Underwater Happy Place...

As I slog away reviewing another wretched contract, my mind begins to wander to a better place. First, I start to think about lunch and how it can’t come soon enough and then I’ve moved on to weekend events and then I think “ooh, I should probably see what my horoscope has to say” and then once I’m on the entertainment page, I’m obligated to check the daily comics and then current events – it’s quite a vicious cycle. Needless to say, I’m easily distracted when I’m bored, which has happened a lot lately.

Not that the legal department is an overly entertaining place on the best of days, but today I seriously feel like a poke in the eye with a stick would be more entertainment than what I’m currently experiencing.

My happy place is one of magic and mystery and just the thought of it brings me peace and a certain sense of calm. No, it’s not Dairy Queen. Let me rephrase that – at least it’s not DQ today. I haven’t had an opportunity to visit this place for a few months now and I’m starting to get anxious about what it will be like when I return.

Soon, my butt will be perched on the side of a rolling boat and I’ll be mentally preparing myself for the completelooking forward to itgoing to tolerate it exhilaration of back-rolling into open water, followed the rush of ice-cold water into my wetsuit and since it is Canada, the ever present numbing sensation of the ice cream headache to follow once the cold water has smacked me in the forehead. Yep, dive season in Canada is almost upon us and I can’t believe I’m looking forward to it.  Don’t get me wrong – cold water diving has a lot to offer - just not a lot that’s worth accepting – at least not in my opinion (joking…sort of).

If given the choice, I would choose a warm-water, crystal clear Caribbean dive over freezing cold, murky green, Great Lake dive any day. It’s just hard to get excited about stuffing myself like a breakfast sausage into a neoprene shell, strapping 20+ lbs of weight on my hips and rolling into the murky cold with a feeling that at any moment something is going to reach out of the murk and grab me by the ass.

At least with the Caribbean, I’m able to see further than 10 feet and might actually stand a chance of seeing what’s coming my way well before it’s dragging me down to a watery grave. Am I being dramatic? Perhaps. Call me silly, but once you’ve experienced heaven – it’s hard to go back to hell.

All that being said, when you love to dive, you just do it – regardless of how much fun it will or won’t be. The first few moments underwater are surreal. As you slowly descend into the depths of the abyss, you begin to take in your surroundings and soon you become aware that you have entered a completely different world and before you know it, you have left your cares behind. Ahhh…