Orienteering in Cleveland - South Cagrin

Too many mistakes.
Got to event relatively late, at 12:45, and got a start time of 1:08, already 8 minutes past the 1:00 cut-off (they start picking up controls at 2:30 PM).
Didn't have enough time to study the map.

Went to 4, very easy and visible.
Had intention of going to 3, but never saw the side stream.
When I was very close to the road with passing cars, I knew I was totally disoriented, and settled to reach 5 up on the bank of the creek, by an easy trail.
Then, targeted 6, clues said outside of the South corner of clearing (btw: the clues also erroneously say southernmost, and also say in a creek environment: should have just said clearing, outside southern corner)
Got very confused, for some reason, was expecting to see the control, and looked at other corners of clearins and rough opens, must have wasted considerable time on this one. The control was about 5 meters from the edge of the clearing.
Then targeted 8, control was about 10 meters from the trail intersection, in the woods.
Targeted 10, and ran south on the big trail. Just before the bridge, went W on a small trail. Should first have crossed the bridge and continued south to 9 and then backtracked and THEN take the small trail up the hill).
On looking for 10, got very confused and believed that the creek where 10 was south of the trail (it was actually north). Eventually went on the other side of the creek, found a trail, and found (accidentally 12). I knew then that I was making too many mistakes.

My route

I checked the sheet and saw that 11 and 7 up north were each worth only 10 points, and that with all the mistakes I was making, I had to sacrifice them and get to the high pointers on the southern edge of the map. So went to 30 (easy), and then bushwacked SE to 29. Clue said bridge, but control was on a tree at about 5 meters from bridge. I spent time looking at all sides of the bridge and under the bridge, and only 20 seconds later, by looking around, saw the control on the tree.
Went for 26, easy find, this one a 30 pointer, don't know why since it was almost on trail.
Then, went for 23, and found a trail that followed a ravine, and then had to climb up a steep slope. Met Bob "Lightning" Boltz here. Saw the clearing and ran to it. Saw the clue, it says "ruins", but there are no ruins as mapped feature. Found it anyway. Then, with some luck bushwacking, found a small trail that let to 25, a forty pointer, and from there, an easy run to 24.
Continuing on that trail going West, at a small driveway clearing that connected the paved road with the trail, I went straight North, targeting 22. Must have gone slightly NW, because I missed 22. Continuing upstream, found myself on a big trail, that was very close to 21.
Up a steep slope from the creek up the maintenance parking lot, paved road, and reached 20.
Then targeted 19. It looked difficult on the map, with very little mapped features to rely on, and instead I got myself straight into it. The control was actually visible from 60 meters away.
Went NE to a trail and then NW towards 18 (wanted to avoid the swamp between 18 and 19). Found 18 easily, but while clue said on the outside northern edge of the pond, the control was actually 6 meters away from the pond.
Met a guy that said he could not find 17, and asked me if I found it. I said I was going there next. Went NE and reached the trail at the point it makes a curve, and then from there went E (I must have actually gone NE). Saw a side creek, realized it was north of the depression with control 17, and so then turned south and started looking on the side of the other creek. Checked and rechecked, bushwacked and bushwacked, but couldn't find it. Decided to give up, heard the passing cars of the road nearby, decided to go to the road, and then saw the control. It was in another group of depressions about 70 meters south of where they were indicated on the map, on the side of a much bigger creek.
Got to the road, decided I had not much time left, and went for 16, a twenty pointer, easy, I think, since it is a creek bend. There is another guy looking for it, and we just don't see it. I must have spent 10 minutes there, every angle, from the road, from the trails, upstream, downstream, maybe hidden by a rootstock, and I just didn't find it [later, talking to other orienteerers, they said it was actually 30 meters West of the bend centered by the map circle].
At this point, I was really almost out of time, and realized I had no time to reach 12 and 10, both thirty pointer controls which I missed and should have gone earlier. So went for 15 and 14, relatively easy trail running finds, got to the finish with 9 minutes spare, and should have gone to try 12 with those 9 minutes + 4 minutes overtime that would have caused a 6 point penalty: with 13 minutes, I could have found 12 and back, getting 24 points.
Later, talking to other orienteerers, we found the clue of 11 to be misleading: "Northernmost" doesn't really apply here.
Bob Bolts got 390 points, Olga got 379, Others got 360 and 350. I got 340.

