OK and UP, originally uploaded by rachemicah.

Micah and I are now newly branded Basic Open Water PADI certified scuba divers! We’ve logged our first two hours of diving, all done in Woahink Lake with four dives: three on Saturday and one on Sunday. We had to demonstrate several skills, including by not limited to:

*filling our masks with water and clearing them
*signaling “out of air”, buddy breathing, ascending with a buddy, and lifting the buddy up out of the water so they can orally inflate the BCD (buoyancy control device)
*taking our masks off, replacing them, and clearing them
*taking off our buoyancy control devices and putting them back on
*demonstrate buoyancy control on the bottom with a fin pivot
*demonstrate an emergency controlled ascent (a few kicks up, exhaling all the way to the surface)
*basic underwater compass navigation skills

We were supposed to take our third dive in the North Jetty of Florence, but recent channel dredging made the visibility too poor for an ocean dive, plus the current was too strong for our ability. Our instructor dove at the jetty and caught, cleaned, and cooked five crabs for our class, which we devoured after our third dive at Woahink. It was the freshest most delicious crab I’ve ever had, cooked sea water and everything!

Our instructor came and found us in our campsite at Honeyman and asked if we and a few other people who had stayed in Florence if we’d like to go have a bonfire. Heck yes! We finished our camp dinner and enjoyed a beautiful sunset at Heceta Head Beach and a great bonfire with our new diving friends.

This four week journey of scuba has been interesting; it’s something that I’ve always wanted to learn and I asked Micah if he would join me in learning. He was really apprehensive; he’s not a huge fan of open water, although we had a lot of fun snorkeling last year in Maui. He agreed to try the first week, and he ended up loving it and becoming really confident with his water skills during the class. I on the other hand, was surprised at how difficult the skills were for me and as the four week class progressed, I found myself more and more challenged and unsure of my abilities to actually do the skills this weekend and pass the class.

But we did it!  And now we are really excited about scuba diving. We still can’t believe that we are both scuba certified! And we are also so freaking tired… like Lucky after a day of running around, full throttle.

The instructors at Eugene Skin Divers Supply were really patient and really helpful and I couldn’t have done this without them. If you living in Eugene and you are interested in diving, go to the shop and I dare you to walk out and not want to take the basic class. Everyone is so friendly and they embody the amount of fun and inclusiveness that this activity can be.

Last night was our final of four scuba pool classes.  I’m still having trouble with mask clearing and I’m not comfortable with the tasks  in which we have to demonstrate our abilities to take off our masks, clear them, and put them back on.  Micah is doing great in the scuba class and having more fun than he ever thought he would.  We just picked up a shitload of rental scuba gear in preparation for our check out dives this weekend.  It’s a good thing that we just had the car’s oil changed and tires inflated, because 8 air tanks is making the back of our car purty heavy!

A few months ago, Micah started reading this book: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. He shared some of the gems and useful tidbits from that book with me and I hope to read it someday. One of the tidbits is to write things down so that you can “close the loop” so to speak on a particular task. Normally that works really well, but the tasks have increased by several fold, so I’m left feeling scattered-brained, edgy, task-oriented, and ready to collapse all at once.

See why I haven’t been blogging for a few weeks now? This isn’t exactly exciting content, is it? But I did promise a new entry so uh, there you go. Now back to grading! Oh maybe I should go look at the quiche in the oven… also don’t forget to do this task… oh yeah yoga is in one hour, back to grading!

The last five weeks have definitely picked up in pace; the end of the term has created more grading, and I decided that I really wanted to learn to SCUBA dive this year (more about this later). A few camping trips here and there and the installation of new windows, doors, and insulation in our house has left us scrambling to do laundry and clean the house during the week at small intervals, even when we just wanted to sit on the couch and do nothing.  Fortunately, all of this buzy-ness is self-inflicted, so we no one to point fingers at but ourselves.

Even if things have been boring on the blog front, I feel successful in that I’ve kept up with a lot of grading this term and I’ve also been able to practice yoga, exercise, and cook dinner regularly. I’m so pleased about these accomplishments and even if they may seem trivial and boring, I do value being able to do them all simultaneously.

I will post more regularly, I promise!

My grandfather passed away a year ago today, after battling aging-related bodily causes, mostly pain related to disintegrating spine vertebrae. The official words on his death certificate are: “failure to thrive”, which is both accurate and painful for me to read. Knowing that he was in so much pain in his last year of life and the mental anguish that his pain caused him and my grandmother hurts me more than actually losing him.  That he had to suffer after all that he has experienced, done for others, and given in his long and happy life made me so sad and angry.

A few weeks after he passed away, hearing the lyrics of the song “My Body is a Cage” by the Arcade Fire made me so sad:

My body is a cage that keeps me
From dancing with the one I love
But my mind holds the key

You’re standing next to me
My mind holds the key

Set my spirit free
Set my spirit free
Set my body free

My grandfather was a great poet, and he wrote several verses that my mom bound together in a book for our family and distributed at Christmas.  This is a poem that my family found after he passed away, and it was read at his memorial service with military honors at Willamette National Cemetery:

When Taps Is Blown by Roy Albert Davenport

When Taps is blown for me
May it be very loud and clear,
Just as though my father had blown it
Should he have been here.
This life of mine has been good to me,
Even though it had woes.
The love of my life and my family
Were the proof…Heaven knows.
In my travels and acquaintances
Through these wonderful years,
The enjoyment I’ve had along the road,
To places far and near.
Few will match what I’ve experienced
In this very short time,
For only God’s Grace could have spared me,
And kept me safe and sound of mind.
So when the last sound of Taps
That you are able to hear,
It’s my farewell…and the closing
Of what I loved so dear.
To the people who follow me, in my earthly quest
I hope they will say we miss him,
For he’s tried to do his best.

He asked several times in his final days that his family not forget him, and we reassured him with conviction that it would be impossible for us to forget him. My aunt sent a wonderful email out to our family and friends today, asking that we take a moment and remember him. Since her list is so comprehensive, I will post the good memories of him that she compiled:

love of Mom and his family
laughter
fishing
a positive approach to everything
the influence of a very poor Midwestern boy who did a lot of things right
the delight he expressed whenever you visited him
hunting
such a big hug
hopefulness
solving a problem
modifying a piece of equipment
fixing your car
the freedom of being in a boat on the water
giving, giving, giving and asking for nothing in return
taking you on a tour of their garden and sending you away with vegetables and fruit
his thankfulness to God for all of His gifts
constant concern for the plight of the working man
camping
telling stories about his life in the Midwest and the South Pacific
striving to always try to do the right thing
his immense pride in his service to the country he loved
his work for the 13th Army Air Force veterans
his poems
continuing to learn about everything
his computer greetings
his willingness to help … always

While shopping at a garden shop recently, I came across this copper sunflower and I immediately thought of my grandfather.  He always used to say: “the sun always shines wherever I go”.  That sunflower serves as a daily reminder of him, as a tribute to him and my grandmother teaching me the joy of gardening, and the importance of being optimistic.

Love you, Mutt.  I’m sad that you are no longer with us, but glad that you are no longer in so much pain.  Your sun is everywhere, everyday.

Ever since I have been practicing yoga, I’ve been doing a modified version of the above posture, known as a half lotus. A half lotus means that one’s left leg is underneath the right leg, instead of on top of the right leg as in full lotus.  Here’s a photo of someone else doing the modified version of full lotus:

Today my left leg and knee felt exceptionally flexible, so I slowly pulled it up and over the right and bam, full lotus!  I held it only for about 30 seconds and it was somewhat painful for the right foot, as it was not used to having pressure on top of it.

My yoga teacher congratulated me and then told me not to be surprised or disappointed if the ability goes away and comes back; that’s normal for new and developing postures.  But he also said that being able to do this opens up a lot of possibilities for other postures.  Yayayayayay!

It’s gonna be a good week, I can tell.

“Let go of your outdated ideas of limited capacity.”

My yoga teacher said this a few months ago and it stood out in my mind as a great truism to remember (and also a great motivating phrase to get into a particularly difficult posture). The day that I heard it, I posted it on Facebook, but I tried to recall the exact word order and choice last night and I had trouble doing so. Today in rest after yoga, I remembered it, so I thought I’d archive it here for personal future use if needed.

I was reminded of this saying because whenever I hear people say: “I can never do x” or “I know that I’m limited with x happens”, I think in my head: “Is it happening to you or are you just mentally blocking yourself from being able to achieve something?” I’ve noticed that it’s sort of a social thing, to talk about yourself in terms of what you can’t do and I’ve noticed that females do this more than males. So interesting. Must we females present ourselves as not being able to do something, or risk “bragging” and talking about what we are able to do well?  Remarking on life’s challenges is a valid social expression and useful for mentally processing.  But must all challenges thought of in terms of the impossible instead of acknowledging the difficulties or anticipating the mental blocks and doing our best to work through them?  Is it more socially interesting to have problems rather than to recognize and approach problems with anticipated intelligence to overcome them?

Not to say that I’m not guilty of whining and complaining and self-limiting myself socially from time to time; I am.  But I try to recognize it when I’m doing it and I also try to remember what I can control and accept the inevitability of what I can’t.  Over the last few years, I’ve had the fortunate of approaching and overcoming personal and professional challenges that I never thought would be possible; completing three marathons, yoga, trying to live a balanced life, etc.  If I had limited my mental capacity of believing that these things were impossible, I never would have experienced the pleasure and satisfaction and most importantly, the personal growth that came before, during and after these experiences.

What I guess I’m trying to say is I wish for all people to let go of their outdated ideas of mental capacity… because when this happens, people can do really awesome things.

Dear old friends!, originally uploaded by rachemicah.

Last weekend, we visited my hometown of Hood River for an awesome event: a 25 Year Reunion Choir Concert, open invite for anyone who had sung in my high school music teacher’s vocal ensembles in the to come back and sing one more time in a reunion ensemble.  Pieces sang included:

That Lonesome Road (James Taylor)

Sweet Day (Vaughan Williams)

Baba Yetu (Christopher Lin)

In Memoriam (September 11th) (Bill Douglas)

Lament for a Lost Child  (Jere Hutcheson)

Cradle Song (Mark Steighner)

Weep O Mine Eyes (John Bennett)

Alma redemptoris mater (Palestrina)

Ave Maria (Biebl, SAATTB version)

Dear Old Friend (Patty Griffin)

… and that’s the short list; two or three pieces were cut from this list!

It was so fun to see a small, yet great group of friends and acquaintances from high school whom I hadn’t seen in 4+ years, much less made music with, as we used to do most days together in our high school years.  My music teacher, who was very influential in my life, posted a great thank you note on Facebook which I think sums up my own feelings about this weekend and the event well:

Thankfulness: Sunday at 4:40pm

In the next few days I will be posting more video from the concert, word on the donations collected, and more, but meanwhile:

Thank you again to everyone who participated in the concert. I appreciate so much that you were willing to make the effort, and spend the time and money to be there. I was really worried that no one would come!

It was such a pleasure seeing you all again, and seeing what strong, kind, and exciting people you’ve become and what you’ve made of your lives. I’m sorry I didn’t get to talk to all of you a little more, but I’m proud to have known each and every one of you.

You sounded wonderful. Isn’t it an exciting and beautiful thing, to be able to pick up the thread of music and weave together once again such a moving tapestry? I hope our current singers were paying attention, and I hope they have the passion for making music that our alumni had and still have.

Thank you to Nancy for making the lobby such an inviting space for our audiences, to Lucy Gorman for the flowers, but most of all, thank you all again for sharing your music with me, with each other, and with the world.

With gratitude,
M. Steighner

PS: Let’s do it again in a couple of years, ok?

It was difficult for me to have to be so dependent on reading the music during the concert; I’m used to performing with memorized music from years of experience under great music teachers and I couldn’t help but feel distracted by looking at the music, looking at the director, looking back at the music, and so forth.  But it was so fun… and that last song, Dear Old Friends, I didn’t sing much of it, b/c my voice was cracking with emotion and tears. 

Backyard, 2010:

Three years later, several hours spent at Lane Forest Products planning and exhausting their nice sales people with questions, repairing the punctured gutter pipe, renting compactors and wet brick saws, excavating, moving and putting down gravel and sand shovelful by shovelful, measuring, cutting, and remeasuring snap-edge, and many hours of sweat equity later, a huge part of our vast landscaping project is complete! Yay!

Installing pavers is sort of like constructing a puzzle, only with heavier and more expensive pieces, and a crap ton of prep work and heavy equipment rental required before you decide: “hay, let’s put together a puzzle!”

English teachers: we’re sort of a big deal., originally uploaded by rachemicah.

During the last week of March, Micah and I took an extended vacation to the east coast. I gave two presentations at the Boston TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) Convention and before visiting Boston, we traveled around Cape Cod and Portland, Maine. I wish I had time to link my favorite pictures, but you can see them all on Flickr in the East Coast | 2010 collection.

Enjoy, yous guys!