welcome to my dorm

I just realized i havent shared any pics of my dorm (except for you guys who are friends with me on facebook!)

here are a few:

300 bananas a day

I'm goin bananas!

The other day the head chef of UTC called me and wanted to know if i wanted 2 boxes of ripe bananas. Of course I said yes.

layers and layers and layers of bananas. So many. Too many! They were all really ripe.

So. I froze about 3-4 big tubs of them for banana icecream. I have been making smoothies with the fresh ones all day for the past couple days.

I took about 10 bunches over to my friends house who has an excalibur dehydrator and I dehydrated them into banana chips (I actually just returned from their house to pick them up --- they are really good!) I usually don't eat much dried food but when you have this many RIPE bananas, you would too! I can't wait to share them... dried at low temperatures, nothing added!

I still have about 10 bunches of fresh ripe bananas left. I think i may have to cram more into the freezer... but we are running out of space! haha! I've been offering bananas to all my friends too.

Its banana city up in here!!!

Here are pictures of just a PORTION of the bananas we had...

My meal plan

Last week I moved into my dorm at UTC (University of Tennessee in Chattanooga).

At UTC, if you live on campus, you MUST have a meal plan. The cheapest plan is $525 a semester.

We have lots to choose from. Chik-fil-a, a pizza place, sushi, subway, and more. Yum! I can't wait to dig into that thurrr chicken!!!!!

The small fruit stand has apples, bananas, and oranges. ONE piece of fruit costs $1.09. Yes, ONE BANANA. ONE.

When I found this out I freaked out a little. If I can eat up to 22 bananas a day (on banana island, which I do a LOT during the winter), then that would be over 23 bucks just for one day. Ridiculous.

I got in contact with food services... but before I talked to them, my good friend steve (who got me into raw foods) talked to the head chef of UTC who works for aramark.

I met him when I first got here and he was SO nice. He basically told me that whenever i need food, I can go back behind the UTC kitchen into his HUGE walk-in fridge and pick out anything I want. He also told me that he can order me boxes of fruit.

I walked in the fridge. There isn't a lot of variety, but I can definitely get by. There were apples and oranges (they didnt look good). There were also honeydew and i think cantelope... but those wont be there too much longer. There are also veggies like cabbage, lettuce, and spinach... but if i do eat greens, i prefer them to be organic.

There are also boxes of bananas.

So....... I guess I will have to get by. If i get a box of apples, I will make applesauce. or my raw oatmeal (bananas and apples pureed in food processor... left a little chunky... sprinkle raisins on top... and dash of cinnamon if desired)

Last time I ate an orange at UTC, it burned the outside of my mouth. weird.

But i do somewhat trust the bananas. They look good. I guess I will doing a lot of time on banana island this year.

I can do this. If anyone has any suggestions, tips, or ideas, please let me know!

I am so glad i talked to food services.... i have a good deal now! I just need to play around with the variety somehow.....

Honoring Sam

The memorial for Sam was incredible.

It was one of the best nights i've ever had. Sam was there.

The lightning was magical. Lots of musicians were playing outside and thats when the lightning started. It got closer and closer to us until it was right above us, lighting up the sky every few seconds. Everyone could feel Sam. He was with us.

Sam and Becky made me a scrapbook a couple years ago. It was being passed around.

Johnny wrote a poem about Sam and read it out loud.

Videos of Sam were being watch.

His favorite cd's were being played.

His music friends were playing outside.

We were sharing funny stories.

Crying.

Laughing.

It was a great night.

Sam has touched so many people.

For the climbers, he was so encouraging. Even though he could climb everything with ease, he still had no ego whatsoever. Every climber respected his ridiculous strength.

For the musicians, he was pure inspiration. The best dobro player around.

Everyone loves Sam.

Everyone misses Sam.

RIP, Sammy Sparrow!

Here are some pictures I found:

RIP SAM

My friend died yesterday.

Honestly, I don't know what to do or what to think.

Sam was one of my best climber friends. He was one of my climbing partners last year. The crew was always me, Josh, Sam, and Becky. I had some of the best times of my life with them. We went climbing almost every weekend together and made more memories than you can imagine.

Sam was hilarious. He was extremely talented. He was an amazing musician and a very strong climber. He was so honest, loyal, and kind. He was one of the most fun people to be around... always making me die laughing.

I miss how he ate spinach straight from the bag. I miss he called me Atchilly. I miss how he talked like a pirate and our weird and hilarious discussion about open wound intercourse. I miss the nail game. I miss his overuse of the word "Frantic!" I miss how strong he was. I miss how much fun we had. I miss the "sweaty, douchebag" muffins. I miss climbing with him.

I lost a good friend.

The nashville climbing community lost a great member.

I will miss him forever.

Rest in Peace, Sam. I love you.

Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers!

sam and becky at cavefest in southern illinois. so much fun.


"Yarrrrrr" This is Sam on the boat when we went deep water soloing in southern illinois


chillin by the river. Sam, Becky, Max, Me, and Josh


me and sam watching josh climb in southern illinois:





p.s. i didn't go to the red...

packing for college

just givin an update:

Tomorrow I am going to the Red River Gorge in KY to do a little climbing. I return on Tuesday night and I leave for college on Wednesday.

Time is going by way too fast! I'm excited to move but i am not excited for classes....

I've just been packing all week. I'll give another update soon...