OK, Now What?

DIVEMASTER!!!!

I'm not going to be studying anything else, and the major financial impact I was planning isn't going to happen. So I decided to go ahead and sign up for the training required to become a NAUI Divemaster.

I'll admit it -- I'm a SCUBA junkie. Duh - have you noticed the pic at the top of this blog, or the name of it, or have you ever met me? Anyway, if you want to see me light up, just get me started talking about diving (for other topics, see the end of this post). I also haven't gotten out to interact with people as much as I need to, and I've become socially retarded (no, what you've been calling me is a different kind of retarded).

As a Divemaster, I'll have the opportunity to assist instructors with SCUBA classes, so I'll be able to help people learn about a subject I love. I'll even be able to lead "discover scuba" sessions, where someone who thinks they might like diving gets to try it out in a swimming pool for free. I'll be working with the motley crew of instructors, divemasters, and ne'er-do-wells that haunt the dive shop I use (Deep Blue Adventures); people I've dived with, learned from, insulted, and annoyed.

As if that weren't enough, once in a while I'll be able to lead dive trips where my way is paid! I'll have to work my butt off, but the cost of one or two trips to dive the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary more than offsets the cost of the class.

Of course, this doesn't come without a cost. The physical and mental requirements for the rating are significant, so I'll be working hard for it. Most of the instructors already have it out for me, and the NAUI instructional program lets them abuse me shamelessly. Even after certification, assisting with classes will take up much of my "free" time, and I'll be doing grunt work, like hauling equipment. I might have to get liability insurance for some tasks.

OK, I'll keep you posted on my progress. As promised, here are

Other Conversations that Light me Up:
- Anything scatological
- Criticizing taxes
- American healthcare system
- Reproductive freedom (education, contraception, abortion)
- Who's the best Doctor in the Doctor Who TV show
- Excuse me, you appear to be on fire
- Appropriate uses for the epithet "douchebag"
- Australia