Hey, gang! Welcome to my weird little corner of cyberspace.

I love meeting new friends, so I hope you'll introduce yourself. You're welcome to comment or lurk as you please, but most of my posts are friends-locked, so you won't see much in this journal unless you add. (All posts over 30 days old will be locked) Even if you don't feel like introducing yourself, I'm happy to add you back. You can learn a little more about me on my profile.

If I've added you, it's because we've got a few things in common or you said something mindblowingly wise in a friend's journal and I wanted to get to know you better. I hope you'll add back, but if you don't after a couple weeks, I'll take the hint and bugger off.

Pleased to meet you!

Being almost-vegan since January has really been working for me. (I say "almost" because I'm technically ovo-pescaterian, meaning I eat fish and eggs, but no dairy or meat. Since dairy and meat are the hardest things to avoid, I keep my eye out for products labeled "vegan" out of habit)

I'm not a legalist about my diet. I'm mainly doing it for health reasons, but I don't want to alienate or inconvenience my friends. So if someone invites me over for lunch and chicken soup & buttery garlic bread is what they're offering, I'm not going to turn up my nose and say, "I can't eat it." When I'm in Rome, I'll do as the Romans do. So keeping meat-free, dairy-free at home and going for vegan options when we eat out is good enough for me.

I haven't kept to my 5 pounds/month weight lost hopes, but I have lost 10 pounds since the beginning of the year, putting me just 10 pounds from my goal weight. Weight slowly keeps coming off with no particular effort on my part. I never feel hungry, or denied, or feel like I'm on anything like a "diet." Even if I'm not losing weight, I'm maintaining with no effort. The fact that Alan and I stopped drinking 6 weeks ago also helps, surely. (Sooo many calories in alcohol.)

In general, it's good for our pocketbook, too. Buying fresh produce in season (and frozen fruit/veg that's out of season) is pretty cheap. Cutting out meat, cheese, alcohol, and processed foods--also cheap.

Lentils, mushrooms, and eggplant are our new "meat"--the savory toothsome stuff that helps hold a meal together. I hope to learn how to make seitan, a faux meat made from vital wheat gluten. Savory flavors like sun-dried tomatoes, fresh herbs, and vinegar also spice up meals. I haven't quite been able to bring myself to buy expensive balsamic vinegar and olive oil, though I hear a few extra bucks on the ingredients really improves the quality. Anyone got experience either way there?

Alas, nearly every vegetable and herb I planted in my garden has been devoured by birds. Beets, salad greens, catnip, cabbages--gone with the exceptions of one or two stragglers. Heh. Guess there's some down-sides to setting up my backyard into a bird buffet. I'll have to remember to plant seedlings that are a little more mature in the future. On the plus side, the one plant type that survived in my garden were those onions I meticulously planted for Alan. Guess they're too spicy for the birds. A quick reward for good karma!

I'd normally be more dismayed to have my entire garden devoured but I recognize some of this was my own fault for inviting birds to eat in my backyard. I'm not so foolish as to think I can set up a sign to tell them, "You're allowed to eat the suet and seeds, but leave my greens alone!" And the birds bring me so much joy, they're totally worth it.

But even more comforting is the knowledge that I'll still have bountiful fresh produce all summer. Alan and I joined a local CSA (community supported agriculture) for the upcoming season. If you're unfamiliar with the idea, a CSA is where a local farm offers "shares" of their farm's crop to the public. People "subscribe" for a growing season, pay up front, and then get a weekly box of fresh produce. This way, the farm gets their seed money (literally) up front, they know how many customers they'll have, and the customer get weekly shares of the crop.

I felt the $ting when we paid up front, but I'm really looking forward to getting a huge box of fresh fruits and vegetables every week for the next 6 months(!) ^__^ Even though we're a family of 2, we purchased a full share (recommended for family of 4) because fresh produce already makes up the bulk of our meals (instead of side dishes like they used to be when we were meat-eaters.) It should save us a ton of grocery money and we'll get a much bigger quantity and more variety from the CSA than we would from our own garden, but it'll be just as fresh (often picked just the day before!) Summer tomatoes and autumn squash, you'll still be mine yet! The variety of weird stuff that shows up in your weekly CSA box is supposed to be great for trying new recipes and sampling new foods. You get to be creative with what you're given, which helps get people off well-worn paths of old recipes and repetitive ingredients.

