2006-10-12
A Numbered List of Things
1. I'm trying Camino again because Safari has started crashing every half hour—both on my laptop and my work computer, so I don't think it's just me.
2. On Tuesday I timed my 1000 free at 13:30, and tonight I swam the 500 in 6:20 and the 100 in 1:03. And that's off the wall, so the 100 might even be under the minute diving in. When I get the 500 down under 6 minutes, I'll.. I don't know. Feel really in shape, I guess.
3. Tomorrow I'm joining a bunch of guys from work at 8AM at the downtown mall to get in line to preorder a Nintendo Wii. I'm a huge dork.
4. I had one of those dreams where you wake up and think "I should write that down before I forget", and then I didn't write it down. I think I can remember the interesting bits: it was the kind of dream that's both first- and third-person, where you're watching it and living it at the same time. I was given a "magic" key that let me step into a parallel universe: touch it to a mirror and the mirror does the standard cheesy wavy water effect, then you step through. And I realized that since I could disappear back through the mirror at any time, I could do whatever I wanted without any consequences—no consequences to me, but my parallel universe twin would have to deal with the fallout. So I discovered that if you could jump into a parallel universe, the easiest person to screw over is, in fact, yourself.
Okay, it seemed deep at the time..
5. I've cut back on the drinking of the beers in the evening, with good results: I feel like I have a lot more energy during the day, can focus on work better, and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. The first couple nights I had no idea what to do with myself, but I've adjusted quickly. Mind, I wasn't getting hammered, but I was putting down three or four Pabst (which has less alcohol than a couple good IPAs) a night, and going to bed with a bit of a buzz on. I think my general anxiety level (and tendency towards self-medication) tends to go up in the fall, maybe leftover from being in school or maybe from worrying that I'll never see the sun or be warm and dry again. I think I'm better at dealing with anxiety now. I hope so.
6. I was going to visit the Lady in Newport this weekend before she heads south, but I don't think I will. The aquarium doesn't seem to have anything interesting (crustaceans? I though they had cuttlefish!) and a three hour round trip just to say hello seems less fun than seeing if I can build a boat that won't sink.
7. Last sailing class tomorrow, assuming we'll have enough wind to do MOB (COB to be politically correct) drills.
8. I finally got back on the scanning wagon. The next of the China photos (click for the set):
2. On Tuesday I timed my 1000 free at 13:30, and tonight I swam the 500 in 6:20 and the 100 in 1:03. And that's off the wall, so the 100 might even be under the minute diving in. When I get the 500 down under 6 minutes, I'll.. I don't know. Feel really in shape, I guess.
3. Tomorrow I'm joining a bunch of guys from work at 8AM at the downtown mall to get in line to preorder a Nintendo Wii. I'm a huge dork.
4. I had one of those dreams where you wake up and think "I should write that down before I forget", and then I didn't write it down. I think I can remember the interesting bits: it was the kind of dream that's both first- and third-person, where you're watching it and living it at the same time. I was given a "magic" key that let me step into a parallel universe: touch it to a mirror and the mirror does the standard cheesy wavy water effect, then you step through. And I realized that since I could disappear back through the mirror at any time, I could do whatever I wanted without any consequences—no consequences to me, but my parallel universe twin would have to deal with the fallout. So I discovered that if you could jump into a parallel universe, the easiest person to screw over is, in fact, yourself.
Okay, it seemed deep at the time..
5. I've cut back on the drinking of the beers in the evening, with good results: I feel like I have a lot more energy during the day, can focus on work better, and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. The first couple nights I had no idea what to do with myself, but I've adjusted quickly. Mind, I wasn't getting hammered, but I was putting down three or four Pabst (which has less alcohol than a couple good IPAs) a night, and going to bed with a bit of a buzz on. I think my general anxiety level (and tendency towards self-medication) tends to go up in the fall, maybe leftover from being in school or maybe from worrying that I'll never see the sun or be warm and dry again. I think I'm better at dealing with anxiety now. I hope so.
6. I was going to visit the Lady in Newport this weekend before she heads south, but I don't think I will. The aquarium doesn't seem to have anything interesting (crustaceans? I though they had cuttlefish!) and a three hour round trip just to say hello seems less fun than seeing if I can build a boat that won't sink.
7. Last sailing class tomorrow, assuming we'll have enough wind to do MOB (COB to be politically correct) drills.
8. I finally got back on the scanning wagon. The next of the China photos (click for the set):
2006-10-08
Falling
The beginning of fall has snuck up on us again, surprising us with our first rain and grey skies in months and then retreating just as suddenly in time for the Polish Festival, where it was almost as hot as any weekend this summer, then giving us increasing doses of the Northwest gloom that we'll be living under for the next eight months. I should be thankful that we get a graceful decline into the dismal months, but I'm particularly sad to see this summer go: I've had such a great time on the water, spending time on tall ships and learning to sail, that I don't want to have to sit out half the year before I can go back. So we're thinking about going to the BVIs in the spring and taking bareboating classes in preparation for the day when we quit our jobs and move to a boat in the tropics.
I finally launched the canoe today, and it was pretty disappointing. It seemed like it had a good amount of lateral stability when we set it in the water, but loaded with two adults, it sank down to just a few inches from the rails and it was pretty clear that any sudden movement would sink us. Molly got out and I paddled around in it a bit by myself, but it was still wobbly, and very hard to steer—with its flat bottom, the canoe doesn't tend to go in a straight line—and I made my paddles a little too big and unwieldy to boot. It would probably be a great canoe for children. Or midgets. But not someone with a center of gravity above two feet. Building the canoe was a great learning experience, but next time I'd like to have something to show for all the work I put into it: instead of coming up with my own design that will probably float but may or may not be sailable, I think I'll order plans from a real designer.
I finally launched the canoe today, and it was pretty disappointing. It seemed like it had a good amount of lateral stability when we set it in the water, but loaded with two adults, it sank down to just a few inches from the rails and it was pretty clear that any sudden movement would sink us. Molly got out and I paddled around in it a bit by myself, but it was still wobbly, and very hard to steer—with its flat bottom, the canoe doesn't tend to go in a straight line—and I made my paddles a little too big and unwieldy to boot. It would probably be a great canoe for children. Or midgets. But not someone with a center of gravity above two feet. Building the canoe was a great learning experience, but next time I'd like to have something to show for all the work I put into it: instead of coming up with my own design that will probably float but may or may not be sailable, I think I'll order plans from a real designer.
