I have a love and hate relationship with the ocean.

I love how vast, how deep, how blue it can be looking aboard a ship or plane. I love how the creatures of deep can be so complex and yet so simple. I love how when I do go to the beach, I can taste dried sea salt on my skin.

But I hate how seaweeds can get caught on my flippers making it difficult to swim or even enjoy the water. I hate how scared I get when it gets too deep, and with the creatures of the deep? I hate that I don’t know what direction they’re coming from or if they’re going to attack me.

On that note, here are a few incidents that will make you hate the ocean:

Huge Waves Hitting a Ship
I swear I nearly fell of my chair because of this video. Storms are scary, but what about storms when you’re in the sea? Yikes. I can just imagine filling up that barf bag from dizziness and well, probably deathly scared that some huge wave will hit the boat. Just a video to get you started:

I swear I nearly fell of my chair.

Creatures of the Deep
Whenever I find myself snorkeling in some tropical country I’m visiting, I always have this nagging fear that some creature is about to come out of the blue and pull me to the darkest part of the ocean. And so I always bring my handy Swiss knife. As if that would help! Of course it doesn’t help to  diminish my fear the fact they found a giant squid just recently! Here are some creatures to scare you off:

Dark Water
Aside from being afraid of the dark, I have an irrational fear of the deep, dark waters. Maybe I had a drowning episode during my childhood, or something close to that - I really don’t know. My imagination starts running wild and I get really scared and I just stay at the shallow end.

Those are some of the things that stop me from enjoying the deep. I know I’m not alone - what other irrational fears do you have of the ocean or water? Do share!

There comes a time in one person’s life when no matter how much you engage and cajole your friends to come along with you on a trip, you just can’t seem to convince them. Ergo, you have to go out into the world alone.

Fear not brave traveler, here are a few tips to help you survive that crucial trip… alone.

Travel List
The assumption is, with so many times you’ve traveled with friends, you’ll be packing in no time and you’ll be packing it light (with the erratic airline fees, you HAVE to pack light).

Travel/Tourist Scams, Avoid them:

• Taxis - No matter how friendly-looking the people are, there are a lot out there who’ll try to take advantage of you. For starters, the taxi’s at the airport. Always find the one recommended by the airport of your destination. If there’s a meter, insist on it, if not, usually the airport will charge you a certain fee but you’ll also get an official receipt.

• Moneychangers - only exchange for the county’s currency at the bank, atm or a licensed moneychanger. There are sooo many fly by night moneychangers that will approach you and promise higher rates - only to find out when you’ve gotten your money that you’ve been shortchanged, and there’s nothing you can do about it (probably you can complain, but imagine the hassle!) Always count your money very very carefully. You don’t want to be losing that hard-earned money.

• Friendly Locals - they’ll engage in small talk, and convince you to go to this store yaddah yaddah coz the jewelry’s waaay too cheap. It’s a good thing if this is the only incident you’ve had - since you can always say at the place he’s brought you that you won’t buy. However some are more unlucky and have found themselves robbed of money, credit cards, passport, and visa. Of course not all locals are that way, and you’ll just have to rely on your better judgment if he’s out to get your money or he’s the real thing.

Socialize

• Whether you’re a man or woman, it always helps to socialize, and since you’re traveling alone, you’ll naturally meet someone out there who can be a companion or just someone to share the experience with.

• Smile. No one can say no to a genuine smile.

• Be a good listener.

• Learn the language of the country you’re visiting, it will come in handy.

• Do not be the annoying tourist who’s always in the photo of some other tourist.

• And most important of all, don’t force it. If the person next to you doesn’t want to talk, or even listen to you, then just zip it.

Be healthy

• Get your shots. Especially if you’re going to a high-risk country.
• Be careful what you eat or drink. You don’t want to spend the next few days in the toilet.
• Ask what you are eating - politely, as some people find it offensive.

And just something to remind both genders:

Men: I know you want to enjoy the country, but since you’re traveling alone, try to moderate your drinking. You’ll thank yourself in the morning when you’re in the hotel room with your money, wallet, and passport intact. Keep a low profile - you don’t want to figure in a fight in a foreign city.

Women: Dress Appropriately. Especially in the plane.

Both: When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

I congratulate you for your bravery to travel alone. It takes a lot of courage to venture in a foreign country on your own. Just keep your wits about you, follow those tips and then some, and enjoy. Enjoy the trip, the sights, the experience, the feel of a culture different from yours and you’ll manage to survive traveling alone. Who knows? You might just do it over and over again(no excess baggage!).

Your computer is acting up, the Xerox machine won’t do its work, your boss just made you rewrite a report he hasn’t even read or won’t ever plan to, while the receptionist at your office is giving you the cold stare - it’s just another day at work!

Whether you love or hate it, everybody needs a job these days. During my isolation in my boring cubicle, I thought of all the other jobs in the world that I could have - whether dirty, odd, or exciting, here are some jobs to make you love your own - or probably make you quit and switch careers.

Avian Vomitologist
From the Dirty Jobs Series on Discovery comes The Avian Vomitologist. Basically you collect owl vomit for a living, and sell it to universities. As a girl who is allergic to anything ewww(perhaps, vomit?), this is one job I probably wouldn’t want to have even if they paid me a million bucks a month. Even if I had no boss, even I had my own car, my own house…you get the picture! Owls are probably cute to harry potter, but not really for me. But if this is one job you think you’d be interested in, then get that resume ready.

Baby Naming Coach
Shiloh. Moses. Apple. Sunday Rose. Names of babies that will make you wonder what went through their heads during the baby naming process. Do they need help? Probably. Call on the Baby Naming Coach! At $95 dollars an hour, baby naming coaches will help rattled and confused soon-to-be parents name their kids. For that amount I’m seriously thinking of quitting my job.

Celebrity Nanny
Seems the baby business is lucrative. Just imagine being a nanny to any of the kids of those hot shot A-list celebrities. Perks: They can take you all over the world as filming can get you from LA to the obscure but beautiful islands of the pacific, or if you’re cute enough, you might get promoted from nanny to mommy - because daddy might marry you! Of course, that’s very far fetched, right Ethan Hawke? Or perhaps if you’re THAT cute, the bigwigs of Hollywood might just discover you (proximity proximity!) You get the money, the stamps on your passport and perhaps the fame. Who knows?

Obituary Writer
I remember this as Jude Law’s job in the movie Closer. Do you have a talent for the written word? Although you’re not exactly contender for the nobel prize for any non-fiction book, you at least are responsible for writing about the lives of the deceased for newspapers or magazine. Salary? How about $42,150

Fortune Cookie Writer

It takes a lot of creativity to write those fortunes! And certainly only witty writers can do this, or else who would spout those pieces of advice we all pay attention to?

I fall in love with my job over and over again whenever I think of this next job…

Odor Tester

Your favorite anti-perspirant/deodorant wouldn’t work as hard and smell as good if not for these people. Everyday they face an army of armpits and see to it that what you apply on your  pits is the best stuff around. A round of applause please.

Other jobs:
Gum Busters - don’t you just hate it when gums get to your hands and most especially your shoes?! They’ve got the people to clean it up.
Death Cleaners - clean up after the dead…usually the grossest they get are those who commit suicide.

and so I ask you.. do you still want to quit your day job?

The days of getting fried under the sun, taking that long road trip you’ve planned a century for, and just taking a break is here. Summer!

For the college kids, summer means spending time at home or doing odd jobs to save money for the next school year. For the parents, it means planning a summer shindig with the family for some quality time, and for those trying to climb the corporate ladder? It’s that time of the year where you’ll have the opportunity to see your colleagues in their swimwear during a team building event at the beach.

One of the best things about summer is the beach - water’s just the perfect temperature, the people are pretty laid back, and there’s just an energy that bounces at the beach due probably to the season. Now if there’s something I don’t like about summer - it’s the number of things I (or you) don’t want to be seeing on the beach - you know what I’m talking about, let’s start off with:

Hairy Harry or Sally.

Although I commend you for your bravery in wearing that teeny weeny bikini despite not making an appointment with your bikini waxer, or your body hair is making you look like the missing link between bigfoot and humans, you’re better off getting a wax before you hit the water - and please - stay away from the pools - you might clog them up with all that hair.

Borat in a Bikini (or anybody who doesn’t look good semi-naked)
Let me remind you how he looks like:

The bikini alone is an eyesore, let alone Borat wearing it.

Jellyfishes/Sharks

Anything that can sting, hurt or generally terrorize the beach is a no-no. I know it can’t be avoided because it is their territory and because of the weather, in some areas jellyfishes are growing by hundreds. I’ve been stung once and I’m praying it doesn’t happen again. If they promise to stay at the deep end of the ocean, I promise to stay by the shore.

Any DEAD floating thing
Dead rats, fishes or anything dead at your beach of destination is bound to kill all the summer energy you have. Make sure that when you do hit the beach, you’ve searched for news on that beach (if there’s an epidemic or something you should avoid). I’ve seen a shore full of dead fish before and it’s not a pretty sight - or smell.

Airplanes on the beach
Imagine this: a glass of your favorite alcoholic drink on your right, a book on your left, some mood music on your iPod and every now and then you’re peering from your reading to see the girls and guys strutting their stuff on the beach.

All of a sudden a loud sound and you see an airplane in front of you. It’s not an uncommon sight as these airplane accidents have happened before, but it’s something I wouldn’t want to see on the beach I’m going to visit this year.

These are the major things you don’t want to be seeing on the beach this summer.  While some of these are but natural to occur (jellyfishes, etc), some can be avoided altogether if they just looked at the mirror before hitting the beach. What other things don’t you want to see at the beach this summer? Send in your thoughts!

Photo credit: Plane Crash