This post is a story about a climbing trip that Luke and I went on to Red Rock just outside of Las Vegas in 2023 to attempt to finish Epinephrine (Epi). For an intro and to our first two scouting sessions on Epi, see https://www.jasonkoppe.com/posts/climbing-trip-report-epi-1-and-2/. I won’t go into the details of that trip here, but suffice it to say that we didn’t ever finish Epi on our first two attempts - nor did we think we would - but one of the attempts was … more influential than the other.
This post is a story about two climbing trips that Luke and I went on to Red Rocks just outside of Las Vegas in 2022 to prepare for an eventual climb of Epinephrine, the famous 5.9 in Red Rocks. We made progress on our climbing goals, did some scouting, changed plans numerous times, were involved in multiple accidents, one of us got a moderate injury and, of course, we had fun.
We were hosting a potluck with family and I was in charge of cooking the standing rib roast (aka prime rib). It was my first time cooking this dish which is popular in the USA at this time of year. Leading up to the cooking day, we researched portion sizes and cooking approaches. Beforehand, we decided not to bother with frenching the ribs since it seemed more cosmetic than practical and to skip tying the ribs since we didn’t have twine.

Getting off Google: Migrated the website

- 5 mins read
I migrated my website from Google to Hugo on Cloudflare. If you were subscribed to RSS, you probably need to resubscribe to the new RSS. From: Google Sites (WYSIWYG website creation) - Basic info Google Blogger (WYSIWYG blog publishing) - Blog Google Docs - Drafting blog posts Google Domains - Registrar + DNS To: Hugo, a static site generator Able to combine the site and blog together with Hugo’s flexibility Using the Poison theme for Hugo Used https://pypi.

I left Indeed

- 3 mins read
My last day at Indeed was Friday, March 10. I spent about 14 of my 36 years there, approximately 40% of my life. It’s been a fun ride! I’ve grown so much during my time at Indeed, in large part because of the amazing people that I got to learn from. I cherish the friendships that I’ve developed through these years and will continue to grow them. I consider myself lucky to have joined Indeed, and I feel grateful for being a part of growing a company with a socially-oriented mission of helping people get jobs.

Somatic Release Breathwork

- 3 mins read
I recently went through a private and individual Somatic Release Breathwork session with Dr Dave Cohodes in Austin, Texas. I was curious to try the session because: I’ve had increased anxiety recently, so I’ve been trying to learn about anxiety, understand anxiety, and what contributes to mine. After going through 3 years of talk therapy, being privileged to have months of EMDR and practicing meditation for over 5 years, I am a huge proponent of mental health therapies.

Truth

- 2 mins read
I just finished Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. It’s a narrative of the history and legacy of residential schools in Canada which interleaves a multitude of stories, perspectives, and calls to action throughout. And while this approximately 300 page narrative is a summary of reality, it was eye opening for me. I learned about colonialism, assimilation, racism, perseverance, and partnership.

Novelty, anxiety, growth

- 17 mins read
(~3500 words; reading time: 20 minutes) How much of your life experiences are new-to-you novelty? How do you balance optimism and pessimism while navigating novelty? How do you notice anxiety? Have you ever felt stuck? Multiple experiences in the last few months have led me to reflect on the continuum of experience from routine to novelty. I’ll tell you a story for each: Doing something new at work A colleague taking a visible leap

Dream Team

- 20 mins read
Reading time: 30-40 minutes :) Have you ever wanted to do something? Perhaps go to college. Or start a blog. Or pay off debt. Or climb a mountain. Or raise children. Or create and run a school in the Philippines. Or retire near a beach. Have you ever made a todo list, a bucket list, new year resolutions, goal or (gasp) an objective with some key results? I’ve tried all of these, and probably more, to plan my future.

Live and learn: sharing a practice of imprfection

- 2 mins read
I started this blog because I wanted to write more. Writing and sharing my writing help me clarify my thoughts and become a better communicator. Communication is one of our Dona-Koppe family values. I have dreams to write about many different topics through this blog – personal, professional, concrete, abstract. In a flurry of new year energy, I recently brainstormed a list of about 30 blog posts. The list is both energizing and daunting.