shout out to everything new

we finally have something to talk about that isn't the past

did a lot of caulking today

I've talked the talk. I've walked the walk. But now, at 31 years of age, I've caulked the caulk.

not nearly enough things are named kazooie

I'm at the top of my game

 today I did some work at camp, made a comic, coached, did a hard climb, ran a good workout, watched survivor with friends and now I'm eating some yummy food. I feel great.

currently obsessed with writer in the dark

 it's a lorde song. I've been a fan of lorde's first album since it came out but I've been really late to listening to her second album. writer in the dark is beautiful and odd in a way that lorde does best. maybe in 7 years or so I'll get into her third album. probably not.

Good birthday!

thankful for my mom coming to visit me 😁

I'm glad she's on strava and we get to talk about it. 

I feel really supported by my whole family and I'm very fortunate for that!!

Last Day of Being 30

 I had a yummy breakfast. I worked at the camp I love. I coached and had a good climb. I had a good ten mile run and ran really fast at the end. Then I ate yummy thai food. A perfect day.

what did I learn from being 30

 Just a couple of things:

-I think I was hanging on to some relationships and friendships that weren't helpful and letting those go and focusing on more positive relationships was really helpful

-I learned I don't like to run in the morning and I don't really like road races. I like evening runs and I want to do shorter track races. I guess it doesn't seem significant but for me it felt like there was a lot of pressure to do those things to be a part of a running community and it meant a lot to be honest with myself about not liking those things and seeking things to do that worked for me

-I got on Strava and started running with a GPS watch which I think has helped tremendously and I've already written too much about that

-I learned I need to run more miles. I thought quality was the key and it certainly is but if the overall mileage isn't there then the fast times just aren't going to happen for me

-I learned a lot about coaching climbing. yesterday I sat down and wrote out some expectations and guidelines for the next season of climbing club and teams and I think that will be really helpful

-I learned that I want to live on my own and live within walking distance of the climbing gym. It's more expensive in terms of rent but I think it will be really helpful. I'm also only a mile away from a track that's almost always open! I'm really excited

-I learned how to lead multi-day backpacking trips in the back country! That was really exciting.

-I don't think I learned this exactly when I was 30 but it was definitely reinforced that becoming a valued member of a community is really important to me and benefits me in all sorts of ways and makes me feel like a good person. I have a lot to offer to people in areas that I'm excited about and that's where I want to put my time and energy.

-It was reinforced many times that I look much younger than my age

-I learned that a lot of people are a lot older than me and they're still running really fast. I think I have been working really hard for a few years now and I haven't seen the race results that I would've liked but that doesn't mean it's too late. I still have years to get things wrong and figure things out and also I don't think I'm getting things wrong now, it's just gonna take some time.

-people really remember and hang on to when someone was nice to them. that really matters

I love the heat

 It feels so good to run in the hot weather. I did a 4 mile tempo today on a hilly course and I thought I might blow up completely. I went through the first mile fast then the second mile was really hard and I thought I was going to be toast but when I turned around I was able to recover and finish strong. I think I'm able to try harder in the heat. I also think it makes me fitter faster. 

happy birthday maw maw

love you. thank you for all your support and love.

A Story for Camp. Maybe I've Already Told This: Internet Famous

 A lot of people don't believe me when I tell them I'm famous. They say, "yeah, right!" and roll their eyes or "no way!" and wave their hand in a downward motion like so. And the people who want to believe me are often confused why I might be famous.

"Is it the book you helped make?" No. It's not the book I helped make. That hasn't gotten much outside camp. 

"Is it the comics you make at the climbing gym?" No. It's not those. Those are just in the climbing gym.

"Is it the art you've given away on craigslist?" No. I do that anonymously.

"Is it the youtube videos you make?" No. Those barely get any views.

What I am actually famous for is something I did right before covid hit that I did out of boredom and wasn't even trying to show to anyone. It's making GIFs! Those little animated pictures that you can send on your phone or through the computer. I made my own animated pixel gifs of like a little bear jumping up and down or a possum wizard shooting rainbows, or a christmas skeleton crying. I made 68 little GIFs over the span of a couple months and as of this April I checked the stats on them and they have been viewed 78 million times. 78 million times. It's true. You can look it up. I don't make any money from it. I've yet to be recognized. One time a guy reached out to me and said he wanted to start a business that would license gifs and companies would pay to use them but then it seemed like a scam so I never followed up. But yes, my dumb little pixel cartoons have technically been viewed millions of times all over the world. So that's kinda neat. I am technically famous in one of the most obscure ways you could possibly be famous.