I highly recommend doing some research and look into the availability of CSAs in your own area. I'm spoiled for choice here in Olympia, so I just picked one at random. Deliveries start next Thursday! Can't wait to see what we get and watch the contents change over the months as the seasons change. ^_^

"Oh!" I gasped sharply.

Out of my peripheral vision, I could see Alan jump to his feet, ready to come to my rescue, thinking I had hurt myself somehow.

"No, no, I'm fine." I felt guilty for worrying him, but this sight was worth it. "Come here and see this."



I was awed by the sight of this hardworking mother opossum and her fleet of youngsters latched onto her back. They gripped her fur with teeth and claws, pulling so heavily on the hair, there was a line that looked almost bald at the root of their handholds. The mama didn't move much. Sniffing the night air while the babies clung in place. Every time the mama started walking the joeys would hold stock still, then they'd squirm to get a better grip and reposition themselves every time she stopped. The whole time I was watching, I thought there were five babies on her back, but when I looked closer at the photos later, I discovered there were six!

I broke my resolution to stop feeding backyard wildlife (besides birds) and tossed a handful of dry catfood out the back door to feed this hardworking single mom. She didn't rush to the bait like I'd hoped. She just stayed in place and rested, looking exhausted. No surprise considering she must have had half her body weight in babies clinging to her back. I can't imagine how rough it must be to scrounge through garbage and leaf litter for food every night. The already tough existence of a wild animal must be nearly impossible with a litter of joeys on your back. How can she forage all night carrying that extra weight? What could she do if she needed to run from a predator?

I hope she found the food I set out eventually. Alan captured a few snapshots of this living omnibus and I watched for at least half an hour before leaving her to rest in privacy.

( One more pic )

I've played hundreds and hundreds of video games in my life and loved many, but if there's one game I've put more sheer hours into than any other, it's Blizzard's Diablo II. This loot-fest action game is perfect for cooperative play, and since Alan and I love playing together we keep returning to this one again and again.

I got this game when it first came out (when was that--'98? '99?) when I was still in highschool living at home with my parents. I played it single-player and cleared every corner of every map, not quite realizing it was okay to leave a few stones unturned since the random maps redraw every time I play.



Now when I go to Vermont to visit my parents, I bring a laptop with Diablo II loaded on it so Alan and I can spend time with each other even while we're on opposite sides of the country. We talk on the phone, too, of course, but playing online gives us a prolonged sense of each other's presence. After Mom & Dad went to bed, I'd play with Alan online into the wee hours of the morning, slaughtering the forces of evil alongside my partner. We'd generously share epic loot with each other like birds offering bright bits of foil to enhance their mate's nest. "This flawless sapphire is for you." "Oh, no no. You take it. I've already got an ice-enchanted lance."

We've memorized every ding! and creak sound effect. We learned all the hotkeys for the character vocals so we could hold crude conversations with each other using only phrases like, "This is for you." "Ooops! Forgive me." and "Come on!" We found all the weird bugs in the game and gave them nicknames, like The Necro Kick for the weird dance a necromancer does when he's trying to kick open jars while the game is lagging... Making fun of Deckard Cain, making him sound like a mouthy old pervert instead of the wise mentor type he's supposed to be. ("Ahh! The Horodric Cube!" Deckard says. But if you cancel out of his dialog early enough, then click it again, you can just make him say, "Ahh! Ahh! Ahh!" Like he's having sex! tee hee! We are the pinnacle of maturity. Did I mention we played this game a lot as freshmen in college?)

Now we've got Diablo 3 preordered and it's coming out tomorrow. There's a million fans like me with very high hopes and high nostalgia factor. I think Blizzard's going to deliver the goods. Even if it's an inferior game to its predecessors, it'll still probably be the best coop game on the market. I just hope our old machines can handle it if we turn down the graphical settings.

