Virtual Christmas Gifts

Finances are tighter than ever, with this recession, and with the financial savings and honeymoon budget goals and all. But this year, I would like to wish myself a very Merry Christmas with the following virtual Christmas gifts (since noone else will buy these for me):

Liveaboard Trip in Palau (Price: $2300/person - Big Blue Explorer)

First and foremost among my virtual gifts to myself would be a scuba liveaboard trip to Palau (see above). The price is $2300/person for 7 days aboard the cheapest liveaboard in Palau, the Big Blue Explorer. This includes up to 5 dives/day, all meals and even transportation from the airport. Why Palau you might ask? It is considered one of the best places to dive in the world, and certainly one of the most varied places to dive, featuring a jellyfish lake, WWII wrecks, coral reefs, sharks and all. Furthermore, there are tons of above land attractions: one of the most famous WWII battle sites was on the Palau island of Peliliu, and some of the most exotic South Pacific culture can be experienced on the neighboring island of Yap.

Resistance 2 (Price: $71.99 from OnSale.com)

Resistance 2, is a violent, "first-person-shooter" game. Based on the prequel with the same name, this new game is supposedly badder than the first. The game's name, by the way, is a double entendre. There is the resistance against malevolent aliens attacking Earth, but there is also the resistance that the protaganist, Nathan Hale, has against the alien virus, which prevents him from completely transforming into an alien species, but allows him to obtain some of the alien's super-human strength. We have spent many an hour, without eating, or going to the bathroom, playing the former game. I am up for the challenge of playing the sequel.

La Furla Handbags (Price: $408.87 from zappos.com)

I do have a girly-girl side. And I do espouse somewhat to the philosophy that a very high-quality handbag goes a long way to dressing up a person. I could literally wear sweats, Uggs and either of the above handbags and NOT look like a baglady. Look at the luxurious leather, and the perfect proportions. (Sigh.) My purses get trashed after one year, and money spent on a handbag, however, would not be a dollar well spent.

Trench Coat Like the Burberry Ivybridge Trench (Price: $1,295 from burberry.com)

I have been searching for a while for a basic trench coat, much like the one pictured above. The joy is in the search as much as in the usage, and the Burberry trench coat, is one of those investment items that you can wear forever. However, the price is prohibitive. So I have been eyeing a much less expensive version by Soia & Kyo, below. Still debating, however. It doesn't look as classic as the original Burberry.

Soia & Kyo Black Trench (Price: $119 - 50% off at Nordstroms.com )

California Academy of Sciences

If you are a designer in any way, whether it be of mechanical systems, of interiors, or of anything for that matter, you may be interested in visiting the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. This newly reopened museum, which supposedly cost $500 million dollars and 10 years to build, is a well designed experience.

Most prominent is the fact that the Academy is an Aquarium, Natural History Museum and Planetarium all rolled up into one, which breaks previous molds for science museums. Furthermore, these entities are mixed together. For instance, the 4-story rainforest and Amazon river exhibit (see above) are housed in the same glass dome. Much has been done to break down the glass barrier between the viewer and the exhibit. The rainforest, for instance, houses orchids, tropical birds, butterflies, and even tiny frogs out in the open for viewers to experience first hand.

A most bizarre experience can be had by gazing down into the Amazon river exhibit from high up in the rain forest canopy. Looking down into the water, you see giant catfish, arapaima ... and people. There is a a tunnel underneath the river, allowing people to gaze upwards at the fish, and people gazing down from the rainforest.

Breaking another mold of sorts is the museum's architecture. The traditional museum is a neoclassical monstrosity, replete with left and right wings, tall columns, and imposing stone steps. Exhibits are designed to fit within the confines of this stone building. Not vice versa. In contrast, the new building is designed around it's two key exhibits: the planetarium and the rainforest. Indeed, the building seems almost shrink-wrapped around these dual domes. The green expanse of the building's living rooftop is broken up only by the twin spheres forming these exhibits.

The museum is almost as entertaining from a design perspective, as it is from a natural history perspective. What's missing from making the museum the most fully integrative for the viewer would be a few water slides, and some scuba gear.

Thanksgiving NorCal Style

Below, some images from our quintessential, Northern Californian Thanksgiving weekend.

Maverick's Surf Area

Half Moon Bay Tide Pool

"The Age of Innocence" - A Book Review

Michelle Pfeiffer and Daniel Day Lewis star in "The Age of Innocence" the movie

Having just completed the book, I can't wait to see "The Age of Innocence" the movie. This movie stars Daniel Day Lewis as the protagonist, Newland Archer, Winona Ryder as his beautiful, but dull wife, May, and Michelle Pfeiffer as the outsider, Countess Olenska. I am looking forward to seeing the beautiful costumes, the sumptuous opera nights, and the exotic dinners that fill the days of the rich, according to author, Edith Wharton's portrayal of Old New York.

This book is about the strict social rules governing rich New York society. Surprisingly, in trying to emulate the ornate social rules of the Old World, the New York upper classes have out-stiffed the Europeans. Europe at this equivalent time was more liberal and tolerant (interpreted by New Yorkers as more decadent). It was at about this approximate time frame that Emily Post, Edith Wharton's peer, wrote her seminal book, "Etiquette".

Young and rich, Newland Archer can play the social game. On the verge of marrying May Welland, a gorgeous, but conventional and unimaginative young woman, Newland meets Ellen Olenska. Ellen Olenska is an outsider, with the taint of Europe and scandal surrounding her reputation. Through very few, but poignant interactions in which the two characters barely touch each other, Newland falls desperately in love with Ellen. In Ellen, he sees living outside of the narrow limits of New York society as a possibility for the first time. In Newland, Ellen finds the rarity and intense beauty of unconsummated love.

I won't completely describe the most chilling moment of the book. But in short, the New York "tribe", which had been rallying around the wronged wife, May, succeed in maneuvering the two lovers apart through chilly demeanor at one ornate dinner party.

When viewing how strictly regulated society was at that time, I am reminded how life in the Silicon Valley is just as limited and narrow, but in a different way. I, like Newland, feel that I could be living life in a Bigger way. We are all in this rat race to appear in control, go on more expensive vacations, start one's own business ventures. Perhaps, like Newland, I see glimpses of how to live life outside of this rat race. But, like Newland, I am pulled back into the fray.

Turkey Follow Up, and More Recipe Stuff

The turkey was nooot good. Serves me right for believing I could make a better turkey than the masses. The turkey was not very salty, tough, and did not exhibit enough carmalization on the skin.

Lessons learned:
(1) the turkey needs to be a few inches from the heat coil at the top of the oven. The "Joy of Cooking" said to lower the rack to the lowest setting. But the turkey was so small, it was too far away!

(2) No more free-range/organic turkey. It was tough.

In other recipe news, I learned how to make my Mom's Chinese turkey stew.

