me and mom
The night before my mom came to visit I was on a boat. Not a regular dive boat, or a water taxi, but a real live yacht. Noelle, Chase, Kala, DJ and I were at the double docks up to no good. There was a nice yacht pulled up beside it with about 6 latinos in the back dancing to the music. DJ turns to me and says, something bad is going to happen on that boat tonite. Then Noelle innocently asks the owners from atop the double docks how big their boat is, they say come down and see it, she says how big? How long is your boat? They say come down. Noelle and I descend and as we are about board the boat, I say to the guy holding his hand out, permission to abort, he says board? I say ya. Oh my god we are on the boat. It was so much fun, Noelle and I dance on the boat, we talk to the very nice people on the boat, we climb up to the captain’s chair and dance some more. Then our friends decide to join us. They have been laughing and watching us from the double dock. Our new almost DMT Conal from London also joins us. I dance with Rolando, he asks me where I learned to salsa, did I take classes? No I tell him that I never really learned but when I was in Costa Rica I met this guy once who told me that you have to feel the music in your blood and you can dance to anything. I’m sure he was stoned out of his gourd when he told me that, but I thought he was hot and it was valentine’s day so I asked him to be my valentine and we danced all nite long. Oh ya and there are 3 really pretty girls on the boat with dental floss sequined bikinis but they are really nice to us and complement me on my dancing too. Awe. I need to get me a boat.
The next day my mom comes. Noelle drives me to the airport to pick her up. I see her from across the parking lot and before Noelle can park I’m already running to see her. Mom, I love you! We stay at the very simple but beautiful Jenny Blenny house. Jenny’s last name isn’t Blenny and apparently she used to be a diver at Tyll’s and was an excellent DM and was really good at finding blennies so the name stuck. The cabins are on the iron shore and look out on the dive site Canyon Reef. My mom and I make breakfast and lunch almost every day and try a new restaurant every nite. We watch the sunsets every nite with the waves crashing against the iron shore. We read books, I lay in the hammock while my mom reads in the Adirondack chairs. We alternate snorkeling every day between West Bay and Half Moon Bay. My mom says that my dad calls this place fantasy island, but really I haven’t had a vacation like this since I’ve been here. This is my vacation too. My mom says she likes West Bay better for the snorkeling. My mom swears that she has been to Half Moon Bay before. Here’s the story.
So about 5 or 6 years ago I lived in New York City and for Christmas one year my parents decided to take a cruise with my Uncle Jim, Aunt Linda and their three boys (who all kick ass in their own special way). We spent more money on booze on the cruise than the actual cruise. Yes, we had fun. We started the cruise in New Orleans, everyone gets wasted in New Orleans (nice job Coopers- damn those hurricanes are strong- the drink not actual hurricanes) and my cousin Garret somehow ends up with a black eye from Bourbon Street. Anyway, our cruise takes us to Cancun, Cozumel, Belize and Roatan. On Roatan we did not buy one of those excursion packages and decide to get a taxi and go to the beach. I negotiate with the driver and tell him that we don’t want to go to a big crazy touristy beach and so he takes us to this restaurant with a beachfront. My mom and I snorkel as my dad sits on the beach or in the bar smoking cigars and drinking beers. There’s a big guy who is running the restaurant and a couple of hot guys come in while we are there, I think they must work there and they must be divers. Since I’ve been here I’ve tried to figure out where we went to snorkel that day. I figure it must be on the other side of the island, but when my mom comes she swears that it’s here. She’s convinced that it’s the Argentinean Grill where we went because she remembers the restaurant and the sign in the bay from Karl’s submarine that says “GO DEEPER”. Odd coincidence because I’m looking for a job and someone told me that they recently lost most of their employees. Also one of my friends who used to live here worked there too. I wasn’t convinced but fine Mom, I guess you win there is too many coincidences, plus my dad said that it was some grill and some bay that we went to. Whatever, I hate losing arguments; I’m supposed to be right like 99.99%.
the Argentinean Grill
On Sunday nite Noelle made an amazing Turkey dinner in celebration of my mom being here. She made this amazing cornbread stuffing that is out of this world, I hope that when I go back to the house there still are leftovers. Noelle, Chase, Kala, Conal, my mom and I are sitting down to dinner, we go to cheers as this amazing song starts and Kala looks at me and says you’re right, your show should be a life. It was one of those picturesque moments in time. We played poker after dinner and I totally won, somehow, it was fun. I’m not going pro anytime soon though.
My mom loves butterflies so on Monday we went to the butterfly garden. There were birds there too, but I don’t really like the birds so much. Toucans and Parrots, dirty infested winged things that make loud noises, no thanks. The butterflies were amazing though. Later we went snorkeling again. I have seen so many barracudas snorkeling the last few days. In West Bay on Sunday I was snorkeling and saw a barracuda, no joke, as big as me. He, of course it was a he duh, was just hanging out on a coral patch and starring at me. Then he opened his mouth, ya I know they won’t attack, but I kinda freaked out. On Monday we saw another barracuda in Half Moon Bay, much smaller but still with the mean looking eyes. We also saw a lobster, trumpet fish, thousands of parrotfish, goatfish, angel fish, a lizard fish (whoo-hoo) and I think a sailfish. It was a pretty adventurous snorkeling day. We’ve just been reading, eating, snorkeling, reading, napping, eating, reading, snorkeling, eating etc. it’s been a great vacation for me as well.
I hate the end of vacations. It’s like Sunday nite after a great weekend and you know you only have a few more hours before you have to go to bed and then back to the grind the next day. I hate the actual traveling of vacations, waiting the last day for the time when you are supposed to go to the airport. Then there is the car ride or the plane ride back home, then another car ride to home. My friend Adriane always did it right by having another day to unwind at home before she went back to work. Well, to be honest I do love my “work” here and my life here, but there is something to be said for home.
So I haven’t been homesick since I’ve been here. Now with my mom here I’m reminded of everyone and miss home a lot. When you travel, as cheesy as it sounds, your eyes open to new things, you meet new fun people and start to have relationships with the people you meet, but it’s not home. What is home? Is home where your heart is? Your parents, your best friends, your gaggle of girlfriends each unique in their own way, those boys you hang out with who make you laugh, the people you’ve known forever those people are a part of my heart. But my heart also loves adventure and traveling and new things. Home is reassuring; home is comfortable. Kala lent me the Power of Now by Eckhart Toll and I finished it while my mom was here. The idea of the book is to live in the moment and in that moment in the “now” as he calls it is when you truly live, when you are at your most peaceful and true state. For Mr. Toll I’m guessing that the Now is your home not a specific place. Maybe when you are enlightened you don’t need a home? Well I do miss my friends and family back home, so I guess I’m not freaking enlightened yet. I love the now moments in my life, but still yearn for home. Mr. Toll said not to think too much about anything just be, whatever I think too much my mom even said I should have been a philosophy major. My friend Courtney told me not to read too many philosophy books while I’m here because I have too much time on my hands and might go crazy. Alright then no more philosophizing next book needs to be fun. Crap, I just started Blood Meridian, not so much fun. The other books I brought are Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil and Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Maybe I can find some Maeve Binche on this island.
Well, I start Dive Mastering next week! I still haven’t done my map; they changed it to Blue Channel because the map we have at the shop needs to be updated. It’s a huge dive site so I’m excited and a little intimidated by the project, but hopefully it will make me a better diver. I can’t believe it’s almost been 3 months! My best friend Sabrena and her Troy are coming for a one day whirlwind tour on a cruise ship. I have a list of things to do when my mom leaves; get my visa extended, find a job, find a new house (oh ya Noelle and Chase are moving because the neighbor said that he will shoot the dogs if he sees them out- why are people so freaking crazy here?), but I guess if I follow the advice of many here as well as Mr. Toll that it will all happen; either that or I’ll be back in a month. Just kidding, what me give up fantasy island early? Nah, it will all work out and I’ll be home in just 3 short months, plus I have to work up the nerve to ask the mystery guy out. Wish me luck!
sunset brisk
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