Oh yeah! I taught class on Wednesday and I never said how it went. I ended up finishing with 20 minutes to spare which I think was well-received by the students. Rick's lectures usually take the entire time because he has so many stories to go along with everything but since I don't quite have the stories that he does, I keep everything concise and to the point. It may be slightly less interesting but I imagine it's equally as straightforward and I cover all the information that needs to be covered. I'll be teaching a few more lectures throughout the semester so we'll see how it goes. One down and I feel pretty good about it.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Adaptability
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| Snapshot of the show. Photo: www.thegrio.com |
I went to the grocery store tonight and was reminded how in Florida the baggers are trained to use as many bags as possible. I left my reusable bag in my car and my 7 items were placed in 3 different bags. I would have been happy with 1 but 2 seemed reasonable so I grabbed the bag that had one thing in it and moved it to another bag, gave her a warm smile, made a kind comment about saving some of her supply, and headed toward my car.
The dean and assistant dean of RSMAS seem to be trying to make a change to the diving program that could change my job considerably. There haven't been enough meetings and nothing has been set in stone yet but if this new policy goes through, it would not be good, at least for a couple years. More details will come once more has been decided and made public.
Monday, January 30, 2012
This Is Where I Live
Miami is a very bizarre city and I still haven't quite figured it (the city) out yet. The Miami Herald wrote an article (found here) about how Miami was recently dubbed the #1 most vain city in America. The article referenced the poll that was used by saying, "the survey found that half of Miami respondents consider themselves an 8, 9 or 10 in looks." In an area of the country that looks so beautiful, it appears people are trying to do their best to look better. I pass advertisements every day for breast augmentation, liposuction, cosmetic plastic surgery, tummy tucks, butt lifts, botox, the list goes on. Even so, Miami is not only about looking good but it's about having the lifestyle to match:
"On top of that, a Prada dress doesn’t have to be covered up by a parka, or those Christian Louboutins traded in for lug-soled boots. 'You can always wear expensive high heels in Miami, and the worst thing that is going to happen is they get rained on,' she said. In fact, Miami consistently ranks as one of the largest luxury car markets in the country, and local designer shops generate top revenue, thanks to high-net-worth residents and visitors who are willing to shell out for high-end goods."
For a country that has gone through a recession, true colors shine through when priorities are made apparent. People in this city will willingly put themselves deep into debt to buy things they cannot afford whether it's clothing, accessories, cars, boats, mansions, or cosmetic surgical operations.
Yes, all of this is true and I've seen it with my own eyes. That being said, the city has tons of good things to offer, starting with the natural beauty that I alluded to earlier which brings me finally to what I did this weekend.
One of my students last semester is in his 50s and has a yacht which he used to take the diving class for a field trip to the Bahamas for some dive training (and of course a great experience). He is one of the most genuine, down-to-earth, fun, and generous guys I know. Since his wife works or volunteers with Teach for America (TFA), he is involved by association, something he is not unhappy about. Last week he invited me and Christina to come join him in leading a beach cleanup project for 9 TFA teachers. We met him at the marina at 8 and hopped on his 50' boat to pick up the crew. Highlights of the trip include the stunning land and seascapes that we were surrounded by during the entire trip, the smell of the ocean which was more present than usual for some reason, and running aground. That's right, since Biscayne Bay is so incredibly shallow and the boat has a draft of just over 3ft, we pulled up about 200 yards away from an island to clean and the boat waited while some of us hopped off and swam ashore to see how much trash needed to be picked up. While we were there, the boat had managed to plant itself on the shallow sea floor of very mixed substrate (hard, soft, sandy, gooey, slippery, spiky, spongy, etc). When walking through the 3ft murky water there was no telling what texture(s) you would feel with the next step. After trying to free the boat with its own power to no avail, Steve asked for volunteers to get out and push so of course I was the first one back in the water. After a lot of grunting, pushing, heaving, straining, slipping, and straining, we managed to free the boat about 30 minutes later. By the time we dropped everyone back off, they were endlessly telling us how thankful they were to have had the opportunity to see the city from a completely new and exciting perspective.
After dropping them off, we went immediately to RSMAS where we picked up a good portion of our former dive class and Steve took us all out for a swim in the bay and a joy ride around Key Biscayne and a little bit of downtown Miami. On such a beautiful day, I cannot describe the happiness I was feeling of being on the water in such a stunning place with such a fantastic group of people. We eventually dropped off the rest of the class after which Steve took us back to the marina where my car was waiting. Christina and I drove back home and temporarily parted ways to prepare for the night.
One of the students in the class last semester (who was on the boat) recently got engaged to a guy named Alex. Alex had a birthday and invited us to his fiesta-themed birthday party on Key Biscayne which we went to and had a fantastic time.
Today included church, working on Wednesday's lecture, following up on the housing search, pizza, more working, napping, then briefly visiting Christina around dinner time. Tomorrow is back to work as usual which of course I love.
Yes, Miami may be the most vain city in America and perhaps even in the world. It might be fake, it might be plastic, and it might be obsessed with image. Even so, it has a lot to offer. It is a city with a character unlike any other place in the world. It is a city with rich diversity. It is a city overlooking a large fraction of the country's coral reefs. It is a city that honestly is gorgeous on the outside. It is a city surrounded on both sides by national parks. It is a city that offered me a job. Furthermore, for now, this is the city I call home.
"On top of that, a Prada dress doesn’t have to be covered up by a parka, or those Christian Louboutins traded in for lug-soled boots. 'You can always wear expensive high heels in Miami, and the worst thing that is going to happen is they get rained on,' she said. In fact, Miami consistently ranks as one of the largest luxury car markets in the country, and local designer shops generate top revenue, thanks to high-net-worth residents and visitors who are willing to shell out for high-end goods."
For a country that has gone through a recession, true colors shine through when priorities are made apparent. People in this city will willingly put themselves deep into debt to buy things they cannot afford whether it's clothing, accessories, cars, boats, mansions, or cosmetic surgical operations.
Yes, all of this is true and I've seen it with my own eyes. That being said, the city has tons of good things to offer, starting with the natural beauty that I alluded to earlier which brings me finally to what I did this weekend.
One of my students last semester is in his 50s and has a yacht which he used to take the diving class for a field trip to the Bahamas for some dive training (and of course a great experience). He is one of the most genuine, down-to-earth, fun, and generous guys I know. Since his wife works or volunteers with Teach for America (TFA), he is involved by association, something he is not unhappy about. Last week he invited me and Christina to come join him in leading a beach cleanup project for 9 TFA teachers. We met him at the marina at 8 and hopped on his 50' boat to pick up the crew. Highlights of the trip include the stunning land and seascapes that we were surrounded by during the entire trip, the smell of the ocean which was more present than usual for some reason, and running aground. That's right, since Biscayne Bay is so incredibly shallow and the boat has a draft of just over 3ft, we pulled up about 200 yards away from an island to clean and the boat waited while some of us hopped off and swam ashore to see how much trash needed to be picked up. While we were there, the boat had managed to plant itself on the shallow sea floor of very mixed substrate (hard, soft, sandy, gooey, slippery, spiky, spongy, etc). When walking through the 3ft murky water there was no telling what texture(s) you would feel with the next step. After trying to free the boat with its own power to no avail, Steve asked for volunteers to get out and push so of course I was the first one back in the water. After a lot of grunting, pushing, heaving, straining, slipping, and straining, we managed to free the boat about 30 minutes later. By the time we dropped everyone back off, they were endlessly telling us how thankful they were to have had the opportunity to see the city from a completely new and exciting perspective.
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| Moving the boat. Photo: Steve |
After dropping them off, we went immediately to RSMAS where we picked up a good portion of our former dive class and Steve took us all out for a swim in the bay and a joy ride around Key Biscayne and a little bit of downtown Miami. On such a beautiful day, I cannot describe the happiness I was feeling of being on the water in such a stunning place with such a fantastic group of people. We eventually dropped off the rest of the class after which Steve took us back to the marina where my car was waiting. Christina and I drove back home and temporarily parted ways to prepare for the night.
One of the students in the class last semester (who was on the boat) recently got engaged to a guy named Alex. Alex had a birthday and invited us to his fiesta-themed birthday party on Key Biscayne which we went to and had a fantastic time.
Today included church, working on Wednesday's lecture, following up on the housing search, pizza, more working, napping, then briefly visiting Christina around dinner time. Tomorrow is back to work as usual which of course I love.
Yes, Miami may be the most vain city in America and perhaps even in the world. It might be fake, it might be plastic, and it might be obsessed with image. Even so, it has a lot to offer. It is a city with a character unlike any other place in the world. It is a city with rich diversity. It is a city overlooking a large fraction of the country's coral reefs. It is a city that honestly is gorgeous on the outside. It is a city surrounded on both sides by national parks. It is a city that offered me a job. Furthermore, for now, this is the city I call home.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Dr. Christian
The last thing I ever thought I would be is .... well no, that would be a politician. Let me rephrase that. One of the last things I ever thought I would be is a teacher. This doesn't include being a dive instructor because although I was technically teaching diving, it was never going to be a permanent thing. There was no classroom, it was all on my own time, I wasn't working for a school, there weren't really any lectures, I had no contract, etc. Let's not argue semantics and agree that I wasn't a teacher in the typical sense of the term.
Now I suddenly look at where I am and what I'm doing to realize that I have become a teacher even in the more traditional interpretation. On Wednesday (a week from today), I am going to give the Physics lecture in our 2-hour diving class. Rick is already going to have me teach at least two other lectures when he's gone this semester and if he ends up being needed in Australia, I could end up teaching 4 more classes at 2 hours a piece. Sure it's only 8 students who I consider friends, but it's still a college course at the University of Miami. The feeling I have is not anxiety, but rather more along the lines of excitement. Most of the excitement is due to the fact that it is a new experience for me; it's the reaffirmation that I really am in a grown-up job working at a university and now giving lectures to a mixed graduate and undergrad audience. What's more is that it shows that Rick has the faith in me to take control of the class. Sure I know that teaching a few lectures is not really a huge deal in the grand scheme of things but I'm enjoying the novelty of it while it's still new. Remember, I like to appreciate the little things.
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| Photo: www.napavalley.edu |
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Weekend Festivities
Most of this weekend was spent hanging out with Christina because first of all I enjoy it so much and second of all I know that as the semester picks up we'll both have less free time. It started off with dinner Friday night where we made excellent veggie pasta. Since everything came together in such a short amount of time last semester, we were hesitant to jump into anything but considered ourselves dating. During dinner we agreed that we still like each other a whole lot and decided to formally move into the boyfriend/girlfriend stage.
For Saturday I made plans a couple weeks ago to go to a festival with her to a place about 30 minutes south (Homestead) but didn't give her any clues about where we were going or what we were doing. She had been dying to know any sort of detail but I revealed nothing until we arrived. The event was the Heritage Festival at the Fruit and Spice Park. There were local arts and crafts, a little food, and animals all nestled into a large plot of land acting year-round as a picturesque tropical fruit farm where we ironically neither took pictures nor ate tropical fruit. It was a fantastic morning and afternoon and the surprise was a great success. After visiting friends and having a game of euchre, we finished the evening off by trying a Mexican restaurant that had been recommended to me which also turned out to be a winner.
The next day I went to church which was not very interesting because our pastor had to leave for Tennessee to speak at a ... what's the word, not conference or convention but along those lines. This meant that for the first time since I've been going to this church, he invited someone else to give the sermon. He was decent but it was clear evidence that I really like the regular pastor. At any rate, after that I went rock climbing then came home in the late afternoon/early evening and stayed in the rest of the night and relaxed.
For Saturday I made plans a couple weeks ago to go to a festival with her to a place about 30 minutes south (Homestead) but didn't give her any clues about where we were going or what we were doing. She had been dying to know any sort of detail but I revealed nothing until we arrived. The event was the Heritage Festival at the Fruit and Spice Park. There were local arts and crafts, a little food, and animals all nestled into a large plot of land acting year-round as a picturesque tropical fruit farm where we ironically neither took pictures nor ate tropical fruit. It was a fantastic morning and afternoon and the surprise was a great success. After visiting friends and having a game of euchre, we finished the evening off by trying a Mexican restaurant that had been recommended to me which also turned out to be a winner.
The next day I went to church which was not very interesting because our pastor had to leave for Tennessee to speak at a ... what's the word, not conference or convention but along those lines. This meant that for the first time since I've been going to this church, he invited someone else to give the sermon. He was decent but it was clear evidence that I really like the regular pastor. At any rate, after that I went rock climbing then came home in the late afternoon/early evening and stayed in the rest of the night and relaxed.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Remember, Remember
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| From the top of Table Mountain looking over the city |
I was elected to be the representative for Broadreach today for a fair up in Boca Raton. It went very well and I enjoyed it more than I anticipated. However, it got me thinking about all of my experiences tramping across the globe. I'm talking about adventures like sailing in Hawai'i, moving to the Philippines, seeing a soccer match in Indonesia, hitchhiking across New Zealand, and even hiking in Cape Town (pictured, but not part of this blog). I love my life and as I've said before I do believe I'm exactly where I need to be but that doesn't mean that I can't indulge myself in reliving memories of my recent nomadic past.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Happy Holiday
The rest of the week at Little Salt Spring went well. There were issues that came up as when some of the mapping had been done incorrectly or when two different objects had the same number label and these issues set everything back by at least a day. However, we all worked hard and pulled through on the last day to finish on time.
I made it home safely and spent a good portion of the night at RSMAS with some friends I made in the last few weeks of last semester. It was good to see them again and I'm sure it's the first of many times we'll run into each other. Last night I went to some friends' apartment and watched the Broncos get obliterated by the Patriots. Unfortunately the friends were on the side of Denver. As for me I really don't care too much for the sport but came for the company so I left a bit disappointed.
Today was church and rock climbing. My church has started a year-long focus on grace and so far it's really cool. Of all the churches I've ever been a part of, this is the first one that I feel really lives and breathes what they say and the way the pastor really digs to the core of every message, it speaks to me every week. As for rock climbing, I was there for about 3 hours and got a very solid workout and managed to hit more or less every wall. I love to climb and wish I could go more often.
Tomorrow night Christina comes back to Miami and I can't wait to see her again. Classes officially start the following day although my class does not meet on Tuesdays so I will meet the new clan of students on Wednesday.
In commemoration of MLKJr day tomorrow, here is a video that pays tribute to one of my heroes. When I think of true heroes and inspirational leaders, his is a name that always comes to mind. The point of this video is to remind the world that he did have more to say than his famous "I have a dream" speech. The creator of this video took ten of his favorite quotes and tastefully pieced them together. Enjoy the video and have a happy MLK day!
I made it home safely and spent a good portion of the night at RSMAS with some friends I made in the last few weeks of last semester. It was good to see them again and I'm sure it's the first of many times we'll run into each other. Last night I went to some friends' apartment and watched the Broncos get obliterated by the Patriots. Unfortunately the friends were on the side of Denver. As for me I really don't care too much for the sport but came for the company so I left a bit disappointed.
Today was church and rock climbing. My church has started a year-long focus on grace and so far it's really cool. Of all the churches I've ever been a part of, this is the first one that I feel really lives and breathes what they say and the way the pastor really digs to the core of every message, it speaks to me every week. As for rock climbing, I was there for about 3 hours and got a very solid workout and managed to hit more or less every wall. I love to climb and wish I could go more often.
Tomorrow night Christina comes back to Miami and I can't wait to see her again. Classes officially start the following day although my class does not meet on Tuesdays so I will meet the new clan of students on Wednesday.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Field Work
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| Little Salt Spring |
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Kicking Things Off
Last year was wonderful. It was a year of discovering my life path. This time last year I didn't even know what scientific diving was and now I'm teaching it at a college and graduate level. I made friends, learned about myself and others, went to Belize and the Bahamas, got a job, started looking for a house, and really enjoyed life every single day of the year. There were some rough spots but I learned how to overcome them and they taught me how to be a stronger more resilient person.
As for 2012, I don't really have goals other than buying a house. I don't want to necessarily be goal-oriented and focus on the end product this year but I would rather make the best of every day and adapt to any changes that arise as the year progresses. I do not want to tie myself to a specific self-formulated plan. I've tried that and the reason it doesn't work is that we are not in charge of our own lives. We make decisions that lead in certain directions and when we plan for things to happen, often times they do. To say that we are completely in control of our own lives though is a fallacy. The way I have chosen to live my life is not to come up with a plan and force myself and the rest of the world into that agenda. Instead, I do what I love and adapt to what the world offers me, making adjustments here and there as needed, some big and some small. In this way, I don't stress about failing to accomplish goals or being where I "need to be" because that will take care of itself.
To each his or her own. This is my life and that's what works for me. Here's to a happy and joyful 2012!
As for 2012, I don't really have goals other than buying a house. I don't want to necessarily be goal-oriented and focus on the end product this year but I would rather make the best of every day and adapt to any changes that arise as the year progresses. I do not want to tie myself to a specific self-formulated plan. I've tried that and the reason it doesn't work is that we are not in charge of our own lives. We make decisions that lead in certain directions and when we plan for things to happen, often times they do. To say that we are completely in control of our own lives though is a fallacy. The way I have chosen to live my life is not to come up with a plan and force myself and the rest of the world into that agenda. Instead, I do what I love and adapt to what the world offers me, making adjustments here and there as needed, some big and some small. In this way, I don't stress about failing to accomplish goals or being where I "need to be" because that will take care of itself.
