Dive One

I have started something I've wanted to do my entire life.  I started SCUBA diving lessons!!!  I had a couple nights of classroom and in the pool training, then we went out in the open gulf this weekend to do our first two required open water dives.  I can only say that I was very scared, but I DID IT!!

I dove into 10 meters/33 feet of water (could not see the bottom from the surface).  Going down, down, down was very scary and we did it very slowly.  A fellow student also doing her first dive was my partner, along with the instructor.  We literally held hands while we swam under for about 35 minutes each dive.  The water was cold (21 degrees Celcius) and I got a little sunburn on my face sitting on the boat in between dives, but I am so proud of myself!

Underwater I saw black sea urchins, large hammour (local white fish), a sting ray and tiger fish.  From the boat we saw dolphins.

If it’s too loud, you’re too old

In my quest to experience different things I have been introduced to a different genre of music than I had previously heard. It’s Irish Punk (I think) and the band I’ve heard is the Dropkick Murphys (from Boston). It’s really fast paced, pounding music with instruments normally used in traditional Irish music.  Punk music is not something I have ever listened to but I discovered that the roots of the genre come from artists who have turned away from the hedonistic excesses of traditional rockers.  The music is hard edged, typically short songs with stripped down (simple) instrumentation.  I am particularly impressed by the "do it yourself" ethic that most groups employ with many self-producing their recordings and distributing them through informal channels.  Anyone who embraces freedom, self reliance and making their own way-I respect.

Considering my own heritage, I am quite happy to have been introduced to it and encourage you to give it a listen.  Just click the title (link) of this post.

Another’s Loss

Each day holds its own events. Early this week, I was stopped by a colleague in the parking lot on the way into work. Seems she was worried about me and wanted to be the one to tell me that her husband passed away the day before. Needless to say an emotional moment ensued, but she needn’t worried about me-she is the one who has suffered this loss. I have made myself available to assist her in any way possible and shared her grief to the extent that anyone can feel another’s pain.

Lots of people have expressed to me their feelings of inadequacy with regard to her loss. I’ve had to reassure them the best you can do is to let her BE whatever she needs to be, and simply express your concern for her.  She dealt with her loss much differently than I did.  She was at work every day until they were ready to fly home.  I admire her steadiness, but I also know the pain is still there, regardless of how she copes.

New Year-2010

It is a new year and time for those New Year’s resolutions, which I generally eschew because they inevitably become empty promises to ourselves. But this year is different. As always I welcome a new start, a fresh start, but this year I am relieved to have the opportunity to cast off lingering anguish and sorrow to embrace a future with the potential for joy and laughter.

I have the foundations of an excellent life-genuine friends, loving family, good health and a steady job. And I have always accepted as truth that our own lives are what we make of them. So with that in hand, my New Year’s Resolution is to live life with less fear, more aggressively, more actively. It is too short and too precious to waste one moment. As one friend said “…til the wheels come off.”

Christmas 2009

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to return home for Christmas to see family and friends. It was really wonderful spending Christmas with all of my family, sharing laughter and tears, sharing each others’ stories, burdens and joys. I loved listening to the kids and watching them grow up.

Seeing friends and listening to their hopes and aspirations. All this lifts me up.

I enjoyed seeing my (home) countryside and the sleet and snow; and of course, a little shopping, too!

Lazy Weekend

This weekend was a rarity in the UAE.  It rained all weekend......hasn't rained since last winter.  It was off and on rain, with cloudy to partly cloudy skies.  Almost as sure as the sun will rise each day you can be assured that the weather here will be sunny and warm pretty much every day.

I enjoyed this relaxing sound by hanging around the house and inviting people over for my favorite breakfast-eggs benedict.  Very nice morning.

Bavarian Thanksgiving

About a dozen of us decided to spend Thanksgiving in Germany as we have the U.S. holiday in conjunction with a local Eid holiday. We went to Garmisch in southern Germany with day trips to Munich and Innsbruck, Austria (the home of Swarovski Crystal). We had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at a lodge & resort reserved for American military and their families. You can bet the ham was a favorite. It was fantastic to get and spend real greenbacks-spending money without having to do the conversion in your head.

The cool brisk weather was wonderfully refreshing. It was a bit damp with the smell of burning wood coming from chimneys. Warm mulled wine was readily available at Christmas markets and outdoor cafes. In Munich we went to Haufbrauhaus for beer and bratwurst. It was a raucous place with an ompha band and singing patrons.

We did not waste a minute of our time with our flight departing after midnight and landing in Dubai at 6 a.m. Then driving to Abu Dhabi and literally going to work at 8:30 a.m.