Ben Haan

One of the beautiful swimming areas at turner falls!

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 14:48:54 -0500

One of the beautiful swimming areas at turner falls!

"Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It’s the courage to continue that counts."

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 18:58:09 -0500

“Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It’s the courage to continue that counts.”

- Winston Churchill

Writing for me

Sun, 20 May 2012 18:40:08 -0500

For the longest time, I’ve always thought of writing as something that had to be this profound thing that needed to be perfect, thought provoking, and meant for others enjoyment. That writing is only something you do if you know someone will read it and gain benefit from it.

Don’t get me wrong, those are great things to think about while writing. And you hope people will read and enjoy what you write. I’m realizing though that, for me, this misconception has kept me from writing. I want that to change. And I need that to change. It needs to change because I believe that everyone has something great they can share with the world. We each perceive the world in unique ways and have different perspectives.

So I’m going to work on adjusting my idea of writing, and try writing for me. Use writing as a way for me to collect, organize, and express the thoughts, ideas, and feelings I have out of my head.

At times it probably won’t be perfect, or thought provoking, but that’s okay. For now, I just want to be okay with writing and sharing. I don’t know how often I’ll write, but if I’m okay with this new idea, I think it will be more frequent.

Welcome to a new season for me!

"THE BUILDERS All are architects of Fate, Working in these walls of Time; Some with massive deeds..."

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:34:25 -0500

“

THE BUILDERS

All are architects of Fate,
Working in these walls of Time;
Some with massive deeds and great,
Some with ornaments of rhyme.

Nothing useless is, or low;
Each thing in its place is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest.

For the structure that we raise,
Time is with materials filled;
Our to-days and yesterdays
Are the blocks with which we build.

Truly shape and fashion these;
Leave no yawning gaps between;
Think not, because no man sees,
Such things will remain unseen.

In the elder days of Art,
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
For the Gods see everywhere.

Let us do our work as well,
Both the unseen and the seen;
Make the house, where Gods may dwell,
Beautiful, entire, and clean.

Else our lives are incomplete,
Standing in these walls of Time,
Broken stairways, where the feet
Stumble as they seek to climb.

Build to-day, then, strong and sure,
With a firm and ample base;
And ascending and secure
Shall to-morrow find its place.

Thus alone can we attain
To those turrets, where the eye
Sees the world as one vast plain,
And one boundless reach of sky.

”

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

detroitlives: womenslaserstudies: Reason #529 that I miss...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:26:00 -0500

detroitlives:

womenslaserstudies:

Reason #529 that I miss living in Michigan

Reason #313 that I love living in Michigan

It’s an amazing thing! Glad I was able to find a place in Oklahoma that sells the real thing.

I would love to wake up to a view like this, at least once in my...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:12:27 -0600

I would love to wake up to a view like this, at least once in my life. Such an amazing view!!!

danieldemoss: Working with my friends, Tony, Alex and Ben from...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:14:02 -0600

danieldemoss:

Working with my friends, Tony, Alex and Ben from Elemental Coffee in Oklahoma City

Good times!

For the holidays, I headed back to MI to spend time with family. And instead of flying the whole...

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 21:20:43 -0600

For the holidays, I headed back to MI to spend time with family. And instead of flying the whole way, I decided to take a more scenic route. Flying to Chicago and then taking the train to Grand Rapids. Due to the timing of my flights and when the train leaves, I had a plenty of time to explore Chicago. This also meant I had plenty of “alone time.” As a result, a lot of cool things have been flying around in my head. Hoping to write a post, or two, soon and try writing as sort of a way for me to better understand what I’m thinking. No promises as to when though :)

Figured working on this may help me think through a problem....

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:47:22 -0600

Figured working on this may help me think through a problem. It’s almost solved!

tonysteward: speedwellracing: Danny Macaskill - Industrial...

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:52:36 -0500

tonysteward:

speedwellracing:

Danny Macaskill - Industrial Revolutions (by cutmedia1)

Danny Macaskill’s videos are a must share. His riding is outrageous. It’s inspiring for all types of cyclists.

It is hard to imagine that this is even possible - UNBELIEVABLE display of bike skills.

"Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the..."

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:09:13 -0500

“Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses…climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energies, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”

- John Muir (via jmccartie)

Took this pretty epic fall while deep water soloing at Lake...

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:07:51 -0500

Took this pretty epic fall while deep water soloing at Lake Eufaula. The crimp I was using just came off! Despite the fall though, I had a lot of fun climbing, and jumping off, this cliff.

Thanks goes to John Otjen for capturing it and piecing it together.

I had a lot of fun hanging with some friends at the climbing gym tonight. Started the night with...

Tue, 24 May 2011 00:11:04 -0500

I had a lot of fun hanging with some friends at the climbing gym tonight. Started the night with some bouldering and I’m definitely noticing an improvement in my technique. Problems that before seemed to difficult just by looking at them, I am now at least able to make progress on.

After bouldering I got persuaded into some lead climbing. This is normally not a big deal, except that the route just happened to be a 5.11b!!! This was a full rating above what I had lead climbed before. I ended up saying yes because I figured it would be a fun challenge, and I had only fallen once when I climbed it on top rope. It was a totally different experience lead climbing the route, and I fell multiple times. I stuck it out though and made it to the top! I may not have done it “clean” (climbers term for doing a route without falling), but I completed it, and now I can say I’ve lead climbed a 5.11b! So now my personal challenge is to lead it clean.

"I guess you’re either headin’ somewhere or you’re endin’ up somewhere."

Mon, 23 May 2011 17:22:29 -0500

“I guess you’re either headin’ somewhere or you’re endin’ up somewhere.”

- Book of James by We Are Augustines (via danieldemoss)

While in Michigan visiting family, I went and checked out the...

Sat, 07 May 2011 17:13:41 -0500

While in Michigan visiting family, I went and checked out the Higher Ground climbing gym near downtown Grand Rapids. The gym was really nice. They have one room for rope climbing, and two rooms for bouldering! The staff was really nice and cool to talk to as well.

I will probably go back the next time I am back in Grand Rapids.

Some pictures from a hiking trip I took with Daniel Demoss to...

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 10:57:00 -0600

Some pictures from a hiking trip I took with Daniel Demoss to the Wichita’s. Was so peaceful and beautiful out there.

"You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t possibly live long enough to make them all..."

Sat, 27 Nov 2010 16:39:50 -0600

“You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t possibly live long enough to make them all yourself.”

- Sam Levenson (via kmorey)

Type Talk at Work

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 11:32:32 -0600

Me: He's an "F" too, isn't he?
Tony: Ugh. I don't know. This place is being overrun by F's.
Me: What? It is not!
Tony: It's like the zombie apocalypse, but with hugs.

Was interesting to see something this in downtown OKC. Really...

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 17:47:17 -0500

Was interesting to see something this in downtown OKC. Really cool though.

Had an awesome time climbing this week at RockTown in OKC.

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 20:28:14 -0500

Had an awesome time climbing this week at RockTown in OKC.