the one word meme

1. Where is your cell phone? Kitchen

2. Your significant other? handsome

3. Your hair? uncontrollable

4. Your mother? insane

5. Your father? unknown

6. Your favorite thing? sleep

7. Your dream last night? unknown

8. Your favorite drink? scotch

9. Your dream/goal? wealth

10. The room you're in? office

11. Your ex? none

12. Your fear? insecurity

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? elsewhere

14. Where were you last night? Skamania

15. What you're not? uber-thin

17. One of your wish list items? furniture

18. Where you grew up? California

19. The last thing you did? Eat

20. What are you wearing? PJs

21. Your TV? disliked

22. Your pet? mulitple

23. Your computer? Apple

24. Your life? content

25. Your mood? sated

26. Missing someone? always

27. Your car? basic

28. Something you're not wearing? bra

29. Favorite store? yarn

30. Your summer? hopeful

31. Like someone? yes

32. Your favorite color? blue

33. When is the last time you laughed? today

34. Last time you cried? unknown

35. Who will/would re-post this? Kat(ze)?

Road trip!

Part of the trick to achieving happiness in life is to look for the joy in small things.

For example, right now I am incredibly happy that I live in Tacoma because I just spent the last four hours in a minivan with three very intelligent, competent, and successful women who are also high-strung, Type A types complaining about their children. What bothered me most was not that they were complaining about their children, but that the tone of their complaints was veering very close to self-pity and self-martyrdom that I felt rather disgusted and wanted to throttle each and every one of them.

I am so glad that I live in Tacoma so I didn't have to ride all the way back to Seattle with them.

See? Little things like that. I feel much happier now.

what you do when on a business trip

It's a beautiful resort but the weather is horrendous. It takes a hardier soul than I to go for a walk in a mixture of freezing rain/snow. A drink costs $10 in the bar and most people went to bed really early anyway.

I brought my computer with me, theoretically so that I could input all my notes but that ain't happening. It's my own computer (I am not eligible to get a laptop at work) so I don't feel guilty at all sitting here and playing with the Photo Booth application.



Nothing like trying to take a picture of myself to paste on my Facebook page so that my long-lost friends can see what I look like now than to realize that my hair is absolutely awful and completely uncooperative.



A thoughtful look. Maybe it's because I washed my hair?



Life can be very funny!



(What is this look? I was trying for philosophical but I think I look a bit more startled.)



I need to get my hair cut.



The graphite pencil effect, pt 1.



The graphite pencil effect, pt. 2.



(I don't even like Andy Warhol.)



Generic, non-effect photo. Crappy color, which is why I went with B&W.



But I've been productive! (That's half a sock, in case you were curious.)

it's getting to me

We've been having some rather unusual weather lately. Three weeks ago it snowed. Last Saturday was a very lovely but unseasonably summer-like day (which caused just about everyone in the Puget Sound area to mow their lawns and cause great distress to all those who have grass allergies).

The past few days have alternated between cold rain, warm sunshine, sleet, snow, and hail. Often within the same hour.

Oscar, Kat, and I went up to Seattle yesterday to go to some yarn shops. (I thought Kat's husband Crash was going to come along too, but he recently joined an Ultimate Frisbee league and had the pleasure of playing the entire game in that weird hail/sleet/snow crap that's been falling from the sky.)

I spent the afternoon updating my Ravelry account, and trying to take pictures of my yarns that I haven't put in the database yet. I was trying to take pictures outside but I could only take a few snaps at a time before the weather turned nasty again and I'd have to move everything inside.

I swear it wasn't until just a few minutes ago that I noticed a theme among the yarns I bought yesterday:


First, a lovely alpaca yarn from Bolivia




Second, a thick sock yarn from Sweden



Third, an unusual linen paper yarn from Japan.

Apparently, this weather has erased all desire for color out of my life.

then and now

Some of you may not know that our dog Kate came into our lives the day we moved into our house. She was starving and had some terrible cuts and scrapes on her body.

Here's a picture of her right after we got her:


Can you tell how skinny she was? All of her ribs stuck out and you could count all the vertebrae in her back. You can see the scrapes above her right eye, too. Those have healed but she still has the scars.

And here's a picture of her just two weeks after we got her:


Shiny coat. Snuggled up on the couch. Happy and relaxed.

And here she is now, totally at home, with her best bud Seamus:


Total snugglebugs, both of them.

meme-light

1. What is your occupation? Transportation Engineer

2. What color are your socks right now? my favorite: "Schlange"--striped orange hand knit socks made from Opal Yarns Rainforest collection

3. What are you listening to right now? whatever Oscar's watching on the TV. Probably some reality show.

4. What was the last thing that you ate? Burger and tater tots at Dad Watson's in Seattle. Too much food. My stomach hurts now.

5. Can you drive a stick shift? Oh yes. I prefer it.

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Midnight blue

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My friend MF

8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? of course. I wouldn't be filling this out if I didn't!

9. How old are you today? 39

10. Favorite drink? believe it or not, I'm a big fan of water.

11. What is your favorite sport to watch? whichever has the cutest guys wearing the smallest outfits.

12. Have you ever dyed your hair? pretty regularly until I was 30, when I had this great idea of starting the new decade of my life by bleaching my brown hair platinum and putting blue streaks in it. Even though I had it professionally done, it needed four separate bleaching applications to get it light enough and it left my scalp terribly blistered and my hair in absolutely awful shape. Once the roots became really noticeable, I dyed it back to my natural color and haven't dyed it too often since then.

13. Pets? Two dogs, Seamus and Kate and two cats, Sasha (aka Mr Whineypants) and Maggie

14. Favorite food? I love so many foods it's hard to narrow it down. Mashed potatoes. Oscar's gyoza. Sushi. Pho. Green Tea Ice Cream.

15. Last movie you watched? It's been awhile. I think "No Country for Old Men"

16. Favorite Day of the year? Thanksgiving. Any holiday based on nothing but good food is my kind of day.

17. What do you do to vent anger? stuff it right down into the pit of my stomach where it festers.

18. What was your favorite toy as a child? My stuffed dog named Beautiful.

20. Hugs or kisses? hugs, but I wouldn't give up the chance to kiss Orlando Bloom. Or Johnny Depp. Or Takashi Kaneshiro.

21. Cherry or Blueberry? Cherry.

22. When was the last time you cried? Not sure really

23. What is on the floor of your closet? Boxes

24. Who is the friend you have had the longest? My friend Mr B, whom I have known since I was 16.

25. Who is the friend you see the least and miss often? Katze

26. Favorite smells? laundry dried in the sun, freshly cut herbs (except dill, which I hate with a passion), fresh baked bread, the scent of electrical discharge (it reminds me of making cakes with my mom, which is a really pleasant memory in our usually tumultuous relationship)

27. Who inspires you? believe it or not, Bono.

28. What are you afraid of? rats

29. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? cheese, with extra pickles!

