Nervous Nelly

I was very nervous to dive.  When Garvey got his certification in January I was jealous, but in a way, it was a relief from the nerves.  And then I realized, if Garvey already had his certification, I would have to get mine alone.  Even scarier.

Then, arriving in Koh Lanta and hearing there was no diving, I felt a pang of relief again.  Well, I thought, this is completely out of my control.

Signing up for the course, my nerves started to stir again.  I knew how badly I wanted to be able to scuba dive, but the idea of it was frightening.  The idea of being suspended underwater, breathing through a tube, yikes.  It gave me goosebumps just to imagine it.  What if there was a problem?  What if I had a panic attack down there?  What if I was attacked by a shark?

First, I had a day of classroom work to complete.

I arrived at the dive shop before 8 am on Thursday morning.  I had already completed the first three chapters in my dive book on my own, so I had to watch the instructional video and take the quiz.

I passed the quiz with a 100%, so we quickly moved to the swimming pool.  Julie wanted to get our pool work done before it became too sunny and hot.  We spent about two hours practicing various skills.  I had to put the equipment together, take it apart, put in on, and take it off.  Then, in the water I had to breathe with the regulator, then breathe with my snorkel, then breathe with my regulator and take my mask off and put it back on.  At the end, I had to tread water for ten minutes and swim twenty laps.  I passed.

While we were in the truck on the way back to the dive shop I told Julie how nervous I was before we went into the pool.  She just looked at me and said, “I know.”  And she was so confident about it.  She said, “you were very quiet before, so I could tell you were nervous.”  Wow.  Kareem used to always tell me I was easy to read, but I didn’t know I was that easy to read.  This woman had barely known me for 24 hours!  I need to work on my poker face.

The rest of the day I spent in the dive shop watching videos, completing chapter reviews, and taking quizzes.  Before I knew it, I had completed the entire course of bookwork.  Julie came upstairs and asked me if I wanted to take the final exam.  Usually, they spread the coursework out between the three days, but alone, I had gone through it pretty quickly.  I took the final exam, and I scored 100%!  What did you get, Garvey?

I was back at the resort, which more travelers had trickled into, by around 3 pm.  I spent the rest of the day reading, laying by the pool, and freaking out about diving in the REAL OCEAN the next day.

I was picked up from my resort just after seven the next morning.  We drove across the island to share a boat with a few other dive shops.  Some people were completing their rescue diver course, a few were just snorkeling, but I was the only one getting my open water certification.

This is the first island we would dive around in Koh Haa.  

(Koh= island, Haa= five)

In the two hour trip to Koh Haa, I tried to read, but my nerves were running high.  I ate one of the chocolate croissants for breakfast, and I quickly regretted it.  For one, it wasn’t very good.  So, it definitely was not worth the calories.  But I was also very, very nervous, and my stomach was feeling off.

Julie gave me my pre-dive talk, the boat’s horn blew, and it was go time.  It was suddenly a mad rush of people on the dive deck preparing to dive.  I didn’t even have time to be nervous, I just had to keep up.  We had barely stopped the boat, and I was being shuffled into the water.

Left hand on the weight belt.  

Right hand on the mask and regulator.  

Big step.  

Scissor kick.  

And we’re off!

HOLY MOLY.  

I was petrified, but after one dive, I was hooked.  I saw Nemo!  He actually lives in an anemone.  I saw a humongous banded sea snake!  I wasn’t attacked by a shark!  I didn’t have a panic attack!  I loved every second of it.

The Nemos of the ocean really do swim in and out of the anemones.  And the parent clownfish are super protective!

Just after my first dive!  

While Julie and I ate lunch, discussed the dive, and prepared for our next dive, she of course mentioned that she knew I had been nervous.  I am way too easy to read.

We dove a second time that afternoon, and twice more the next day.  Each dive was completely different, and completely wonderful.  I am officially hooked on diving.  I am a certified PADI Open Water Diver, and I am looking into getting my advanced certification!  Yes! 

Crafting

I crafted.  That’s what Cait calls it.

