It's On Like Donkey Kong

This is not why I started this post but, I found this spectacular quote and I feel that it fits. "As long as you have the blessing of your parents it does not matter even if you live in the mountains." This, I think, is the Harrington Boy Mantra. We chant this to ourselves as we fall asleep at night and hope that whatever intelligent Ancient Greek who uttered these words was correct.

I have not written in a long time and there is really no reason other than nothing much has been going on . . . well, that all has changed I spent a weekend in New York with my oldest brother and Sarah B. The pictures above are from the ornithology lab where the three of us had a really nice time watching the musk-rats, turtles, frogs, and the green heron. We burned some wood, played boccie, I almost broke my thumb falling off my bike, and then I drove home. My brother and sister in-law are the best hosts ever and if you have not been to see them yet . . . well shame on you.

So now for the news. I know that a lot of you thought that I would never leave, well you're in luck, I'm out. I officially leave this Thursday for Thessaloniki, arrive on Friday, spend the weekend writing lesson plans, go to meetings on Monday and Tuesday, then start school on Wednesday! Kind of a ridiculous schedule, but hey what's the worst that could happen?

So you might be wondering, "Where will Ian be storing his mundane daily experiences and pages of his sub-par stories?" Well fear not! I will be returning to the other blog page www.tchgreek.blogspot.com. So that is where you will find my sophisticated spew. Until we meet again.

Ian

West Virginia, New York, Chicago, and finally the traveling man return home for a stay.

The Gateway

Cooling Off

All the buildings are super tall.

Lion Sculpture

This is the wall at the end of the evolution exhibit at the natural history museum.

Well it has been a while again, but I finally have a minute to sit back and lay down another pretentious bit of blogging poetry. I left the great WV about two weeks ago now though it seems longer for sure. The time spent there was wonderful; climbing, working, and hangin out on the porch. I was able to catch up with a load of old friends while working my butt off and climbing hard. I wish I had been able to spend some more time down there but as it is I am stoked about the time I did have.

I came back to Ohio to start on the job process . . . oh yeah . . . not everybody knows I suppose. I received and accepted a job offer from Greece, so I will be headed overseas in a few weeks. I am very excited and looking forward to another positive experience. Which also reminds me; there will be a big party at my parents house on the 9th of August, this Saturday. It will start around five and everyone is invited. Afterwards I am going to go to Thursday's in Akron to get my dance on. Please stop by if you have the opportunity.

So I went from Ohio to New York to visit Keith and Sarah which was very nice and then I went with my cousin Cory to Chicago to my "local" Greek Embassy. The whole experience was a bit surreal as I once more found myself in an international hostel and among Greeks at the consulate. Chicago was pretty cool a beautiful city and the Natural History Museum was super cool. I think Cory had a good time, but he does not give away much . . . he didn't complain so that is a start. The pics from above are from Chicago so enjoy.

Now I am back at the rents hangin out riding, climbing, and meeting up with old friends. Post a comment or get in touch; I would love to see people before i leave.

Peace Love and Happiness
ian

"Wrinkle not thy sable brow at me, my friend. All will be known to you at last. To you as to every man." -The Judge-

More New Pictures

I found this little guy in my bed when I came home this morning.

I like the parallel nature of this picture

Rob and I went to this really beautiful area called Fern Creek. The rain has made the waters really high and the waterfall is huge.

I like the lighting in this picture.

The Time Sucking Vortex of West Virginia

The rodo's are in bloom all across the gorge.

The bridge is pretty impressive if you have never seen it before.

I like it when pictures take themselves.

Do you think they will sponsor me?

Andy hitting the matte and the coffee; it was a rough morning.

Time is moving so fast I can hardly keep up these days. I am still super busy at work and I am climbing almost every day. I one hung a 12d yesterday and I on-sighted a couple of mid 11's the other day; so, climbing is back to normal. The weather down here has been pretty spotty but I live in a trailer so it does not matter much. Adam inquired about the blue bus and while it is not for rent, it is however finished on the inside so we might have a dance party before I leave for Ohio; which is coming in hot by the way. There is no real news besides that, well . . . we won't go there yet.

Peace love and happiness,
Ian

Home Sweet Home

This is some crazy mold that I found out at the Second Pull-off.

The breakfast table.

Our lawn ornament.

Robby cooking up a storm after a day of climbing.

My bedroom.

The guiding gear.

The single-wide in all it's glory.

Well, things are going well down in the beautiful WV; the weather is perfect, the climbing is superb, and the people are as interesting as ever. I am working a lot; I have 12 trips from here to the end of the month, but the house is only a ten minute walk from the crag so Rob and I have been going out in the evenings to get in a couple of solid pitches. No real news though, things are quiet and the trips are going smooth. Have fun wherever you are and keep in touch.

peace love and happiness
ian

Country Love

Well back into the swing safe and sound. I had my firs trip of the season today and things went well. Everyone is happy to see me and equally as happy with my cleaner appearance; my boss especially. I also went climbing for the first time really since Kalymnos; unfortunately, I fell off of a climb called Legacy 5.11a and I have done it a thousand times before. It was kind of a good thing though, I now know where I stand and where I have to go; up, hopefully.

I also slept in the trailer last night. You will all be pleased to hear that it does not leak, I have my own room, it is very clean, and there is no mold. I have not had a chance to snap any photos in the day time, but I will get on that asap and get those out. Everyone is invited, just give me a heads up. That's all I got tonight, nothing too exciting. Keep in touch and have fun.

peace love and happiness
ian

Packing

well here we go again. as i find it difficult to sit still in one place for too long i am headed off for another romp in the beauty that is the new river gorge. i am headed back to the new in order to continue my stint as a climbing guide with hard rock climbing. i am looking forward to meeting up with a load of old friends and getting back into climbing shape; though i have my doubts about the outcome of the latter of my two goals, it should be a wonderful time.

though i have not packed and i am supposed to leave tomorrow morning at the break of dawn, i have confidence that i will preform well under-pressure and the car will be ready to go by morning. my first trip of the season will be tuesday morning which gives me a day to settle into my five star digs; that's right folks, i'm moving up. Rob has offered me a spot in his upscale west virginia double wide; i actually don't know if it is a double-wide, it could be a single-wide who knows. at any rate it should be fun.

for those of you who have any vested interest in my future well being . . . well . . . i cannot tell you anything about it as i have no idea myself, so there you have it . . .

my goal is to paste a load of pictures on this site and be climbing hard again before i leave the new. pray to zeus for me (he controls rain and lightning) so that i will have good work and climbing conditions and check in often.

oh and since west virginia's tourist motto is "Wild and Wonderful", i took some artistic license to make my title.

peace love and happiness
ian