I have had a serious lack of activity since being here, a combination of being busy and adapting to a new environment. I don’t really have a good excuse as I could run, join a gym or yoga – before work – but I simply hate mornings with a passion usually reserved only for people who kick puppies and steal candy from kids (those guilty only one of the two getting a stern disapproving glare). So I’ve been very sedative other than the occasional evening dancing. Hence I have been starting to go a bit stir-crazy, starting to climb the proverbial walls as it were...except that that is a very dangerous state for me to be in because well, I am a climber. Have climbing gear, have walls, am bored...
So we’re sitting around last Sunday, shooting the shit in the afternoon, me, my housemate Sonia, her in-laws and our neighbour David. David it turns out is locked out of his house. A few hours go by and he is still locked out. He drops into the kitchen, checking the balcony to see about getting out to his balcony next door as the door is open. He doesn’t go for it. But of course the idea intrigues me. “I’ll go”, I say. I’ve got the gear sitting here, gathering dust, why the hell not. Which is how 10 minutes later, geared up, I’m on belay clambering across the outside of the building. Truth be told, it was neither a long nor particularly challenging traverse: 
the hardest part was fighting to move aside the surprisingly firm palm tree in the middle and the belay and harness was definitely overkill, but since it was the 4th floor safety first! It was a great joy just to be moving again. Can’t just stop there – I’ve got the shoes on after all – so I do a second short climb up to the roof, again very basic, but a nice little stem for 3 moves before calling it quits. Anything more ambitious would require a full rope, peaking in people’s windows and the high likelihood of someone calling the police.
So we’re sitting around last Sunday, shooting the shit in the afternoon, me, my housemate Sonia, her in-laws and our neighbour David. David it turns out is locked out of his house. A few hours go by and he is still locked out. He drops into the kitchen, checking the balcony to see about getting out to his balcony next door as the door is open. He doesn’t go for it. But of course the idea intrigues me. “I’ll go”, I say. I’ve got the gear sitting here, gathering dust, why the hell not. Which is how 10 minutes later, geared up, I’m on belay clambering across the outside of the building. Truth be told, it was neither a long nor particularly challenging traverse: 
the hardest part was fighting to move aside the surprisingly firm palm tree in the middle and the belay and harness was definitely overkill, but since it was the 4th floor safety first! It was a great joy just to be moving again. Can’t just stop there – I’ve got the shoes on after all – so I do a second short climb up to the roof, again very basic, but a nice little stem for 3 moves before calling it quits. Anything more ambitious would require a full rope, peaking in people’s windows and the high likelihood of someone calling the police. It turned into a nice diversion for a Sunday afternoon and amused the whole group for a bit. I really do need to find a more constructive outlet, but in the meantime, it has got me thinking and there are so many interesting buildings around… ;-D
1 comment:
I love it!
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