"You're going to feel sore in the morning," Rebecca, the advanced yoga student, advised me with a friendly smile.

"No doubt," I replied, "but I'll bet it's a good kind of sore."

As I drove home from yoga class yesterday evening, I wondered about the wisdom of introducing my body to yoga the day before I'd planned on going over to Lynn's place to hang shades and install shelves.

Actually, I haven't felt sore today, but I do feel like I've had a workout. My arms and legs feel slightly rubbery. I feel great.

The shades went up just fine, after I had to redrill the hangers because I'd followed the directions instead of measuring. Lynn couldn't decide where she wanted the shelves, so that will be a future project for me. In payment for my labor, Lynn gave me the juicer I'd promised to buy once my finances got better. I took Lynn to Home Depot, where she bought some paint, and we had lunch at Northgate Mall.

Time for some juice.

A couple of weeks ago, I stopped into Top Pot for a latte and ran across a flyer for a free yoga class.

This evening, I gave it a try. I enjoyed it a lot. I feel very relaxed, very peaceful, and physically exhausted. This is the middle of the current seven week session that began on June 21, so some of it was above a beginner's level, but that seemed to be OK. There was one other first-timer there this evening. The class was low pressure - we were encouraged to modify the positions if they were too difficult (for instance, resting your hands on your legs if reaching to the floor is too much of a strain), there was no shame in sitting out a position altogether. The instructor pointed out a couple of nearby, advanced students that I could look to if I didn't understand something.

I don't know much about the philosophy behind yoga, yet. (There are internet searches in the future, I predict.) It seems to be an interesting mixture of physical and spiritual development. There was chanting and meditation this evening.

There's a new session starting on September 6. That should give me plenty of time to decide how I feel about yoga.

"There is a light that never goes out" - The Smiths

Starting Monday morning, it's goodbye to the 7/9 (or 43) and hello to the 60 (or 9). It's a sad goodbye to campus and a happy hello to First Hill.

It's the middle of the night and I can't sleep.

I haven't been feeling well all day - it's that illness I get sometimes and I don't feel sick, exactly, just constantly tired. I took a nap this evening and fell deep asleep. Maybe that's part of why I'm awake now. I had a dream about an insert in a magazine, but that's all I remember of the dream.

I got up to do some writing. I'm working on an experimental piece. It's about Ellensburg and a house called The Green Dragon. It's several real events strung together into a work of fiction. When it's not in front of me, I think it's brilliant, but when I start working on it, it seems pretty awful. That's why I'm not working on it right now.

I've been experiencing wanderlust all day. There have been several emails exchanged today concerning the logistics of getting to the Church Council retreat on Lopez Island in August. I've offered to drive three people. Wayne sent an interesting email - he's going to bicycle there and back. He's going to make it a two-day ride up there, 40 miles each day, with an overnight stay at a friend's house, and is inviting any Council members to join him. If I still had my bicycle, I'd take him up on it.

Wanderlust and tiredness is an interesting combination of feelings.

The fellow at the information desk at the Capitol Hill branch of The Seattle Public Library was friendly and enthusiastic about the Summer Reading program. He must have been a volunteer or on loan from another branch. He read over my entry, nodded his head approvingly, and said, "Oh! Interesting!" He told me that the contest is helpful in letting the library know what books people want to read, and handed me my Starbucks gift card.

I walked across Broadway and picked up my latte. Then I walked through The Broadway Market on my way home. The renovation of the mall is going quickly. Several shops are gone already.

Rocking Betty has a "Lost Our Lease" clearance sale going on, and so does Uzuri. I am sorry to see the latter going away. The massage place has a nasty sign up about being forced out by Kroger. They're not happy.

The bottom section of Fred Meyer is closed off. The top half has been remodeled into a clearance sale. Apparently, the pharmacy will be staying on as part of QFC.

I was happy to see that Amsterdam - my favorite source for watch batteries - has relocated upstairs.

The Gravity Bar has closed, but will be relocating upstairs soon. I like The Gravity Bar. It's so expensive that it's a rare treat for me - maybe two or three hoppers a year - but I'm glad it'll still be there.

As I wrote before, Broadway Video and Urban Outfitters are staying. I'm happy about both.

I'll miss having a Fred Meyer, or similar general department store, so close by, but maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe someday Broadway will return to its former shine.

Meanwhile...

My 2004 Tea/Tisane Log

1. yerba maté, 1 January
2. genmaicha, 9 January
3. South African Rooibos (with honey crystals), 10 January
4. chamomile lemon herb, 15 January
5. Northwest blackberry, 17-19 January
6. lime herbal teasan, 6 February
7. aged Earl Grey, 17 February
8. black cherry tea (organic Ceylon tea with black cherry flavor), 5 March
9. black tea blend (organic), iced, 17 March
10. oolong, 19 March
11. iced green tea with apple, peach, ginger, and elderberry juices, 21 March
12. artificially flavored "raspberry tea", iced, packed with dyes, preservatives, and possibly tea, 24 March
13. True Blueberry™ herb tea, 19 April
14. raspberry yerba maté (iced), 6 May
15. white (with orange blosson and ginger), iced, 14 May
16. Morning Dew™ (organic Chinese green), 19 May
17. chai tea latte (iced), 20 May
18. black with apricot, 9 June
19. "The Fire" herbal blend, 12 June
20. Ginger Cameronian (iced), 25 June
21. herbal Wu Wei blend, 2 July
22. Moroccan Mint Green (green with spearmint, peppermint, and honey - all organic), iced, 7 July

Later this afternoon, I'm going to stop by the library and return The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas. It's due back on Friday. I'm also going to turn in my "Summer Reading for Adults" entry, enter my name for the chance to win the "Booklover's Basket," and collect my "Literary Latte."

Here's what my entry says:

Books I have read this summer:

Author: Thich Nhat Hanh
Title: Living Buddha, Living Christ
(Chosen as my favorite)
About the book: A Vietnamese monk, Buddhist teacher, and peace activist explores the many commonalities between Buddhist and Christian philosophies. It's an excellent primer for both religions.

Author: Ian Fleming
Title: Moonraker
About the book: This is the third "James Bond" novel. It features a rather different spy than the one in the movies - more civil servant than superhero. The story is thrilling and action-packed.

Author: Dylan Thomas
Title: Collected Poems
About the book: Wonderful imagery - difficult to fathom at times, but worth a second or third reading.

When Gladys Night was alive, we had three sugar gliders with three distinct personalities and interests. This made playtime and feeding time mildly challenging, at times. (You couldn't just toss a ball on the floor and expect all three of them to chase it.) The thing all three had in common was sharp claws. We got into the habit of wearing heavy, long sleeved shirts during playtime, no matter how hot the weather was.

A while ago, Squeak discovered that it's fun to crawl inside my shirt sleeve. Fortunately, her claws don't dig into my arm the way Gladys' did. Squeak climbing on the bare skin of my arm doesn't hurt, as long as she doesn't climb above my elbow - then it gets ticklish.

Sugar gliders lose interest in things from time to time, and Squeak eventually lost interest in being inside my sleeve. One night, she'll regain that interest, I'm sure.

From time to time, Gladys and Squeak would have trouble with their claws getting stuck on fabric. For a creature whose main means of defense is escape, it's obviously a frightening thing to suddenly be unable to move. Of course, they won't make a noise to let you (or predators) know they're stuck and helpless.

Squeak has always had more of a problem with getting stuck than Gladys ever did. Oddly, Gladden has never had the problem of getting stuck.

It was much easier to trim Gladys' nails - all we had to do is give her an almond and she wouldn't care. We can never get Squeak to hold still for a nail trimming - that requires a trip to the vet.

Now we have two sugar gliders with two distinct personalities and interests.

It's been hot in Seattle. A couple of nights ago, I tried an experiment: playtime in a short sleeved T-shirt. This is great news for Squeak. She can climb on my arm and not get stuck. When she does get stuck on the bed sheet or on clothes in Phillip's drawer, she's learned to get her feet (hands) onto my bare arm as soon as I get them unstuck.

My experiment in short sleeves has been bad news for Gladden. He can't get a good grip on my bare arms. I have to be careful to avoid sudden arm movements, or he'll fall off.

I wonder why Gladden's nails are so different.

Right before we left for church this morning, I flipped through the TV channels and stopped at the King County government access channel. It was broadcasting the May 27 inauguration of Metro Transit / Sound Transit's new two hundred and something diesel/electric hybrid busses - making it the largest hybrid bus fleet in history. Those of you who know me also know this was pretty exciting news to me.

When I tuned in, there was some spokesperson for General Motors giving a speech about their wonderful new busses. While I agree that this is an important technological and ecological advance, there were two things about Mr. GM Spokesperson's speech that got my neck hairs standing up. He talked about the new hybrid version of the Chevrolet Silverado - the world's first gas/electric full-sized pickup truck. He talked about General Motors' philosophy of using hybrid power in large vehicles like trucks and busses, where fuel efficiency is most needed (which, I admit, makes a lot of sense). But then he ruined it for me by adding that GM will use hybrid technology for vehicles "without compromises" and that "people will want to drive." (Neither Phillip nor I compromise anything with our Prius. It's a car I want to drive. The Honda Civic Hybrid is a car I want to drive. I don't want to drive a full-sized pickup.)

Later on in his speech, Mr. GM Spokesperson gave credit to New Flyer for building the bus body, and to Caterpillar to building the diesel engine. (At that point, I was thinking: GM leased the hybrid technology from Toyota, New Flyer built the bus, and Caterpillar built the engine. What, exactly, was General Motors' role in these busses?)

The interesting thing about all this is that diesel/electric hybrid locomotives have been pulling trains for decades. Toyota's and Honda's innovations were the figuring out of how to reduce the size of the technology to fit in passenger cars. I suppose what GM did was to figure out how to make it big enough to fit in a bus.

It was a good moment for the future of the county, however.