Diving with sharks

The most amazing thing that I have done in my life (besides the trip to Australia), is a shark dive in the aquarium (in Australia, of course..haha). The place is called Oceanworld Manly and it is in Manly Beach, which is on the north head of Sydney. To get there from the city, we took the Manly ferry from Circular Quay, which is the transportation hub in the middle of the city, right near the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. The ride across takes about 30 minutes and it is an incredibly scenic ride. We were able to get some great shots of the bridge and opera house as we glided across the harbour. The north head is near the mouth of the harbour, so once the ferry gets near, the water gets a little rough, as the ferry turns into the port.

Oceanworld is a great little aquarium. We went out there twice: the first time we saw all of the little exhibits. The staff was very knowledgable. We got to actually pet a baby crocodile and see funnel web spiders up close. They informed people about the deadly snakes and spiders of Australia and how they were not aggressive and what to do if you come in contact with one. Afterwards, we walked around Manly Beach. What a great little town...tons of stores and great restaurants by the beach. It actually kind of reminded me of Santa Monica, but prettier and cleaner. It is actually situated between two beaches, one being in calmer water because it's part of the harbour and the other on the ocean side, where we saw a lot of surfers and kayakers. There's a beautiful path that wind around the rocky cliffs alongside the beach, ending up at Shelley Beach, which is like a little cove with walkways up to the top of the hills, for an amazing view of the ocean.

That night, which was actually Halloween, we did a Quarantine Station Ghost Tour, which was in Manly, too. I will blog about that some other time...

So, two days later, we came back and I did my shark dive. Jason and Shelley didn't do it with me, so I was a little nervous, but there were these two other "mates" that were doing it with me. I was the only one of us who had never dived before so I got a few extra lessons. We put on our wet suits, tanks and weight belts, then entered this little pool, which was actually connected to the big aquarium through a little portal in the corner, but the sharks couldn't get through it. There was only a few of these little black fish in the pool. 

We practiced motions and gestures in the pool and got all of our gear adjusted before they led us through the underwater portal into the huge aquarium. It was probably only about 15 to 20 feet deep. I can remember feeling a little shaky and the water was really cold. I could feel it even through the wetsuit. Of course, being up close to such massive creatures that could chew you up was quite a scary thought, even though these grey nurse sharks, however menacing looking they were, are not man-eating sharks. Once we all climbed through the portal and got our balances, all of those feelings disappeared and now we were in THEIR world.. and it was absolutely AMAZING! 

The aquarium had tunnels in it where the people could watch the fish underwater and see the people doing the shark dive. Jason and Shelley were watching from out there and taking pictures and videos. The instructor motioned to us to walk to the other side. It was a little difficult keeping my balance with the weight belt weighing me down, but watching these huge creatures swim right above me kept my attention. There were also big sea turtles and huge mantareys in the tank. The mantareys would practically swim right into you!

Once we got to our destination, which was to be perched on the glass at the top of the people tunnel, where people could look right up at you, we stood and watched the sharks go by. It was really starting to get cold and I was shaking, but still couldn't take my eyes off of the life swimming by. One shark came right in front of me and it was not scary in the least. They are such beautiful misunderstood creatures. We need to protect them. Swimming with them serves many purposes. I really believe that it helps people understand them more and not just think of them as "Jaws".

After 30 minutes, we were lead back to the portal and into the small pool. Right as I was pulling myself up to the portal, a HUGE mantarey practically blanketed himself on me. He was the size of a living room area rug...so amazing!

So we got into the pool, took off our wetsuits and gear, then had showers and changed back to our normal clothes. It was an experience of a lifetime, though I plan to do it again the next time we go! This time, I want to do the other shark dive that they have...watching them feed the sharks!

Australia

Last year, I went on the most amazing trip of my life with Jason and Shelley...Australia. It is the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life and I dream of living there someday. Right now, having been laid off for the second time this year, it just seems like a far-off pipe dream, but one day, it will be a reality. At least, I hope that after next year, we will at least be able to take another trip there...

Is this coming from being a little depressed?

You want to run

you want to hide

you want to escape these chains

that bind you from the inside

you wish you could stop the hurt

you wish it would just go away

you want your life to go back

to how it was yesterday

the pain keeps on coming

and when you think that there's no more

it knocks you out again

when it comes knocking on your door

Politicians Don't give a shit...they just want your vote

It's really funny (not in a ha-ha way, but in a sad way) how politicians only show their faces when it's time for election. My father has been saying this for awhile and I totally see his point. First of all, since the election is in less than a week, I obviously already know who I am going to vote for for president, but what about the local stuff??? This stuff is VERY important but yet, when I went online to look for any information about what I am supposed to be voting for in my neighborhood, I can't find any info...WTF?  Am I supposed to just wing it and vote for whatever when I am inside the booth??? I remember in previous years, receiving all kinds of information in the mail about issues that were being voted on in my "hood", but this time around I haven't barely received anything. I know more about the propositions in California then what's on my own ballot...Once again, WTF??? Since I definitely don't want to be responsible for voting in anything that I totally disagree with and that would go against my morals and principles, I guess I will have to just pretty much leave everything blank except for the president vote. I just hope that Obama follows through on even half of his promises, or he will just become another Bill Clinton..empty promises...

Also, another reason to believe that democracy is falling short in this country, the other day the city council in New York decided to not let voters decide if elected officials should be allowed to run for a third term. Instead, THEY decided themselves...Once again, WTF?????????  Do the taxpayers who employ these sons-of-bitches get any say??? It's just so sickening. I can tell you one thing, though...just for that, Bloomberg will NEVER get my vote!

Dodging Cars on the sidewalk

I remember the days when it was safe to walk on the sidewalk. There was no fear of passing cars hitting you or bike riders running you over. Well, my friends, those days are gone. The sidewalks in New York seem to be a free-for-all. I had never seen anything like it until I moved here, and particularly where I live, in Astoria, Queens. They park on the sidewalk and don't even leave enough space for pedestrians to get around without walking into the middle of the street. One day when I was walking the dog, there was a garbage truck holding up traffic, so instead of waiting for it to move, the cars drove up on the sidewalk, down the sidewalk past a couple of buildings and then back on to the road. Well, a car drove up right behind us and Jessie (the pup) stopped to sniff something on the sidewalk. I was waiting for the son of a bitch to yell something to me so I could give him a piece of my irritated mind, but he didn't and I let the dog sniff for a minute and then moved on. I just don't get it, though....why do people just have no respect for anyone else??

Another job...lost

Well, I got a call from the employment agency that I have been working through for the past eight months today saying that my job at vintage had ended. They really didn't want to let me go but there's just not enough work. This is the second time this year...I hope I find another job right away because otherwise I am scared that might fall into a depression.

By this time of the year, I can honestly say that this has been the absolutely worst year of my entire life. First, I get laid off from capital, then my most beautiful beloved dog dies, then my bank account gets frozen for a damn doctor bill from three years ago when I had no insurance(thanks George fucking bush for the healthcare, you piece of shit!) and now I lose my job again. I know I am not the only one who is having a hard time and I should count my blessings and hope for the best...

"Just an animal"...another rant

I am really sick and tired of uncaring people that say "it's just an animal". Well, you're "just a person". It's really demeaning, isn't it? No living being is that worthless. We all have meaning..and feelings, but people seem to forget that. Just like we should care for our fellow man, we also need to think about the other living things that we hurt every single day.

We do things that are not natural. Like the argument that all animals eat meat and we are all part of the food chain..yes, I agree. This is true, but non-human animals kills their food with their own bare hands (or paws or claws). They don't take other species and test on them so they can  come up with a medicine for their cold, which was probably caused by the drugs that they poisoned their food with...Why don't we learn to live with nature and not against it? Maybe (well, not really maybe but FOR SURE) we wouldn't be in the predicament that we are in right now. It's time to start caring!

A disturbing story that I wrote...

I hope that if you by reading this, people might gain a different perspective on farm animals...people with a heart.

Jane lived like a prisoner in her four walls. She never went outside to feel the sunlight on her. Her master kept her locked up in the guesthouse with ten other young women who shared this one small room. It was so cramped that there was barely enough room to think. Every morning at around ten a.m., the master would come into the guesthouse and throw some slop down for them to eat. He would also force them to line up for some sort of shots. No one had any idea what these shots were for but they never refused because if they did, they would get a severe beating. Once, there was this girl, Linda, who refused and he took her out back and she was never seen or heard from since.

Once a week, the master would bring around the neighborhood stud and line up all of the girls so he could rape each and every one of them. He would watch and make sure that everyone got a turn. Jane hated this most of all, as it was always painful and uncomfortable. After the stud forcefully spread his seed amongst all of the young girls, he would be led away. No one knew where he would go, but they knew that the master must have had him chained up somewhere else on the premises because he always seemed scared.

One day, Jane noticed that she was getting a big belly but didn't know why and had never experienced anything like this before. The master had noticed it, too, one morning and suddenly grabbed her and led her off to be put in a small little room outside of the guesthouse. The room was so small that she could barely lay down. This was where she spend another three months, never able to go outside. she would just lay there in her own feces, day in and day out, while her belly seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. The master would come in every morning to give her a shot and throw some slop down for her to eat.

Then the morning came when she was in total pain and was screaming like a mad woman. Something was happening inside of her and she didn't know what. The master must have heard because he came barging in, incompassionately, and started ripping the life right out of her. She looked down and saw a head, then arms, then feet...the maternal side in her was innately coming out, but as soon as the now crying little baby came out of her, it was whisked away...taken from her..never to be seen again. She cried and cried tears of mourning...and was sent back to with the other women.

In the next year, Jane had two more babies, which were delivered and taken away from her in the exact same way, never to be seen again. She was in a state of constant depression. She had finally got to the point that when it came time to be raped one week, she rebelled and refused. The master yelled at her, pulled her hair and threw her to the ground, while all of the other young women watched in horror. They wanted to help her, but feared the consequences if they did. The master started beating her with his belt and the tear welled up in her eyes but she couldn't do it. He finally got so enraged that he grabbed her by the hair and dragged her off to her own little cell, where she remained for a few days.

A few days later, she heard voices outside. Three men were huddled around talking. Finally, the door to her cell opened and the master was standing there with two scary-looking men, inspecting her. "We'll take this one," said one of the men and he pulled out his wallet. After paying the master, he grabbed Jane's wrists and yanked her out of her cell, throwing her in the back of their truck, with her arms and legs tied together. She had no idea where they were going but was scared as hell...

The destination was a big rundown looking type of barn. They pulled right up to the door and carried her from the back of the truck into the building. There was a foul-smelling stench that permeated the air. It was starting to make her feel sick and a sudden panic came over her. There was a big hook hanging from the ceiling. The two men forcefully lifted her up and hung her on it. It stuck right into her back causing the sharpest pain she'd ever felt in her life. she could feel her blood running down her back and began to feel light-headed. The last thing she saw was the ice pick being swung right into her heart....




"How's your dinner, son?" he asked his little boy. His son just "moo'd" with delight, savoring every bite of his steak.






If this is disturbing, just think what a farm factory animal goes through everyday of it's short life. People think animals don't have feelings, but that's just to make ourselves feel better. The scientific proof is that they do.

speciest

speciest, speciest

no respect, no respect

racist, racist

there ain't no difference

factory farms, animals by the dozens

only the smell of manure in the air

abused as a lesser form of life

I just pray someday it will be fair

if you only have love for your own race...

how are you not a racist?

they're only animals here for us

you cry out with superiority

god have mercy on the human race

one day in life, you will learn your place

how can man beat an innocent pig

for just being what he was born to be?

how can man treat a cow as just a buck

for he was put here the same as you and me

I am an animal

..just some lyrics that I have been working on for a song that I have yet to write...

I bleed

I feel pain

I get cold

in the snow and in the rain

I do think

I do dream

I've got a heart

I've got a brain

I was born with my fur

but you always take it

and you skin me alive

forgetting I have feelings

my language is not the same as yours

so you place me below you

you don't think I deserve what you've got

just because you can

slavery is still alive in the world today...

..obviously, it's not finished...

Horse Carriage controversy in New York City

Obviously, everyone who knows me knows that I stand with everyone that wants a ban on Horse Carriages in New York City. Every time someone posts anything about that corrupt New York "tradition", someone from that industry has to respond to it, which, I believe though I will most likely disagree with them 100 percent, can be good to hear what they have to say, as it's a free country. We don't all have to agree, though, and I thoroughly disagree with all of the things I have heard. If one of them was to say to me, "Hey, you want to see the truth? I'll take you on a tour of our stables," then I might believe them after I would see for myself that they weren't lying about the horses conditions. But they are all too defensive when you approach them or say anything to them on the streets, which makes me just believe more that the things that I have seen (firsthand, on the street) or heard or read, can quite possibly be true. I just know that horses do NOT belong on crowded New York streets in this century and that is the bottom line. It really kills me how these people like to argue about their "livelihood" because the way I see it (and this is MY opinion), making your living from working some animals for it doesn't seem very humane.

http://www.satyamag.com/sept94/jordan.html

Madonna mode

I just saw Madonna last saturday and everytime I see her shows (I have been to five of her eight tours), I go into "Madonna Mode", where I become obsessed with the music and the new show. Well, I thought that I had outgrown that, but I was wrong. Ever since Saturday, all I have been listening to pretty much is her new album and I scour youtube for videos of her show. I wish that I didn't become so obsessed with things, but I just can't help myself. Maybe they have a Madonna Anonymous group?

Falling out of love

I have always had a love affair with New York City as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a teenager growing up outisde of Los Angeles. I always knew that someday I would live in the big apple.

Flash forward to near the end of 2008....

I have lived in New York for almost seven years. I have always thought that I'd live here forever (or at least until we are able to move to Australia). It has definitely changed my life. I used to be a pretty shy person, but not anymore. I think that living here really wakes you up and shakes you. It keeps you on your toes and excites you. There is so much to do and see...I could go on and on...but I am starting to think that this "love affair" is starting to die. Maybe it's just me getting older, but I am getting tired of all of the people and the rudeness. I feel like I walk out of my house pissed off and ready for confrontation. How I long for the times when Jason (my partner) and I rent a car and drive upstate for the day. It's so nice to see trees and open fields and to breathe fresh air (well...not quite as polluted air, anyways). These days, I can honestly say that I am just about ready to move, though not too sure where, but somewhere where I wouldn't have to deal with people in my face.

Who knows...no one knows what the future brings..

Animal welfare over humans?

I have been asked a few times now, as I am sure that other people who have great concern for the rights of all animals, if I feel that animal rights are more important than human rights, especially when there is great human suffering in the world. Shouldn't that be more important? Well, my answer is this...

Of course I care about human rights, but I feel that animals have no voice in our society and we treat them as a lesser entity because many of us believe that they are. How do we come to this conclusion?

Here is a perfect example of a totally useless issue that seems to trump human suffering in this world and I don't hear people asking the same question...In California, they are already trying to overturn the legalization of gay marriage by raising millions of dollars to put ads out to make people vote against it. Are you serious? Is THIS more important than human suffering, with people starving across the world...couldn't that money be raised to feed the homeless???

I guess what I am trying to say is that my cause, and many others like me, is for the welfare of the beings that have no voice, so they are taken advantage of, tortured and killed in our society because they aren't the same species when there are people who are consumed with their cause about stopping gay people from marrying...why doesn't someone question that?

Why should I have to defend my stand?

...when asked if I think it's more important to stand up for animals when there are people that need help..aren't they more imporant?

Well...why do right wing conservatives raise millions of dollars to overturn a legalized gay marriage bill when there are people suffering?? Is that more important than having concern over the way we exploit innocent beings?