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ConleyBr
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Name: Brandon
Gender: Male
Interests: Film, Paintball, Camping, Hikeing, Adventure, Pirating the High seas. Oh and I like anything that is shiney, and or pointy.
Expertise: I make a killer sandwhich. A mean Chai Tea Latte. and I can clean any plate that is set in front of me.
Occupation: Soldier of Fortune
Industry: Entertainment
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  brandonconley
Member Since:
2/13/2005
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| Ok so today we sort of spur of the moment decided we're moving. I'm not very exited about the actual prospect of doing the move (I hate packing), and I'm not too exited about the extra cost of living at this apartment. But living here should be a lot of fun.
Justin and I are moving in to a two bedroom apartment that used to belong to his girlfriend Britt. She moved next door into a one bedroom place, we're taking the two bedroom, and our friends DT and KT Live upstairs. I think the place will end up being a crazy fun amount of hanging out.
I'll have a spot inside to park my car, bonus. On top of that I will be about three miles from work! I'll be able to ride my bike to the studio, and thus get some more exercise every day. I don't like North Hollywood as much as Glendale where I lived before, Glendale feels more suburban.
Anyway, movie is on, I'm distracted. Hope it all works good.
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| I'm not sure if anyone will read this anymore, but it's really for me anyway right? I've just been sitting here reading back into old entries, it makes me a little sentimental about my past. I guess with how much I've been working I almost did not realize that I've actually been living in LA for over two years. Sitting here reading all of the things that happened when I was living out in Grand Rapids really takes me back to another era.
I feel a little bit weird, so many of my friends are now married, some are having children. I guess at some point you have to finally admit that you are officially a grown up.
I'm home at my parents house for a vacation, I came home December 20th and am heading back to LA on the 11th. Whenever I'm home this long it gives my brain time to get out of work mode, and into reflection mode. I always end up like this, thinking about where I am in the world and why. Trying to decide if I'm on the right path, or if it is time for a change.
Am I on the right path? Do I need a change? On one hand I'd really like to stop missing everything that happens with my friends and family back home. I've always wanted to live in Michigan. On the other hand it is not logical for me to move away from an industry where I have connections, into an economically challenged state, during a recession.
Sometime I feel like I'm wasting my 20's, there is so much I could be out there doing, experiencing, learning and adventuring. Instead I spend the majority of my time on set 14 hours a day 5 days a week and do laundry on the weekend. For crappy pay too. sheesh!
I'm the type that asks himself an awful lot of deep questions, but never really sticks with it long enough to find answers to most of them. I've got most of a week left before I go back to LA lets see what I come up with shall we?
On a very happy side note, I have a Macbook pro coming in the mail, it could be here as of tomorrow. I've saved up for this thing like 4 times but each time I get enough in my account that I can almost justify buying it, I run out of work and end up spending it to survive. My Powerbook G4 that was gifted to me by Laura a fellow set PA is jenky you wouldn't think it worked if you looked at it. It's cracked, and dented (both of which were there when I got it) I have to prop the screen against something because both hinges broke out of the monitor (I did that). I'm so exited about my new Macbook pro!!!
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| So I decided to do a video of the switzer falls hike. I'm still having some video quality issues but if I get them resolved I'll upload a higher quality version. The internet changes all the rules when it comes to video. | | |
| I’ve been a bit of an insomniac lately. I keep finding myself staying up later and later every night. If I went to bed at 1 last night I didn’t fall asleep till 3 or 4. If I went to bed at 2 the following night I didn’t sleep till 4 or 5. Each day I find myself waking up a little later too. I think it’s partly just because my mind has been running around so much. There are so many thoughts bouncing around in my head. Also I think its part of my nature. If I’m not going to get fired for being late, I can’t get myself out of bed.
