Post-writing very tired kayaking pro-tips.

So I finished Paper Due Monday at 1 AM Wednesday. 8,000+ words. Not exactly stellar material, methinks.

A lot of it will end up being the part of the iceberg that lies beneath the surface, unseen but propping up the gleaming white ten percent we see.

Frankly, I'm still exhausted. Some hard sleep will come tonight.

I kayaked today for perhaps the...fourth? time in my life. Preliminary judgment: I do not need to kayak for a while. The scenery was beautiful, and the company (my sister) lovely. But it was a harsh reality check about my fitness levels. Just when you think you're running and lifting enough--boom. You are shocked at how tired and achy you get--pretty much instantly--paddling yourself down an artificial lake. The 106-degree heat index did not help.

The thing is, once I pushed through the initial Oh my gosh I really don't think this will happen for me phase and settled into the zen of it, my aches and tiredness quieted down for a bit. I was able to enjoy the nature and the stillness. 

Pro-tip for future kayakers: be choosy about which life jacket you select from the pile offered. Do a smell test first. I decided that the previous wearer of the one I chose must have had a raging fever break after a round of intense vomiting.

Also pro-tip: don't do arms-focused weight day at the gym the night before kayaking. I anticipate torment come the morrow.

Then we went down to Durant, a smallish Oklahoma town that's off the beaten path (i.e., off of the main interstates). I'd not been to the town in decades, if at all. Quaint in the good sense, Durant boasts a surprising, tiny university town hippy arts vibe.

Thunderstorms--always just beyond or to the side of us--accompanied us on the trip from OK City down I-35. At one point (around Paul's Valley), the hills are dotted with those enormous windmills. You forget how superhuman their scale is until you get close. Or until you see an oversized load eighteen-wheeler lugging just one of the propellers. They freak out my partner somewhat. Seeing a ragged line of them disappearing into the distance, with green hills underneath and dark grey storm-clouds shooting lighting above them--well, it was my favorite vista of a day packed with snapshot moments.

Still, I'd be lying if I didn't say the pleasure of that moment ranks neck-and-neck with the pleasure of my shower at home after the kayaking.

Eclipsing those pleasures, though, was the best part of the day: watching the YouTube my sister's sermon at her church. I'll need to write about it separately. Suffice it to say, she's brilliant, witty, and so deep.

All in all a good day.

More tomorrow,

JF