The Rule of Fun: what do you do when you aren't having any?

[MargaritaMike]

1. Have see a number of SB posts of the form "if you do or think x then you have no business being in the water"

2. I think that the lack of a definition of "fun" accounts for half the posts in this thread. To some challenging is fun. To some practice is fun. Some classes were not fun but they were rewarding and I liked what I got out of them. To some fun is all gee wiz or tee hee. Etc etc. Personally being evaluated is not fun, and doing skills in a class is evaluation in my mind but I still take classes that are related to interests of mine when I can find them.

Whenever I have taken classes, or do anything for that matter, I do the best that I can. If there is someone evaluating me so be it. If I don't meet some criteria by which they are evaluating me so be it. The bottom line is that I do my best and for me that is enjoyment and a sense of accomplishment. Incidentally, I do not recall any evaluations that I have failed to meet the criteria. Fun is a state of mind. Even on a dive in Belize with a very strong current and the dive guide "disappeared" leaving 6 of us, I still salvaged the dive by analyzing the situation and developing a plan of action to get us all safely back to a boat (As it turns out it was our boat.) Because the 6 of us had just met on the ride out, I prepared myself as to whom I would be diving and sort of interviewed everyone in the group through conversation. It paid off.
I'm not saying this can be done every time, but the dive was still "fun" because I was able to use what skills I had and saw some interesting marine life.
I later let the dive company have a piece of my mind.
Regards -

 

[blac86]

I firmly believe that anyone can throw a thumbs up and that's it, no questions asked the dive is over. However if someone does throw a thumb I'm sure as going to have a sit down with them and discuss what happened, and how we can not end a dive early in the future. I want to understand what caused my team mate to want to abort. I want to discuss how we can address a similar situation underwater if it arises again. But the only repercussions is that if you turn it early you're buying the first round

 

[FishgutsB]

All about fun...... sure there are all times we challenge ourselfs but the goal is fun. I was able to observe Pete during some instruction on and advance class and heard him repete it many times..... anyone at any time for any reason no repercussion. It's about having fun. Case in point is a dive a month ago with my son. 2 hour boat ride to a wreck we were very excited to be diving . About 16 divers on the boat and I was in for about $300 . Plan is to join another shooter on the anchor line . First group (a family) goes in and starts down the line . Very strong current . My boy and the other shooter go in and are delayed on the trail ball by the family having issues with the current. I am delayed by a mask strap . By the time I splash my boy was hanging on the surface ball for a couple minutes in a 1.5 knot current . We exchange down signals and I head to the mid down line expecting him. After a minute I come up the mid down line and the crew say he is okay and is on the ladder and has called his dive. I join the other shooter and we earn our way to the wreck . Finally on the wreck we see the first group (family )in mid water and know this is gonna be a short dive . We head back up and prepare to retrieve the other divers. Turns out after I started down the line no other divers went in the water. The biggest feeling I had was being proud ..... proud that my boy would call a dive when he was not comfortable , proud that he learned from his training and reacted the way he did. I know he is now my dive partner and a capable one at that. We changed areas to a wreck with no current and had great dives that day. It was a good day because of any dive at any time for any reason. Good instructions and a good instructor . Thanks Pete

 

[The Chairman]

The biggest feeling I had was being proud ..... proud that my boy would call a dive when he was not comfortable

I'm feeling the same way! There's nothing down there worth dying or getting hurt over. Know your limits and honor them.

 

[Bierstadt]

Finding dive buddies who share a similar diving philosophy and traits to oneself is a wonderful thing. It helps a lot, I think, to know your buddy is going to have similar reactions underwater as you would. That is why I am hesitant when I hear the word "boredom" thrown around as a reason to thumb a dive, because boredom is not something I experience underwater. Two foot vis is not uncommon for me. Still fun. Yet I know if one of my regular buddies thumbed a dive because of boredom, I would be in the same boat. Thumbing is sacrosanct. I like knowing my buddy will do it when he ought - and we both feel similarly about what that is.

 

[PfcAJ]

One of my instructors used to always say "let's go have some fun!" right before we submerged.

