Life of MALA: Universe, are you there? It's me, Mary.

A few days ago a friend told me about the book E-Squared. The book involves 9 do-it-yourself energy experiments. It poses as a guide to show us how we shape our own lives. It says that if we focus on and search for what we ask for in the universe, we might just find it. The first experiment was to ask for a blessing. Naturally I asked for something to appear to me from my mother. I wrote down the time I asked for the blessing and noted that the 48 hours would be up at 4:41pm on Friday. Then I waited. Then I ate an entire box of Snackwell Devil's Food Cookies. (This isn't really vital to the story, I just wanted to let you know because it was my last box of them from the States and I figured maybe you're feeling generous today while you read my blog...? It is worth a shot.)

Thursday came and went. Nothing.

I woke up Friday morning and prepared my bag to go on an adventure with a friend. I was making breakfast and had reached to get something from a high cabinet when suddenly my left shoulder decided to stop working. That same shoulder has been hurting me for the last six months and I am pretty convinced it's because my camera weighs around 20 pounds. I am not kidding, it's like carrying a bowling ball around my neck.

I didn't know exactly what we were doing for our adventure but I knew it involved kayaking. Since I suddenly had a bum shoulder I figured this would definitely pose a problem. It did not. Instead I just sat in the front like Pocahontas (minus the perfect hair - my hair is not adjusting to island life as curly and adorably as I'd hoped) while Smith paddled away in the back. It is a miracle I still have a friend after this day of adventuring.

We...this is a lie... he pulled the kayak on to the left side of Whistling Cay and told me to get out a little before we hit shore since it would be easier. I attempted to get out gracefully but instead just stepped out, found no footing, and quickly fell down. I stood back up and was pretty convinced I had gotten stung by a jelly fish. I did not think they had many incidents of jelly fish stings in the Virgin Islands so I found this odd, but it definitely felt exactly like one so I asked. That's when I realized it wasn't a sting, I had just fallen on to some fire coral. I actually didn't realize this, I was told. If you don't know what that that means, it means tiny fiery barbs of the coral were launched into a part of my leg. It's like a jelly fish sting that lasts 24 hours. Super fun.

After putting the kayak up on some rocks we started towards the cliffs. We jumped off the first small cliff, which was only a 10 foot drop to the water and swam over to the larger cliff. We climbed to the top and then jumped the 30 feet off that one too. It was pretty exciting. I wanted to feel like a professional high diver, but I did not. I felt more like those girls you see at the water parks who go down the water slide and have to manually remove their bottoms from their anal cavities because of the pressure. (I'm trying to be polite, I don't know if anyone really calls it that but my grandma might be reading this.) Anyway, it wasn't a slide but somehow that happened and while it was less embarrassing since my lower half was hidden under water, it was extremely painful. I'm not sure why I am telling you this, I guess I am trying to help in case anyone was planning on jumping off a cliff in the next few weeks and needed some advice. Jump carefully.

I decided to climb back up the small cliff to get to our bag with the underwater camera and attempt to take a photo as my friend dismounted again from the high cliff. I skidded back down (since I didn't want to jump in with the camera in case it left my hand) and pushed myself off the last few feet. Somehow I managed to catch my left foot on a barnacle on the extremely short trip into the water. I didn't think too much of it until a few minutes later when I pulled it out of the water and saw it pooling blood. It was not my day. My left side was completely useless at this point and I had yet to see a blessing from the universe that related to my mother. It was 2:30pm. Time was ticking. One hour and 11 minutes to go.

We decided to do some snorkeling which was fun except for when my friend pointed out there was a nerf shark under one of the caves below. He offered to scare it out so I could see it and before I could say in my loudest city girl voice, UM NO THANK YOU, he was already back under water on his way to do it. Since I know nothing about sharks I didn't really hear when he said nerf and instead focused on the shark part of the sentence. The shark was actually really cool and swam by without giving two hoots (let's bring that phrase back) about me or my bleeding foot. Still, it was a traumatizing experience for me during those 30 seconds before he swam out.

W̶e̶ He kayaked back to land, rinsed off, and packed ourselves back into the car when suddenly I realized my sunglasses were missing. Sunglasses in the Caribbean are similar to shoes in NYC. You need them, a lot. Of course I only brought two pairs (the foldable Ray Bans that are so cool) and an $8 pair from Forever 21. I figured they must still be on the beach so I limped back and searched. Nothing. I went back to the car and checked the time.

4:30pm. NOTHING. I looked up at the sky and said a not-so-silent threat to the universe. (I told you, it's amazing this person is still my friend) and got in the car. As we got closer to town my phone got service and a few emails came through. I opened them up. One of the emails read "Happy Belated" it was from my mother's best friend. Sent at 4:23pm.

Was this mom? I hope so. She wrote: "Wishing you a year of gentle joys, tropical zephyrs, business success and lightness of heart. All wrapped up in gratitude, of course!" It even sounded like Mom. No wonder these two were so close.

It was a comfort. A sign? I'd like to believe yes. I looked all day and got frustrated with each new injury, and the loss of my expensive sunglasses, not realizing she was there. Her friend had sent the email earlier but had just realized it was to the wrong address on Friday, 18 minutes before my time was up to find a sign. Mom must have had something to do with that, right?

Knowing her, she probably gave me that wedgie when I jumped off the cliff too.

On my way out to a fabulous birthday dinner with my two roommates, Liz and Liz: