Concern

Check out Concern Worldwide, an organization I’ve worked with in the past here in the states. They, along with many other organizations, sent staff to Haiti to aid in the relief effort. One staff member, Susan Finucane, left for Haiti within a few hours of the earthquake. On Concern's blog she shares an update of the situation, including the heartache, struggles to get aid through the bottleneck of anarchy, and a story of hope taking the form of a Celinda, a little girl born after the earthquake.

Trapeze

To celebrate the New Year I went with a couple friends to Trapeze School. Yes, “Fly trough the air with the greatest of ease” trapeze school. Why not? It’s one of the perks to living in a cultural mecca- almost anything you can possibly want to do is here. It also happens to be #92 on my DayZero list. I knew I wouldn’t balk once I got up there but climbing the ladder got the adrenalin pumping. Plus, as a child, I was never able to do the monkey bars, a thought prominent in my mind as I leaned over the edge of the platform. Now, not only would I leap from a platform, hang from a bar, pull my knees over my head, and then let go with my hands, I would do so 30-something feet in the air while moving.

Either my arms are stronger than they were when I was a child or I am less willing to accept defeat. It was a fun experience. My friend goes almost every week and I can see why. There is a therapeutic and addictive aspect to overcoming an obstacle and successfully mastering The Catch. A Flyer cannot say they have learned a trick until they make the catch.

When you cliff jump time seems to slow down allowing for a lot of clear, distinct thoughts: “Why did I just leave the safety of the ground? Maybe this wasn’t the best idea. Okay I’m still in the air. Why haven’t I hit water yet? What a pretty water snake. I hope it’s not poisonous.”

However, this is not the case while Flying. Perhaps it is because your mind is so full with all the steps that need to be taken that you don’t have time to think about anything else. “Jump, swing, knees up, hands off, wow I didn’t fall off, reach out, grab bar, legs down, forward, back, kick, eek I’m doing a back flip… net”

The following videos are of the Knee Hang trick with differnet endings. The first is with a backflip, another thing that I was never able to do as a child. Perhaps I should try a Slip-and-Slide again. The second video is Knee Hang with Catch. The squeak is from me being completly surprised that the move actually worked.