Living in Thailand has only made me realize how very strange I am.  I thought everyone “crafted.”  I thought it was normal for all high school seniors to spend hours in the basement “crafting” awesome outfits. 

 {cringing at the awkward high school photo}

There were the homecoming crowns for rowing...

Then, Disney Princess outfits for rowing... (I'm the little mermaid)

The Lakers jerseys...

The superhero costumes for Halloween...

When Beer Olympics rolled around last December, I thought it was very normal to craft a score board.  Cait has informed me otherwise.

Well, maybe I’m not normal, but I do love to craft.  We are having round two of beer olympics this Saturday for Paul’s birthday.  This time, instead of having partners, we are having two teams: Battle of the Sexes.  Naturally, I had to make t-shirts for everyone!  So, sixteen t-shirts, and ten spray paint- stained fingers and toes later, here are the shirts!

Now, I’m off to craft the scoreboard!

Koh Lanta

I arrived at Koh Lanta with a feeling that I had missed some very important piece of information.  Was there a news broadcast telling people not to travel to Koh Lanta?  It was like a ghost town.  The stores were closed, the roads were quiet, and the hotel was nearly vacant.  My new friend Christine had one bungalow, I had a second, and there were lights on in a third bungalow, but we never saw another person.  Where was everyone?

We arrived at the resort in the morning, and I quickly decided to take a walk along the beach.  I told Christine I just wanted to take a walk, but really, I was looking for another place to stay.  Our place was fine, but there wasn’t anyone there: red flag!  My walk down the beach only made me more nervous of missing a piece of vital information.  Was this going to be the next tsunami?  

Check out the beach:  

You are open?  Are you sure about that?

That evening, Christine and I ate dinner together at our resort.  She told me that she spoke to a few of the employees, and they all said that there was no diving.  WHAT?!  I came to Koh Lanta for my scuba diving certification!  That was the reason!  Now it seems as though I am risking my life in some impending natural disaster to complete the certification, and I can’t even do that?  This was completely unacceptable.

Christine and I decided that we would rent a motorbike the next day, go into town, and find out the real deal.

This was the awesome sunset we watched while eating dinner.  

Things were already looking up!

Here is the deal.  Now is the lowest of the low season.  The weather is terrible, and most of the resorts are closed because there is absolutely no demand.  Therefore, the owners go on vacation, or they do renovations to prepare for the upcoming high season.    There was also a terrible storm for the few days before Christine and I arrived, and the few tourists that were around, left.

We also found out that yes, there is diving.  There wasn’t diving for the past few days, because of the storm, but there is diving.  Woo hoo!

After talking to a few of the dive shops, unfortunately not Go Dive, as Garvey had recommended, I decided to go with Julie of Lanta Divers.  I signed up for the three day course, only to find out it would be a private lesson!  Not bad, eh?

Well, I went for a run.

I did it!  I went for a run!  I had to stop complaining and deal with my ipod on my arm.  Of course I encountered a few headphone troubles, but I jerry-rigged a little velcro and loop situation, and it all worked out.

I actually had a pretty good run, too!  It felt like one of my faster loops.  But, I wouldn’t know for sure, because another piece of technology has decided to fail me.  My watch battery died.  Darn.

I think this is all a sign...  Time to buy new things!

Oh, sorry, Mom.  Did you think this would be the sign that I need to move back to New York?  Well, you’re right.  It is time for that as well.

Less than three months now.  Time is going to fly by.

Frustration

Grrrrrrr.

I am quite frustrated at the moment.

For one, this silly blog is driving me bananas!  I am currently in the process of trying to switch to a new email address.  It is also a gmail address, which I thought would make things simple for the blog.  Instead of having to sign in and out from one email address to the other, I decided to make my new address an additional author for the blog.  Not as simple as it sounds.  After hundreds of sign ins and outs and invitations, I got nothin'.

I decided to try to invite someone else.  So, I sent an invitation to my new address and to my mom.  Sure enough, her invitation popped up as pending.  But where was mine?  Great question.  Because I have absolutely no idea!  So, I cancelled my mom's invitation.  Sorry, Mom!  Fake out!  But why can't I invite myself?  I just don't understand.