The south Cagrin reservation is deeply wooded, with nice beech trees. It just had rained earlier, and with the sun out, the was alot of humidity in the air. Running through the leaves got you wet, but it was warm water, and actually pretty invigorating.

Should have followed this route = 510 points

Sherwood Forest geocacher eulogy

Was at an orienteering meet in northeast ohio, and talking with Bob Bolts about geocaching, he told me about this orienteerer-geocacher that died two years earlier, and about this beautiful eulogy.

--
Good morning. I’m here on behalf of the community of geocachers that was so enriched by Eric’s presence during his time with us. I would like to thank Eric’s family and Reverend McGlawn for giving me the opportunity to talk to you all about how much he meant to us.
There are about 50 of us geocachers here today, coming from several states. I thought I’d better explain to Eric’s other friends who all these people are. The game of geocaching is like a high-tech treasure hunt that we play using our parks and forests as the gameboard. Someone hides a container full of goodies, publishes the latitude and longitude coordinates on a website, and others try to find it using a handheld GPS receiver. Then you can take a present from the cache, and leave something else for the next person to find.

Eric discovered geocaching in 2001, and adopted the online handle of "Sherwood Forest." Eric was not so much “Robin Hood” as he was the “Pied Piper.” By helping people learn the game, by hosting and attending picnic events, and by working with the MetroParks, he helped grow our sport and transformed a scattered bunch of technology geeks into a strong community of friends, as shown by their presence here today. Now, there are more than 3,000 geocaches within 100 miles of this spot – many hidden by him, and which will live on in his memory.

Eric brought a spiritual passion to geocaching that I think also demonstrated his relationship with God. I’d like to think he was inspired by these words from the Gospel of Matthew:

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

Here, Jesus compares the search for God with a search for treasure… and the game of geocaching is about a search for treasure, not only found in little boxes in the woods, but also in the people found along the way. And you know what? God doesn’t hide himself so deep that we can’t find him. He wants for us to search and discover, by joining in games with people such as geocaching. When a geocacher met Eric, it was very easy to see God working through him. SherwoodForest made God a difficulty 1 cache.

Taking a walk in the woods with Eric was a peaceful, quiet experience that many of us had the pleasure to enjoy. One of his friends wrote to me this week about a time when Eric was part of a group of three geocachers who walked silently down a beautiful trail. Finally breaking the silence, Eric said in his best Elmer Fudd voice: “Be vewy, vewy qwiet. I’m hunting Tupperware.” That phrase is now famous among geocachers in Ohio.

Often, Eric would find the geocache before everyone else, and then he would hang back with that half-grin on his face that said “I know where it is,” and watch everyone else search for the hidden cache container. He wrote an internet log in the form of a haiku poem about that:

Round and round they go
Up and down and hither yon
But it’s over there….

Now, the prophet Daniel had different words for this:

"He makes known secrets that are deep and hidden; He knows what is hidden in darkness, and light is all around him."

Eric was an expert at finding hidden things, and I’m not talking just about geocaches. He found the good in people and drew it out of them. If you had a talent for something, he’d encourage you to develop it. If you were a new face at the picnic, he was the person who came up and got to know you, then introduced you around to everyone else. As one of his friends observed this week, Eric was great because he was *always there.*

But now he’s not here! I think so many of us are upset because Eric was taken away from us far too soon. I’m not sure I can say anything to ease that pain. I know that when I heard the news, I needed to go out on a hike where I hollered to God at the top of my lungs from the middle of the woods, asking why this happened, until I noticed that some deer were staring at me with a look on their face that said “this hiker dude is CRAZY.”

I will try to use a geocaching phrase to try to provide some comfort. The phrase is, “It’s not about the numbers,” and it’s used to criticize people who find too many geocaches too quickly, like it’s a contest instead of just a nice way to enjoy God’s great outdoors. Psalm 90 says,

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

So yes, a life was cut short if you measure the days. But it’s not about counting how many days you live, it’s about making your days count… living each one of them to the fullest. It’s not about the numbers. And for Eric, it wasn’t about the number of geocaches and boy, did he live his number of days to the fullest. He was still finding geocaches just four weekends ago.

I would like to ask all the people here today who run around in the woods, taking and leaving meaningless trinkets held in little boxes, to do Eric two favors. The first is to think about numbering our days aright. Psalm 39 provides another helpful reminder to keep our numbers in perspective like Eric did:

"Lord, tell me when the end will come and how long I will live. Let me know how long I have. You have given me only a short life; my lifetime is like nothing to You. Everyone’s life is only a breath. People are like shadows moving about. All their work is for nothing; they collect things but don’t know who will get them. So, Lord, what hope do I have? You are my hope."

The second favor I’d like to ask of you is to keep finding geocaches, starting today. Eric would be really, really upset if you wasted a beautiful fall day like today being sad on his account. How convenient, he set up a geocache that’s a walking tour of Warren. It begins right here at his church. He could have shown us his hometown by beginning at the library or the school or the town hall, but he chose his church. That tells you what was important to him. So please join me after the service to find that geocache and enjoy a nice day outdoors. The name of the geocache is “A Walk Down Millionaire’s Row.” Today we are all millionaires, having been enriched by knowing Eric Sherwood. I look forward to taking that walk with you, and then writing about my story at our website. I know that just this once, Eric won’t mind if we all end our logs by stealing his trademark phrase:

Cache Well, and See You ‘Round the Bend.

the secret emails revealed

... was at a local library and logged into one of their computers to check email, when, voila', I got access into a user's account who must have used that PC earlier.

here is a summary of the "personals":

---
One, I wanted to see if you wanted to do anything this weekend,
either tomorrow or come over for dinner on Saturday?

Second, Vanessa broke her right ankle last week and is looking for
someone to drive her to and from work...and she thought that you
might be interested. She needs someone who can drive a stick shift,
and I told her that I wasn't sure what your schedule would be like,
but I would ask you what you thought. She said that whoever drives
her could keep the car the rest of the day, and she would pay them
$10 for their time. If you might be interested, send her an e-mail,
or I suppose you could talk to her if you want to come get your
check sometime.

I think that was everything. Hope you're having a good week!
I am working till close both tonight and Saturday unfortunately, so
I have to pass on dinner.

Regarding Vanessa, three days a week I have to be downtown by 7:30
am and then I have to be here in Squirrel Hill by 4:30 frequently,
so there is no way I could help her out unfortunately. Hope she
finds someone.

Later,
--
I wonder if there are any Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings around...

I figure it might be a good way to pick up guys.

This idea actually occured to me while I was at work on Sunday. And
it's sad, 'cause for like a split second, I thought it was the best
idea ever. But then I realized there probably aren't any SAA
meetings in the 'burgh.

Just thought I'd share

Dude, there totally is one in Pittsburgh. They even have their own
building.

Sex & Love Addicts Anonymous
5150 Penn Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
(412) 441-0956
There's a Sexaholics Anonymous in the burgh too.

Stuff keeps happening that makes me say "OH MY GOD, I HAVE TO TELL
TANYA THIS." So, I'm going to before I forget....

There is now a Queer Duck movie.
I saw a picture the other day of Bobby Gant and Shane from the L
word hanging out...they're friends.
I was on Sonji's website the other day and she just turned 21, how
did she get so awesome so young? And she has t-shirts now, we
should totally get them and be groupies.
Sarah was talking down to me about Jack Kerouac and later in the
conversation it was revealed she didn't know who Ginsberg was or
even what the Beat Generation was.


Okay, that's it. Finals week can suck my imaginary balls, hope your
faring better than I am. Ha

Peace

A QUEER DUCK MOVIE?!?!? Are you kidding? Okay, I guess you're not, I
just looked it up on imdb. I so have to get my hands on that.

Queer Duck: Well, if you're mixing drinks, I'd like a slow
comfortable screw up against the wall of a bus station in Passaic,
New Jersey.

Queer Duck rocks my world.

Sonji shirts are a good idea. We could drop out of school and follow
her around the country hoping she'll have sex with us. Sounds like a
plan to me.

And you so won that convo with Sarah. It's obvious the only thing
she knew about Kerouac was what pretentious English teachers had to
say about him. She probably still thinks Thoreau and Emerson
were "just friends." Friends my ass, Emerson was so hitting that.
And who doesn't know about the Beat Generation? It's like a part of
history. And right there is the downfall of homeschooling.