30. Favorite car? I hate driving, but it would probably more pleasant in a Mini.

31. Favorite dog breed? mutts and Rottweilers

32. Number of keys on your key ring? too many

33. How many years at your current job? 1.5

34 Favorite day of the week? Sunday

35. Who is your favorite in-law? my mother in law, although I think (most of) Oscar's family is pretty awesome. I got lucky in the in-law department. He got the crazy ones.

36. Do you think you're funny? I believe I have a sense of humor. I don't know if I'm funny though. Occasionally witty.

and the newest blog baby is...

Welcome Kat to the blogosphere! check out Katlandia; it's a very nice place. The native population wrongly thinks it's dull but when one's homeland is flush with wit and intelligence, these things seem so normal and everyday, and they forget what rare gems they are.

weight watchers goes global

Berry Agutuk is made with fresh berries, seal oil, and diced caribou fat.

In case you are curious, the Weight Watchers database lists that one serving of berry agutuk has 6 points.

thank you for the concern but...

despite all my whining about the exam yesterday and how the afternoon test was like nothing in the study materials, there is no cause for legal action.

I was truly just griping about the shock of just how freaking hard that exam turned out to be. On the exam website, there is a list of all the reference materials that are used in formulating the questions and I didn't bother with bringing any of them. (In fact, there was only one question that referred to a reference material that wasn't on the list, and seriously, that one question isn't going to make or break you if you've been prepared for the other questions.)

I felt really underprepared for the exam as a whole, and that's my own fault. I had originally booked a room in downtown Seattle for the night before so that I wouldn't have to get up so early and thus possibly improve my chances of passing. I ended up canceling that reservation because I didn't feel all that confident (again, based on the having not studied all that much) and decided to not spend $120 on a hotel room. (And this is for a room with a bathroom down the hall. Verrrrrry expensive to sleep in Seattle, apparently.) Instead, I woke up at 4:30 on the morning of the exam to catch a bus between 5am and 5:30 to give me plenty of time to get to Seattle Center by 7. Now wouldn't you know it but it was that rare day when there were no traffic problems and I got to downtown Seattle by 6:15 and ended up hanging out in a Starbucks for half an hour. Then I walked to Seattle Center from Westlake, which is not all that far and is really quite a pleasant walk except that I am normally not carrying a box of books that weighs 30 lbs (15 kg). Although you have to supply reference materials, the exam administrators frown on backpacks. I didn't want to risk being denied entry because I may have overlooked a forbidden pencil at the bottom of my backpack. (You think I'm joking? Go to this site and check out the "Candidate Agreement".) However, there were several people with backpacks although most people used rolling suitcases (and a few people had hand trucks).

Despite having to carry a heavy box of books, I'm glad I did walk to Seattle Center because a young man with a rolling suitcase approached me with a very worried, almost panicked expression on his face, asking me if I knew where Seattle Center was. The only people going to Seattle Center at that time of day were employees, homeless folks, or wannabe engineers. Because he was so kempt as well as having a pretty snazzy suitcase, I assumed he was going to the exam and asked him so. Yes, he was. He had stayed in a hotel the previous night, and had misunderstood the directions the hotel staff had given him and he had been walking in circles for half an hour. He was Canadian and his firm did a lot of work in the US, which was why he was taking the exam. It would also explain why he was lost, since he asked for directions to "Seattle Center" (and not "the Exhibition Hall in Seattle Center") and was given directions to the Space Needle, which is also in Seattle Center and is a great landmark.

Anyway, I felt really unprepared going in, but actually felt really confident after the Breadth portion. I felt like I had a real chance, that even if I didn't know the answer, I had enough knowledge of the reference materials to be able to find out how to solve the problem. (As a last resort, you could always guess. That's a benefit to a multiple choice exam. (Not all PE exams are multiple choice. Civil engineering is, structural engineering is not.) However, the phrase "the answer is most likely:" really struck fear in my heart. Like one question gave the dimensions of building walls to be constructed with a certain size of concrete blocks and you had to figure out how many blocks you'd need. This is really a straightforward question but of course the answer I got--twice--fell in between two of options. I ended up going with the answer with the greater quantity than what I'd calculated, because the other option wouldn't provide enough bricks to actually construct the walls. Assuming I'd calculated correctly, of course. Of all the questions on the breadth exam, this one bugged me the most. Wouldn't you know that the same question appeared in the Depth exam as well, but in a more complex form. You had to figure out the cost of the wall, based on cost of bricks, labor costs, labor rate, salvage value, etc. A fairly straightforward question, even if the answer I calculated wasn't one of the options given so I ended up guessing it anyway.

At least it's over

Hah, you thought I was talking about the sweater I'm making for myself, aren't you. No, that's still sitting in the basket, waiting for me to make the neckband.

Yesterday I took the Professional Engineering exam up in Seattle (see below). I have been dreading this for ages, and really didn't put the amount of time into studying that I really should have. It's the first time I've taken the exam but I am quite sure that it's not the last.

The exam is divided into two parts: breadth and depth. Civil engineering is really a broad discipline and the breadth section reflects that. Basic questions on transportation planning, roadway design, structural analysis, geotechnical. When I say "basic", I mean that all the information you need is right in the question. You still have to know how to determine the answer but there aren't five or six additional pieces of information you have to derive in order to get the final answer. (That kind of stuff is saved for the depth exam.)

The Civil depth exam is divided into five modules--transportation, structures, geotechnical, water resources/environmental, and construction. This is the first time the construction module has been offered (water resources and environmental used to be separate modules), and I bought the review manual from the exam site to get an idea what would be on it. The construction module contained a lot of question types that used to be in transportation (e.g. surveying and roadway design questions), as well as a lot of economic style questions (e.g. figuring out how much it would cost to build a wall based on cost of materials, labor cost and labor rate). Complex problems, but not entirely difficult ones, and I felt reasonably prepared for that. The transportation module was a lot less roadway design now than planning analysis, so I opted to take the construction depth module.

