*I had sacrificed a couple of yabbies to this fish before I finally hooked him.*

So there we have it. CJ chills out by torturing little yabbies!
Perhaps he is trying to get even :)

I spend a good part of the day outdoors in nature, with animals
and plants, both domesticated and wild. Life is about balance,
so for me OLO is very much about chilling out and relaxing.

Other then that I fool around with sounds on a Korg Oasys or
create some new device in the workshop. The satisfaction of
having an idea and taking it through creation and functioning,
is far more rewarding then golf, tennis or fishing.

Dear CJ,

How do I chill out?

It depends on the season...

Summers by the sea,
The sun warming my body,
The rich, green grass
feeling cool beneath my feet,
Sand between my toes,
Wind-blown hair,
Magnificent sunsets,
Early morning walks...

Winters on the ski-slopes,
A cup of hot chocolate,
Fire-light and guitar music...

And, when the world crowds in
and makes my life seem small -
I go for a run in a nearby park.
This I find relaxing at any time,
during any season ...

And then of-course there's OLO -
and all of my favourite posters ... :-)

Ease up on the urban environs, CJ. Some of us grew up in country towns and have access to granny's farm but there there are few facilities to pursue our careers there. Weekends include many engagements (scouts etc) so opportunities to really get away are few.

To answer the question: Pottering in the increasingly well upholstered shed. The more modern stereo is upstairs, but what I regard as the best, including the vinyl, the appropriate electronics, the exponential horns and the old comfy chair is out the back, with a wheezy aircon, about ten household devices needing repair and about twice that number of superannuated lab instruments. I can smoke here too, but do so less these days.

Rusty.

Thanks for the interesting responses, folks.

For those who responded in the spirit of the OP, thanks for sharing. When the weather's good, I tend to go for outdoor pursuits like fishing. Otherwise, the shed, computer, music and reading etc can all do the job. Actually, I'm in the process of having a new shed built...

For those who just wanted to have a snark, I hope it helped you 'chill out' a bit :)

What do I do to chill out?

Cycle

Well CJ, I'd have to be one of your biggest fans here on OLO, but you do lose me when you wax lyrical as you often do on the joys of hooking and reeling in some poor hapless fish. :)

<< The weather was hot, but there was a brisk breeze whistling through the trees as the thunderstorms began to build in the west. I had my bird and butterfly bibles with me, and my binoculars - and of course I was rewarded by the company of some gorgeous little creatures, a couple of whom I hadn't seen before. I didn't see a person all afternoon. >>

This I can relate to. Enjoying nature's best in relaxed and uninterrupted solitude. One of life's real pleasures, I agree.

I can't for the life of me though understand how someone so at one with nature could mar such serenity with an ugly hook and another creature's pain.

Now I know this will be water off a duck's back to you. As you've said, you do have 'quite a thick skin'. :)

Belly though, now there's a different kettle of fish altogether. He just can't handle it at all when I start defending the rights of fish. Watch this post send him right off. :)

'Chilling out' for me is walking my dog, reading in bed, chatting with friends over a coffee or wine, pottering round the house and listening to Radio National, watching a good movie or documentary, relaxing on the deck with hubby and our magnificent bushland view and of course, like many others here, catching up on OLO. :)