The Slack Line

Today was what I like to call fantasmic. We went to work today as usual by going to the coffee shop to get Kurt and Michael a cup of coffee and me a glass of milk. I knew that during my sleep that the Arizona Wildcats were playing the most hated team in all levels of basketball; Duke. At one point during the season Duke was ranked number 1 and was seeded number 1 in the bracket. I anxiously sprinted to the only spot in Bosa that has internet. My gut feeling was telling me not to worry, but who doesn’t when you are an Arizona fan that has been accustom to disappointment. I checked the scores and gave not a double look, not a triple look but a quadruple look. In my expert opinion Williams is a beast and has possibly jumped to my Arizona all time all star team. The rest of my day was filled with smiles and jitters. I couldn’t wait to get to my computer and watch the highlights and get giddy again. But I did have to wait. After work we took lunch and set up what I have been waiting for for over a month. The entire family went outside and started scoping places to set up the beautiful slack line. Our first attempt was to make the line as long as possible which was close to 20 meters(over 60 feet). I was first up on the line. My thoughts on the matter was that I am pretty athletic and have pretty good balance, this should be a challenge but doable. Man was I wrong. I put one foot on the strap and it started shaking back and forth like an earthquake. I had barely but any weight on the thing and it was moving like it was bull trying to shake me off in a rodeo. The rope won. All the others had very similar outcomes. Distorted bodies and eventually flailing arms and ungraceful dismounts. The hardest part was the landing. We seemed to place the rope right above a pile of small rocks that poked up just high enough to hurt but low enough that you can barely see them. I am laying down right now feeling like a got a foot massage from a boxer. Back to the story. Someone eventually tried using a stick as a crutch. It worked very well. Eventually we were able to walk back and forth on it with most of our weight on the stick. Cheating. We took the stick away and we were back to be bucked off. A curious thing happened though, we were getting better. Someone would walk 2 steps, then 3 steps, then maybe even 4. It was sooooo much fun I couldn’t believe it. Kurt and I joked about how the family was using the slack line. They were all like little kids that don’t believe in rules and waiting for turns. Orlando was the worst. He would go and fall down and hop right back on 5 or 6 times. This often upset Nahima to the point of crying. Silvia would even push others out of line and use her mother status to jump spots. Today was a good day.

Moral of the story, if you think you might be good at something, you wont be.

We Running This Town...

I recently was asked “Brian, you must be in excellent shape you are doing with all your running, right?” This is a complicated question with a complicated answer. I will try to make my answer as concise as possible. No. I guess it wasn’t that complicated. The last time I had a good run was the day after my birthday, which by my calendar was almost 20 days ago. In my defense I haven’t had a day off that was sunny since then. And I don’t like running. It is more the heavy distaste for running then anything. I have realized though that I am in need of physical activity along with the clipping of branches. The clipping of branches is a pretty fantastic workout for the hand though. I am gonna be able to give a iron gripped handshake soon.

Silvia has taken an interest in handstands. This is 100% up my alley. I even have plans in the next few days to construct a handstand apparatus for us to use. For me being upside down on my hands is as natural of a feeling as being “upright” on my feet. This will sure beat having to kill my knees with running.

The package I have been waiting for has come in the mail today. SLACK LINE. I am not sure how well my first attempt will go but I expect a horrible face plant that will most likely be captured on video and uploaded to YouTube before I get a bag of ice. Stay tuned for the next episode “Brian On A Rope”…

Moral of the story, body odor is the fragrance of forgetful people…

Upside Down And Inside Out...

The weather is changing here in Bosa. When I got here each morning when we were picked up and each night when we were dropped off it was cold enough that a jacket was needed. With the exception of today the weather has drastically changed to be just below perfect. Walking out in the morning in a long sleeve shirt and a slight brisk coolness kissing the cheeks(on the face). After morning tea it is already warm enough out to start disrobing. I have yet to be comfortable enough to express my true nature in the form of nakedness, still too cold for that… Silvia says that in the next few weeks it will be our first chance to take the first “bath”. I never really noticed her smell before, but if she hasn’t had a bath since I have got here then someone needs to give her a lesson in hygiene. She actually does clean herself, but she was referring to take a dip in the ocean. The last time I was there it was pretty cold and made hairs grow when I stuck my little toe in. It will still be cold, but the sun will be giving off more radiation to warm us after we get out of the water I guess. What I am really trying to convince Michael of is to construct the slack line over the ocean so that we can try to walk across and then if we fall you freeze to death. SILVIA YOUR UP FIRST. The most exciting thing about summer at the beach is that the Zipp family knows where the cliff diving and rock jumping areas are. When I dove off of water falls in Switzerland it left a void in me that can only be filled by more jumping. I also can’t wait to practice my front and back flips. I just know once I am not going to turn all the way and there will be a belly flop. That will mark the end of flipping off of rocks and mark the start of me crying.

Moral of the story, water isn’t as soft as you might hope when you are free falling.

Xroads...

I have come to my proverbial crossroads of my life. Decisions need to be made that will forever affect my future. Good vs. evil, left vs right, peanut butter vs jelly. I am beginning to become restless in the town of Bosa. A lack of excitement and fun activities has left me slightly unmotivated. When this happens change is in order. But let’s analyze the situation. I have been here for 2 months loving the family and everything they have done for me. Not much to do in Bosa right now. In about one month the sea will be swimmable and the beaches will be beachable. There is surfing that can be done and dolphins to see and possibly play with. A couple other factors to think of; leaving for most of May to hang with the parental, couple weekend trips between now the parents, friend visiting in June, and last someone from my helpx site asking to become a travel partner. For the most part I like traveling solo, but it has become apparent that having someone to share some of the experiences would be pretty cool to have. Worst case scenario is that I make a friend along the way and we have some good good times.