Which probably would have worked out as well as anything else if the damn exam was anything like the actual study materials. Remember, this is the first time the construction module was given, and the only study materials were offered from the same organization that actually writes the damn exam. If I had realized that most of the questions would be structural engineering, I wouldn't have taken it. If I'd realized that fully 25% of the questions would be about worker safety codes, I wouldn't have taken it? Why? This is an open book exam, and since I didn't know that I'd have to refer to OSHA requirements, I didn't have any materials with me. I didn't have any ASTM reference materials or the Pile Driving index put out by a national industry publication.

About 25% of the questions I could actually answer based on my knowledge and reference materials, and about 15% I felt I could make an educated guess. The rest were pure guesswork. How bad was it? We had four hours to take the exam and just after two hours had passed, I had done all that I could do. I decided to actually tackle the transportation module and mark my answers separately and if at the end of the exam, I felt like I'd done better on transportation, I'd have turned that one in instead. But I didn't have enough time to do those questions either, so it was a wash.

If I do pass, it will be total luck and I will be deeply cynical about the license. Most likely, I'll end up taking it at least once and probably twice. Most people who don't pass it on the first try pass it on the third, and about 20% don't pass it even after the fifth time.

=================================

Engineering in the US is rather unusual amongst the licensed professions in that professional licensure is not linked to formal education.* Unlike medical doctors, nurses, or lawyers who need their professional license in order to work, engineers only need a professional license for certain activities (e.g. like running their own company or approving engineering drawings). Qualifications for the PE exam is based on a combination of educational background and work experience (unlike medicine or law, where successful completion of an approved curriculum is required to even qualify to take the exam).

*It is a bit more complicated than this. The engineering licenses are administered and run by the individual states, and each state can set its own qualification requirements as well as passing rates. The basic exam is national and is accepted by all the states, but some states have state specific requirements in addition to obtain a license for that state. For example, for an Alaska PE license, you have to demonstrate knowledge of engineering in permafrost soils, and in California, you have to have a lot of knowledge of seismic issues.

What I think is rather interesting is that in many states I don't qualify to take the PE exam since I don't have an engineering degree. In other states, I don't have enough work experience to qualify. However, since it's a national exam, and each state recognizes a PE license earned in another state, I could still work as an engineer in those states once I get my PE license. All I have to do is a pay a fee to that state's engineering board to get a "state PE license" (just talking about the basic license, not state specific engineering knowledge, although California and Alaska are the only two states I know of that have additional requirements.)

Even more interesting is that by international agreement, a PE license from the US is accepted in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, even though in Australia and NZ at least, professional licensure is more restricted than in the US. In fact, the whole reason I started down this torturous road of getting the PE (first step was passing the Fundamentals of Engineering exam) was because I had this crazy idea of moving to New Zealand.

Keepin' da Knittaz challenged

As you may know, Lambs Ear Yarn is my local LYS (Local Yarn Shop) and the owner hosts a Knit Night every Thursday. I've been going regularly ever since I found out about it early last year. It really is the highlight of my week. I've met awesome women there; people who have become actual friends.

While everyone who comes knows how to knit, every one is at different skill levels and everyone has individual tastes, as to be expected. Many of the women are used to knitting with craft quality yarns, those acrylic or acrylic blends that you find at big chain stores like Jo-Ann's or Michaels. I'm not a yarn snob; I don't care if people want to use Caron's Simply Soft or Wool Ease Thick and Quick. I'm happy to see them knitting!

(I have to revise that. I am snobby against one particular brand of yarn--Red Heart Acrylic. This is the most basic of the craft yarns, and it is essentially spun plastic. It actually squeaks. It's the worst that yarn can be. It doesn't slide easily through the fingers, it's itchy, and it doesn't make a warm garment. The company has a print ad in knitting magazines of a young boy decked out in a hat, scarf, and mittens made from this yarn, having fun tossing snowballs. The ad headline reads "Somebody loves me!" and my thought is always "not very much". )

Many of the women come to Knit Night having used only craft quality yarns before finding Roxie's lovely LYS and I believe that each of them has eventually succumbed to the wonderful Cascade 220 (a 100% wool yarn that is both high quality and inexpensive, a perfect step for someone who wants to move beyond craft yarns).

Then there's me, always bringing in some "weird" yarn:
Yak.
Camel.
And now New Zealand Possum yarn.

I found the Possum yarn on etsy (of course). 3 ounces (about 75g) of handspun, merino/possum yarn and it is incredibly soft. Check out the pictures on the etsy site. Her pictures show the texture quite well, although the color is a much darker brown. Right now, the hank is airing to fluff up from being squished in the post, but I can hardly wait to use it. 3oz isn't a lot of yarn but enough to make a small object. I'm thinking fingerless gloves would do nicely.

more of the same

I feel like whining about the rotten cold I have but instead I will share this tidbits

I woke up this morning and my bangs were glued to my face with snot. Oh joy!

Anyway, animal pictures:

Kate and Seamus. Kate's eyes always look freaky with the flash.













Maggie, hanging out in the cat bed.
















Kate, in her favorite spot. This dog's a total couch potato, ideally snuggled right next to you.

where'd my brain go?

I have a cold and mucus production is at an all time high. I've used two full rolls of toilet paper as Kleenex over the past two days. (Why buy Kleenex when Charmin toilet paper is both cheaper and softer?)

I swear my brain is leaking out my nose.

In knitting news, there was a little tiff at the group last night. I made a crack about a mohair willy warmer that I saw on ebay and some of the other members ran with it (we can be rather crude) and MF suddenly stood up and said, "Goodnight. I'm leaving," and quickly left. I immediately apologized to her and she said "why, you didn't do anything wrong." Except for bringing up the whole topic of willy warmers in the first place. I like MF a lot but I know that she's been having second thoughts about coming there. It is a really long drive for her and gas is really expensive now, and the group can be really loud and crude. MF is old fashioned, but in the best way. You know, manners and politeness old-fashioned. Not close-minded and "kids these days" old-fashioned. I feel bad because she is my friend and despite knowing that she gets uncomfortable with crude humor, I brought up the topic without thinking. I'm going to call her later and apologize again. I feel badly about the whole thing.

In more knitting news, I finally finished my brother's DNA socks. These weren't difficult but the complex stitchwork was definitely time consuming. Check 'em out:
This photo was taken without a flash. The color isn't accurate (the yarn is actually a dark gray) but this shows the stitchwork nicely. The one on the left has been blocked, and the one on the right is fresh from the needles. What a difference, eh?

