Scaling the Cave

Winter Passing (2006) = 4/10. I thought this was going to be a comedy about a dysfunctional family. Instead it's a sad drama about a hodgepodge dysfunctional family all in dire need of psychotropic medication. Once again, Will Ferrell plays a great role in this movie. Not the usual goofy role, but a serious one.

Match Point (2005) = 7/10. I didn't even recognize this as a Woody Allen movie until I picked up the slipsleeve to return it to Netflix. Gone are the subtle quips that, to me, typifies Woody Allen films. At any rate, it's still a good movie. Just remember: aside from a few fleeting moments of carnal pleasure, nothing good will ever come of an affair.

Everything is Illuminated (2005) = 6.5/10. Not only is Liev Schreiber a hot actor, he's also a darn good director. I can't believe this movie was his first go-round. Some of the cinematography/special effects/I dunno, just some stuff reminded me a bit of Amélie. Storyline was a bit different, but the humor was excellent.


Today was certainly a happy realization day for me. I went with Doug to Robbers Cave State Park for his annual family reunion. Scroll through the pictures to see the rocky terrain I'm about to mention. Even though I have a rambling traveling family, I had never been to this park. Because I had never been there and possess somewhat of an explorer/adventure mindset, I jumped at the first opportunity to hike the cave trail. Little did I realize the trail was chock-full of small scale rock climbing. Finally! An opportunity to prove that the Beginning Ropes & Rappelling class I took in college wasn't completely wasted. It also proved something else. All that "functional weight training" from PUSH and all the cardio really came in handy! I can remember in my college ropes/rappelling course how my arms would shake as I tried to scale the cliff. I can also remember how awfully sore I was the next morning.

I definitely wasn't the quickest up the rocks today. That college course did not make me unaware of the fact death could occur should I slip and fall. Thus, I'm probably a little slower than what I should be going up, but I get it done. I was in a group of 5 other women. Four of these girls were between 19 and 21 years old. Three of the young women said multiple times, "I'm going to be SO sore tomorrow" or "I don't know if I can do this because I have no upper body strength."

I was sweaty after it was all said and done. Not sore. No wobble arms. No pain. Although I don't want to take up rock climbing, it's nice to know I can do a small bit of it from time to time with zero ill repercussions.