Wekiwa Springs

 You know over Spring Break this year we took a road trip to Florida and we stayed at a lot of beautiful camp sites and we saw a lot of beautiful things that the sunshine state has to offer. But, by far, the most beautiful of beautiful things that we saw had to be Wekiwa Springs. For those of you who don't know, Wekiwa Springs is a natural spring that feeds the Wekiwa River and people have been going to enjoy the natural pool area since the 1970s. Anyway, imagine our pool but more spread out and the water is much warmer. 

So we're there and we're having a great time and we're swimming and floating and being in the water and eventually, inevitably, in a move that surprised absolutely no one, Fran found some mud he wanted to play in. And everyone applauded and was very happy that Fran found mud to play in because when Fran smiles, the whole world smiles back. And so Fran is playing in this mud by the pool and he's getting it nice and muddy and his best good friend Anders wants to help make the mud a little muddier. So Anders looks around for something to transport water from the pool to the mud. He spies, with his little eye, an empty 7-UP bottle right by where we're all gathered. Anders is of course familiar with the principles of Leave No Trace and he sees some trash that he can pick up and throw away later but first use to help Fran with the mud. 

Anders picks up the bottle and immediately. immediately, a large man with a big beard and a prominent neck tattoo sees this and calls out to Anders,

"Whoa there buster! Slow down. Don't you dare take a sippy sip of my dwinky drink."

Anders immediately takes control of the situation, "Excuse me, sir. A thousand pardons. I had no idea that this beverage container was yours. I saw it was empty and thought it some stray refuse that I might dispose of properly to maintain the beauty of historic Wekiwa Springs State Park. Again, I apologize sincerely."

But the man was still angry, "Oh jeepers! Oh golly gee! You people from Florida think you can just pick on us little guys who aren't from here. You think you can just push around a little guy like me. Well guess what? I'm big and tough and I never cry ever. And guess what? It's my birthday and you can't pick on me on my birthday. And guess what? My dad is way bigger than you and he can beat you up!"

It was at this point that the man with the neck tattoo began to cry and Anders politely put down his bottle and we all walked away because it was clear that the man was overwhelmed and probably needed a nap and some juice. 

And that's how Anders made someone cry on our spring break trip.

togetherness. encircling the world.

shopping with dad

It's either the mileage or pulling bamboo

 I felt really good on my workout today. Yesterday's run was so miserable and I went so slow that I thought there might be something wrong with me but the speed work I did on the track confirmed that it was just a tough day yesterday. 

In the past few months, trying to run 5 minute mile pace has felt more difficult than in the past and I think my aerobic fitness was lacking. Getting some more miles under my belt and taking time to just do easier, longer runs has definitely helped. Today I did a 1000 in 3:04 and felt pretty comfortable. My legs are definitely tired but the fact that I was able to run hard and hit some pretty quick times tells me that my fitness is definitely improving. Next week I'm going to take a down week and also run an 800 time trial. I think I can run a 2:16.

I'm really excited to move to my new apartment in the summer. I'll be living by myself and I can walk to the climbing gym! Hooray!

I have forgotten everything

 I have forgotten everything

I have lost the way

I have strayed from the path

I am moving forward

There was an alligator snapping turtle in the pool today. It was an angry ancient creature that breathes death and lurks in the darkness with hungry jaws. Rock on little dude.

Camp is an elemental place. The sun, the water, the bees that swam the gravel without reason, the forest of bamboo. I love being out there.

I'm going to create a long poem out of wikipedia fragments

if you're looking for tunderscores.blogspot.com

 it's now andygoodstein.blogspot.com

sent to the land of the crestfallen

to spend eternity with smoke coming from their throat and their heads hanging down

Spring Break was great

 A really great week with some really great people. I'm excited that we all get to work together and do the best job there is.

drove for 11 hours. put on a hat at the beach