Tonight I found myself at a sushi bar, stuffing my face with eel, sitting across from my husband who two hours earlier had been at the airport awaiting a dead body, still wearing sweaty clothes from playing 45 minutes of racquetball in an oven, wondering about the remnants of a former category 4 hurricane that's supposed to arrive in my backyard tomorrow. It's was one of those absurd moments that pop up every now and again.
Rewind two days to Saturday: Zac and I watched the movie, "Taking Chance". It's a great movie. Very moving. It is the true story of a Marine officer that escorts the body of a PFC home for burial. The movie is a quick hour and 15 minutes long, but it is packed with lots of raw emotion and great acting. Kevin Bacon plays the older Marine Lieutenant Colonel who is dealing with issues of guilt for not being on the ground. He's concerned that his desk job isn't being true to what he was trained to do - fight. He feels guilt, and even shame, that he has chosen the safety of a desk job so he could be with his family. When the name of a young Marine from his hometown appears on the list of fallen soldiers, the officer volunteers to escort the body home.
Never mind. I just decided that I'm terrible at movie reviews. Just trust me when I say that it is most definitely worth an evening of your time.
This morning Zac was asked to be a pall bearer for the body of a Navy Chief that was arriving back in Hawaii today. Zac agreed to help out so this afternoon he put on his summer whites and headed to the airport with three other Chiefs. After the body had been unloaded from the plane, they met the body and its (his?) escort in a cargo area. They saluted the body and loaded the body into the hearse. Afterwards Zac told me that the process was almost exactly like it had been depicted in the movie. He even noticed that, indeed, the bodies are always pointed feet first towards their destination.
It seems odd to me that we randomly watched a movie on this topic and then 48 hours later, for the first time in his naval career, Zac was allowed to see part of the process in person and honor the final arrival home of one of our Navy's sailors.
Go watch the movie. It will explain things better than I can.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Back from the Big Island, vol. 2
Friday morning we were back at the marina, ready to head out for two more dives. The seas had calmed tremendously and the boat ride was much more tolerable. (I was still pumped full of Triptone, but I think I might have been able to handle the ride sans drugs.) The dives were great but when we got back to shore after lunch I was tired and ready to be dive-free for awhile. We went back to our rooms and got ready for an afternoon/evening of relaxing in Kailua-Kona. For supper we decided on a sushi place that served enough deep-fried stuff for Ken's liking. We didn't stay out too late - we had a long day of driving ahead as we were heading towards Volcanoes National Park the next day via a stop at the top of Mauna Kea.
We took our time Saturday morning before we left. Based on the diving we had done on Friday, we needed to wait awhile before we hit the road. You need to be wary of altitude too soon after diving, just to be safe. Usually this applies to flying after diving, but on the Big Island it is pretty easy to get over 1,000 feet withing ten minutes of driving inland. Saddle Road itself, which runs between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, is around the 6,000 feet mark. We drove up the western coast and then headed over to Waimea. We stopped off and saw some sights along the northern coast and swung down into Hilo for lunch.
Next we were heading to Mauna Kea.
Mauna Kea is home to lots of telescopes and cool scientific things. (I can't even begin to understand what all they're studying up there.) Due to the altitude at the summit (13,796 ft.) the air is particularly clear and they can "see" things that you can't, say, in Los Angeles or Newark. Also due to the altitude, there is 40% less oxygen at the summit, meaning that altitude sickness is a real possibility. There's a visitors center at the 9,300 ft. mark that they encourage people to stop at for about 30 minutes to let your body acclimate itself.
We decided that we were going to watch the sun set from the summit which, due to the number of tour buses up there, seemed to be what lots of people wanted to do. Our group had our "winter" gear - sweatshirts, hats, gloves. But some of the folks on the tour buses had full-body extreme weather gear: snow-pants, parkas, scarfs, mittens, hats. I haven't been that insulated since I was dressed by my mother to go sledding back in grade school. Now I understand that during the winter months that the summit of Mauna Kea is covered in snow and the howling winds make it severe, but we're in the middle of summer and it was only about 35 degrees up there with no snow. Seriously? Parkas?
[Side note: I delighted in the cold. I was so happy. I was skipping, yes skipping, around. It was fantastic to be chilly.]
The drive beyond the visitors center to the summit is intense. Much of it is not paved and it climbs the last 4,500 feet in about six miles. The grade is STEEP. If you get carsick, you need to be the driver on this part. Luckily almost all the traffic was moving the same way - up the mountain. I'm not sure how I would have handled two way traffic 12,000 feet up on a gravel road that is about a car and a half wide. Probably not well. It also didn't help that the sun was setting and it was absolutely blinding. For parts of the drive up I relied on Bernadette looking out the side telling me where I was because I couldn't see out the front windshield. (Not if I wanted to keep my retinas healthy. And yes, I was wearing sunglasses. The sun is just that bright.)
The summit is truly amazing. The altitude didn't really make itself known until you tried hiking around a bit. Then you found yourself respiring more frequently and your heart rate increased. I felt fine, but Zac wasn't feeling too hot. He was a little light headed and kind of sick. After about 20 minutes he seemed to be doing a little better, but decided that he'd leave the skipping and frolicking to me. We watched the sun duck below the clouds as it set and enjoyed the shivering that came with the lessening sunlight. It was strange listening to some of the giant telescopes fire up for the night, getting ready for work. Doors on the domes starting opening. Giant mechanical things started creaking and groaning. It was impressive.
We headed back down the mountain to hang out at the visitors center again. Every night they have stargazing available so we took a look at the moon, Saturn (I could see the rings!) and a green nebula. I had never seen the sky look like that. There were so many stars that the sky didn't look black, it was too illuminated. Zac and I cuddled in the chill and enjoyed the view for a little while longer until we all decided that it was time to head towards our lodging at the Kilauea Military Camp, at Volcanoes National Park - still two hours away. We finally got into our cabin around 10:30 and zonked out for the night.
The next morning we had some breakfast and walked around the Park a bit. We checked out a couple of lava tubes and had some sandwiches before it was time to head back into Hilo to fly back to Oahu.
The trip was great - the four of us saw some amazing things. I probably won't be heading back to the Big Island for awhile now (third time in 10 months!) but I've got some cool memories to tide me over til the next time.
We took our time Saturday morning before we left. Based on the diving we had done on Friday, we needed to wait awhile before we hit the road. You need to be wary of altitude too soon after diving, just to be safe. Usually this applies to flying after diving, but on the Big Island it is pretty easy to get over 1,000 feet withing ten minutes of driving inland. Saddle Road itself, which runs between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, is around the 6,000 feet mark. We drove up the western coast and then headed over to Waimea. We stopped off and saw some sights along the northern coast and swung down into Hilo for lunch.
Next we were heading to Mauna Kea.Mauna Kea is home to lots of telescopes and cool scientific things. (I can't even begin to understand what all they're studying up there.) Due to the altitude at the summit (13,796 ft.) the air is particularly clear and they can "see" things that you can't, say, in Los Angeles or Newark. Also due to the altitude, there is 40% less oxygen at the summit, meaning that altitude sickness is a real possibility. There's a visitors center at the 9,300 ft. mark that they encourage people to stop at for about 30 minutes to let your body acclimate itself.
We decided that we were going to watch the sun set from the summit which, due to the number of tour buses up there, seemed to be what lots of people wanted to do. Our group had our "winter" gear - sweatshirts, hats, gloves. But some of the folks on the tour buses had full-body extreme weather gear: snow-pants, parkas, scarfs, mittens, hats. I haven't been that insulated since I was dressed by my mother to go sledding back in grade school. Now I understand that during the winter months that the summit of Mauna Kea is covered in snow and the howling winds make it severe, but we're in the middle of summer and it was only about 35 degrees up there with no snow. Seriously? Parkas?
[Side note: I delighted in the cold. I was so happy. I was skipping, yes skipping, around. It was fantastic to be chilly.]
The drive beyond the visitors center to the summit is intense. Much of it is not paved and it climbs the last 4,500 feet in about six miles. The grade is STEEP. If you get carsick, you need to be the driver on this part. Luckily almost all the traffic was moving the same way - up the mountain. I'm not sure how I would have handled two way traffic 12,000 feet up on a gravel road that is about a car and a half wide. Probably not well. It also didn't help that the sun was setting and it was absolutely blinding. For parts of the drive up I relied on Bernadette looking out the side telling me where I was because I couldn't see out the front windshield. (Not if I wanted to keep my retinas healthy. And yes, I was wearing sunglasses. The sun is just that bright.)
The summit is truly amazing. The altitude didn't really make itself known until you tried hiking around a bit. Then you found yourself respiring more frequently and your heart rate increased. I felt fine, but Zac wasn't feeling too hot. He was a little light headed and kind of sick. After about 20 minutes he seemed to be doing a little better, but decided that he'd leave the skipping and frolicking to me. We watched the sun duck below the clouds as it set and enjoyed the shivering that came with the lessening sunlight. It was strange listening to some of the giant telescopes fire up for the night, getting ready for work. Doors on the domes starting opening. Giant mechanical things started creaking and groaning. It was impressive.
We headed back down the mountain to hang out at the visitors center again. Every night they have stargazing available so we took a look at the moon, Saturn (I could see the rings!) and a green nebula. I had never seen the sky look like that. There were so many stars that the sky didn't look black, it was too illuminated. Zac and I cuddled in the chill and enjoyed the view for a little while longer until we all decided that it was time to head towards our lodging at the Kilauea Military Camp, at Volcanoes National Park - still two hours away. We finally got into our cabin around 10:30 and zonked out for the night.The next morning we had some breakfast and walked around the Park a bit. We checked out a couple of lava tubes and had some sandwiches before it was time to head back into Hilo to fly back to Oahu.
