sobo

cuz we are soooooo dang cool, compared to the ancient 20 and 30yr olds. and the fossilized 40-somethings...

Why weren't you at RopeUp? I brought something special for you, you scornful tease!

Sounds like he rallied like a real Wildcat trooper, even if it was shorts over polypro...

OMFG!! Is anybody's butt hurting?

I think Steven Wright, Arsenio Hall, and Robin Williams are three of the funniest mofos out there today. I find their style of humor to be uproariously funny. Steven Wright: I used to work at Logan Airport. I was a parking attendant. I used to park jets. They had to let me go, though, because I kept locking the keys in them... everyday day I'd be up there on a 70-foot step ladder with a coathanger trying to jimmy the cockpit window... I have a map of the United States. It's actual size. Down at the bottom it says, "1 mile = 1 mile." It's a bitch to fold it back up. more...

that was pretty funny. So nobody's answered the question: Is there any climbing at that time of year near there? Distel32, where are you in my time of need?

Uhhhh, I believe I was collaterally damaged as a result of that. I discovered this "stuff" on the backside of the sleeve of my jacket the next morning. It looked ominously reminiscent of the orange splatter next to the firepit...

We've learned that the trip is pretty "scripted" for adoptive parents. Once you're in "the care" of the laison folks, you're kind of on a pre-arranged itinerary of tourist visits, official paperwork dealings, orphanage visits, and the like. You travel with about a half-dozen other couples, and the Chinese don't want Westerners wandering off "the beaten path" and fomenting insurrection among the general population. So it's not gonna be at all like it was when we were in Vietnam (where we were alone) 3 years ago, but it's gonna be fun all the same. We're taking Nicholas and his godfather along with us, so mebbe the wife and I will be able to skedaddle off somewhere along the line... is there a Great Wall of China Club???

Thanks, but I had nothing to do with that...

Wan Wen Xi, a.k.a. Elaina Joan Xi Soboleski (soon!) Born: October 14, 2004 (picture from April, 2005) knotzen say: Those nights have been over for quite a while now. Nicholas turned 3 in August.

Checking time/date stamp... Entering decision tree... Analyzing critical data... Conclusion: Make no post to this thread. Carry on.

I remember that series, with that "futurist" guy from the mid-90s. What was his name...?

Ask Collin... their discussion seemed "lively" to this outsider...

I don't know if these sorts of chestbeats are considered apropos on this board, but we just learned yesterday that we got our referral for our little daughter. We will be leaving for Wanzhou (Szechuan province) in early December, and should be home by Christmas. Just wanted to share that, cuz now there's a bunch of folks on here that sorta know me and where I'm coming from with this news. Is a picture too much over the top? Also, is there any climbing in the Wanzhou area in December?

D'OH! Classic mistake: Failure to perfrom date check. Curses, tomtom, for resurrecting 5-year-old threads on unsuspecting dumbfucks.

Where is this toggle? I can't find it. I'm just a dolt.

Hung out with MisterE and Yoder until after 2:00, then I had to call it a night. Erik stayed up the latest. It was fun listening to Jim tell stories. The guy's mind is encyclopedic.

Oh, the issue has been overcome by events, then. I take it that you are just looking for whom to thank...?

Heard about that. Did you check with AlpineDave? Or just drink the shit and call it BOO-TAY!

Sorry, just checked the TuffLove thread. I've already got Clearwater plans with ApeMan for that weekend (10/21-23). Mebbe next year.

It was really great seeing and meeting all of you guys. I'm really glad that I went, even though it rained and I didn't climb on Saturday (I figured AlpineK could use a "ground crew" for setting the tarps - that's my story and I'm stickin' to it). Doxey and I got out on some rock on Sunday, and managed to complete three pitches before being "washed" back to the packs. And I met up with Blake, olyclimber, and AlpineDave for burgers and brews at Gustav's before heading out of town. Come to think of it, only I had the beers... CWU Crowd (cook, suckbm, gyselinck, L0ngpause, Lyger)- You guys were a h00t! It was amazing, the style, grace, and aplomb that L0ngpause demonstrated while on crutches with that jug o' Carlo Rossi. Blake- I trust you made it back to B'ham OK! Pandora- Hope you enjoyed the real wine... knotzen- Excellent brownies... mmmmmmmmmmmm. And nice doggie. I can't remember whose people Cody owns...? Do you? NOLSe- I heard that you were there, but I didn't meet you. fern- Were you [/i]really[/i] there, or are you pulling a "Dru"? Many thanks to Steve at Terminal Gravity for the totally awesome free IPA! And many thanks to jon and timmy for supporting the event! olyclimber, MisterE & Sioux-Z & Wrecks, Alpinfox, Angela, Andrew, specialed, Lunger and Leslie, Bug and Not-a-Bug, Jamie, Collin, Jens, Loren, CBS, Dick Cilley, Jim Yoder, and everybody that I've already mentioned and all of the rest of you guys that I can't even recall right now, thanks for a really great time. I hope to be able to make it again next year. PS: minx, you scornful tease! I brought something for you, but you didn't show. I'm thinking maybe I'll give it to Blake instead...

Paternal: Both emigrated from Poland before WWII. Dad's dad was a farmer in International Falls, MN while his mom was mother to 14 kids (my dad being the youngest son). Grandad Soboleski died of TB in the 1950s a few years before I was born. Gramma Sobo died in 1975, just after I met her for the only time at 16 years old. The only English she ever learned to speak was "chicky soup". Maternal: German immigrants in the 1920s who landed in Pennsylvania and became farmers. Grandpa Rust (Roest, actually) died in the early 70s, and Gramma followed him in the mid 1980s. Mom's mom was mother to 13 kids (my mom being the oldest daughter). Both sets of my grandparents were too old to serve in WWII. However, I had uncles who served (and some died) in that war. From my mom's side, Uncle Stanley was a tail gunner in a B-17 group. His plane was shot down on his last mission before he was due to rotate back to the States. The survivors of that crash said he never got out of the turret. He is buried in the American Cemetery at Liege, Belgium. As a child of 12 or so, I held the end of the American flag that flies over that cemetery, while the Honor Guard folded it up into the "Yankee Triangle" at the end of the day, to the tune of Taps. I will never forget that moment; my Mom cried for hours after that. On my Dad's side, I have two uncles (still alive) that served. Uncle Eddie was a Marine in the Pacific Theater who fought on Okinawa and Tarawa. He lied to the enlistment officer about his age (17), he wanted to "get in the fight" so badly. Uncle Frank was in Easy Company of the 506th PIR, 101st Airborne, and fought in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge (he was in Aldbourne on D-Day, but was held in reserve and was not part of that famous drop). Yes, he was subject matter for Band of Brothers, although he refused to be a part of the HBO series/movies. If you ever wondered, in the episode about crossing the river to snatch German prisoners (The Last Patrol), how the rope got across the river in the first place, that was my uncle who swam the river and secured the rope to the enemy side. Google "Frank Soboleski"; it's all here. My dad was born in 1930, so he never got the chance to serve in WWII. He was in the Army and was stationed in Alaska during the Korean War. My mom was born in 1923, but I don't really know if/what she did in the war. I figure she must have been in medical school, because she went to Alaska in 1953 as an RN.

Given that little tidbit of information, I'll lay odds that it was L0ngpause at first, then olyclimber later. Only Erik W. and myself were still up after 2:00 a.m., hanging out with Jim Y. It was pretty quiet. And you and Chase sure did bug out early on Sunday. PS: You sure do talk a lot nicer in person than you do on-line...

That was me. And you thought I was so cool. That'll teach ya.