T-1 - Move Day Has Finally Come

It is 6:16 pm on December 31st, 2021.In the morning, on the first day of 2022,  at 11:15 am, my plane will pull away from the gate at DFW and fly to RTB.  Those are the call letters for Roatan, Honduras - an island in the Caribbean - and is the second largest reef in the world.  

You can learn more about Roatan here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roat%C3%A1n

I will be living in West End literally across the street from the Lily Pond House Restaurant - so if you want to see it on a map that is the easiest thing to look for.  The island is about 48 miles long by 5 miles wide at the widest part.  I am living at the Red Marker below...

Life will be a mixture of working remotely doing exactly what I am doing now, and relaxing (as soon as I learn how), and diving.  I am hoping to improve my underwater photography skills, my fish identification skills, my diving skills, and whatever else I can find that looks interesting!

To answer the most common questions I am being asked right now:

• I am going alone; I am not afraid
• I am staying at least a year - maybe more if I love it; maybe less if something warrants that
• I am coming back to the states approximately once a quarter
• They do have dependable internet
• I will get around by water taxi and land taxi and walking

Watch here for more posts - will try to post at least once a week so I can remember the adventure.  Will work on having photo's to go with it.

Now off to celebrate the New Year with my friends - wish they could all come with me!

Dive Videos - Section Explanation

A great deal of my footage is on Instagram and subsequently Facebook.  I have decided to try and post the most amazing moments for me here as well so I have a record all in one place. Be adding to this slowly as I have time.

Creatures Seen Under Water - Section Explanation

Taking straight up pictures was not something my camera's were able to do.  This year, 2026, after 4 years of experimenting, I am going to start using a camera that is best as a camera, not as a videocam!  So we will see what I can add to this as the year goes on.  Every dive there is something.

Breathe In, Breathe Out

~~@2021, Angela Wilcox.  Just got back from some amazing times under the sea... Scuba Diving is truly one of the most incredible things that I have the opportunity to do.  Each dive is a new "adventure" which I hope to soon be sharing on this blog.

Breathe In, Breathe Out

Taken for granted on land

Breathe In, Breathe Out

You are not on land

Breathe In, Breathe Out

I calm the voice within

Breathe In, Breathe Out

I know, I'm underwater

Breathe In, Breathe Out

I am floating as I view

Breathe In, Breathe Out

A world not seen by all

Breathe In, Breathe Out

I know that I am lucky

Breathe In, Breathe Out

The minutes click by fast

Breathe In, Breathe Out

Remember when you surface

Breathe In, Breathe Out

The calm you feel right now

Work Harder - Be the Difference

It was hard for me to believe as I browsed my own site just now, that I started blogging about the Covid  mess over a year ago now (April 3).  What an incredibly hard year this has been for so many people!

I think as we consider our friends and family, so many people are still affected by this disaster on a daily basis.  We need to remember it is not "over" and continue to provide support in every way that we can dream up.

The emotional stress and turmoil just keeps beating some people into the ground, day in and day out.  While I did not enjoy necessarily being stuck at home, I did not have to put myself out there on the front lines either.  I did not have to endure the public and their lack of knowledge and bad behavior that often went with that.  I did not have to put myself at risk just in the course of doing my normal job. I had it "easy" if we were to draw comparisons. 

And so I find myself forgetting to be there for the people in my world who were, and still are affected.  I am making a pact with myself to try and do more.  If each of us just did an extra token of appreciation and love to those most affected, it would make a difference.  We need to work harder to be the positive difference in someone's day, every day.

Twinkle of the Past

~~@2021, Angela Wilcox.  A couple of years ago I developed a very bad crush... I discovered some twinkle of that persists to this day...

PHONE RINGS

My God, it's you!

SOUL SINGS

Damn I pushed the wrong button!

            CALL BACK

            I text you quick!

            HAIR CHECK

            Argh, will have to do!

                            GOOD LORD

                            I'm like a teenager...

                            HOT SWORD

                            Glance cuts through me like butter...

                                        JOYFUL HEART

                                        I cannot stop smiling!

                                        OFF d' CHART

                                      There's no explaining!

January 1, 2021 - A New Year We ALL Want To See

Last night I stayed up with friends to kiss the sorry ass year of 2020 goodbye, and ring in the new year full of hopes and dreams for something better.  

2020 was not all bad as I learned some things about the world, and about myself.  In no particular order - I would like to share what I learned:

• It "is" possible to live on a budget and cook every meal at home (it is also terribly boring to "have to" do that - the cooking every meal at home thing);
• The United States is an incredibly selfish nation where a high percentage of people who live here, reaping the benefits that this nation provides, care for nothing other than themselves and have a "what is in it for me" mentality;
• My close friends, my gang, my crew - whatever I want to call them - they are an incredible group of people;
• Doing for others, even when it hurts, has benefits that cannot be measured;
• I can learn to live with using a mask each and every time I leave the doors of my house;
• Clorox wipes are singularly the one shortage that I have missed the most - except the few weeks when toilet paper was not available - luckily - although we got down very low - we did not run out;
• I cannot depend on Government to do anything for me - I have to be in a position where I never "need" them;
• Selling a vehicle on CarMax is as easy as the commercial indicates;
• That while we (the American people) could donate record levels of billions of dollars for a Presidential Election Campaign, we could not donate to our own cities and charities enough to keep 20 million + people, who were without a job, with enough money for basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter;
• I learned that Facebook, Twitter and many other types of social media only have power when you allow them to - shutting them off is a solution that vaporizes their power;
• While still fighting to try and remain on Social Media, I learned unfriending and blocking people who are offensive to me and do not hold to the same world-life values as I do is actually quite easy and very satisfying;
• I actually do NOT need to wear a bra every day and my back does not hurt;
• I travel for a reason - I need people and experiences in my life - it is not optional - it is a necessity;
• I love Audio books - I can drive around town for hours listening to a book and drinking a diet coke;
• I can live in a very small space with very few amenities - this realization is going to change my world completely in the next few years;

The world changed forever in 2020, along with our perception of it.  I changed in 2020, and hope to keep changing in 2021.  The evolution has begun.

In 2021 I hope to lose more of myself (literally), see more of the United States if that is the only place open to me, and keep doing the positive things I started in 2020.  I hope to sit down for a cup of coffee, or take a walk or ride, with more of my old friends, and keep growing the budding friendships of 2020. I hope to expand my writing.  

That is it - that is my "for the record" post of Jan 1, 2021.  Happy New Year to everyone - may you realize your full potential this year and in doing it find love, joy, and peace beyond compare.