I went scuba diving this morning. Two dives, each half an hour long. The first was 45 ft down and the second was 35 ft. I continue to have a lot of trouble equalizing, especially my left ear. I think there is something wrong with it; I seem to recall a childhood ear trauma. It still feels rather off, and I’ve been trying to equalize ever since.
A lot of my friends are showing up, so I really can’t justify being on the computer much.

The gaggle of swimsuit models are still around. They were did a show tonight. It is actually hard to tell them apart. They are almost uniformly beautiful, so there is no real distinguishing feature I can use. But I did learn one was from Canada; northern BC, although she lived in Edmonton for a time. She knew what the Death Race was!

Today was very low key. I didn’t do much, just relaxed, wondered if I did anything stupid yesterday. Most of my friends arrive tomorrow, but a few have floated in. So there are a few more friendly faces.
I signed up for scuba tomorrow morning; hopefully I remember how to. I probably should study a bit more. It is hard to justify reading a book in sunny Jamaica.
Now that I write this, I’m almost disappointed at how little I accomplished today. For most people, that would be a sign of a good vacation. But I take a vacation as a challenge. I should be busier.
What the heck am I doing typing here. To the pool!

I did go through with the one drink an hour. Which means I’ve had nine drinks today. There was a time when I got a bit of a buzz, but on the whole I don’t think I was too drunk. Loquacious. I started with dirty bananas, but eventually migrated to Bob Marley shooters. Word of warning, if prepared in a mix, they taste vile. But if the bartender can make them in the three layers they are supposed to be, they can actually slip down quickly and without mayhem.
I was more confident and at ease. But even though there is a gaggle of swimsuit models here, I still don’t feel I can really talk to them. Unless, based on today, they are married and studying a double major in Biology and Psychology. That was an interesting conversation.
I don’t want to drink more. I didn’t really enjoy this experiment.

Oh my god! The weather is so beautiful here. No sight of rain. Hot, sunny with a hint of clouds. The weather report was a lie!
I have arrived at the resort. I’m already feeling better. The sea breeze is working as advertised.
I’ve gotten a good room, which I almost think is the same one I got last year. I had to put a special request for it.
It is a nice location, close to all the fun activities. It is rather far from the nude areas, but I’m okay with that. I just wandered through that place and there were things man was not meant to see.
I have started drinking, a dirty banana. I’m trying to figure out if I’m going to do my one-an-hour alcohol test today, or save it for some other time.
For now, I’m really tired. I’ve been traveling for a long time, and I just don’t have much energy. Thankfully this is a vacation so I can rest. Plus, all the fun people come in two days. I have time.

I can actually feel the plane warming up. It looks nice outside, sunny, which is unexpected since all the weather reports I’ve been seeing for the past few weeks have indicated thunderous rain. I’m not complaining; I’m just waiting for the penny to drop.
Fortunately I brought a change of clothing. Airplane bathrooms aren’t easy to change in, but it is doable. And I feel a lot better now. Wearing appropriate clothes for Canada isn’t conducive to wearing appropriate clothes for the Caribbean.
I’ve been able to get snatches of sleep, but nothing really long. I feel awake and alert now, but I’m concerned about a tickle in my throat. Hopefully it will go away if I get enough sleep and get subjected to nice sea air.

I always name my airport entries that…
I’m at the airport about to go to Jamaica. It has been a bit stressful getting ready for this trip. I made it easier by starting packing early and adding to my suitcase as I thought of things. Which of course meant I quickly got over the weight limit. Thankfully I have a bathroom scale so I can find these things out before I get to the airport.
I went for a run after work. I’m not sure if I should have. It did make dinner harder to handle. Basically I didn’t have one until I got to the airport where the only thing open was Tim Hortons. Dinner of champions.
The group going to Barbados looks like they are already drunk.
Jamaica, here I come!

I don’t think I’m getting sick. I can’t be sick now; I’m off to Jamaica on Thursday.
But I had no energy today. But if I think about it, there is a good reason.
I did a nice reasonable run yesterday. 23 km. Short enough that it doesn’t dominate your day and just leaves you feeling refreshed.
That is all true if you don’t go for another 7 km run after lunch because a cute girl wanted to.
A 30 km run will drain you and mean you have to eat much more than you think. If you don’t account for that, your body will run out of energy and you will be lethargic the next day.

Guess what happened.

I just learned that my favorite video store is moving three blocks away from its current location. This annoyed me, because the main reason I go to it is the REALLY convenient walking distance. If it is three blocks further away, then it becomes only somewhat convenient walking distance. I might as well go to the movie theatre.
All these emotions disappeared when I learned it was actually moving three blocks closer to me. I wouldn’t actually think that was possible. The only way it could get any closer would be if it was in the same building.
Score!

I feel like a storage locker lately.
I have a friend who I let use my place when I’m off on vacation. She has stored food here for those times; food that keeps taking up more and more of my pantry. There is also a bag of clothes in the closet that I don’t recognize. I’ve run out of space for her laptop.
Other friends store tea here.
Today, I had a neighbor beg me to store food for her. She’s on a diet and had too many temptations. So a bag of healthy snacks has now wandered in.
Please note: I’m not allowing the storage of unicorns here. So don’t bother asking.

One of the best reasons to throw a party is that it forces one to clean their place. I should have parties more regularly because it gets me to clean. I’m trying to encourage my friends to be more willing to drop by unannounced; the threat of people seeing an untidy place is quite motivating.
So, after throwing a wild potluck party yesterday, (where the last person didn’t leave until 2:00 in the morning) and proactive tidying, my place is cleaner now than it was two days ago.

Harry runs a tight ship.
He is my parent’s dog. He is part border-something so he has good organizational skills. Since he doesn’t have anything to herd, he tries to herd the family. He still knows where his bread is buttered, so he doesn’t have real sway over us. But he has figured out the schedule we are on, and demands we keep to it.
So this morning at 8:15 I got a face full of dog. It was time to get up. He has us eat breakfast on schedule. Then he makes sure we go take our naps on time. Now is walkie time. I am suspecting the reason he was staring at me last night while I was in bed reading was that it was lights-out time and I wasn’t part of the program.
I don’t know what benefit he gets from this. I have a weak theory that he knows if he follows this schedule, then he gets a biscuit at certain times. But that does project some long-term planning on to someone who seems to live in the moment.
We have got to get him some sheep.

With age, things fall apart. Like me.
I mean, I ran 160km, and my knees didn’t bother me. But do a bit of swimming and/or water-polo, and my knees feel like they have been shot. A friend has convinced me to give it a try. It has been a good way to feel totally out of shape. I haven’t been swimming in a long time.
In a parallel instance, my car is following me. Not swimming, but in falling apart. Actually, no, it isn’t falling apart. Not anymore. I’ve had it for over ten years, and I keep track of its maintenance schedule and do my best to follow it. The problem is that I don’t drive as much as the schedule expects. So while things that expire after a certain number of kilometers have been regularly replaced, the things that expire after a certain period of time, haven’t. Today, the Honda dealership figured that out and fingered my timing belt as too old.
I fear I am too trusting of them. It made sense what they were saying, but I wonder if they are trying to milk me for money because of a faltering economy. If I had picked up gas on my way through Calgary I would have spent over a thousand dollars on my car today.
Maybe it is time to get a new one?

I really should update my journal more often. A lot of the time I only have a single thought. It seems a shame to bore people with a entry when I can just put the succinct moment in as a Facebook status update.
I worked from home today just so I could slip away to the grocery store. Today is the cheapest day to get a turkey, and I wanted to get a good one before they sold out. And I did. I have now lost my freezer because a large bird has taken up residence. Thankfully I don’t have to thaw it out for this weekend. I’m saving it for American Thanksgiving.
I’m going to need a lot of people to eat this bird.