I noticed that during my cave training with him he never said it. I asked why of course.

"This training is serious. I'm not here to have fun, but to teach you what you need to survive cave dives. You can have fun after the class."

That stuck with me. I had fun during the course, but the purpose was something else.

 

[kelemvor]

1. Have see a number of SB posts of the form "if you do or think x then you have no business being in the water"

IMO when you see that you usually can at least dismiss the post if not the poster entirely. Usually it means the person has a serious attitude problem. Perhaps they've been diving 8 dives a day for 300 years and can't conceive of the difficulty a new diver has, perhaps it's some other thing that gives them the attitude. In any event, I find I'm happiest generally ignoring these posts or people.

I've seen that same statement made in other hobbies as well.. "If you do or think x then you have no business y."

It used to make me a little angry, but now I just think people are out of touch and they really believe themselves when they say it.

 

[Neilwood]

IMO when you see that you usually can at least dismiss the post if not the poster entirely. Usually it means the person has a serious attitude problem. Perhaps they've been diving 8 dives a day for 300 years and can't conceive of the difficulty a new diver has, perhaps it's some other thing that gives them the attitude. In any event, I find I'm happiest generally ignoring these posts or people.

I've seen that same statement made in other hobbies as well.. "If you do or think x then you have no business y."

It used to make me a little angry, but now I just think people are out of touch and they really believe themselves when they say it.

They are also the type of people who have the tendency to drive people away (either from SB or from diving altogether).

Especially with new(er) divers, it is sometimes important to think about being back there with little confidence and draft your response with that in mind.

The usual long hose vs traditional set up discussions are a prime example of people with those attitudes with BP&W being a close second.

 

[stretchthepenn]

Fun is relative. I've had an absolute blast on lots of dives, but on many others, I've struggled with one thing or another--cold water, nausea, leaky masks, lousy viz, leaky drysuits--and I've at least semi-enjoyed those dives, too, if only because of the "dammit, I'mma grind it out/figure out a solution and triumph over this BS" factor. Only a few dives have gone into the logbook as "Ugh" or "Miserable dive." Plus, some of the dives on which I struggled were also the most fun.

For example... I got to dive the Colorado River a few miles below Hoover Dam. It was a two-tank drift dive (46 minutes each leg), the water coming off the dam's bottom was 52 F, and I wore a 5mm wetsuit. Misery. Absolute shivery misery. But it was also AWESOME.

 

[boulderjohn]

I've seen that same statement made in other hobbies as well.. "If you do or think x then you have no business y."

Here is a moment of realization I had years ago that may be helpful here.

I used to be a reasonably serious beer brewer, making a variety of styles starting with hops and grain, not kits. I participated in online discussions, much like ScubaBoard. I could relate a number of stories that will illustrate my point--this is just one of them.

In brewing, keeping things sanitary is essential, and a variety of products are used for this purpose. One of these is (or was--it's been years) a product called Iodophor, an iodine based sanitizer. The directions on the bottle said to use it on the equipment, rinse it, and let it dry. Someone asked how carefully the equipment had to be rinsed and dried, and that spurred a discussion much like using a long hose question would on ScubaBoard. The owner of the Iodophor company and its chief product developer participated in the discussion, and they both said with emphasis that their recent tests had shown that it was not even necessary to rinse it, let alone let it dry. They had done tests in which they had put iodophor solution directly into finished beer and found that it was undetectable.

Well, one of the responders would have none of that! Not only did you have to rinse extremely thoroughly, you had to make sure it was absolutely completely dry. He always let his equipment dry for at least three days before using it. If you weren't doing the same thing--well, maybe you think you're a good brewer, maybe you can't tell the difference in your final product, but a really serious brewer and beer drinking expert (like him) would be able to tell. Failing to let your equipment dry for three days before using it just shows what a sham and a charlatan you are.

In all activities, there are people who take things to absurd extremes like that, and when they do, they look down their noses at people who do not do things the way they do. Yes, there are such people on ScubaBoard from time to time.