Winding Down

See that countdown timer over on the left side of my blog? It's scary. Watching the seconds tick down until Disney. For the last 2 months, my life has been centered on Half-Marathon training - even when we traveled to Cozumel for 13 days and I was scuba diving. I had to schedule my runs before and after dive days so I wouldn't get "bent." Did it, too -- ran once out past the airport onto a gravel road where horses and campesino cowboys rode right towards me, headed for the big Mexican Independence Day parade; and again up north, at night, past the lighthouse and beach partygoers drinking beer and margaritas while I panted heavily, looking for water.

Guess it's that time of year when I start to "wind down" and think about the past: where we've been, where we're headed. I've been reminiscing about friends and family a lot recently. Always think a lot about my FBI friends and family - Brian (who has hopefully recovered from kidney stone surgery) and Faye; Allen (who calls me every year about this time); my former L.A. partner, Rich; Kenny D. (who is trying to get a crime scene job with the PD where I work now), Susan and Erich (now in Sofia, I think; I lose track of which embassy she is at!); Chaplain James Quinn, and my fellow runners on L.A. "Baker to Vegas" relay teams.

Family: Linda, my multi-talented sister, whose 7MSN blog I read every morning, before the paper - in fact, instead of the paper. I'm so excited because I should be receiving our Christmas gift from Linda today: even though I didn't win the Great 7MSN Giveaway, I asked for a canvas print of Micio for Christmas, and we collectively designed a really cool image. Mom and Dad (the best Micio pet-sitter!): we're planning a new traditional holiday here at the Villa: salmon on the grill, with baby potatoes, cranberries, and Whole Foods fruit tart. We saw J.P. while we were in Tampa on Tuesday night; he's headed up to New Jersey to visit Pat, Jr., and all the "Ants" at Christmas (we were invited, too, but we're not crazy; it's TOO COLD). The Antonas make me think of Claudia and Kevin and how much fun we had with them during our L.A. visit in September. And they make me think of Nolia and her family - I wish I would have taken the time to see them while we were in Tampa; I'm really concerned about how they are faring in these hard economic times - but I just couldn't face dealing with their marital difficulties.

Especially since Gianni and I celebrated our 13th wedding Anniversary yesterday! Where has the time gone? This is us, all dressed up for Thanksgiving Dinner in Cozumel. Kind of funny in retrospect: I'm not wearing a red dress (like I did for my wedding, but I'm still wearing red - a Mexican shawl this time!) Seems like it was just yesterday that we were packing up the condo and furnishings in L.A., getting married on Catalina Island, and traveling across country to Florida. A whole new life in Florida. New friends, new "family", new experiences.

Here's a picture of our "new family" at dinner one night in Cozumel:
Me on the left, with Andrew & Serena, Alex & Tracey, Gianni, and DAD! What fun we had eating tapas, laughing and planning our next trip.

Which brings me back full circle: past and future. I'm thinking Cozumel again next year (of course). Italy again? Fiji? First, of course, there's Orlando and Disney: and, I repeat, take a look at that countdown timer clock over there on the left. How much longer do I have to train? Gotta run hills tonight .... oh no, my aching calf!

Change Your Life

"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."

Wish I could claim credit for this quote, but I can't. I don't even know the identity of the guest who wrote this, but I read it in a "thank you book" aboard SUN DANCER II, the liveaboard dive boat I sailed on in the atolls of Belize earlier this month. Here I am, squared off fish-face to regulator-mouth, with a pretty little Grey Angelfish. My view of diving has changed dramatically ever since I started really looking at -- and counting -- fish.

I *will* credit ANDREW Donelson for the photos on this page. Andrew is a phenomenal photographer -- and one heck of a good diver! If you click on his name, you'll link directly to his website and see many other great underwater photos. (And some above water, too.)

Like me and my best dive buddy friend, Tracey, seated here in front of *my* Queen Angelfish painting in the boat's dining salon.

Looking at life from another perspective. That's what I've been making a conscientious effort to do. Kind of like this Yellowhead Jawfish, peeking out of the sandy bottoms of Belize at us bunch of crazy divers and photographers. Or running so slowly that I can hear birds cheeping at one another. And breathing so slowly in and out during my yoga asanas that I can actually feel the air moving through my nose hairs.

And diving so slowly that I can look into the inquisitive eyes of fish. Like this wary little Indigo Hamlet.

Or this Hawksbill Turtle.








But, best of all, is the unique perspective of a gaggle of giggling new girlfriends, sitting around after a great week of diving, bonding over margaritas and Belizean beers. (That's me, second from the left; Tracey beside me, of course!)

What a grand time! Thanks much, Andrew, for the photos and the fun.

Indulging Other Addictions

It's always good to have more than one passion. Or addiction, as the case may be.

First, I've become semi-obsessed with learning everything there is to know about blogging these days - an extension of my nerdy computer addiction. Hence, the photos, links, videos and continual re-editing of colors and stuff on this blog page. Second, my sidebar statistics and obsessive ruminations in various posts are evidence of another of my passions: running.

Third, I was out all afternoon yesterday in the yard with my trees and plant, listening to the birds chirping as they build their nests. This is a close-up photo of a nest built by our Florida mockingbirds in "Claudia," the Sabinea Carinalis, Carib Wood shrub (a native Dominican tree) in our back yard. (Yes, we named this very pretty, showy tree after our daughter! In fact, all of our trees have family member names. That will be a future Blog subject.) It's time to start "hurricane proofing" for the season, and I love getting sweaty and dirty when I pull weeds and dig in the mud.

And Fourth. Well, it's pretty obvious from my banner headline that scuba diving is one of my most serious passions. It has been, for 21 years now. So, today, while I'm packing for my liveaboard dive trip next week on Peter Hughes Sun Dancer II - to Belize - I thought I'd show you my dive gear and how I try to pack a whole lot of dive toys into a lot of little space.

This is all (well most, anyway) of my stuff. Clockwise, from upper left: a purple shorty surfer's suit (for warm water diving); buoyancy compensator (vest to hold my dive tanks, with pockets for tank banger, flashlites, dive sausage, REEF fish ID book, magnifiying glass); pink diver's tool box (see detailed info, below); bright yellow/green fins (with neat orange lycra fish sox!); blue 3 millimeter wetsuit (for repetitive dives, cooler water); regulator and dive computer (with hoses); black-skirted dive mask (black is better for looking cool in underwater dive photos, and my old-age eyes see better with black); 2 underwater writing slates (one for logging dive info; one for counting fish!); and 2 underwater dive lites ("two is one, one is none" - an old Marine/SWAT motto.)

My gear weighs about 20 pounds. Which makes it tough flying these days, because my wheeled dive bag weighs 23 pounds. With weight limits of 50 pounds, that means I have only 7 pounds for clothes, bathing suits, sundries, books, and other "stuff." So, I have to pack VERY lightly. To be honest, I take along a mesh carry-on dive bag for most of my land stuff and my regulator/computer. I don't mind having to rent dive equipment if my bags are lost somewhere, but I really want my own regulator (the breathing thing that goes in your mouth) and Suunto dive computer when I'm diving. You'll note that, even underwater, I'm still doing nerdy computer techy things. Besides, these two pieces of equipment cost about $1500.

My dive computer is hard to see in this photo - but it is waaaay cool. It has a compass attachment: not that I ever use it; I'm pretty good at "just knowing" where I'm at. And it is also air-integrated, keeping track of how much air I've used, how fast I'm using air, and how much air I have left until I suck my tank dry -- which has never happened, by the way. For every dive, the computer also keeps track of time underwater, depth of dive, oxygen and nitrogen used and warning limits, times between dives, planning info for next dive, and a symbol about when I'm allowed to fly again. That comes in handy when you're on a liveaboard boat, like I will be next week, diving 5 times a day. Serious, addictive diving.

Oh. Before I go pack, I really must explain my pink dive tool box. I've had it for the entire 21 years I've been diving. It's waterproof and has really neat stuff inside it that every diver needs. On the cover is my DAN sticker. I've been a member of DAN for 21 years, ever since I started diving. Best darned resource and insurance to have. It's comforting to know DAN personnel can make arrangements for you to fly to the nearest recompression chamber if you get "bent," and they can also get you (and your significant other) home if there is a dive "accident." DAN doctors gave me great advice on combining my running training with diving, too.

On the inside (left) of my dive tool box we have: a laminated card with dive computer info (I can never remember exactly which button to push for everything); blue tube of spray-on stuff for cleaning masks and glasses; a REEF creature id book; and a back-up regulator cover (with black masking tape because it cracked in the heat while in Curacao).

On the inside (right), we have: a large-toothed purple comb (untangling curly hair after diving 5 times a day is tough); black film container with extra O-rings (for air tanks), cotton balls, rubber bands, and regulator port covers; "all-in-one" dive tool (with various sized Allen wrenches, screwdrivers, and other tools); yellow wrist strap with clip buckle for dive lites; blue skinny tube with back-up reading glasses; SPIT (mask defogger); large orange carpenter pencil sharpener (for fish counting pencils); white bottle with Soft Scrub (to clean dive slates); roll of black electrical tape (good for everything!); pair of pliers; ten extra orange tie-wraps (for temporary attachment of night lites and other gear to vest); large yellow pencil sharpener (a backup since blades always get rusty); round blue pot of silicone (for O-rings); blue night dive stick (hangs on tank as a marker for finding buddies); spare carpenter pencil (gotta be able to count those fish!); Swimmer's Ear (for immediate, after-dive water blockages); and tube of toothpaste and toothbrush.

As for the toothbrush - here's an homage to my best dive friend and buddy, Tracey. This is Tracey looking mighty fine in her super duper dry "wetsuit" on the deck of our room in Utila last October. (Note the fashionable purple dive socks.) I was having major problems with my dive mask during this REEF dive trip. It kept fogging up all week long, and nothing seemed to work to clear it for more than 2-3 minutes. A real pain when you're trying to identify fish as part of a group of professional fish counters. I was getting really good at improvising new mask clearing skills when one of the ladies reminded me of the old toothbrush/toothpaste trick. (You need to "clean" new masks with toothpaste to get all the pre-manufactured glass sheen off of it.)

Sure enough, late during the week, I grabbed my toothpaste and the nearest toothbrush (which just happened to be Tracey's) without even thinking and started scrubbing away. It worked great on my mask, too. No more fogging up. Fortunately, adhering to that old Marine/SWAT rule (see above), I had packed an extra toothbrush and gave it to Tracey for the rest of the week. She was so gracious about the whole thing. And we laughed and laughed.

With that thought, and knowing I really have to PACK NOW -- I'll sign off with a big THANKS to Tracey for the toothbrush (and being a great dive, fish-counting buddy); to Gianni (for letting me go off and indulge my addiction diving next week); and to Alex/Andrew - who will be joining Tracey and me next week on the boat and taking fantastic photos. I already know it.

Dolphins and Sunday Football

Sunday afternoons.
September through January.
Watching football on the couch.
Gianni, me, and Pooper.
We really have a good life.

This photo is quite typical. I took it this afternoon, New England Patriots winning AFC Championship against the San Diego Chargers. I sat here watching the game -- while blogging, surfing the Internet, shopping on-line, entering my REEF fish count surveys, and answering email. Gianni and Pooper napped. (Notice the "always handy" remote control.)

Napping makes a lot of sense when you consider how poorly the Miami Dolphins did this year. Our season was unspeakable. I watched three *former* Dolphins (Chris Chambers, Junior Seau, and my favorite man Wes Welker) help New England win today. And now our famous 1972 undefeated Dolphins are on the verge of losing that distinction. I, for one, remain a loyal Dolphins fan (not like the rest of Miami) -- just like I still love Cleveland Indians baseball -- and I really hope next year the 'Fins see improvement under Bill Parcells and company. And that Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor are still around to play for us; Ricky Williams - I have a love/hate relationship with him, but maybe we should give him another chance.

Of course, the really incredible thing is the MINUS ONE degree weather that the Giants and Packers are now playing football in (with bare arms!). Third coldest game in NFL history. Now those are real manly, men football players (not to mention the fans!)

So I guess Gianni and I really have a great life here, even if it's only 66 degrees in South Florida. I have wood stacked beside the fireplace and I can start my annual fire tomorrow on the holiday. Gianni just poured me a glass of red wine from the case our dear dive friend, Andrew, (check out this Photo #3 and the other fabulous shots of us diving in Curacao this summer) sent us for Christmas.

We're barbecuing sweet Italian sausage and portobello mushrooms on the grill. Because I don't have to work tomorrow, I can play on the computer some more and run during the late afternoon before it gets dark. Doesn't get much better.