xtreme water sport

yesterday ross and i ventured up to lake buchanan for a day of kayaking. if only we'd known what lay ahead, perhaps we'd have made other plans. at any rate, we made the 100mile trip up to a resort on lake buchanan only to find that it was kinda windy for kayaking. we went up to a place 5miles down the road to investigating renting a sea doo for the day. but it was not to be, as the available sea doo was not working. so we went back to the kayaking place and decided to brave the elements. we headed out and made our way (perceived effort level 4.5) to some cliffs that i spied in the distance. about 1.5hrs later we were delighted to discover the cliffs were quite cool and there were some waterfalls there too. we got out and walked around some for a break, then rode our kayaks gleefully under the waterfall, leaning over so as not to swamp the kayak. sorry i do not have pics of this beauty, but i didnt trust my camera in the kayak. at that point, though we wanted to keep on going, we decided we ought to head back. three excruciating hours later, we pulled wearily up to shore. at times i felt as if i was paddling so hard only to drift backwards because of the wind and the current. truly, i cant think of anything that i've done that was more difficult. when we made it back to the boathouse we discovered (to my horror) that we'd just made an 8mile round trip, in some pretty adverse weather conditions. i dont even like to think of walking 8miles really, and when biking, 8miles doesnt seem so long, but kayaking is pretty much like going 8miles using only your arms. i love kayaking so much, right up next to white water rafting, but i think thats the last time for me on lake buchanan. next time i think i'll hit up a river instead. more excitement for the pain, plus you can usually catch a bus back up the river. all in all, a great time, but i was pretty much awfully sick all day today, a little sunburned, a lot fatigued, and extremely dehydrated. but hey, i made it. and it felt good.

2 weekends ago i refilled my fish tank with life once again. i bought a very pretty betta (which are only aggressive towards other bettas, supposedly, fyi), 3 tetras, a pink kissing fish, and a crab. i ditched walmart and bought these from a bonafide pet store. early this week i arrived home to discover one of my tetras missing. i was trying to figure out if the crab or the betta was to blame, when to my horror i watched the kissing fish attack and eat the other two tetras like corn on the cob in a matter of 15minutes. i was quite annoyed at this agressiveness. so, i made a trip to walmart, and bought thaddeaus jr (named after my late frog). and so the battle begins. who will win? the frog or the kissing fish? currently there is rivalry between the betta and kissing fish for the coveted spot near the filter. they face off and glare at each other and then chase each other most of the day. the frog also chases them around, and the crab just kinda chills and climbs anywhere and everywhere. i've started feeding them 3x as often as i had been previously, hoping this could alleviate further aggressiveness. but really i think of it more as brinkmanship, like the u.s. and russia during the cold war. always near death, but no one willing to take the first bite. hopefully.