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noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:45:00 +0000

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The Rock Boat Addiction

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:49:00 +0000

I get ribbed quite often for my Rock Boat enthusiasm. It's a topic I never tire of, and I will bring it up in conversation with just about anyone.

Maybe it's because I work hard, and this is the best vacation for letting loose.

Maybe it's because my shipmates are 10 to 20 close friends and I make new friends from across the nation every year.

Maybe it's because the rocking goes from noon until sunrise, with 30 different bands to choose from.

Maybe it's because rock stars are so dreamy.

Whatever the cause, I'm addicted.

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:12:00 +0000

Halloween - The Holiday of Insecurity (And You Thought the Holiday of Insecurity was Valentines Day)

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:03:00 +0000

I spent the last couple of weeks trying to decide what I want to be for Halloween. Actually, I've known what I want to be. A character from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Alice, the White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts, the Duchess, the Mock Turtle, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, the Caterpillar, etc.

At first, I thought I wanted to be Alice. I must have perused hundreds of Alice costumes. Alice is unmistakable: blue dress, white apron and a bow for the hair. Sadly, my internet shopping has nearly corrupted a long-lived memory of one of my favorite childhood characters. The very clever, curious and innocent Alice was found in online costume stores to be a busty and leggy blonde wearing a mini ruffled skirt, a french peasant top, and an apron with a reavealing cut (among other variations). I suppose Alice could still be clever and curious in that attire, but I don't think "innocent" would fit.

In search of a longer skirt (and because I didn't want to totally ruin my image of Alice), I decided to Google for the Queen of Hearts costumes. Same story there, only black and red instead of blue and white. For days, I searched the net, incapable of settling on either an Alice or Queen of Hearts costume. This turmoil was really starting to frustrate me.

So I posted my frustration on facebook: "Jackie wants to know why 90 percent of women's Halloween costumes have really short skirts." I got a few different answers. My aunt suggested, "Because men made them." Someone else commented soon after, "Because men like them."

I got another answer:

"Maybe its because Halloween is all about being naughty, so if ya got it, flaunt it! And if you don't got it, flaunt it anyway."

It was the "if ya got it, flaunt it...if you don't got it, flaunt it anyway" part that struck me - a glib statement with a serious nugget of truth in it. I was looking at my inner turmoil about the costumes as if it was all about innocence lost. But no...it's just my insecurity about the way I think I would look in those short skirts and tight fitting halters. I'm not blond or busty, and I'm certainly not leggy at 4 feet and 11 inches tall.

But there it was in that statement....encouragement to flaunt it even if I don't got it.

I settled on a Queen of Hearts of Costume. She, at least, is a character worthy of corruption.

Update October 21: Received the costume in the mail. Tried it on. Chickened out and sending it back. Skirt so short, may as well be wearing nothing.

Belize 2009 Vacation Book Ready for Purchase

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:25:00 +0000

The long awaited photobook is now ready for purchase online.

Belize 2009

By Jackie Nugent

Book Preview

Diving in Belize

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:25:00 +0000

We spent three of our days diving in Belize. Below is a video that my friend Rick took of me. You can see a nurse shark in the background following us around. We had chummed the water and several big nurse sharks responded. We also attraced some very large groupers and an overly curious green moray eel (ask me about that sometime!).

More pics and video to come!

On the Topic of Marriage and Divorce

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 06:20:00 +0000

A week ago, I found myself in a conversation with someone who had gone through a divorce. As I listened to my friend discuss her own experiences as a divorcee, working through being a single mom, dealing with the idea of the kids having a new step mom, managing the logistics of dual custody and pondering the dating scene, I couldn't help but contemplate my own situation.

