Gargoyles... Cascadia Style.

Here in Cascadia, the Pacific Ocean features prominently in the landscape, economy, recreational activities, restaurant menus and likely other stuff but I'm tired and can't think straight, so you'll have to think of the rest for yourselves. :-P

With the above influence in mind, here are some local gargoyles:











Benjamin on Victoria Daily Photo has much better photos of them. He takes great photos and he must have a great camera. If I ever spot him, I just might mug him for it. ;-)



For more 'That's My World Tuesdays' - click the pic:

Hey! Hey! Hey!

I was just going through a drawer and look what I've just found. I just might get lucky tonight. Ha!

Courage

I've been thinking a lot about courage lately; what it is? where'd mine go? where can I get some? why aren't my testicles sprouting?

I thought I'd ask the blogosphere:

What helps you feel courageous? What gives you courage?

Scenic Sunday... living on the water.

The other day I spent a few hours at 'Fisherman's Wharf' in Victoria, BC. It use to be a place where you saw salty dogs, working fishing vessels and fish being sold straight off the boats and you ate fish 'n chips at Barb's Place.




Fisherman's Wharf has changed over the years. There are still fishing boats but now about half the wharf is a small community of houseboats or floathomes (not sure which is the more accurate wording). Also, joining Barb's Place are several more floating businesses; a kayak rental place, a tourist shop and more food venders.




I think they've done an alright job at changing the use of the wharf without erasing its charm. Not something I would say about a few of the other wharfs in Victoria that are now inaccessible docks for snots and their yachts.

Anyways ( hi Neil ;-) ), here are some pics. They aren't the greatest pics as you can only stand back so far on a narrow dock! I will have to go back with a different camera or lens.

One of the 'streets':




Various homes:














Scuba diving finds and old gear put to an interesting use:




Love it!




Great vibe about the place!




See more Scenic Sundays here.

Skywatch Friday... helicopters.

Back to Ogden Point, in Victoria, BC.




I use to live very close to Ogden Point and the one thing that I loved about the area was the thundering noise from the heliport. Loved it, love it.




The Helijet heliport is not the most glamourous in the world...




... but they do have nifty Helijet Only piccies in their parking area.




Oh, I hear that familiar noise... ah-huh! there you are!




It's so loud! Woo! Love it!




And there it lands... Vancouver Harbour to Victoria Harbour in 35 minutes; passengers and baggage off-loaded, out of there and off on their ways within five. The perks of the price tag.

To see more skies from around the globe, click the pic.

That's My World Tuesday... fancy a shag?

Today, I spent a couple of hours down at Clover Point. It's a popular place to drive down to and do whatever. You see people reading, snoozing, crying, having discussions, smooching, smoking pot, knitting, eating, arguing, meditating, wave watching etc... it's just a nice place to go cos the view is great, everyone does their own thing, it's peaceful yet there's always a distraction if you want one.

I usually read and stare off into the straight (Straight of Juan de Fuca).

Here's an aerial view. (Not my pic, got it from here.)



A view behind me. That's Trial Island to the east.




The view out the front window, looking west.




And the Shag, fancy it?




Here's a somewhat amusing video of someone's evening 'cool off' scooter ride down to Clover Point. At about the 2 minute mark he passes near where I live and from there is the drive I take a few times a week.





For more 'That's My World Tuesdays' - click the pic:

For my British friends...

Skywatch Friday... love boat

I went down to Ogden Point today, a local port at the entrance to the harbour here in Victoria, BC, Canadaland.




Victoria has become a stop for many cruise ships on the west coast of North America. Good for the local economy and easily amused Skywatch Friday blogger chicks...




... but I can not understand the appeal of being held captive in a floating hotel with a dress code. What kind of hell is that?




My dear Mom is going on cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii next month with some friends. She'll be getting up bright and early to get her ass from home here in Victoria over to Vancouver to board her boat.




First port of call after Vancouver? Victoria, lol! I'll be going down to harbour to wave. :-)

To see more skies from around the globe, click the pic.

That's My World Tuesday... people powered.

A few days ago I went for a walk along Westsong Walkway - a walking path that hugs part of the shoreline of Victoria's Inner Harbour. It's a fantastic place to walk... or just sit on a bench and watch other people make healthy fitness choices that you know you should probably be making. ;-)

Here they come...




There they go...




And a kayaker heading for the hills.




For more 'That's My World Tuesdays' - click the pic:

Baby Bothering

Last week, I found out that a good friend is going to hatch a crib lizard. This friend lives abroad and likes real cards sent through the post. So, I went to a shop to find one and instead found out that congrats new baby cards really suck.

