Dear Fellow Divers,
Greetings! I was certified recently by the YMCA in San Diego. I really enjoyed the course and the instructor was great. I've had some troubles with my dives but think I can get better and also enjoy them more as I become more experienced.
On my first check out dive I started crying cause I did not want to dive anymore. It was my first time diving. I was not used to all the equipment yet. The visibility was only 2 feet that day and so it was very scary as a beginner. And that day the water was a strange green color. In any case I managed to calm down and tell myself I could do it. And then I proceeded to have a good dive.
I have done just under 10 dives at this point and it is still scary when I get out there and am just about ready to start going down. One particular dive that gave me anxiety was in Monterey recently where I used slightly less weight than I was used to (but probably still too much) and I couldn't just sink down like I had down before when I took the air out of my BC. Of course the anxiety made me breath heavier and everything seemed wrong all of a sudden. Well, again I managed to calm down and did a surface dive and found my way down.
I guess in both instances I managed to function but I want to get rid of that fear and anxiety and just enjoy the dive. I guess it is a matter of experience and time. By the way, Monterey was truly exquisite.
I recently had a case of shingles (it's when the dormant chicken pox virus flares up again -- most adults only get shingles once in their life by the way) and my doctor said I should not go diving until I heal properly so I haven't gone diving for several weeks but am hoping to go again soon.
As I learn more about diving I become more and more impressed with the dive community. Everyone on this board seems so thoroughly interested in promoting diving and sharing the fun of it with others. There is such a sincerity in how I feel many scuba divers want to share diving with the rest of the world. I also joined a scuba club at the University of California, San Diego and the people there are incredibly nice. I am not a student there but I joined anyway -- partly to meet other scuba divers but partly to connect with other young scuba divers. I have been out of school for a few years now and I find it hard in the "work world" and same office setting I go to every day to meet new and interesting young people. It can be hard to keep things dynamic when you go to the same location to see the same people day in and day out.
My dive buddy is my fiance who is very enthusiastic about diving so I am happy about that. He is super about helping me research what kind of equipment I should buy and he did a lot of research when we looked at where we should take our class. I still haven't bought my equipment but I really want to atleast buy a BC -- especially because I have had a horrific time finding rentals that fit me well. All this equipment is expensive but I really am thinking it is a long term investment.
A little about me other than my interest in scuba diving...
Although I live in San Diego now (for a year now) I spent a few years on the east coast in New Jersey (one year) and New York City (two years in Brooklyn). I am originally from L.A. and couldn't quite hang with the cold weather (and I get cold super fast too so I wonder if learning to dive with a dry suit is in my future...) in the northwest and decided to move.
I taught English in Tokyo for a while after that (I taught in Nishi Shinjuku and lived in Kokubunji off the Chuo Line). I loved the experience and had a chance to establish stronger bonds with friends I already had who lived there. Living there for an extended period of time also gave me a chance to travel a bit through Japan and I really enjoy seeing new places and learning about different peoples of the world. One thing I loved about teaching in Japan is I had the opportunity to meet and speak with a huge cross section of the Japanese people (such as -- young Gothic girls, retired government translators to Russia, housewives).
After I left Japan I lived and travelled through India for 6 months before settling in San Diego. I couldn't even begin to talk about the varying experiences I had there cause I'd just go on and on and this introduction email (which is already getting longer than I had intended) would turn into a book. I do not know how long I'll be here in San Diego -- I'm considering moving up to the bay area or back east again within the next 6-8 months.
I enjoy studying yoga. I have been taking courses in San Diego but have yet to find a home base. One of the things I began learning about while in India was reiki but I haven't done any more of it in San Diego although I would love to start studying it again.
I studied capoeira angola for a brief time while in NYC under Mestre Joao Grande and with an instructor in Yokohama when I lived in Japan. Unfortunately there really is not angola style capoeira in San Diego so I have to drive up to L.A. to practice with the group there. I don't manage to get up there so often.
Some of my favorite authors are Rohinton Mistry (especially his novel called A Fine Balance), Toni Morrison (Beloved and Paradise are the ones I like most from her), Salman Rushdie, and Haruki Murakamai (I really like Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World and A Wild Sheep Chase).
I did not really intend for my post to become so long so I will end here. Thanks for the good vibes on the scuba board! I look forward to being part of the scuba community.
