Which column do you fall into?

Everyone who knows about My Big Plan falls into 1 of 2 categories-Those who have readily embraced the idea and said, "Really?? That is fantastic!!!" and those who have said, "Why would you want to do that?"
The people who think it is a great idea usually then ask how I came up with the idea in the first place. Truth be told, an old co-worker is to blame. Kim is an avid reader and everyday at the hospital, the social workers would sit in the cafeteria at lunch and discuss which books each of us was reading. Or should I say they were reading. At that time, I was more interested in reading research articles than novels. When I said that I didn't really like fiction, Kim asked if I'd ever heard of the non-fiction book Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. I hadn't. In fact, a book about mountaineering sounded kind of dull and boring. She said I'd "love it" (everyone says that) and then loaned me the book. I finished it in a few days and then proceeded to push the book on everyone I knew, telling them, "No, you HAVE to read it!! You'll LOVE it!!" And thus began my obsession with Everest.
Its my guess that 50% of people who decide to do the Everest Base Camp Trek were spurred by the book Into Thin Air, so I know I'm not alone in my obsession and I know I'm not unique. A few months after reading the book, I decided to do something utterly ridiculous and book an Introduction to Mountaineering course with Mountain Madness, one of the guiding companies from the book. The course may not be out of the ordinary if you live in a place where there are mountains. Or even hills. Suburban Chicago, though? Yeah, not so much.
Hey, Ed Viesturs hails from Rockford, Illinois so I guess it's not that absurd of an idea, right? Yes, go ahead, I'll wait while you look up Ed Viesturs on Wikipedia.