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Callan

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I am a medical student in the UK, sitting in a room, somewhere, writing this blog.

Shadows and Crystals

The vague musings of an 20 year-old mind...
April 25

Sunset

And this is it. My new blog, although still in a fairly rough form, is up and live, and entries will be posted there from now on. It is located here, and will still undergo various drastic changes over the next few weeks, as and when I have to time to make them.

That's all folks. So long, and thanks for all the fish.
April 23

Closing Credits

This is the beginning of the end for this blog. I am currently in the process of creating and modifying a wordpress blog, which will fully replace this one. The .mac blog has a subscription charge which isn't worth the ease of use, and it lacks a couple of things I am interested in having. A shame, it was good otherwise. Ah well.

[melodrama]

As for this blog, it will remain live until I pull the trigger on wordpress and it goes online. Until then, this will continue to run. This should not be long, after which this blog will remain here unedited and unchanged for the duration of the existence of msn spaces, into which this was born, and live spaces, in to which it will die.

[/melodrama]


April 18

Another Pair Of Eyes

...the prospective title for my updated blog, which will be shunted around the web for a while as I test it and customise it and eventually get a domain for it to hang about in. The basic structure and theme is in place, though, along with a couple of photos I took and an entry for you to put comments regarding opinions on.

It can be found here. Thoughts appreciated.

Ride of Your Life

Saw this in a shopping centre.



Not sure what to think really. Government initiative to rebrand speed cameras 'safety cams' to children? Attempt to get people to think of speed camera photos as things you might want as souvenirs? Associate being flashed by a speed camera with fun as a child to increase profit? Trying to reduce public dislike of speed cameras? Teach children to recognise when they've been caught, a decade of so later? Or just an in-character way to take a photo of a child and overcharge massively for it?

Or just thinking too much?

April 12

The Risk of Death

Adrenaline imparts a curious clarity to memories, and indeed to the moments in which those memories are made. Standing on an ice-covered boulder over a steep snow gully leading to a likely fatal fall, without rope or, indeed, anything but the pack on my back, is one such memory. The thought I most clearly remember from that first ascent of Tryfan on Thursday afternoon is "I am at risk here."

Sure, I wasn't at a ridiculously high risk of death or even a mediocre one; death then would simply not-have-been a freak accident rather than a probable outcome, but I was very aware of it nonetheless. That awareness brings with it a peculiar sharpness though, reflexes sharper, thinking clear (like when you fall off something, that kind of slow-motion crystal-clear thought process) and a litheness of movement. Nothing quite imparts the same feeling as the co-ordination of hands and grips, feet and cracks keeping you to the rock. It was, in a word, awesome. The emphasis on the 'awe'.

We topped out on Tryfan at about 5 in the evening, got down in time to cook by the last daylight on our little camping stoves. There was snow everywhere on the mountains, and gloves had to be sacrificed for grip, so hot noodles seemed like heaven on earth. As we ate, we imagined a restaurant review, critiquing the ambience (pitch black lit by an LED lantern, at about 1 degree), the presentation (boil-in-the-bag meals and noodles in a trangia pan) and the range of menu (same as above).

Those who know Snowdon will recall the pig track, that 6-foot wide path which goes to the top in a relatively effortless and quiet fashion, without need for undue exertion or, indeed, the use of anything other than feet. Snowdon as it was yesterday was quite another matter, covered in up to about 3 feet of snow (finally seemed appropriately named) and what rocks were visible coated in slush and ice. Although we climbed the leeward side of the mountain, once we went over on to the summit ridge we were blasted by winds that must've been about 50mph,  with a full complement of hail and cloud so thick you couldn't see more than ten metres. Oh, and there was spindrift, which I love.

It's impossible to convey the sense of achievement and atmosphere that the mountains give, and summiting them does make you feel on top of the world in more ways than one. This time though, we were a bit foolhardy, and despite the low level of risk we all felt lucky. Fantastic 'weekend', and I'm off back to the real world tomorrow. And uni, too.

=)
 
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Pure Firewrote:
Was just passing through and thought I would say hi...I love your space...have a great evening...Love xxx
Sept. 5
amazing site, packed full of interesting and useful information. 10/10 keep up the good work.
Aug. 29