Diving with Mark, and Kurt

Mark and I dove together for the first time in over 7 months. It was great. We managed to stay together on both dives, very different from the past when we would get separated all the time. Also, my friend Kurt came diving with us. This was our first time diving with him since our underwater wedding a few years ago. Also, it was his first dive in 14 months. Hopefully, we can all go diving more often.

I also got to try out our underwater camera in cold water for the first time.  I have been afraid to use it, because diving is so much more challenging in California, and I didn't want too much task-loading. But since the ocean swell was down, and since I have been diving a lot lately, I gave it a try. 


I don't know if I was narc'd, or what, but I could not figure out how to use the camera.  At one point, I was in video mode.  At another point, I turned the LCD display off.  My strategy? Press enough buttons until I could get out of either mode. Better luck next time.  For more pictures, check out this photo gallery.


Dive #192: Great Pinnacle, Point Lobos (Dive Buddy: Mark)
Depth/Time: 74'/0:44 minutes
Visibility: 15'
Temperature: 51 deg F
Weights: Mina - 13 lbs (10 lbs on weight belt, 1 lb on ankles, 2 lbs in BCD. Mark - 24 lbs (10 in BCD, 14 on weight belt)
Observations: nudibranch's (see above).

Dive #193: Granite Point Pinnacles (Dive Buddy: Mark)
Depth/Time: 76'/0:40 minutes
Visibility: 20'
Temperature: 51 deg F
Weights: see above
Observations: Saw a large egg yolk jelly.  Mark tried posing behind it.  Also saw a 100+ strong school of blue rockfish.

True artist

It's been a few days since Amy Winehouse has died, and I'm still aching with the loss.  Her oeuvre was so short, just two albums. I'm no music connoisseur, but I recognize a true artist. Once upon a time, I used to listen to her "Back to Black" album countless of times.  Her vocal phrasing was justifiably famous - reminiscent of the jazz singers of old.  But what's more, her song writing was pure genius. She bore her tortured heart for all to witness.  Her death is such a pointless loss. Her pain was the cost of being a sensitive artist.  And it ultimately took her life.

Home Office Inspirations

I've been thinking about redecorating our home/office lately. Currently, our spare bedroom is mostly a staging area for our various sports. But, I would really like to turn it into a retreat for working or reading. Here are some inspirational photos:



What I like about the above room is the atraditional desk. The desk is longer than the normal desk, and looks built into the room. What's more, the room looks rather simple and inexpensive to emulate. Just a couple of accent wall colors, and you're good to go.



I like the posh and luxurious look of the home-office above. What makes it so posh looking are the beautiful built-in bookcases. Also, the built-in day bed and light sconce makes it a cozy place to read.



A home office need not have a traditional desk, as previously iterated. This office features what appears to be a traditional dining table. Notice too the airy book cases and feminine fur rug.



If you haven't noticed already, I'm a fan of the free-standing desk, much like the ones shown above. Also, my spare bedroom is rather small, and I think the simple airy book shelves shown above would not cramp the room too much.

Jellies, Jellies Everywhere

Diving today was not terribly distinctive, other than that I dove Ballbuster's  for the first time.  Also there was a barrage of sea jellies swimming towards us in the 20' depth range.  At one point, a sea jelly attached itself to Kevin's head.  While I was watching him removing the sea jelly, a sea jelly was about to collide into my face.  I screamed pretty loudly in disgust as I tore its tendrils off my regulator.

On the second dive, we searched for a tank that got thrown off a few weeks back.  Kevin got a reel and we did circle searches, with me keeping a 10'-15' distance on the outer perimeter.  It was exhausting, kicking for 45 minutes straight.  It was also a little eery, because the visibility was poor. Also, the lift bag obscured my view, and messed up my access to my dive computer and dive light.  I kept losing my buddy, and I found floating 15' above the sandy bottom, barely visible, to be disorienting.  We didn't end up finding the tank, unfortunately.  On the plus side, it was fun to perform a search and recovery for the first time, and giving myself vertigo hovering over the sand so high up.

Dive #190: Ballbusters (Dive Buddy: Kevin Donovan)
Depth/Time: 100'/0:30 minutes (had 4 minutes of NDL left)
Visibility: 15' (hard to tell, because it was as dark as night)
Temperature: 50 deg F
Weights: 15 lbs (same as before except weights set to horizontal in BCD instead of vertical)

Dive #191: Buoy outside of Hopkins Marine Station (Dive Buddy: Kevin Donovan)
Depth/Time: 60'/0:50 minutes
Visibility: 10-15'
Temperature: 50 deg F
Weights: see above

Smooth Diving with Blue Water Aquatics

(Photo by Doug Swalen)

When my friend, Kurt told me he was planning on going diving with Blue Water Aquatics Sunday, I decided I had to risk potential death and dismemberment, and go diving with my friend (hyperbole inserted for entertainment value). Every time I go diving with Blue Water Aquatics, it seems, there has been some sort of  boat malfunction, diver malfunction, or both.