Ingredients:
dried shitake mushrooms soaking in water
dried wood ear mushrooms soaking in water
preserved cabbage, shredded, in a can (yellow and red can labelled "Preserved Cabbage")

Instructions:
(1) Boil the carcass in a pot. Also possible, a thigh leg. No carcass necessary
(2) Lower the soup to a simmer. In the meantime, cut the mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms into slices, taking care to remove the woody root of the wood ear. Slices can be 1/8" thick.
(3) Put 1/2-3/4 can of the preserved, salty cabbage into the soup and simmer for a few hours.
(4) Put julienned carrots into the soup. Simmer some more...
(5) The soup is done when the wood ear mushroom makes the soup gelatinous. Serve into a bowl with some Chinese black vinegar (optional).

Roasted Brined Turkey, November, 2008

As you may well know, we take food very seriously in this household. Mark was a former cook, and has spoiled me with his sublime Italian cooking. One of his culinary habits is precision, both in material selection, as well as in following process parameters. Some of his habit has soaked into my cooking style through osmosis. In this spirit, I have begun to write down recipes, so that I can learn and iterate upon them to satisfaction. Sometimes, a little bit of extra effort is required to set oneself apart from the ordinary!

In hopes of eventually perfecting my roasted turkey, and improving from the one I roasted in March, I will be recording the process of brining and roasting this Thanksgiving's 7.22 lbs turkey.

Brining
I did not use my redlined notes from the brining recipe from the "Joy of Cooking", which in retrospect was not a huge mistake since the "Joy" recipe calls for a 6 hour soak, instead of the overnight brining I performed for this turkey. This year I used an adaptation of Emeril Lagasse's brine recipe online:

1.5 gallons of water (24 cups)
3/4 cup of brown sugar (or golden sugar in my case)
1.5 cups of kosher salt (or 3/4 cups of table salt)
2-3 tbs dried rosemary

I hope there is enough salt. The Joy of Cooking recipe called for twice as much salt.

Roasting
Veering slightly from the "Joy of Cooking" instructions, I will be stuffing the turkey with a shallot, a carrot, and a celery stalk. The shallot is taking place of the onion due to the smaller turkey cavity. To encourage browning, the turkey skin will be covered with melted butter.

Per my March turkey blog, I will be roasting the turkey at 325 deg. F on the lowest rack setting. The turkey will be positioned on a wire rack on a disposable, aluminum roasting pan, with a cup of water at the bottom of the pan to discourage burning of drippings. Because this turkey is less than half the weight of March's turkey, it will be difficult to guess how much oven time I will require. To be conservative, I will cook the turkey for even less time than I proposed in my March blog:

The turkey will be breast side up for 1.25-1.5 hours, and then breast side down for 25 minutes, or until the center of the thigh is 170 deg. F (according to the "Joy", this will help ensure the tenderest of breast meat, but the thigh meat will be a bit pink, but still thoroughly cooked).

Resting
I will be resting the bird under a tent of aluminum foil for 15-20 minutes.

To be continued...

Books, Their Owners, and Book Elitism

Today, my local library hosted its annual book sale. This was my second year attending, and like last year, I really piled up on the $1.00 books. I left, loaded down with 18 books, some bursting out of my canvas bag, some stacked in my arms.

What also transpired at the book sale was a sly observation of the humans attached to the books. People at the book sale were checking each other out: the size of their book stacks, and their titles, and what that might reveal about their inner character. There was a grizzled gray haired guy with a book stack that extended from his waist to his forehead with obscure titles. There was the Asian engineer with such varied titles from Exercises for the Golfer, to a textbook on Calculus.

There was also my cousin, Alicia, newly minted Stanford Grad, who had a select 6 books in her arms that were meant for the informed literati. She explained that she had already read all of the popular books on offer.

My coworker, Qian, was also in attendance. For 20 minutes I watched her wander the piles, and not pick up a single book. Maybe she felt self-conscious about her taste in reading. I wasn't being very helpful. I showed her my growing stack of self-help and chick lit books so that she wouldn't feel too embarrassed by her reading choices. I guess she might feel self-conscious somehow. I cannot understand why, what with my shallow and unintellectual book choices.

Here are the books that I bought.

1. Age if Innocence, by Edith Wharton
2. Bergdorf Blondes, by Plum Sykes
3. Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work, by Jack Canfield et al.
4. Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck
5. The Turn of the Screw and Other Short Stories, by Henry James
6. Reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi
7. The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing, by Melissa Bank
8. Fever Pitch, by Nick Hornby
9. Le Divorce, by Diane Johnson
10. The Shipping News, by Annie Proulx
11. Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier
12. Mars and Venus Together Forever, by John Gray, Ph.D.
13. The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White
14. Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
15. Cave in the Snow, by Vicki Mackenzie
16. The Best American Travel Writing 2006, edited by Tim Cahill
17. Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton
18. Sharks & Rays, edited by Leighton Taylor

As noted previously, some shallow and unintellectual books, but others that are more challenging. There are some "chick lit" selections (Bergdorf Blondes, Le Divorce), as well as a share of sappy self help (Chicken Soup, Mars and Venus). Finally, there are the classics that I feel I should read (Age if Innocence, The Turn of the Screw). My cousin, Alicia, drily observed that a lot of my book selections were books with movie adaptations (Cold Mountain, The Shipping News). I can't tell if she was being condescending or not. Well, hey, I never pretended to be an intellectual.

I will post my progress on these books in the near future.

Our Island Wedding, Part II

This blog entry is a continuation in a series about our wedding on Catalina Island. Read the previous entry here.

One of the best things about our wedding (if I may say so myself) was the itinerary we set out for our guests. There were a total of 4 days in our itinerary in which we loosely listed where we would be. Guests were welcome to join us, or were free to wander and enjoy the island on their own. If a guest is travelling far to attend a wedding, they usually want to maximize the amount of time they have with the bride and groom. That was why we arranged for 4 days of casual kicking back with which to socialize with our guests.

Every morning, as part of our itinerary, Mark and I had coffee at our favorite cafe on the island, C.C. Gallagher's. Family members, coworkers and friends co-mingled over their morning lattes. It was stimulating (and a bit stressful) to see all the important people in one's life thrown together in this casual setting and left to their own devices to start conversations.

Coffee at C.C. Gallagher's

In place of a "rehearsal dinner" (a rehearsal dinner wasn't really necessary since we had no wedding party or anything to rehearse!) we had a beach barbecue. The barbecue was at the Descanso Beach Club, a wonderful beach with tiki torches, a bar and a grill where you can buy and grill your own meat. All guests were invited. Seated on the sand, with the music playing softly in the background, and with the mountains rising steeply around, one felt transported far far away from everyday life.

Guests Grilling Dinner at Descanso Beach Club

As mentioned in the previous wedding blog entry, we concluded each night at the El Galleon, a famous Catalina Island bar. This occurred even on the night of our wedding. Everyone kicked back with their beers, looked through the songbooks, and chit-chatted. Occasionally, some brave guests mounted the stage to sing. It was brilliant.

Singing Along to Karaoke at El Galleon

The town of Avalon on Catalina Island is so small, that even when no event was outlined in our itinerary, we would still bump into our wedding guests on every block.

Olivier, Coco, Kurt and Mark sharing coffee

In their off hours, the guests took advantage of being on a beautiful island to explore. Some of the more athletic visitors rode bikes up a steep road to enjoy the harbor views.

Johnny, Javier on their Bike Ride

Guests Relaxing at the Beach House

Other guests took advantage of their off hours to relax and enjoy the ambience of the Beach House, the site of our wedding.

To be continued...

Honeymoon Scuba Destination Decision Matrix

I am going around and around in circles with my honeymoon planning process. Where, oh where, are we going to go? I really want to have a honeymoon focussed on scuba-diving. Also, the destination should have a certain panache, not a run-of-the-mill vacation spot. It shouldn't be that hard, right?

Well, when I calculate the true costs of travelling, I found myself making compromises. For instance, instead of booking an expensive liveaboard trip which will certainly maximize our scuba diving dollar, I was contemplating a land-based option... I was beginning to lose track of the true vision of what I had wanted as my once-in-a-lifetime vacation. So, in order to refresh my memory on my original goals, I am posting my original decision matrix from 2 years ago. (Bear in mind, that this decision matrix was about places that I wanted to travel to two years ago, not honeymoon destinations. I don't think THAT far in advance.)

In the table below, I have posted some potential dive destinations in order of my desire to visit them from two years ago. The more desirable the destination, the lower the score.



In the table below, I have posted the same group of potential dive destinations, except this time, sorted in order of Price/Proximity. The higher the cost of travelling there, and the farther the destination, the lower the score. I find that the Price/Proximity score is somewhat related to that "panache" factor.


Finally, when I multiply the score together, you get the combination of ideal vacation spots:



The above table shows that my top 3 destinations (at least from 2 years ago) are:

1. Galapagos, tied with Fiji/Tahiti/Micronesia
2. Great Barrier Reef

This is still consistent with my current honeymoon goals of going to Palau and Yap.

What this also tells me is if I wanted to reduce the price of our honeymoon, I could aim for the dive destinations in the middle of the list:

1. Thailand/Philippines/Indonesia
2. Cayman Islands
3. Baja California (Cozumel was eliminated because we went there last year)

On Obama and Race

I did not have the opportunity to vote this election year, since I was in China on election day. However, if I had been home, I would have voted for Obama over McCain. I just cannot vote for someone who is not pro-choice. Also, under McCain, I believe the nation would have continued on this path of the rich getting richer and at the expense of the middle class.

However, I have not been carried away by this feeling of euphoria in the air since Obama was elected, despite the fact that I, like Obama, am a fellow Chicagoan, and a fellow minority. Or is it because of it?

I am still smarting from Hillary Clinton's loss, and still think she is more experienced than Obama. However, there is more.

When I look deeply into my heart, I begin to see the misgivings that I have. As a young Asian girl wandering around the streets of Chicago, I have been the focus of racism. It was subtle racism from the part of the Whites. But the most blatant and traumatic racism I have ever experienced were from the part of African American people.

In my Hyde Park neighborhood, walking home, a group of teenage Black men walking on the opposide of the street, taunting: "Chink... Chink..."

In a high-end, Chicago grocery store just a few years ago, while checking out, the Black bag clerk: "Ching Chang Chong hong..." I complained to the store manager, however, the White manager makes excuses for the boy, "Oh, he is just immature." More racism, this time from the White guy.

I am not saying that Obama is one of those ignorant, underprivileged, blacks. On the contrary. I believe that he is tolerant, race-blind and extremely intelligent. It is that his election has thrown the racism that STILL exists in American into high relief. I don't believe that Obama's winning the presidency means that the country is enlightened and race-blind. No. I believe that many of the whites and blacks who voted for Obama are still racist, may turn around and be racist against Asians. Has Oprah ever had an Asian guest? Will there ever be a hit movie starring an Asian and a Black that did not involve racial jokes? With Obama in the presidency, I wonder if Asians will now take the third or 4th tier behind the Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. I think this way, because as a child in Chicago, and recently as an adult visiting Chicago, I have been the victim of racism. If just as recently as a few years ago, I experienced racism, can a country really be that race-blind?

I will get off of my rant, now, and try to believe that the country really is better... (By the way, some of my friends in grade-school were Black.)

High Low Hong Kong

The title of this blog is "High Low Hong Kong". It is titled so because in Hong Kong, there are areas wallowing in absolute luxury, while just across the street there are neighborhoods full of ancient tenement apartments where you can order a bowl of noodles for $1.

Having Afternoon Tea on my Relative's Yacht

I am currently on a business trip in Shenzhen, China. On my short weekend off (I, like many other Chinese, worked on Saturday), I was able to enjoy some sights of Hong Kong.

On Sunday, we had a "launch picnic" on my relative's yacht. He has a giant 84 foot Azimut yacht with 4 bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room and living room (a picture of us snacking can be seen above). He also has a full-time crew despite only using the boat on Sundays. This is a dive boat if I've ever seen one!

At the Helm of My Relative's Luxury Yacht

We launched out of the port at Tsim Sha Tsui and made our way to Lantau Island. There, we had some of the best dim sum I've ever had at the Disney Hotel. On our way back, I took the helm of this huge boat. Strangely enough, my relatives have never attempted to drive the boat despite enjoying outings on it almost every weekend! I was of course naturally drawn to trying it, and asked my family if I could try it. Unfortunately, they told me it was probably illegal without a license. But I was undeterred and asked the captain whether I could turn the steering wheel for a bit, and he obliged! Perhaps some of that natural, questioning, American spirit that asks "Why not?" is unusual in some areas of the world.

Temple St. Night Market

Later that same night, we strolled through the Temple St. Night Market, an open air market where trinkets, pirated DVD's and clothing are for sale for a few dollars. I could tell we were barely skimming above the underbelly of Hong Kong when one of the streets emptied out onto a group of streetwalkers. I saw one ancient White tourist follow a prostitute up the stairs of a brothel.

A bit hungry from our walk, and happy to have absorbed the high and low life of Hong Kong in a single day, we ended the night with a bowl of wonton noodle for $1.20.

Mollusks on Display at the Night Market

Hello from Shenzhen, China

I am currently on a business trip in Shenzhen, China. Here are some pictures and impressions so far. (Blogging while on a still ocurring trip is a challenge when you have writer's block and a time crunch).

Being a newlywed for only a month now, and having already been separated from Mark for a week while he was on a separate business trip, the prospect of being away from home was hard. Furthermore, I hate going to China. Send me to Europe, Singapore or Thailand any day, but China is so dirty and people are usually so insensitive about my lack of Chinese speaking skills, that I dreaded the prospect. This time, on my trip to Shenzhen, people have been fine. Or maybe I am less sensitive about my lack of Chinese speaking skills now that I am older, and even turn things around and laugh along with them.

Dove Farm Outside of Factory Window

The factory itself is in a rural region of Shenzhen called Ping Wu. Ping Wu is an odd mixture of manufacturing modernity and farming. There is a dove farm directly outside of the factory window (we can only guess that the pretty white doves are bound for the restaurant tables). On our drives around the region, we see bicycles piled high with chickens, and trucks full of pigs bound for slaughter. In contrast, our hotel, which is also set in this area, is very modern and trendy. The room that I stay in is painfully hip (see below), and seems awkward when considering the impoverished setting outside of the hotel. But it is certainly the best deal I've ever encountered at only $30-40 USD/night.

Hotel Room in Ping Wu

Seeing how the factory workers and white-collar workers in Pinghu live and work is in sharp contrast with my life in the US. But people here seem just as happy. I was taken out on the town by a factory liason one night. This young woman was around the same age as myself, and so we went Ping Wu to do some window shopping. Turns out she was a Chinese fashionista and decided to teach me about Chinese brands, and shops and relative quality for the price. She bragged that she buys too many shoes and actually has 10 pairs! I don't know any American female with less than 10 pairs.

Although Pinghu is merely a couple of hours away from Hong Kong, the brands are completely different with their own set of heiararchy. High heel pumps with lots of rhinestones and chains are big in rural Shenzhen. Often you will see factory girls in uniform walking over the dirt roads in really stylish heels.

Ping Wu Night Scene (Sugar Cane Vendor in Foreground)

My night with the factory laison (Karney Liang) ended with a fascinating insight into how my equivalent age group lives in China. She rarely gets a Saturday off, so she barely ever has an opportunity to leave Pinghu. She has never flown on an airplane and has never left the province of Guangdong. However, she, like any other girl, adores shopping and has a happy, secure life. Money doesn't buy you happiness...

Our Island Wedding, Part I

Okay, it's about time that I blogged about something. Well, I got married last month, so I figured I should say something about that.

Let me first give some details about the style and idea behind our wedding. Every wedding has its own distinct flavor, and ours was no exception.

I intentionally wanted a few relaxed events before the wedding. The events were an excuse to have fun, and also gave everyone a sense of anticipation for the wedding itself. I had a blast at my bachelorette party. You can read more about it here. Mark wanted his bachelor party to consist of biking, more biking, and then going to a friend's house to watch bike racing on Tivo. Well, his friends rebelled, and so they ate Buffalo wings and ended up at a strip club instead.

Mina's Bachelorette Party (from Left: Cherie, Joann, Mina, Ching, Valerie and Sweta)

We also had a small wine-tasting party for selecting wines for the wedding. The evening was really fun. There were hardcore wine collectors as well as rank novices in attendance. My little cousin, Alicia, whom I think has never attended a wine tasting before, had a great time tasting wines, and taking notes on each wine. We all pretty much settled on the wines pictured below.

Wedding Wines Selected (From Left: Columbia Crest Two Vines Cabernet,

Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay, Five Rivers Cabernet)

As for the wedding itself, it took place on the island of Catalina, a place that has significance for us for all the positive memories we have had there. Also, I think our guests enjoyed transporting themselves both mentally and physically far far away from work. Below, is a picture of friends on their way over to Catalina to attend our wedding. They are already smiling.

Ferry Boat Ride to Catalina Island: (from left) Javier, Marsha

(picture courtesy of Johnny Chang)

A fun time wouldn't be a fun time if people couldn't unwind and even make fools of themselves. Also, a trip to Catalina wouldn't be right without a visit to El Galleon, one of the most festive bars on the island. Therefore, we designed the wedding to last for several days, with every night ending up at the El Galleon. On weekend nights, visitors sing Karaoke. Below, our posse entertains everyone with a round of "Boys of Summer".

A pot of money started to accumulate to get Mark to sing a song. When the dollar count reached $60, Mark dragged his butt up to the mike, but not without friends surrounding him. The song choice was Roxanne by the Police. Everytime, the Roxanne chorus started, Mark's brother, Matt threw me the mike, whereupon when I heard my screeching voice, I ended up cracking up and doubling over in laughter.

We were so animated, that every time our posse showed up on the list, the DJ bumped us ahead!

Singing Karaoke (From Left: Sweta, Yael, Cherie, Jeff M. and Mina)

To Be Continued...

FOR SALE - Zeagle Ranger BCD

I am putting my Zeagle Ranger BCD up for sale. This is a top-of-the-line rear-floation system with 1050 denier Ballistic nylon construction and 44 lbs of lift.

It's a size SM with all of the accessories coming with the standard Ranger (including integrated weight pouches and trim pockets). Also included is the soft lumbar support that comes with the Ranger Limited edition.

This BCD has had 71 dives on it, but it is in excellent (like new) condition. I don't have any issues with this BCD, except that it is too large for me (in fit and in lift). I would have happily dove with it for another 100 dives (with the BCD none the worse for wear), but I found a BCD that better fits my frame, and lift requirements.

If you need an excellent, durable, cold-water BCD, this is it. This is a BCD geared towards advanced divers and teaching professionals. Zeagle is known for outfitting BCDs for military dive units, and public safety divers. If you are a burgeoning Tech diver, this BCD can be also rigged for doubles.

Here are the standard features that come with this BCD:

• 44-LB lift capacity Ballistic bladder (standard, other capacities available as options)
• 30-lb capacity Ripcord® weight system
• 20-LB capacity rear trim weight system
• PFS Modular Sizing
• Heavily reinforced 1050 denier Ballistic nylon construction
• 11" grommets for mounting twin cylinders

See also this link for Zeagle's official product information.

Standard price for Zeagle Ranger BCD (on Leisurepro.com):
$615.20
My price: $350.00

To indicate your interest, please e-mail me.

Underwater Wedding Dive Log

I've been very delinquent in keeping up with the blog because there is so much I want to write about. But for now, I am going to list the dives we did in Catalina for our wedding. I promise to do a more thorough write up later on.

Dive #164: Casino Dive Park, Avalon, CA
Date: Thursday, Sept. 18th, 2008
Max Depth: <40 feet
Time: <1hour
Buddies: Mark, Tim, Coco, Olivier, Kurt
Temperature: 65+ deg F
Visibility: 40+ feet
Weight worn: 18 lbs

Dive #165: Casino Dive Park, Avalon, CA
Date: Thursday, Sept. 18th, 2008
Max Depth: <40 feet
Time: <1 hour
Buddies: Mark, Olivier, Kurt
Temperature: 65+ deg F
Visibility: 40+ feet
Weight worn: 18 lbs

Dive #166: Casino Dive Park, Avalon, CA
Date: Friday, Sept. 19th, 2008
Max Depth: <40 feet
Time: <1hour
Buddies: Mark, Tim, Coco, Olivier, Kurt
Temperature: 65+ deg F
Visibility: 40+ feet
Weight worn: 18 lbs

Tying the Knot -- Down Under

A friend of ours wrote an article about our underwater wedding in the local Catalina newspaper. Enjoy:

DIVE DRY WITH DR. BILL #303: TYING THE KNOT... DOWN UNDER

Although my research and educational work takes me underwater frequently, it is usually a lonely activity since I dive solo to focus on my subjects and video taping. However, one of the joys of SCUBA diving for me has been the friendships I've made during my "surface intervals." I've met a lot of divers at the Casino Point Dive Park and in the years I was on board SCUBA Luv's King Neptune. Many of them have valued my role as a marine life ID "ex-spurt" (former little drip), since one of my goals is to further enrich the dive experience for divers, as well as to expose non-divers to the wonders of the sea that surrounds us here on Catalina Island. There are even a few who have appreciated my "unusual" sense of humor.

This past weekend highlighted two of those friendships when divers Mark and Mina came down to the island to "tie the knot" (and I'm not referring to a bowline or a square knot). A few months back, Mina came down to stay with me so she could plan the wedding and we could get a few dives in. She asked if I would video the underwater ceremony and how much it would cost, but I said I'd do it as my wedding gift to them. Early last week I was really anticipating the event with excitement as I knew it would be a lot of fun.

Last Thursday we gathered at the dive park for the underwater ceremony. I filmed the guests topside as they prepared for the dive, and minister/dive instructor Tim Mitchell of SCUBA Luv who gave the dive briefing and would officiate at the ceremony. Three of the guests had recently received their SCUBA certifications so they could participate. Mark wore a white shirt and tie over his wetsuit and Mina donned a long white veil. Several of the male guests descended with ties and one woman had a very colorful skirt over her wetsuit. Since this was a blessed occasion, I wore my "holy" wetsuit since I would be filming... and therefore off-camera.

Once all the divers had descended, Tim got everyone positioned while I filmed the guests. Since vows cannot be spoken underwater without very expensive full face masks and communications equipment, they are usually done by writing on a diver's slate. Conditions were not ideal as bat rays were stirring up the sediments in the park and visibility had dropped. This required me to get in closer to get decent footage.

Fortunately the divers were very good about not imitating the bat rays, so visibility did not decline further. One of the occupational hazards of filming an underwater wedding are the bubbles from the divers' regulators, but I could generally get a clear shot with this group. Another dilemma is the problem of wedding crashers. I'm not talking about the likes of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. However, there were hundreds if not thousands of "uninvited" guests in the form of kelp bass, garibaldi, sheephead, rock wrasse, señorita, halfmoon, and opaleye. They kept swimming in front of the camera, ruining scenes I was filming... but occasionally making them more humorous as well!

Tim held out the slate for Mark and Mina to affix their "I do's" to, and then another slate created by Mina to pronounce them husband and wife and tell them to kiss (as if they needed an excuse). The regulators came out of their mouths and they rubbed masks as their lips met... very romantic! Because rice can expand greatly if ingested by fish underwater, it is not used in such ceremonies. Instead, there were many bags of frozen peas and other vegetables to release. It was at this point that the "uninvited" guests became the focus of the ceremony as they swarmed around the divers gulping down the goodies.

Suddenly the wedding became rather hysterical as Mina's long white veil acted like a fish net, trapping kelp bass inside it. Tim and Mark made sure that the undersized fish were removed and released. Even the legal fish were granted their freedom since Mina had already made the "catch of the day" and the limit on that is just one! I'm not sure she had a fishing license, but know she had a wedding license! When we played the edited video for the non-divers at the topside reception, these scenes elicited roars of laughter from the crowd and many requests for copies of the DVD.

Since we weren't entirely certain an underwater wedding was legal above water, Mina and Mark had a beautiful topside ceremony officiated by Ann Marshall. Many of the guests were dressed to the hilt, but Dr. Bill attended in a "Hawaiian" shirt (with golden Chinese dragons on a blue background in honor of Mina's family). I sat with the lovely Valerie, another diver I met when they all visited a few years back and an occasional dive buddy. Her eyes are mesmerizing and when the four of us were photographed under the wedding arch, I suggested a double wedding. Fortunately, Valerie was too smart for that, and I think her boyfriend would have strongly objected... if he wasn't in France at the time! Both of us teared up a bit when one of Mina's aunts read a poem in the original Mandarin, then as translated into English by Mina's mother.

None of the fish attended the topside wedding ceremony or reception. Hmmm, on second thought, there was a fantastic cioppino with a number of marine species I could identify both by sight... and by taste! I was seated at a truly international table with two guests from Hong Kong, two originally from India, two from mainland China and two from the US. Mina's father, a distinguished doctor from Hong Kong, sat next to me and we engaged in a wonderful and very intellectually satisfying dialogue during dinner. The rest of the table joined in with some of the conversation in Mandarin, Cantonese or Hindi. Topics ranged far and wide, but one important focus was on the upcoming presidential election here. Following the reception, many of us ended up at El Galleon for karaoke.

So a friendship begun during a dive trip a few years ago evolved into a wonderful event to celebrate. I thoroughly enjoyed being part of my friends' special day and there were so many wonderful folks to talk with and share the experience. Although we weren't seated together, I had a number of opportunities to talk to Mark's parents and family during morning coffee at C. C. Gallaghers and an informal dinner at the Descanso Beach Club. All my "best fishes" for the future, Mark and Mina!

© 2008 Dr. Bill Bushing. Watch the "Dive Dry with Dr. Bill" underwater videos on Catalina Cable TV channel 49, 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM weekdays. My latest DVD's on "Sharks and Rays of Southern California," "Echinoderms of Southern California," "Cephalopods of Southern California" and "Wrasses and Basses of Southern California" are now available. Yes, take Dr. Bill home with you... we'll both be glad you did! For more information see my website www.StarThrower.org/products/DVD.htm or call 310-510-8436.

Image caption: Mark and Mina "tying the knot" under water; kelp bass caught in Mina's veil; Mark, Mina, Valerie and myself at the topside ceremony (image courtesy of Tim Mitchell).

Wedding Aftermath

The morning after the wedding...

Mina's Bachelorette Party

Brave Women

From left: Joann, Coco, Sweta, me, Valerie and Cherie

Of the handful of bachelorette parties I have ever attended, I think mine was one of the most fun. Despite being part of Labor Day weekend, 9 courageous women joined me to celebrate my last days as a bachelorette.

The evening started at Town's End Restaurant in San Francisco, where us women were treated to a 3 course meal. I had a salad, the Ling Cod (I always wanted to taste this fish I keep encountering underwater), and a peach tart. By the way, Ling Cod is pretty flavorless and a bit tough. Jean blinded us with her new engagement ring and regaled us with the story of her engagement. PC is a lucky guy!

Coco, who is the most innocent of the entire bunch, shocked us by buying me a tiara studded with tiny pink phallusses, which I quickly donned (see below). She also assembled coin cell batteries into a tiny silicone rubber encased doodad. Wasn't sure what it was, until the device began vibrating upon activation. Below, I am attaching this vibrator to my dress.

Sophisticated Women on the Town

From the restaurant, we climbed into a stretch limo that would take us to the next venue. We poured champagne into waiting champagne glasses and I thoroughly enjoyed the glamor of being in a stretch limo, although I usually scoff at such things. The moon roof was open so we took the opportunity to stick our heads out and whoop at pedestrians, until the driver told us to get down. Below, Joann and Mina are getting a whiff of the refreshing night air.

Sticking our heads above the stretch limo

Upon entering Asia SF, a club famous for drag queen performances, we were escorted into a room tightly curtained off from the rest of the club. Those courageous enough to last this long were subjected to "special entertainment", as Valerie, warned us we would. Coco ran off into the night before the entertainment would commence, but brave Sweta stayed behind and impressed me with her daring.

There was a small wooden chair in the center of the room where I was told to sit. I started to freak out at the humiliating prospect of being given a lap dance while on display. The girls gleefully stuck $60 dollars worth of dollar bills everywhere on my body for the male stripper to find with his teeth. I was completely frightened, and felt not a little dread as the male stripper entered the room. I didn't have to pretend to act consistent with contemporary American female behavior when I shrieked into my hands.

Myself and the stripper guy, Joann and Sweta cracking up in the background

I was subjected to various humiliations, such as stuffing dollar bills into his g-string, rubbing oil into his butt cheeks and other forms of grossness. All the other girls were shrieking with laughter and running around taking flash pictures. I observed that his skin was very soft, like a girl's, and entirely hairless.

I think I rather enjoyed watching the other women in the seat of humiliation. Everyone was pretty funny. Valerie announced, "I'm scared" before taking her turn. I have never observed her scared before. I think she was pretty grossed out when the stripper stuck his face into her chest.

Cherie looked like she was taking everything in good humor. She looked like she was thoroughly enjoying herself, and was laughing the entire time. A little crease above her nose belied a faint disgust.

Sweta sat staunchly. She looked like she was treating the experience like a scientific experiment. Later on in the car, she innocently declared apropos nothing, "And then I touched his oily bum," to which we all cracked up in laughter.

Joann, of course, took full advantage of the stripper. She slow danced with him, and looked like she enjoyed being slaved over.

Ching and Jean were extremely difficult to pin down. Jean, who is forceful in the workplace, had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the chair. Even then, she wouldn't remove her arms from covering her face. Ching successfully hid by blending into her seat. Fortunately for her, she escaped before the stripper, who acted like he was on a strict time-table, took off for the next group of bachelorettes.

After the stripper fiasco, we danced the night away. Tired, with sore feet, we ended the night with a banana split and fries at an all night diner. We vowed to do it all again soon.

All of this has reminded me how much I value in my friends the ability to have fun. I also value bravery as one of my most valued characteristics in a person. These girls, who attended my bachelorette party, have demonstrated these two characteristics in spades.

Great Pinnacle - Blue Fish Cove

Great Pinnacle, Point Lobos

(Notice nearby Marcos' Pinnacle named after the diver who was attacked by a Great White Shark 10 years ago)

Today was Chuck's annual "Diving Singles Point Lobos Dive", an event which we've attended for the past 3 years.

This dive day was remarkable in that our dive buddies were Chuck Tribolet, himself, along with his partner, Linda.

Everyone in the dive community knows Chuck for his erudition, as well as his strong opinions on diving. He and Linda both have 1000+ dives under their belt. So I felt a little self-conscious diving with him and Linda due to my relative lack of experience. Paul and Gary rounded up our group.

This was also our first time diving the Great Pinnacle in Blue Fish Cove, too. Blue Fish Cove is one of the best dive areas in Monterey County, but is almost impossible to access without a boat. Furthermore, boats are forbidden from accessing it, unless armed with a reservation with the Point Lobos State Park. Therefore, diving Blue Fish Cove is a rarity. We once tried to swim to Blue Fish Cove, but ended up doing some white water diving between the wash rocks. This event had left me traumatized enough to stop diving for 9 months.

Despite the good luck of diving with Chuck, and diving the Great Pinnacle, what proceeded was one of the more miserable dives I've had in a long time. Immediately upon descent, Mark's weight pouch fell out of his BCD. While the both of us hung out in midwater at 90 feet (the bottom was at 150), without any bottom in sight, I pushed his integrated weight pouch back together.

I recognized my first Olive Rockfish (Yay Fish Count!)

What's more, I had absolutely no control over my buoyancy. My depth ranged from 40 feet to 70 feet throughout the dive. Thank goodness Chuck and Linda didn't notice, they were too busy shooting pictures of nudibranchs and fish at their favorite dive site. Later on, I found out that my BCD had a significant volume of air in it, and that this had exacerbated my buoyancy control issues. (When diving with a drysuit, you are only supposed to use your drysuit when controlling your buoyancy. The excess air in my BCD caused wild fluctuations with depth changes, due to the air's compression and expansion. This is what makes cold water diving soooo interesting and so challenging.)

Regardless of the problems at the onset of this dive, I recognized the site as being one of the most gorgeous I had ever seen. There was 40-50 ft visibility, which is common for this area. The place reminded me of Cozumel's Devil's Throat in topography, except scarier. This underwater mountain range was covered with garish colors, and the harsh steepness of the pinnacles struck me as cruel-looking. In summary, this place gave me the heebie-jeebies, and I struggled between wanting to maximize my dive time, with my instinct to "RETURN TO THE BOAT".

After I finished my safety stop, I popped my head out to find we were far far away from the boat, as I had feared. I signaled "up" to Mark, but he indicated that he was still finishing his safety stop. My fear went on override, and I honked like crazy at him and gave him more "up" signs. I soon lost sight of Mark, and I feared he had drowned, such was my state of mind.

On the surface, I shed a few tears, which I haven't done after diving since my divemaster candidacy. Both Mark and I were both miserable over our lack of dive planning and lack of communication. It took a lot for me to convince him to do a second dive but I am glad that we did. By the second dive, I had worked out my gear issues, and I was a much better buddy to Mark. Mark still has to work out his drysuit problems and weighting problems, however.

Dive #163: Great Pinnacle, Blue Fish Cove, Point Lobos State Reserve
Max Depth: 91 feet
Time: 0:40 hour
Buddies: Mark, Chuck Tribolet, Linda R., Paul Quinn, Gary Gold
Temperature: 47 deg F Oceanic -- 53 deg F
Visibility: 50 feet
Weight worn: 22 lbs (10 in BCD, 12 on weight belt)

Observations:

• Victor the resident "alpha" sheephead
• male kelp greenling
• Schools of blue rockfish
• Olive rockfish - first that I recognized as one, anyway

Recognized my first Vermilion Rockfish (Yay Fish Count!)

Dive #164: Middle Reef, Whaler's Cove, Point Lobos State Reserve

Max Depth: 30+ feet
Time: 0:40 hour
Buddy: Mark
Temperature: ??
Visibility: 15+ feet
Weight worn: 22 lbs (10 in BCD, 14 on weight belt)

Observations:

• Vermilion rockfish
• Huge Lingcod

Wedding Band Rant

Tungsten Carbide Wedding Band

Our goals for our wedding bands was to have them fabricated out of really cool engineering materials, the more exotic the better, and preferably custom machined. After searching for a few hours at the mall, I got Mark this incredibly cool tungsten-carbide ring with a brushed metal center stripe, similar to the one pictured above. I, however, was not so lucky. There are no interesting metal choices available for women. Apparently, women are not interested in functional metal alloys, but are more attracted to shiny things. The only options available to me were gold, or platinum, hopefully with diamonds inlaid.

First, a discussion of why tungsten-carbide is so cool. It is really, really hard (75-80 Rockwell C) and is therefore, for all intensive purposes, unscratchable. It's strength and hardness make it ideal for use as end-mills for machining other metals.

Tungsten Carbide End Mills

It was really important for me to have something other than gold or platinum as a wedding ring. I have an extreme metal sensitivity. My platinum engagement ring has been giving me blisters. Even my watch's stainless steel band has been giving me a rash. I also want a ring made from a functional metal alloy, because it states something about who I am: a somewhat iconoclastic person, and also a female with a desire for function and technical detail.

Finally, after visiting jewelry store after store, I began to realize there was a bias against providing women functional metal choices. Jewelers don't think women are interested in having tungsten carbide, or titanium rings. Jewelers think women are interested in buying the rarest metals possible. That all we care about is what prestige we will earn amongst our friends. At the Bailey Banks and Biddles jewelry store, the saleswoman literally sneered when I asked her if she had titanium rings. She said, "We don't carry that stuff, only gold and platinum."

I got this titanium alloy wedding band

When I came home, however, I searched online and found myself an aircraft grade titanium alloy wedding band sized for women's fingers. The exact model of what I bought can be seen above. The cost? $65. The mechanical properties for the aircraft grade Titanium 6Al 4V alloy comprising this ring can be seen in the table below. It's hardness and strength properties make it very similar to half hard 302 stainless steel. In the real world, I believe this makes it comparable to 18-8 or 18-10 stainless steel cutlery (I heard that 18-8,18-10 is an antiquated term for 300 series stainless steel). However, the titanium is far lighter than steel, which makes it a very desirable property to have for making aircraft components, or for manufacturing bicycles.

This Litespeed bike frame is made entirely of titanium

Still, I think I would have preferred to custom machine my own wedding band. My immediate choice would have been to machine it out of annealed 420 SS and then harden it to 55 Rockwell C. This particular brand of stainless steel is so hard, it is used to make surgical scalpels and other surgical tools. As you can see from the table above, it is not quite as hard as tungsten carbide, but edges over the tungsten-carbide in terms of ultimate tensile strength. It would have made a nice complement to Mark's ring. But I am not complaining. My titanium ring is a whole lot more hypoallergenic.

Katee & Joshua -- Two of My Favorite "So You Think You Can Dance" Performers

It's coming down to the final four performers on the Dance Competition, "So You Think You Can Dance", which airs nightly on FOX TV on Wednesdays. Two of the four finalists are two of my favorite dancers on the show, Katee and Joshua. I've included a couple of my favorite routines from these two for you to enjoy.

Below, Katee and Joshua perform a hip-hop routine together. Katee, who is Asian, performs superbly in this hip-hop routine. She is a contemporary dancer by training, but almost steals the show from Joshua, who is in fact a hip-hop dancer at heart. Together, Katee and Joshua perform a heart-felt dance about one who has been called to duty in Iraq, and the girl who must watch him leave. I could watch this video clip over and over again.

Don't forget to hit the volume button on each of the videos.

In the below number, Katee and Joshua perform a Bollywood number. Katee, as usual is technically superb, and captures the style of the dance to a "t".

Joshua and Katee dance the Pasodoble in the final number below. I think that Joshua fills the stage with his incredible strength and presence. His steps, and his line are precise beyond parallel. And it's even more incredible coming from a dancer with relatively little formal training, as he has, or with such a bulky physique.

I hope you all will watch the final four perform this coming week.

Playing with (or was it harrassed by?) a Seal

Mark and I have had harbor seal encounters before on our dives in Monterey, CA. But this past Saturday, was the first time we could characterize our encounter as being "harrassed" by a seal.

Our dives were at McAbee Beach, just off Cannery Row in Monterey. McAbee beach is famous for its playful seals. It is so famous for its seals that after our dives were completed, even our friendly parking lot attendant at McAbee asked us whether we had played with the seals.

Our seal first swam in front of us to get our attention. I wanted to engage the seal, and had read about seals imitating humans after doing barrel rolls. So I attempted to do a barrel roll in the water to entertain the seal. The seal reacted by becoming shy for an instant, and meandered behind a rock to hide. We of course knew where it was hiding and snuck up upon it. Upon being found, it looked up at us slyly before surfacing for air. After this little game of hide and seek, the seal no longer felt any shyness and released an onslaught of harrassment our way.

This juvenile seal not only nipped at our fins, but muzzled our bodies. It came right up to our masks, with its eyes just inches away from ours, much like in the picture above. The seal kept exploring our masks with its claws and nuzzling our hoods with its nose. The seal was particularly interested in clawing at Mark's tank, whereupon Mark would turn around in dismay, and I would chuckle into my regulator. To keep its interest at one point, I offered it my dive slate (mmm, yummy). It quickly went straight for my pencil and nuzzled it a bit. When I reached and rubbed its belly, the seal wasn't fazed. Through my neoprene gloves, its belly felt more jiggly and soft than I had anticipated. At one point, the seal and I were getting so friendly, that we were holding hands as though we were dancing. The video below from another diver at McAbee pretty much characterizes the type of experience we had.



