The wedding was a success! And a very beautiful one. It took place on Mission Bay, June 2nd around 4pm. And everyone had a great time, I'm so happy to have been a part of something so special for the couple!

It's been a very busy month, planning this wedding, working and coordinating a hiatus from the deli, and most importantly preparing for two dear friends to fly in from their respective countries to visit here in San Diego for two weeks!
They arrived last night!
So it's going to be an eventful and nostalgic couple of weeks, I couldn't be happier.

Up

I've been really lazy this last week.
Feeling like I'm barely dragging myself to work, and then resting for the remainder of the day.
With exception of last Thursday, where I logged my 11th dive at La Jolla shores (again), I haven't really accomplished much.  
Until today that is!
Today marks the day I was able to cross another life adventure off the list.
I don't want to call it a "bucket list" because that's too cliche but there are an endless amount of adventures or experiences that I want to be a part of before I die.
Hot air ballooning was definitely one of them. I think since the first time I saw a giant rainbow balloon in a picture, TV or even a cartoon, I've wanted to be in one. It's a slower, hovering air pocket in the sky almost always rainbow bright colors, whats not to love about that.
Our Balloon flight was scheduled months ago, but due to weather we kept getting pushed to a later date. It was well worth the wait, and for $200 well worth the discount price!
We arrived at Monte De Oro Winery at 5:15am completely ready to go and early and by 6:30 we were boarding, taking pictures and floating away for a 55 minute flight over Temecula wine country.

They really made it a special event, complete with morning mimosas (Bad idea at 5:30), snacks, hundreds of photos and almost an hour of flight is very generous. The crew of Sunrise Balloons were super friendly, efficient and seemed very experienced.
It was almost exactly like I thought it would be, steady ascents and descents with a maximum altitude of about 1,500ft softly floating around over houses and agricultural plots of land. Maybe that's because we were lucky to have a good pilot.
Or maybe that's because, really, hot air ballooning is not a real adrenaline rush at all.
But, it was an amazing experience and I couldn't have been any happier!
Maybe this will get me out of my depressed rut. And I only have 17 more days until two foreign friends finally reunite here in California!
That is when the real excitement begins!

For now it's possible that there should be a compiled formal list of all the adventures I'd like to accomplish. But I can mark this off for now:
Hot air balloon ride!

I just logged my tenth dive yesterday! We went to the La Jolla shores.

I've been getting more and more comfortable underwater, and I feel like I'm able to control my buoyancy well too. I feel like the BC I use helps a lot with that, but also (and arguably more important) the breathing. Breathing and the pace and depth of your breath are so important in diving, and as one descends it's even more noticeable how inhaling can raise or lower you body. Also, the deeper you go the more the air is condensed (of course) and the wetsuit crushed down so to say. It's interesting, and an on-going endeavor, to become perfectly weighted and achieve a really comfortable neutral buoyancy at depth.

The La Jolla shores has been compared to the desert. It's a more beige landscape, with camouflaged plant and aquatic life. Thats not to say it's baron or boring though. In fact it's obviously an ideal spot for beginners and lazy divers! As I'm finding out, the shores tends to have much calmer waves and easier shore entries than some other spots in San Diego. That being said it's also the most familiar to me because I was taught in those waters.
And of the 10 dives, 9 of them were in the shores, so I'm by no means experienced!
But I'm learning and picking up some important experience.
Some of the life we tend to regularly see at the shores would include lots of sand dollars (which live upright like this going with the waves/current underwater.)

We have seen a couple octopi too, at the shores and cove.

                           Overall some really great shots from many other divers can be seen at divebums website. I've been loving looking through what other people have spotted at the same (or close to!) spots I have been at.
It's an addictive hobby.

Just enjoying my Weekend.
I ended up cycling only one day last week, I had a goal of three. So I could have done better!
Total: 5.2 miles.
I hiked 4 miles today at the end of Pamo valley in Ramona and saw the creek was still flowing.
Tomorrow I plan on cycling more.
All in all a good calm weekend so far, filled with sun, BBQ, and rest.