Well, there were no malfunctions this time around. The ocean was was as flat as a pancake. Also, Kevin and Randy had made some changes. There were no newbie divers allowed on their dive boats any more. This was a good change. Everyone on Kevin's boat this time, it seemed, was a divemaster-in-training and up. Everyone was as cool as a cucumber, even while gearing up. The dives proceeded like clockwork.

Also, due to the calm weather, we had a chance to dive Granite Point Pinnacles at Point Lobos. I have never dove here before because conditions never allowed it. This area is usually overrun with high swells and white water. Now that I've dove here, the underwater topography, I can say, is full of interesting channels and canyons at 40' deep and more. Also, this area is dominated by tall bull kelp, instead of the usual, more slender giant kelp populating other areas of Point Lobos. (This is perhaps due to bull kelp's greater resilience to storm conditions.)

(Photo by Doug Swalen)

After the dives, we had a good meal with Kevin and 5 divers at Rio Grill in Carmel. We chatted about old times, and gossiped about people not present. Kevin, being Kevin, spoke at length about all the cool scuba courses he has on offer. I was so tempted to take his wreck diving course, and go wreck diving on the Yukon in September with his crew (unfortunately I will be out of town at that time). If I was smart, I would suspect him of selling me classes. Kevin, can you enjoy a meal without having to sell stuff?

Dive #188: Great Pinnacle, Point Lobos State Park

• Depth: 71' 
• Time: 35 minutes
• Temperature: 49 deg F
• Visibility: 15' at the top, opening up to 25' visibility at depths below 70' 
• Dive Buddy: Doug Swalen 
• Weight worn: 15 lbs total (1 lb on ankles, 10 on weight belt, 4 in BCD). I adjusted my weight belt weights to the front, but this did not prevent me from turtleing whenever I tried to stay vertical. Next time, I may try redistributing my weight to 12 on weight belt, and 4 in BCD. 
• Observations: Lots of egg yolk jellies floating in dark green pea soup. I saw an egg yolk jelly with a still struggling fish entrapped in its tentacles. I saw kelp greenlings, olive rockfish, gopher rockfish, orange sea cucumbers, and a large decorator crab. 

Dive #189: Granite Point Pinnacles, Point Lobos State Park

• Depth: 61'
• Time: 46 minutes
• Temperature: 49 deg F
• Visibility: 25', but water was greenish 
• Dive Buddy: Doug Swalen 
• Weight worn: 15 lbs total (1 lb on ankles, 10 on weight belt, 4 in BCD). I adjusted my weight belt weights to the front, but this did not prevent me from turtling whenever I tried to stay vertical. Next time, I may try redistributing my weight to 12 on weight belt, and 4 in BCD. 
• Observations: We saw a 2' large cabezon, whose head was as big as a watermelon. Gorgeous strawberry anemones and blue rockfish. Lots of painted greenlings. 

Me, on the Great Pinnacle (photo by Doug Swalen)

General comment: Diving without my husband, Mark, can be so freeing! I didn't have to wait for Mr. Slow Poke to get ready. Also, I didn't have to move a mountain of scuba gear. I was literally ready to go in 15 minutes, and I enjoyed myself more and was more at ease. I can't wait to go diving again.

How to Wear Wingtip Heels

Wingtip heels

I saw a woman wearing cream wing-tip heels recently, and it made me curious. I, too, have a pair of cream wingtip heels (see below for similar shoes). I just don't get around to wearing these shoes. I simply don't know how to pair them with any of my clothes. If the shoes weren't so gorgeous, I would have disposed them by now. 

I searched the internet, and I found two general trends for how to wear these high-heel wing-tips: There is the (1) schoolmarmish look, and (2) the eclectic look.

The easiest way to achieve the "school marmish" look is to pair wingtip heels with black tights and a black skirt (see below). To prevent this look from looking too severe, however, soften the monochromatic black bottom with a delicate top such as a cream cardigan (see below).

Examples of the "Schoolmarmish" look - pairing wingtip heels with black tights and a black skirt 

If you don't want to look too old-fashioned, which is easy to do with the schoolmarmish look above, a more casual look can be achieved by pairing wing-tip heels in a way that is unexpected. This "eclectic" look can actually be a really hard look to pull off. Exchange the obvious shoe choice with the wing tip heel, and the outfit can look quirky and a bit more interesting. Carried too far, however, you can look like your entire outfit came from the dumpster bin outside of the Salvation Army.

Carried too far, wing tip heels can make your outfit look clownish, or cheap

Instead of wearing a nude skirt with nude  pumps or wedges pair it unexpectedly with wing tip heels

Sex and the City 2: Rather than pairing this breezy summer dress with the requisite strappy sandals, Carrie Bradshaw makes a more eclectic match with wing tip heels