A day from my new life

I have two alternating routines now: the dive work day and the “office” work day (“office” referring to my lounging on the couch or bed with my two computers, the ocean view and a cup of tea).

Dive day

On a dive day I wake up at 6AM, take my time having breakfast and tea (I never like to rush in the morning), drive by the office to pick up my gear, and off to Caleta or Puerto d’Abrigo to catch the boat. I already mentioned that my least favorite thing to do right now is to work as a dive guide because of my topographical insecurities, but to be fair I have to say that so far I have never been lost on a reef and also I have never been even remotely nervous about it on the day of the dive (even if I drive myself completely nuts the day before). It’s fascinating how well our whole being can readjust under pressure! We come back from diving around 3PM and I’m usually DEAD. I don’t know how some people do this every day. I am so physically exhausted that I can barely move or even think. One day I caught myself staring into the oblivion for about 40 minutes straight after I landed on my couch upon return from a dive trip… This physical exhaustion translates somehow into a complete mental void, and for the rest of my dive day all I can do is something that doesn’t require any serious mental engagement – take a nap, watch a movie, eat, chat with friends.

I think it also has something to do with all the emotions that you spend underwater. I’ve always considered diving a form of deep meditation and it’s very normal for people to feel depleted after an introspective meditation. When I was just a client diving on a daily basis, I never felt physical tiredness, only this emotional depletion, but I guess the new exhaustion combo can be easily explained by the constant lifting of tanks and carrying equipment bags and having to stay alert for divers’ behavior underwater. Every little thing just adds up…

I wonder if this is something I can get used to if I do it repeatedly and very regularly or maybe I’m just not cut out for a strenuous physical job. Yet to be discovered.

“Office” day

An office day is much more conventional for me. I still wake up early and take my time breakfasting, but then I wedge myself comfortably onto the couch, start both computers, take a long look at the blue of the ocean instinctively drawing energy and inspiration from it, take a sip of my tea and… click-click-click-click-click-click-click. iGoogle open, Gmail open, Facebook open, Twitter open – one work window ready. Now another one – a Word file with Facebook and Twitter article ideas. And another one – deepseanews.com, underwatertimes.com, The Diving Blog, Cozumel Blog, aquaviews.com, Cozumel Insider, etc. etc. etc. And Mozilla Thunderbird email, of course (we use it for work email and I’m absolutely loving it, much more than Outlook actually, because you can just install so many cool plug-ins for Thunderbird!).

Now… let the social networking begin! Those of you who worked with me before will not be mistaken assuming that I have a precise algorithm to my posts. And of course, I have created some templates, tooJ. Everything is quick and efficient. I’m usually smiling as I do this work – never before have I been so aware of my proficient competency (for the record, I have always been very aware of my distinguished modesty). My movements are well-honed, there’s no unnecessary redundancy in clicking through the windows, no pauses between navigating swiftly to the desired results, no frustrated idling over some page in search of a next button to press – I know exactly which button to press where. This whole process may sound terribly robotic, but I see it as a good thing. I smile because all those years of continuous mutual fund research for Strategic Insight made me into a mean lean research machine, and by performing this monotonous groundwork so quickly and efficiently I actually allow myself to spend a lot of quality time on thoughtful pondering of the “topic of the day”.

I try to allocate only a couple of hours for social networking, but sometimes it takes up the entire day – depending on the information I encounter. Sometimes it’s so fascinating and interesting, that it’s worth doing additional research and write an article on the subject for our website. I really enjoy this part. I learn so much! And I get to write or edit stories, and this really brings me pleasure. I guess, that’s why I’ve been slacking on my own blog – because I constantly write for Dive Cooperative’s bLog. It all started with the story about female crabs having sex only once in a lifetime, which made me sift through so many articles to do proper research and learn so many curious and amazing facts, that now I cannot stop – I just want to know more and more and more about the marine biology aspect of diving. Strange, because before this article I could care less about all the fish out there. Yes, they are cute, but I’d never been a big fan – coral structures are my underwater attraction. Now that I know so much more about certain species, I look at them completely differently and I’ve actually developed some affection towards them. Take parrot fish, for example. I used to really dislike it – they are so big and kind of kitch looking that other divers’ excitement over them made me shrug every time we passed one. Now, however, I know that overfishing them presents a threat to the entire coral system because they are the only seaweed grazers in the Caribbean, and that they use a bubble “pajamas” to ensure a good night sleep, and that they are also called the “cows of the sea”. And all of a sudden, I find its mouth, always partly open as if in surprised puzzlement, quite endearing. Go figureJ.

But anyway, my “office” day is research, research and more research. And I love it! I guess, I’m a natural born researcher and you just cannot change this… And it’s absolutely irrelevant whether it’s mutual funds or sea cucumbers – I tackle either with equal vigor and dedication.