OMGWTFTAISHAN

Holy balls. I climbed Mt. Taishan today, and it was HARD. I'd never have thought to do it, if Sifu hadn't suggested it, but on the other hand, I did make the decision to actually climb the stone steps, instead of taking it easy and riding the cable car. I feel pretty awesome for making it up the whole thing and not quitting, even as my knees and calves cried out in agony.

I figure videos are worth crossposting, so here are some! I probably sound exhausted and half-delirious in these... because I WAS exhausted and half-delirious. ;) This wasn't the idyllic, peaceful hike I expected it to be. There were probably hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people climbing this beast, but I made better time than a lot of them! I got two thumbs-up from some random old ladies at the top, too, heh.

The skin on the back of my neck that wasn't covered by my camera strap is a rather terrifying shade of crimson, but dude. So worth it.

I'm about 3/4ths of the way up in this one:

And here I am reaching the top:

Last chance for INTERNETS

bloodred37 made me realize that I forgot to mention here that I resolved the travel blogging issue! If you want to catch up, here it is. (I just did my own Wordpress install from the hotel in Beijing, heh)

We're wrapping things up here in Tai'an, and taking an overnight train to Beijing tonight, so we can catch our flight tomorrow from there back to the States. So, the next time I'm on the internet, it'll be from my own room at home! <3

I've had some cool times, but I can't wait to be back... even if I do have two weddings, and now a catalog shoot in addition, waiting to bury me within a week of my return. ;p I'm glad I scheduled an extra day off from work, so I can get myself readjusted before diving back into the fray.

Seriously, though, I really hope to see y'all soon. (is anything going on over the next couple of weeks/weekends?) I'm feeling a little insane... definitely craving alone time, but also craving time with the people I know and love, instead of with acquaintances who are nice enough people, but who sometimes annoy the shit out of me. I guess that's the defining factor for people who become my friends: I can only take so much contact with most people in this world before I want to stab them, but I never seem to reach that point with the people I love most. :)