Sometimes people ask me my thoughts about my ex, about divorce and about marrying again. I'm candid about it. I realize the mistakes I made. I recognize it was I who shrank in the face of challenge and failed. Yes, there are things about my ex that I miss - he had many wonderful qualities. I tell people, though, that I'm really glad he has a different life....one with a new wife and a new little boy. I tell them that I'm very happy to see that his career has been successful and continues to show promise. These are all things that I wanted for him....really, really wanted for him. Despite any ill feelings he may harbor, I think he would admit that I strove to help him find happiness and success. Unfortunately, it didn't appear that it would happen with me at his side. Did I love him? Yes. Very much. Did I lose sight of that? Yes.

Not long ago, I watched a movie titled "Seven Pounds." In it, Will Smith plays a man who has made a terrible mistake in his life, and he decides to atone for that mistake by doing things for select individuals (to help them) that ultimately necessitates the taking of his own life by suicide. The movie reminded me of another movie, "Butterfly Effect", which stars Ashton Kutcher. Kutcher's character has the supernatural ability to go back in time, and he uses this skill throughout the movie to try to better the outcome of certain life events. No matter what he does when he goes back in time, he is incapable of altering life's events without resulting in pain or heartbreak. In the end, because he can't make things better, Kutcher's character chooses to go back to his very conception in the womb and not be born at all. Interestingly, the happy ending in these movies is the death or non-birth of the heroes. The message seems to be that the world would be better off if certain individuals would die or would never have been born.

As dangerous an idea as this is (and I do understand the peril of such logic), I recognize it's toehold on my own mind. I've asked myself how the world would be if I didn't exist? In answering that question, I can't help but look at my ex-husband's new life and think that his happy outcome is the result of my exiting his life. That's a problem because it doesn't speak well of the value of my own life. This is where my day to day struggle lies. How can I see any positive value in my own life knowing that someone else's life is better because I'm not in it?

After our divorce, my ex told me that I would probably find new church friends who would assuage my blameworthiness and approve of my moving on. I never found that new group of church friends and, truth be told, while I have moved on to another relationship (which, by the way, we classify as a partnership) I still fight that feeling of being a colossal failure at marriage. This is such a strong sentiment that, even though I want to be married again someday, I'm afraid to make the same mistakes and I'm not even sure I should get a second chance. Moreover, I don't want that pattern of marrying and divorcing, marrying and divorcing. I've seen how that pattern takes a large physical, emotional and financial toll.

The question comes in various forms. Why aren't you married? Don't you want to get married? When will you get married? Do you think you'll ever get married again? Co-workers ask. Friends ask. Relatives ask. I ask myself. How will I know when I can remarry?

When I see that I play an irreplaceable roll in someone's life and that I make his life better by being in it, then I will know I can remarry. Otherwise, I would only be repeating the same actions and expecting a different outcome.

Buddy Boy and Little Boy Blue

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:18:00 +0000

Let me introduce you to two little kittens adopted from Wayside Waifs. The white one is named Blue (for his blue eyes) and the tabby, Buddy. This is exactly how I envision seeing the group on most nights: Bryan in his recliner, Lucy faithfully at his side, Buddy purring on his lap, and Blue on his shoulder nuzzling into the crook of his neck. Who couldn't smile at this sight?

UPDATE (9/7/2009): Buddy was claimed by feline distemper and was mercifully put to rest by the veterinarian.

Sex-and-the-City Closet

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:42:00 +0000

I can't claim to be anything close in personality to the character Carrie from the movie Sex and the City, but I do understand how wonderful it is to have a roomy closet and a Mr. Big to build it for you. Bryan expanded our closet from 7x7 to 14x7. He framed the addition, and then we sheet rocked it. With a little help from ClosetMaid, we added shelves, cabinets and rods. Now we have his and her closets! The photos below are from my half of the closet. Thank you, Bryan!

So it has been a while....

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:59:00 +0000

Not that anyone reads this besides my mom (love you, Mom!), but I intended to write something on this blog on a regular basis. It's sort of a stress reliever for me. So, what's been going on lately?

