Sackcloth and Ashes
It’s amazing how quickly a nice pair of shoes can wear out.
There are cracks in the soles, a small chunk is taken out of the left shoe’s toe, and the pair has taken on the texture of an old saddle, used and abused in life but now slowly collecting dust in the Pony Express museum.
The dust on my shoes has been earned, though. They don’t sit anywhere long enough to collect so much as a speck; the thin layer of powder that covers them is from the roads of Argentina, and it’s more palpable evidence of where I’ve been than any stamp in my passport or immunization coursing through my veins.
But it’s not just the shoes that have quickly aged these past several months.
My yellow polo shirt has small, colorless splotches along the right side that used to be red wine stains before the woman at the laundromat went to work on them. My blue button-down has brown leather residue rubbed into the left-hip area, a badge of honor awarded for the many hundreds of miles I’ve walked since moving to South America, leather messenger bag slung over my shoulder, gently bouncing on that hip.
My green t-shirt has tiny dots where olive oil rained down upon it from a batch of pasta I was cooking for dinner one night. My watchband has been worn down into a thin strip many different shades of brown.
My dress shirt inexplicably has a red dot right on the back, right in the center, between the shoulders. Wine? Pen? Blood? I’m afraid to find out.
Miniature Hurdles
Despite the trouble (and cost to eventually replace them), it’s liberating to have an assortment of misfit possessions with me on my journey. For a very long time I was a slave to what I owned, and being able to carry these imperfect objects around – making full use of them and, GASP, sometimes not even ironing them before going out – has been a very different sort of challenge for me than simply traveling could provide.
And it’s these little hurdles, the micro-obstacles that really make a journey worth taking.
It’s possible to have very big, strong arms and to not rock climb very well. Rock climbing utilizes hundreds of little muscles that you seldom use and would probably never even know existed if not for the experience of trying to scale a rock wall.
If you have the chance to scale a wall, however, not only do you work out those muscles, but you are also made aware of them for the future. You can incorporate new exercises into your workout so that next time your mini-muscles will be able to handle the stress of a strenuous climb.
The same is true with my recent experiences. I never would have thought the horrible, rocky, bumpy roads in parts of South America could be so bad that they would destroy one of my portable hard drives, even when tucked away and protected by layers of stained clothing, but they did. Now I know that I should probably back more of my work up online and maybe even spring for a solid state drive, just in case.
You need some pretty solid biceps if you’re going to be a good rock climber, but you need a solid balance between the major muscles and the smaller ones if you’re really going to fly.
And it helps to have a workout shirt covered in blood, sweat and tears.
I’m really sorry to hear about the portable hard drive failure from your recent bus trip. As you know, that’s a topic close to our heart (we’re still in data recovery mode after 3 weeks!). We’ve become backup evangelists after our last experience (2nd failure in 1 year).
Your clothes and stuff may face a shorter life from your chosen lifestyle – going out and doing instead of watching from afar – but your life will be that much richer for that choice. Good luck with your next adventure in New Zealand – may you need new shoes and clothes after that experience, too!
I got in Buenos Aires last month a brand-new Samsung S2 500gb external hard-drive for 400 pesos. It’s tiny, fits in your pocket, and only requires a USB to plug-in (no power cords). Best deals on MercadoLibre, highly recommand.
“Rock climbing utilizes hundreds of little muscles that you seldom use and would probably never even know existed if not for the experience of trying to scale a rock wall.
If you have the chance to scale a wall, however, not only do you work out those muscles, but you are also made aware of them for the future.”
I think you touched on a significant point with this statement that goes far beyond the literal physical reference. Awareness. If we are unaware of the existence of something (rarely used muscles, a bad habit, an ingrained perception) we cannot consciously work towards improving it.
For my entire college career I was oblivious to the amount of debt from student loans I was racking up. It was OK because it was “good debt.” I was told and believed that everyone used student loans to pay for college. I would fill out the FAFSA. The Registrar’s office would estimate how much I would need to pay for tuition, room & board. A form would be conveniently provided with a “Sign here” and a smile. If I was “lucky” I would even get a refund check when the amount borrowed was more than the actual cost. *shakes head*
I’d love to be able to travel back in time, give myself a healthy smack and yell “PAY ATTENTION!” Yes, college is supposed to be fun and exciting. But you don’t need to mortgage your future for it to be either. A little care and education goes a long way.
Nice post.
I have black spots across the front of my only pair of shorts from a pen leak. At first I was a little self conscious but I kept wearing them because… they’re my only pair of shorts and very few people said anything.
Once someone said something while I was out for drinks so I made up a ridiculous story about Cobra poo. From that day on, all my worn & torn clothes grew ridiculous stories to come back at anyone annoying enough to point them out. The rip in my shirt is from fighting lions and sharks at the same time. Good times.
“The rip in my shirt is from fighting lions and sharks at the same time.”
Awesome. 🙂
I have to agree with Mike. Technique is more important than strength or size. 😉
Dang, I recently learned the same lesson about using online storage. I lost 5 articles I wrote for my blog because I usually write them in word first. But had my hard drive on my laptop fail.
I’d just like to through out there that you need good technique to be a solid rock climber more than you need solid biceps. 🙂 Great article though.
Haha….this brings me back to my wanders. You learn so quickly that you do need the little stabilizers in order to function at optimal levels. The small lessons learned support the grand theme. The more you work em the better! This is the perfect analogy for all my work in Pilates. You have to enable the smaller stabilizer muscle groups in order to support the usually overworked larger groups.
Sorry to hear about the back up drive, but you are figuring it out. It’s all such a process isn’t it?!
I learned that I don’t need as much “stuff” as I thought by watching friends on camping trips. One guy would come with a school backpack and a sleeping bag. He made do just fine, and had far fewer items to keep track of.
Eventually I weened myself off of packing things “just in case” because I generally didn’t need them. I don’t always need to be dressed up, it’s the activity and company that matter, not the appearances.
Sorry to hear about the back-up drive, but congrats on learning some wonderful life lessons!