Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Landlocked

I used to have an irrational fear of the ocean. When people find out, they usually ask "how is that possible, you grew up in Panama!".

Well, I'm not sure how it was possible but it was. For the majority of my life, I stayed away from the ocean. It didn't matter if the waves were 1or 12 feet high, I simply could not be near the water. It made me anxious, uneasy, just could not bear to be near.

As you can imagine, my vacations were not centered around the beach. I guess that is a good thing, as I've traveled quite a bit and seen many different places. It wasn't until a couple of years ago I finally faced my fear.

The time came to take my husband and kids to my home, to see the place where I was born, where I grew up. While there, I promised my daughter I would take her to see the Pacific Ocean.

I made good on that promise. It was there, standing in front of 12-15 ft waves, on the beach of my beloved Panama, where I faced my demons. I let the ocean speak to me, and calm my fears. It wasn't easy, I would be lying if I said the fear just went away in one instant. But the anxiety went away and I was able to actually enjoy the beauty of the ocean.

The following year, our family vacationed in Navarre Beach. Our first official beach vacation and one I'm glad we took. The water was gorgeous, white sandy beaches, and I was actually able to enjoy the sound of the waves.

Little did I know all of that would come in handy this year. I'm now rotating on a regular basis to the coast, to work on the oil spill response. Needless to say, if I hadn't gotten over my fear, I probably would have had to ask to be removed from this assignment. I definitely wouldn't have been able to drive along the coast, or get on a boat.

So I'm now back in my office and feeling landlocked. Wow. Who would have thought I'd miss the sound of the waves!!! But I do. I have come to enjoy driving along I-90, or just staring at the bay out of the office window.

Yeah, I miss the waves. If it wasn't for those pesky hurricanes, I would even consider moving closer to the water.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Resurrection

Not that kind of resurrection. I'm trying to bring this blog back to life. Don't you just hate it when life gets in the way of blogging? I do.

April 30th was the last time I updated this blog. Almost 3 months ago. Ten days after the oil spill in the Gulf began, isn't that something?

The past 3 months have been quite hectic and crazy, to say the least. We had piano, and dance recitals in May, birthday celebrations, and 2 trips to the Gulf coast to work on the oil spill response. Pretty much the same in June and July.

Because of my job, I've been traveling back and forth to the coast to "work" on the oil spill response. I say "work" because my job duties do not include removing tarballs/oil or operating skimmers, or anything of the sort. But still, however small my part is, it does require me to be away from my family for two weeks every month.

I bet you thought the spill only affected those who live at the coast, didn't you? Nope, it affects many of us who work for state agencies, specially those of us in the environmental field. I have learned quite a bit since I started working in these new duties, and I've met so many people. It has been a good experience overall, if one overlooks the obvious impact this has had on the environment and the economy of a region that has just begun to recover from Katrina.

Aside from work, I spent a wonderful week with my family in the Smoky Mountains. Wonderful doesn't even begin to describe it. We rented a cabin in the village of Cobbly Nob with the most amazing view of the Smokies. We were all in awe every morning when we looked out of the window. It was just what the doctor ordered.

Then there was the 2010 World Cup. I'm a huge soccer fan, and have been for as long as I can remember. Watching the games this year reminded me of my childhood for some reason. It was a memorable tournament to say the least. I'm looking forward to 2014. Not only it's a milestone year for me (I'll be turning 40!), but it's also the next World Cup in Brazil. I am hoping I will make it to Brazil, watching a World cup game live is one of those things on my " bucket list".

I am hoping to keep this blog updated. It gives me a much needed stress release, so here it's to hoping this blog is alive again!