The trip was great - the four of us saw some amazing things. I probably won't be heading back to the Big Island for awhile now (third time in 10 months!) but I've got some cool memories to tide me over til the next time.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Back from the Big Island, vol. 1
Zac, Bernadette, Ken and I were on the Big Island from Wednesday to Sunday and now that I've had a day to recover I finally have some energy to recap the trip. It was a great trip. It's always a good sign when you can travel with friends and everyone comes home still speaking to each other. We arrived Wednesday morning and spent the afternoon snorkeling at the Place of Refuge. It was a little strange moving from scuba diving back to snorkeling. I kept thinking, "I wish I could get closer to all that cool stuff down there."
At once point I realized that Bernadette and I were about 100 yards from shore. (Maybe. I'm terrible at estimating distance.) We were pretty far out anyhow. And yet I wasn't panicked at all. 1.) There was no current or waves, 2.) I was wearing my diving fins, so it was easy to swim, 3.) The water was really clear, which somehow calms me, 4.) I felt light as a feather because usually when I'm in the ocean I have my BCD with 16 pounds of weight in it. I was just amazed that I was that comfortable being that far out from shore. (Granted I could see the bottom as clear as day due to the water conditions. But I'd guess the water was 40-50 deep out there, so it wasn't like I was in the shallow end of the pool.)
After snorkeling we checked into our hotel and went to dinner. We walked around Kailua-Kona for a little while and then retired for the evening. Thursday morning we went out for breakfast and hung out until the afternoon when we had to go to Big Island Divers to check in for our manta ray dive. I was getting nervous and excited about the dive. The water had looked a little choppy as we were driving around in the morning, so I had started my regime of Triptone (like Dramamine) around lunchtime way before it was time to get on the boat.
The manta dive is a two tank dive: The first dive is in the afternoon while there is still light, the second is after the sun set. The boat ride out was bouncy shall we say? I would like to thank the makers of Triptone. I believe that I was able to enjoy my manta experience because of your product. I don't think I ever got my sea legs, but at least I didn't want to vomit. Once we moored ourselves to the dive site we did our afternoon dive. After boat diving, I might not ever want to go back to shore diving. It's so easy. Just suit up and jump in. There's no exhausting surface swim and because of that I could stay down longer. As a matter of fact, I was down for a little more than an hour (personal best) and reached a depth of 84 feet (personal best) on the first dive. I was pretty darn stoked about diving by the time we got back to the boat.
We sat on the boat, eating sandwiches, waiting for the sun to set. I added another layer under my wetsuit for the night dive because I was told that people get cold because of the lack of sun and the fact that you're just sitting there, watching, not swimming. I even added a couple of pounds of weight to help with staying on the bottom. We were all given large flashlights and then we hopped back in the inky water. The first few seconds of being in dark water is strange, but so many people had flashlights that pretty soon you feel really comfortable. We descended at set up shop with about 50 other folks (yes, 50!) on the ocean floor in about 30 feet of water, waiting for the mantas to show up.
Mantas eat plankton. Plankton is attracted to light. So if you shine a bright light, plankton will come followed by mantas. At least that's the way it usually works. I was still a little buoyant on the bottom so I had to grad a rock with my knees to keep me down and still. It was chilly. But then the first manta arrived and you forget about everything else. It was one of the most amazing experience of my life. Mantas are just mesmerizing. They're so graceful, so beautiful, so agile in the water. And they're HUGE. I'm used to little fish, little eels, little sharks. And then this 10-foot wide behemoth comes cruising two-inches over my head. Just unreal. Zac actually got bumped by one. (Rule: Mantas can touch you, but you may not touch the mantas.)
Here is some of what we saw:
We were down there for about 45 minutes. I don't have a large enough vocabulary to describe how fantastic it was. Zac took some amazing videos on the underwater camera. I'm so pleased that we had that for this trip. It was fantastic being able to record what we saw. We headed back up to the boat and headed back to the marina. We were back to the hotel around 10:30, and we were all pretty tired. We headed to bed because we had to be at the marina by 8:15 the next morning for another two-tank dive.
I'll pick up there in the next post.
At once point I realized that Bernadette and I were about 100 yards from shore. (Maybe. I'm terrible at estimating distance.) We were pretty far out anyhow. And yet I wasn't panicked at all. 1.) There was no current or waves, 2.) I was wearing my diving fins, so it was easy to swim, 3.) The water was really clear, which somehow calms me, 4.) I felt light as a feather because usually when I'm in the ocean I have my BCD with 16 pounds of weight in it. I was just amazed that I was that comfortable being that far out from shore. (Granted I could see the bottom as clear as day due to the water conditions. But I'd guess the water was 40-50 deep out there, so it wasn't like I was in the shallow end of the pool.)
After snorkeling we checked into our hotel and went to dinner. We walked around Kailua-Kona for a little while and then retired for the evening. Thursday morning we went out for breakfast and hung out until the afternoon when we had to go to Big Island Divers to check in for our manta ray dive. I was getting nervous and excited about the dive. The water had looked a little choppy as we were driving around in the morning, so I had started my regime of Triptone (like Dramamine) around lunchtime way before it was time to get on the boat.