Last night I don’t even know when I finally fell asleep. It was probably as the sun was coming up I’m sure. I got up so late in the day that I’ve decided tonight is the night to turn my schedule around. I’ve tried to do it by getting up really early regardless of the amount of sleep I get, but it hasn’t worked. I just turn off my alarms and fall to the temptation of getting back in bed. Thus I have decided to stay up through the night and tomorrow night I will be plenty tired enough to go to bed at a decent hour.
So tonight I finished The Amber Spyglass, the last book of “His Dark Materials” a series by Philip Pullman. Some people have determined that these books are extremely anti Christian. Having read them I can see where they base their arguments, but only because I have read them. I’ve always found that avoiding something solely because it is contrary to my beliefs seems like a foolish idea. If I avoid it, how am I able to defend my beliefs against its attacks? I know what I believe based on the solid truth of the Word of God. No fiction novel written by an unbeliever is going to shake my faith. Thus if I read them, I can apply what I know from the Truth of the Word to defend my faith. Also I find the idea of boycotting something solely because it is the product of a non-Christian a very not Christ like thing to do. I think its yet another way Christians “shoot themselves in the foot” in the public relations department.
Honestly I don’t believe Pullman wrote these books with the intent to attack Christianity. I personally think these books were written by an unbeliever, with the intention create an epic story that would in turn glorify the things he finds virtuous. C.S. Lewis did very much the same thing, except the virtues he glorified lined up perfectly with the Christian faith because he was a believer. Pullman on the other hand does not hold value to things like organized religion at all.
I would personally avoid giving this series to someone who is searching, or is not solid in their faith. I do think it has a tendency to make ideas seem attractive that could pull someone away from making a decision to follow God. Especially if the person were not well grounded in the difference between reality and fiction. The series does give off a strong anti authority vibe. It clearly makes all religion seem like handcuffs used to restrain people’s desires and happiness. It also feels as though it was written by someone whose only experience with religion came from the Spanish inquisition. It does clearly encourage people to do what they think is good and right, but to give in to all their desires as long as it doesn’t destroy people.
The story was original, exiting, entertaining, and emotional. I very much enjoyed the read. I do feel like there may have been a little bit missing in the character development department. There was some sort of dryness or blandness to the characters that made them seem a little unrealistic, but I got past that quickly. Also there were just a few points where my desire to know more faded and I found it a little difficult to get myself reading again. Once I did I quickly got back into the story.
Lastly, Next time I do a hike I think I might try to take some video and post it online for entertainment value. Sometimes I think my words don’t do enough justice to the cool things I see.
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| So today I did a solo hike to Switzer falls. I've been wanting to check it out, and nobody else seems interested.
So I drove about 10 miles back into the Angeles National Forest probably about 20 miles from my place. I've not done too much hiking up there during the weekends, I normally take my trips during the week. The place was packed. I got there around 3:30, and I'm glad I did, the parking lot was almost full but there were a few people leaving.
You're on this windy mountain road that has you up against a cliff on one side and a shear drop on the other. Left, right, left, right, there is no such thing as a straightaway. Then you finally turn off into the Switzer Picnic area. The road leading down is switchback after switchback, I'd bet you drop 400 feet just from The Angeles Crest highway to the picnic area.
When you get out of the car there are a bunch grills and picnic tables randomly scattered along the banks of a stony bubbling creek, smattered with large boulders. The trees are ancient leafy green creating a thick canopy much unlike most of the forests of low pine and sagebrush in the area. I would guess they were some sort of oak, based on the acorns scattered around the forest floor.
A little ways downhill there is a bridge to cross the creek, and you start following the water's boulder strewn edge into an ever narrowing canyon. The first stretch is a nice worn in concrete path that looks like an old washed out road, but the further you go the less of the road remains and eventually you are walking on a narrow dirt path.
Shortly after the road ends the path becomes a little harder to follow. You have to boulder hop back and fourth across the water several times, trying to keep your feet dry. Eventually there comes a point where there isn't enough boulders to get across, but some helpful soul has laid two good size logs across the water to balance on as you cross.
