“Learning to Walk
again,
I believe I have
waited long enough
where do I begin
Learning to Talk again,
Can’t you see I’ve
waited long enough
Where do I begin”
FooFighters, Walk
Who knew going to a FooFighters concert at the legendary
Fenway park could be such a compelling experience. I’ll get back to the Foo in a few paragraphs.
2015 USAW Nationals
Many of you have been inquiring about my elbow and if I will
be competing at the 2015 USAW nationals.
Sure, I will, I mailed paper registration, so I should appear on the
start list before the final entries.
Ok, JUST Kidding. I
just did that for the haters. Some people asked me out of genuine love and
regard for my health if I would be at nationals-- Others asked me out of thinly
veiled self-interest, secretly hoping would say “no” so it would give them a
better shot at medaling. Yeah, yeah,
yeah, I work in the corporate world, I have a very good BS detector.
I had a possibly
career ending injury, at American Open, saving my second attempt snatch at 90kg
(video is on my Instagram page @gwensisto). It’s healing miraculously, and I am thankful
for that. And, I need to appreciate my
Wolverine like superpowers and not take for granted my ligaments, again. I’m really beyond the point of going to
Nationals just to win another medal, because I have a trunk full of those. I
want my lifting to mean something, and I want to put my best work out
there. My mind is stronger than my body,
so I will push myself, once again, when my elbow is where it needs to be.
Moving on
So, what do I do to console my grief, my loss, my pain over
my injury---the grief of being number 1 on the American Open startlist only to
end my competition after my second lift, to sit out the final Pan Am Games
qualifiers, and, now, to sit out nationals.
Further, my coach, Ivan Rojas, spent the first half of July
in Toronto as National Coach of Panama for the 2015 Pan Am Games. I was happy that my Risto Sports Teammates
Rocio and Ariel (see their photos and video on the @ristosports Instagram)
would get to compete. At the same time, I
didn’t really want to be around longing for what could have been.
I guess I did the only thing I could do:
Go to Europe and console my grief in fois gras, speaking French, eating Steak saignante (that means bloody ;).
I guess I did the only thing I could do:
Go to Europe and console my grief in fois gras, speaking French, eating Steak saignante (that means bloody ;).
Lifting in Europe is interesting. In America, you basically can email any
crossfit or weightlifting club and ask to train there. 98% of the time, they will respond and offer
you training times. Worst case scenario, they may charge you a drop-in fee.
Most American gyms and crossfits do not charge a drop-in fee if you are a
seasoned lifter, especially if you own your own gym, and are coming in to do
your own workout and not to WOD. Part of this is
simple professional courtesy –understanding that one day , they might
have a lifter who may need to get in a session at your gym.
France is not at all like this. French culture is way more
relationship based. I have gotten lucky
that I found one gym of powerlifting champions that responded and seems to appreciate
having me stop by and train. Others seem to have the attitude that they don’t
know me, personally, so no effort is made.
So, my hit rate on emailing crossfits in France is like 50% and maybe
60% for Switzerland. In Germany, which
is a bit more explicit culture like USA , my hit rate is 100%. In France, there are many public gyms, often
located underneath the community pool. Some are free , some aren’t, and some of these gyms are Salle
d’halterophilie or weightlifting gyms. Good luck getting in contact with the
management unless you physically stop by , perchance, when they are
training, or if you know someone who
knows someone that will put you in contact.
Still, when I do get to train at a gym in France, the people are awesome,
and I appreciate it greatly.
When I go to France for work, I almost never have a free day
or weekend to explore nearby countries.
This time it worked out, and I had a free weekend to fulfill my dream of
re-creating “The Sound of Music” in the Swiss alps. And, of course, I worked in
a training session.
I trained at CrossFit Helvetix in Basel Swtizerland. Though
I drove there, it is right next to the train station . It’s a very nice space
especially for being in a city, and the trainers exchanged shirts with me which
is very cool. They had Elieko bars which
is a plus. More importantly, I really liked the people there.
I spent some time at the base of the biggest mountains in
Switzerland, one being the Eiger. At the
base is Thunsee, this gorgeous mountain lake.
I have never seen water so aqua colored. It was sky blue with a hint of
green – not like water in the Caribbean—it looked like something out of the
Wizard of Oz. There were mountains
flanking all sides of the lake, some with steep slopes with chalets dotting
their sides. It almost looked like villas on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea
, other parts made me think of a Swedish Fjord.
