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Archives: August 2003

Tue Aug 26, 2003

successful maiden voyage

after spending a fruitless day at work i was looking forward to getting home and getting the new kayak in the water. so mum helped me carry the boat down to the creek (a very small creek with barely enough water to float the boat) to see how the dog goes in the new boat. he didn't like it too much because it ships a fair amount of water, and he hates lying down in the water. i'm sure he'll learn to cope with it. the cobra explorer is stable enough for him to ride in without too much disturbance.

it was great! i'm very happy with my new kayak, and i'm looking forward again to spending time on the water this weekend. gotta do something with a three-day weekend, eh?

Posted by: mock turtle on 26 Aug, 03 | 06:58

Mon Aug 25, 2003

ready for anything

i finally did it. i really did it. i broke down yesterday and bought the kayak i've been wanting for a while now. it's waiting at home for me to put it in the water... maybe this afternoon when i get off work. it's great to know that i've got a solid-sided kayak at home so i won't have to rent one any more. it should also be interesting to see how the dog handles it since he's used to the stability of the inflatable.

we did end up going kayaking yesterday for a short while, and the dog got to go swimming. we drove to the only place where there's water: the coast. it's pretty sad when all the rivers around here are so low i've got to walk through the riffles because there's not enough water to float through them. hopefully, to reiterate my previous posts, we'll have some rain soon.

i guess the local river sports shop has whitewater trips every thursday evening. i'm thinking about doing that this week, but i've not decided yet. i've got a couple days to make a decision. i might just end up playing in the creek with the kayak and the dog, seeing if i can get him used to riding in a boat that's a bit more squirrelly than the inflatable. wish me luck, eh?

Posted by: mock turtle on 25 Aug, 03 | 06:41

Sun Aug 24, 2003

nothing quite like being on the open water

i've finally done it. i went sailing yesterday with a friend from work, and i had so much fun i just can't explain. i've had a boat picked out for a few years now, but it's so big and expensive i don't know if i'll ever be able to afford it. now i'm thinking about a smaller boat; i can always upgrade, right? i'm not sure what model the boat i went sailing on was, but it's a twenty-five foot sloop that my friend uses for racing. i'm hoping to have many more opportunities to sail in the coming years.

i'm thinking about taking the inflatable kayak out today, but i've not completely decided yet. i'd have to go to the coast because the rivers are so low it's disturbing. i'm crossing my fingers for copious amounts of rain in the next month or so. i hope to be able to kayak the entire length of the local river this fall, but if it doesn't start raining soon to bring the water level up a couple feet i think i'll be s.o.l. until next spring. it would be nice to have some rain before it starts getting too cold to do it.

in the meantime, i'm just sitting here surfing ebay to see how much twenty-five foot sloop-rigged racing boats are going for. i should be able to find something on ebay, shouldn't i?

Posted by: mock turtle on 24 Aug, 03 | 07:12

Mon Aug 18, 2003

lately he's been drinking alone

so, it's been an interesting week to say the least. i missed a few hours at work, so i ended up working on saturday to make up a little. maybe i'll even get paid this week because there was a snafu with my time card, so i didn't get a paycheque last week. it makes for slim pickings in the refrigerator.

i've been wondering lately about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd) and how it affects addictive personalities. i wish i had all the answers so i could help my friend who managed to land himself in jail again due to alcohol. maybe this will be a wake-up call for him, and he'll realise that all the people around him are worried. i'm crossing my fingers that he'll be able to beat this.

in the meantime, the cows got out and trampled through the garden decimating the corn, eating half the cabbage, and tromping a good portion of the beans. thankfully the dog was a good help in getting them back in the field and locked down again. the creek is frighteningly low, and there's not a lot of prospect for rain right now. hopefully there'll be some good rain in the near future so i'll get a chance to kayak down the river this fall. if not, i might have to invest in a wetsuit and just do it in the dead of winter.

right, well, that's about all i have to say for an "update" this week so far. we'll see if there's more to tell toward the end of the week. for the time being, i'm just trying to keep my feet under me and my brain from misfiring too often.

Posted by: mock turtle on 18 Aug, 03 | 11:39

Tue Aug 12, 2003

hello again

so, another week has come and gone, and i'm still here. life is pretty good right now... actually, i'm very happy with life right now. i just hope it continues on its current path. maybe someday i'll post some real updates here, but for the time being, just know that i'm happy.

work is going well. it's got ups and downs as do all things in life, but i'm glad to be back in the land of the employed so i can pay some bills. i'm sure all my bill collectors just loved me this summer. actually, i'm sure all my bill collectors always love me (said very facetiously, of course).

i've been having a lot of fun hanging out with friends and family over the last couple months, and i've met a few new people and maybe made a few new friends. all in all, life as it is isn't worth complaining about, so why stress out about it? i've got a few new ideas for rants that i hope to put to the page within the next week or so, but for now i'm going to sign off and let you continue about your web wanderings. happy day.

Posted by: mock turtle on 12 Aug, 03 | 08:15

Tue Aug 05, 2003

back on the chain gang

well, it's been about two months of unemployment woes, and i'm finally back at work. it's nice to be working again, to be able to look forward to a cheque at the end of the week, but i was having so much fun doing nothing! life has been quite interesting lately, to say the least. i've run into more friends from high school (over 15 years ago, by the way) in the past couple months than i have in the past 15 years.

the parents rented kayaks for my birthday last week (yeah, i'm older yet), and my friend and i spent the day on the lake. he'd never been kayaking before, and now he's talking about buying one. he must've liked it! i'm hoping to be able to save enough money to buy the one i want: the cobra explorer. it's a great boat, and the dog could even come along.

during the past couple months of unemployment, i've taken a couple little road trips. road trips, of course, mean tons of photos, so i've been working on and off on getting them all catalogued and formatted for my photo album. i've "only" got about 400 or so to catalogue, so it'll take me a while. we also took a roll of pictures with a waterproof camera whilst we were kayaking, so those'll probably make it into the photo album eventually. it's just a matter of making the plan to sit in front of the computer for several hours and dredge up the memories of the trips to comment on the photos. frankly, i've been having too much fun to dedicate the time to it.

as if you didn't realize that by the fact that i hadn't written anything here for the past few months. right, so suffice it to say that i'm happy, i'm healthy, i'm not so wealthy, and i don't know exactly how wise i am, but life is good for the moment. here's to hoping that the moment lasts!

Posted by: mock turtle on 05 Aug, 03 | 08:23

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quote of the moment:

If you find yourself alone riding through green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled for you are in Elysium, and you're already dead!
-Maximus, Gladiator

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