Olympics at sunset in September

Olympics at sunset in September
Wedding Reception on Camano Island

2007-09-11

A shorty- Rafting

Have to write something or I won't write anything. I went rafting last Saturday for the first time in a while. I realized quickly that it wasn't going to be a very hard core rapid-oriented trip... so i kicked back and just worried about having a good time. That, as opposed to getting ready for a good back, flank and arm workout. In fact, because we were 9, we had to take turns NOT paddling and i fully embraced that by sitting on the front of the raft for an extended period of time. We got up at 5:30am and hit the road to get to the rafting place near Kumamoto by 8... and got off the water before 1pm. Afterwards a couple of us went to Onsen... hot springs, Japanese-style. Relaxing, refreshing and repeatable (struggled for the last "r" word there!)... nakedness continues, in yet another country!

(group posing on the raft!)

During rafting we capsized the boat numerous times, jumped off of a huge rock into the river and even had a chance on the rope swing... my backflip failed as i landed on my head... but i did manage a near perfect backflip off of the raft. That was sick! Just like snowboarding, like writing like anything- you gotta go for it and commit 100% and you will make it. Second-guessing (like i did on the rope swing) leads to failure... but dedication and acting like one is in the most important (last, whatever) moment of one's life results in perfection, happiness and nirvana... I have a lot of work to do on this.
(Quite the lineup for a second of weightlessness!)

One of my JTE's (Japanese Teacher of English) is into great music- she visits Mississippi every year for a blue festival- and she lent me "Postcards of the Hanging" the Dead covering about an hour and a half of Bobby Dylan's bests. So, i will jam away as I post this blog. Loving life, ups and downs.
(Floatin' in the drink!)

L'Shana Tova... Happy Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)... may your next year be filled with sweetness, joy and happiness!

Kiotsukete kudasai (take care),

Dave

2 comments:

Drew McCrary said...

"I don't feel love, but other people probably do."

HAHA

juicylucy said...

Hey Dave,

So great to read your blog, you are inspired and inspiring!

We are both just peachy and perched 10 floors up in our now 3rd appartment on the edge of Palermo. We've recently come back from a month of snowboarding in the Andes. Everything there was just perfect, although we've both had to get our backs adjusted as a result of mashing ourselves on various jumps -all worth it though.

It sounds like you are doing the Japenese immersion thing with full power, I'm sure you are in for loads of rewards....Happy New Year to you too! Peace, love and mung beans, lucy and Gus