On the rocks.

This week has been a disaster. But in an I'm-being-over-dramatic sort of way.
I work with two people and a boss. You would think it would be easy to deal with work stress and frustration since there are so few people. But actually it's quite the opposite.
In fact, since you can't hide behind a staff of 50 or more every thing is under a magnifying glass and simple mistakes, or off-hand remarks turn into huge dilemmas.
I have been working with an older woman who recently got hired on, but she has consistently been condescending and rude to me in an attempt to seem superior and gain a management position at this place of work.
It's so annoying when people fight cruelly for such a small gain in power.
And today was a slight breaking point for me.
I let her know that I am technically her supervisor, and that she should also take direction from me.
But instead of listening she acted like a child, practically slamming cabinets and huffing and puffing away.
I feel like there is such a fear in losing a job, not being able to find one or get paid enough that people claw and scratch their way around others just to climb to the top of even the most low end "careers".
I don't plan on staying in food service my whole life, and she can have the management position.
But the complete lack of respect is what hurts.
I've noticed that it happens in small businesses, especially restaurants.
There is a pattern in way new small business owners act and treat their employees, and when they begin to feel the fatigue of working the business.
I'm willing to work hard for a business that wants to work hard for itself, and when the management begins to waiver and pout in the face of hardship, then I lose respect and faith in that business.

Basically I have a new respect for the larger workforce, and career options that offer a little more anonymity.
But ultimately, continuing school is my new plan.

Yesterday was my parents 36th(!) wedding anniversary. I consider that a success. They still love each other, bicker, fight, and make-up.
I love and respect my parents very much, and hope to have a similar kind of relationship they have together with someone of my own.

As of today there is exactly one month until my boyfriends mother gets re-married. And she is throwing a completely huge and over-the-top wedding at a ritzy hotel on the beach. With a luau reception, rented hotel rooms, drinking, partying and a honeymoon for the two in Hawaii immediately after the wedding.
She has been married before, and is a little older with two grown kids, but couldn't be more excited to perfect every detail of this party.
But even though shes been married before, and went through a different path, I think shes really successful too.
And I'm excited to go to a beach wedding! Though I normally don't really care for weddings, this one is going to actually be fun and relaxed.
And I get to wear a casual dress, which I haven't found yet.
My goal: to actually work out, and find a dress before the wedding.

I'm Beginning a new work week tomorrow, that means getting back on the bike and riding to work!
 My favorite part of the (only) six mile ride to work, is that it is on a slight downhill. The ride home always seems longer.
But I can't believe how just one change in my routine can have such a positive impact on my whole day. I instantly feel more energized, make better food choices, and drink more water when I ride to work in the morning. And it couldn't be easier.
The only hard part is continuing even in poor conditions. Rain, bad car traffic, or laziness seem to have derailed me from my goal of bicycle commuting regularly.
My goal: I'd like to aim for at least 3 days this week.

Making money

People can blame economic hardship on a lot of different things. I blame my monetary troubles on having recently accepted only dead-end, low paying jobs. Or, more specifically, not continuing my education or working harder to find the good ones that are out there.
Because of that, its become easier for me to release some older items from my collection of stuff.
One of those items being an Airline Guitar that I've had in its case for a couple years.
This guitar was made popular by Jack White of the white stripes, and I'm convinced that's about the only reason I held onto it for so long. It was received for free from a family friend who's daughter lived the romantic TV dream of dating a guy in a rock band. He apparently decided this was the perfect guitar to create or cover all the music they played.
I haven't put in the time to learn how to play, and I wouldn't learn on this guitar if I did.
It had minor wear considering the age, and had nice deep sound through the amp.
A quick ad on craigslist proved interesting. It sparked a few potential buyers, and a couple fake ones.
Until a completely serious and unrelenting man asked to buy it for what ever price it would take.
And after a couple questions were answered, a solid price was agreed on and a spot to meet in Ocean Beach, San Diego.
With any exchange like this, it's important to go with a buddy and a keen sense of safety. But this little spot in OB, just down from Hodad's, seemed like a cool and populated place.

And the buyer was right. He informed me that his sister and brother in law own this place called "The Electric chair" An awesome looking salon and music studio on Newport Ave. in OB.
This place is a maze of funky artwork, salon chairs and tons of people. Weaving around the place are rooms in the back for private music lessons, with walls covered in noise isolating Persian looking rugs. Artists display their works on every spare inch in this place, and I notice that my eyes can't stop darting all around to catch every bright detail. This place even has a full stage, room for concerts and he even said belly dancing classes. I'm sure that's not all that happens there.
Not quite a hole in the wall, this place is way more than that, and has been around for a while. Not a surprise when you step in there, It's a gem in OB.
It was great that this Airline guitar could find such a nice and fitting home! To a man who will truly appreciate its history, and the sound of a vintage guitar. I couldn't have asked for a better situation.
Weird how things can work out like that.

As I'm looking back on the last four months, I'm realizing that a lot of the goals I had in mind to work on have fallen by the wayside.
I wanted to eat healthfully and lose a bunch of weight.
I gained 3 pounds.
I wanted to save and make more money at work.
My hours were cut, and and the tension has risen between my boss and coworkers (which will result in me possibly quitting, even in these tough times.)

But, I also look at what I accomplished and I see a new scuba certification and the adventures of exploring an otherwise unknown land underwater.
A humbling experience when you realize how truly powerless you are against nature but how beautifully it can take care of itself.
The La Jolla cove in San Diego, known for barking seals and dense sandy shore, as it turns out is also unpredictable. By nature the cove acts as almost a funnel, turning gentle surf into rough possibly dangerous waters. Scuba diving in the cove should be done by experienced, confident divers.
My partner and I decided to dive the cove, and I fulfill neither of those qualifications just yet.
The kick out was mostly smooth and and fun in the late afternoon sun, while watching the people and seals from the water. The descent was easy and exciting, a complete thrill to see the ocean floor and life that covers it.
We were sucking air and equalizing the pressure in our ears between curiously looking and lightly prodding around sand dollars to find something else we've never seen. It was a great dive for a new diver to experience. We surfaced at dusk, right as the sun started walking away, everything felt safe. We collected ourselves and chattered about all we saw, and gently kicked back between the kelp towards shore.
That is when I realized that the slight darkness would not help me in the growing swell. As we kicked closer the waves grew, until we reached our feet to the sand and an uneasy feeling overcame me.
I desperately tried to pull my fins off and stand with my gear before being pushed to the ground by the pounding waves. As each wave hit, my panic grew and my nerves compelled me to scream for help to my partner. Pushed closer and closer to the rocks beside the staircase, high tide was laughing in my face and keeping me pinned on my back to the floor. The heavy gear weighting me down. I couldn't think straight or at all, and looking back I know I over reacted in my helplessness. My partner ran back and forth throwing gear atop the staircase, pulling my weights from my BC, yelling for me to hold my fins and keep the regulator in my mouth. And finally a break allowed me to crawl pathetically to the stair case where I held on between the crashing waves and unloaded the rest of my gear as high up as I could. I lost one fin in all the hysterics, but felt relieved to be alive at that particular moment. My partner was so generous and tried hard to help me, but it came so easy to him with the placement of his landing on the shore.
Since that night, I've completed four more dives and they have been easy in comparison. Acknowledging my weaknesses is helping build strength for future dives and learning how to tackle problems better.
I could say it was a great learning experience (albeit expensive) but more important it's made me humble to the ocean. To know that it needs respect, and even if you anticipate the waves you can't always stand up to them by yourself. It's necessary to look for signs in the ocean, in the waves, swell and current to know if you can or want to tackle a shore dive.
This is something I'm learning in more areas than just this one.  

The opening

I have come to the conclusion that:
I am documenting my adventures for future reference.