Sneha
I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar
Greetings! I was certified recently by the YMCA in San Diego. I really enjoyed the course and the instructor was great. I've had some troubles with my dives but think I can get better and also enjoy them more as I become more experienced.
On my first check out dive I started crying cause I did not want to dive anymore. It was my first time diving. I was not used to all the equipment yet. The visibility was only 2 feet that day and so it was very scary as a beginner. And that day the water was a strange green color. In any case I managed to calm down and tell myself I could do it. And then I proceeded to have a good dive.
I have done just under 10 dives at this point and it is still scary when I get out there and am just about ready to start going down. One particular dive that gave me anxiety was in Monterey recently where I used slightly less weight than I was used to (but probably still too much) and I couldn't just sink down like I had down before when I took the air out of my BC. Of course the anxiety made me breath heavier and everything seemed wrong all of a sudden. Well, again I managed to calm down and did a surface dive and found my way down.
I guess in both instances I managed to function but I want to get rid of that fear and anxiety and just enjoy the dive. I guess it is a matter of experience and time. By the way, Monterey was truly exquisite.
I recently had a case of shingles (it's when the dormant chicken pox virus flares up again -- most adults only get shingles once in their life by the way) and my doctor said I should not go diving until I heal properly so I haven't gone diving for several weeks but am hoping to go again soon.
As I learn more about diving I become more and more impressed with the dive community. Everyone on this board seems so thoroughly interested in promoting diving and sharing the fun of it with others. There is such a sincerity in how I feel many scuba divers want to share diving with the rest of the world. I also joined a scuba club at the University of California, San Diego and the people there are incredibly nice. I am not a student there but I joined anyway -- partly to meet other scuba divers but partly to connect with other young scuba divers. I have been out of school for a few years now and I find it hard in the "work world" and same office setting I go to every day to meet new and interesting young people. It can be hard to keep things dynamic when you go to the same location to see the same people day in and day out.
My dive buddy is my fiance who is very enthusiastic about diving so I am happy about that. He is super about helping me research what kind of equipment I should buy and he did a lot of research when we looked at where we should take our class. I still haven't bought my equipment but I really want to atleast buy a BC -- especially because I have had a horrific time finding rentals that fit me well. All this equipment is expensive but I really am thinking it is a long term investment.
A little about me other than my interest in scuba diving...
Although I live in San Diego now (for a year now) I spent a few years on the east coast in New Jersey (one year) and New York City (two years in Brooklyn). I am originally from L.A. and couldn't quite hang with the cold weather (and I get cold super fast too so I wonder if learning to dive with a dry suit is in my future...) in the northwest and decided to move.
I taught English in Tokyo for a while after that (I taught in Nishi Shinjuku and lived in Kokubunji off the Chuo Line). I loved the experience and had a chance to establish stronger bonds with friends I already had who lived there. Living there for an extended period of time also gave me a chance to travel a bit through Japan and I really enjoy seeing new places and learning about different peoples of the world. One thing I loved about teaching in Japan is I had the opportunity to meet and speak with a huge cross section of the Japanese people (such as -- young Gothic girls, retired government translators to Russia, housewives).
After I left Japan I lived and travelled through India for 6 months before settling in San Diego. I couldn't even begin to talk about the varying experiences I had there cause I'd just go on and on and this introduction email (which is already getting longer than I had intended) would turn into a book. I do not know how long I'll be here in San Diego -- I'm considering moving up to the bay area or back east again within the next 6-8 months.
I enjoy studying yoga. I have been taking courses in San Diego but have yet to find a home base. One of the things I began learning about while in India was reiki but I haven't done any more of it in San Diego although I would love to start studying it again.
I studied capoeira angola for a brief time while in NYC under Mestre Joao Grande and with an instructor in Yokohama when I lived in Japan. Unfortunately there really is not angola style capoeira in San Diego so I have to drive up to L.A. to practice with the group there. I don't manage to get up there so often.
Some of my favorite authors are Rohinton Mistry (especially his novel called A Fine Balance), Toni Morrison (Beloved and Paradise are the ones I like most from her), Salman Rushdie, and Haruki Murakamai (I really like Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World and A Wild Sheep Chase).
I did not really intend for my post to become so long so I will end here. Thanks for the good vibes on the scuba board! I look forward to being part of the scuba community.
Sneha
I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar
