Breathing Part D'uh (Deux)

After my excitement following my allergy shot last week it occurred to me that I have been clearing my throat and coughing quite a bit over the last few weeks and I have been maxed out on my decongestant for a few months now when previously I'd take 1-2 tablets every few months. I thought it might be a good idea to go in and see Dr Becker to see if we could figure out what's going on. He decided it wasn't caused by allergies, might be an infection, no CT scan ruled that out. Hey, GERD can present with chest congestion/coughing. Figures. Since I'm already maxed out on my omeprazole he decided I should add Zantac on top of the omeprazole for a month and see if it helps at all. GERD sucks! Fingers crossed that this clears things up.

And after that appointment I got to go have my feet beat up by Carmen. Hurts so good! In the event anyone thinks I don't like having my feet worked on, true it does hurt during, but it really feels better afterwards.

Wednesday Practice Canceled

After last Saturday's race it seems a bit of a cop out to cancel practice due to wind. In our defense we lost one person so we were down to only four in the OC6 and I guess the wind has been pretty gusty. Four paddlers on a calm evening is totally manageable, four in gusty wind, not so much. Unless the four are Alan, James, Kevin, and Jim or others of that calibre. No offense, but our four were not them.

Last Night

My new paddle arrived yesterday! I went to check my mail and found a notice that the manager was holding a package for me. We have a new apartment manager, she seems very nice and eager to correct all the craziness left by the last manager, same with the new maintenance guy. Anyway, Miranda went behind the partition to look for my package, finally said she just couldn’t find it, I pointed out that it was the 4.5 ft tall box staring at her at eye level, oh there it is! This new paddle is so pretty! All new paddles are pretty, kind of like all puppies and kittens are cute. I can’t wait to use it, probably won’t be until the weekend though.

Went out for dinner last night to Divine, they are part of the promotion 3 for $30, trying to get the word out about new restaurants. Scotty came along. We were sort of celebrating my NEW PROMOTION!! I had my annual review last week and I am now EcoChem’s newest Project Chemist. I really wasn’t expecting it until next year, either. Dinner was very nice, I had the goat with home made pasta and Scotty had the briami, sort of a veggie stew.

On a completely different note: The Toasters are coming to town on Thursday, January 31, to Studio Seven. I have seen The Toasters countless times back when I lived in Rhode Island. They are the longest running US ska band, been around for 26 years now. Ska is a very fast paced, high energy sound, a little similar to rockabilly, it is a precurser to reggae, and there is almost always a horn section. I would generally dance so enthusiastically at ska shows that I’d need to see my chiropractor the next day! Tickets day of the show are only $12, can’t beat that for 5 bands! I’m gonna be there, will you?

Recovery Day

I figured after yesterday's adventures I deserved a leisurely day, not that I really need any excuse to be lazy ... I rolled out of bed around 10 and only then because I felt guilty about the dog's bladders. Got the dogs out and then fed, got my coffee going and started to think about what to do today, if anything. Since the dogz had spent the day home alone a trip to the dog park seemed like a good plan. As we were getting collars on the building wide fire alarm sounded. Stop, pack up the laptop, grab the passport that was still on the counter from yesterday, get the leashes on and get away from that evil sound. We hung around for a bit, no fire, just alarms, so headed out to the park. We saw a number of corgis we'd met on previous outings, had some good fetching and running around, got good and muddy and came on home. I decided today would be bath day after which I was overcome by a major nap. Pedicures would have to wait. Woke up, did all the nails and started on baking a sweet bread pudding. It's still in the over and smells great. I'm trying a tip from a friend, I've soaked the raisins in water in hopes they won't rise to the surface and burn, as they typically do. Fingers crossed. Hope you all had a great lazy Sunday.

PS I got the final results from yesterday's race. They came clean and said the race distance was 7.5 miles! There were three in the master women category and I took second, there were only three women who paddled in the race of 31 paddlers.

I got worked

I went up to Jericho in Vancouver, BC this morning. We left Seattle around 6:45 with a full carload, Ed was paddling OC2 with Clem, who had gone up Fri night, and Doug N who was paddling OC1, and my friend Scotty who loves anything to do with boats. I paddled this one OC1.

For any small boat race I participate in I have three goals I hope to meet. 1) don't huli (flip the boat), 2) finish the race, 3) don't finish dead last. I very nearly didn't meet two of my goals. I came damn close to huli'ing on more than one occasion, way too close for comfort. I was also very close to finishing dead last.

Conditions started out ideal, not too cold, not much wind, and the snow that had been predicted never materialized. We were told it was about 6 miles. Leave from in front of the dock, go towards False Creek, around 2 channel marker bouys, then back and around the first dolphin (large wooden piling marker structure), and back to the dock to finish. Up towards False Creek was upwind and not so bad. I was feeling a little out of shape and held back some as I didn't want to start coughing. I was at the back of the rapidly spreading out pack. There was one kapuna master guy (over 55) near me, about halfway to the bouys I was able to pull away from him some, but couldn't seem to catch anyone else. That first leg also cut right through a sailing regatta, at one point I was sure a sail boat was going to split me in half, probably passed 50 ft behind me. I was able to surf a couple of bumps along the way to the bouys, that was kind a fun, feeling a surge of speed that wasn't your doing. Around the first bouy, then the second, damn, where is everyone!

By then he wind had picked up some and so did the bumps. The water was pretty disorganized, too, couldn't really tell where all the chop was coming from. This is where I nearly huli'd, the bumps were mostly coming from the ama side, the left side, at one point the ama popped out of the water quite a ways. At one point I paddled in towards the beach, I was hoping for two things, first to get away from some of the bumps and second to get away from the big container ships. I then headed back towards the dolphin and I wasn't anywhere near anyone else. When I was within a mile of the dolphin I could see how strong the tide was, combined with the bumps and I was getting kind of nervous. I hiked my butt up on the left edge of the boat so I could sit on the ama to add to the stability of the boat (the ama is on the left). I started paddling 10 strokes on the right side to 20 on the left and pointed myself directly towards the dolphin.

There was a woman who'd been in my sights pretty much the entire race, I never figured I have a chance to pass her. Here was my chance, she was struggling with the bumps and the current and ended up taking a much wider line around the dolphin. I worked so hard to stay on the higher line, actually pointed myself inside the marker and let the current push me out just far enough, I could reach out and touch it as I went past. Now I just had to dig in and finish and I wouldn't finish last. I hadn't seen the kapuna guy in so long I figured he must have quit. That last leg was a hard upwind push that never seemed to end and I pretty much had lost feeling in my toes, too. My GPS recorded nearly 7 miles as I went around the last turn. I pushed and gave it all I had to the end, glancing back occasionally to see how close Darcy was, still behind me, keep pushing! I was never so happy to hear a horn when I finally crossed the finish line!

Scotty called down his congratulations as I rounded the dock. He said everybody was looking beaten down and it was a harder race than any expected. I got into the beach, Doug and I carried the boat up. I could hardly walk my feet were so cold. Scotty offered to fetch my clothes from the car while I hobbled up into the locker room looking forward to a nice hot shower while Doug rinsed off the boat for me. Finishing nearly last has it's perks! Doug and Scotty biggest mahalos for your help! That nice hot shower was tepid at best, but the color did come back to my hands and feet eventually. My official time was 1 hr 36 min and my GPS course length was 7.7 miles, part of that was my zig zagging, but not 1.7 miles worth! We stuck around for the awards ceremony and as things were wrapping up I saw that kapuna master guy come in. He did finish the race; that's one tough dude. That was a really hard race, I felt worked afterwards. Had a great time and would do it again in a heartbeat. Oh, wait, I'm going down to Portland in 2 weeks for another one!

breathing is highly overrated

I've had allergies since I was about 18, discovered them the first spring I was in college. I punctuated an instructors lecture with sneezes, it would have been more funny if I hadn't felt so icky. I'm on good antihistamines now and allergy shots, too, I'm generally feeling pretty good allergy-wise. I am allergic to dogs, cats, anything that can/does bloom, produce pollen, or mold, so really pretty much everything. It doesn't stop me from having cats or dogs, their positive benefit far outweighs the negative. Just before I got Gus I told my allergist I was getting a dog. She asked if I could keep it out of the bedroom, I said 'I could lie to you and say yes.' She made a note in my chart and never again mentioned it, she was really cool.