Well, my brother just took a job in Kosovo (a newly recognized country in Eastern Europe). Incidentally, Vice President Biden is visiting Kosovo today (to help give some authority to Kosovo being an official state). Before Chris left, we threw a small going party for him at my place. It was also a party to celebrate his 30th birthday, which he attempted to signal in the photo below. See, Mom, we're keeping up the tradition of taking a picture of Chris with his birthday cake while he holds up his fingers to indicate his age. There's also a third arm, courtesy of Caleb, bearing the cake cutting knife.

Also, I've learned to play disc golf. Bryan guilted me into signing up for the disc golf competition in Corporate Challenge this year. I had never played before, so we bought discs and practiced at courses during our vacation. We played in Phoenix, San Diego and San Francisco. The first time I played, I hated it, and after the just two throws, I yelled that I didn't want to play anymore. Then, because I hate to let a game beat me, I got obsessed with it. I started watching YouTube videos of the pros and lessons from the disc manufacturers (namely Discraft). Bryan had also suckered one of our friends at work, Melanie, to be my partner. So, we all went out and practiced a few times at Swope Park, where the Corporate Challege competition would take place. Long story short, Melanie and I ended up taking first place in our division. Who would have ever guessed! Honestly, it was a game of who stunk the least, I think. So, I'm still obsessed with the game because my skills are still quite lacking, and I'm learning to have fun even though I'm not very good yet.

There have been other fun times, but over the last couple of months, I have been primarily consumed by work at the Federal Reserve. With TARP, the deteriorating commercial real estate market, and the current economic impact on banks, I've been busy. I'm learning a lot! But I'm working hard too. And now that the weather is good again, it's getting more and more difficult to keep such a serious focus on my job. Fortunately, I have my little Lucy to go home to every day. Here she is looking as tired as I feel everyday after work. But don't let it fool ya! She'll bounce right up and run circles around you. I wish I had that kind of energy.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:23:00 +0000

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

iLike!

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:01:00 +0000

I am STILL in love with Alternate Routes, so their songs are at the top of my list. I keep playing them over and over in the car and on my iPod. Two of my favorites aren't available on iLike yet: 'Love Me for Nothing' and 'The Futures Nothing New.' Check those out on MySpace. I especially love 'Please Don't Let It Be,' which I always remember as 'We're Standing on the Edge of Something Good." That's my motto for 2009.

Enjoy!

Add a playlist to your page using iLike

Shark Dive and Snorkel!

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:43:00 +0000

IMG_0719, originally uploaded by wenuell.

We are back from the Rock Boat, and it was quite a special one. Not only did we have great music (I'll save that for my next post), we swam with sharks!

When we stopped in Nassau, Bahamas, several us booked private excursions with Stuart Cove. Half of our group did the Shark Snorkel and half did the Shark Dive.

This is a picture of Bryan during the dive, and those are the Carribbean Reef Sharks right next to him. The photo was taken by Rick Cloues.

During the snorkel adventure, the staff of Stuart Cove took us to a dive spot near a wreck. Once there, they instructed us to get into the water one-by-one and hold onto a rope tied onto the end of the boat. I was the first one in line (how that happened, I don't know). Just as I was about to get in the water, one the sharks surfaced within two feet of the ladder I was about to climb down. "Are you sure I should get in now?" I asked the guide. He affirmed, so I stepped into the water and pretended to be brave and unaffected. Then the guide instructed me to slide out to the end of the rope in the water. We were also instructed not to splash about or kick. At the end of rope, I tried very hard not to shiver but the fear and adrenaline was hard to overcome. My buddy Andrew was next in the water with me. As we waited for the others to get in, we put our faces into the water and watched the sharks, who expected to be fed, begin to muster near our boat. I first saw three, then ten, and then I stopped counting. When one came from behind us and about five feet under our noses, both Andrew and I popped our heads up out of the water and with our eyes wide said, "They're getting close!"

We spent about 15 to 20 minutes watching the sharks gathering about us. Then we were instructed to get back on the boat. Once we were all safely aboard, the Stuart Cove staff threw some fish food (which was actually dog food) into the water. The Yellowtail Snappers scurried to the fish food in droves, which made for an easier target for the sharks. So, at the end of our snorkel excursion, we got to watch sharks, with their fins slicing through the water surface, feeding on yellowtail snapper.