Finals suck balls, big fucking hairy balls. This whole week has just
sucked. I lost my debit card and drivers lisence at the beginning of
the week, so I had absolutley no access to my money, sucked. I had
to get an extension on one of my papers. It was only supposed to be
5 pages. It's 12. I had a root canal yesterday. And I have to ask my
dad to cosign on my student loans. I hate asking for money. And,
I've been cracked out on adderall all week. And there's a review of
the past 5 days.

When are you done with all your finals? And when are you leaving to
go back to NY? We should do something in between those two dates w/
Katherine since she's leaving for the islands soon and I'll have the
entire apartment to myself. Yay!
I'm not done with finals until Saturday and then my cousin is coming
down and we're leaving for CNY on Sunday. Maybe, if you and
Katherine are still here that Sunday we could grab breakfast, but
I'm guessing your going to be gone.

I'm sorry things are going so shitty for you. Really in the grand
scheme of things, none of that shit is important. Papers, drivers
licences, debt, at least your not cracked out on, well crack, with a
baby and a court date. Your 19, it's amazing how much your doing.
You have a job, an internship and go to school. Your responsible,
independent and motivated. It's okay to ask your parents for help,
they know you do everything you can, even if they do give you a hard
time. They're your parents, they're suppose to help you. Christ,
Ben called my mom last week and asked if he could charge $500 worth
of bongs to her account so his store could have inventory...and she
said yes. So, compare yourself to my 27 year old brother...your
doing awesome. Your almost done, stay real.

Dr. Phil, er, I mean Jean

Thanks for the pep talk, Phil. I was considering running off to
Mexico and shacking up with someone named Jose. I'm actually in
town until Wednesday, working so I won't miss out on a paycheck. Do
you think you'd be able to do something Saturday or is that when
your cousin is visiting? Katherine leaves Sunday night. So we'd both
be around for breakfast. Actually, I won't be around for breakfast.
I forgot that I'm working 7-3. Hmm, yeah. We're such busy people.
Katherine isn't done with her finals until Friday, but she still has
her packing and errands to do on Saturday and Sunday. She leaves
Sunday evening. I work Saturday and Sunday 7-3. Yeah, I don't think
we'll have time to hang out before break. Oh well.

Did you know Jack Kerouac wrote a large portion of On the Road while
he was high on amphetamines? It was in the wikipedia article about
adderall. Wikipedia. Loves it.
Eh, oh well. If your bored after work you can come over to Squirrel
Hill for a sec. I'm going to be wrapping presents for Planned
Parenthood at Barnes and Nobles from 2-6ish Saturday. Actually some
how I did know that about Kerouac, eh probably read it on wiki too.
Here's a line from my papers that I got a 99% that I just can't get
over, it's about East Lib, god I love the neighborhood:
"Raymond Davis, a long time resident of East Liberty, said the
following about the gentrification process, 'all they trying to do
is get the black man out of East Liberty.'"

and here's my new favorite Queer Duck line, I watch an episode when
I'm tired of analyzing chemicals:
Scene- A funeral of an AID's patient
Openly Gator: "Why him?! Oh god why him?!"
Queer Duck: "Oh, I don't know, maybe because he was a condom hating
intravenous drug user with a hasian boyfriend."
Openly Gator: "It was a rhetorical question."

We'll hang out next semester at the GLCC and all.

Yo, when you back in pgh homes?
Hey,

I'm already back. I came back on the third. We should hang out this
weekend or the following weekend before things get too busy for you.
We can talk about volunteering. And I wanted to give you a copy of
my apartment keys, in case I get locked out. Fucking landlords
charge $50 every time they have to come out to unlock your door for
you. And of course within minutes of Katherine leaving, I locked
myself out for the first time all year. Oh, and I have to give you
your present. In other news, Katherine left me more drugs than you.
So if/when you get low, let me know and I might have some for you.
Fucking wake up and hang out with me now, bitch
--
Dear Aunt Char,

I just wanted to thank you again for the belt and watch. I have
already worn the belt several times, it goes with just about
everything and is a perfect fit. The watch was also great. I'm
sorry
you have to go through the hassle of bringing it back and getting a
replacement. I do, however, look forward to retiring my current
watch, which I have to reset every few minutes, for a more functional
version. (Pleased don't feel rushed to return it though, I've been
getting along quite fine watchless.)