To each his or her own. This is my life and that's what works for me. Here's to a happy and joyful 2012!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Something Beautiful
Saturday morning I was taken to the Salt Lake City airport where I spent my last bit of time with my family for what will be at least 3 months but likely at least double that. It was a good time but really quite self explanatory. I made it to my gate and characteristically chose to be one of the last passengers to board, found my seat, and got settled. The captain announced his intentions for routing us around Colorado due to some turbulence there and the general consensus from the cabin was that no one really cared as long as we reached our destination on time. The last passenger boarded, the captain announced that we were cleared for our new flight plan, and we eventually started making our way away from the gate, a move that lasted all of about literally 20 seconds before we hear the captain telling us that for our new flight plan we need about 1000lbs more fuel so we have to go back to the gate to refuel. After about 10 minutes of fueling he tells us that we need some clearance and a little bit of paperwork before we can go anywhere at which point the sentiment from the cabin was something along the lines of "what the heck were we cleared for 15 minutes ago and why does that change after re-fueling??" At any rate, we finally made it off the ground about 40 minutes behind schedule. After a long week of skiing I had anticipated sleeping during the 2-3 hour flight to Dallas but I decided to delay my sleep during take-off due to the beautiful mountains seen through my window. Keep in mind, living in the flattest state in the country I am completely deprived of mountains or even hills.
What I saw with my face pressed against the little airplane window was breathtaking. It started out with the mountains that rose up from around the city of Salt Lake. Rugged masses of land shot high up into the air with small bits of white snow on their peaks. These mountains merged into others and they gradually changed shape and contours as we cruised past far above them. My idea of isolation was restructured as I watched paved roads run for miles over the landscape weaving around canyons to stay on flat ground. Occasionally a rooftop would glint in the sun for a few seconds and then disappear into the rocky panorama as if it was never there at all. I took time to imagine myself out on those roads either coming from or going to civilization. It seemed completely solitary out there. I was spellbound as shallow rivers that fed from mountains snaked along in valleys they had cut out over hundreds of thousands of years. I was mesmerized by the plateaus that would drop off vertically on one side and rise up to a tall summit on the other. My eyes became tired as I did everything I could to stay awake staring at the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. Eventually my body could hold out no longer and I woke up to the captain announcing our descent into Dallas. When I looked out the window, all I saw was a vastly expansive plain with evident signs of farming.
The Dallas airport was much less interesting this time around. I neglected to mention it before but on my way to Salt Lake City I had a 1hour 50minute layover in DFW and managed to meet up with Christina for almost an hour outside of security. It was a real treat to see her again and made my Dallas experience extra special. Unfortunately on my way back I got off the plane and literally ran to my gate and made it there as soon as they called my zone. It was neither special nor fun especially as compared to my previous experience.
The last leg of the flight was enjoyable because in the final 30 minutes I looked out the window and saw fireworks bringing sparkling life to the land below us. It was a cool perspective on something many of us are very familiar with. I wouldn't say that it was necessarily better to see dozens of firework shows at once from a distance than it is to see one show close up, but it was a new and interesting perspective.
Dominique picked me up and took me to a friend of her's house and at about 11:30 we all went to Sandbar to bring in the new year. Happy 2012!!
What I saw with my face pressed against the little airplane window was breathtaking. It started out with the mountains that rose up from around the city of Salt Lake. Rugged masses of land shot high up into the air with small bits of white snow on their peaks. These mountains merged into others and they gradually changed shape and contours as we cruised past far above them. My idea of isolation was restructured as I watched paved roads run for miles over the landscape weaving around canyons to stay on flat ground. Occasionally a rooftop would glint in the sun for a few seconds and then disappear into the rocky panorama as if it was never there at all. I took time to imagine myself out on those roads either coming from or going to civilization. It seemed completely solitary out there. I was spellbound as shallow rivers that fed from mountains snaked along in valleys they had cut out over hundreds of thousands of years. I was mesmerized by the plateaus that would drop off vertically on one side and rise up to a tall summit on the other. My eyes became tired as I did everything I could to stay awake staring at the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. Eventually my body could hold out no longer and I woke up to the captain announcing our descent into Dallas. When I looked out the window, all I saw was a vastly expansive plain with evident signs of farming.
The Dallas airport was much less interesting this time around. I neglected to mention it before but on my way to Salt Lake City I had a 1hour 50minute layover in DFW and managed to meet up with Christina for almost an hour outside of security. It was a real treat to see her again and made my Dallas experience extra special. Unfortunately on my way back I got off the plane and literally ran to my gate and made it there as soon as they called my zone. It was neither special nor fun especially as compared to my previous experience.
The last leg of the flight was enjoyable because in the final 30 minutes I looked out the window and saw fireworks bringing sparkling life to the land below us. It was a cool perspective on something many of us are very familiar with. I wouldn't say that it was necessarily better to see dozens of firework shows at once from a distance than it is to see one show close up, but it was a new and interesting perspective.
Dominique picked me up and took me to a friend of her's house and at about 11:30 we all went to Sandbar to bring in the new year. Happy 2012!!
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