Wander Water

Look at the colors, man..the colors

Ok, so back to the Fiji trip, I know that’s why my readers log on (all 3 of them…hi mom!). So after the first day at the resort, where I was mistaken for Vin Diesel… ok, have you stopped giggling?… anyways, the next day I was up early and ready to go underwater. Had a good breakfast at the resort’s restaurant, and grabbed my stuff, basically a towel and my hat, Kai Viti Divers, who are on the resort’s property, actually came up to my room the day before and took all my gear down to the boat, once it’s down there, you don’t have to worry about it AT ALL while you dive with them, they wash and dry your gear at the end of every day, and at the end of the trip, they’ll bring your gear right up to the transportation area, I know that’ll appeal to a a lot of you lazy mofo’s.

Kai Viti’s boat and the crew getting ready for a day of diving

I get on the boat, meet the other divers; Tom and his daughter Kinsey down from Sacramento, Justin and Heather from L.A. too, friendships that will grow through the trip.

Kinsey, Tom, me, Jessica, Evan, Justin, Heather…quite a good looking bunch of divers

The boat flew out to the first dive site…ok, bear with me, I tend to NEVER remember dive site names, I mean NEVER, so you won’t be hearing any names, sorry….so the first dive site is out in the Bligh Waters, we suit up, get our briefing, and jump in, me with my Light and Motion Bluefin HD Housing, which I realize, acts like a HUGE sail when one drops down into a current! Ok, not just a current, I dive in California, I’ve handled currents, this was more like a raging underwater river! Hit 40 feet, am kicking like mad, and I’m wearing ScubaPro Jet Fins, and I’m waiting for the dive master to drop us somewhere that the current isn’t hitting. Instead he’s got us above the reef, pointing out stuff, seemingly unaffected by the current (Later we discover his favorite saying is “No current, no fun!!!”…um…yeah) He points out a few things, but I’m really not paying much attention because I’M TOO BUSY RUNNING AN UNDERWATER SPRINT!!!!

The group going under

He points out a shark, which I nod my response to but I’m not into it…”huff, huff, huff…shit, this is hard…damn, housing…wha? yeah,yeah, yeah, it’s a shark…huff, huff,huff…man, I’ve got to stop eating so much Jack in the Box…wha?…yeahyeahyeah, it’s an eel…I wonder if I should just let go of the housing…wait, am I starting to blackout?” I look around, and thankfully I’m not the only one kicking like mad, now I know what a salmon must feel like while swimming up a river!

Finally we get back up to the boat, and I’m breathing HARD! Now, I push weight 3 times a week, I take part in fight training 3 times a week, I RUN twice a week… I’m kind of in shape, and I was sitting on the boat sucking air and feeling like I was going to pass out! Now, am I saying this dive sucked? NO!!!! I never say that, because I was underwater…in Fiji…so it didn’t suck…but man, I wasn’t looking forward to doing that again!

Ok, before I go on, you might be wondering “Wait, Reuben’s an underwater videographer, he had his camera with him on this trip, but all I’m seeing on this blog are photos…why is that? Oh, and he’s such a wuss, that current wouldn’t have bothered me!” To that I say…screw you! Oh, and I did shoot video, except that on the second day, after our last dive, my camera basically FLOODED! The trip that was supposed to be all about me getting stock footage and a story for the Travel Channel, suddenly became a very expensive vacation…by myself, since my wife wasn’t there with me…do you know how boring that can be? I mean it was great diving, and the friends I made and had meals with were awesome, but you’re in Fiji at this amazing resort with beautiful sunsets and you’re spending your evenings wtrying to watch movies on your iPod, because they had no tv’s!

So, my camera is being repaired right now, at Computer Works Technologies in Burbank, AND, it’s being paid for by my insurance company, who I now whole-heartedly endorse now: H2O Insurance They were great about handling my case quickly and efficiently! I should be getting it back this weekend and I’ll post videos later next week. For now, enjoy the photos!

Clown Fish… I don’t see what’s so funny?

Giant Clam..c’mon guys, keep it clean!!!

More colorful reef

Tom with his underwater camera…his didn’t flood…

I’ll post more about Fiji later!

“…the diver finds deep immersion the ultimate gentle release, a homecoming in an element where they have known only joy.” - excerpt from NEUTRAL BUOYANCY by Tim Ecott -

I’m sure I’m not the only diver out there that finds solace and peace under the surface of the sea. I tell non-divers that the underwater world is my church, where I go to meditate and put my life into perspective. It’s really the only place I’ve ever felt 100% at home, where I belong, and where I’m the happiest. Just the ocean, the sound of the sea and my bubbles, and the gentle squeezing of the water as I hover in the water column, not kicking or moving, just existing in serenity, for as long as my air lasts.

Non-divers always, without fail, ask me if I’m not afraid of dying while in the ocean’s embrace, they see the ocean as something huge, dark and frightening, they’ll never understand the peace I experience when I’m down there. I try to describe it, try to explain, but there really aren’t any words, or actions, that can be used to enlighten them, so I usually end up stopping in mid-sentence, smiling and shaking my head, you can’t understand if you don’t go under. I just tell them that there are worse ways to die, and to cross the line to the other side while under the sea wouldn’t be so bad… it would feel like a homecoming.

Back home from NYC, got in at 9pm last night, the rest of the trip was uneventful, hence no writing after I posted the photos…well, except for two things.

First, I finally got to meet my friend Nancy Schwartzman, after 8 years of emails, phone calls, near misses and almosts. She was one of the first photo editors to actually not only give me feedback on my portfolio when I was shooting, but also gave me a few assignments. We’ve been trying to meet for years, but never quite got it together, so it was awesome that we were both in NYC, well, that’s where she lives, and we got to meet! Felt totally comfortable and like were old friends, which we are, but no awkwardness at all. I guess we know so much about each other that meeting was just a formality. I find it fascinating how the internet allows friendships to flourish across thousands of miles, sometimes overseas, with people that you might not ever meet face to face. For all the complaints one hears about how the internet is full of crap I think this is one of it’s greatest contributions…it shrinks the world!

The other event was me getting lost in Central Park while walking back to the hotel. I thought I was walking ACROSS the park, from 5th to Central Park West, but when I stepped out onto the street, I noticed I was on 5th Ave again…”Hmmm, no worries, must have gotten turned around, I’ll just go back into the park and just follow this road through the park, and exit on…. 5th Ave…” Don’t really know how I did that, I have an EXCELLENT sense of direction, never get lost, so thought it was simply because I was tired, so I returned to the park, walked down a path, past the little boat house, crossed a road watched some remote control boats toll around a pond, and finally exited on…5th Ave!!!!! 3 times!!!???!!! I finally just hailed a cab and got back to the hotel $10 lighter…

Other than that, it was good, until the morning of our return.I didn’t check the flight times before that morning, assumed the flight was leaving at 3pm, and then actually checked at 9:30am that morning, and realized our flight was actually leaving at 11:30am!!! I figured we could make it, Maria didn’t think it would be possible, so we ended up re-booking for the 4:59pm flight, at an additional $600, and went to go get lunch… a really quiet lunch. When we finally boarded the plane we were one row behind a mom and her two crying kids, thankfully I have Skull Candy’s Proletariat NC headphones, the NC standing for NOISE CANCELING, so on go the headphones, the iPod gets clicked on, and G.Love drowns out the crying babies!

Maria had pointed out that one of our fellow passengers was Donna A. (a.k.a. Brett Anderson) from the band “The Donnas“, if you don’t know them, click on the link and get to know them, they’re pretty rocking! Maria actually wrote about them back in the days when she worked at Jump Magazine, just when they were starting off and we got to see them a few times, the last show being at The Troubadour in Hollywood, where, after the show, Donna A. pulled up next to us in her Volvo station wagon… guess they didn’t have a tour bus back then! Anyways, she sat in the row in front of us and I could see her seat back screen from where I sat, and so I got a gander at her playlist, Virgin America allows you to put together a playlist for your flight from it’s MASSIVE music collection, …but I ain’t telling what she was listening to! I considered leaning over and coolly asking about her Volvo Station Wagon, kind of show her that I knew who she was, but was too cool to mention the band, or her music…. but Maria pointed out it was kind of creepers, and the idea of getting punched by a rocker chick and then arrested at L.A.X. really wasn’t appealing, so I sat back and read my book.

Anyways, back home now, the weather is much cooler than it was in NYC, and things are back to normal… as normal as it gets in L.A. anyways. I need to go underwater, feel myself getting grumpier and my gills are drying up. Here’s a quote for you guys:

“The sea does not belong to despots. Upon its surface, men can still exercise unjust laws, fight, tear one another to pieces, and be carried away with terrestrial horrors. But at thirty feet below its level, their reign ceases, their influence is quenched and their power disappears. Ah! sir, live - live in the bosom of the waters! There only is independence! There I recognize no masters! THERE I AM FREE!”
- Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne

Freedom only underwater….

Ok, so didn’t write yesterday due to two reasons: A.) Went to see Les Paul, yeas Les Paul, who is 93 years old AND still plays better than 90% of us out there! It was awesome…

Les Paul, still jamming at 93!

B.) I was dead tired after walking from Battery Park all the way up to our hotel at 103rd St, which, according to Mapquest, is a distance of almost 8 miles! Hmmmm, I walk 8 miles here, but won’t walk the 1/4 mile down to the store back home….

We also ate dinner at Mama Mexico which I have to say, is one of the best Mexican restaurants I’ve eaten at in NYC! The Carne Tampiqueña was excellent, they had nicely cooked nopales, and Maria had a chili quesadilla which was delicious!

Today I did the Metropolitan Museum of Art and had a good time. They have a great photo exhibit going on: “Framing a Century: Master Photographers, 1840–1940″ which I loved, but still question the validity of some photos. I still think that some of those photos are only considered special because of their age and their association with their creator i.e. a snapshot by Henri Cartier-Bresson (who’s work I love)= BRILLIANT!!! A snapshot by some joe schmo = just a boring snapshot. Sometimes it’s all about the marketing, know what I mean?

Anyways, enough talk here are the photos from the past two days, enjoy!

Where I started: Battery Park!

National Museum of the American Indian: Bowling Green

The grease in America’s wheel bearings!

Even in the middle of NYC a garden can still grow

I was taking a photo of the bubbles, someone decided to stick her tongue out at me!

Fresh Fruits and Veggies in Manhattan!

I used to get my slice of Pepperoni and box of garlic knots here 8 years ago!

The old homestead…we used to live on the 3rd floor, right side

My personal favorite shot of the Flatiron building

Nearing the Empire State Building… feet are starting to hurt!

Passing the library

Entering the mass of humanity on 5th Ave

Halfway home…and I think I feel a blister on my heel!

The Pond in Central Park

How many movies have been filmed here?

Upper East Side… as my mom would say

The NY Skyline from the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Up on the roof!

Made it back to the hotel!!! I’ve got a blister!

Let me know what you think!

I’ll keep this short…I promise.

Did the Gift Show with the wife at the Javitz Center today helping her shop for her store, YOLK. Told her I would spend a day with her at the show, and I kept my promise….but man, was it painful!!!!

So many badly designed, cheesy, awful, ugly pieces out there! I spent the day staring wide eyed at stuff that people actually sell and by the end of the day was basically a walking zombie, just following her around from booth to booth. Luckily, there were some nice thing in that Sea of bad taste. We found our friend Tracy Tanner who just creates these really great leather pieces, for both guys and chicks. Looking at getting myself the passport wallet (I sneaked an extra one into Maria’s order) AND she’s planning on making guitar straps in the future, so I’ve got a pending order for a few of those as well!

Also, Design House Stockholm was there as well, and they have a bunch of new stuff coming out, I’ll be putting up photos tomorrow, but you can always follow the link and see what they have, THEN, you can come to YOLK’s website, or into the store, and get it from us!

My brain isn’t working too well, I know she ordered a bunch more stuff, she’ll tell you on her blog when it’s up.

Last thing and then goodnight. We went to Aquavit for the Crayfish Celebration, we weren’t able to make it to Sweden this year and I thought this might help Maria’s homesickness a bit. When they found out she wasn’t going to see her family in Sweden this year, they went completely above and beyond and made the evening perfect. We got two appetizers, a crayfish bisque, and maria got a crayfish salad, both on the house and they were delicious! We then got a pound of crayfish and proceeded in destroying the little buggers and, consequently, spraying ourselves with crayfish juice throughout the meal. For dessert, Maria had the Rhubarb crumble with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream, I had a dessert not found on the menu, called the Arctic Circle, a small tower of sweetened goat cheese parfait, with a blackberry sorbet on top, and stuffed with passion fruit cream….amazing! If you ever make it to NYC and find yourself near Aquavit, I suggest you make a reservation and get a taste of authentic and delicious Swedish food! Make sure you order the Arctic Circle for dessert, you won’t regret it!

No, NYC hasn’t gone underwater…yet. Give global warming a couple of years to melt down the rest of the icecaps and then I’ll be diving through the Penn Station Coral Reefs, and doing the “MTA Metro Swim Throughs”!
In NYC on a vacation/business trip, my vacation, business for my wife. You’re saying “Wait, you just got back from Fiji, that was a vacation!” No, sorry, even though it looked like a vacation, and sounded like a vacation, that was actually work for me, hard.difficult.work….God, I love my job!
We’re staying at the Marrakech Hotel a really nice, and cheap (at least for a nice hotel in NYC) boutique hotel. It’s basically a room with a bathroom, a small wardrobe and a flat screen tv (which you’ll hear about in more detail below) It’s Moroccan inspired, the staff is helpful, and the best part is, since we’re on the bottom floor and near the front office, the WiFi works in our room!
Anyways, got in last night, just as the last of a storm was leaving the city, we did get caught in the rain as we walked to our friend’s, Sophia, apartment, but no worries, we caught a cab..you know, you can’t hurt iron, but Mrs. Reynoso isn’t made of iron, more like some exotic, Swedish precious metal that doesn’t like getting wet. So into an infamous NYC cab that charged us $12 for going 15 blocks!(Just wait until they’re underwater!)
Today was easy, took the train down to Houston (pronounced “How-sten” though it should be pronounced “Hue-sten”, though thats an argument for another time.) and we walked through some of our old neighborhood haunts in SOHO and the Village. Maria immediately went into shopping mode and, not only reached her budget, but shattered through it like a jet shattering through the sound barrier! I got myself a shirt and a new hat, tired of wearing baseball caps, Fedora’s make one look like an “Indiana Jones” Fan boy and don’t really go with jeans and t-shirts, and those Kangol caps make my thin, long face look like a mushroom. I found a “newsboy” cap that fits my face and makes me look pretty “jaunty”…yes, damn it, I just said jaunty! Anyways, 10 seconds later I found a stand that was selling shemags and got myself an olive one, just like the ones I had while in the Gulf back in 1991 (before you give me any crap, I served in our U.S. Navy and went through the First Gulf War, so I can wear whatever I damn well please! Plus, we live in AMERICA, where one has the FREEDOM to wear whatever they want, so boycott this!um…how do you flip the bird online?) Think I like the look and will probably get a few more - I tend to collect looks I like, hence my 26 Target ringed t-shirts in different colors. Makes dressing so easy!
We had a nice Indian dinner at the Calcutta Cafe which we both agree had to be some of the best Indian food we’ve had in awhile. Order their Garlic naan and their Tandoori Chicken, you won’t regret it!
We got back to the room and tried to watch the Olympics, I say tried, because it seemed that our television was being controlled by another guest’s remote and he was attempting to buy “Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skulls”, so every couple of seconds, usually right in the middle of an exciting race, the tv would be filled with Indiana’s face. We saw it in the theater, and as much as I liked it, we didn’t really want to see it again. After a few trips to the front desk, and an offer of $20 from my own pocket if he would just watch the Olympics (I almost gave away the ending of the movie, but I’m not that big of an ass) we finally got to watch the Olympics.
Yep, a pretty uneventful day, we’re just PARTY animals, aren’t we? The rest of the week will be better I promise, tomorrow we’re going to Aquavit a Swedish Restaurant that’s holding a Crayfish Festival this weekand my wife being Swedish…really Swedish, like she was BORN there, not that “Oh, my great,great,great grandfather was 18th Swedish, which is why I have this Viking tattoo” Swedish, we have to go and participate. For $25 we’ll each get a pound of crayfish with garlic bread, boiled potatoes and Jarlsberg Cheese…hmmm, an entry on upset stomaches? Monday we’re going to go see Les Paul play at the Iridium, and I’ve bought the tickets!!!! If you’re not a guitar music fan, you probably don’t know who I’m talking about, I’ll try and shoot some vid when I’m there. We’ll also be going to see Chicago…the musical, not the city… and, even though we lived in NYC 9 years ago, we’ve decide to do the tourist thing and take one of those double decker bus tours! I love being a tourist!!!

Fiji 2008

“I’m not him, really, my name is Reuben.”

“Right, REUBEN… so what’s it like being a movie star?”….

Ok, I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s start at the beginning of the trip. I had Maria drop me off at the airport at 6pm, she thought I was crazy, since my flight wasn’t until 11pm and a 5 hour check in made no sense to her, but she humored me, and with a hug, a kiss, and an “I’ll see you soon!” She was off, leaving me to sit on the floor with my bags, waiting for the Air Pacific window to open, which I had just been told that would happen about 8:30…..great.

Luckily it opened at 6:30 and I was checked in and ready to go. I watched my dive gear and my camera housing go through the x-ray, with guys who reminded me of the jokers that hung out behind the school gym in high school and were constantly stoned…did I mention it was a very expensive housing? The bags disappeared behind the door and I swear I could hear metal crunching and glass breaking, but I walked off in search of food. I’m constantly hungry, Maria swears I have the appetite of a 16 year old boy, unfortunately, that’s accompanied by the waistline of a 37 year old man… Hey, I was going to Fiji, I had a budget, I’m treating myself to a steak! Where does one find a steak in L.A.X.? I found me a “Daily Grill”, guess the Mall experience has now invaded our airports. Going to the islands? Stop by the Pacific Sun store, next to souvenir stand! Going skiing in the Alps? Get yourself a Gucci Ski Parka from the Gucci store next to the airport lounge. Going back to the Mid-West for a family re-union? Well…you’re on your own there.

Had my steak, which actually wasn’t bad…not “grilled in the backyard” good, but also not McDonald’s pseudo-mystery meat bad. Not $30 good either, which apparently is what that steak cost me! I sat in the booth for awhile, reading my book “The Big book of the Deep”, I was going to enjoy my $30 steak and booth rental, until the waitress came back for the 5th time, asked me if I was sure I didn’t want anything else and then plunked the bill on my table, hard enough to make sure I wasn’t lost in my book. I got the hint, paid and walked towards my gate.

Security was easy, breezed right through. It helps that I always carry my regulator with me and security always is interested in diving, so I usually get a “Hey diver, going warm water diving?” question, and readily waived through, never get harassed. Might also help that I have wear flip flops, shorts, and my Oakley glasses hanging from my shirt while peppering my conversation with “Bud” and “Dude”. Don’t think that Homeland Security is looking for terrorists coming from the “Beach Bum” tribe. I mean seriously, how would you react if someone stood up in the middle of your flight and went “Alright, dudes, this is, like, a hijacking, bro’s…um..nobody, like..uh…move or nothing!” I think most people would pass him a beer, and tell him to sit down, which he probably would do. I walked to 20 miles to my gate(”Hey, it’s Reuben” let’s move the gate halfway to his destination…I mean, did you see his waistline?”) and join the mass of humanity waiting for the same flight.

I sat there looking around at everyone, there were more people than seats. “Can they really fit these many people on the plane?” I thought to myself. I imagined a flying version of a New York City subway car and groaned. Great, I figured we’d all be packed in, I’d end up standing next to the guy who doesn’t believe in deodorant, and when we stopped in Hawaii some guy would come on sing an off key version of Maragarita-ville and ask for any change we could spare. They announced the boarding and everyone rushed the door…including myself. Hey, those little overhead bins only hold so much, and I’m was going to claim my spot, my video camera needed to be safe and protected, it’s how I planned to pay my bills and feed my family… at least it’s what I told myself as I elbowed past the little old lady, who shot me the evil eye…whatever, I got my bin space.

The flight was pretty uneventful, ten hours of nothing… I took two Tylenol PM and crashed for the flight. Don’t drink anymore, so I can’t drink to pass out, which is a good thing, you can ask any of my past row mates, so I took those two pills and slept a strange, and fitful sleep.

We landed around 5am and as I stepped out of the plane, I was met by a blast of hot, humid air…it was only 5am! But, I was in Fiji and I took it in stride. Again, security was a breeze “What’s in your bag?” “Um…dive gear?” “Ok, enjoy your dives! Vinaka!” and I was through. I found my driver, waited for the other guests, and we were off, another two hours to the hotel, on what I’ve heard is a very frightening highway, The Queen’s Highway, a tropical island version of Mexico’s deadly roads apparently, one of the things the British Crown left behind. Hey, if you can’t beat them, at least make sure they have a lot of traffic accidents! I can’t verify that, because as we drove out of the airport and through the outskirts of Nadi the Tylenol PM’s kicked in and I fell asleep.

I woke up as we pulled into the resort, head thrown back, drool running down my chin, and I’m sure I had been snoring…great! The check in was quick and painless, got shown to my Bure, which was a freestanding room, sparse, but beautiful. A bed, two chairs, a little table, and an incredible view! I unpacked, stretched out a bit, looked around and then realized there was no TV! Damn, I love watching TV when I travel. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I’m in a foreign country, I’m in Fiji, I should relax, I should experience the culture, the views…yadayadayada…. but I like to watch the news, I need to know what’s going on in the world, plus it was the week the champ was to be picked for “So you think you can dance?” and I was going to miss it. I mean…um… my wife likes it, and I watch it just so that we can talk about it and strengthen our marriage… plus have you seen the girls on the show?!? Amazing..um…dancers!

After a few minutes I decided that since I wasn’t diving, and it was 10am, I was heading down to the pool. Threw on my trunks, grabbed my book and my iPod (I’m kind of anti-social sometimes) and walked down to he pool, where I joined a group of Australians sitting around the pool and were are already in the middle of drinking. Did I mention it was only 10am? Of course, I was envious that they could drink and not make asses of themselves…or at least not care if they did, but I threw on my headphones, popped open the book and tried to read, except I noticed the group kept looking over at me…a lot. “What, why do they keep looking over? Did I forget my trunks?” I looked down, nope they were on and nothing was sticking out. “Have I got bird shit on my head?”, I casually wiped my head and then inconspicuously sniffed my hand. Nope. I got back to trying to read my book, but they were still stealing furtive looks and whispering. I put the book down, took off the earphones and plunged into the pool for a swim. I came up in the deep end and caught them all staring. I swam across the surface and saw them following my movements and whispering some more. Ok, I was a bit creeped out and out of there. I went back to my room, showered, and tried to read, but crashed again. I didn’t wake up until 6pm, dinner time, and I was starving!

I went to the restaurant, grabbed a seat, turned down the offer for wine and order a soda water, getting the stare “This guy doesn’t drink? What’s wrong with him?” and took a look at the menu. So I was in Fiji and excited about eating some Fijian food, so I looked at the menu “..um… burger, ok not very Fijian, though it must be there for people that aren’t too adventurous…what’s next…steak…Caesar Salad…Spaghetti…Samosa, ok Indian…” I ordered the steak. It was actually a really good steak, I mean a REALLY good steak, and it only cost $12 Fijian which was about $8.40 American. I finished the steak, took my book (yep, I read at dinner when I’m alone, I hate sitting there and staring at couples and groups, trying not to look like some lonely peeping tom) and went over to the bar, where I ordered another soda water (yep, same look) and settled down into a big rattan chair.

I saw the Australians partying over on the deck, and as they looked over I gave a smile and a little wave, figured I might as well be friendly. More furtive stares, more whispering and small waves back. 5 minutes later, one of them, a BIG one of them cruised by, as if heading to the bathroom, he was trying not to look at me, but as he passed, he stopped, turned awkwardly and then, pointing to the book asked, “Good book? I mean, you were reading it earlier,…they call me Big Stu… and you’re still reading it now, so I figure it’s a good book, right?” I smiled and nodded, “Yeah, it’s pretty good, it’s about diving…” He sat down, “Oh, diving?!? You’re also a diver, hey?” Also? “So you’re really into EXTREME sports (the emphasize was his) are you?!?” “Yeah, kind of…I guess.” He then leaned forward and looked at me as if we were sharing a secret, “Can I ask you something?” I cautiously nodded, ready to bolt if Big Stu asked me to join him in the bathroom, “Sure, ask away” Big Stu looked around a bit and then, “When you came down to the pool my mates and I saw you there and I turned to one of the girls, the blonde one, the busty one, and went “Hey, do you reckon he looks like…” But she stopped me and went “I’m already on top of that, I think he is!”, and so, sorry if we were staring, we were arguing about it…but, well… um…are you Vin Diesel?”

Big Stu was staring at me with a big smile on his face,sure he had just met Vin “XXX” Diesel. “Haha, no, sorry, I’m not him!” I could tell he didn’t believe me. “My name is Reuben, please to meet you Big Stu.” He shook my hand, still with that “I’m meeting a celebrity!!” look on his face, “Right, right…REUBEN. Pleased to meet you REUBEN.” he gave me a little wink as he shook my hand. “So you’re out here diving, huh? For a movie?” I smiled again, “No seriously, my name is Reuben”, he nodded quickly and continued to smile as I continued to clear things up, “I’m here to shoot some video, hopefully in order to sell something to the Travel Channel, but also…”
“Whoa, you shoot documentaries too?!? Besides acting? Wow!” He looked over at his friends, who seemed to be trying to figure out what “Vin Diesel” might be saying to their mate, Big Stu. I leaned forward, “Seriously, I’m not him, my name is Reuben, I’m just a diver.” Stu stood up, still smiling, “Right, sorry forgot, Reuben, sorry just thought you were him, it’s been good talking to you, Reuben. Gotta head back to my friends, they’re probably dying to hear what we talked about.” He reached out to shake my hand. I shook it, I actually liked Big Stu, he’s a good guy, just a typical, good natured, loves to party, Aussie…just wished he would believe me…maybe when he sobers up in the morning, I thought. He started walking away, and then spun around and walked back “One more question, Reuben?” I looked up at him and smiled. He leaned in, “My friend wants to know if you’re single?” He hooked his thumb over to the blonde. I held up my left hand to flash my wedding band, “Tell her sorry, happily married for a year on the 25th of this month!” He then stood up, looked over at her and shook his head. Then he turned back, patted me on the shoulder and said “Wow, must be hard…”, he truly looked concerned and I was going to tell him that, it actually wasn’t so bad, I liked being married, I had a great wife and even though things could be hard at times, we were able to make it through the rough bits, no worries, “…I mean, I’m sure it’s tough being married and being a big Hollywood star.” He walked away shaking his head, and as he joined his friends they surrounded him, probably asking if I was just like I was in “XXX”. I finished my soda water, grabbed my book, and sauntered out of the bar, making sure I paused at the door, looked back and gave my best Vin Diesel wave back to Big Stu and his friends. Hey, might as well work it, right?

Next: First day of diving:No current no fun! or, “…OH…MY…GOD…I’M GOING TO DIE DOWN HERE!!!! I’VE NEVER BEEN IN A CURRENT THIS STRONG!!!! Oh, look a Clown Fish.”

Wananavu Resort..where I stayed

Ahhhh, whatever…. always disliked tourists who would go away for a week and come back with a chipper British accent, or would pepper their conversations with words from wherever they had visited; “So, I was like riding in the back of this camion and… oh, what? Camion? Oh sorry, I meant truck, I just lapsed into my Español, since I spent a whole week there. Yeah, I totally went native, man. They even gave me a Spanish name! Yeah, “Pinche Pendejo” think it means like American Brother or something… yeah, totally native…” So, with that being said, the Bula in the title will be the ONLY Fijian you’ll see, or hear coming from me, alright?

Going to keep this one short, just got back into L.A. about 3 hours ago and I’m beat, a long flight, lost a day…or gained a day…or went back a few decades…something. Anyways, I’m crashing. I’ll look over my notes this week and will post the trip in a few parts, so you won’t have to sit through one loooooooooonnnngggg reading, even though you’ll probably want to. I mean, hey, who doesn’t want to sit in front of their computer monitor for minutes on end reading about my stuff!?!

Anyways, come back for the updates later this week. Vinaka, guys. What? Oh, sorry, “Vinaka” means “thank you” in Fijian, sorry, kinda went native during the week I was there. Yeah, they even gave me a Fijian name, something like “pinche…..

I leave to Fiji tonight, scheduled to arrive on Monday… it’s the whole “International Time Line” thing i.e. you leave here on a Monday, cross the line and you get to your destination on Wednesday of last week… or something like that!

I’m packed and ready to go…finally. Had a repacking session last night due to many travelers warning me about Air Pacific’s stringent weight rules. Apparently you’re only allowed an 11lb carry-on, which is basically my camera, a book, my tickets and the bag. So I went through everything and culled, culled, culled. I won’t be diving with my Oceanic mask, don’t really want to pack it in my checked luggage and risk having it “get lost”, kind of bummed, but no big deal, it would be worse if I couldn’t take my housing and camera because, well because its the whole purpose of this trip, to shoot as much as possible and build up my stock collection as well as put together something for the Travel Channel.

Alright, going to go and have another look at my gear, see if I can leave anything else behind. Big question: Should I take my BC or not? I’m used to my back-plate setup, but if it’s going to be an issue I’d rather rent out there. hmmmmm, I don’t know? Maybe I’ll decide at the check in counter.

Keep coming back this week, I’ll try to post while I’m out there!

sea lions - 25, originally uploaded by the wandering I.

Took this photo awhile back out at Anacapa Island. Love it…see, told you I’m obsessed with Sea Lions!