This morning I went in for my regular monthly maintenance allergy shot, as I have done for, what feels like, countless years. I am allergic to so many things I get a shot in each arm. I went and sat down and quite promptly began coughing, started out like a little tickle in my throat and quickly ramped up to holy cow I can't take any sort of breath without feeling compelled to try and cough up a lung. I went for a drink of water, didn't help. I went over to the nurse, "ya, I'm coughing kind of a lot and since you are here and I'm here I thought I'd mention it". They really move fast when you say stuff like that! I was whisked back into and exam room, they wheeled in the emergency cart of stuff, brought in the doctor on duty, and started asking questions. They took my blood pressure, pulse (both on the higher side of my normal), and took a measure of my pulmonary volume (you take a deep breath and then blow it all out, and then some, through a tube connected to a little computer which measures the volume you blew out). Even I could tell that was the worst result I'd ever blown and I've done it a lot. They gave me some meds through a nebulizer, I felt a little better after that. Did the pulmonary test again, better this time. Squirted some meds up my nose, took some oral steroids, did another nebulizer treatment, felt a little better still. Did a third pulmonary test, again better. Finally got the 'you're good to go home now' from the doc. I mentioned I had a race scheduled tomorrow, he didn't seem to think it would be a problem, gave me an albuterol inhaler to use just before the race if I need it. Hmm, isn't that what they object to athletes doing just before competing because it gives them an unfair advantage? I'm definitely bringing it along. :-)

Well, now I've experienced my first reaction to my allergy shots. I guess there is a good reason to stick around 30 minutes after the injections. Another nurse commented that people can go many years without a reaction and then one day it hits, kind of like today for me. I'm ok, just feeling a nap is very high on the agenda right now.

the beginning of the end ... of winter

Yesterday morning on the way to the park & ride/transit center I noticed a few things. They sky didn't have that inky blackness that had enveloped the mornings of November, December, and the first part of January. It had that feel of just waking up and throwing the covers back, light enough to see, but not fully awake yet. On the bus, seated towards the back and facing west, I could easily make out the stark relief of the Olympic Mountains with their snowy shawl. I could see the early morning light reflected on the windows overlooking Lake Union. I turned and looked over my shoulder to see the brush stroke of vivid orangey/pink dawn making it's way over the Cascade Mountains. Winter has initiated it's exit strategy.

Feet & Numerology

I've been battling plantar fasciitis for over two years now. It feels like my heel is very badly bruised, it's painful to stand or walk, or sometimes even just sit there. I'd gotten some custom orthotics for my shoes in August 2005. I wasn't given clear instructions that I should break my feet in to them slowly. My feet have suffered ever since. I went back to the podiatrist who suggested I may have plantar fasciitis but then never did anything beyond that. I had to go back repeatedly to have minor adjustments made to the orthotics to no avail. In March 2007 I saw a different podiatrist, the first words out of his mouth were: you have plantar fasciitis, we need to do this, that and the other thing to treat it. Which included a walking cast for 2 months, 2 rounds of cortisone injections, and ultimately 2 more sets of custom orthotics (anyone seeing a pattern here, just wait there's more). The second set actually made my feet much, much worse. :-( Finally, this doctor suggested a couple of experimental (read: not covered by insurance) procedures. I don't think so.

Last April I started seeing a new massage therapist, Carmen Strand, specializing in myofascial work. Oversimplified, the fascia is the stuff that connects the skin to the muscles. There is nothing quite like having someone dig their thumbs into the already very painful, tender soles of your feet. The upside is that it actually gives me some relief. Unfortunately it is only temporary relief. Carmen actually pointed out that I have plantar fasciitis in both feet, I can just feel it more in the right foot. I don't want to post her phone number here but if you want a great massage therapist contact me and I'll put you in touch.

The day after Christmas I saw a new doctor who specializes in managing pain. One of the things he does is called prolotherapy. It involves injecting a sugar solution into the painful location causing the body to go into a super healing mode. I finally made my appointment. Get this, I'm going in on 2/20 at 2:20 and the appointment should last about 20 minutes. If only we were doing both feet, it could be 2-20 minutes. I'm not sure what the numerological meaning is, but it looks like it has to mean something.

