Photo by Marion Kaufer of Marion Photography in Tucson, AZ!

 

Honey Badger just takes what it wants

Welcome to Badger’s Blogspot!

Please have a seat and get comfortable. Or run around in circles, do somersaults, dance, or hang upside down. Whatever makes you happy. 🙂

I am a busy litigator in Seattle, and I spend entirely too much time (including some nights and weekends) “driving a desk,” steeped in high levels of stress. I manage multi-million dollar complex litigation against insurance companies for commercial property and casualty claims. The nature of the work requires almost constant mental attention and agility—often at 3:00 in the morning. I love my work and have the best clients in the world, but it is all-consuming and not always so good for one’s health. A few decades of hard work have left me pretty much mentally and physically exhausted. I need a serious break. In April, I received an email, asking for women to apply to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with Heather Thomson (for more info, see my September 3, 2016 blog post).  It was just what the doctor ordered. It has been a while since my last really epic challenge (riding my bicycle from Seattle to San Francisco in 2008), and it is time to distance myself from work for a bit and concentrate on ME, While climbing with our incredible team, I will forget that I am a lawyer for a little while and immerse myself in nature and teamwork: two things I love. I hope that I can bring a good sense of humor and lots of support to the other climbers while getting myself to the summit. I want to prove to the world that women of all sizes, shapes, and ages can conquer seemingly insurmountable challenges. I want to remind people that they shouldn’t judge a proverbial book by its cover. My desire to do this journey can really be summed up in a simple quote ostensibly made by Jack Kerouac: “Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. CLIMB THAT GODDAMN MOUNTAIN.” And that’s exactly what we will do come September 2016.

Before we start our journey, in case you’re wondering, no, my parents did not name their child “Badger.” One of my law colleagues gave me that nickname over 10 years ago, and it stuck. I’m not a professional blogger, so, yeah, I’ll be keeping my day job for the foreseeable future. For now, let’s talk about MOUNT KILIMANJARO and EMPOWERING WOMEN!!!

Go Team Kili 2016!!!! Roar!!!!!! Honey Badger Don’t Care!!!!! It just takes what it wants!!!!

Onward and UPWARD!

– Badger

UPDATE:  Yes, I made it!  We summited on September 25, 2016. See blog post.

And yes, I retired and moved to Tanzania.