Scuba

“alright peoples, I know this is a backpacking forum, but I start my PADI Open Water Dive Certification Course on Thursday of this week and I figured maybe some of you could give a girl some pointers! Anyone here at all involved in scuba or taken the course? Thanks in advance! :)”

“and be nice to her, I'm trying desperately to get her out on the trail with us!”

“dude, flip jerbear a email. this dude is way too cool doing the scuba thing.”

“Good point TJ. I totally forgot Jerbear is a scuba nut!”

“dude, you are so very welcomed to this information man. when meeting mr bear during a big south fork trip a few years back man. he was very impressive in what he was in to dude. the dude is cool man.”

“hey, thanks. will do :)”

“he is cool. I like hiking with him. He's got an endless supply of great stories. He's definitely been around.”

“i've not only created a new thread, but posted to an old one!! better watch out...here i come ;0)”

“the TT hooks are setting their barbs. Just wait till you sit up all night on here for the first time.”

“dude, you are way so boring man. get with it dude.”

“I'm just a boring guy.”

“well...im not boring, just bored a lot!!! haha”

“dude, chill out man.”

“I'm so chilled I'm about to fall asleep sitting up. I hate working Sundays. Esp holidays.”

“hey, at least we've got each other to somewhat keep us entertained. normally ive got no one to chat with and with every passing moment i despise this place (work) even more.”

“good point.
there's fresh coffee in maintenance I hear.”

“they always give me dirty looks when i steal their coffee. ill stick with my diet coke for now. haha.”

“Well if you'd put a dollar in their bucket once in a while, and socialize a bit then you'd be ok. ;)

You're too selfconscious too. They are all nice guys.”

“I bet they weren't giving you dirty looks either, just "looking" at you.”

“indeed! i think maybe im the one who, in general, needs to chill more. :D workin on it! (less caffeine may be a good start! haha)”

“fair enuf.
this IS really good cake!”

“brians wife is the bomb. mmmmmmmm cake.”

“you can tell it's home made too! This is no box mix.”

“her fudge was melt in your mouth good. everytime he walks in with some kind of tupperware in his hands i get all excited. here comes the sugar rush! woohoo!!!”

“I will be paying more attention from now on! Sou8nds like I've been missing out on a lot of good eats!”

“yah. you eat her food. ill continue to steal yours. :D :D”

“you steal mine?!
When?”

“when you so kindly offer it to me. really i dont bring my food on purpose. its all a con to get more of that beef stew/soup you made!! mmmmmmmm. ;) :)”

“Come to think of it, It's almost time to make more of that. What day is this for you, and I'll bring extra.”

“you know, keeping track of two boards, and two e-mail addy's all at once is getting hard! LOL!”

“today is monday. i always work sunday-tuesday/wednesday. and ill be looking forward to it!!!”

“hahaha! we're the forum/email Masters :D”

“Tuesday is stoup day, then! Leave your lunch at home!”

“heeeeeeeeellllll yesssss”

“I am not sure what you are looking for for advice. I divemaster occasionally for openwater classes. The best advice I have is to closely pay attention to your instructor when you are being shown what to do and how to do it. It is very common for students to be playing with their gear while the instructor is talking and demonstrating. Just pay attentions and watch him go though the motions.
If you have the chance, practice your mask skills. The removal of your mask underwater seems to be the place where most people have troubles.”

“thank you very much! I guess I'm not sure what I'm looking for as far as advice goes either. Im just a bit nervous to start something new! I've read and re read the chapter and have always felt confident in the water, but am anxious of all the 'unkown' :)
do you tend to have very large classes? thats another thing i was a little worried about...”

“
Hand up
Head up
Come up

Hand down
Head down
Stay down

”

“applies for so many things...”

“thats it?! man im ready to GO!!! :D :D”

“(i would just like to clarify i responded BEFORE seeing means post, haha!!)”

“LMAO!!!!
gotcha!”

“The instructor that I work with tries to keep his class sizes in the 2 to six people range. That allows more one on one time to work thru the problems in the pool and water. The class work is not very hard. Read the chapters, watch the DVDs and do the reviews. The tests are straight from the books and DVD. (I am referring to PADI courses) Most students have problems remembering the relationships between volume and pressure. These are very important relationships and are stressed on the tests. "Hold your breath on the way up and your lungs pop"
Scuba is very safe if you follow directions. Your instructor has been through a strenuous training regimen. Just listen closely.

Divebuddy dot com is a good site to chat on and meet fellow divers. I answer to Aquafriend on there.
Good luck”

“thank you So much for taking the time to respond. i really appreciate it. :)”

“no problem
Diving is alot like backpacking. There is alot of gear and toys to purchase, everyone has an opinion about the best places and gear, and everyone is helpful. I have a three bedroom house, one room for me, one for backpacking gear and one for scuba gear. If I ever quit there is gonna be one hell of a garage sale.”

“my boyfriend is a certified diver, and i became intrigued with all his 'scuba toys' :D and from being out on the dock 'watching' them (he and his buddy) do night dives, and go chasing after weights and whatnot. i have always been very comfortable in the water, and was swimming shortly after i started walking. so i really think this is something i'll enjoy. i just like to know Everything about Everything before i start something new. impossible, i know. haha.”

“Some people are scared of water or just freak out when they pull their mask off. Others get claustrophobic due to the water surrounding them and the little bit of extra effort it takes to to breath through a regulator. These people have to overcome these problems or quit. Some make it and others do not.
If you do not have these problems just pay attention and you will do fine. I keep stressing paying attention but it seems that there is at least one in each class that has their head in the water or are goofing off when the instructor is demonsrating skills. When it comes time for them to do the skills themselves they are clueless. This takes time from the rest of the class and aggravates the instructors and divemasters :)

It is worth it when you are done.

I try to do one big trip a year when I can afford it and the rest of the time I dive in the local lakes. We have 5 good clear lakes with in 3 hours of my house.

Where do you dive in IN, quarries?”

“I am quite sure I'll be the rather anal student, who is literally hanging on every word, doing my best to get it all right. :D

you're so lucky to have so much around you that you can dive! indeed, they dive in quarries around here (typically an hour or two away). he has also recently been to mermet springs (i think thats the name), and bonne terre mine. the night dives, however, were in the quarry, and where he took his advanced dive class. (if that is such a thing...all of the sudden im getting my terminology all mixed up!)
im so excited to get started, but also apprehensive. and already SO looking forward to my checkout dives in April! brr! haha. (already bought my first 7 mil suit too :D )”

“can you dive in the lakes legally? Brookville reservior is pretty big, and who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and find some of the unrecovered bodies that are in it.”

“oh, you know it. thats my dream right there. the end all be all of my scuba training! lol, you suck.”

“I have my padi openwater certification, but its been a while since I have been diving. I do remember though what freaked most people out when they took the open water test ... Like hillbilly says, its was taking off the mask, clearing it and putting it back on. I actually took the course as a PE (2 credits) at NC State.

About paying attention. I agree that it is very important, but don't stress over it. I remember a guy when I went skydiving. The dude obsessed over every single thing the instructor told us. He was one nervous dude. He still screwed up when he jumped from the plan. Kept one foot in contact with the plane when he let go and wrapped the static line around his emergency shoot release handle. Both shoots opened at the same time.

so pay attention, but don't be spastic lol”