The landscape was gorgeous; the food was… ehhh…not so
much. Switzerland has 4 official
languages, one of which is French. My French did me almost no good as I
happened to be on the German side of Switzerland, so almost every sign was in
German. The menus were all in German. In
many cases, I was better off speaking English than French in this part of
Switzerland. I went to an Italian
restaurant, thinking as Italian is also an official Swiss language the Italian
food must be good, right? Well, the
glaze on their Veal Saltimbocca came out like some heavy German sauce, and
their risotto was tangy. It was weird. The
chocolates, Kaffee, and Kuchen were good though. I quickly figured out to only
order German food or eat chocolate.
 |
| Random cliff with swirling rock formations overlooking downtown Interlaken, Switzerland , Berner Oberlander |
The highlight of Switzerland was going to Bern and seeing
the Einstein museum. Einstein had
written the theory of relativity in his apartment in downtown Bern while a
patent clerk. I also remember fondly
playing SimCity on super Nintendo, with Bern being one of the city scenarios
you could play.
 |
| Downtown Bern, Switzerland |
Bern looks like a fairy tale town. The river is also a
strangely perfect aqua blue, also looking very Wizard of Oz-ish. Bern is also closer to the Berner Oberlander, where the Eiger and other giant Swiss mountains are, than say Zurich or Lucern.
Einstein , Einsteinhaus |
| Einstein's house, Bern, Switzerland |
What I got out of seeing Einstein’s house: For the most part, he was either an average
or bad student and never felt like he fit in. He actually dropped out of his first school (equivalent of junior high?). And, yes, he didn't always test well.
He was only a great student when he really liked his school. In college, he wouldn’t bother going to lectures that did not interest him, hurting his status at graduation, and that is probably why he ended-up as a patent clerk. Additionally, he was a loaner except for the couple friends he made through playing music and his wife, the only female student at his university.
Still, he had great ideas and kept working on them, regardless of being affiliated with a university or not. Because of the few friends he made through his love of playing the violin, he had help along the way of making connections with other great thinkers. Because of the humility of other great thinkers in academia, and their willingness to recognize Einstein’s talent, he eventually received positions at universities where he could fully dedicate himself to his interests. Yes, he was very smart, and by working with other great minds, he was able to fully develop his ideas. So, persistence, talent, and finding your advocates leads to success., and often, its the people we least expect, who are the most talented. Still, no one does it alone, not even an Einstein.
He was only a great student when he really liked his school. In college, he wouldn’t bother going to lectures that did not interest him, hurting his status at graduation, and that is probably why he ended-up as a patent clerk. Additionally, he was a loaner except for the couple friends he made through playing music and his wife, the only female student at his university.
Still, he had great ideas and kept working on them, regardless of being affiliated with a university or not. Because of the few friends he made through his love of playing the violin, he had help along the way of making connections with other great thinkers. Because of the humility of other great thinkers in academia, and their willingness to recognize Einstein’s talent, he eventually received positions at universities where he could fully dedicate himself to his interests. Yes, he was very smart, and by working with other great minds, he was able to fully develop his ideas. So, persistence, talent, and finding your advocates leads to success., and often, its the people we least expect, who are the most talented. Still, no one does it alone, not even an Einstein.
Back to France, Luxembourg
When I crossed the border back into to France, for a second I
thought “ahh, I’m home”. There is
nothing like French food. Even terrible
food in France is still better than average food most anywhere else. The French
have impeccable food standards.
I also was blessed to be in France for the 14th
of July or Bastille Day. Since
everything was closed in the morning, I decided to visit Luxembourg, another
country. From where I was situated, the
drive was about as far as driving from Risto Sports to Boston, like an hour. I drove while listening to FooFighters ‘ Sonic Highways album; I had my fill of French EDM by then.
Luxembourg was like a little Switzerland,
except with most people speaking French. The signs were in French and German,
and, instead of mountains, there were steep hills. Like Bern, Luxembourg seemed
to be built on two sides of a ravine, no river though. In Luxembourg, their French sounded almost
like how Americans speak French, so much, that the people I talked to seemed to
guess I was actually from France.
 |
| The center of Luxembourg, Luxembourg |
I returned to France that night as that is when people
really start to wake-up on the 14th of July. One of my customers had
recommended I go to a “bal de pompier” or fireman’s ball. I was told it was a traditional French dance
with traditional French music (ie the accordion) held in a firehouse or
caserne.
So, when I arrive to this firehouse, there is not an
accordion to be seen. I walk into to a
bangin, loud club, blasting out EDM (electronic music) - complete with a French DJ and strobe
lights. It was crazy. The finale included a special performance by
the muscle-bound firefighters themselves.