The manta dive is a two tank dive: The first dive is in the afternoon while there is still light, the second is after the sun set. The boat ride out was bouncy shall we say? I would like to thank the makers of Triptone. I believe that I was able to enjoy my manta experience because of your product. I don't think I ever got my sea legs, but at least I didn't want to vomit. Once we moored ourselves to the dive site we did our afternoon dive. After boat diving, I might not ever want to go back to shore diving. It's so easy. Just suit up and jump in. There's no exhausting surface swim and because of that I could stay down longer. As a matter of fact, I was down for a little more than an hour (personal best) and reached a depth of 84 feet (personal best) on the first dive. I was pretty darn stoked about diving by the time we got back to the boat.
We sat on the boat, eating sandwiches, waiting for the sun to set. I added another layer under my wetsuit for the night dive because I was told that people get cold because of the lack of sun and the fact that you're just sitting there, watching, not swimming. I even added a couple of pounds of weight to help with staying on the bottom. We were all given large flashlights and then we hopped back in the inky water. The first few seconds of being in dark water is strange, but so many people had flashlights that pretty soon you feel really comfortable. We descended at set up shop with about 50 other folks (yes, 50!) on the ocean floor in about 30 feet of water, waiting for the mantas to show up.
Mantas eat plankton. Plankton is attracted to light. So if you shine a bright light, plankton will come followed by mantas. At least that's the way it usually works. I was still a little buoyant on the bottom so I had to grad a rock with my knees to keep me down and still. It was chilly. But then the first manta arrived and you forget about everything else. It was one of the most amazing experience of my life. Mantas are just mesmerizing. They're so graceful, so beautiful, so agile in the water. And they're HUGE. I'm used to little fish, little eels, little sharks. And then this 10-foot wide behemoth comes cruising two-inches over my head. Just unreal. Zac actually got bumped by one. (Rule: Mantas can touch you, but you may not touch the mantas.)
Here is some of what we saw:
We were down there for about 45 minutes. I don't have a large enough vocabulary to describe how fantastic it was. Zac took some amazing videos on the underwater camera. I'm so pleased that we had that for this trip. It was fantastic being able to record what we saw. We headed back up to the boat and headed back to the marina. We were back to the hotel around 10:30, and we were all pretty tired. We headed to bed because we had to be at the marina by 8:15 the next morning for another two-tank dive.
I'll pick up there in the next post.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Zac is not a Potterhead
I love Harry Potter. The books. The movies. The general madness that surrounds all of it. I had the pleasure of working at Barnes & Noble for the release of all the books. As the hysteria around Harry Potter grew over the years our store began having midnight release parties (like many other places). However, the release parties we held at our store were fantastically GRAND. Some of the finest times I had the bookstore revolved around Harry Potter in one way or another.
I've got the collection of books on my shelf but instead of re-reading them before the opening of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince last week, I decided to re-watch the first five movies. Much to my surprise, my husband, Zac, was on board with my idea.
Zac is not a sci fi/fantasy kind of guy. Not at all. He's not really even that into super hero movies, which can usually be chalked up as a common denominator for most folks. Don't get me wrong, he loved "Iron Man", but he doesn't quite get comics or their avid fans. Despite the fact that he doesn't really enjoy super heros, Star Wars or wizards he was game to watch FIVE Harry Potter movies in the space of SIX days.
His involvement in the marathon went something like this:
me: "Wanna watch a movie?"
him: "Sure."
me: [slowly, already wincing from his rejection] "How about the first Harry Potter?"
[pause]
him: "Sure."
[stunned silence]
me: "Really? You know I said 'Harry Potter', right?"
him: "Yeah, I'm okay with that."
I didn't take the time to double-check because I was afraid that he'd change his mind. I tossed in the movie and at the end he asked, "So are we going to watch the rest of them too?" Mind you not in a, "Ugh, we're not going to watch the rest of them, are we?" sort of way, but in a curious, almost hopeful, "I should at least get up to speed if we're going to #6" sort of way. So began almost a week of watching one Harry Potter per day. Zac actually asked questions as we went along, making sure he got all the plot points in order. Because of our program of HP Indoctrination, we didn't go see HPATHBP until yesterday, but the buildup was worth the payoff.
If you haven't seen the movie yet, do. It's great fun. Well, at least as fun as the rise of Voldemort and the Death Eaters can be. But there's snogging. And that's enjoyable.
So what I learned in the last week is that my husband is even more wonderful than I thought. He does that every now and again - surprises the hell out of me with something great. While he's not a Potterhead, he's cool with my HP geekiness and actually joined in for a while. As he has told me a few times when I get excited about Harry Potter, "You're a geek, but you're my geek."
[sigh]
I think I'm going to go snog my husband. :)
I've got the collection of books on my shelf but instead of re-reading them before the opening of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince last week, I decided to re-watch the first five movies. Much to my surprise, my husband, Zac, was on board with my idea.
Zac is not a sci fi/fantasy kind of guy. Not at all. He's not really even that into super hero movies, which can usually be chalked up as a common denominator for most folks. Don't get me wrong, he loved "Iron Man", but he doesn't quite get comics or their avid fans. Despite the fact that he doesn't really enjoy super heros, Star Wars or wizards he was game to watch FIVE Harry Potter movies in the space of SIX days.
