Paranoid

My daily prayer: Let me be like a flower in the desert and bloom in the intense heat. Amen

Okay so I can talk big and brave and laugh at others, but when it comes down to it, I am paranoid. This morning at 2darkthirty, I was awakened by stomach cramps and chills and aches--in short, I thought for sure I had the H1N1 virus. All sorts of things went through my head: should I move out of the bed so David doesn't get it, will I have to stay home from school, should I go to school and hide in my office (seemed kinda dumb); will I have to lose a day's bonus pay (if we are in school every day we get a $350 bonus on the last day of our contract); will I have to go to the hospital...etc etc.

In short, I played right into the hands of the Media and all the bellringers here who are trying to get school closed.
Damn and I thought I was so tough.

My brilliant surgeon trained husband (no I didn't marry someone else, I'm joking) deduced that I didn't have a fever (by placing his hand on my forehead) and I knew that I could get out of bed if only until 10 am when my first class was done. Fortunatly by noon I was feeling better. And I kept all the food/liquid down that I consumed (on the sly of course because Ramadan is not quite yet over)

So all in all, I'll live to write another blog. And after tonight's Senior Iftar (word for breaking the fast) I will go home, put on my jammies and spend the night on the couch with the cat watching movies (Currently: Criminal Minds season 2--very good).

Next time, "they" won't get me so fast.

IN the Ocean--Part Two

Guest Writer
David O Brown

David takes a break from paddling around Lake Lida to write about diving in the Persian/Arabian Gulf

We did it - we came back alive from the ocean (actually the Gulf). On Friday we got up nice and early, got on a small boat and went into the Gulf for 35 miles to a small island called Qubber Island. It wasn't really an island - more like a dot of sand and rock with a cell phone tower and some beach umbrellas. Apparently, it's quite a party place, but at 10:00 in the morning during Ramadan it was empty.

We got all our equipment on and Eslam our guide told us the plan. We stepped into the water and practiced things like controlled descent, clearing our masks of water, out of air partner breathing. Then we swam. It was amazing. I was not expecting much as the ocean environment has been degraded here. Just recently a sewer plant broke down and released a bunch of raw sewage into the gulf. There has been a ban on beach swimming and a warning to all fish eaters for the last 2 weeks.

At the reef I was expecting lots of dead coral and few fish, but it wasn't bad. It was like being in an aquarium. Imagine all the fish you see in a dentist's office aquarium and that's what we saw. The visability was about 5-6 yards so it was good. A couple times we lost the guide as we were dawdling looking at something - that was a bit unnerving but he would come back or we would catch up. The worst thing that happened was I was starting down and my mask wasn't on tight enough so it flooded. That made me a little nervous,but I was just at the surface so I went back up and cleared it.

We dove for about half an hour and rested on the boat for a half an hour and then back in. We practiced things we had learned in the pool and then swam for about a half an hour. Back to the boat and then anouther hour ride back to land. It was a tiring day. Saturday the same thing, but this time we had quite a strong current so for our second dive we drifted and because it didn't take so much air we went for an hour.

So now Anna and I are certified open water divers ! Next stop--the Red Sea in Egypt. I bought some underwater cameras so my next post should have some pictures.

So I say this to my ten year old self - I did it - I'm a scuba diver.

Nearly In the Ocean

Guest Writer
David O Brown

When I was ten, I wanted to be a scuba diver. I am now 50 and finally I'm making that dream come true.
As soon as we got back to Kuwait, I went to a local hotel/resort and signed up for diving lessons. Anna and I spent two sessions in the classoom learning what to do. Then, we had 5 lessons in the swimming pool. This has been one of the coolest things I've done though at times it has been a bit sobering. When we were learning about nitrogen narcosis and the bends, it gave me pause that a person could die doing this.

In the pool we have learned how to get in and out of the water - it's a lot harder than it sounds. We learned how to take our masks off and on underwater. There was alot to learn - like the 5 ways to get to the surface. One of the biggest things to learn was to keep breathing. When you are underwater and hold your breath, your lungs have a tendency to collapse. This apparently is a bad thing.

This has also been fun as I'm also spending time with Anna. She's done well. She is much better at hovering than I am. -Hovering - using just the breath in and out staying at one level in the water. I kept bobing up and down.
Now all is left to do is two ocean dives and then it's off to Egypt at the end of September to dive in the Red Sea.

I knew I'd do it - I just didn't think it would take 40 years.

LOVED THIS! Thanks Mr Carlin

Yep another glorious Lake Lida sunset...sigh


As a somewhat rebellious teenager (okay so I thought I was but I really wasn't!) I loved the Albums of George Carlin. I almost had the 7 Dirty words memorized.
My college sister Anita (of the FABULOUS HERDINA CLAN!) sent me this recently. I thought it was good words to end the summer (as in North America you're celebrating LABOR DAY right?!)

Sent with LOVE (see the last line!)

George Carlin's Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life ! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony.YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling.. What's wrong? What's changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone...

But! wait!! ! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and make it to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!
You get into ! your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3.Keep learning. ! Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's family name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6... The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips.. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
And if you don't send this to at least 8 people - who cares?But do share this with someone. We all need to live life to its fullest each day!!

Welcome to the Family Gracee Mae

My great neice SonyaMae and her husband James, just had their fourth daughter, Gracee Mae. She is pictured on the top picture with the "first picture" of Gracee Mae taken this summer..the new 4-D sonogram process. Also in the above photo is her loving sister, Tara and one of her twins.
This makes my 14th great-great grandneice/nephew. She joins the 19 great neices and nephews and my 9 neices and nephews. Howard and Esther would be so proud!!!

In Honor of my Muslim Friends and Ramadan

Here is the evening call to prayer as heard outside our school last year. This is the last call of the evening. It's truly a beautiful sound and definately part of our culture here in Kuwait. This one's for Mohammed, Yusuf, the Duquow sisters and Miss D. Salam Allekum.

The wind in my hair and in her...

This morning, a group of AIS friends and teachers went on a boat cruise of the Arabian Gulf (now have you been following along you know there is another name for this Gulf printed on most maps outside Kuwait..if not, then you'll have to look it up)

There's only so many shots I can show you of the Gulf and the Kuwait City skyline so I have chosen two of my favorites:
The first one is me and a Dhow boat with the skyline in the background. After a year of "chasing" dhows, I was able to get several shots of one close up. Including one with me in it (thanks MF for taking the shot).
The second one speaks for itself. Marilyn Monroe would be honored.