I'm still seeing Carmen and I'm hoping the prolotherapy will really help. Keep your fingers crossed.

What's in a name?

Now I have to start this post out by saying I am not copying Fran, our minds just seem to be in sync here. I came up with the same idea after I finished yesterdays post and she posted her's 1/21/08.

Gus' registered name is lame: Skiak's Paws-n-Effect, he was one of the Paws litter. The others were The Paws That Refreshes, Paws-a-traction, and Paws-a-bility all of them dumb, in my opinion. She wouldn't let me use this for his registered name but I chose Angus Mac Og for Gus, the Irish god of youth, love, and beauty. I'd have called him Angus except his breeder kicked up such a fuss, he'll be fat if you name him after a cow! Funny, I always thought it was more about diet and exercise. And what about Angus Young of AC/DC?!?! I relented and went with GusGus, the chubby mouse in Cinderella. The breeder had a much better theme for Llelo's litter, they were all named after James Bond movies and I got to choose which movie. Llelo is officially Skiak's Goldeneye. Desmond Llewelyn was the name of the man who played the character Q in all but the most recent Bond movies. Also, I'd been reading the Sharon Kay Penman series, which begins with Here Be Dragons, an exciting trilogy of 13th Century England & Wales. Llewelyn was the name of the last independent Welsh Prince before the conquest by Edward I. As a boy, at least in the books, he was called Llelo. And for those wondering Skiak is the breeder's kennel name.

Arthur was named for King Arthur. He was the first orange tabby cat I've had. I had been reading a book about Guinevere that began with her learning of Arthur's death, don't remember the title, though. Arthur is always described as being fair and blond or red headed, it seemed to fit the orange cat. He could pull off a regal bearing when he sat in the sun, not so much otherwise. Nemo was a pound kitten, very tiny when I brought him home. He was at the pound back in the day when they kept many cats in one cage. Each time I went to visit him he was all wet, the adult males tormented him and he tended to get backed into the water dish. He needed a nautical name, what better than the captain from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which I still haven't read. The photo was the day I brought Nemo home, I was 18.

Hamlet was a Russian Blue cat that showed up at our back door. The mother said I couldn't keep him if I named him something stupid like Nemo! Who knew?!? My brother and I suggested this name and that name, she suggested Hamlet, we kept trying other names which she poo poo'd, hence Hamlet. A sweet but very twitchy cat. Tigger, well, I was only 9 and he was a grey tabby. He was the grouchy old tomcat, but I could do anything to him. I have an old photo somewhere, he is laying with his head on a pillow between 2 teddy bears and covered with a doll blanket. My first pet was a calico kitten that I named Tuna Fish, after my favorite food. I believe I was 5 or 6. Tuna disappeared before she reached adulthood and I couldn't eat tuna for over a decade. The mother had a grey tomcat named Brother Violet. He was 3 yrs older than me. The story behind the name: my mother though it was a female and had already been calling him Violet. There was a tv show with an Uncle Elizabeth so Violet became Brother Violet.

My brother over the years had cats Psyche, Rose, Kuan. We also had Freyja. Psyche was the great hunter. She'd bring home kill for Brother Violet when he'd reached advanced age. Freyja was the little match stick girl, her fur was always rather rumpled and looked as though she needed a good shampoo and blow dry. Rose was a cat of very little brain. Kuan had entirely too much.

When the mother was growing up she had cocker spaniels. I remember tails of Buzz and Zzub, who came after Buzz. The dogs would go along for ice cream cones and would get their own. And at least one of them was trained to wipe it's feet by running in a circle on the door mat. She had Helga, the german shepard, when I was a baby. I learned to walk using Helga to pull myself up. Whenever I became too annoying she would lick my face until I went kerplop on my diapered bottom.

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. -- Roger Caras
If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. --Will Rogers

I have to agree with these statements with the caviat "cats, too". Ear rubs and tummy scritches to all.