After 15 minutes of this, we had to head to shore, otherwise I would have liked to experiment with playing fetch with the seal, maybe with a piece of kelp. My friend, Dr. Bill from Catalina, said he once conducted an entire dive playing fetch with a seal.

Even without our seal visit, our dives were awesome, characterized by good visibility, and a couple of other unusual marine life sightings (rare orange adult wolf eel sighting, and my first Dirona albolineata nudibranch).


Dive #1 (cumulative dive #161): McAbee Beach
Max Depth: 38 feet
Time: 0:53 hour
Buddy: Mark
Temperature: ?? didn't look
Visibility: 40+ feet past the first kelp bed
Weight worn: 24 lbs (10 in BCD, 14 on weight belt)
Mark's weight: 24 lbs

Observations:

• Mark spotted an adult, orange wolf eel. According to Humann's fish ID book, this coloration is rare.
• Mark spotted a Dirona Albolineata nudibranch (see right). They are as luminescent and glowing in real life as they are in the photos.
• Conducted an official REEF fish count on my own for the first time, and it was a lot of fun.
  

Dive #2 (cumulative dive #162): McAbee Beach

Max Depth: 33 feet
Time: 0:42 hour
Buddy: Mark
Temperature: ??
Visibility: 25+ feet
Weight worn: 24 lbs (10 in BCD, 14 on weight belt)

After our dives, Mark and I had lunch at the Trailside Cafe overlooking McAbee Beach, where we gorged ourselves on clam chowder and fish and chips. I then insisted that we visit the Monterey "World Famous" Wax Museum for the first time. This Wax Museum had scenes from Monterey's past history, and even featured scenes from John Steinbeck's novels. At the Wax Museum, I learned that Monterey had changed hands from the Native Americans, to the Spaniards, to the Mexicans before becoming American land. I also learned that McAbee Beach, the site of our dives, used to be squatted upon by numerous Chinese immigrants back during Cannery Row's hey day.

Mindfulness Meditation, Part III

For readers unfamiliar with this blog, this entry is a continuation in a 3 part series on a meditation seminar that I attended 3 months ago before starting a new job. See this entry and this entry for part I and part II respectively.

(All pictures were taken from my trip down the California Coast during which I attended my Meditation retreat.)

My Mindfulness Meditation seminar began first by entering a large round “yurt” that overlooked the blue Pacific Ocean and that was sheltered by Cypress Trees. About 20 other strangers and I took off our shoes before entering the shag carpeted round room, which was empty except for large pillows lining the perimeter of the room.

This Mindfulness Meditation seminar was being taught by James Baraz, whom I knew nothing about other than that others held him in great respect. “You are in very good hands,” one of my dinner companions told me the night before, “James Baraz is one of the cofounders of Spirit Rock.” This meant nothing to me, of course. (Later, I learned that Spirit Rock is a famous Vipassana Meditation center in Marin County.)



Sitting in the yurt, I wondered which person would actually be teaching. On my right, there was an old man with crazy long white-hair who was lying down on his back. He looked crazy enough to be a meditation guru, I thought. My eyes rested on him, waiting for him to begin speaking. All of a sudden, a soft voice spoke from the opposite side of the room, introducing the class. The man who spoke looked like a librarian. He wore a dark plaid button down shirt, a conservative gray wool vest, and khakis. Gentleness emanated from his person in both his demeanor and his voice. His conservative wear made him more credible to me.



Every day, for 3 days we would attend three 2 hour lectures, with a 20 - 30 minute meditation session during each session. I am by no means knowledgeable of Vipassana meditation, but Baraz walked us through the mechanics.


To begin with, one focusses on the breath, how it feels in the nose, and in the chest. This part is not different from other branches of meditation. But where Mindfulness Meditation differs subtly from other meditation practices can be found in the following:

• When feeling an emotion, negative or positive, feel the emotion deeply, immerse oneself in it, and you will eventually feel the emotion dissipate.
• When thinking a thought, don't chastise yourself. Acknowledge the thought and understand that it is normal to think, and then bring yourself back to focussing on the breath. Only the truly enlightened, say Buddha himself, could meditate without thinking.
• Vipassana meditation is also known as Insight meditation. Baraz claims that this form of meditation leads to greater wisdom, and self-understanding. Other forms of meditation, such as Transcendental Meditation, which focusses on breathing or chanting, leads to higher focus, but not necessarily greater wisdom. For a better explanation on how Vipassana Meditation can lead to greater wisdom, please read this "Art of Living" article.
• View yourself as being one living organism among a much wider network of living things. In my case, I envision a camera in the corner of the room looking down upon me.

In addition to practicing seated meditation (in which I almost fell asleep on one occasion), we also sampled eating meditation, a walking meditation, self-love meditation and a "loving-kindness" meditation. For our eating meditation, Baraz handed out 2 raisins per person. We were supposed to eat each raisin over the course of a minute. This exercise was supposed to teach us to focus only on the moment, instead of chewing and swallowing without actually experiencing it.

For our walking meditation, Baraz led us out of the yurt down to the grassy lawn below. Walking barefoot, heel to toe, I focussed purely on my sensory input at that very moment. This exercise, too was designed to teach us how to be in the moment.

The self-love meditation was useful to me. I am a person who oftentimes doesn't like herself very much. This meditation was helpful to be more forgiving to myself. We were asked to meditate on someone who loves us. We were asked to think about why they loved us. And whether or not we could find it in ourselves to feel the same way about ourselves as they did.

The "loving-kindness" meditation was a moving experience. We were asked to think of someone we don't know well, such as a neighbor whom we never speak to. We were then asked to send them a prayer of altruistic love. Then, we thought of someone we disliked, and we then sent them a prayer of altruistic love as well. Finally, we were asked to summon someone whom we love, and sent them a prayer. At the end of this meditation, one of the girls in the room was crying. She had just lost her father and had come to the retreat to help deal with her grief. I knew who she must have dedicated her loving-kindness prayer to.

In addition to how to meditate, Baraz talked about some Buddhist teachings and how they might apply to our lives, regardless of our religious leanings. What made sense to me was:

• Daydreaming might feel pleasant, but it takes us away from being in the now. It is a feeling that contracts us (our soul?).
• Avoid feelings of self-aggrandization, such as, "I am so smart", or "this company would fall without me." This too is a contracting thought. I think of it as the opposide side of self-loathing thoughts which are also harmful.
• There is nothing that makes us feel happier than being altruistic to others, and to spread goodness and loving-kindness to others. The world could be a better place if all of us could emanate our good feelings (karma?) to the world.

Summary

Would I recommend James Baraz's Mindfulness Meditation retreat to others? Absolutely. It may have changed my outlook on life. I am still neurotic, as many people near me know. But I believe I am handling the problems in life with greater composure, some due to my learnings gained at this retreat.

For more information on the next Mindfulness Meditation seminar at Esalen, please click here.