Video games often get sneered at for being unartistic, but this game was a part of Alan and my courtship as surely as some couples resonate with hearing "our song" on the radio. It was a bonding experience that allowed us to spend hours with each other every night, even as we slept alone in separate dorm rooms. This game was part of a shared experience, a chance to exercise generosity with one another by sharing loot, to protect one another self-sacrificially, and to forgive one another when a screw-up cost us both a character death.

Aha! After checking out some books from the library on Washington birds, I've identified a few suspects. The bird I described in my previous post as having "beige bodies and solid black necks and heads like executioner's hoods" turns out to be the Oregon dark-eyed junco. The suet-gobbling gluttons that I previously thought of as "blackbirds with spots and a yellow beak" turned out to be the European starling. I've confirmed the ruby-headed beauties are blandly-named house finches. The little cuties that I thought of as "Christmas card birds" are black-capped chickadees (pictured below). A new arrival is some kind of subspecies of American goldfinch, which I now know is the Washington state bird.

"

I've always been fascinated by animals. I've watched every nature documentary on Netflix I can get my hands on and I'm the only adult I know that still goes to the zoo at least once or twice a year without kids in tow. I'm mostly interested in mammals, probably because I relate to them more and its easier to read (or at least anthropomorphize) their body language. I enjoy watching domestic animals in my neighborhood--calves, cats, dogs--but there's something special about spotting wildlife.

And so although I never thought of birds as interesting before, I suddenly find myself captivated. They're a great combination of wild and nearby in my neighborhood. They're so ubiquitous that I can enjoy them at home, and check out different species when I travel. I could go weeks without seeing wild mammals, but I can't go a day without seeing wild birds.

I've been meaning to do more hiking in many of the beautiful state parks around here, but I never get off my duff and do it. If this bird-spotting hobby of mine picks up, it could be great incentive to get out of the house and spot something new. I like the idea of there being a goal in mind when I go out hiking. Birding or geocaching could be just the incentive I need to get some fresh air this summer.

"Take that ridiculous hat off!" ...BOOM!



If you like cats or cuteness at all, I highly recommend lolcats. The comm has no photos or videos--just animated gifs of cats doing the amazing/adorable things they do. It's even better than videos, IMO, because you don't have to wait through all the set-up (or obnoxious music some video-makers superimpose)--it's just the best few seconds on loop. Anyway, a fine addition to your flist subscriptions. If you're having a tough time and your flist seems to be full of nothing but bad news, it's refreshing to see a few hilarious cat gifs in the mix. ;)

And since that first image was needlessly hostile, here's your moment of Zen:


Any LJ communities you recommend? I'd love to hear 'em!

Lifted from hydrogen_atom:


***************BIOLOGY******************

1. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Righty.

2. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
Teeth, blood, plasma. (What a gross question)

3. What is the last heavy item you lifted?
60-pound barbell to put over my shoulders for squats

4. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
Nope. But I guess I've put myself to sleep with too much alcohol before.

************BULLCRAPOLOGY**************

1. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
Hell no.

2. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I already can, but I wouldn't.

3. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
Bottom's up! ( Read more... )

A few months ago I bought a bird feeder on a whim. (Similar to this one, but mine is a little more decorative) It's got large holes in the wire mesh so it requires large seeds like black sunflower seeds instead of fine millet. I'm really more of a mammal fan and never thought much about birds before, but this was the best. purchase. ever!

I've really been enjoying seeing all the types of local birds that come into the backyard to feed. At first, not many showed up, but as we kept the feeder stocked with seeds and the "word got out" in the avian community, more and more started coming. We bought the feeder in the winter and it was totally worth it then, but now that it's springtime, that feeder is hopping with beautiful wildlife!

We also got a suet feeder (pictured here), which is just a simple cage that you put a block of food into. Suet is kind of like an energy bar for birds--seeds and nuts held together in a block with fat. It's high-calorie and perfect for keeping birds plump and warm through the winter. The square cage feeder (like this one) was only about $2-3 in the garden section at the hardware store, and refill suet blocks are only $1. Highly recommended for animal lovers on a budget! You can pick different suet blocks to entice different types of birds. I hope to get woodpeckers one day.

This was a great decision and I'm getting so much joy out of it. It's all the fun of having birds as a pet, but you don't have to clean up after them, they're free to live their own wild little lives, and the selection of birds is constantly changing year-round. In the winter, I had visitors with beige bodies and solid black necks and heads like executioner's hoods. Now in springtime I get bright yellow birds I'd never seen earlier, and ones with bright red bellies like robins, but the rest of them is jet black. So cool! (Honestly, there's dozens and dozens of species that visit, but these are some of the more striking specimens) When I sleep with my window open, I wake to the sound of happy birds vocalizing. I'm thinking about taking a one-day birding class just so I can learn the names of some of these guys. I want to know them better. ^___^

Honestly... The effort people put into hating one another boggles the mind.

I really wish people would focus more on building up what good they do believe in, instead of tearing down people with views they disagree with. Bigoted Christians could go far if they'd only focus on their duty to "Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed" (Psalm 82:3) instead of barring gay marriage. Bigoted atheists could go so far if they'd only focus on the advancement of science or social justice they do believe in instead of crap-talking people of faith.

If all a person does is tear down the views he doesn't believe in, what good does that achieve? On his deathbed this person can smugly tell himself, "I was so right." But he's left no legacy of good work in the realms that do matter to him. Then that smugness will be snuffed out like a candle along with his life, and what's been produced but malice, divisiveness, and thoughtless partisanship?

We don't all have to agree on religion or politics, but can we at least agree that it's a good idea to put effort into advancing the good things we do believe in?

I'm a big believer in loving and caring for what you've already got instead of always looking forward to the next big thing. Appreciating the good things that you've already got is key to contentment. Even for someone who is impoverished, grieving, or deathly ill, there's a lot of beauty in the world. Instead our culture trains us to focus on the flaws and inadequacies of our loved ones or our circumstances, insisting that buying something new will flip the switch to "happy."

I'd rather be content all the time than "happy" on rare mood-boosted occasions. And honestly, I think contentment is happiness for me. I'm not surprised at all when I read studies that draw a connection between gratitude and happiness. :

Grateful students reported higher grades, more life satisfaction, better social integration and less envy and depression than their peers who were less thankful and more materialistic.

What the bulk of the research suggests is that gratitude should be chronic in order to make a lasting difference in well-being... in order to reap all of its benefits, feeling gratitude must be ingrained into your personality, and you must frequently acknowledge and be thankful for the role other people play in your happiness.

I don't know if it shows online, but I'm very grateful to friends, family, God, and mentors IRL. I have a lot to be thankful for and I want to share that feeling with the ones to whom I'm thankful. More and more psychological studies are saying that the notion of "evil" should be replaced with "erosion of empathy." The idea is that people do cruel, awful things to each other because they're genuinely not considering how their actions impact others. They haven't had the practice of putting themselves in someone else's shoes, so they don't consider others' feelings.

I think gaining the habit of habitual gratitude could improve one's empathy. Instead of always thinking about me-me-me and "What do I lack?", it makes a person aware of how friends and teachers around them are a positive, helpful influence. Just the act of thinking about others in that light is an act of empathy: taking the time to notice the retail clerk who was extra helpful, or appreciating the way an already-busy friend took the time to talk to me. I love that. And if I take the time to express that gratitude, or help other people the way I'd wish to be helped, it's a virtuous cycle that expands and expands. (The opposite of how envy and resentment can send people spiraling ever downward and downward.)

Distinct from happiness, "joy" is my goal emotional outlier, and I appreciate it deeply when it visits. Some people bemoan the degradation of the word "love"--it's been overused and cheapened. The same person can say "I love my wife", "I love football," and "I love watching vapid injury videos on YouTube." Yeah, I'd say the word has been sufficiently cheapened. But it's too late for you, "love." Forgive me for abandoning you, but I'm holding the line at "joy." I think we can keep that word as having emotional impact beyond "happy." It kind of makes my skin crawl when I see an ad for chocolate say, "Unwrap joy." Eff you, expensive chocolate company. Chocolate may be a delightful thing, but it doesn't induce joy. Stay away from my sacred word!! **kicking motions to scare away marketing goons like stray cats** Shoo! Shoo!