Pet me....?

Friends have encouraged me to blog for quite some time mostly because my life is filled with so many quirky and unusual incidents. For example, on a recent trip to Philidelphia as I was boarding my return flight I had a flight attendant (male) ask if he could "pet me!" These were his exact words! True, I did have a suede coat with some fake fur trim on but...I was so suprised I really couldn't think of anything to say except..."excuse me" at that point he seemed to realize what he had said and it's implications and began to backtrack...it was funnier than the last episode of top dog (you gotta see it)! If this had been the only occurance of petting requests it would have been strange but they keep occuring so I'm wondering exactly what it is about me that turns total strangers into rubaholics! Oh yeah, it did happen again; I was buying a slurpee, getting my change out of my bag, when the clerk asks if she can rub my purse...it has some raised applique but it's kind of an unremarkable object, grey with a black paisley pattern????? The most recent episode happened last weekend, I was selling a camping trailer to a friend, drove up to her house in my convertable, this one didn't even ask just began stroking the door! Any tips from anyone out there on something witty I might say in the future `cause I have the feeling it might happen again. Similar experiences?

Jamaican Voodoo Giraffes

I have been doing some spring cleaning (yes it's tedious and gross, but kind of fun too). I decided to clean all the decorative stuff on my shelves. The fun part is remembering where you got each thing, from who, etc...I took down these giraffes; I'm really kind of scared of them and I'll tell you why. I think they've been cursed by a Jamaican voodoo priestess! I'm sure you're probably thinking to yourself, ok another nutcase (I would be) but let me tell you the story.

Have you ever been shopping in Jamaica? It's not really much fun, or at least not for me. I climbed the Dunn's River Waterfall (you know the one where you hold hands and try to balance on slippery rocks) and I wanted to look at the souvenirs before getting back on the tour bus; big mistake!

I felt like if I didn't buy something one of the shop owners might start sticking pins in a blond doll when I turned my back. They are not a happy looking bunch! Anyway, in spite of this, I found these very cute giraffes, bought them and tried to stuff them in my suitcase.

When I got home I stuck them up on a shelf and didn't think too much about them for about two months.

One morning I noticed that instead of their heads facing the same direction (their eyes looking out the window) they were now facing each other. Well, at first I thought maybe one of the kids was playing a joke on me but they are up so high I really don't think that's the case. Of coarse it could be that the arid environment in Utah contributed to drying out the wood thus causing it to twist but I like the voodoo story better, don't you?

What are you willing to risk your life for?

I've been teaching my 15 year old to drive (don't get me wrong, he's actually pretty good) and this question came to mind this morning as we were zooming through the canyon to go hiking. What am I willing to risk my life for? Well, the standard stuff that most people would say, if you asked them, I guess, like my family, my close friends...to teach my kids to drive! However, I also do some exciting (but dangerous) things like scuba dive, I've even gone cavern/cave diving. I've gone cliff jumping; I travel to foreign countries, eat strange food and talk with amusing people that I don't know & dance until the wee hours of the morning in cities that never sleep... While some of this doesn't sound extremely risky...for a lot of my friends and co-workers it's pretty much insanity! As I think about this and some of the other crazy stuff I've done, purely for entertainment. I wonder about myself and what possess me to risk so much...I guess it is summed up in the quote "I would rather have 5 minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special." Anyone else ?

Crazy Train?

I sat listening to a great band last night! They played great American rock-n-roll and they asked for requests. The main singer/vocalist asked me what I wanted to hear; I love Ozzy's "Crazy Train" and asked for it by name. He knew it (of course, who doesn't?) but was really surprised that I asked for it...for some reason that eludes me! He shook his head in disbelief and said, "You mean Ozzy's Crazy Train?" I said, "Is there any other?" He was still incredulous...he goes..."Do you have any tattoos?" I'm thinking...what does this have to do with anything? But since I'm sitting in a room full of people waiting for answer I say no, because it's the truth and I'm too stunned to lie, even if I wanted to. So at that point he snaps out of it and says, "Well all right!!" They played a great Crazy Train and I danced with enthusiasm. I wonder why the remark... I was dressed a lot like everyone else, cuter shoes maybe but... well I'm hoping I didn't look like someones grandmother or even worse...a stereotypical librarian!

Did you think I'd be meaner??

The funny thing about being a librarian is that most people have a stereotype of what I should look like, and be like firmly fixed in their minds...perhaps television is partly to blame for this. Most people think I love quiet, like to read non-stop and that I should be at least 55 with graying hair and glasses perched on my nose. The funnest part for me is when I meet someone new and they just can't believe it!! I'm not the only exception. One of my best friends (who is also a librarian) races Harleys and sky dives, another is a dancer, one backpacks through the wild for a month every summer...I can be quiet and read but I also love a party! I scuba dive and love poker and loud rock music. One of the funniest observations that people make is they always think I should be stern or crabby (I'm usually very flexible and happy). I've actually had people say they are surprised that I'm so nice! Weird huh? I guess I could take offense but I think it's meant as a compliment.

The tatoo that stayed in Mexico

I was reading an article about popular tatoos in the paper the other day; I have to admit some of them were very creative, unique & beautiful! I sport no tatoos of my own and I think part of the reason why is because everytime I've felt like I might want to get one I've been in a foreign country and I've learned from experience that one of the most important things about the conversation with the tatooist (is that a word?) is that there be no language barrier or misunderstanding....another stupid travel story... remember if it's absolutely ridiculous, it has happened to me or someone I know!

I was in Mexico with my husband several years back; we were on Cozumel shopping after diving all morning when suddenly, after looking at numerous designs, my man decides he wants a tatoo. The funny thing was he didn't want any that were in the sample book. He wanted one of Calvin (you know the kid that pees on everything) peeing on a Ford symbol. Well I thought that was a weird thing to have on your leg and tried to talk him out of it by suggesting that if they didn't have the design perhaps they didn't know how to do that one. So He walks over to the kid in charge of sales and starts trying to describe what he wants. I was too far away to hear what he was saying but the gestures I watched were funnier than any Calvin comic I've ever read! The guys eyes got real big and he cracked a lopsided grin... I put two and two tegether and knew he was in big trouble! I ran over and said, "honey he thinks you want something I know you don't want...the pain involved would be...well unbearable! The light dawned in his eyes, and he began laughing, me too... almost wet myself right there.

Open Water

One of the most beautiful places I have ever been is the coastal area south of Cancun. On our last trip there we were diving in a swift drift looking for turtles. My husband and I were with the dive master who was an ex-marine. There were 3 other couples with us who went with another guide to another spot, because they were beginners. So, essentially our boat left us but the operator said that they would be back by the time we were ready to surface. I was a little worried at that point but went along with the plan.

We saw some beautiful sea turtles. They are huge, beautiful, friendly creatures! It was so peaceful and almost magical to be drifting with them. Our time was up all too soon; we needed to surface since we were at the end of our air supply. You guessed it, no boat anywhere in sight!

Have you ever seen the movie Open Water? That was us, only we had the Marine and we didn't die. We floated for about 40 minutes waiting for any boat or craft; there were none. At this point our guide began cussing up a storm he was so angry. He probably could have made it to shore but I wouldn't have. So we began to rack our brians for solutions to this problem. We came up with doing the only thing we really could, which was blowing our dive whistles!

I never even thought about my dive whistle before that day but I was so glad we had them because some jet skiers finally happened by close enough to hear us blowing our little hearts out.

The jet skiers didn't pick us up but they did find our boat for us. We were in the water floating for almost two hours by the time we climbed back in! Our Marine hit the guy running the boat and nearly knocked him out...I was just glad to be going back to land.

The lesson? Never go on a split dive in Mexico!