Kayaking

Last Saturday, my boyfriend and I went kayaking. I adore kayaking. There’s something about gliding just atop the water, being able to zoom along with a few strong, swift paddles. Despite this adoration, I have only managed to go about once a year since I first tried it 6 or so years ago. My boyfriend had never been kayaking before our trip to Lake Quinault last September, when we went out in a two-person kayak.

We went to the Cascade Center at Enatai Park in Bellevue where I’ve kayaked a couple of times before. It was windy on Lake Washington, so we went up the Mercer Slough Nature park rather than staying out on the lake. I’d not gone far up the slough before, but it allows one to make a big circle.

We got to see a good amount of nature there, including ducks and ducklings, geese and goslings (the Canadian goslings were darling in their adult feathers although still half adult size), turtles sunning themselves, lots of blue herons, a black bird with a crown and bright yellow legs that is probably some sort of heron, and lot and lots of mating damselflies. I believe they were blue ringtails, although only the males were blue, while the females were more of a green color. The males and the mating pairs were very attracted to my white kayak, but steered clear of my boyfriend’s blue kayak. The mating seemed to be an odd docking of the end of the male’s tail in a space near the front of the female. Lots of the pairs were in flight for the whole time, some landed on my kayak or used some flotsam that allowed one of them (usually the female) to not be flying (although, in some cases, she seemed utterly submerged in the configuration!).

Between all the wildlife espied and my boyfriend looking particularly outdoorsy in his gear and kayak, I really missed having a camera with me. Do they have waterproof digitals? I need to look into that.

De-stressing, part 2

The day after I posted De-stressing, I realized I'd forgotten another thing I'd been noticing. That I forget things. I forgot forgetting. And then I forgot to post about forgetting forgetting.

I'd say I'm still stressed, since I still notice that I am forgetting things and putting things off. I'd been working on being better about my body awareness and such but since the immediate stress of my job ending in a few weeks subsided, I've been bad and now my shoulders are incredibly sore. I should go stretch.

Off the list

I got a bit misty watching the news coverage tonight on how the Bald Eagle was removed from the Endangered Species list. It was the fact that in 1963 there were about 417 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states, but now there are over 10,000. An amazing recovery.

The first time I saw a bald eagle in the wild was sailing up to Alaska. It was exciting to spot it, perched on a tree. Bald eagles abound in that part of the world, though, so by the time we reached the end of our trip in Sitka, the trees were filled with bald eagles and the novelty had worn off.

That didn't tarnish my excitement seeing one outside my Alki window when I was eating breakfast one morning some years ago. I told my regular bus driver that morning, who replied, "Oh, is he back?" which sucked a lot of the excitement from the event.

Of course, now there are worries that the bald eagle will face habitat loss without the protection it has had. While most are touting the endangered species protections as enabling this significant comeback, I'm sure that those opposed to such measures will continue to poo-poo such restrictions to "progress." Let's hope we can take care of an American symbol better than we are currently taking care of American ideals.

Korean Food

I've been eating a lot of Korean food lately, mostly thanks to my friend Alvin. After he made a comment about how bibimbap is really a dish for leftovers and thus an odd choice for a restaurant to serve, I decided I should start making it at home.


I've been looking for a vehicle for more vegetables, and it seemed like it would have a lot of potential for variety. Plus, it's just really tasty.

Yesterday, I went to HT Asian market at Oak Tree Mall and got the gochujang sauce that is essential for bibimbap. I actually called Alvin from the aisle as none of the choices used gochujang on the label. I also picked up some kim chi, which I've not had at home in too long. My quest for some pickled daikon failed, however.

Tonight, I made my first attempt. It was pretty good. Above is the "before" shot. Below is after the gochujang sauce has been added and mixed, hopefully to the satisfaction of all who care about such things!

Saturn makes you pay first

The title of this post comes from something my Vedic astrologer (don't worry, I cringe a bit at that, too!) told me about the current cycle I'm in. When one is in Saturn is a time of contraction, although to me, as a Capricorn, Saturn is home.

But the paying up front sucks. Or, at least, it has of late. The last time I wrote was during a very hard week that involved a repeat mammogram, an elevated pollen count that meant a delay in getting up to my maintenance dose of allergy serum, and a belated and issue-filled change of a login system, among other things.

In the end, my test was clear and my job was extended at least through September. Getting the log in to work took longer, but now that is resolved.

At the time I last wrote, I was already in tunnel vision--what did I need to do to be done by the end of the month, if that was even possible. Recovering from that narrow vision has been slow, especially after all that paying up front, but I am trying to get things more balanced. I have a back-log of blog topics, so let the blogging begin!

De-stressing

Everyone has tells for when they are stressed. My ex-fiancé used to call everyone he knew when he had a deadline closing in on him. My signs are usually a bit more subtle. Here’s what I’ve been noticing:

• seeking comfort
  This is the basic stress response. Television, Dr. Pepper, and chocolate cake are among my favorites, although as stress increases, they become less interesting to me.
  
• physical oddness
  Waking up in the night by sharp pain. This is a bit of an early warning signal about stress that goes away once I become more conscious of the stress and how I hold myself under it.
  
• doing things (or at least starting to) without being aware of them.
  Along the lines of putting milk in the cupboard or the freezer.
  
• letting things go
  The blog is a great example of this. I suspect this is partially a sense of time issue. That I’m not as aware of time passing because I’m focused on not thinking about whatever is stressing me out. There’s also a bit of a bandwidth issue. Ironically, of course, getting things done is one of the best de-stressers there is.
  
  I’ve got 13 work days left at my job. I’m not ready for it to be finished, not from the state of the project I’m doing or the moving on to something else.
  
  For the most part, I’ve been stressed but optimistic about the changes. But today’s been one of those days that fries you and I’m freaking out. At least I’m still managing to get things done.