His involvement in the marathon went something like this:
me: "Wanna watch a movie?"
him: "Sure."
me: [slowly, already wincing from his rejection] "How about the first Harry Potter?"
[pause]
him: "Sure."
[stunned silence]
me: "Really? You know I said 'Harry Potter', right?"
him: "Yeah, I'm okay with that."
I didn't take the time to double-check because I was afraid that he'd change his mind. I tossed in the movie and at the end he asked, "So are we going to watch the rest of them too?" Mind you not in a, "Ugh, we're not going to watch the rest of them, are we?" sort of way, but in a curious, almost hopeful, "I should at least get up to speed if we're going to #6" sort of way. So began almost a week of watching one Harry Potter per day. Zac actually asked questions as we went along, making sure he got all the plot points in order. Because of our program of HP Indoctrination, we didn't go see HPATHBP until yesterday, but the buildup was worth the payoff.
If you haven't seen the movie yet, do. It's great fun. Well, at least as fun as the rise of Voldemort and the Death Eaters can be. But there's snogging. And that's enjoyable.
So what I learned in the last week is that my husband is even more wonderful than I thought. He does that every now and again - surprises the hell out of me with something great. While he's not a Potterhead, he's cool with my HP geekiness and actually joined in for a while. As he has told me a few times when I get excited about Harry Potter, "You're a geek, but you're my geek."
[sigh]
I think I'm going to go snog my husband. :)
Monday, July 13, 2009
In lieu of substance, I give you photos! vol. 2
I wanted to put some content out quickly, instead of mulling over words, so here are photos from this weekend's two dives. Where did the photos come from? From my trusty little Canon Powershot. I bought the Canon underwater case for Zac for his birthday. Yes, I know that the case is for my camera, but Zac dives more often than I do so he will get more benefit from the case. Also, he's a great bottom feeder (i.e. creeps along the bottom of the ocean slowly and deliberately) and sees lots of cool things that I sometimes miss.
By the way - I kick funny. Not in the effective, Olympic-swimmer-style of kicking. I did not know this till I looked at the photos and videos from the camera yesterday. I was mildly embarrassed. Zac's response? "I just thought that's the way you kicked. I didn't know I was supposed to tell you you kicked funny." I feel that this tidbit of knowledge should have been disclosed to me sooner.
The first dive was focused mostly on scenery. We went diving through the Cathedral near Three Tables. It is an amazing structure of lava tunnels with light that cascades through holes in the "ceiling". It's stunning.
Bernadette and Ken were there. We also had two others in our dive group.
Zac. On our second dive we saw all sorts of fantastic wildlife.
A coronetfish. They're about four feet long. It's weird seeing something that long and that skinny swim by. They don't seem as skittish as some types of fish.
A seven eleven crab, tucked away.
An eel popping his head out to look at us, but still well camouflaged.
Cruising around.
I love sea turtles.
Last, but not least, a neat picture of a white tipped reef shark, courtesy of my fearless Zac. Actually there were two sharks tucked away in this cave, but it was tough to get a shot of both of them without getting uncomfortably close. Bernadette was the one who spotted them. This guy was a little intimidating, about four feet long, but he seemed content to hang out in his cave with his buddy. It is a rush to see them - equal parts awe, fear, and excitement.Monday, July 6, 2009
"How I spent my Holiday Weekend"
For a long, holiday weekend that started out with very few plans I ended up really tired by Monday. The weekend actually started on Thursday with Zac's command picnic. Lots of sun, lots of heat, and lots of fun talking to people. The heat alone would have been enough to wipe me out, but I also spent a good bit of time playing with a friend's two-year-old daughter. She's a little Energizer Bunny, that one. After the picnic we spent the rest of day picking up and setting up our new couch. (Our first "grown-up" furniture! No more college-life-relics or hand-me-downs!) Moving the old stuff out of the living room, cleaning the room, moving the new stuff into the living room and cleaning up again wore us out further so we spent the remainder of the evening breaking in the couch by watching movies.
Friday evening Zac and I played racquetball. Afterwards, despite being in our workout gear and looking (and smelling) like we just spent an hour in an oven, we decided to meet up with Ken over at Hideaway for a beer. We figured it was just after 9pm so no one would really be there to critique our appearance, and Ken had mentioned he wanted to be out of there by 10pm. Ken was already feeling pretty festive by the time we got there. Being the mature, responsible person that he is, Ken had a designated driver lined up to bring him to and from the bar that night. (A perk of having a night-owl 19-year-old neighbor who is willing to shuttle people around for $.) I decided I'd be Zac's DD for the night so Zac could throw a few back with Ken.
Ken sent his DD a text message at 9:30 requesting an pick-up extension until 10:30, instead of 10. As the evening progressed, and the boys enjoyed their lagers, the text messages from Ken to his DD kept flowing every half-hour or so - "How about 11?" "11:30 ok?" and finally "You had might as well just come over here because it is going to be a late night." Ken's DD arrive around midnight to join me in consuming non-alcoholic beverages and laughing at Ken and Zac. The two of them were having a grand time.