Also, thank you so much for your help updating the information at the
book store. Just so you know, you will probably have refunds and
repurchases on that card, as I have dropped and added classes.
Please call me or email me if you have any questions.

I hope that you were able to have a nice holiday with Sara and
Grandma over. We all wished we could have been down there. I guess it won't
be too long till summer. Hope you'll be able to make it from sunny
Florida a few times this season!

Take care and tell Uncle Jim and Clay I said hello.
--
Thank you for your lovely note. I am glad that the belt worked out -
both Sara and I thought you would like it. We went to Macy's on
Sunday to exchange your watch. Of course, they did not have anymore
of the same style. We selected a silver, chunky chain, oblong face
watch (no date on it). It is casual, but may not be what you want.
Will send along to you and you can decide. Just keep the box and
send back if you don't like it. You may have to have a link(s)
taken out of the strap, which you can usually most easily get done
at one of those mall kiosks.
No problem on the book purchases and returns. May check with you to
see if it matches what you actually have. Hope you will end up in
at least a couple of courses that you will enjoy.
Sara left this morning and called as she was walking to her first
class. Her second class for today was cancelled because the
professor had word from several of the students that they would not
be back from Arizona from the bowl game. I cannot believe that
Florida beat Ohio State!
I am going to be lonesome with Sara gone. I still have her cat.
She is moving into a different place and then leaving Thursday after
class for a long weekend in New Orleans and thought it might be a
little tough on Sarkus (I agree), so we kept the kitty.
Hope that your coats turn up and that you are not freezing! I think
the mail has been really messed up with the holidays and then the
extra closing for Ford's funeral.
Take care, honey.
Love,
Aunt Char
This book may well be more addicting than well hmm sweaters.

Here's a picture of terry dan and DJ.

http://www.thisamericanlife.com/images/shows/293/dan_dj_terry.jpg

I had a nightmare about my teeth falling out because of too many
sweaters.
--
haha, see it's happening to you now. I am a freaking new woman
since I've moved out my winter wardrobe. I've come to realized how
amazing sweaters are again. As for the book, I'm almost done, and
I'm sad I don't want it to end. Number one christmas present
ever!!!! I think I got the best life advice ever from Dan (pg.
148) "...have fun while you're young, sleep around while you're hot,
and live someplace more interesting than the suburbs."
------
That is some good life advice. Speaking of sleeping around...I may
have a study-date with Tim this Friday. I don't know. It's in the
works. Ashley was in my class tonight and she smelled like a
crackhouse. Apparently she has this great new amazing job even
though she was almost kicked out of school. She failed three classes
and they were going to give her a 1.7 GPA. But some nice teacher
helped her out and gave her a D+. Oh and do you want to go to that
place near your apartment where they serve english muffins and other
stuff this Wednesday night? I just decided I'm in the mood for
pancakes.
I'm pumped for your date on Friday. You so need to tap that. Yeah,
I'm down for food this Wednesday. Just tell me what time. I have a
meeting in Oakland at 9 probably wont take more than an hour. Want
to go after that? Or we can go before, whatev.
Let's go after your meeting. Just give me a call when you're done
and you can come over or we can meet at the busstop.
Hey I got confused, my meeting is not until next week. What time do
you want to go, I'm free after 4. Also, when do you want to go to
the GLCC?
NA meetings:
Monday at 8 Squirrel Hill
Saturday 7:30 S.H.
Sat. 8 S.H.
Sunday 3.30 Friendship
Sunday 7 Oakland

Hah, then there are ones in homewood and East Lib...in case we are
feeling particularly gansta on a given day.
--
Food: I have class until 5. How about I just head over after that? I
can give you a call when I'm close to S.H.

GLCC: Here's what my schedule is looking like right now - I'm
working Thurs 3-11, Friday 7-11, Sat & Sun 7-3. Just pick a day and
time and let me know. Maybe Sat or Sun?

Sarah's Party: Are you going?

NA Meeting: Sat night in SH or Sunday night in Oakland. Your pick.
---
Dude, been stalking you for like two days. Please email me or call
when when your up so I can run over quickly.
--
I've been volunteering all weekend, helping out with the ADDYs. I'm
back now. You can come over anytime.
--
Hi Aunt Char,

I just wanted to send you a quick note telling you that I got the new
watch. I absolutely love it! I've worn it everyday since I've
gotten it. It's perfect, thank you, thank you!
Everything is going pretty well down here. Classes aren't too bad
and I enjoy most of them. We finally got some cold weather and snow up
here and it seems to be the only thing people can talk about lately.
It's really not that bad, I think it's nice to finally have some
snow, but I'm afraid I'm in the minority. Hope everything is going well
for you down in Florida. Again, thank you so much for the watch!