What's blocking? The item is washed and then stretched out to its proper shape while still wet and allowed to dry. I finally broke down and bought a set of sock blockers, which is like a sock shaped wooden hanger. I've never bothered with blocking socks before but since these are a gift, I wanted them to look nice. I think the effort is worth it. I hope my bro likes them. I hope they fit, too. They are too big for me.

and how was your Friday?

Yesterday was my SDO ("scheduled day off"; my regular work schedule is set up so that I get every other Friday off.).

What I should have done is dived deep into the books and study for the PE exam (which is in thirteen days.)

What I did instead was go to Portland.

Things I learned about Portland:
1. Lots of bridges. Lots and lots of bridges.

2. The city seems to be divided into quadrants: NE, SE, NW, SW. However, the street that divides North from South seems to be Burnside St, and not Division St, which confused me quite a bit.

3. Powells bookstore is one of the gems on Earth. I already knew this, but it bears repeating.

4. Knit Purl is an awesome knitting shop, and I was able to find a lovely cashmere yarn to make a hat for Oscar, who seems to have an allergy to anything except luxury fibers.

5. Yarnia is a DYI shop where you can create your own yarns. The shop offers finely (in thickness as well as quality) machine spun yarns which you combine with other yarns to create a custom color. It is also inexpensive.

6. For an incredible chocolate treat, go to Cacao for a cup of their drinking chocolate.

A very fun day! Even if the weather sucked. Now back to the books.

spring?

It's been a cold, wet week here in the Puget Sound area. I felt bad on Sunday for all the little kids hunting Easter eggs in the pouring rain. It lessened later and became mere driving rain for the remainder of the day and finally cleared around 7pm.

Right now it's snowing. And sticking. It looks lovely clinging to the pink cherry blossoms on the trees.

in comparison, a $400 handmade bag doesn't seem so expensive...

Supercool, steampunk, Emperor Dragonfly Machine

A mere $15,000

Grad school finally paid off!

I was sent this email this morning:

Good morning Luneray. You hopefully will be hearing from the bosses about this deviation soon. But if you get it without a word of appreciation, then here's some Kudos from me. Your deviation was without a doubt the best I have ever seen, written, or reviewed. Great job! As far as I'm concerned, it should be used as a statewide example of the "right way" to write a deviation.

Here's what I liked about it:

1. You did a great job of setting up the existing, proposed, and future work in your Project Overview. I've never seen better. So well organized. Clean, to the point, but all was said that needed to be. Everything labeled and organized (Intro, the configurations, the funded and unfunded, etc). Well done.

2. You did the same in the existing conditions. It was well organized and said what was needed without clouding issues. The reader knew what the deviation condition was and what standards were being deviated. Enough said and move on.

3. Your Alternatives also were good, clean, and organized. Enough said and move on.

4. Your justifications are strong. They raise good compelling arguments supporting the deviation. It is totally clear that it is a time limited deviation that can be corrected with future funded work. And, you make it clear that you are aware of such future work although it is not funded yet. Luneray, you wouldn't believe how hard it is to have a deviation writer to come out and just say these things, so again well done.

5. Bottom line this is a true stand alone document that can hold up in court through the test of time and that is the product we are trying to have produced.

In closing, I realize that project engineers reviewed this and their comments were incorporated before my review. However, I'm sure that even they could not have made this silk purse from a sow's ear. I'm sure they had a good sound product to work with. Once more, well done, and you have a great day.

HQ Design Office

Let me repeat the important bits:

"...the best I have ever seen, written, or reviewed"

"...it should be used as a statewide example of the 'right way' to write a deviation."

Happy dance, happy dance!

Of course I forwarded it to my supervisor. Duh.

Knitting grannies clash with pro-war activists

bleah

I woke up this morning with a headache like I haven't had since I found out that cheese was the source of my migraines. The whole works...head felt like it was being squeezed in a vise, sparkly black spots in my vision, and nausea. Pain, I can deal with. vision? heh, I can handle it. But nausea? I'll convert to any religion whose god can make it go away. Now. Please.

This turned out to be a sinus headache instead of a migraine (as one gentle push on my sinuses confirmed) and I've been trying to figure out what could have triggered this. I've been feeling stuffy over the past few days but I figured I was just coming down with a cold. My sinus problems are food related, not pollen/mold related, and this is a good thing because I have quite a bit of control over what I can eat and less over what I breathe.

Then it hit me. Yogurt. I've been eating a lot of yogurt lately. Plain yogurt, mixed berries, and a wee bit of honey granola for some crunch. It's a lovely breakfast, which provides protein and a lot of fruit and will satisfy me until lunch (and sometimes beyond).

I saw a gasteroenterologist a few weeks ago to be tested for celiac disease. When I did the food challenge a few years ago, wheat was one of the foods I was sensitive too and while I followed the elimination diet to a T, I felt absolutely freaking great. But it seemed that if I had even a single molecule of wheat (ok, I exaggerate), then the symptoms returned...and it took a long time for them to subside.

All in all, the doctor's visit was a really unpleasant experience. I tested negative for celiac disease (which is a good thing) and while trying to explain my situation to the doctor, she essentially cut me off by saying "just do it." "You felt great while on that elimination diet; then just follow it. You find it difficult to get exercise? Join the gym and it will become a habit." I know that going to a doctor isn't meant to be a pleasant experience; they ideally tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. I guess I was hoping for some better feedback on how to overcome my reluctance to do what I know will work. I left the appointment in an irritated mood and feeling more than slightly humiliated. Next time I pay $200 to a professional woman to humiliate me, she'd better be wearing thigh-high leather boots.

Anyway, the only reason I bring this up is that she told me I should start eating yogurt because it's an inexpensive and healthy way to get that good, beneficial-to-the-gut bacteria. When I told her about my sensitivity to dairy, she responded by saying that people with dairy allergies tend to be able to eat yogurt. I told her that I don't have a dairy allergy but get stuffed up if I eat too much dairy. She repeated that the chemical transformation from milk to yogurt eliminates that.

I should have just listened to my own body. While I really like yogurt, I know I shouldn't eat too much of it. When I listened to myself and my own body, I was ok. When I listened to her, I get an incredibly painful sinus headache.

cabbage...tasty?

In the spirit of St Patrick's Day...and because cabbage is only 39 cents a head at the local supermarket...I'm going to share this recipe with you.

