail down. Since I was climbing around the knob, which is a circular formation, I figured I'd eventually find the trail back and be on my way. Unfortunately, I missed the trail and didn't know it until I started seeing some familiar formations and trees, at which point I had to backtrack, second-guessing myself every step of the way and unable to re-orient myself because I couldn't see the sun or anything else over 50 feet away. Oh well, I found my way back.

All in all, a good day. Now if I just had some pictures...

Music

I've always thought of myself as someone with eclectic music preferences, but my library mostly consists of classical pieces and movie soundtracks, making my claim of eclecticity dubious at best. But I dug out my Christmas present of music download gift cards, and now I can legitimately claim to like most anything. Here are my selections from last night:

Lose Yourself (from 8Mile)
Eminem
YMCA
Village People
Rock And Roll
Led Zeppelin
You Know My Name (from Casino Royale)
Chris Cornell
My Girl
The Temptations
You've Got A Friend In Me (from Toy Story) Randy Newman
Mad World (from Donnie Darko)
Michael Andrews
Take On Me
a-ha
Flying Theme (from E.T.)
Boston Pops

So there you have it. Rap, oldies, classic rock, 80's synth pop, depressing, uplifting, feel good and contemporary rock, all here. Oh, and YMCA.

Just something light to share with everyone.

Boldness and Control

Just something on my mind as the evening winds down...

Why is the boldest course of action the easiest to envision but the hardest to enact? It's easy enough to think about dropping everything and running off to travel the world, or volunteering for some relief/aid agency in a remote corner of the globe, or telling someone what I really think/feel about him/her, but no, I stay in safety. I tolerate the annoying customer, I smile at the jerk and treat with mere friendliness the girl I want to ask out; I remain with my job, my apartment, my shell.

Is it better to stay this way? I do take pride in my ability to approach most things diplomatically, to rationally examine alternate and opposing thoughts or actions and determine the merits and disadvantages of each. Yet sometimes I feel shackled to civility. Most of the time I'm Spock, and that's fine; I just wanna be Kirk on occasion. I guess it boils down to a desire to express myself honestly to the rest of the world. Perhaps I should maintain the Vulcan commitment to logic and emotional control when I'm talking politics or making decisions and open up more when dealing with matters of the heart.

Well, I suppose that's it for now. I hope to write more often in 2009, so stay tuned!