chaotic mortal

One Step to Blue… v2.

July 3rd, 2008. Published under Traveling, True Life. No Comments.

This was a different world. A world where gravity didn’t matter. Only lead weights did. A world where you breathed air carried on your back. Ten feet below the ground.

That world was the swimming pool at the scuba diving lesson center, and the world outside the swimming pool; the places I had unearthed by scuba diving for the first time: the Caribbean seas, the vast lakes, and the expansive oceans. Water covered most of the world, and although I wouldn’t be able to swim in it all, it will still quite an experience.

I could already imagine corals, fish, and the beauty of the ocean at Playa Del Carmen (we were going there in a few days). I could go deeper than just snorkeling. I could literally touch the corals.

Of course, I couldn’t do that now. I was in a swimming pool. But that didn’t stop me from envisioning. I was doing a lesson designed to let me get a feel for the gear.

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One Step to Blue

June 29th, 2008. Published under True Life. No Comments.

It has always been a dream of mine to swim in the ocean, look at coral reefs, and see actual fish. Not just watching Finding Nemo, but actually swimming in it. To do that, I would have to snorkel or scuba dive.

It was really a happy moment, therefore, when my father told me we were going to Playa Del Carmen (it’s around 20 miles from Cancun, Mexico). It was a world-famous spot for scuba diving, looking at the coral reefs, and watching fish.

But there were lot of things to be considered, the most important one being the fact that I would need a license to go deep. I decided to go shallow. But even that needed some training at least; some type of “getting used to” lesson.

My dad and I found out that there was a special type of lesson just for getting used to scuba gear. It would allow me to try out scuba-diving gear in a swimming pool with instructors. It wouldn’t get me a license or anything of that level, but at least it would let me get a feel for the gear.

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Bigger Screens

June 27th, 2008. Published under Home, True Life. 1 Comment.

A week ago, my father finally answered my prayers and purchased a gorgeous new twenty-two inch widescreen computer screen. The bliss!

It was hard to convince my father. He insisted that a huge screen was not a “need”. I insisted it was, citing a report about how larger workspaces increased productivity.

Finally he gave in and I spent a happy afternoon picking out a good-looking screen. In the meantime, I also convinced my father to buy me a new mouse and keyboard. The old ones were too loud, I said.

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Rain on the Sea (Poem)

June 26th, 2008. Published under Poems, Travel. No Comments.

Rain on the sea,
The water in the breeze,
Watch it blow free,
The rain on the sea.

It slowly grows more,
The water more dense,
Slowly raining offshore,
That sound I adore.

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Only a Submarine Will Wake You

June 25th, 2008. Published under Travel, Traveling. 1 Comment.

My mom’s friends had come from China, and we had taken them to Galveston to visit the island. One of the attractions that my mom really wanted to take us to was the Titanica IMAX movie at the Moody Gardens.

The Titanica movie was a movie that showed the discovery of the Titanic in it’s sunken place in the ocean. It was showed on one of the biggest screens in the world: a 6 story by 10 story screen. I couldn’t wait to see the movie.

We had arrived at Moody Gardens a few hours ago but they had told us the next showing for the Titanica movie was at 9’ o’clock at night. So we had grudgingly left, and now we were sitting in the gigantic room, waiting for the movie to begin.

Ambient music played in the background and dim lights shown on us as we got comfortable in the chairs. There were many rows of seats, but there were only around 20 people in this late showing of the movie. Each group got a row to themselves.

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Two Small Jumps

June 24th, 2008. Published under Travel, Traveling. No Comments.

The guests who had landed in San Antonio on the airplane was safe and sound now, and yesterday we took them to Galveston, Texas to live in a large hotel called the Flagship Hotel.

This hotel is special in many ways mostly because it is actually on the water. It is built on a large pier, and looking outside of the window will give you an effect like you are in midair above the ocean.

Before we could check in, however, we had to eat dinner, and my mom chose a Chinese cuisine. When we were finished with the meal, they gave us fortune cookies.

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The Airplane Has Landed

June 23rd, 2008. Published under True Life. No Comments.

A few days ago, my mom decided to have a party to welcome some of her previous tutors from China who had come to live in our house for a day. Of course, this meant a lot of cleaning to do. My mom decided to stay home and cook for them while my dad picked them up from the airport.

So of course when my mom got a phone call from them saying they had landed in San Antonio (a city near Houston, where we lived), it was most certainly a surprise.

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Waiting for You

June 22nd, 2008. Published under Home, True Life. 2 Comments.

My mother was having a big party, inviting a lot of her friends. Her friends. Not mine.

So to compensate for the loss, my mother got two of my friends (Kev and his little brother) to come and play. I decided it would work and I was told they would come at 6:30 in the afternoon.

At 6:15, I set up everything needed to have fun: computers, wireless Internet, and I downloaded some games in case Kev’s brother was bored.

6:30 arrived, and one of my mom’s friends came. They busied themselves with the dinner. There was no sign of any of my friends.

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Can You Beat Me?

June 21st, 2008. Published under Home, True Life. No Comments.

Swimming is a sport I have loved and done for many years now. I joined a swim team and I swim there year-round, even through the winter, where the temperature is a few degrees from freezing.

Frequently, we would swim in the summer and I would swim with my parents. The other day, my dad and I decided to do a holding-breath contest. Whoever could hold their breath the longest would win.

I held up three fingers. Then two. Then one. I took a huge breath and dived underwater.

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Lights Out for Internet

June 20th, 2008. Published under Home, True Life. No Comments.

A few months back, we bought a set of HomePlug AVs, things that let you go on the Internet through a power line. As my dad and I eventually proved, it was extremely picky. We had to unplug my mom’s touch bedside light to make it work. Somehow it was interfering with the signals.

We kept it unplugged and the Internet worked. One afternoon, as my dad went into the dressing room to change out of his gym clothes, my mom complained to him, “My Internet isn’t working anymore.”

My dad was half-way through changing. He turned the light off (we’re all into saving energy now that we got a $250 bill) and checked my Mom’s computer. Just as he stepped over, the computer flashed a message: System now connected to Internet.

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