Of course as Hideaway was filling up with people throughout the night, Zac's and my appearance stood out more and more. All the guys and gals were there dressed to impress and we . . . were not. We were dressed to play racquetball. It made me feel mildly awkward. Zac, bless his heart, was beyond caring.
At 12:45, I was tired. I was on my fifth water and despite the thumping music and bustling atmosphere I was about ready to fall asleep. I convinced Zac that it was time to go so we headed home. When I got to the car I realized I was starving. We had had supper around five, and now it was almost 1:00am. My body called attention to the fact that another meal was in order. So I did what I haven't done in a very long time - I stopped at a Taco Bell after 1:00am. I ordered us a few soft tacos and inhaled them as soon as we got in the house. We climbed into bed without spending much time digesting. Why?
Because the alarm was going to go off in five hours so we could go diving with Ken. Yeesh.
Yes, Saturday morning we were going diving at a new location. I checked the surf report before we left. It said 2-4 feet, so I was already a little reluctant to go as we piled into the car and headed out towards our destination. The surf had been 2-4 at Electric Beach the last time I had trouble. When we got to our dive sight, we met up with Ken and the other members of our group. I surveyed the water and decided that I wasn't comfortable going in right then. I told Zac and Ken that I'd stay back and let them try it out. If they came back thinking that the conditions were good I'd join them for the second dive. While they dove I relaxed with a book, which requires much less energy than diving.
The boys came back about an hour later and I could tell from their demeanor that the dive wasn't fun. They filled me in: the current was tough, the waves were tough, visibility wasn't great, they didn't see much exciting wildlife, etc. They decided a second dive wasn't in the cards for them either, so we ended up packing up our stuff and heading home. We dropped off my rental gear, ran to the store to get some brownie mix and made it home around 1:00 or so.
I whipped up the brownies and threw them in the oven. Zac was hoping for an afternoon nap, but we were supposed to be going down to Honolulu to a friend's house for a 4th of July picnic and fireworks viewing in a couple of hours. (The brownies being our contribution to the picnic.) We cleaned up Zac's diving gear, took showers, got ready and by that point Ken was already at our house ready to carpool into Honolulu. At least I got to casually read by the beach that morning, so I was a little rested. Both boys looked like they were not going to make it through the night without nodding off.
The picnic was fun, the company was entertaining, the fireworks were spectacular. It really was one of the best firework displays I had ever seen. And viewing it from a condo on the 26th floor was fantastic. As all of the guests waited for traffic to dissipate, sure enough, Ken and Zac zonked out for naps.
It was a solid weekend, but exhausting. Now it's time to buckle down and get some work done.
Friday evening Zac and I played racquetball. Afterwards, despite being in our workout gear and looking (and smelling) like we just spent an hour in an oven, we decided to meet up with Ken over at Hideaway for a beer. We figured it was just after 9pm so no one would really be there to critique our appearance, and Ken had mentioned he wanted to be out of there by 10pm. Ken was already feeling pretty festive by the time we got there. Being the mature, responsible person that he is, Ken had a designated driver lined up to bring him to and from the bar that night. (A perk of having a night-owl 19-year-old neighbor who is willing to shuttle people around for $.) I decided I'd be Zac's DD for the night so Zac could throw a few back with Ken.
Ken sent his DD a text message at 9:30 requesting an pick-up extension until 10:30, instead of 10. As the evening progressed, and the boys enjoyed their lagers, the text messages from Ken to his DD kept flowing every half-hour or so - "How about 11?" "11:30 ok?" and finally "You had might as well just come over here because it is going to be a late night." Ken's DD arrive around midnight to join me in consuming non-alcoholic beverages and laughing at Ken and Zac. The two of them were having a grand time.
Of course as Hideaway was filling up with people throughout the night, Zac's and my appearance stood out more and more. All the guys and gals were there dressed to impress and we . . . were not. We were dressed to play racquetball. It made me feel mildly awkward. Zac, bless his heart, was beyond caring.
At 12:45, I was tired. I was on my fifth water and despite the thumping music and bustling atmosphere I was about ready to fall asleep. I convinced Zac that it was time to go so we headed home. When I got to the car I realized I was starving. We had had supper around five, and now it was almost 1:00am. My body called attention to the fact that another meal was in order. So I did what I haven't done in a very long time - I stopped at a Taco Bell after 1:00am. I ordered us a few soft tacos and inhaled them as soon as we got in the house. We climbed into bed without spending much time digesting. Why?
Because the alarm was going to go off in five hours so we could go diving with Ken. Yeesh.
Yes, Saturday morning we were going diving at a new location. I checked the surf report before we left. It said 2-4 feet, so I was already a little reluctant to go as we piled into the car and headed out towards our destination. The surf had been 2-4 at Electric Beach the last time I had trouble. When we got to our dive sight, we met up with Ken and the other members of our group. I surveyed the water and decided that I wasn't comfortable going in right then. I told Zac and Ken that I'd stay back and let them try it out. If they came back thinking that the conditions were good I'd join them for the second dive. While they dove I relaxed with a book, which requires much less energy than diving.