These great patriots performed a “Chippendales striptease” from the roof
of the firehouse down to their underwear. Fortunately, it was only male
firefighters. In the audience was
anyone, including children. Ehh, its
Europe, they still had close on so guess its PG rated. I relayed the story to my French co-workers,
and they were like “Ohh yeah, sometimes that happens. Usually in smaller towns
though.” Gotta love France. video on @gwensisto instagram
Foo fighters
Like many things in life, I’m not sure how I wound-up at a
FooFighter concert in Fenway Park, Boston, but I’m sure it was meant to be. So,I happened to know a Rock photographer-
actually through my engineering connections, of all places- that gave me a
heads-up on the FooFighters tickets at Fenway
 |
| FooFighters at Fenway Park, Boston July 18, 2015 |
The FooFighters accomplished an amazing feat being about
1000x’s better live than on their records, and I love their records. They are hands down the best Rock show I have
seen.
Dave Grohl exuded this charisma and intensity that you just
don’t get from the FooFighters records.
He was so animated throughout the show, inspite of his leg being in a
cast, and controlled the crowd of over 40,000.
It really is a phenomena that could only be observed and appreciated by
attending a live show. Further, Dave
Grohl looked incredibly sexy as he wielded his guitar upon his FooFighter guitar
throne.
They opened with the most up-tempo, hardest, and intense-ist
version of “Everlong” I had ever heard.
Isn’t that awesome that they opened with probably their most famous
song, and it really got the crowed going.
They basically played all their hits (except for long road to ruin and
rope) and a few tracks off their new album, Sonic Highways.
Their live renditions of their hits are just louder, harder,
more rock and roll versions with extended guitar riffs and
Dave Grohl throwing in plenty of rock and roll howls. Again, I am so thrilled with how intense Dave
Grohl was; his live self was such an inspiring surprise. And, who knew Taylor Hawkins, the drummer
could sing so well. Aside from Dave and
Taylor, there are 2 guitarists, a bassist, and a keyboardist; all were much
less animated, though Pat Smear was interesting to watch.
They were cool enough to discuss at length their love for
Queen. They play the open bars of “another one bites the dust”. Taylor Hawkins
sang notes like Freddy Mercury to the crowd. They then played “Under Pressure”,
with Taylor singing the Freddy Mercury part and Dave singing the David Bowie
part.
The night was complete with Dave mentioning that someone “let
out a Bababooey in the front row”, a fan’s homage to Grohl’s Howard Stern
connections. And, Dave’s nice guy deed
of the night was reaching down and signing a girls cast.
The concert left me thinking that Dave Grohl is truly great
at being a real rockstar , not just that bullshit term “rock star” that people
throw around. His performance inspired
me, once again, to truly be great at something, to be great at the one thing or
things that I'm meant to be great at.
Thank you, Dave Grohl.
Alas, Nirvana…
Still, I can’t help watching FooFighters and not think about
Nirvana. Honestly, can anyone? It’s not a bad thing. What would have happened if Kurt Cobain was
still with us? Would there be a
FooFighters? Who knows.
The music is so different, and both are great. I feel like Nirvana really captured all the
emotions I was feeling from middle school until the part of college. That pent-up
angst and rage that accumulates when you either: feel like you’re an outcast or a loaner or
like you don’t belong or just feeling oppressed, misunderstood by others. And
it was belted out by Kurt Cobain who was both charismatic and gorgeous, and he
didn’t seem to know that, which only increases his beauty.
But, as I get more knowledge and wisdom I realize I can't make everyone happy and no one can
oppress me because I own my emotions, so , now, when I hear Nirvana its more
cathartic. I feel sad at times thinking
about how such beautiful music came , at times, from such a dark place. And
underneath that rage there is introspection, empathy, and compassion. Just watch, “Montage of Heck”**; the documentary shows Kurts’ family having
completely failed him, having failed at finding a way to nurture or to support
someone bursting with creativity(that’s the impression that I get). I only wonder if Kurt’s stomach ailments,
that reportedly were assuaged by heroine, stem from stress of a really crappy
childhood. Like Franz Kafka said, “ we
ought to read …books that wound and stab us”, Nirvana’s music does that to me.
So, yeah, I’m ready to walk again. I believe I’ve waited
long enough,
to get back on the platform.
* I'm sure I could also draw-in an Einstein comparison to Cobain, but I thought it would be a bit much at this point in the article.
** it was a very sad film, especially as all the terrible parts are based on someone's real life.
** it was a very sad film, especially as all the terrible parts are based on someone's real life.
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