Dearest ,
Oh, I am so glad that you liked the watch and are wearing it.
I usually check Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Syracuse weather in the
newspaper each morning. It looked like you were getting some really
cold temperaturesa and some snow. Hope the walking is not too
tough; recall that the streets were always a bit of a mess.
Good to hear that the courses are okay. Sara seems settled into her
semester, is putting up with the latest house which she moved to so
there was enough space for Damon. They have been down the last
couple of weekends which has been nice. We may go up to Gainesville
this weekend if we can luck into some basketball tickets - otherwise
we have plenty to do here - especially house projects. Jim is off
to Alabama for a couple of days.
Good to hear from you Jean.
Thinking of you.
Love,
Aunt Char

-----
I went to Cathedral this morning to do some MCAT studying, I didn't
see you there, but I know you have your Stats test so maybe you were
studying or maybe I just didn't see you. Anyways, I wanted to tell
you that it is the BEST IDEA EVER! So I doing that from now on,
except for tomorrow because I have a test, but I'll definitely be
there Wednesday morning, so hopefully I'll see you there.

Good luck you your test, I know you'll ace it. =)
I am soooo sorry. Let me explain. When my bf was here for the
weekend, he turned off my alarm clock instead of hitting the "reset" button.
Thus, my alarm clock never went off today and I even missed my earlier class.
AHHHH stupid stupid boys. Anyways, I am really sorry. I will be there tom
even if you just want to study for your exam. Good luck and have a good
night.
I'm so sorry I have not been coming the last two mornings. It has
been taking me like an hour to get from Squirrel Hill to Oakland
because the buses are SOO slow. I have not forgotten, I just need to
get my butt out to the bus stop earlier. Tomorrow, I going try
harder, I promise!
You are the funniest. I will count on seeing you tomorrow b/c we are
geting 39 on the MCAT....wait...maybe 42 so we can top Tiff!!! Have
a good one.
The average 20 year old has sex 90 times within a year...
have you filled your quota?
--
fuck you
---
Haha, I was being funny. I was reading a magazine today. And they
had that fact in there. It kinda of depressed me. I AIM'ed you
today, but you didn't respond. Avoiding me, Jean? I'm trying to get
tickets to this Aaron McGrudor thing tomorrow night. You interested?
It'd be my treat.
How about underwear, socks bras, pj's or those tops you wear. Do
you need any new for your b'day. Remember, think summer, What
summer things do you need. I am waiting to hear from you and I am
surfing the internet looking just dying to click and buy.

Love ya mom

AHHH I just signed up for the MCATs, it was terrifying. I know your
going to be mad but I really don't need anything =(. Alcoholic
beverages? Drinking money? hah, I'll keep thinking I promise.
am so excited for you, You will do GREAT, I know. OK drinking
money, I need one CD request and I'll figure out the rest, any study or school
supplies? Do you need money now due to the mcat sign ups? Let me
know.

Love ya My Brillant Daughter
I forgot to tell you that you received a b'day card for pitt with
helpful hits on drinking and avoiding drinking too much on your 21st
Bday, there is a couple of coupons too, one for a free game of pool.

Speaking of B'days, I need a list, I did pretty good at xmas, just
one mistake(which I am enjoying), How about new Birkenstocks(sp) ?
Please let me know soon since I have to order and mail.

Love you my Brilliant Darling

First, use this email from now on so I can respond. No I don't want
to go, but you could write up a little blurb like they suggest for
the Salmon River News, that'd be special. That's a joke obviously.

Love,
Your Daughter

I am dying here, I can't think of anything good for your b'day,
please isn't there something you have in the back of your mind that
you been thinking about that would make your life easier, or that you would
like to have. It is your 21st b'day, I have to get you something special,
Plese Help me.

