Thursday, February 24, 2005

FYI



It was 79 degrees in St. Croix today. The high here in the DC area was 33. And it's been snowing on & off (mostly on) for over 12 hours. It's times like these that I sit and reflect. Why, exactly, did I decide to move back to the states?

As it usually happens; too much of a good thing is, well, Too Much. How much Sun & Fun can one person take? In my case; it was about 3 1/2 years worth. Unfortunately, when you decide to move to a Caribbean island pretty much on a whim without a big savings account; you have to get a job. So that you can afford to live there to enjoy the Sun & Fun. I was fortunate that I was a certified SCUBA diver (I managed a dive shop) and that I could open beer bottles, operate a blender, & have inane conversations with people that have more money than they know what to do with (I bartended at a 4-star resort). And I was fortunate that both jobs allowed me to do what I had gone there to do: Dive. At the dive shop; diving was part of my job. I bartended mostly at night; so my days were free to dive. (I'm not a huge night-dive fan. It's cool that you see alot of things that stay hidden during the day; but you can only see what's in the beam of your flashlight. And the currents are stronger at night. Tough entries, tough exits. Too much work.) Anyway, I reveled in how lucky I was that I was realizing a dream for about 3 years. Even while I was losing alot of my possessions and little snippets of my sanity every time a big hurricane came through.

There came a time when I was only diving maybe once a week. I found myself just going through the motions. I wasn't even lying on the beach anymore. Too many sand fleas. I would lie on the deck at my house a few hours a week. And I didn't even enjoy it. I just felt that I needed to maintain a tan so I would look like I lived there for the tourists I encountered at work every day. They expected it. It's part of their whole "vacation experience". They can't have someone mixing their drinks that is lily-white in their floral shirt/khaki shorts uniform. One day, a guest at the resort said to me, "You are so lucky! Just look at this view you have every day! People would kill for this job!" I looked up at the beach (about 15 yards away) and thought, "I haven't noticed the beach in about a month". I knew it was time to go. There were other things. The government sucks there. A Senator was re-elected after he killed his son by shooting him in the back. (At the same time a DC mayor was being re-elected after having been caught with a prostitute smoking crack). The crime is horrible. One time, I paid a crack addict 10$ to get back the same battery that had been stolen from my car. And I didn't think twice about it. Amazing the things you become use to over time.

So, I told my b'friend, "I'm leaving with or without you." He decided "With" because he had his own agenda. He wanted to go to Law school. (He's a successful attorney in Boston now. We're still friends.)

Anyway; even though I had the best experiences of my life, made life-long friends, and ate things that would put those "Fear Factor" people to shame; I knew when to say "When". And the only time I really miss it anymore is when it's so fucking cold; I can't feel my fingers.

I have tons of stories from that time. I don't know why I haven't told them here. I guess I'm starting now.

peace

Comments:
When I spent fourteen months in the tropics I was yearning for a seasonal change. Seems fun in the sun gets boring after a while. I think the DC area has much to offer culturally and in activities. I would gladly go back to the DC area and leave hot and humind Louisiana behind.
 
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