One of the interesting things about living at the dock is the birds. They are different than the ones I used to watch in the yard. The first birds in the morning are the seagulls - at least those are the ones that wake me up. Once I get up and head out the docks with the dogs, there are blue herons up and around. They are so used to people that I can get to within three feet before they squawk and fly away. The birds also go through a visible shift change, just as it gets dark. The snowy egrets who hang around the fishing boats are relieved by the night herons, but there is a slight overlap. And trust me, if it comes to a throw down between a night heron and a snowy egret, the heron will win every time.
The other evening we were eating at a restaurant that has an outside deck that overlooks the docks where the sportfishing boats dock. The fishing boat workers were emptying the bait tank, so all these birds - pelicans, egrets, gulls, herons, cormorants - were swooping over and around the boat, grabbing up the discarded baitfish. At one point, we saw the boat guy reach down with a net and scoop up a gull. I realized there was something wrong with the gull, and saw the guy take something out of its mouth. He struggled with it for a couple of seconds, then released the gull, which flew off. All of us who were watching burst into applause. The guy called out "I dont give a shit about the bird - check this out, a $30 dollar lure!" Turns out he rescued the bird only because he saw that a really nice fishing lure was stuck in the gull's beak. I liked it anyway.
The first session of scuba training did NOT go well - I cannot clear my ears at all. But I am not going to give up and will keep trying unless and until they throw me out of the class. At least maybe I can pass the classroom part of it and then try the actual diving part later. It is frustrating as hell, because otherwise I do just fine. There are a lot of things to think about at once, which is not one of my strong suits. Tonight we actually use the scuba gear. Last night we did everything with snorkels. Maybe I can get my ears to clear better when we are using the gear because then I can go slower. With the snorkel, I had to hold my breath while diving down, which meant I had to go fast so I didn't run out of breath. With a scuba tank, I think maybe if I descend slower the ears will clear. I can easily clear them IF and only IF I can open my mouth, which you cannot do well while snorkeling or scuba diving. The instructors showed me about holding your nose and trying to clear them that way, but all that did was make me feel like my eyes would explode out of my head. Wish me luck for tonight! At least Mike did not get mad at me, and he is going to continue even if I flunk out, thank goodness. I would feel really really bad if he quite because of me.
Otherwise - things are going pretty well. I had a wonderful lunch with two good friends yesterday and remembered how important it is to have friends and not neglect them. If I want to maintain relationships, it is up to me to do the necessary work.
I will sign off today and continue to practice ear clearing without opening my mouth. Does anyone think this is related to my lifelong problem of not being able to keep my mouth shut?
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