Accept The Contractions
Things I've Been Enjoying - December 11, 2024
Howdy!
I’m back from my quick trip to Mexico and, yes, I survived my freediving experience! Not only did I survive, I held my breath for 2.5 minutes, dove to a depth of 20 meters (65 feet), and became AIDA 2 certified. I don’t know when I’ll do this again, but it’s cool to say that I did.
The scariest part of the whole endeavor was the static breath hold (AKA seeing how long you can hold your breath in a pool). Several hours were dedicated to stretching and relaxation techniques intended to calm your body and your mind. This is not something that I do. Ever. Whenever I try to mediate, I fall asleep. “Clearning my mind” is not a skill I possess. So this part of freediving was by far the hardest for me. Especially when I had to remain relaxed after experiencing my first contractions…
Contractions are what can happen when the level of carbon dioxide in your blood grows higher and higher. When your blood hits 50% CO2 saturation, you black out, but before this happens, it sends warning signals to your body in the form of contractions. The way they manifest varies from person to person, but for me it was visceral lurching of my body, almost as though I was violently dry-heaving, rapidly, over and over again. Sounds pleasant, right?
Apparently, these feelings - and training yourself to remain calm during them - is an essential part of freediving and holding your breath for minutes at a time. As my instructor said “your body still has plenty of oxygen when you start contractions, so you must learn to accept them”. I never asked how you’re supposed to know when there have been too many contractions and you're about to black out, but I guess you just figure it out. In the end, he was right though. I held my breath much longer than I ever thought I could. It was not easy, or enjoyable, but it was possible. I guess sometimes all you need is someone to tell you that it is.
Here are some Things I’ve Been Enjoying:
If there’s one thing I want to share this week, it’s the Coldplay’s new music video featuring Dick Van Dyke - probably my favorite actor as a small child (although David Tomlinson gives him a run for his money!) It’s incredibly beautiful.
Last week, in preparation for my visits to Chichén Itzá and Coba, I did a lot of research about the Maya. If you’re interested in learning more about them, I highly suggest this Fall of Civilizations episode that details the causes of their “disappearance”. If you simply want to see some beautiful images, check out these original hand-drawn prints made by Frederick Catherwood - one of the first modern explorers to visit Mayan ruins in the 19th century. Imagine stumbling across this stuff in the woods! I’d lose my shit!
Why did celebrities stop being cool? (this doesn’t apply to Mr. Van Dyke!)
Could plastic-eating bacteria radically change how we clean our water? It’s nice to read a somewhat-optimistic environmental article for a change!
When it comes to love, only 3 in 10 relationships succeed - here’s what to do if you want to have a stable & healthy one. I like this because it uses SCIENCE!
Everyone remembers OK Go’s treadmill music video. So why does no one remember the high school kids who recreated the entire thing, live on stage, in a single take? They’re the real legends.
I hope you’re all going to hit your Goodreads 2024 Reading Challenge goals. Unfortunately, I don’t think I will, but I do have some pretty cool reading-related news: hundreds of independent book stores have been opening across the US!
I loved this short but intimate blog post by Austin Kleon - isn’t a tombstone just an away message? There’s some good poetry in here too!
I don’t remember how I came about this, or why I decided to watch the whole thing, but I was thoroughly engrossed in this YouTube documentary about “Dustmen“ - the men and women who handle London’s rubbish collection (garbage men, as we call ‘em).
I haven’t done a movie round-up in a minute, so here’s what I’ve been watching and enjoying:
Wicked was actually very good, although I had no idea that it was PART ONE! What the heck! I don’t know the full story, and I refuse to look it up, so it looks like I’ll be waiting 11 months to find out what happens
Kyle Mooney’s Y2K was funny, absurd, and bursting with 90’s references. Don’t go into it expecting a terrifying horror movie or a side-splitting comedy, go into it expecting to be entertained and you will be.
I loved the simple humor and hilarious lines in Hot Rod, the 2007 comedy classic that I have somehow never seen before.
Friday is so damn simple yet so damn good.
Why did no one tell me about Jackie Brown? It’s basically Pulp Fiction’s cousin. And I thought the acting from everyone in it was superb.
This newsletter is made possible by my Patrons. If you would like to ensure that I can continue writing them, please support me on Patreon. Thanks for reading!