Run that buy me again

We haven't had much snow in Seattle this winter (knock on wood). And last winter the dogs had so much fun playing in it I thought I'd take a day trip up to Snoqualmie Pass for a run around in the snow. My friend Scotty joined us heading out on I-90 eastbound. We took exit 44, I think, or nearby anyway and headed south off the ramp. A couple of blocks in we saw a number of cars parked and figured this would be an excellent place to park. We geared up, I put on my boots, got the poop bags, toys to fetch, and my digital camera and off we went. It was a perfect day, bright and sunny. The dog boyz started racing up and back and peeing on every perceived thing that could be peed upon, you know how dogs are. Llelo started going turbo and had the snow been packed at all he would have gotten excellent speed, as it was he looked like a rear wheel drive truck on a patch of ice on an uphill, just spinning his wheels; only he would occasionally get some footing. He'd go a few steps and sink into the snow, stall a bit, and then regain purchase and continue on. You really had to see it. Gus was actually the chasee instead of only the chaser, he was really having a good time, too. Gus is on the right and Llelo on the left (full body showing). And the obligatory self portrait of Scotty and me.

After we were finished walking, both dogs had stopped running like crazies, we headed into North Bend to hit the outlet malls. Can't go all that way and not do a little shopping. Besides I had some coupons to the Jockey underwear store, that would expire the end of January, I needed to use them or loose them. Scotty found something he'd been coveting for a while in the Black and Decker store at a much better price than the big box stores. Riddle me this: I spent a flat $26 in the Jockey store and in doing so saved $105.54!!! How does that work? Well, you walk in the store and everything is 30% off lowest marked price, I had a coupon for 20% off any purchase of $50 or more, and I had a $20 gift certificate for having one of their club cards. A fleece pullover initially retailed at $28.50 cost me $3.05 and some underpants initially retailing at $8.50 cost me $0.91. How can they make any money? Is that why the economy does funky things? And we as a nation demand that kind of pricing forcing manufacturing overseas into ... , well, I'm just gonna stop here, because I do it, too. I like the low prices. However, I am trying to check labels more and am making an effort to buy more US produced goods. Just have to keep at it, the more you look for US produced goods the more the market will have to offer them.

Sisterly pride

I was having a lack of ideas flowing today, still very tired from all the driving, paddling, eating, driving, spa-ing, and driving yesterday. And I stayed up way past my bedtime writing my blog and tweeking the various settings only to get up early again today to meet folks from the Seattle Hiking Group at Mae's Phinney Ridge Cafe and then take a walk around Greenlake. It was fun, but too early in the morning. I spent the rest of the day in a bit of a foggy haze, too much sleepiness, not enough napping.

And then I get an email from Fran, the link I sent her wasn't loading and all she was seeing was the image of a very intense guy holding a guitar. harumph! I got on IM to my sister-in-law, where I go for all my tech support questions. Can you fix it, make it better?!??! After a short while she sent me this link. I passed it on to Fran, who said it takes a long time to load (so be patient) but the very intense guy plays beautifully. Well, of course he does, he's my brother, Israel! He's good at everything he does, a little annoying that way, but I think that's a sibling issue more than anything. He received his first guitar a month before his 7th birthday, I was about a year old (this photo was a few months before that). He's been playing for over 40 years and it shows. When he was living in New Jersey he formed a group called The Beetniks and they recorded an album called World Beet, you can hear his vocals on tracks 5 & 6 and the acoustic guitar as well. There are rumors that he will be recording another album, as a solo artist this time. I speculate it will be more acoustically based and less of the electric guitar, I think it will be more representative of his personal style rather than that of the group. I can't wait! And believe me I'll let you all know when it's out!

Lotus Icebreaker

Gawd, what a long day it's been. Up early, early, head out to collect Kristi here in Seattle, then up to South Everett to get Ed, then North Everett to get Rocky, had to leave the dog boyz home. We were all part of a V12 crew for the Lotus Icebreaker outrigger race. For V12 they take two OC6 hulls and lash them together, very stable, very heavy, potentially very fast. They ran 5 heats of 6-V12, do you realize how many people that is??? That's 72 paddlers per heat!!! That means there were over 300 lunatics paddling out in the bitter cold and snowy, rainy conditions! I'm pretty sure we all had a great time, too. The venue was beautiful, the race was about 6 km, and Sail Sand Point took first in our heat, we were challenged by another crew for the entire race, we beat them by only 6 seconds. We didn't take first overall, but I'm still happy with our results. A full third of our crew hadn't raced before. And one of our crew never made it to the race, got lost on their way and thankfully we were able to pick up someone who had steered a boat in the previous heat.

