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
![Smiling](images/smilies/emoti-smile.gif)
We started off with how to make a proper descent and once underwater for the first time, it took some getting used to. I forgot I was able to breathe a few times and I had a lot of anxiety built up so I was taking short choppy breaths instead of the recommended longer-deeper-than-normal breaths. After I was on my knees in the shallow end, I took a minute to center myself and calm my heart rate a bit. I was struck by how loud the air bubbles were when I exhaled. They really need to come up with a way to have those things come out the top of your head or some where it doesn't obstruct your view. We went over how to clear a mask underwater and also how to find your regulator if it should get knocked out of your mouth.
We moved on down to the deep end (15 ft) and had a little free time to play. At this point in time, I'm still overwhelmed with everything we're supposed to remember to do and not do...so I was more focused on trying to not kill myself, than I was on the little toy torpedoes being tossed around. At one point I did lose control and start to float to the top, but the instructor came over and deflated me to help me sink again
![Smiling](images/smilies/emoti-smile.gif)
We learned how to ascend properly and how to orally fill our BC's at the surface instead of filling them with air from our tanks, just as a precaution should we ever need to do it in a real life emergency. Getting out of the pool was a tad harder than I expected. If I thought walking around with the gear was hard, imagine getting out of the pool, wet and tired with all that gear on your back. That last step off the ladder on to the pool deck was a killer, but I did it. If you're a frail female, you may want to arrange someone to help you with this part, or make sure you're only walking into a dive from the beach, and not from a boat. We took our gear off and washed it before we went to the locker room to change for class.
The second night of class was all about how you can kill or injure yourself diving
![Smiling](images/smilies/emoti-smile.gif)
I'm looking forward to going back tonight. My goal is to get my anxiety under control better so I can feel less like I'm walking through a haunted house with my heart pounding the whole time, and more like I'm floating serenely underwater like I hope it feels like one day on the reef.
![Water Life](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/186/373092812_f46938c0fa.jpg)
Read on to Day 3
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