Make It Count by Casey Neistat

Happy Friday!

Kinky Boots on Broadway - See It!!!

I have yet to see a Broadway show, which is just mediocre. Almost every single one you choose will guarantee you a night of fun - from laughter to being amazed at the amount of work put in, talent. This stuff is good. Kinky Boots though, different story. The show grabs you, keeps you entertained with a light hearted story and humor. The characters change, evolve and surprise, they make you wonder. The show is exceptional!

Kinky Boots is a story about a nearly out of business shoe factory, which reinvents itself by changing the type of shoes manufactured. The change is drastic. They give up producing men's shoes and start making boots geared towards transvestites. The change paid off!

Our orchestra row C seats were awesome. We laughed so much and I was one of the first ones to give the standing ovation. My friend and I were excited, in great moods and ready to continue the night of fun!

When You know It's Time To Go Back...

I was really lucky to come to St Martin on a one way ticket not really being sure when and where I was going to come back from. It's a wonderful feeling when a trip can just naturally evolve. There's nothing more liberating than a one way ticket - you can get the return for even the day after of for whenever you wish. No restrictions, no limits. 

Also with sailing, you have to adjust to the winds and the weather. We knew the swell was coming so we started heading from Saba to St Martin to seek a secure anchorage. We anchored in Grand Case - almost three weeks later I was where I started, where I got open water diving certified - Grand Case evoked nostalgia and comfort of the known.

I had this feeling of being ready, without dissecting if I'm going to miss and what. It was just like a natural course of events - some things need to finish to let others begin. New York here I come (back).

In Saba - Wearing Tieks - Flip Flops Alternatives and Overall Best Flats Ever

I knew that for the most part throughout my sailing trip I was going to wear just flip flops - basically alternating between my two pairs. Then one day when we arrived in Saba I suddenly just wanted a change, something new and different. I'm far from wearing heels on boat vacations - they're just too inconvenient for the to and from boat transportation by dinghy not to mention that going ashore often involves walking in the sand through a beach. But how about the most comfortable on earth flats as a flip flops alternative? Yes, please. So in Saba I pulled out my Tieks, which I got right before I left New York.

I love Tieks' soles. They are thick and turquoise, which makes it for comfort chic. You can also bend Tieks in half when carrying, transporting. Perfect vacation shoes! Out of so many colors to choose from, this is the ultimate pair of flats I chose. This one was the close second!

Saba Island - Lighting up the Horizon like Jewels and Lace Glittering Skyward

This is what the island Saba looks like when you approach it. It's one huge steep rock. You have absolutely no idea what to expect especially since the first thing you see when you arrive is this. It looks as if the only thing going on on the island was some kind of construction. It's a power plant supplying the electricity to the whole island.

Saba is intimidating - it's a huge, steep mountain, which continues below the surface. The ocean surrounding it is deep, conditions are windy with currents. All this is worth overcoming and "getting used to Saba", which "at night lights up the horizon like jewels and lace glittering skyward." That's my friend John's truly unique and special description of Saba. I truly hope he completes his book one day and I'll be able to link to it here ;-) His words are so smart and poetic.

Taking a ride of about 8 miles to the top, Saba rock becomes more like a home -  you arrive at this cute town called Windward. What an amazing surprise.

Beach Books, Vacation Books, What I'm Reading Now

I'm someone who reads a few books at once not to mention my magazines and the NY Times subscriptions. I read. I love reading. Especially on the beach with the waves breaking or on the bow of the boat in hopefully calm waters.

I've just finished The Wave by Susan Casey - the book is divided into chapters describing the waves and people who deal with them in some of the most dangerous areas in the world. From the Hawaiian North Shore to South Africa the author interviews and hangs out with pro surfers, ship captains, rescue workers - all those who experienced or have been close to 100 ft waves.

Another book I'm reading is Taste What You're Missing by Barb Stuckey - I found out about this book by just browsing this year's TED speakers' biographies. It's one of my methods to be randomly exposed to a selection of books on diverse topics. The author examines closely what influences our taste. She spices her book with unusual findings and examples. Like did you know that one of the Ben and Jerry's founders can't smell or taste the food? That's why the ice cream is filled with chunks - to emphasize the texture.

I'm also reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig the book is an amazing motorcycle journey of a father and son who travel throughout the US. It's rich in brilliant analysis and observations as well as philosophical thoughts.

Diving with Sharks St Martin and Thoughts on Seizing the Opportunity

This is a shark and his feeder. It literally looks as if something was happening to this poor guy but rest assured it's just a picture, he was fine. This was my second dive, the first one was a shallow one so this was literally my first time going as deep as 60ft and I went down to watch the reef shark feeding. We were assured the sharks were not going to be interested in us. We were asked not to reach for anything - to the sharks it would be the same gesture as the movement of the feeder.



At the bottom, everyone got a brick to hold on to, we had 2 lbs of extra weights. The sharks looked like plush toys, they were swimming very close to us. During the whole shark feeding, which lasted about 30 minutes I barely moved and after, I was the first one to come up.



Did I enjoy it? It was definitely something out of ordinary, something I'll never forget. I just wanted to share the main reason why I decided to do it. It was basically the fear of missing out. We were in St Martin and the shark feeding dives happen every Friday. I thought to myself "when is there going to be another opportunity to do this? How likely am I going to be in St Martin on a Friday again? All these thoughts influenced my decision. It's as if the question "do I really want to do this?" was non existent. I'm not saying I regret having done it. I'm just reflecting upon the fact that we often feel the need that we have to grab the opportunity instead of giving it some thoughts and asking ourselves if this opportunity should be really ours.