If you are anything like me, cabbage is one of those vegetables that you eat because it's available, cheap, and not bad. No disgust, but no real excitement either.

This recipe turned me from a person who bought cabbage because a recipe called for it to a person who keeps asking Oscar the next time he's going to make it.

Fast, simple, cheap, and mouthwateringly good. Really, how can you ask for more than that?

Cabbage Salad with Mustard Seeds from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey.
6 well packed cups (1 lb or 0.5 kilo) shredded green cabbage
1 medium carrot, peeled and coarsely grated
1 to 2 hot green chiles, cut into fine shreds*
1/5 tsp salt
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
0.25 tsp cayenne
2 tbsp peanut or canola (rapeseed) oil
1 tsp whole brown mustard seeds

Combine cabbage, carrot, chiles, salt, vinegar, and cayenne in a large bowl and toss well to mix. Put the oil into a small frying pan and set over medium high heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop (a matter of seconds), pour the oil and seeds over the salad. Toss well to mix. Set aside for one hour or longer, refrigerating if necessary.

*I don't think Oscar adds green chiles. You can probably up the cayenne if you want a spicier salad.

Trust me, this is astoundingly good.

my life is incomplete

Etsy is a dangerous place.

I mean, I never knew how empty my life was until I found these Katamari Sneakers.

Or an upcycled teapot with a ball of yarn on it?

warning...bad pun ahead

Y'all know that I hate my vacuum cleaner, but I have since found out that the only way for it to suck worse than it did was for it not to suck at all.

How's that for irony...I finally get the desire to vacuum/dust, and the piece of crap decides to not work properly. Not that it ever worked great to begin with.

escape from Chthulu's grasp

The course is finally over and I've spent the weekend trying to reshape the pieces of my shattered soul. If I were still living in Seattle, I would have gone to Dad Watson's Pub (the local McMenamin's; I love their beer); their beer is an excellent glue for the reassembly process. My favorite beer of all time is their Workingman's Red, which is a seasonal ale and should be going on tap anytime now. However, I won't drink and drive, and there is no reason to drive 30 miles and not get enough, ahem, glue.

I lamented this to Oscar when I picked him up at the transit station and he suggested going to Spar Cafe, the newest member of the McMenamin's pub family. Sure, why not? So we drove down to Olympia (also 30 miles, but to the south), found parking without any trouble (on street! free! within a block of our destination! on a Friday night!) Sadly, our luck in parking was offset by bad luck in the beer department because not only was Workingman's Red not yet available, so were most of their others. Newcastle Brown? Out. Porter? Out. Stout? Available, but badly poured. But it still served its function, and Oscar and I wandered around downtown Olympia for awhile. It seems a very pleasant place. Oscar really liked it and said that maybe we should move to Olympia.

There is one other known cure for soul reassembly, and that's a yarn crawl with a friend. Yesterday, Ms K and I went to Churchmouse Yarns and Tea on Bainbridge Island. I'd never been there, but Ms K had and was dying to go back. We took the bus to Seattle, and then the ferry over to the island and then walked to the shop. (You may think that we opted for mass transit and foot power because we are eco-freaks who really care about reducing our carbon footprint. That may be partially true but the real reason is that we both hate to drive.) The weather was pleasant (overcast but not raining); it was less than a 10-minute walk from the ferry to the heart of the village; just enough to warm us up for the beauty and spectacle that was Churchmouse.

It really is a wonderful yarn shop. While it's true that in this age of the internet, you can buy just about any yarn from anywhere you choose, an LYS (local yarn shop) is still very special. I have yet to see a monitor that can reproduce the depth of color and stunning beauty of Hand Maiden's yarns, or the softness of a merino yarn. But the best thing about this shop was its customer service. Everyone was helpful, knowledgeable, and very professional. (Yes, I have been in a LYS where some of the staff didn't even know how to knit or crochet.)

Poor Ms K was having an existential crisis, though. She had planned to do some serious stash acquisition, but nothing really called out to her. Oh no, she bemoaned. What is wrong with me? Am I losing my enthusiasm for knitting? I adopted my knitting sensei persona and did my best to counsel her. Do not worry, grasshopper, I told her. This is a phase through which all knitters pass. After the first flush of joy of learning the craft, the knitter goes through a stash acquisition phase, until she reaches a point where the stash is great enough for project ideas to take over. This is the phase you are entering now.

She did seem to relax after that, but perhaps it was due to the rapid consumption of delicious pastries and a wine tasting soon after.

By the time we got back to Seattle, the sun had come out, and we met up with her husband and walked over to So Much Yarn, where she found some yarn which sang to her (as did I), and then, thoroughly relaxed and with my soul restored, we headed home. It was an absolutely wonderful day.

Thank you, Ms K!

Life imitates art?

There's a very funny bit in the film LA Story where the main character where the main character (a TV weatherman in living in Los Angeles) decides to visit his best friend, and so walks out to the front of his house, gets in his car, and drives...to the house next door.

Yesterday, U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" came on the radio right as I was turning the corner onto my street (which does have a name, thank you), and I decided to hang out in the car and listen to it, since I like the song and hadn't heard it in a long time. During the first verse, I noticed our Street's Moral Caretaker* get into her truck and drive away. She waved to me and I waved to her (I can be civil), and then I noticed in my rear view mirror that she pulled over in front of a neighbor's house (two houses down), get out, and go inside. By the end of the song, she was still in the house.

Nobody walks in LA. Apparently, nobody walks in Tacoma either.

*aka She Who Gets on My Nerves

overall, it's improvement

Despite hitting a weight loss milestone this week (fitting into smaller jeans), I did end up gaining 0.6 lbs. Sigh.

I can think of a few reasons for this:
1. I didn't have a chance to use the toilet before my weigh in. (You think that's over-reacting? They weigh you to the 1/10th of a lb; that's approximately 40grams. You bet I'm going to pee before weigh in.)
2. I haven't had a chance to exercise as much this week. Because of the class, I've been sitting much more than I usually do during the day.
3. Girl Scout cookies.

The good thing about this class is that we get out between 4 and 4:30 and it only takes me 30 minutes to get home. Yes, I'm driving, which I don't like; but it's still light out when I get home, which I like a lot. The VE course is getting much more interesting, which is not too surprising because it could hardly get more boring. It's not that the VE process is dull (it's actually rather interesting, I think); it's because with every training course I've had led by a federal agency, the baseline assumption is that you aren't very smart and must be given LOTS and LOTS of time to grasp rather basic concepts.

(Thankfully, the instructor is feeling better and I'm no longer worried that he's going to drop dead during the class. He actually has lifelike color to his face and he's not making any weird comments anymore.)

We are now putting the theory into practice by doing a mini-VE study on a sample project. I got a compliment from one of the instructors, who told me that I did a good job of keeping the team on track during the brainstorming and evaluation sessions. I hadn't realized he was monitoring us during those periods, so that was a nice thing to hear. Later, one of the agency VE leaders asked me if I'd be interested in actually leading VE teams instead of just being a team member.

it's going to be a long week

This week I'm in a Value Engineering (VE) training course offered by the National Highway Institute. My boss chose me to be the region's VE coordinator, so it was thought to be a good idea all around to send me off for some training. VE (also known as Value Analysis) is a systematic process of evaluating a project to determine if things can be done more efficiently or cost-effectively. However, as I've discovered, my role as VE coordinator deals more with trying to find an available conference room without pissing off the various factions of administrative assistants that it does with any actual analysis of an engineering project.

All in all, VE can be interesting but I think I'm going to die of boredom this week because the instructor is quite possibly the dullest person on the planet. He's also quite old, and possibly senile. I'm not joking. He tells random, rambling stories which sometime have something to do with VE and sometimes not. He started telling a story about a Japanese team doing a VE study on the common yellow pencil (this already sounds apocryphal to me), and then said "they determined that the Americans never used a pencil shorter than 3 inches. I don't know where they got their numbers. Probably the same place that Hillary Clinton's campaign team does." He also looks quite unhealthy, and he did say several times that he wasn't feeling well today. His facial color was actually gray.

Not only that, but the damn training is held in Lacey, so I have to drive there. At least the traffic isn't bad going that direction. On the plus side, it's held at St Placid's Priory which is a Benedictine nunnery and the grounds are just lovely. Hopefully tomorrow it won't be raining so I can take a walk on the grounds without getting drenched.

And did I mention that the nuns sell their own handspun yarn from their own flocks? And raw honey from their own bees? I wonder if the instructor will notice if I knit during the lectures...

aha!

So I managed to squeeze into my brand new, next-size-down jeans. (No, I didn't buy these jeans to "inspire" or "motivate" me to lose weight. I bought them BWW (before Weight Watchers) and realized they were too small and never bothered to return them.)

I had to lay down on the bed to zip them up, but at least I didn't need pliers. :) And I can still breathe. Just don't ask me to bend at the waist.

the right tool for the job

I hate my vacuum cleaner. Absolutely hate it.

I don't hate it simply because I dislike vacuuming/dusting. No, I hate it because it's a piece of crap that makes a much disliked chore even more onerous.

We got it right after we moved because we'd left our other one behind. The casing was broken and sadly, it would have cost more to fix it than to buy a new one. I wish now we hadn't gotten rid of it because even its semi-functional state, it still works better than the piece of *#$%@ that we have now.

I'd thought about getting a room air purifier when our tax refund check comes (there's a lot of dirt in the air around here), but now I may use that money and buy a good vacuum cleaner. Although, if I have a good air purifier, maybe I don't need to ever vacuum or dust at all?????

It's all in the neighborhood...

Today I checked out Neighborhood Cafe (no web site yet) on the corner of E34th and McKinley that I'd read about in Exit133. *

It's not exactly in my neighborhood; it's about two miles away from my house but it's a pleasant walk (almost exactly 5000 steps, if you are curious). The cafe was converted from an old house and it's really cozy inside. I liked it a lot. It's also just a few blocks from the dog park and on drier days, I could walk the dogs over there, let them chase tennis balls for awhile and then refresh myself before walking back. Miguel, the cafe owner, is also the head of the volunteer group for the dog park, and he lives in the neighborhood himself. (He may actually own the cafe/house, because I overheard him talking about his challenges about converting a residential property to commercial.)

Any of my knittin' sistahs want to meet me there on a weekend to have coffee and knit? It's a nice place to hang out.

This weekend I'm dogsitting Abbie, my friend M.F.'s dog. We fostered Abbie from the Humane Shelter last year and after talking about the dog during knitting group, M.F. wanted to meet her. I brought the dog to M.F.'s house to meet her, but I think she had already decided to adopt the dog. Abbie settled right in, didn't bother the cat, liked M.F. and her friend who was visiting. Abbie is a gentle, mellow dog, but like most Rottweilers, she doesn't take any sh*t. Seamus, for all his good-natured goofiness, is a bit of a bully toward other dogs. Like all bullies, he's a total coward. When we were fostering Abbie, she had to put him in his place a few times, but he finally got the hint. And he remembered Abbie and is now insufferably whiny. Abbie wants to hang out with me, and so does Seamus, but he won't come near her if he can help it. I swear Abbie is deliberately torturing him by lying in the doorway. He wants to come in the room, but won't, so he just stands a few feet from Abbie and whines pitifully. What a baby! And Kate the Wonder Dog, the ultimate conflict avoider, just hangs out on the couch.

While walking home, I had the most extraordinary realization...Tacoma is starting to feel like home. I have friends now. There are small, indy places that are pleasant to go to. The Grand Cinema. Neighborhood Cafe. The Knitters group at Lamb's Ear Yarn. Hello Cupcake. Our favorite restaurant is Pho on 38th. Harmon's Brewery (except for Friday nights, when it's just a wee bit too loud for my taste.) And let's not forget that the Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat--the best knitting (mostly) convention on the West Coast--is held in Tacoma.

*This is a very good blog about Tacoma, and named for the exit off I-5 that takes you to downtown.

just the motivation I needed...

Spending 30 minutes vacuum-dusting the entire living room isn't merely insanely boring, tedious, demeaning drudgery anymore...it counts as an activity point!! A credit to my daily allotment of caloric intake.

But seriously, I probably would have vacuum dusted the living room anyway. It really needed it.

I'm trying, dammit!

I'm going to do my very best not to publicly obsess about this weight loss thing, but I have to admit that it's just about the only thing I can think of right now. (Roseanne had a great list of the first 10 steps to weight loss. I wish I could find it, but I do remember that the first step was "join Weight watchers and become obsessed with food.")

I suppose it's a nice break from yakking on and on about yarn and knitting. :P

I was having a bad day yesterday, full of self-doubt and anger. I knew I would come to that phase eventually; I just didn't expect it to happen on day 10. I decided to go to a meeting, even though I'd already gone this week, hoping it would be the moral boost that I needed. I really liked the leader; she had a much better vibe than the one who leads the Tuesday group (who unfortunately has the same cheerfully bubbly personality of hairdressers and dental hygienists, which always strikes me as somewhat false.) However, the Friday group also contained two women who are quite possibly the most negative people on the planet. I'm not sure I want to switch if I have to deal with them every week. Perhaps they were also having a bad day and bonding in their misery. But, I did feel a lot better after the meeting, and got the moral boost I needed.

Plus, I bought a new pair of shoes. That also helped. :P

On a positive note, I did actually walk 10,000 steps yesterday. This is the first time I've made it. With my normal routine, plus walking to the library during lunch, and walking the dogs, I reach 7500 hundred steps without any problem. I didn't go to the library yesterday, but I did walk back from the meeting (the shoe store was right on the way, so no detour for that), so I guess that did it. And I am a bit sore today; not bad, but I feel it.

oh, cruel fate

I walked into the living room and saw Oscar and Kate the Wonder Dog asleep on the couch. She was curled up with her head on his lap, and he'd curled up and was using her back for a pillow.

It was the very definition of adorable.

And the damn camera batteries are dead.

Dear concerned office-worker,

I highly doubt that there's a conspiracy against you just because the snack vendor hasn't come by this week to refill the snack machine.

I also doubt that someone has it out for you because the slot with the snickers candy bars doesn't work.

Sincerely,

Luneray

The what monologue?

Esteemed colleague,

I admire that you have the self-confidence to discuss matters regarding your intimate parts in an office setting without lowering your voice.

I agree that it's important to remove the cast of secrecy and shame that so many women have about their bodies. There truly is nothing inherently shameful about our female anatomy.

However, I do believe that your attempts at female empowerment would be greatly enhanced if you were to actually use the word "vagina". This is the clinical name of that particular female body part that you were so emboldened to discuss within earshot of me and five of my other colleagues.

Please, repeat after me.

V-A-G-I-N-A

Not va-jay-jay.

It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change!

I have a confession to make. I'm a bit embarrassed about it, which in Luneray logic, makes perfect sense to post on my blog. There's no shame liked shared shame.

I have joined Weight Watchers.

There, I said it. I'm not a fat activist, but I've long come to terms with my weight. I don't even have any particular desire to be thin, and still firmly believe that I am one of the luckiest people in the history of humankind to live in an era and place where food is plentiful and cheap and hunger is truly rare. (Yes, there is involuntary hunger in the United States, which is an abomination.)

While I never expect to weigh 120 lbs (nor do I want to), I am heavier than I want to be. I notice it and its slowing me down. It's like that that one extra library book in the backpack. The pack may be full, and you notice the weight, but it's not a burden. But then you add a few more books, and suddenly the pack feels like a real load. You notice it. It's heavy enough to slow you down, make you sweat. Add a few more books and now you don't want to carry it more than 1/2 block.

I have to admit that I've been toying with "weight loss" for awhile, but wasn't going to commit to it until I was ready. There were little things that pushed me along, like discovering that my baggy pants weren't quite as baggy anymore, and that knitting a sweater for my size takes a really freaking long time. But the final straw was the my fantastic Icelandic road sign T shirt shrunk in the wash and doesn't fit anymore. I want to wear that shirt again, dammit!

I've entered into a friendly competition with my supervisor. It was actually my idea because she's been bemoaning the fact that she's having a hard time keeping on the Weight Watchers plan (she started up several months ago and has lost a lot of weight). She is really competitive and I am not. However, because I am not competitive, I rarely join in a contest unless I feel I have a pretty good chance of winning. :P The stakes aren't high--the "loser" takes the "winner" to a movie.

So, I'm in my second week. The program has changed substantially since I was on it in the early 90s. (I have to admit that part of my cynicism toward weight loss is that I have never, ever met a single person who has done any plan just once.) Before, their focus was on food types and servings. Food was divided into fat, fruit, vegetables, dairy, starch, and protein and you had a certain number of servings from each group that you had to eat each day, plus you got a certain number of "optional calories" each week that you could use as you chose. I liked the idea behind this because it did focus more on nutrition and eating a balanced diet.

However, I quit going to the program though because the meetings seemed to focus more on pushing WW foods than on eating healthy. Ok, so what if eating WW chocolate cake counts as 1 bread serving and 10 optional calories? How about teaching us about ways to curb our need for sweets in other ways? I also refuse to eat "fake food" as part of my normal diet. If I want chocolate cake, I'm going to splurge on the good stuff!

But now the WW program has more "economic" focus. Every food has a point value assigned to it, and each person gets a certain number of points they have to consume each day. The daily point value is determined by age, gender, initial weight, and average activity level. So, like a checkbook, you debit your daily points consumed. Each person also gets an additional 35 points each week to use or not. Plus you can get "activity points" which credit against your daily point total. Yesterday, I consumed 1.5 more points than my daily target, but I earned three activity points that day, so I balanced out. (See what I mean by "economic"?)

The thing I like about this program is that nothing is forbidden. I can truly eat anything I want, as long as I stay within the point goal. (Theoretically, I can eat nothing but three Starbucks cinnamon rolls per day and still lose weight. It's tempting, let me tell you.) Points are calculated based on fiber, calories, and fat per serving.

I've only started the second week, and have only been to two meetings, but I am concerned that the focus isn't nutritional balance but only points. The program's supporting materials give lots of recipe suggestions, which tend to be balanced but no nutritional guidance in the meetings themselves. Protein foods tend to be high point value and I wonder how many people try to cut out proteins and end up so hungry that they give up?

I am not going to deny myself anything. I am not going to eat fat-free anything unless it comes that way naturally. Nor am I going to eat nothing but green salads, and carrot and celery sticks. I do like green salads, but not exclusively. My first week, I ate a starbucks cinnamon roll (10 points), had a bubble tea (8 points), as well as mochi ice cream and a beer (no, not together. That'd be disgusting.) and still managed to lose a few pounds. I ended up going out to restaurants more than I expected and kind of fell of the wagon, but I did seem to learn something. I had only one beer even though I wanted a second. I chose chili and salad instead of burger and fries. And I was honest with myself. I kept track of everything I ate.

It's a start.

luneray--professional photographer?

the other day I received this email via flickr:

:: Inquiry from SPIN magazine


Hello! I am interested in using your photo of a steamer
trunk in the April issue of SPIN. I want to make certain
that is acceptable and ask how you would like to be
credited.

Please be in touch with me at SPIN at your earliest
convenience.
yours, jen

I thought this was rather odd, and possibly shady. I know people who are actually skilled photographers, and post really lovely photos on flickr. However, I'm not a skilled photographer and these photos are most definitely amateurish, done with a cheap digital camera, and taken only because I was trying to sell the trunk on craigslist and needed some pictures. In fact, the only reason these images were still on flickr is because I never got around to deleting them. (stupid flickr merged with yahoo and I couldn't remember my login info.)

But after hearing from some of these same skilled photographer friends that they had also received requests to use their photos in major publications, and that the contact info contained in the original email does in fact match up with an editor at SPIN magazine, I decided "what the hell" and wrote back giving my ok.

Her response:

So pleased to hear from you. Your photo of a steamer trunk will be running
quite small but it is just what we need for the page.

Hear that? "just what we need for the page."

Now, in answer to your burning question...no, I'm not getting paid. I get a free issue of the magazine with my credited photo. c'mon, do YOU think these photos are worth paying for?

and you think your day was bad

I ask you to please spare some kind thoughts for my friend Ms Swan (her blog name), who has had a really rough time lately. First, her landlord told her housemates that they had to move out, which Ms Swan didn't really mind because she didn't like the living situation either, but it was stressful for her because they were very spiteful. Since they've moved out, some very suspicious things have happened. 1) Her mail was cut off because someone notified the post office that the house was being vacated. She found this out when she got home and saw the bright pink tag on her mailbox. Ms Swan has diabetes and gets her medication via mail order pharmacy, and her prescription was returned. She did get everything straightened out but she didn't get her medication until about two weeks after it was supposed to be delivered. 2) The muffler fell off her car. 3)All of her tires were slashed. She called the police, who told her that this was probably a revenge act since no other vehicle in the neighborhood was attacked.

Ms Swan is very overweight due to a thyroid condition and the diabetes (she was quite slim until about four years ago) and signed up for the one insurance plan offered by the agency that paid for gastric-bypass surgery. There's quite a bit of medical evidence that this procedure essentially cures type 2 diabetes in adult patients (98% of the study participants had their symptoms disappear. Ninety-eight percent!!), which is why she was pursuing this option. The insurance company approved her for the surgery last August and she had started the pre-surgery procedures (counselling, changing her diet, etc), but then the agency dropped this plan for 2008. The replacement plan also covered the surgery but made her start the whole process over, frustrating her to no end. (There is only one doctor approved to do this surgery and he's booked about four months in advance. She can't even set an appointment until she has completed the mandatory pre-surgery program. Again.)

Between the vengeful ex-roommate, her financial issues (because of having to pay the full rent as well as the high cost of her medications at the beginning of the year until her deductible is met), and all the stuff about surgery, she's been really stressed out.

10 days ago, her friend took her to the hospital because it was obvious that something was really wrong. Ms Swan's blood pressure was dangerously high, and she was on the verge of a heart attack. She stayed in the hospital overnight until her blood pressure was brought down to a reasonable level. Unfortunately, that medication threw her insulin out of whack, so during the next five days, she was as sick as a dog while the doctor tweaked the dosage until her body found a balance. This was an expected side effect, but still unpleasant.

She has allergies, and her doctor took her off that medication (because increased blood pressure is a common side effect), and gave her a nasal steroid spray instead. These are generally quite safe but there are also some uncommon, but known, side effects with that medication as well. Ms Swan found this out on Saturday when she woke up and couldn't see out of one eye and had only limited vision and extreme sensitivity to light out of the other. Apparently, this steroid spray had ulcerated the backs of her eyes (three in one eye, and one in the other). Thankfully, these will heal and her vision will return but it does take some time. She's staying with a friend of hers this week, so she's being taken care of.

She's a tough lady, and not a complainer at all, and it hurts to see her suffering so.

At least he noticed

the setting: a cold winter afternoon in an unremarkable Tacoma neighborhood.

The husband: Hey, you got your hair done! You look like Velma! ... What? Why are you looking at me like that? Was that the wrong thing to say? I like Velma! I think she's cute!

now we're even

Seamus was stretched out along the floor next to the sofa and I freaked the poor dog out by accidentally stepping on the end of his pizzle while trying to seat myself on the couch. (Nothing gets your heart rate going like 100 lbs of snarling canine fury erupting underneath you like a leviathan from the depths of your shag carpet.)

He got me back later. He was lying in the doorway between the kitchen and living room and decided to get up right as I was stepping over him.

Doing the splits has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. Thanks, Seamus, for helping me achieve a fitness dream! Now, pass me the tylenol, ok?

Eureka!

My engineering colleagues were all quite baffled when I announced that I was going to graduate school...to study Scandinavian Studies. What use is studying Icelandic if you work as a highway engineer?

Well, I'm the only one in the office who knows how to read these Icelandic traffic signs.

Useless? I don't think so.

I came. I saw. I bought the T-shirt.

goodbye, old friend

The washer and dryer, who have faithfully served the previous resident and then us for a longer time than I have been on this earth, have gone to the appliance graveyard. The washer gave up the ghost last week, and so we decided to replace the pair. As much as I hate to admit, it really wasn't feasible to call a repairman to fix a washer that was approximately 40 years old.

So we are now the proud owners of a high-efficiency front loading washer and matching dryer. Oscar and I had a plan to replace the appliances one by one anyway. Next up, the fridge, then replacing the water heater with a tankless model, then the stove. Unless, of course, the existing geriatric appliances decide to die on their own schedule.

Operation Skinny Dog

Seamus and I have started our fitness program, which is a simple plan of taking him on at least a 30 minute walk every evening. Although he is a big dog, he weighed in at 104 lbs (47 kilos) during his last vet visit, which is too much. I hadn't realized just how conducive to basic fitness living in an urban environment could be. When I lived in Seattle, I never thought of myself as a fit person but I did walk an awful lot, just doing everyday stuff. Walking to the grocery store, walking the dog every evening, walking to the library (oh, how I miss having a library within walking distance of my home). These were chores but they didn't feel like work because the neighborhood was interesting. The neighborhood where we live now doesn't really have a center; it's just a bunch of houses contained within a grid of high speed city streets. So taking the dogs on walks just isn't very interesting. There isn't much to see except for more houses, plus the streets and sidewalks are in pretty rough shape here, so footing can be treacherous.

I know that these walks are good for Seamus and for me as well, but they really aren't very interesting.