Tonight was a fundraiser for the Hurricane Ivan victims who still need help, a year after Ivan hit. There’s still a lot of houses with no roof and a lot of people still need help. We raised almost 2 million dollars. One year ago today, Ivan was bearing down on us really bad. I was at work. I was super lucky, all I got was flooded and I had insurance. Almost everybody on the island lost the roof, got flooded, or both. Hurricane shelters full of people lost the roof. Iven was a recordbreaking storm in several ways. Our peak wind at the airport was 209 MPH.

Almost all the insurance companies ripped everybody off, and as a result, got devalued. I switched to the only one who didn’t get devalued. (Not sure devalued is the correct term.)

Here’s a pic of me working tonight at the Marriotte. I don’t like this pic because I look bug eyed. In real life, I look much cooler. Oh yeah, I think I was on TV. One of the cameramen had a camera on me for a couple of minutes, my boss said he saw me on TV but I didn’t.
Click HERE for one of those 180 degree view videos I always do, I’m telling you, this is some boring stuff.

Afterwards, I was driving home and there was nonstop lightning. I tried to take pics of it and this is the best one that I got. It doesn’t even come close to the real thing.

Now it’s 2:16 in the morning. I am kinda tired. But I don’t feel like going to bed.

I’m getting ready to go to work, it’s a broacast about Hurricane Ivan one year ago. It’s us and the television center together. I’m taking my laptop so I’ll be online. I plan on being on Yahoo Messenger, running a webcam and I’ll need some company. I’ll be looking for you, my yahoo ID is MarkD60. Please come see me, but I might be busy.
It is a very formal affair, but I’m working so I’ll be NOT wearing a tux. Black pants black shirt black shoes. I considered wearing a wetsuit. All black, ya know!

I’m back and batting 1000. I went across the street and had a swim, cuppa coffee #2 is brewing. I am awake and alive!
Pretty sick, isn’t it? I’ve made two posts on my blog and haven’t even checked my email.
I really need to get a life!

I feel pretty crappy. Headache. Blurry vision. It was hard to get up but hard to lay there in bed too.
When I sleep, I clench my jaw super hard and grind my teeth. I get these fantastic headaches that include my jaw, around to the back of my head, and down my neck to my back, kind of under my shoulderblades. I took three ibuprophen. (spell that for me.)
But, when I finish this cuppa coffee, and maybe the next, walk across the street to the sea and jump in, I’ll be A-OK!

I keep thinking it’s Saturday bacause I got off early this morning. But now I just got home from work. I got called in because of a problem with one of the transmitters. So I ended up putting in a pretty full workday.
I did get some beach time in this morning, then it got cloudy and started raining. This evening there was (and still is) some spectacular lightning and thunder. I thought that maybe we got hit by lightning, but that wasn’t the case.
Tomorrow, in theory, I won’t have to be at work till 5PM . then we’re on the air till midnight and then hopefully I can make it home by one in the morning.
I am verrryyyy sleeeeeeeepy. I don’t want to go to bed yet, I just got home, but I can’t help it, I think I’m going to pass ou-
snnoorrreeeee

I am soo glad it’s Friday. I am late for work already and I have to miss my beach walk. Yesterdays post I complained about my boss. He is truly a crisis manager. But one thing, yesterday, when he was telling me about all these broadcasts, (this morning and Saturday night) I threw into the conversation “you know, I’m going to be wanting some time off Friday for all this”. My boss is good about that, if I ask for time off, he’ll give it if he can.
So my plan toda is to do this broadcast from 7:30 to 8:30 (that’s on air times, it doesn’t count set up or take down) then head to the beach!!
You probably can’t tell from my pictures, but I’m getting a little thin on top, hair wise. And i used to always used to wear a hat, not only to protect my head but to make me look not-bald. Well, for the past month or so I’ve been skipping the hat. At first my head burned, but not anymore. the problem is my nose, it is always red and I go to the bathroom and peel the sunburnt skin off. I can actually see the peeling skin sometimes like when you leave your coffee on the hood of your car and try to start driving!
I’m afraid people will start to call me Rudolph.
I am really not done with this post but I have to go to work NOW!
I am so happy today!!

What a day! Super busy at work. I was supposed to dive after work, but a friend called and wanted help picking up a new cabinet. So I canceled my dive to help. Then, when I was on my way to the store, he called and said he couldn’t make it and could I pick it up??!! WTF? I’m supposed to be just helping! OK, I picked it up, put it in my car, delivered it, unloaded it put it in place and, oh yeah, PAID FOR IT!!! (I got my money back).
Hurricane Ivan was one year ago and there are all kinds of special shows and broadcasts. Tomorrow morning is one, I had to tell the Dept of Environment I couldn’t do the beach walk tomorrow. It sucks, my second solo walk, and I had to cancel. I’ll be branded as unreliable. It will take time to cure. My boss never gives me any advance warning. I didn’t even know about the broadcast till after close of business yesterday, and today I first got all the details. I need to learn how to say NO! I never think fast enough. My attitude is “I can handle it, no problem!” Then I walk away and it dawns on me….. Wait a minute….I’m supposed to do something else then… My name should be “Dim” cause that’s how my brain works.
Additionally, I had a bunch of text all typed up for a post I have been working on, (I mentioned it yesterday). Well, I lost it. My computer froze and my Firefox closed and I lost it. Not really a biggie, but I had put some effort in it. I was just reading here on blogger about this happening to some other people. I can’t remember where exactly, cause you know, . . . I’m kinda Dim

I keep thinking about a friend who became important to me. I have never confided in too many people. But when I do, they mean a lot.
Well, something happened and she’s not talking to me. I still see her around kinda, but we’re not talking. I kind of feel like she wants to talk but isn’t because of external pressure. Maybe wants to and feels like it would be improper.
She told me she wouldn’t disappear but kind of did. I have tried to create opportunities for her to communicate, but feel funny about it. Maybe she genuinely doesn’t want me to bother her.
So what I’ve decided to do is let go. If she wants to communicate, she knows how.
But this doesn’t feel right either, I can’t just give up!
I want my friend back!

And i am so tired I am going to sleep. I am working on a post but it is taking longer than expected and isn’t coming out as well as I’d hoped.

This morning, I went on the beach walk and didn’t find any trails or nests. But I took this picture looking north along Seven Mile Beach. If you look real far, you can see a big house where the beach ends and the trees begin, way past the one with the blue green roof, that little white one. That’s where I started from, I was a little less than half way when I took this picture.

Then I went to work. Ya know, I cant think of a thing about work that is worth mentioning. Except during lunch I went to the beach and went swimming.
This is my feet at Smith Cove. See the girl on the beach? See the rock behind the girl? that’s where my towel and car keys are.
This is a cave at Smith Cove. I swam through there. If the water’s rough, It’s not a good idea to swim through there.
this is me inside the cave. Look! I have a pointy head! See the water welling up? It’s coming through a hole on your left. I was trying to get some pics that were half above water and half below the water but none of them came out. I wanted to take more pictures but my camera batteries died.
After lunch I went back to work, and yeah, I go back all salty and crusty and sandy. It’s not too bad after I wash my face. I keep a deodorant there too!
I still can’t think of anything about work today that’s worth mentioning. OK one thing, about a half hour before time to go home, I got this insane craving for pizza.
After work I went diving. It was a shallow, short dive. It was really good. There were a lot of big tarpon and jacks at this cavern. We kneeled there and held still and the fish came very very close. Too bad I didn’t have my camera. It still had dead batteries.
This is a picture I took day before yesterday, when I was snorkeling. I was saving it as a backup picture, in case I needed one ’cause my batteries died. I’m not sure if it’s a boxfish or a trunkfish. It’s about 8 inches long and squirts water out it’s mouth to blow sand out of the way to find food.

Now I’m home from my dive, I am typing with one hand bacause I ordered a thin crust pepperoni and mushroom pizza. Tomorrow I have to go to work super early because of a remote broadcast. there will be coffee there!!

I’m geting ready to walk out the door for the turtle egg beach walk. I have to cover a lot of beach. I’m thinking I won’t find anything, the season is almost over, but I have to keep an open mind. And open eyes.
Woke up this morning and walked the dog. Canis Major was right in front of my door when I went out. Under Orion. Very clear night. (morning). Still pretty dark, but getting lighter.
Didn’t sleep worth a damn last night, every two hours I woke up. But I feel fine.
OK See ya!