The boys came back about an hour later and I could tell from their demeanor that the dive wasn't fun. They filled me in: the current was tough, the waves were tough, visibility wasn't great, they didn't see much exciting wildlife, etc. They decided a second dive wasn't in the cards for them either, so we ended up packing up our stuff and heading home. We dropped off my rental gear, ran to the store to get some brownie mix and made it home around 1:00 or so.
I whipped up the brownies and threw them in the oven. Zac was hoping for an afternoon nap, but we were supposed to be going down to Honolulu to a friend's house for a 4th of July picnic and fireworks viewing in a couple of hours. (The brownies being our contribution to the picnic.) We cleaned up Zac's diving gear, took showers, got ready and by that point Ken was already at our house ready to carpool into Honolulu. At least I got to casually read by the beach that morning, so I was a little rested. Both boys looked like they were not going to make it through the night without nodding off.
The picnic was fun, the company was entertaining, the fireworks were spectacular. It really was one of the best firework displays I had ever seen. And viewing it from a condo on the 26th floor was fantastic. As all of the guests waited for traffic to dissipate, sure enough, Ken and Zac zonked out for naps.
It was a solid weekend, but exhausting. Now it's time to buckle down and get some work done.
Monday, June 29, 2009
At the end of the weekend the score is Kate 2 - Ocean 1
A couple of my friends have been out of town for the last week or so, meaning I've been more focused on work as I have fewer distractions. (i.e. opportunities to have fun) That is all for the best, actually, as I've been assigned a more complicated project than usual so I can't glide through my work with the ease that I'm used to. On the one hand, it's maddening to having a project take so long, on the other, it is a refreshing challenge.
This weekend was a dive weekend. On Saturday Zac and I decided to try our hands at diving by ourselves, without our usual cohorts. We decided to hit up our most comfortable diving location to compensate for the lack of additional people. We knew that the surf forecast called for some waves, but we decided to get a tank each and head out to see what it looked like anyhow. Once we got there we saw that there was, indeed, some decent waves hitting the shore. Our entry point had even more wave action, due to the way the beach area is confined by a concrete wall on one side and a rock formation on the other. The channel magnifies the waves as they roll in. Past the shore break it didn't look too bad, however.
We asked some divers who were finished with their dives what they thought of the conditions. They all expressed some level of concern about being tossed around either out at the dive sight on on the way in. Zac and I decided that the only way you get better at diving in more difficult conditions is to give it a shot. If it didn't work, we'd just come back in and chalk it up as a lesson learned.
Well, it went . . . [and the award for Understatement of the Year goes to me] . . . poorly. Once I waded into the water I managed to get my fins on quickly, but I couldn't see anything underwater. The surf was crashing so violently that the water was nothing but tiny little air bubbles, impairing my ability to know which way was up and where Zac was. I pulled my head up out of the water to try and find Zac and saw that he was only a couple of feet away from me. Then I got smacked by a wave. It dislodged my mask. I panicked a little and tried to bob on the surface to clear it, but another wave rolled right in, knocking it clear off. That's when I sucked in a bunch of water through my nose, causing me to start coughing uncontrollably. (Remember, this didn't go well the last time that happened.)
I managed to get Zac's attention, but I had to keep closing my eyes each time another wave pummeled me. Not being able to see is frustrating, especially knowing that I was not too far from the aforementioned concrete wall. I knew that I needed to get out before I got tossed into the wall, cracking my head or breaking a rib. I wasn't doing well. I was panicked. I couldn't breath very well and could only take short, shallow breaths because I could never cough enough. I hollered at Zac, "I need to go in. I need your help." Sure enough, my Knight in Shining Armor grabbed my BCD and helped get me to shore. I had to crawl up the sand because I had spent all my energy trying to stay above the waves. Trying not to drown is physically taxing work.
I wanted to throw up, because all I could taste was salt, but I didn't. Zac helped me get me and my gear up to the fresh water showers so I rinse off. I sat under the water, trying to catch my breath, trying to calm down. It was a pretty terrible experience. Probably worse than the last time with Caz, because at least there I knew that it was just a straight shot to the surface. This time I was at the mercy of the waves. I was upset at myself for freaking out again, and upset that we decided to try it when we probably should have known better.
We decided to go back out on Sunday for a two tank dive with Ken, up at our second most familiar dive site. Luckily it was F-L-A-T, flat. The first dive wasn't too interesting, which was okay as I just wanted to get back on that horse of diving. Our second dive rocked. We saw about 8-10 turtles and two decent sized Whitemouth Moray Eels. Usually eels just hang out in their nooks and crevasses, but this day one of the eels decided to get out and swim away. That was cool, and a little creepy. Eels are just not cuddly. It's amazing to watch how they move in the water, but they're just not as endearing as boxfish.
I also got to practice my navigation skills, which was fun. Ken and Zac both have compasses with their gear. The rental gear I get each time does not. Ken offered to lend me his compass for the two dives so I could practice being the leader for the first time. I managed to get the three of us out to the dive site and back again with no issues. Up til now I've always had to follow someone else who knew the way. It was rather empowering to be in front. (Also, it meant I could set the pace which is nice when I'm not the fastest swimmer in the bunch.) I think I might have to get a compass of my own, and I also need a flashlight since we're going to go diving with Manta Rays on the Big Island in four weeks!