After the race 8 of the crew (& their entrouages) went out to Dim Sum in Richmond for lunch. Mahalos to Ernie and everyone who ordered the food. It was all good, although I wasn't compelled to try the tripe or the chicken legs. I was particularly fond of the red bean pancakes for dessert, but then sweets are my favorite. Fed, dry, and warm (mostly) it was time to head south again. The boarder crossing was quite painless, only 6-8 cars in front of us. Dropped Rocky at his house, went to Costco to fuel up, dropped Ed at his car, and Kristi moved into the front seat for the last leg of the trip. We were just chatting when she said 'wouldn't it be great to go to Olympus Spa right now?' The idea of those hot tubs, steams rooms, and hot dry rooms sounded excellent to me as well and since we were still north of the spa it wouldn't even be out of our way! I had a neighbor to take the boyz out for a potty break so I had a little flexibility in my return time.

We got to Olympus a few minutes later, paid our way and headed in to hit the hot relaxation. We moved from the different temperature baths to the steam room and dry sauna, I went off to the salt room and the elvan stone room and then back to the hot tubs. Ladies, I highly recommend going, it's free on your birthday! Guys, a gift certificate here for that special woman in your life would be an excellent idea. I've had the Korean Body Scrub, it's wonderful, refreshing, invigorating, and your skin is so soft afterwards. We spent a couple of hours warming up and soaking away the tired muscles, it was great.

I got home a little before 8 pm to be greeted by the dog boyz, so utterly relieved that I had not forsaken them, that I had come home again. They worry so, well, Gus does anyway. They have been extra clingy all evening, having been neglected all day they feel they are deserving of extra loves, which they are. So enough for now, gotta go love on da boyz.

Life's too short to drink bad wine, but bad beer is probably ok ...

That was the screensaver on the computer in the lab where I did my graduate research, on the old 486 running Windows 3.1. Life is too short for a lot of things and if people remembered that I think, as a people, we'd all be much happier. I was miserable living in Rhode Island in a job that made me very unhappy. Life is too short to live that way so I quit my job and moved to Seattle. There were a lot of twists of fate, ultimately it felt like bad things would have happened if I hadn't moved forward on the opportunities presented. I have been much happier with the various ups and downs life has presented since moving to Seattle.

Life is too short to wear clothing that makes you feel ugly, even if it's only your self perception. My mother passed away last March and I took many of her clothes including the two cashmere sweaters. The pale aqua cardigan makes me feel good and happy, the olive green crew neck makes me feel down and dark. I gave it to a co-worker who really likes that color. She really didn't want to take it from me. I finally insisted that even though it's a great sweater and was my mother's I was never going to feel good wearing it, life is too short to wear things you don't like, regardless of how nice they are. I have plenty of other blouses and sweaters that I will never part with, the colors and styles make me feel good, why do I need one more sweater that I don't like.

Life is too short to vacuum the apartment every day. I'd much rather take the dogs to the park for a fun run around than vacuum all the time. I'm ok with some dog hair, a lot of dog hair, in my life. The joy it brings me watching Llelo sprint like a mad man around the park with a handful of dogs racing after him and Gus swimming for his ball makes neglecting the housework all worth it.

Life is too short to sit back and watch it go by. My mother's passing really was my wake up call. I believe I had fallen into the watch it happen trap, to a degree, and now I'm working hard to get out there and be a more active participant in my life. I realize that I have spent far too long waiting for Mr Right to come knock on my door, I need to get out there and look for him. We all know guys can be resistant to asking for directions, maybe he's out there looking for me and has gotten himself lost! I've been on a few online dating sites, I've answered a few craigslist ads. I've gone on some dates and met a some nice men and a couple that so weren't Mr Right. I'm still looking, it doesn't have to happen today, tomorrow, or even the next day/week/month/year, I just want to enjoy the journey, be an active participant. So, if you know of any nice single guys ... Life's too short to not have another first date!

Craig, good on ya! x2

I love Craigslist. You can find everything there and if you aren't looking to buy you can certainly sell that which you no longer need. Let's see, I bought my freezer, my leather couch, the George Foreman Grill that I gave as my secret Santa gift at work this year; I sold some very old expired film, my old PC, some wooden chairs. I have gotten loads belly laughs from reading the best-of-craigslist section (I literally just looked and saw a posting for a pink upholstered vagina couch - with pictures!). My recommendation is don't take a drink as you begin to read a post, cleaning your monitor can get old fast! Like the ppost for 'overweight flaccid married man on the prowl' or 'my coke for your pot' or 'to the stoner who works at cottage inn pizza' or 'potato cannon' (I couldn't get these last two to link properly, but they are there. There are so many excellent posts.

Also, Craig, a co-worker, returned home yesterday from China. He and his family (Adria, Seth & Craig's parents) went to collect their newly adopted boy, Blake Yu Chun! They have been going through the process since Jan 2005. I'm looking forward to meeting the newest addition to their family. This photo is Adria, Blake, and Craig, it looks like the adoption is final. I haven't yet spoken to them and I copied the photo from their blog.

And for the blurb about paddling ... last night was a great paddle, we had a full boat of 6. Paddled east towards Kirkland, Rosa Point, and then north into Juanita Bay and then back to Sail Sand Point (SSP). We went about 5.5 miles. We ended our practice with a great bonding exercise! Mahalos (thanks) to Mika, Ryan, Neil, Bea, and Nancy for a great workout. By the way, Nancy is becoming quite the proficient steersperson, though you'd never hear it from her.

My dog made me do it

Gus loves to fetch and if he can swim while fetching all is good in his world, no, all is excellent in his world. It is common knowledge that corgis are not particularly leggy, by a lot. At Magnuson Park we would head down to the dog beach for some swimming and fetching, nothing better than a happy tired dog. Our problem arises with the fact that most other dogs tend to have more leg than corgis. Gus is swimming in six inches of water, other dogs are walking in 20+ inches of water. I try to time my throw such that Gus should be able to get the toy without interference, on busy park days I spent most of my time cajoling other dogs to give back Gus' toy and Gus spent most of his time frustrated that I don't throw the toy for him. I finally decide that Magnuson is a big enough park that I should be able to find another place for Gus to swim and fetch uninterrupted.

One day we drove around the park looking for a good place to swim. On the north end of the park I found a lovely little boat ramp, plenty of parking right there, the perfect location for Gus to swim and fetch. With no other dogs around Gus was much more willing to swim deeper, too. One day while swimming and fetching this boat full of people comes paddling towards our lovely little boat ramp. I started chatting with the paddlers, asking more about the sport and I decided that I should give it a try. I went out with them the following week and have never looked back! So there you have it, my dog, Gus, got me involved in outrigger canoe paddling. How many people can say that!

Now all this happened before Llelo was even born. I feel like he needs a little shout out, too. I live alone, it's common knowledge. Living alone I tend to leave the bathroom door open, a habit born of having cats for so many years. The door is closed they need, nay, REQUIRE access to the other side of the door, entering into a cyclic situation, hence I just leave the door open. Gus will come in and lay down at my feet, Llelo will check and see if cookies are forthcoming. I keep a small bowl of cookies on the bathroom counter. The other day I decided a little trick training was on the agenda. You know how some dogs can hold a treat on their nose and then with a command will flip the treat into the air, catch it and eat it. I tried this with Gus, he just tips his head down and eats the treat off the floor. Llelo seems hard wired to flip it in the air and catch it. He hasn't caught it yet, but he's pretty close. Now for the $64k question: which is the smarter dog?

Laundry & The Boondocks

I was 'working from home' today, actually got a lot of work done, too. It also felt like I was doing laundry all day. Part of that stems from having machines whose capacity is ridiculously tiny, a t-shirt and two pairs of socks pretty much maxes out the washer. I can't imagine having to do the laundry of a family of four using these machines. The real bummer is the huge front loader and matching dryer I have sitting in storage just waiting for me to buy my own place. If I had space enough in the apartment I'd bring them in here!

Have you ever seen the tv show The Boondocks? Aaron McGruder's comic strip done in anime fashion. HappiDevil on Netflix says: "Boondocks is a fantastic social commentary not just on Black culture but society in general. It isn't a cartoon about little boys using filthy language or being disrespectful, it goes way beyond that. If you can look past the surface, this is social satire at it's best! It may be a little racy or taboo for some, but that is where the show draws it's strength!" I couldn't agree more. If you haven't seen in it yet, get it on your netflix pronto!

In addiction the first step is admitting you have a problem

I have a problem. Not many people know about it, I try to keep it under wraps, to mixed success ... I love getting new outrigger paddles! No, really, you don't understand, over the course of 2007 I got a used paddle and two new paddles. I've only been involved in outrigger canoeing for 18 months. And now I've just placed another order. I just can't seem to stop myself.

The all wood paddles the club has for use are too heavy, they make my shoulders ache terribly. I bought a used 50" Dave's 99 hybrid (carbon fiber blade, wood shaft) late in 2006. It was so much lighter, it was like paddling a feather. Then I bought a used 52" Axel I hybrid in March 2007. The extra length was a nice improvement, extra reach, nicer for the OC6. Then over the summer I received a mid-year bonus from work, so I bought a brand new 52" Lolo, which has the Axel II blade on a wacky shaft (a double bend shaft, supposed to keep your lower wrist in a neutral position during the reach). And then in the fall after getting a bunch of grief from everyone about 'your paddle doesn't match' and 'you need to have a paddle like everyone else', I ordered a brand new 52" Axel II. I decided to use the Lolo when I'm paddling OC1 or OC2 and the Axel II when I paddle OC6.

So, now I have my eye on buying an OC1, it'll be a while but it's on my list of things to do. JD Davies of Waterwalker was going to be in town with a bunch of OC1 to demo. While testing a variety of OC1 JD mentioned that my paddle appeared too long. He said, "Here try my 50" Helium blade on a wacky shaft". I think he did it on purpose. But I have to admit, it felt good, really good; now I want one, I need one, my life will be incomplete until I have one. I sent Meg from Kialoa an email, they just got their first factory blemished Helium blade, do I want her to hold it for me. She's making it too easy, she's an enabler, it's all her fault, ya blame it on Meg and Dave Chun (Kialoa Paddles), they are the cause of my problem. Bah, if only it were that easy, passing it off on them. In my defense I only buy the factory blemished blades, they have minor cosmetic flaws so are discounted.

So, there you have it. I have a problem, an addiction, I admit it. I'm just not ready to face it, to deal with it, not yet anyway. Certainly not before I get that new Helium paddle.

Here I go ...

My first ever blog posting! Now I just have to think up something interesting to say...

I participated in my first ever winter series outrigger canoe race yesterday. I paddled an OC2 (2 person canoe) with a fellow club member. The race was about 6.5 miles, we started in front of Gas Works Park, headed west towards the Ballard locks then turned around and finished at Waterway 18, where Wakinikona and Seattle Outrigger store their canoes. It was an interesting adventure. I learned a lot. For instance I know now I need to carry my hydration pack with me even on shorter races, I don't think I hydrated enough in the days prior to the race. I need to eat more before a race, a protein shake and a cup of coffee 3 hrs before isn't enough, I need to pop some clif shot bloks just before I leave the beach at the very least. I need to stretch out better before I start, too. Well, now I know! In all it was a good race. We didn't huli (flip over), we finished, and we didn't finish last, these are my three minimum goals for any race, especially in the small (OC1/OC2) boats.

Next weekend I'm off to Burnaby, BC to paddle in the Lotus Icebreaker as part of a V12 crew. V12 is where they have two OC6 hulls lashed together, 12 people paddling 800 lbs of canoe! We all know what we are doing so it should be really cool. The course is supposed to be at least 4 miles. The weekend after that I'm up to Vancouver, BC for another winter series race at Jericho Sailing Center. I'll do that one OC1.

I guess this is enough for the inaugural posting. Pics and more to follow.