vladimir
The Voice of Reason
- Messages
- 44,784
- Reaction score
- 65,573
- # of dives
- I just don't log dives
I don't think it's official until you've written an account of your "Fundies" (not Fundamentals!) class, which should describe how humbled you were by the experience. This can usually be accomplished by stating that you "thought you were a solid diver" who is now convinced she has no clue or, for extra credit, may actually hang up her fins in disillusionment. It is de rigueur at this point to pay homage to your instructor's wisdom, patience, diving skills, and teaching ability. (Instructors are generally referred to by their initials only.) Some mention of "seeing the bar" and getting "hit by a bus" is also pretty standard, but not required. A few anecdotes describing, say, how your instructor summarily discarded a brass snap hook on your rig, how you sank five feet and lost "all SA" during an air share drill, and how all your fellow students were better than you would help nail down the humility nicely.We're on our way back from Hollywood Divers right now, feeling a little bit of sticker shock (but no buyers remorse). Charlie and I both just bought full Halcyon rigs, and I also purchased everything I need for GUE fundies, which I hope to start in November.
So y'all got yerselves an official convert!
The account should also describe how tiring (not tiresome!) the weekend was. Exact logs of your sleep schedule are not required, but recommended. The long demanding (physically and mentally!) days should be emphasized, along with the sense of exhilaration that carried you through. Without explicitly stating it, you should convey a spiritual awakening commensurate with the revelation of a "holistic system." An anecdote regarding a shared breakfast at dawn can be worked in here to nice effect.
Ideally, one of your classmates would join the thread to bolster your account of the instructor's prowess and the demands of the class and dispute your assertion that you were totally incompetent (this would be a good opportunity for him to proclaim his total incompetence). The two of you should then make plans to do drills together for the next twenty weeks, either to get that "provisional" changed to a "pass," or to prepare for Tech 1.
You're not done yet though! The last step to making it official is to scour the Scubaboard assiduously until you come across a poster diving to 110' with an Al80 and, hopefully, riding his computer the whole way. This may call for a little patience. Once the quarrry is in sight, a lecture on rock-bottom, complete with calculations, should be launched into. You should express how appalled you are that he doesn't know this already. Trading virtual high-fives with your fellow fundied is encouraged.
Now it's official. If you can respond to a few inquiries about ratio deco with a derisive "Take the class!" that will help you take the next step.
:joke: