Denae + Sharks = Not Exactly Enemies

I made it back. It was incredibly awesome. I will post pictures in a couple of hours. The shower is calling my name (after a 12 hour flight). Check back soon. By the way, I loved reading your comments. Where do you guys come up with this stuff?!

Are. You. Kidding. Me!???

I absolutely can't believe I survived a shark dive off the coast of South Africa. It isn't easy to post because there's not a lot of internet access but wow. One of my best friends, Melody is getting married in April and I looked a Great White Shark in the eye today. My pictures are incredible and I can't wait to upload them. PLEASE don't leave me while I spend a couple of days without posting. Come on. We go way back. Be patient. Love and kisses, Denae xoxox

My Meeting With The Great White

On Thursday I'm headed to South Africa. It is a 10 hour flight from London. What will I do with my time while on the flight? Think about my adventures, of course. I may even have nightmares about The Great White Shark.

I will be meeting him face to face on Monday. He will show me his underwater world and I will most likely faint and have to be yanked out of the water and revived. Probably not the best look for me...hair wet, mascara running, gasping for breath. That's okay. I'm going to be on vacation.

(By the way...does anyone know how to properly introduce oneself to a Great White Shark? Shall I shake hands, maybe give a friendly kiss or just a pat on the head?)

It is summer in South Africa right now. What a nice change from cold, gray, raining London. I can use some sunshine and more time to get all of my papers and projects done before I leave the country this week. Viva Port Elizabeth!

Shopping List for South Africa

1. Waterproof mascara
2. SPF 25 Sunscreen
3. Flip Flops
4. Insect Repellant
5. Underwater Camera (for the shark dive!)

Happy Birthday, D!

My bro is the best.
He is also one year older today.
Cheers, Dannen!

Developing ADHD as a Journalist

Working in News led me to develop ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder).

I used to be able to sit and listen to a professor go on for hours...all while taking very detailed, legible notes. Now, I am content to sit in class reading a newspaper, jotting appointments down in my daytimer, while listening and taking notes.

I have a hard time riding in the car for long periods of time without reading a book, listening to my ipod and writing a poem at the same time.

If a web page takes longer than 1.5 seconds to load, I feel claustophobic. Is this normal? I think not.

News time is a concept rarely recognized by people who do not work in the industy. I do not know of a business which employees a tigher deadline. (Maybe the medical profession where the clock does not determine deadline but instead the crisis of the patient.) Reporters opperate on a stringent schedule with outlandish demands by producers (who are getting outlandish demands from managers). This forces us all to race the clock. Unfortunately, racing the clock often takes away the option of extreme patience and politeness.

ADHD symptoms include hyperactivity, forgetfulness, poor impulse control and disbstractability. I'm not forgetful but easily distracted. It is difficult for me to concentrate on something hideously boring. I even find I can concentrate better if I am multi-tasking. This could possibly come from 6 years of tv news reporting.

Working in news tampers with one's ability to be patient. As a reporter, you are expected to show up on time for the interview and there is usually a team of people waiting for you. You talk to people with the demands of deadline in the back of your head. Even discussions with collegues in the newsroom must be to the point in order to save time. The rest of the world doesn't operate like that.

For instance, when there is a train pulling into the Tube station, some people decide to walk more slowly down the steps in front of commuters. When they should be moving to the right to let people by, some passengers place their suitcase directly in the path of others. Does this annoy anyone else? Instances like these make me wonder if I've always expected things to be quick/efficent or has years in news changed my outlook?

Fellow newsies, future journalists... does being in the biz make us less patient?

Go Colts

I have a friend that loves Peyton Manning. Her name is Caren. She imagined she would marry Peyton and their wedding colors would be orange and white (school colors for the University of Tennessee). See, Caren and Peyton went to UT at the same time. In fact, they even had a class together. She wasn't able to marry him (he lost out to a great guy named Wes) but Caren couldn't let go. She named her second daughter Peyton, after Peyton Manning.

That is one of the reasons I am cheering for the Colts today. Even though the Super Bowl won't air in the UK until 1am I will be watching. I went above and beyond. I bought ingredients to make taco dip, rice crispies and various other traditional SB snacks. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any microwave popcorn in Sainsbury's.

Go Colts, beat da' Bears!

Other Paris Highlights

Notre-Dame was even more impressive inside and out than I imagined. An amazing building. Napoleon I was crowned here as Emperor of France in 1804. The first stone for the building was laid in 1163 by Pope Alexander III. While inside, I wrote a prayer of peace and protection for my brother, Dannen. He is an Army Reservist waiting for orders to return to Iraq.

From the Louvre one notices the Arc de Triomphe. After a victory in 1805 Napoleon told his men, "You shall go home beneath triumphal arches." Apparently many of Paris's parades begin here.

We also went out of the way to an area of Paris called Pigall. This is where Moulin Rouge is located. We ate at a wonderful restaurant nearby.

Les Deux Magots

"This cafe still trades on its reputation as the meeting place of the city's literary and intellectual elite." -
Paris, Eyewitness Travel

The best thing about Paris for me was people watching from a tiny table outside a cafe or bistro. Les Deux Magots was on the list of places to go for me.

Why is this different from all the other cafes in Paris? Glad you asked. Artists and writers including (one of my idols) Ernest Hemingway pondered life and discussed ideas here in the 1920s and 30s.

Hemingway started out as a news reporter for the Kansas City Star in 1917. He is one of the greatest American short story and novel writers of the 20th century.

My guide book says the cafe's name comes from the two wooden statues of Chinese commercial agents (Magots) that adorn one of the pillars inside.

Creative Terrorism

(Picture from BBC's website: Police raid 12 homes searching for clues.)

Is anyone else as bothered by this terrorism plot as I am? The sophistication of the plot shows a deeper level of terrorism, one that is even more difficult to fight.

Yesterday, police arrested 9 people in connection with a terrorist plot. Al-Qaeda is expected to be behind the plan. This attack was not meant to create mass casualties but instead invoke psychological terrorism.

Investigators say suspects planned to kidnap a British Muslim soldier while he was home on leave. They were then going to torture him and behead him...all on film. That video was to be broadcast on the internet at a time when people would not expect it. Hundreds of thousands of citizens would unknowingly witness the solider being tortured and killed.

Some say the police are over-reacting and have arrested these men without charge. Waiting fore more details.