Love Ya Mom
I'm bored, you should hang out with me.
--
Ok. I'll call you when I get back to the US, which means probably
Saturday.
ah hah, you weren't ignoring me after all....or perhaps you wanted
to get away from me so badly you fled the country...hmmm, I guess I
hope for the former. Have fun in Spain, I forgot you were going
there. I talk to ya when ya get back.
I just checked my grades...
And I did horribly. This whole just doing school thing is
counterproductive. I'm getting an internship next quarter...and a
second job...and volunteering somewhere. I swear I hate this lady so
much. She's on my shit list. If she died tomorrow I wouldn't even
care. She's lame and stupid and her son has a lisp like your ex-
boyfriend. She's a lameass who's going to burn in a very bad place
for being such a dumbass. God doesn't like dumbasses.

In other news, funny quote on OHINY...

Man #1: Did you hear about Anna Nicole Smith?
Man #2: Yeah, I get news updates on my website. When I read that she
was hospitalized I just kept refreshing the page until, finally, she
was dead.
Man #1: Dude, that's not right.

Yeah, that lady is such a worthless piece. Seriously I would try to
get her fired. I'm sorry your grades weren't as good as you wanted
them to be but as George says "C's get degrees sis." With your pimp
ass resume I wouldn't worry too much about it. In the long run it
doesn't matter if you went to a toastmaster meeting or not. And just
think about Friday, Friday will be fun. I was thinking, should I
invite blonde Sarah or no? I think it would be nice but you don't
want me to I won't. Okay, that's it. "Chin up darling" (that's what
ma says to me when I'm all down and out)
--
Inviting Sarah would be cool. She's a nice gal.
--
It has been FREEZING out lately, I need to pick up that hoodie I left
at your apartment sometime today, you going to be around anytime
tonight. If not can you leave to door unlocked of something? I have
a class from 6-9.
Hmm, I wasn't around last night. Were you able to get in? The door
was wide open. Maintenance guy was repairing it.
--
hahah, yeah i stopped by today. I thought maybe the cops busted
in. Thanks.

Flea Market Find: 1907 Book - "Correct Social Usage"

7 AM, flea market near Pittsburgh, minivan pulls in, unloads his stuff, nobody looks at the books, notice these 100 year old books, pick a couple. One of them is a 1907 book titled "Correct Social Usage".

The disastrous attempt in finding control 42

At the night orienteering meet last saturday, spent a good 20 minutes looking for a control, but turned out that I was completely off the map.

What confused me was a house light (A) and I believed the house to be the one just West of control 42 (B). Seeing the edge of the clearing that lead to the house A re-enforced my belief that I was in the right location, but was somewhat puzzled by the fact that the clearing edge was not a straight line but curvy.

I then proceeded in what now seems direction NE and after climbing a hill, found a large clearing bounded by a straight line of trees (green arrow pointing to NW). Ran the entire line of the edge... (what a fool...).

Then, really gave up... (finally...)

Got to the paved road, went West, and seeing houses and driveways, I slowly came to the realization I went completely out of the map.

Night Orienteering

The Western Pennsylvania Orienteering Club organized its annual nocturnal fouray into the woods of Blue Spruce County Park near Indiana, PA. From the city of Pittsburegh, Mark Malagodi, John Hartman and Alexis Rzewski car-pooled together the 53 miles that separated the East End of the city to this park just 10 miles north from Indiana. It took us exactly one hour, avoiding route 22, we took 380/286/156.

There were 42 controls, with the controls 1-9 worth ten points, and the remaining controls worth points as many as the control's designated number.

Start was going to be at 8:30, and end was going to be at 11:00 PM. There was still 20 minutes of light left when we did the mass start. Decided to go on a counter-clockwise route.

