SCUBA

Tonight started off much better than Day 2. I got to the pool early, grabbed my favorite gear, suited up, and even had time to snap a few pics to make this article a bit more interesting. This is my pile of gear before I put it all on. You'll see the regulator (the tube looking thing) isn't attached to the tank yet. I made sure to have a buddy check out my gear before I put it on to make sure everything was okay. Being that the only other time I put my gear together was step-by-step under the watchful eye of an instructor, I felt very apprehensive about everything being correct on my own. We learned a new way to enter the pool tonight that was called the forward roll entry. ...

If you haven't read Day 1: Here's a LINK
Whew, day two was a doozie. I showed up a few minutes late because of traffic and there were tanks and wetsuits all over the pool deck. Ugh! Today was going to be the day I was not looking forward to. The instructor handed me a wetsuit and a weight belt that they had already prearranged with the right amount of weight. Luckily, the wetsuits were the short versions so I don't have to deal with the too-tall long-sleeved/pants version until this weekend. (I wish I could just pack a blade and cut the excess off around the ankles ) ...

I've finally made the plunge and decided to get SCUBA certified. It has been a long time in the making since I got in the reef hobby, and followed that with the photography hobby. I've waited and waited, trying to save up money and this year, I asked for it for my birthday present from all my family. I called around every local dive shop here in San Diego and got their fees and class schedule. Most of them are PADI certified instructors. The general schpeel was an incoming student would have to purchase classes, certification documents, books, mask, fins, snorkel, booties, and rent the rest of the gear. This together, by my estimate, would average about $450. There were options for weekend classes (most expensive), or two to three weeks of classes a few nights a week. I was disappointed because I only had $250 saved and had no other way of coming up with the rest.
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