Blue Blog

Today, I'm feeling pretty blue, I have some issues in my life but mostly in my head, it's kind of hard to think about it, talk about it, so never the less write about it...

Even though we use the word Blue to describe a feeling of sadness, depressed, low spirited, etc. Blue is such a beautiful color, that I decided to focus on the world in blue today...

Whale Shark

Blue Morpho Butterfly

Blue footed bobby bird

Blue Sky

Blue Flower

Blue Cup

The Deep Blue

Lapizlazuli

Blue Day

On a different color note, my blog got the first award ever from one of my favorite blogger Jess, yey!

This is very exciting because as English is not my first language sometimes I'm not very sure if I'm able to express myself fully and sometimes I'm not sure if I'm even interesting enough to have a blog, but oh well, things like this give me courage and a BIG push forward with my blog, so here it is:

Thank You Jess!

Have a great weekend!!!

Fantastic Fantasy

A while ago a friend of mine shared the wonderful and fantastic world of Mr. Jacek Yerka with me, his pieces are unreal, unbelievably full of fantasy and imagination.

Here's a little background about the artist as well as some examples of his pieces, honestly he has so many good ones that it was quite difficult to settle in just a few to show in this post.


Born in Poland in 1952, Jacek Yerka studied fine art
and graphics prior to becoming a full-time artist in 1980.
While at university, Yerka resisted the constant pressures of his instructors to adopt the less detailed, less realistic techniques that characterize so much of contemporary art. Instead, he stubbornly continued to work in the classic, meticulous Flemish style he still favors to this day. In the end, it was his teachers who eventually relented, finally recognizing their determined student as a brilliant (although troubling) talent.


The pastoral atmosphere of the Polish countryside provides a solid, mimetic foundation for much of Yerka's art.

However, it is his own uniquely evocative dreams that limn the complex, often arcane imagery of his work.

One need only glance at the luminous surfaces of Yerka's canvases to perceive his adoration of, resonance with, the master painters of the 15th and 16th centuries, key factors in the development of this surrealist Cagliostro. Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Bruegel, Hugo van der Goes and Jan van Eyck were powerful, early influences.

Basing on precise painting techniques, taking pattern from former masters like Jan van Eyck or Hieronymus Bosch but mainly on his unlimited imagination he creates surrealistic compositions, particularly admired by enthusiasts of sci-fi in all varieties.
Yerka inspired the fantasy writer Harlon Ellison to write 30 short stories which along with Yerka pictures constituted the publication entitled "Mind Fields".
The same American publisher "Morpheus International" released the album "The Fantastic Art of Jacek Yerka".

In 1995 the artist was awarded the prestigious World Fantasy Award for the best artist. He exhibits in Poland and abroad (in Germany, France and USA among others), being an esteemed representative of the science fiction stream of art. His paintings have recently inspired film makers.

I hope you enjoyed Mr. Yerka's fantastic world as much as I do, if you'll like more information about his art or want to see even more amazing paintings by him, make sure to check www.yerkaland.com or click here. (Also click on each picture to see a bigger version)

Locked out but not Lucked out of LOVE!!!

This morning I had a doctors appointment before work, so as soon as I got there I was already in a hurry cause I was late so I just put my car on park and literally run out of it not only locking my car keys inside but even leaving my engine running, IDIOT!

Yes I did that, all by myself without much effort. Then I had to swallow my pride and take a deep breath before calling my husband for help so he can go home and pick up our spare set and come an rescue me from the stupidity of my actions.

He was was such a sweetheart about it though, went all the way home, picked up my key and came back with a huge smile, first thing he told me is "I LOVE YOU baby, don't worry here's the key and it's alright, it could happen to anybody".

Boy I'm I lucky to have such a wonderful man in my life, thank you God, I sometimes think I don't thank you enough... But still, I am not proud to say that this is the way my day started, but oh well...

Besides that the big corporate guys from our US office are in town so everybody is trying to act cool, keep a low profile and go the extra mile (yeah right). I think they are pretty happy with my performance (well that is as long as they don't realize I'm updating my blog at work today, LOL!)

Happy hump day everybody!!!

Found my Kitty!

When I first move to the Cayman Island through the CI Humane Society I adopted a beautiful kitty of just a couple of weeks old, one of about 5 that were found on the side of the road by themselves because their mother got killed by a car.

This was a completely new experience for me, she barely had her eyes open and because she was so small I had to bottle feed her for a couple of days, then I had to teach her how "evacuate", how to go from formula to wet food and then eventually dry food.

Tica in 2005

So, having the opportunity to do this with such a small animal made the bond between us very strong and wonderful. And that's the story of how I got my cat Tica. She lived with me most of my time in the island of Cayman Brac from 2005 to when I moved to Grand Cayman in Sept. of 2006.

Then we got to Grand Cayman and I moved into this small apartment. Well, one day when I was at work and Tica was home, she was by the window and somehow the screen broke and she fell out of the house and by the time I got home from work a couple of hours later she was GONE!

Oh man, just writing about this brings back so many sad memories of that day. This day and the day that one of my dogs got run over by a car are in my top 5 saddest days in my life. The pain of thinking that she was all by herself, no food, no roof and probably super scared. We had less than a month at this place and plus she was indoor cat so she definitely didn't know the area to even come back.

I miss Tica every day of my life, and every now and then when I see a cat that looks like her I try to imagine that she was found and was giving a good home with love, food and specially treats that she loved so much!

Today I came across this wonderful video on the internet and I decided that this might be Tica and now when I think of her I'm going to imagine this is her getting all this love, besides this cat even looks like Tica!

Old Boots, New Boots

My husband has the pair of boots that he thing he's had since 1985, so about 14 years!!!

Can you imagine how they look??? Well one thing will be if he uses them only for work. But he doesn't, he uses them for work + yard work= lots of grass and mud on them.

I think that the worst the boots get, the more he likes them, he is so proud to wear those horrible boots, like they are brand new. I've try for him to get new ones, commented in front of other people to make him come to his senses and decide to buy new ones, and even people that work with him have mentioned something to him.


So, finally his birthday was this past July 11th and I offer to buy him a new pair, at first he said he preferred something else, something more fun!

After that answer I can of let go of the idea that I might just win over those horrible boots. But then last Saturday he was finally decided and we went to get some for him, so finally here are the new boots. What do you think? Big improvement, right???

Beautiful Sunday

This morning we made to the beach for the first time in long time!

Yeah! Although we live less than a mile from the water sometimes it's hard to get to the beach.

For us, it's been because we built our new house last year, got a second dog, organized our wedding, got married and diving every weekend, we have barely made it to the beach like we used to when we first started living together...

But today, it was great to be at the beach, we got there early so it was not busy. We both read our books, lay down to catch some rays, I did a little snorkel and even swimming.

It's been a good day so far, now my husband is out diving with a friend and I'm at home chilling with the dogs!

So, here are a few pictures of our beautiful morning at the beach.

getting to our spot (that's my husband setting up the chairs)

can't get anymore shallow than that!

nice umbrella set up

underwater macro of the sand and shells

beautiful view

our set up from the back woods

the heart tree

perfect camouflage

juvenile grunts and squirrel fish on my snorkel ride

NO Diving weekend

Although I'm do much better of my dislocating ribs, I've decided not to dive this weekend so I can be 100% back on my feet and start diving again soon!

I feel good again but I think that if I underestimate what happened to me last weekend I might go back instead of forward.

And boy I do love diving and I want to enjoy many more years of it, so I should take it easy for now!

Friday Humor

Have a great weekend and either blog or bark!

Kuroshio Sea Video

I found this awesome video and information about the Kuroshio Sea, which is the second largest aquarium tank in the world.



The tank holds 7,500-cubic meters (1,981,290 gallons) of water and features the world’s second largest acrylic glass panel, measuring 8.2 meters by 22.5 meters with a thickness of 60centimeters. Whale sharks and manta rays are kept amongst many other fish species in the main tank.

Enjoy!

Quick Tip

Don't you hate it when you have a beauty product in a soft package and you can't squeeze any more out of it??? Well, I have a quick tip for you (but this only works with soft plastic like containers).

When you are almost out, just get a pair of scissors and do this:

Cut almost in the middle of the bottle,
make you you'll be able to reach the bottom with your fingertips.

Once it's cut you'll be able to use the remaining product

To preserve it so it does not dry,
slide the top part on the other or the other way around

Another example:

Make sure you use good scissors so it's easier to cut

And voila! Now you'll be able to use till the last drop.

Still hurting, but @ work...

Today I got up and my body is still very, very sore... Went to the chiropractor again and he said that the only reason why he thinks I'm still in so much pain is because of the pressure that the second dive caused on my body after I dislocated my ribs... So, I'm just going to have to take it easy.

So, I'm back at work, trying to take it easy but still in very much pain. There are 4 cruise ships in, so we are expecting a very busy day, I talked to my boss and she knows I'm in pain so I will leave in case I can't take it any more...

Here's an aerial picture I found and it shows a day on the Georgetown Harbor with 4 cruise ships in.

Ouch!

Today I am in a quite a lot of pain, but not as bad as yesterday... Where is this coming from?

Well, on Sat. morning I did two boat dives on my new rebreather unit, in between dives I was very hot on the boat so I decided to jump from the side into the ocean like I always used to do. So I did a "cannonball" dive and once I hit the water I felt this incredible pressure in my back and going up to my head... but I was alright.

The rest of Sat. I was very busy getting everything ready for my husband birthday party (which was great btw) and I felt fine the whole time.

Yesterday morning I woke up with a very tight muscle on my back and shoulder blade... took some pills, took a very hot shower and called my chiropractor and left a message.

Hours went by and the pain did not get better, in fact it got worse, so I iced the area for about an hour, by that time my chiropractor got back to me, so I went to see him at around 7pm... Well, I was very tight, and because of my symptoms it looks like a have a dislocated rib.

Well, today I woke up even more sore all over because of the adjustment (but not as tight). So, I'm home, resting and trying to get better so I can finish my dives and get my certification.

Happy Birthday my love

Today is my husbands birthday, so I have a little party planned for him this evening. Pretty much everything is ready since I have a busy day ahead of me.

I'm still finishing my rebreather course so today I have to make 2 boat dives this morning, them in the afternoon I have a salon appointment to trim my eyebrows, pick up a table and pick up the cake....

Hope everything goes well, will take pictures and try to post them later. Have a great day and...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK, I LOVE YOU!!!

Backyard Paradise

Just a few pics I took on my back yard, have a great weekend!!!

yellow beauty

bougainvillea

pretty in white

so delicate

loveliness

a touch of lilac

Diving dejavu

From the first time you start diving, the first times you are on the water you are really only thinking about; your gear, making sure that you have plenty of air, that you are equalizing well and mostly that you are not going to drown!

Then when time goes by, the more you dive, the most confident you feel about it, then you finally look around and really enjoy your environment, the fish, the scenery, etc....

After that and specially after you are able to control your buoyancy well enough, you start to explore and actually look around for stuff and maybe even get to the point of getting and underwater camera and start snapping pictures.

Well, I've being through all those stages through my year as an open circuit diver.

But now, I am starting to be a different kind of diver, a technical diver with a completely different equipment and different things to learn.

So, here I am back at the point where I started... meaning, right not I'm mostly only conscious about my gear, making sure everything works, trying to control my buoyancy and trying not to worry...

On yesterday's dive, at the beginning I was really only focusing on those aspects of it, until I saw my favorite fish (which by the way I haven't seen one of them in over a year of diving at least once a week)... then I relaxed, took a deep breath and realized that if my equipment is in good shape and I'm doing things correct, then there's nothing to worry about and enjoy the dive.

Here's an old picture of my favorite fish, a Spotted Drum. (Of course it is an older as I don't carry a camera yet on this new type of diving... as they say here on the island, "soon come").

juvenile Spotted Drum

Playing with my camera

This morning I watered some of the plants inside my house and then I decided to try some macro shots, here are the best results...

new peppermint leaf

about to drop

nice natural light effect

Only I wish I had a better camera to get better results... but at least this one helps me practice!

"I guana" cry!!!

Yesterday as I was driving home from work and in one of the busiest roads on the island (West Bay Road) I saw 2 green iguanas hit by cars. I'm pretty sure none of the two survived...

juvenile green iguana

Unfortunately for the islands, these species of iguana (green) are starting to become a huge problem, they were brought from Central America a few years back, introduced to the environment and on such a small territory they are now taking over. Mostly they are eating a lot of the local flora, damaging the trees and specially invading the territory of the other endemic iguanas of the island which is the blue dragon.

adult blue dragon iguana

Being an animal lover, seeing iguanas get kill was pretty say and shocking experience, unfortunately this is very common on this busy road.

So, even considering that the green iguanas are consider sort of a pest to the island, they are still animals and we should be very conscious about them (specially on the road), because it is so sad to see them kill all the time.

At this point in the history of the planet, I think human beings need to be held responsible for the future of many species, so if we humans brought these iguanas to the island, we should care for them and find a way to control their impact in our environment and try to avoid a massacre on the roads...

Constitution Day

Today is a national holiday in the Cayman Islands that commemorates the first written constitution, which came into being on 4 July, 1959. The constitution that governs us here today was revised in 1972 but also that document has been amended several times in the past 36 years.

About 2 years ago the government started a project of "modernization" to the constitutions which the locals voted to accept or not just this past May 20th. I've been reading a little bit about this but not very sure when the changes are coming into effect...

So, to all Americans reading this today, Happy (belated) Independence Day and to all Caymanians reading this, Happy Constitution Day!!!

One of the many reasons why I love my country....

Costa Rica tops good life survey

By Simon Briscoe in London

Published: July 4 2009 05:04 | Last updated: July 4 2009 05:04

Costa Rica, the country of fewer than 5m people sandwiched between Panama and Nicaragua, tops a new global ranking for combining a happy and long life with limited environmental degradation.

The country blends beautiful countryside, a great diversity of species and has long since got rid of its army. The merger of its energy and environment ministries has reversed deforestation and helped it produce 99 per cent of its energy from renewable sources. It has also scored highly, relative to other developing countries, in surveys of poverty, press freedom and democracy.

The Happy Planet Index, “Why good lives don’t have to cost the earth”, published on Saturday by the UK-based new economics foundation, combines measures of life expectancy, happiness and ecological footprint to assess the sustainability of growth in 143 countries.

That the top 10 in the list of “greenest and happiest” nations is dominated by Latin America might raise a few eyebrows, as the region is better known in the western imagination for its slums, inequality and coups. Zimbabwe languishes at the bottom along with a dozen other south, east and central African countries.

But the Latin Americans score highly, the report suggests, due to non-material aspirations and strong social capital among friends and relatives. The grim performance of the developed world might also prompt some westerners to cast doubt over the value of the report. Among the rich nations, the highest placed country is the Netherlands – but it manages only 43rd.

The UK languishes midway down the table – 74th, behind Germany, Italy and France but ahead of Japan and Ireland. The US fares particularly poorly, in 114th place. The western countries have long life expectancy and people are reasonably happy, but the countries suffer in the rankings due to their ecological footprint, reflecting high levels of consumption.

The challenge for the west, the report says, is not to keep increasing incomes but to aim for more meaningful lives and stronger social ties. That might be a leap too far in the near term but the index is released when policymakers are exploring broader measures of progress rather than a desire to boost growth. French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s “Commission on the measurement of economic performance and social progress” is due to report soon.

Critics of such measures and summary indices say they are based on arbitrary data and calculations but most welcome their contribution to the policy debate.

“HPI is one of the several attempts to go ‘beyond GDP’ and to bring attention to important aspects of our life,” Enrico Giovannini, chief statistician at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, said. But, he added, “It is impossible to capture in a single indicator the complexity of our society.”

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009