PADI Certified!
Sure enough it's no secret. I'm now officially a certified open water diver! It's a pretty bad ass achievement, even if it will have ultimately cost me an ASSLOAD of money (there were certain costs beyond that of the class itself). In fact, even though it was for two days and was a little anxiety driven at certain parts, I seriously enjoyed the trip as a whole once I was there and settled in. It damn sure didn't have a fun start though, but that's because I had to get up at about 6:30 in the morning to drive 2 hours by myself to Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, NM. I eventually got there, suited up, and we were off on the first of three dives. We went over some skills and did some wandering/exploring, and the two girls who had some trouble in the pool actually did pretty damn well in the open water. It's amazing what can happen when you take away the lane ropes and monotonous tile, eh?
After our first day, we pretty much had our plans improvisionally changed to where I went and grabbed a hotel room at La Quinta where everyone else was staying (at a cost of $90 which would later be discounted since I was with the diver party), showered, and we went to dinner at some "greasy spoon"-type place. It was alright; nothing spectacular. Afterwards...I was bored as hell. Friendly and fun and nice as dive people can be, they sure are some fuckin' lightweights. We pretty much got back to the hotel at 9, which - to me - translates into having a whole bunch of night left. Soooo...I was pretty much left to watch TV on a more semi-forceable basis (is it ever, though?) and fill in my dive log for the day while drinking water from a bottle which smelled greasy. Odd, eh? Nevertheless, I got through the night and we were soon greeted with today's day of events. The complimentary breakfast was pretty cool. I wish I could've stayed longer and enjoyed more of it, but we had some diving to do! GET SOOOOME!
So today we had our still-damp gear and went to this "stone diving board" entry for Blue Hole (don't worry, there'll be pictures at the end of this). Needless to say, it's a pretty "sudden" entry, and with 63 degree water...it was goddamn COLD! I got over it though, and we did some more sightseeing and skill-testing. It was after this that we gathered on the stair entrance balcony as my instructor announced, "as representatives of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, we are proud to certify you as official open water divers!" There was some splashing, I accidentally lost (and recovered) my mask, and we then packed up our gear. Afterwards we went on our fifth (optional) dive in a place called Perch Lake. There was a drowned airplane and a Volkswagon Jetta, which was pretty awesome. It kinda reminded me of Dutch Springs, but more importantly, it was my first official "on my own" dive. It wasn't REALLY, because we had everyone from Blue Hole there, but we did our own dive planning (which we didn't really follow, since we were more concerned with the sunken stuff). Afterward, we logged it, packed up, and went to another semi-dive place for lunch. This one was much better, however, and I had a burger! This may not seem like a big deal to some of you, but I don't have a burger every day.
After that, we pretty much went all of our separate ways. Typically, it tells you in the dive manual that a great idea after your cert is to swap info with your classmates for future dives/other activities, etc.. Well, one of the dudes left from the site itself, and the two girls carpooled and were in an odd hurry to be gone. I got the one guy's number (he was my dive buddy in training. Him and his wife were pretty cool), but for the most part, it was still pretty fun. The drive home even took less time! All in all, I spent more than I'd of liked to (hotel, gas, certain other purchases pre-trip) but it was definitely fun. It will certainly serve as a lasting memory. Now for those pictures...
The gear area
Some random pics of Blue Hole
My dive buddy, John
Another of the changing area
One of the girls we trained with
Obviously there are no pics of me because I'm the one holding the camera, but you can bet I looked as ridiculous as John did. I'll see if I can safely get a pic of my PADI O/W card when I finally get it, but really all that's left is to go return the rental gear tomorrow, wait for my card, and then maybe even grab a piece of self-owned gear tomorrow. You're probably wondering why I would, after all the "hidden" fees I incurred, but it's really a matter of continuing to make it my own. Beyond that though, that's really all that happened worth mentioning. Seriously, the rest of the week utterly fucking pales in comparison. Work (boring), and I'm on break from school (win). Karate was there, of course, but nothing worth mentioning happened...which can sometimes be a good thing, I'm finding out.
Anyway, that's pretty much it from me for now. If you've been thinking of diving, or just looking for something else to do to enrich your life, give it a shot for sure! It's not a cheap hobby, but what one ever is? I'm gradually understanding and trying to apply the philosophy that you shouldn't let money hinder your ability to enjoy life...and this certainly would be a testament to that. Well, until next week everyone stay gravy and enjoy the weather. Also, any positive vibes or words of congratulations on both my achievement and awesome picture-taking will be appreciated.
"That fuckin' Jetta tried to eat me underwater! Goddamn crafty foreign cars!"
Ken
After our first day, we pretty much had our plans improvisionally changed to where I went and grabbed a hotel room at La Quinta where everyone else was staying (at a cost of $90 which would later be discounted since I was with the diver party), showered, and we went to dinner at some "greasy spoon"-type place. It was alright; nothing spectacular. Afterwards...I was bored as hell. Friendly and fun and nice as dive people can be, they sure are some fuckin' lightweights. We pretty much got back to the hotel at 9, which - to me - translates into having a whole bunch of night left. Soooo...I was pretty much left to watch TV on a more semi-forceable basis (is it ever, though?) and fill in my dive log for the day while drinking water from a bottle which smelled greasy. Odd, eh? Nevertheless, I got through the night and we were soon greeted with today's day of events. The complimentary breakfast was pretty cool. I wish I could've stayed longer and enjoyed more of it, but we had some diving to do! GET SOOOOME!
So today we had our still-damp gear and went to this "stone diving board" entry for Blue Hole (don't worry, there'll be pictures at the end of this). Needless to say, it's a pretty "sudden" entry, and with 63 degree water...it was goddamn COLD! I got over it though, and we did some more sightseeing and skill-testing. It was after this that we gathered on the stair entrance balcony as my instructor announced, "as representatives of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, we are proud to certify you as official open water divers!" There was some splashing, I accidentally lost (and recovered) my mask, and we then packed up our gear. Afterwards we went on our fifth (optional) dive in a place called Perch Lake. There was a drowned airplane and a Volkswagon Jetta, which was pretty awesome. It kinda reminded me of Dutch Springs, but more importantly, it was my first official "on my own" dive. It wasn't REALLY, because we had everyone from Blue Hole there, but we did our own dive planning (which we didn't really follow, since we were more concerned with the sunken stuff). Afterward, we logged it, packed up, and went to another semi-dive place for lunch. This one was much better, however, and I had a burger! This may not seem like a big deal to some of you, but I don't have a burger every day.
After that, we pretty much went all of our separate ways. Typically, it tells you in the dive manual that a great idea after your cert is to swap info with your classmates for future dives/other activities, etc.. Well, one of the dudes left from the site itself, and the two girls carpooled and were in an odd hurry to be gone. I got the one guy's number (he was my dive buddy in training. Him and his wife were pretty cool), but for the most part, it was still pretty fun. The drive home even took less time! All in all, I spent more than I'd of liked to (hotel, gas, certain other purchases pre-trip) but it was definitely fun. It will certainly serve as a lasting memory. Now for those pictures...
The gear area
Some random pics of Blue Hole
My dive buddy, John
Another of the changing area
One of the girls we trained with
Obviously there are no pics of me because I'm the one holding the camera, but you can bet I looked as ridiculous as John did. I'll see if I can safely get a pic of my PADI O/W card when I finally get it, but really all that's left is to go return the rental gear tomorrow, wait for my card, and then maybe even grab a piece of self-owned gear tomorrow. You're probably wondering why I would, after all the "hidden" fees I incurred, but it's really a matter of continuing to make it my own. Beyond that though, that's really all that happened worth mentioning. Seriously, the rest of the week utterly fucking pales in comparison. Work (boring), and I'm on break from school (win). Karate was there, of course, but nothing worth mentioning happened...which can sometimes be a good thing, I'm finding out.
Anyway, that's pretty much it from me for now. If you've been thinking of diving, or just looking for something else to do to enrich your life, give it a shot for sure! It's not a cheap hobby, but what one ever is? I'm gradually understanding and trying to apply the philosophy that you shouldn't let money hinder your ability to enjoy life...and this certainly would be a testament to that. Well, until next week everyone stay gravy and enjoy the weather. Also, any positive vibes or words of congratulations on both my achievement and awesome picture-taking will be appreciated.
"That fuckin' Jetta tried to eat me underwater! Goddamn crafty foreign cars!"
Ken