SCUBA survival

A while back I posted about my thoughts on possibly getting SCUBA certified. James and I both decided to go through with it. Unfortunately, we would have to take the classes separately but are able to take the open water dive certification together in June. I signed up for the e-learning class all done on a computer module with slideshows, videos, and quizzes. This past weekend I had to go to 2 days of in water training at a local pool.

My biggest fear was the whole attempt to breathe underwater with a regulator in my mouth. That actually didn't phase me as I am normally a mouth breather so the adjustment was nil. We started off with some basic skills on how to make yourself float, sink, hover in the water. We also had to do a 200 yard swim and tread water for 10 minutes. On Saturday we had one certified master diver and one who was training to be one instructing us. They were both great and there were only 2 of us in the class. I was doing great, until the moment came to attempt to clear the mask when water got into it. First of all, I wear contacts. Which means NO OPENING YOUR EYES underwater. The thought of filling my mask with water and keeping my eyes closed and then trying to clear it freaked me out and I clawed myself to the surface blindly on several occasions. I was finally able to do it with a different mask that had a purge valve which basically allowed me to position my head down rather than up. In order to clear the mask, you must exhale through your nose and lift the bottom of the mask slightly. Do you remember what I said earlier? Yep, I'm a mouth breather. Breathing through my nose is NOT NATURAL to me. Couple that with the fact that I'm trying to exhale through my nose and my mask is flooded with water it is definitely a scary experience. The next step of the skill involved completely taking off our mask and leaving it off for 60 seconds then replacing it and clearing the water. The other guy in my class went first and I was underwater watching him and with every second that ticked by, I became more and more anxious. I finally signaled to the master diver in training that I needed to get to the surface. I was SO anxious I could feel my voice waver and the tears start to form. He was great though, and walked me step by step through the mask clearing again but keeping my head just below the surface. The instructor that was to grade my skill then came up to the surface and told me she'd be right next to me the whole time. Again, the whole eyes closed thing just totally freaked me out. So down I went trembling, close to tears. I took the mask off, closed my eyes, held tight to my instructor's hand, and patiently counted the seconds off to get to the minute. She then tapped me on the shoulder, I replaced my mask, and exhaled. Nothing. Did it again. Nothing. I kept exhaling through my mouth! Starting to panic I took a deep breath and exhaled again....and this time I did it right! I was so proud of myself! It's definitely a skill I will need to practice...I just pray my mask never fills with water. :) I definitely had fun learning the skills and getting over my fears of the sport. I'm so thankful that James will be flying out here in June to complete the open water certification with me. If he's by my side, I know I can do it. And then it's off to Fiji in July to enjoy some of the best diving in the world.

Moving again.

Yep, hard to believe my job here in TN is OVER. Where does the time go? I'm heading back home to Cleveland for the next 3 months to work at the Cleveland Clinic. In fact 3 months from today is the wedding! I'm really looking forward to this next job. The clinic is an amazing place to work, one of the best in the country. I think I'm really going to like it.

So for all you Cleveland folks, hope to see you soon!

Happy Birthday James!!

Today is James' 29th Birthday!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to James!
Happy Birthday to you!

I wish I could spend your last birthday of your 20's and your last as a "single guy" with you! Can't wait to get out to Portland for good and spend all our birthdays together!