All the Moms and Dads on the cards are White. All the babies are White. How creepy! My friend is White, her dude is Black.

There are 'Congrats on your new boy' 'or girl' cards. With all the girl cards being pink and all the boy cards being blue. Of course. My friends don't want to know the sex of their peanut ahead of time.

But, worst than all the gendered, racialised bullshit is that the cards are just soooooo saccharine, it hurts! Seriously, my eyes are still recovering from all their rolling.

Yeah, I'm happy my friend is fulfilling something that is truly meaningful for her and her dude but I don't want to say that through angels and teddy bears and elves and religious prose and baby talk. FFS! I'm an adult giving this card to another adult. All that sucky wucky baby speak from one adult to another frankly creeps me right out! Boundaries, people, boundaries. Shudder!

All I wanted was a nice and heartfelt 'Congrats you two on your new baby' card. I would have thought that that type of card would have dominated but I could not find a single one.

Thank god for printers and t'internet though...



;-)

Skywatch Friday... by accident.

This was taken a few years ago when I accidentally sat on my camera. The other camera was my friend's and I was making sure not to squish the caterrrpillarrr. Not a bad result for a half-assed photographer. ;-)

To see more skies from around the globe, click the pic.

Head shrinkage

New therapist, new book. Both improved!

A few weeks ago I had a horrible session with the therapy dude. He made a serious judgment error and completely lost my trust. He threw back at me all of my life issues (father's death, lack of real life support, personal rejections, etc) and said, "these are all the little stories you are using for not dealing with my OCD."

I felt 2" tall leaving his office, completely belittled, humiliated and beyond help. I reached out for help and got my hands slapped. As soon as I drove away, I was a mess of tears and dark thoughts. How I got home is a mystery to me. I hope he's reading this.

Later I thought, "Little stories? Excuses? WTF? These are my life circumstances. I'm not in denial about my OCD and that I need help. That's why I'm here in your fucking office feeling incredibly scared and fragile and requesting help, ffs! And you rip me to fucking shreds. You fucking asshole." Now I really hope he's reading this.

After some supportive words from friends (blows kisses), I get my nerve back and I go see a new psychologist.

Enter, Ms Shrinkychick! Kind, understanding, knowledgeable, etc... instant trust. Whew! I've seen her now a few times and though I'm terrified about what I'm going to be facing at least I feel that she's on my side.

Wow. Writing this has been good I think. I didn't realise the full extent that that bad experience had had on me.

(wipes tears)

Ok, back to writing.

Ms Shrinkychick recommended a book which I went out and bought right away cos I'm sooo obedient (snort):
http://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Acceptance-Workbook-Anxiety-Commitment/dp/1572244992/

I read Chapter 1 in the parking lot and cried like a baby (again). The authors wrote (along the lines of) 'this may stir a lot of anxious feelings but that's ok, let them be there. Just keep holding on the book and moving your eyes and read a bit more." I found that incredibly comforting. The authors really do understand the terror and that encourages my trust.

It's another ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy) book, similar to one I read previously though geared strictly towards anxiety disorders. That is much more reassuring to me as OCD is way beyond 'normal' life worries - the Happiness Trap was a good intro but I often felt it was not geared towards my experience.

It scares the crap out of me though, learning this new way of being with my anxiety - instead of not responding to its warnings as I do. Intellectually, it makes sense to me. Emotionally, I feel as though I'm risking my life. Seriously. I feel that I may actually die if I do not listen to what my OCD tells me to do.

It's like how I imagine doing a skydive. Intellectually, I know there's a small chance of dying but really it's safer than most activities. But! Emotionally, I imagine standing at the door high above the ground, looking out, with all the 'warning' emotions and survival instincts screaming, 'Don't jump! don't jump! Are you fucking crazy!!??'

This pic (swiped from here) sort of captures how I feel:



I'm in a plane about to either jump or get pushed! Holy fuckeroni!

A few characters

I normally don't like taking photos of people. I hate it done to me so I don't do it to others... unless I just can't resist! Here are a few people who have caught my eye in the last little bit.

'Polly wants a cracker and then let's get on yer bike and go downtown for a latte.' Apologies for the blurriness, it was a drive-by.




Boarder dude has assertively grabbed an entire lane and is waiting patiently and very properly behind the white line for the light to change. Skateboards are a fairly common mode of getting around here and many of the boarders move in the traffic as a car or cyclist would. I've not seen that in many other cities.




Flower powered cyclist chick!