Certification - Check!

Well, the final dives are complete, and the test is taken. All that is left is for me to go to the shop tomorrow and take my pic for my license and sign my folder. Look out fishies - they let me in!

So Smith Lake - visibility stinks! Couldn't see two feet in front of me - even if my goggles hadn't been fogging up! I tried taking some pictures, but as you can see, there's not much use in this lake. This is Melissa just a foot or so from me. Not to mention it's in the midst of a trailer park. The manager came by and fussed cause we were 'all' apparently speeding...I don't think anyone actually was. And we saw a little boy peeing off the side of a cliff. Real classy place. Don't recommend anyone coming here for any reason other than getting certified. But it's true what they say - if you can learn to dive in Smith Lake, you can dive anywhere!

The best part is that I've lost almost 8 pounds this summer due to all the swimming! Must...keep...exercising! And I have a semi-tan line, that I'm sure will disappear in a few days.

Smith Lake Dive

Pre-Dive:
So due to some scheduling complications, instead of doing our open water dives this coming up weekend, we are doing them today and tomorrow! So in a few minutes I'll be heading out to Smith Lake (which makes me nervous considering the reviews I've read of the residents surrounding the dive site, who have epitomized what people think of when they think of Vidor, Texas - no offense to my family and friends who live there because I know better!) However, apparently this is the shady side of town.

That said, I will actually be deeper than the 'deep end' of the pool with limited visibility, so I'm very nervous. I know the skills and I've gained a lot of confidence in two days, but I still feel very uncoordinated and gangly (if that's the right word to use there). If something ridiculous and avoidable can go wrong, I will be the one to experience it! I'm leaving way early so I have time to make sure I end up at the right place! I'll post after I get back, and tack it on at the bottom. Wish me luck!

Post-Dive:
Well, I didn't drown! Yay for me! Didn't get any pictures, considering we could hardly see each other! We dove to roughly 20 feet, which is pretty much the deepest Smith Lake gets. We went to one of the sunken boats, and I think we interrupted lunch time for two small mouth bass - we swam through a school of minnows. (Of course, my first thought was BAIT!) At the surface we had a perch follow us up while we were talking about lunch - guess he thought he'd join us! We're going to feed them tomorrow with flour tortillas! (Not the Texas Tech kind though!)

Tomorrow is the final dive using the compass and the written test, then, provided I pass, of course, I'll get my C card :) Then it'll be time to find some dive buddies. Anyone in SA up for TrashFest in the Comal in October?

Scuba Day 2

Tomorrow we do our open water dives in Smith Lake - eeekk! I think I'm the dunce of the class - being so uncoordinated and graceless. However, I have not drowned, and I do much better under than above the water anyway, which is the point after all I guess :)

The sunburn cleared up and tanned overnight thanks to some tanning bed lotion which pulled the heat out. So I can claim a 'tan' keeping in mind that my 'tan' is most people's natural color :)

I did much better today. I went early for some 'tutoring' and Anne and Budd (the instructors) helped me work on my weights and buoyancy more. I can't believe how hard it is to sink! But I'm very thankful I've been swimming at the YMCA here in Port Arthur because it's really helped me build a lot of strength under the water. Just wish the chlorine didn't pull all the moisture out of my skin 'cause it feels yucky for a while till I can get hydrated again.

Still, it's fun! We took some pictures today and played in the pool and tomorrow I'll bring the camera to the lake and take some pictures too.

Scuba Lessons Day One

K - so it's hard to remember to breathe underwater at first, but I think I've taken to it somewhat well. It's very dry air - worse than sleeping with your mouth open and finding your throat dry. Not that it can't be fixed with a little saliva, but still takes some getting used to. I have had to add more weight than even some of the larger guys in the class - I somehow float no matter what! Guess that's probably a pretty good thing in an emergency though :) So far we're learning all our skills in the confined dive area (aka - a swimming pool). There are 5 of us in the course - 3 of us are new, 1 is taking the course as a refresher, and another has been on controlled dives at resorts but isn't completely certified. It's a fun group to be with, and we've all hit it off quickly. Anne and Allen, our instructors at Scuba Brothers, are great!

It's also VERY tiring, but I didn't notice I was tired till after I'd showered and dried off at home. (I also didn't notice that my shoulders are the same color as my bright red swimsuit - despite the 4 coatings of SPF 75). Looks like I'll be diving in a shirt tomorrow :) Fortunately it does not hurt at all, so possibly the red will go down a lot. My face hurts yet received no burn - weird.

The course I'm taking, for those who are interested is the PADI Open Water Diver certification, so basically it means that I can dive in the recommended depths as long as I have ready access to the surface (hence open water).

We'll be diving in Smith Lake (in Vidor, where I was a teacher's aide while getting my cert) once we are ready for the open water dives...apparently there will be some interesting things down there. I hope to be able to bring my camera and take some pictures :) I've been told one of the exercises we do is see who can find the most golf balls in the water...interesting... We shall see :)

My First Real Summer Begins!

No more students, no more lesson plans, no more IEPs for 2 1/2 months :)

My first summer not looking for a job begins, and I'm taking it off completely (no summer school) to enjoy or find that I'm bored out of my mind and need to do summer school next year! What a wild ride teaching is! I applaud all of you who have done this for years and not found yourselves absolutely exhausted day after day. I love it, but it's certainly not what I expected, and I'm glad of it! I had feared that each day would be the same routine, day in and day out, and that I would quickly get bored. How wrong I was! I have inherited all of the campus's behavior problems simply by being the special ed teacher, so each day is filled with new tantrums and fits. And because I helped out as a TAKS coach, all of the students at some point or another have seen me so I get random hugs throughout the day too. I had students who would come in my room after school to help me clean the boards and disinfect my desks and keyboards - which kept them out of fights since they were typically the bullies or the ones who were always getting picked on. Strategic selections :)

All in all, it was a fabulous four months, but I'm glad that I have time to rethink my room and relax a bit before I have to do it all again. So what am I going to do with my summer vacation? I haven't the slightest idea! I have two weeks at the end of this month in which I will be learning to SCUBA dive, but outside of a few trips to Houston and San Antonio - I got nothing but some volunteer work and a few home improvement projects, three of which I've already completed!

Anyone want to take a vacation before August 16? I'll go ANYWHERE!!!! I fear boredom!