The sharks we saw during the snorkel trip were actually coming from the feeding they just got during the dive that Bryan and Rick and the rest of our buddies did about 300 feet away. Those guys actually got to dive 40 feet down and watch a trained person feed fish to the sharks. They told us that the sharks were close enough that their fins would sometimes hit them in the head.

Two Remarkable Things

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 04:37:00 +0000

1. One of my orchids has a bloom on it! This is the first time this orchid has ever gotten a bloom in the several years that I have had it. I'm thrilled and hope this is a sign of good things to come in the new year.

2. It was 65 degrees this afternoon! When I finished my workout, I left the gym wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:05:00 +0000

See more NYE photos.

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 18:00:00 +0000

Bruce the Bald Frog

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:46:00 +0000

(An Answer to Blogger's Random Question: The children are waiting! Please tell them the story about the bald frog with the wig.)

Once, not very long ago, there was a great big frog whose name was Bruce. Bruce had a very good job, and he lived in a hip neighborhood called Waldo. Although Bruce had every other reason to have the utmost confidence, his ribbit was so resonating that, instead of attracting the lovely lady froggies, it frightened them away. In fact it wasn’t really a ribbit at all but rather a deep bellow like that of the bulls in the countryside.

One of Bruce’s frog buddies suggested that he simply never speak. He tried that but then his best characteristic, his story-telling ability which was loved by all who knew him, could not be expressed. Any attention from the frogspawners was fleeting because Bruce's lack of conversation made him appear to be lower on the evolutionary ladder.

Then one day, he met the Love Frog. Had the Love Frog been a human, his profession might have been door to door vaccuum salesman. The Love Frog saw immediately that Bruce's watering hole was spawn-less and began selling Bruce a solution. "Bruce, my main frog, your problem is not your bellow but your baldness. Look in the mirror, fellow, and what do you see? You are bald as bald can be."

This was certainly true, thought Bruce, so he asked, "You're the Love Frog. What would you prescribe?" The Love Frog pulled out his rubber gloves, placed them on his webbed digits, and felt all around Bruce's head. "Not a single follicle, I'm afraid. Propecia will not work for you. We must get you a wig." Poor Bruce swallowed the sales pitch just like he'd seen the fish in the water fall for the fisherman's hook time and time again. Never once did it occur to him that all frogs are bald, even the Love Frog.

Two days later, the Love Frog returned with a doozy of wig. Bruce looked at it hesitatingly and asked, "Was this all you could find for me?" Although the wig was certainly detestable, the Love Frog in all his icky slipperiness replied, "My dear Bruce. This is Waldo. You can't have just any old do. This spiked look, brought to fame by the punk rockers, is all the rage these days!" Bruce couldn't argue with that, so he donned the wig and waited for his love to arrive. He waited and waited and waited.

Then one day, along came a bright green lizard, one of the omnivorous kind, charging right at Bruce. Bruce looked behind him, thinking that perhaps she had set her eyes on someone else, but there was no one behind him. No one to the right, and no one to the left. Then he suddenly realized the lizard's gaze was directly on him, but it wasn’t a look of hunger but a look of desperate love! Bruce looked in the water at his reflection and saw a spiky-headed lizard looking back at him. “Oh, no! When she finds out I’m not really a lizard, I’ll be her dinner!”

Within moments of the lizard's reaching him, Bruce swiped the wig from his bald head and let out the most guttural, loud and awful ribbit ever heard in herpitology. It was so loud that the bulls in a nearby field echoed his call. Shocked at the sound and embarrassed by her mistake, the lizard turned and ran away.

Bruce, whose intellect is sound although perhaps a little naive, understood then how silly it was for a frog to wear a wig. Just as he was laughing at himself and shrugging off any chance at reproduction, the lovely frogspawners began to appear in the dozens. To Bruce's surprise, they weren't afraid of his bellow any more. In fact, they loved his ribbit, for it was frightening enough to scare away a predator that loves to feed on frog eggs.

Ever since then, Bruce has been considered the father of all the generations of bullfrogs, with their distinct mating call that ensures their existence in perpetuity.

Spreading Good Cheer

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 22:27:00 +0000

Merry Christmas! Bryan, Jackie and Lucy went to Elf School and learned a couple of dances!

Elf Yourself Here.

Kansas Jayhawks Under Warrant for Arrest

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:34:00 +0000

http://www.themaneater.com/blogs/sports/2008/11/29/columbia-police-chief/

The Jayhawks are innocent. That win was earned!

#1 in Fantasy Football!

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:19:00 +0000

This is likely to be very short lived, so I have to celebrate now! That's me, the Two Two Sevens, at the top of the standings after Week 11.

Now, my next game is against the Redeem Team, and he is favored to win 106 to 97 (see the Matchup below). He's got some on-fire players with very good matchups, so my chances of winning aren't good. But this is the NFL, Baby, and anything can happen!

Babies

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 17:30:00 +0000

It's in the water. Our friends are beginning to have babies. Here's a couple of photos!

This is Bryan holding newborn Elodie. Elodie is Matt and Jamie's sweet little girl.

This is baby Charlotte and her mom, Dana. John and Dana are my good friends in Arlington, Virginia. Charlotte has a great smile!

More baby pics to come! Stay tuned for the Christmas-time stork.

Fantasy Football

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:14:00 +0000

Just a few years ago, the only NFL football player I knew was Marcus Allen, and the only reason I knew of him is that I met him once at a holiday party for Commerce Bank, where I worked as a financial service assistant. I have this photo of proof. I'll never forget the day because he approached me at the party, extended his hand to me and said, "I'm Marcus Allen." As if I didn't know! Well, ok, so maybe I wouldn't have known if it weren't for the fact that it was widely announced at the bank that Marcus Allen, our newest spokesperson, would be at our holiday party.

Today, I'm a crazed Fantasy Football fan!

Do you see that screen capture of the scoreboard? My team, The Two Two Sevens, is in second place after a major whipping of Jim A's Assasinators, and has the same record (7 - 3) as the league leader, Shocker's Revenge. This probably won't last long, so I'm going to enjoy it for this one week.

I'll be honest here. This is absolutely dumb luck. Every Sunday, Monday and now Thursday, as I'm glued to tube, I'm asking all kinds of questions. What's a tight end? Why do they call him that? What's a duck? What's that flag for? Basically, I have a lot to learn about the game of football. So, when it comes to Fantasy Football, I'm definitely a rookie.

This honest assessment, however, doesn't keep me from celebrating the fact, for example, that my week 10 pick-up of the Carolina defense gave me 21 points compared to my benched Chicago defense which would have had 3 points! The decision to bench Chicago and pick up Carolina was a conscientious decision.

Next week, I play Shocker's Revenge, which has stood at the top of the league since the beginning of the season. He's got a great line-up, and the match-up is in his favor. Maybe luck will be on my side again. That would be trouble! Two weeks at the top? I might start thinking I know what I'm doing.

Lucy

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:57:00 +0000

If you have spent any time with me in the last year or so, you've probably heard me talk a lot about Lucy. Lucy was a birthday gift to me from Bryan, and she turned out to be the best birthday gift ever.

We met Lucy last summer at our friends' house where we sometimes play volleyball on Tuesday nights. One of the girls who plays volleyball with us had rescued Lucy from a woman at a Walmart somewhere in the Ozarks. The woman was trying to give the puppies away. She said they are the offspring of a beagle/rat terrier mom and a black lab dad. Even though our friend already had dogs of her own, she couldn't stand the sight of this little pup in such bad condition (she was covered in fleas and ticks), so she took her home with the hope she'd have a better chance of finding the puppy a beter owner.

Lucy was soooo cute, that it didn't take long for her to get adopted. Fortunately for me, Lucy's new family brought her to volleyball one night. I was out of town for work, but Bryan had gone to play volleyball and saw Lucy there. Later that night, he called me to say that he had seen a really cute puppy, and its too bad she was already adopted. I had been trying to convince Bryan for about a year that we should get a dog. He was dead set against it. But this Lucy must have tugged on his heart strings just a little.

A week or so later, I went with Bryan to play volleyball, and Lucy was there again with her family. She really was a cute and lively pup, and I really wanted her. Bryan said out loud, "It's too bad she's already adopted." To which, Lucy's new owner said, "Actually, we're looking to give her away again." Apparently, one of Lucy's new family members was allergic to her.

Well, you know the end of that story! Lucy was then given to me as a birthday present just a few days later.

We think Lucy is about a year-and-a-half old. She's one of the happiest dogs I've ever seen. Some people think she has a permanent smile on her face. Not only did Lucy turn out to be beautiful dog, she's really smart. I'm amazed at her vocabulary and her ability to learn new tricks. Our favorite trick is "stick 'em up!" We aim our fingers at her like guns, say "stick 'em up," and she sits on her hind legs and puts her front paws up in the air.

I don't know how I'll ever be able to have another dog. As for Bryan, who never wanted a dog, he too is smitten!

See more pictures of Lucy.

I'm a scuba wienie!

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 14:10:00 +0000

While we were in Florida, our group (Rick, Stacy, Jesse, Mary Ann, Bryan and I) planned to do some scuba diving in the Atlantic. The first day, we dove at Key Largo. When we arrived at the dive shop, the staff there informed us that there were four foot swells and asked if we still wanted to go out. Without hesitation we said yes. After all, it had been well over a year since my last dive, and I didn't want to miss out on an opportunity to get some practice. How bad could it be? It's fine once you get in, right?

The dive shop took us out on a big boat with a few other divers. Our ride on the rough water to the dive site should have given me warning. I was feeling pretty woozy by the time we arrived at our first dive site and anxious to get in and under! It wasn't so bad once we got in the water and down about 30 feet to the coral, but getting out and back into the boat wasn't so much fun. As you are trying to get back on the boat, the waves are beating you up. You're trying to hold on to the tie line for dear life while carefully removing your fins so that you don't drop and lose them. Add to the commotion the fact that the boat is bouncing up and down on four foot swells.

I was absolutely exhausted by the end of our two tank dive, and I told my dive buddy that if our second day of diving had rough water like that, I was probably going to skip it. And what do you know? On our next day of diving at Key West, conditions were even worse. I think the swells were twice as big. I might be exaggerating. Maybe they were only six feet swells. It was certainly raining more, and the wind was blowing a lot harder.

We had chartered a small boat for our second dive. As we were boating out to our first dive site, a wreck, the boat ride was jarring on those very rough waves. Our captain and dive master said, "We should probably turn back, but that's kind of hard to do once you're two-thirds of the way." In my mind, I thought, if you're leading me to my death, we should definitely turn back! Someone in our group, maybe Stacy or Mary Ann, wondered rhetorically out loud why there weren't any other dive boats out. The captain ignored her. As I was bracing myself against the pounding of the water, I was also bracing myself for the inevitability that I was going to be getting into that water. As much as yesterday's experience told me I did not want to get in the water, I knew that I would try to be brave for the sake of my diving buddies.

Once we were at the dive site, our captain got the boat tied to a rope anchored securely 90 feet below. Shackled like that, the boat was then a slave to the pounding waves, wind and rain. It was decided that Stacy and I get in the water first. We were instructed to roll into the water, swim to the back of the boat and hold on to a tie line to wait for the others to be put in one at a time. We did the first step successfully but holding on to the tie line and waiting for everyone else turned out to be a colossal challenge. In my mind, holding on to that rope was like holding on to the tail of an angry Tyrannosaurus Rex. As the boat was jumping up and down on the water, T-Rex's tail yanked us all over the place. It felt like my arm was going to separate from the socket. At some point, I must have let go of the rope, because after messing with my regulator and BC, trying to keep my head above water so that I didn't use too much air at the surface, I looked up at Stacy and realized that I was starting to drift away.

That was my initial moment of panic, and I let out an audible whimper and stretched out my arms desperately for Stacy to grab hold of me. Fortunately, Stacy has long arms....or maybe the true story is that I hadn't really drifted that far away. But it was enough to cause me panic!

Stacy pulled me in, and I forced myself not to get absent-minded and let go of that rope again. In the meantime, Rick had gotten in the water, and he was making his way to the front of the boat to the tie line that would take us to the wreck 90 feet below. Rick seemed to be having success maneuvering to the tie line in spite of the boat that was crashing down seemingly over his head (he later referred to it as the washing machine). But for me, it was back to Tyrannosaurus Rex, clinging to that rope and trying to breathe without consuming too much air. The dive captain told me to air up my BC to give me more float, so I did. Then my BC was too tight! I thought it was a bit small for me when we tried our rentals on back at the dock, but everyone said it fit perfectly. So, my BC was now constricting my lung capacity, I was being tossed and yanked, and finally, I was convinced I was going to die.

I gave the wave of distress. I don't think anyone believed me at first. The captain kept asking over and over again, "Do you want to get in the boat? Are you sure?" I affirmed vigorously. With regret for time lost perhaps, he instructed me to swim to the ladder, where he pulled me back safely into the boat. By now, Stacy, who had also been suffering with the tail of the angry Tyrannosaurus Rex, was exhausted and decided she, too, wanted back in the boat. She didn't think she'd have enough air or energy to complete the dive in an enjoyable fashion. So, our dive captain assisted her back into the boat as well.

Before we even got to the dive site, I think Mary Ann had made up her mind that she wasn't going to get in. Bryan and Jesse made it into the water, successfully maneuvered their way to the line in spite of T-Rex and the washing machine, and joined Rick who had wisely descended twenty feet to wait for them. The dive captain followed them down the tie line to the wreck at the bottom of the ocean.

While they were exploring the wreck, we on the surface were certainly not getting our money's worth. Stacy was leaned over one side of the boat, and Mary Ann was hunched over the other side of the boat. The fish were getting treats from both of them. I chose to plant myself in the middle of the boat on the highest seat, in the captain's seat, and struggled to keep my breakfast on those choleric waters.

There are so many things I learned that day on the water. Foremost, I learned that it's important to know your limits. I'm a scuba wienie! Before that dive, I only had 8 dives under my belt, and half of those were with a dive instructor. And, I already knew that the first day's dive conditions were too taxing on me. I should have obeyed my inner scuba wienie.

That said, can you believe the surfer in this photo survived a ride on a 41 foot wave?!?! Read the story here.

The Bad Idea Bears

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:19:00 +0000

For Fantasy Fest, Bryan and I dressed one night as the Bad Idea Bears. We got our faces painted too (btw, I think we look CREEPY...and we were supposed to look cute), and we carried around our homemade version of the Bears (converted from Care Bears). As the night progressed, I was truly surprised at how most people didn't know who the Bad Idea Bears are.

The Bad Idea Bears are puppets in the Broadway musical, Avenue Q, which is a comical, musical perversion of Sesame Street. Avenue Q is probably my favorite musical of all time, and the Bad Idea Bears, in my opinion, stole the show! The Bad Idea Bears are personally known by all of us. For example, you know you shouldn't have any more to drink, but suddenly, another round of Long Island Ice Tea sounds like a great idea! After all, it's only ice tea! Here is one of the lead characters, Princeton, face to face with the Bad Idea Bears. Let's see how he fares:

If you can't see that video, go to this link.

While you're here, check out these other Avenue Q videos. In particular, check out, It Sucks to Be Me, Everyone's a Little Bit Racist, and The Internet is for Porn.

Tell me what you think! I think you'll love these vignettes as much as me!