All in all, it was a good weekend. Now I have to go out and buy another mask and snorkel because the ocean claimed mine on Saturday. Not only am I upset that I have to dish out the cash for a new one when the other one was only two months old, but I'm upset that I littered in the ocean. I really hope that some other diver out there found it and either kept it, or at least took it out of the ocean and threw it in the garbage if they didn't want it. When we were diving a couple of weeks ago I saw a snorkel lying on the ocean floor and I picked it up. Hopefully, likewise, someone will be able to clean up after me. The last thing I want is the Ocean ticked off at me for being a litter bug.
This weekend was a dive weekend. On Saturday Zac and I decided to try our hands at diving by ourselves, without our usual cohorts. We decided to hit up our most comfortable diving location to compensate for the lack of additional people. We knew that the surf forecast called for some waves, but we decided to get a tank each and head out to see what it looked like anyhow. Once we got there we saw that there was, indeed, some decent waves hitting the shore. Our entry point had even more wave action, due to the way the beach area is confined by a concrete wall on one side and a rock formation on the other. The channel magnifies the waves as they roll in. Past the shore break it didn't look too bad, however.
We asked some divers who were finished with their dives what they thought of the conditions. They all expressed some level of concern about being tossed around either out at the dive sight on on the way in. Zac and I decided that the only way you get better at diving in more difficult conditions is to give it a shot. If it didn't work, we'd just come back in and chalk it up as a lesson learned.
Well, it went . . . [and the award for Understatement of the Year goes to me] . . . poorly. Once I waded into the water I managed to get my fins on quickly, but I couldn't see anything underwater. The surf was crashing so violently that the water was nothing but tiny little air bubbles, impairing my ability to know which way was up and where Zac was. I pulled my head up out of the water to try and find Zac and saw that he was only a couple of feet away from me. Then I got smacked by a wave. It dislodged my mask. I panicked a little and tried to bob on the surface to clear it, but another wave rolled right in, knocking it clear off. That's when I sucked in a bunch of water through my nose, causing me to start coughing uncontrollably. (Remember, this didn't go well the last time that happened.)
I managed to get Zac's attention, but I had to keep closing my eyes each time another wave pummeled me. Not being able to see is frustrating, especially knowing that I was not too far from the aforementioned concrete wall. I knew that I needed to get out before I got tossed into the wall, cracking my head or breaking a rib. I wasn't doing well. I was panicked. I couldn't breath very well and could only take short, shallow breaths because I could never cough enough. I hollered at Zac, "I need to go in. I need your help." Sure enough, my Knight in Shining Armor grabbed my BCD and helped get me to shore. I had to crawl up the sand because I had spent all my energy trying to stay above the waves. Trying not to drown is physically taxing work.
I wanted to throw up, because all I could taste was salt, but I didn't. Zac helped me get me and my gear up to the fresh water showers so I rinse off. I sat under the water, trying to catch my breath, trying to calm down. It was a pretty terrible experience. Probably worse than the last time with Caz, because at least there I knew that it was just a straight shot to the surface. This time I was at the mercy of the waves. I was upset at myself for freaking out again, and upset that we decided to try it when we probably should have known better.
We decided to go back out on Sunday for a two tank dive with Ken, up at our second most familiar dive site. Luckily it was F-L-A-T, flat. The first dive wasn't too interesting, which was okay as I just wanted to get back on that horse of diving. Our second dive rocked. We saw about 8-10 turtles and two decent sized Whitemouth Moray Eels. Usually eels just hang out in their nooks and crevasses, but this day one of the eels decided to get out and swim away. That was cool, and a little creepy. Eels are just not cuddly. It's amazing to watch how they move in the water, but they're just not as endearing as boxfish.
I also got to practice my navigation skills, which was fun. Ken and Zac both have compasses with their gear. The rental gear I get each time does not. Ken offered to lend me his compass for the two dives so I could practice being the leader for the first time. I managed to get the three of us out to the dive site and back again with no issues. Up til now I've always had to follow someone else who knew the way. It was rather empowering to be in front. (Also, it meant I could set the pace which is nice when I'm not the fastest swimmer in the bunch.) I think I might have to get a compass of my own, and I also need a flashlight since we're going to go diving with Manta Rays on the Big Island in four weeks!
All in all, it was a good weekend. Now I have to go out and buy another mask and snorkel because the ocean claimed mine on Saturday. Not only am I upset that I have to dish out the cash for a new one when the other one was only two months old, but I'm upset that I littered in the ocean. I really hope that some other diver out there found it and either kept it, or at least took it out of the ocean and threw it in the garbage if they didn't want it. When we were diving a couple of weeks ago I saw a snorkel lying on the ocean floor and I picked it up. Hopefully, likewise, someone will be able to clean up after me. The last thing I want is the Ocean ticked off at me for being a litter bug.
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