Input on the matter would be greatly appreciated…lend your words to the typer and tell me what you think.

Moral of the story, if you are a bigot against spigots then that is spigotry…

Get Your Swagger On...

Today was quite an eventful day. It was the day I got my swagger back and lost it in a flash. For quite a while I really felt the pressure of being the outsider in this town of Bosa. This morning though I woke up and just felt like a million bucks. The most judging glances couldn’t tear me down anymore. Intimidation was long gone and confidence was back in session. I was walking around in my dirty clothes, smelling like yesterdays work, bed hair going each and every way and had a smile on my face. Too cool to care at this point. After Michael, Kurt and I were done in town getting our morning drinks we took off to work. We have really gotten into a good groove of me initially cleaning a tree up, Kurt coming to make some big cuts, then Michael doing the fine pruning that only years of experience would be able to see. My job of cleaning entails me to clip off all little baby branches off the trunk and main branches. The middle of the tree we try to open up to sun light, so I timidly cut what I think would be a good few branches to be gone but leave the main cuts for Kurt. To do this it is imperative for me to climb trees all day to reach those reachable by giraffes only. There are some dangers to climbing into the trees. First there are ants that come out whenever one climbs on top of their nest. I have been bit a few times and retaliated appropriately with bad name calling and the shaking of the fist at them. Another danger are the leaves. Sure they seem indifferent to my presence, but the amount of times that they have attacked by sticking themselves in my nose, eye ear and mouth makes me believe differently. Last one that happened to me today is gravity. In the midst of being in a relatively tall tree I was doing some cuts and jamming out to my music. I slid my foot thinking there was a branch that would grow there for me to place my weight on. Instead my foot slid off completely and I lost my balance and fell back in slow motion. As I fell back I spread my body in all directions. I hear that wind resistance will decrease my velocity, even if only a couple yards off the ground. Don’t worry though, the stump of the tree caught by right butt cheek as 3 of my limbs somehow got caught on other tree limbs. I felt distorted like a Picasso painting. A little blood and butt rubbing later I was back in the tree clipping and saying goodbye to my swagger.

Moral of the story, GO ARIZONA WILDCATS…

Love Lost...

To be bitten by the bitter bug that is love. Orlando has swooned and been swooned by one of his female classmates. This 13 year old man acted upon his feelings with a one Christina.  For a whole 2 weeks he had a companion to share his hopes and dreams with. Stolen glances and “accidental” brushes upon each other were no longer longings of desire. Orlando reached inside and pulled out his inner Casanova and with all his charisma and suave he swept this young temptress off of her feet. It wasn’t until recently that Orlando felt the sting only a woman can inflict. His heart scarred forever with the deep wound that all first loves leave. I am sure he is thinking back on all the fond memories that they shared over the 14 days that seemed to be their eternity. With all of his sorrow he confided in his mother how his relationship had come to the tragedy of love worthy or Romeo and Juliet. After his heart felt words I asked Silvia to explain exactly what would leave Orlando to be broken into the pieces that she had obviously shattered. Silvia told me that they were in a relationship from texting each other and talking on facebook. From the information I gathered stolen glances never happened. Passionate kisses or hand holding was not a part of their relationship.

I am not really sure what to make of what the world is coming to. Texting and facebook has replaced much of the personal touch that humans use to desire. I am sure that this is not an isolated case here in Sardinia. I am not going to quit my facebook or stop emailing or texting, but from now on I plan on trying to make physical connections with people instead of the connections that the web makes. Electronics have their place in the world, but it has in many cases regressed our human race.

Moral of the story, it’s not a real hug unless it lasts 10 seconds…

Dont Be Such A Prune...

Initiation is over and I have now been accepted into the brotherhood. What on earth am I talking about? Well it would seem that after the hours of picking up branches and burning them, moving rock, wheel burrowing, and weeding I have reached the promise land. Sir Michael has moved to a different parcel of land that he takes care of and needs help with pruning. I was pretty concerned since this is his lively hood and each snip of the clippers is either helping or hurting the tree being pruned. Massive trees with branches flying in each direction felt quite a bit overwhelming. I learned things that I can use now when pruning my own trees at home. We started my the trunk and he told us that all the main productiveness happens on the outside of the tree. So most all branches that are on the inside that don’t get any light are just taking up nutrients that can be used for making smooth olive oil. Next that each branch has about 3 years that it has good production. After that it is useless and also takes up energy, get rid of it. His main rule is that if you take the branch closest to the trunk, that is going to be the oldest one and it probably can go. Once you get to the fresh ones that aren’t interfering with other branches don’t go any further. At my parents house we often prune to increase the aesthetic look. I had never actually considered how cutting a single branch can affect all of the ones around it and the tree in general. For example, by cutting a branch not at the knot, then you are in essence stimulating it to grow a few branches from where you just cut. After one tree he let us go loose and we did some on our own. At first I was pretty timid with the cuts I was making. A few leaves here, a branch there. But then I would look back and he is taking off huge trunks that “needed” to go. I loosened up a little bit and started fluttering my clippers. 4 hours later we had done about 8 or 9 trees. 170 to go. Looks like I am going to be getting great practice at what could be my back up career plan. Brian Halbach: expert olive tree pruner… has a ring to it.

Moral of the story, all stories have morals.