How about the People we meet on the dive boats?

[Bubblesong]

If we were on the same dive boat, and you told me you were a stay at home mom, you would instantly become my favorite person on the boat. That is a more important job, with lifelong positive consequences, than 99% of the jobs various macho BA divers might hold. Good for you!

Awe! Thank you!

 

[Dave Dillehay]

I understand the value of a live at home mom, really! When my wife is diving in Cozumel I am Mr. Mom here in the Houston Area—we trade off. I understand and have sympathy as well. She is there this week and here I am in League City. Why are piano lessons so darn important?

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[The Chairman]

Boy, some of you folks sure seem to have bad luck on boats. I think I can count on one or two fingers the number of people I've not enjoyed diving with in the past 20 years or so...

Ya rly!

It's also fun to listen to instructors trying to one-up each other on who had the worst student. My, oh my! These guys have rescued hundreds of students over their short careers. Maybe they should try to teach them before they throw them into the suds? I've never had to "rescue" a student and have only had one student panic. Ever.

 

[wildbill9]

My wife and i have an agreement when we ăre ơn vacation. If either ơf us say "work" or bring ups work we have to take a shot. It usually keeps work dícussions to a minimum

 

[Pkishino]

My wife and i have an agreement when we ăre ơn vacation. If either ơf us say "work" or bring ups work we have to take a shot. It usually keeps work dícussions to a minimum

lol, I guess you don't enjoy taking shots then ?
I know my wife would get in trouble (probably on purpose) if we started with that haha.
Back to topic,
I love travelling and as my wife is cabin crew we travel a lot on days of. I try to avoid talking about my job, when I'm on vacation I want to relax, dive and NOT think about work. So I always try to steer conversations back to diving/travelling etc.. to me it feels a bit like bragging when talking about your job etc so I get somewhat uncomfortable talking about my own job and quite disinterested when others talk about theirs.. I don't really care if you are the ceo of a fortune 100 company, that won't earn you any points in my book.. but you've got some nice dive stories, want to talk about local food, gear etc.. that will peak my interests.

 

[ggunn]

I have no aversion to talking about my vocation when I am on vacation. I enjoy what I do and I think about it all the time. I don't press the issue but if it comes up in conversation I don't mind answering questions about it. YMMV and DSFDF.

 

[cicopo]

I guess I don't fit in when it comes to what was my day job, which has sort of ended by getting fired by myself. A lot of people do want to talk about cars, & I've been restoring Corvettes & other GM muscle cars for 30 years. Didn't try to get rich & that worked, but I had a varied work day. Worked at home, worked hard enough to take vacations & enjoy every one of them. My main hobby is photography & again many enjoy talking about that too. As for who I've met on dive boats or just while on vacation very few fall into the "please talk to (or brag) to someone else" category.

 

[Zman96]

Larry you have been one of the very good people to meet on a dive boat!

 

[rmssetc]

@flyboy08 , if we were all New Yorkers, I suppose it could be a different ballgame.

I'm all-American myself, and I understand most of us are forward in conversation, but I try to keep in mind that not everyone I might meet on a dive boat is American, and more generally, not everyone is as forward as others.

As an American who's lived abroad in several places, I was often struck by how many people from other cultures seem more 'forward' in their questions. I recall many, many conversations with relative strangers where their questions were about politics, how many children I had (or why I didn't!), and how I felt about people of particular nationalities.

For many Americans, the issue of one's job is a pretty standard, low-importance question -- it's not much more personal than asking what part of the country you're from, or whether you arrived on a direct flight or had a lay-over.

perhaps Americans more than others, we let how we earn money define who we are. What I'm not comfortable with is the notion that I am defined by how I support myself financially. There are so many aspects to who I am as a person that have nothing to do with how I support myself. My career is only a small piece of who I am.

Absolutely, on all counts!

 

[Lorenzoid]

As an American who's lived abroad in several places, I was often struck by how many people from other cultures seem more 'forward' in their questions. I recall many, many conversations with relative strangers where their questions were about politics, how many children I had (or why I didn't!), and how I felt about people of particular nationalities.

There are definitely some cultures where questions that are perceived as "forward" in other cultures are considered just ordinary light conversation, as I conceded in a post above: "in some parts of the world, such as Indonesia, asking about family seems to be just typical polite conversation." They seem to pity my wife and me for not having children. Maybe along with inventing an interesting career story to tell people who ask, I'll invent some children, too.