On top of the silly blog, I am having ipod issues.  After I lost all of my ipod music when I moved here, I made a conscious effort to be less dependent on my silly mp3 player.  I must say, I have done a pretty good job.  Losing music, restoring the ipod, and clearing the playlists don't bother me in the least.  But an ipod that doesn't work at all?  Yeah, that's a problem.

Last Christmas my parents gave me an ipod shuffle, and it has become my running lifeline.  It is super tiny, holds more music than I could ever run to, and has an extremely long battery life.  All of these things were true until about a week ago, when it stopped working.  After charging, restoring, connecting, disconnecting, adding music, taking away music and every other troubleshooter tip that I could find, I got nothin'.

The run that I used to look forward to every morning, is pretty unbearable now.  My old school ipod doesn't fit properly in the running case that I have.  It bounces around, slides down my arm, skips, and is generally uncomfortable.  I just want to go for a run without worrying about my ipod!  The outrageous temperatures, stares from Thai people and street dogs are enough things to worry about when running around the lake.  I don't need silly ipod problems too.  Thankfully, my shuffle is less than a year old, so I think I can still send it back to be fixed.

I am going to try to run and sweat out the frustrations.  Half marathon training!

The List

Here are a few of the things on my list so far.  I am still six goals short... Ideas?

1. Read 25 books
Luckily for me, this vacation has given me a head start, and I have already finished two!

2. Bungee jump

3. Drive a big motorcycle

4. Learn to juggle
Yes, I learned to juggle scarves with Mr. Sopelak in grade 3, but I never moved up to juggling balls like Tony Volpi.  And honestly, juggling scarves is not the most impressive party trick.

5. Snowboard

6. Go to New Zealand
Maybe I'm cheating by already having a plan to go there, but it's my list.  And Jenny, I am on vacation right now, but I will send you the itinerary next week.

7. Run a half marathon

8. Go to Burning Man
Technically, it will take place after my birthday, but once again, it's my list.

9. Learn to play golf

10. Take a tour of Alcatraz

11. Complete a Rubiks cube
I used to be able to complete about two thirds of the cube, but that isn't a cool party trick either.

12. Go to the New York Public Library
How do I live in New York state and I have never been there?!  This is on so many lists of "must sees" in the USA, and it should be a pretty easy one to check off the list.

13. Get my scuba certification
I am well on my way! I had a full day of classroom and pool practice today, and tomorrow we are out on the boat! Oh, and I got 100% on my exam, beat that, Garvey!

14. Play tennis

15. Finish learning the Thai alphabet
... And remember it in order!

16. Have over 5000 views on my blog!

As I said, I'm still missing six items, and I need your help! And yes, I can count. I know that sixteen plus six does not equal twenty-five, but I can't tell you everything! 

25 by 25

25 by 25

Nearly a week after I returned to Khon Kaen, a friend of mine passed away.  She wasn't one of my very close friends, but someone that meant quite a bit to me.  She was a counselor at the camp I went to, and the camp that Chip still goes to, Camp Woodstock.

She was three years older than me, and I first met her when she was a counselor and I was still a camper.  She was the person I wanted to be.  But first, I just wanted to be in her cabin!  I was never in her cabin, but I was able to work with her when we were both counselors, and later, she was waterfront director.  She was everything I wanted to be in three years.  She was hilarious and adored by the campers and counselors alike.  She was athletic and beautiful.  She was kind and constantly smiling and laughing.  

When I found out about her death I was at a loss for words.  I was shocked, and had no idea how to react. Over the years I got to know her younger sister, and couldn't help but think about how significantly her life would be altered.  The younger sister was one of my campers, and exactly like her.  Chip has been lucky enough to work with the younger of the two.

Then, about a week ago, Paul found out that one of his Thai friends died in a motorcycle accident.  He was very good friends with Paul and all of my Thai friends.  Paul was devastated, absolutely beside himself.  

After lots of thinking and talking, to myself and others, I am making a list.  The list will contain 25 things I want to accomplish before I turn 25.  I am making this list simply to take advantage of every day I have.  And with a little over ten months until I turn 25, I need to get cracking!

