Old Bluenotes purse reconstruction.

Regular chalk bags from outdoor equipment stores are heavy and unattractive.

I needed something lighter that wouldn't throw my overly-sensitive sense of balance over.

I took a small canvas purse similar to this one and started cutting every which way. I re-sewed the straps along the top and kept the side pockets for decorative purposes.

And voila

Quick and dirty chalk bag

Chris Sharma really says it best. Climbing is a really creative and artistic thing as well as being an athletic sport. It's about finding beautiful things in nature and interacting with them.

But there`s more to it. Other sports have made-up rules, point systems, limitations. Climbing is simpler. It's not so much a sport as just our natural instincts to explore, and conquer biological and geographical boundaries. And break rules-- not even the flimsy societally enforced kind. Mountains were nature's very first people-proof gates.

And still for some reason, people find it hard to believe that rock climbing is creative. But creativity is paramount to success. You have you, (sometimes) a rope, a starting point (down here) and a finishing point (up there). Everything else is open ended, most circumstances are working against you. Now go.

A sport that's as equally mental as it is physical, creative, and rebellious.

My personal mentality around climbing stems from never being okay with being told what I can and cannot do. In this case, existing on an x-axis. I get a physical thrill every time I leave the ground with gravity pulling at my ankles. And then deeper underneath that, I get a mental thrill from knowing that I am doing what I'm not supposed to be doing.

These guys take that to the very next level. This weekend, I learned about a subsection of climbing called Base Jumping. Switch this movie to HD, turn it up full screen, and just be blown away by the freedom... and pure insanity.

This is the story of one (1) starfish's exploration of the world.

The title references an analogy (from an old boyfriend) about my inability to stay interested to anyone or anything for a prolonged period of time. I would catch onto rocks (hobbies, people, places) that would hold me in place, but only as long as the waves don't wash me away to the next.

So this blog will be pretty eclectic. Sometimes it might be about rock climbing, sustainable living, or illustration; film, music, or travel. Other times, it might be about about people I encounter, or even possibly about the people they encounter. Sometimes I might write about tidbits about odd jobs or new age spiritualism. It may even be about none of these things, the waves can so unpredictable, you understand?