(Ready: Shift to past tense)
Funny story, as I approached the two logs there was an older couple who had either a young daughter or grandchild with them, probably around 14 years old. One log was lower and touching the water, but it looked a little less sturdy and a little bit tippy. Grandma chose this log and crossed successfully. Grandpa on the other hand chose the large sturdy log. This log was a good three feet above the water but it was sturdy, wide and clearly would not roll, it was a little bit longer to cross though. Grandpa crossed on this successfully.
Granddaughter was trying to choose which log she was going to cross on, with Granddad strongly encouraging her to choose his path. As I was crossing (using grandmas log) I pointed out that while his log was bigger and more secure, it was also a longer fall to the rocks if you did mess up. They all chuckled and agreed. Granddaughter, to spite me, decided on Grandpas log. As I wandered along down the path. I hear Grandpa saying, "If you don't think you can balance on it, you could crouch down and crawl." Not wanting to embarrass the poor girl, I resisted the urge to watch and I walked around the next corner out of sight.
Not ten seconds later, I heard a loud girly scream. In my mind Granddaughter fell off the log hit her head and Grandparents aren't going to be able to pull her out of the water. I decided better be safe and make sure she's ok. So I head back up around the corner. Granddaughter has her arms and legs wrapped around the log and she's hanging on the bottom side dangling about 6 inches over the foot deep water. She had tried to crawl, lost her balance, and grabbed onto the log as she slipped. In the meantime Grandpa stepped into the water and is trying to scoot her along the log back to the shore. It was a ridiculous scene. Seeing that her only danger was a good soaking and a little hurt pride, I sneaked back around the corner trying not to be noticed. I laughed for the next five minutes.
(and... Shift back)
Back to the hike. After a few more stream crossings you eventually come to a split in the trail. One leads off to the top of the falls, which are just a few hundred yards downhill. The other goes up the side of the canyon for a view of the falls from above. I took that trail because I heard it will eventually take you to the base of the falls, which is what I was most interested in.
The view from above is impressive if a little obscured by brush. You're following a rocky path laid across cut stone in the side of a steep rock face. Looking out across the canyon you can see huge mountains reaching high into the sky. They lead down and down all the way to the canyon bottom. There the little creek dumps off an edge into a little pool, hangs a left, then dumps into a wide round chute that you can't see the bottom of. There are little people sitting around the edges of the falls, taking pictures eating snacks and re hydrating.
Continuing down the trail along the canyon side, you eventually come to another split. One leads off to Altadena a good 12 miles away (I believe it may be part of the Pacific Crest Trail), the other leads down toward the lower part of the creek below the falls. There is a steep decent with several switchbacks entering the canopy and eventually the everlasting twilight of the canyon bottom.
At this point you have to cross the river back and fourth almost constantly hopping from boulder to boulder heading back upstream to the falls. The sides of the canyon are steep rock faces that leave little room between themselves and the water.
Eventually you come to a pretty little waterfall, that rolls down a rounded rock face into a small pool. It flows out of another pool at the top with a short fall rolling into that pool as well. Here the rock faces are so narrow that you have to do a little bit of simple rock climbing over the falls to continue on to the main attraction.
Finally after another bout of log scrambling and, boulder hopping you reach the end. The falls roll down the steep rock face from probably 45 feet above. They fall clear of the wall about half way down, splashing into a moderate size pool about as big as a medium sized swimming pool. The pool at the bottom sits in the middle of a cylinder shaped room of sheer stone walls. Only a narrow section of wall is missing from the cylinder where the stream flows out. I'm coming back in the summer to swim.
All in all it was a beautiful hike, close to home, and there were people on the trail to keep me company. If I'm out with a group of friends I'd rather there weren't so many people, but on a solo hike, the company is reassuring in case I injure myself or need to borrow some bear repellent.
Oh and if you are tired at this point you're in trouble, cuz it's all up hill on the way out.
Oh, almost forgot. Halfway down I saw a formation of 4 fighter jets, F-16s i think, flying north.
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