Went to control 18 first.
Then, quickly followed trail to find control 25.
Followed major dirt road to find control 7.
Then hiked steep uphill, then at trail slight bend, went tooking to the right of the trail to find control 31.
Got back to the trail, passed the powerline, and on the clearing on the left of the trail with a gas well in the clearing, and with the twilight remaining, could see from afar control 37.
Backtracked to the trail and reached the intersection with the powerline, followed powerline North and a trail off it to the left, and bushwacked to a trail below, and went looking for the ditch. Now it was dark enough that I had to turn the light on. Found control 28 easily.
Gained the ground to reach the trail above, and followed the trail to find control 14.
The first time sink of the event was in finding trail to get from 14 to 22. Since at meet instructions we were told that we could not walk outside the park boundary, could not use my initial idea of going from 37 to 22 using the dirt road bordering the map on the south-east corner of the map. So, the problem was now how to get from 14 to 22. I took a small trail going East once reached the corner of a clearing, and found myself fighting with shrubs, downed logs. Eventually reached the dirt road and found control 22 at the spring just by following upstream. In retrospect, should have gone from control 14 to control 26, and from there to control 41 by using well-marked road and trail, and then from control 41 to control 22.
From control 22, noticed the highly-valued control 41, but didn't feel like fighting again with brush, so just ran up the hill following the dirt road on NE direction, to easily finding control 33.
Then, gained the top of the hill, and followed a very faint trail on a steep downhill to reach a trail below, at which I then followed the trail briefly until it intersected a stream, and I knew I could use that as attackpoint to get to control 41. Set the compass to East, went bushwacking on a steep woodsy uphill, and against the full-moon sky, made out the rocky features of the large cliffs where control 41 was located. Got lucky.
Descended back down to the trail below, and followed it North to easily find control 2.
Aiming for control 35, reached the paved road, met the meet director that was patroling with his mountain bike, and once seeing the oil tank in the clearing, got off the road and went to the stream looking for the control. This turned out to be another time sink. Noticing how the control was located on a side stream, went scouting, but found the wrong one. The control was located much closer to the oil tank.
Descended back to the stream in the clearing, then followed it upstream to reach the dirt road, which I followed to easily find the clearing where a side trail departed, following which got me to control 20.
Following easily recognizible trail and dirt road, found control 8 buried in thick branches of a pine tree.
Then, the real time sink of the event: control 42. Made major mistakes. From control 8, set the compass to NW, and found the stream. Followed the stream briefly, and then, thinking that I found the rough open on which border I would eventually find control 42, I instead was in the clearing in the off-limits area, and bordering the woods. I could see a light and house on one end of the clearing, and thinking it was the house that is located at the end of the clearing West of control 42, enforced my belief that I was in the right clearing, and kept looking for. Eventually, gave up, and wanting to reach the road where control 27 is located, went north. What happened in reality is that I went north into a deep wooded area with pine trees, on steep hilly terrain, to reach a open clearing bordered by a strail line of trees, which I tought maybe that was the line of trees that I was looking for when searching for control 42. Ran on the field for about 4 minutes, then really gave up, and went NW, reached the paved road, was totally disoriented, decided to go on the paved road in West direction, found the homes and driveways, and realized I was totally off the map for a good 20 minutes. ouch ...
Running on the paved road, overshoot a bit the point to get off the road to reach control 27, got back, went up on the terraced land above the road, and luckily got control 27 in the ditch.
Followed the terraced land and faint trail to get to the dirt road to reach the oil tank, bushwacked a bit NE to reach the trail and then to control 24.
From control 24 I could have descended back down to the paved road to reach control 10, but chose to follow the trail in the woods in counter-clockwise direction. Followed a stream into a marshy patch, got lost a bit, found the paved trail, and finding the relatively-cleared area of the marshy patch as a good attackpoint, went looking for control 10. It took some effort, but eventually found it. Definitely to few points for the effort spent looking for it.
Ran back to the paved road, went West on the road, found the dirt road leading to control 19, got off the road and into the stream and followed upstream in thick logs, vegetation, and steep banks, to find the control after about 80 meters.
Gained the trail nearby, crossed it and briefly walked over vegetation to find the nearby parallel trail, that got met to a near hilltop, at which I set the compass to NE, knew I had to orient to be SE of the hilltop, and went straight into control 39. This was the most points earned for the least amount of effort.
Then, intention was to continue on the dirt road and go for control 11, but with 20 minutes of time left, understood that the event was soon over, and had to get back. Reached the powerline and its clearing, choose to return to base via this powerline, bag control 21. On the sloped clearing of the powerline, pointed both flashlights into the bush, could not get any reflection from the control, and eventually gave up and reached the road below. If I had a more powerful light, maybe I would have seen it.
On the paved road, went W, recognized the lake, found the clearing, the trail over a small wooden bridge, and realizing I had only 12 minutes left, went for the highly valuable control 26. Located in the middle of a clearing, it was an easy find.
With minutes remaining, found control 6 and control 12, and got back to base.