Tomorrow I will post what I have so far.  And yes, suggestions are highly encouraged.   

Stumbling

In April, Garvey and I spent the afternoon in New York City.  We went to The High Line with a friend of his from West Hartford and his girlfriend.  From there, the four of us jumped in a cab and headed to a flea market.  Sitting in the back of the cab I saw a strange SU logo.  I looked at it, and made a comment about Syracuse University, and how I thought the color was orange, not blue and green.  Garvey thought I was kidding.  He said, "what are you talking about?  That's StumbleUpon."  I honestly had no idea what he was talking about.  Everyone in the cab thought I was crazy.

They gave me a quick rundown.  You enter interests, and push the "stumble" button.  The website randomly takes you to websites that you might find interesting.  It is the newest and hippest time- waster.  I thought it sounded ridiculous.  Until about two weeks ago.

Let's just say that this funk has led to Stumbling.  A lot of Stumbling.  And while I still believe it to be the newest and hippest way to waste time, I have also found some pretty cool things.  

This is currently my favorite video that I stumbled upon.  For one, I like to watch the video and try to figure out how many of the places I have been to.  But, I also like to look at the cute boy.

Funk

I've been stuck in a funk.  This is really the only reason I haven't posted.  Because, without a job, trust me, I have plenty of free time!

I have been in a funk.  The kind of funk that makes me miss my friends and family terribly, but also keeps me from calling them, or answering when they call me.  The kind of funk that keeps me up at all hours of the night, accomplishing absolutely nothing, but craving to accomplish something.  The kind of funk that makes me sleep late in the morning and not want to get out of bed, when all I want to do is run and get in shape.  The kind of funk that makes every single thing my roommate does drive me crazy.  But, I adore my roommate.  This is the kind of funk that makes me open new blog post after new blog post, but never type anything.  Well, I never type anything worthwhile.  This is a funk in which my sole accomplishment has been watching The Office, in its entirety, in just a few weeks.  And for those of you that don't know, that is seven seasons.  I am not even going to do the math of how many hours that is.

There are certain things that I can pinpoint as reasons for my slump.  But, at the same time, I know there are other things bothering me that I haven't been able to figure out just yet.

Losing Grandma has definitely been challenging.  While I was back in the States, I stayed busy.  I visited with friends, took trips, helped to clean out my grandparents' room and get the house back to normal.  Instead of it hitting me, the realization of having no grandparents has slowly seeped in.  And it has really been seeping in since I have been back in Thailand, without my family.  And of course, I got an email today with the subject: CookiEmail - Send your love on Grandparent's Day!  Well, thanks for the reminder to send a cookie bouquet, but no thank you.

Going home was also the best and worst thing that I could have done.  I loved every second of being home.  I have lots of friends in the area, and was able to spend tons of time with them.  There is nothing better than Saratoga in the summer.  Between the track, the orchestra, Caroline Street, the dog park, and Lake George, I stayed very busy.  I loved every second of it, and it only made it more difficult to come back to Thailand.  I felt that much lonelier when I came back here.

And, to top it all off, I no longer have a job.  I quit.  I have not regretted that decision for a second, but I have been bored.  Paul and I still had four weeks of our after school program when I returned, so I was forced to stay in Khon Kaen.  Without work every day, the funk has had an opportunity to fully set in.

This is all changing.

Paul and I finished the after school program yesterday.  We are done for good.  I cried.  But I am ecstatic.  On Sunday, Grandparent's Day, I will be going to the beach for two weeks.  I will spend my time on Koh Lanta, Railay Beach and Krabi.  I will spend my time getting my SCUBA certification, reading, tanning and doing yoga.  I am nervous to travel alone, as I always am, but I am thrilled.

When I return, a group of us will be taking a trip to my friend's boat in Chiang Rai, in northern Thailand.    A weekend of lounging and swimming on a lake in the mountains?  Sounds perfect!

Here I am, with just over three months left in Asia, and ready to make a change.  I am going to pull myself out of this funk, and I am going to take advantage of every second I have left.  White sandy beaches, here I come!