S.C.U.B.A.

This month has been one long activity after another. Weeks full of work, traveling here and there, and then weekends of Lisa 4.0.

Activity 1: SCUBA: We did our classroom, pool work, and tests for the PADI Open Water certification.

I would sum this whole training thing up by saying that its a minute of: this is how you breathe underwater and weight yourself down so that you stay down; and the rest is 40 hours of training you on what to do when things go wrong!

I was more excited than nervous to do this certification because whenever I snorkel, I always wish that I could have more freedom to follow the fish. All this "how to save yourself" stuff was the slap-in-the face about the realities of the risks.

Whatever!

Carpe Diem, and all that.

There were 8 students and 2 instructors in the pool, and that was just too much. I didn't feel like I could really move around and get a feel for all that equipment 'cause we kept banging into each other. We didn't finish all our "skills" over that weekend, and so my friend and I did the rest, just the 2 of us this past Friday. It was GREAT having the whole pool to ourselves. We were able to really get the hang of buoyancy and swim around. We are off for our first open water dive tomorrow, and I . am . excited!!

My mom was kinda confused when I told her I wanted to get scuba certified because I can't swim. You know, with strokes. I can spend some time underwater, or I can swim on the top, or just play around. I just never learned how to do any strokes. The swimming teacher my mom hired for me and my brother when we were kids told my mom after a couple weeks to just give up on me 'cause I was never going to learn. And that was that.

Well, scuba is not about swimming. Its about having the freedom to be underwater on your terms. Its a gateway to this whole other part of the planet - the part that that is the MAJORITY of this planet, eh?.

so, watch out fish! Here I come!