After spending an hour on the Capitol Hill library computers, Phillip and I drove over to Madison Park to log our first Earthcache. (An Earthcache is like a virtual cache, except that it's a location of unique and significant geological interest. The criteria for an Earthcache is much stricter than for a virtual cache, and so there aren't many Earthcaches around.) This Earthcache is Lake Washington, which is the largest natural lake in Washington, and a lake formed by glaciers during the last ice age. It is a newly published Earthcache (less than a week) and we are both thrilled to have been able to find an Earthcache so close to home.

After the Earthcache, we drove back to Capitol Hill, to scout out a location for our next Geocache hide. This hide started with me thinking about hiding a cache in the lesser known west side of Volunteer Park. (There is one in the more popular side of the park, hidden there since 2003.) As I looked at a Geocache map, I noticed that there were no caches hidden in nearby Louisa Boren Park.

Louisa Boren Park is northeast of Volunteer Park, and across the street from Lake View Cemetery (where we logged our first cache find - a virtual cache). I'd driven by that tiny park many times, but had never stopped by. It seemed odd that no one had ever hidden a cache in that park. Caches have to be hidden more than 0.1 miles (528 feet) from any other cache, and this seemed to meet that requirement. I looked up the park on Seattle Parks and Recreation's website and discovered that Louisa Boren Park is not as tiny as I had thought - 7.2 acres, with "trails" and "woods." Why had no one hidden a cache in there?

When Phillip and I got to the park, we were even more mystified as to why no one had chosen this park for a hide. Up in the main part of the park, there were several benches we could have hidden a micro under - in addition to some metal sculptures that a magnetic micro could have been stuck to. But the goldmine was the trail that followed an embankment down into some fairly deep woods. We had our choice of several good hiding spots. We found a location that we both liked, with enough room for a "small" cache. We both agreed that if we'd continued down the trail far enough, we might have found a place for a "large" cache, but we liked the spot we'd found - besides, if we'd got too far down, we'd run into the possibility of getting too close to a cache hidden in Interurban Park (which we haven't looked for yet, come to think of it).

As we left the park, we discussed what to name our new cache. We joked around with variations of "Louisa Boren," which usually turned into "Lizzy Borden." But then Phillip came up with the name "I can see the Dawghouse from here!" because the park offered an excellent view of Husky Stadium. The name seemed a little long, and from the cache hiding spot, you can't actually see the stadium, but the more we talked about it, the more the name stuck.

We got home, checked on the Geocaching web site, and learned that our cache location is 0.2 miles from the nearest cache - the virtual in Lake View Cemetery. (Perfect!) We put a cache container together. I drew a "Gladden T Hart" First To Find certificate. Phillip submitted the cache to the geocaching reviewer (in the description, we apologized for it not being wheelchair accessible), and I returned to the park to hide the cache.

Now we wait for approval.

Phillip spoke out loud what I had been thinking. This is our third cache hide (not counting the disastrous "Road To Boston"). Our first - "1st Hill, 1st Cache" - was mainly my project, and I maintain it. Our second - "Get Christie, Love" - was mainly Phillip's. Now "I can see the Dawghouse from here!" is ours - our first true team hide.

Buddhist meditation is back!

Actually, it's me that's back to Buddhist meditation. I have hour lunches now, and I can negotiate with my co-workers as to when I take lunch. Combine this with the convenience that Craig, the meditation leader, works in my clinic. Small world. (Or, rather, small hospital, large clinic.)

It took me a while to realize that Craig was on our staff. He works in a section that doesn't come in contact with the front desk. I saw him during the first week I worked there, and we recognized each other, but I thought he was passing through our clinic on Spiritual business - I was still under the assumption that he was a full-time Spiritual Care staff member. Then, one day, my supervisor mentioned that he worked "back there, somewhere." Then, later, my lead confirmed it. I work in a huge clinic.

There were seven of us in the session today, not counting Craig - four members of Spiritual Care staff, and three from elsewhere.

I noticed that the four Spiritual Care staff members had tan stripes on their employee badges - a stripe color I couldn't remember seeing before. (Ever since my adventures with the badge room, I've developed an interest in stripe colors.)

It feels so good to be back to loving my job.

This evening was the last yoga class of this session. We focused on chakra meditations. The next session starts on September 5. That seems so far away. The new registration forms are not online yet.

Soon after I started my present job, Phillip told me he thought it was cool that I work in what he called a secret clinic. I'm beginning to think it's kind of cool, too. (Actually, there are at least a couple of clinics that have a higher degree of secrecy than mine.) I can look up a patient's account and see what appointments that person has in other clinics, but other clinics cannot see appointments scheduled in my clinic. Jail inmates are scheduled into our clinic under alias names. If I see a patient outside of our clinic (which happened on my way home today), I'm supposed to pretend like I don't recognize them.

I stopped off at QFC on my way home from work today. I pulled my canvas bag out of my backpack, like I usually do, and set it on top of my groceries at the check-out stand. The bagger was very obviously learning his job still (hey, we've all been there). "Is plastic OK?" he asked me, in a non-confident voice. "Actually, I have my own bag there," I replied, pointing to the canvas bag on the belt.

As I focused my attention on the debit card reader, I heard the bagger ask me, "Would you like me to put it in a paper bag?" I looked up from the keypad, saw that the bagger had put my groceries into one of the store's plastic bags, and said, "No, I'd rather you use my bag, um - well, I had a bag there..." My bag had disappeared. I looked around for my bag. The bagger looked around for my bag. The checker looked around for my bag, and discovered that the bagger had put my canvas bag in the plastic bag, under my groceries. The checker explained to the bagger that the customer had wanted him to put the groceries in his canvas bag.

So, that's exactly what the bagger did. He retrieved my canvas bag from the plastic bag, and put my groceries, still in the plastic bag, into my canvas bag. I didn't feel like arguing, so I thanked the bagger and continued on home.

(I remembered reading recently that in Ireland, grocery stores are required, by law, to charge customers for the bags supplied by the store. It's an effort to reduce garbage.)

There are a couple of things that I want to record about last weekend. The first one I didn't write about because I just forgot to. The second thing didn't get a blog post because I was tired, started falling asleep before nine last night, went to bed, forgot to set the alarm, and fell right to sleep.

Phillip and I reserved computers at the library on Saturday afternoon and played Neopets together. When we'd made our reservations on Friday, Phillip commented that we hadn't done that in a long time. My response was: "I blame geocaching." Phillip agreed that there was something to that.

We went to Debbie's 40th birthday party on Sunday - yesterday. Phillip made the suggestion that we invite Debbie & June, and their parents, to do some geocaching in Tacoma after the party. I wasn't too keen on the idea, at first - It's not that I'm getting tired of geocaching (although our pace has definitely slowed down), but I wanted the day to be about Debbie, not about our hobby. But, after Phillip phoned Debbie, and she sounded excited about the idea, I looked up three easy caches for us to hunt.

Debbie & June's parents (who are into panning for gold, by the way), seemed interested in the idea of geocaching, but ultimately decided not to join us. Selena, however, who had never heard of geocaching before yesterday, wanted very much to try it. So, after the party, June, Debbie, Selena, Phillip, and I regrouped at Debbie & June's house, then went geocaching around downtown Tacoma.

We looked for three and found three. The heat was getting to Phillip, however, and he ended up being the least enthusiastic of our group. Debbie was having trouble walking, and was maybe the second least excited of our group. I was getting frustrated, feeling like we were dragging those two along. I think June was enjoying the hunt, but I sensed that she thought the caches I'd picked out were a bit too easy. Selena, though, seemed to be having a lot of fun with this crazy, new sport. I think that if it were up to her, we would have hunted several more. I think it was Selena who kept me going yesterday.

Meanwhile, I seem to be fitting into my present clinic. It's a strange feeling, though, being a lot more separated from our providers than I was at my last two clinics. There are doctors and nurses there that I still don't know by sight. It's even stranger to hear the PSRs who've been there a long time ask who Doctor So-and-So is when they see a new name on the schedule.

I am constantly running into people from my previous clinic. It's a nice feeling to have parted on such good terms that I feel nostalgic talking with them.

Here is my review of Mike Mars Flies the X-15.

This is the second book in the "Mike Mars" series. It was written by Donald A. Wollheim in 1961. It follows the adventures of Mike Mars (real name: Michael Alfred Robert Samson, lieutenant in the United States Air Force. When he writes his initials on his flight helmet, it comes out "M.A.R.S." so it became his nickname.) and three other young test pilots on the secret program to launch the X-15 into space.

It is an excellent book for young boys. There is only one girl in the story - "a girl at the desk" - and she takes up less than one page in the book. This is a story of serious, hard-studying, dedicated test pilots who say manly things like: "I guess it's time to knock off. It's past closing time at the maintenance building, and will be time for chow in another hour."

One of the young test pilots is a fellow named Rod Harger, Jr. He went through the same training school as Mike Mars, but the two never became close friends. Rod is a solitary fellow, without many friendships. Rod wants to become the first man in space, because he sees it as a way to become rich and famous. Mike, and the other two members of the team, know that it is the achievement of launching an American into space that is important - not anyone's personal future. It would be fun to be the first man in space, they all knew. "But it was not important enough to make a man sulk if one of his friends made it instead. It was the team that counted, they all thought."

Mike Mars sets an excellent example for boys throughout the story. He tries his best to get along with Rod Harger, Jr. despite Rod's unfriendly personality. "Mike, by nature, always felt that the other fellow deserved a break, and should get the benefit of any doubt. Mike wanted to win, just as any young fellow wants to win, but he wanted to win fair." Another example of Mike's virtuous outlook comes when he thinks about the X-15's capability as a glider: "Looked at as such, he saw that its design resembled nothing so much as the streamlined paper darts he used to make himself out of folded paper and shoot around classrooms during recess periods - when he had nothing more important to do." (In other words, Mike likes to have fun, but only at the the proper time.)

Another member of the team is Mike's Indian friend Johnny Bluehawk, who also went through the same training class as Mike and Rod. Johnny is not stereotyped as badly as he could have been (although Chapter 17 is entitled On The Warpath). Johnny is an excellent pilot, and doesn't seem to have any thoughts of personal fame or glory. He doesn't appear to regard teamwork as highly as the other test pilots, however, for when he uncovers an exciting plot to sabotage the X-15, he hunts down the perpetrators himself, using the excellent tracking abilities and night vision that all Cheyenne boys have, rather than alerting the Air Force authorities. Given the apparently crummy security at Edwards Air Force Base, however - where guards are routinely knocked out by shadowy figures who sneak up behind them and make their escape simply by running away - maybe Johnny Bluehawk was smart to track down the criminals himself.

Mike Mars Flies the X-15 is illustrated nicely by Albert Orbaan. In addition to a fast-paced and action-packed story, the book includes informative diagrams of the workings of a space ship, an illustrated flight path of the X-15, and many drawing that complement the narrative. The story includes educational information about the effects of zero gravity, scientific speculations about the surfaces of Mars and Venus (the first stops on America's planned space program), and what it takes to be a test pilot.

I recommend Mike Mars Flies the X-15, by Donald A. Wollheim for young American boys.