It's always good to have more than one passion. Or addiction, as the case may be.
First, I've become semi-obsessed with
learning everything there is to know about blogging these days - an extension of my nerdy computer addiction. Hence, the photos, links, videos and continual re-editing of colors and stuff on this blog page. Second, my sidebar statistics and obsessive ruminations in various posts are evidence of another of my passions: running.
Third, I was out all afternoon yesterday in the yard with my trees and plant, listening to the birds chirping as they build their nests. This is a close-up photo of a nest built by our Florida mockingbirds in "Claudia," the
Sabinea Carinalis, Carib Wood shrub (a native Dominican tree) in our back yard. (Yes, we named this very pretty, showy tree after our daughter! In fact, all of our trees have family member names. That will be a future Blog subject.) It's time to start "hurricane proofing" for the season, and I love getting sweaty and dirty when I pull weeds and dig in the mud.
And Fourth. Well, it's pretty obvious from my banner headline that scuba diving is one of my most serious passions. It has been, for 21 years now. So, today, while I'm packing for my liveaboard dive trip next week on
Peter Hughes Sun Dancer II - to Belize - I thought I'd show you my dive gear and how I try to pack a whole lot of dive toys into a lot of little space.
This is all (well most, anyway) of my stuff. Clockwise, from upper left: a purple shorty surfer's suit (for warm water diving); buoyancy compensator (vest to hold my dive tanks, with pockets for tank banger, flashlites, dive sausage,
REEF fish ID book, magnifiying glass); pink diver's tool box (
see detailed info, below); bright yellow/green fins (with neat orange lycra fish sox!); blue 3 millimeter wetsuit (for repetitive dives, cooler water); regulator and dive computer (with hoses); black-skirted dive mask (black is better for looking cool in underwater dive photos, and my old-age eyes see better with black); 2 underwater writing slates (one for logging dive info; one for counting fish!); and 2 underwater dive lites (
"two is one, one is none" - an old Marine/SWAT motto.)
My gear weighs about 20 pounds. Which makes it tough flying these days, because my wheeled dive bag weighs 23 pounds. With weight limits of 50 pounds, that means I have only 7 pounds for clothes, bathing suits, sundries, books, and other "stuff." So, I have to pack VERY lightly. To be honest, I take along a mesh carry-on dive bag for most of my land stuff and my regulator/computer.
I don't mind having to rent dive equipment if my bags are lost somewhere, but I really want my own regulator (the breathing thing that goes in your mouth) and Suunto dive computer when I'm diving. You'll note that, even underwater, I'm still doing nerdy computer techy things. Besides, these two pieces of equipment cost about $1500.
My dive computer is hard to see in this photo - but it is waaaay cool. It has a compass attachment: not that I ever use it; I'm pretty good at "just knowing" where I'm at. And it is also air-integrated, keeping track of how much air I've used, how fast I'm using air, and how much air I have left until I suck my tank dry -- which has never happened, by the way. For every dive, the computer also keeps track of time underwater, depth of dive, oxygen and nitrogen used and warning limits, times between dives, planning info for next dive, and a symbol about when I'm allowed to fly again. That comes in handy when you're on a liveaboard boat, like I will be next week, diving 5 times a day. Serious, addictive diving.
Oh. Before I go pack, I really must explain my pink dive tool box. I've had it for the entire 21 years I've been diving. It's waterproof and has really neat stuff inside it that every diver needs. On the cover is my DAN sticker. I've been a member of
DAN for 21 years, ever since I started diving. Best darned resource and insurance to have. It's comforting to know DAN personnel can make arrangements for you to fly to the nearest recompression chamber if you get "bent," and they can also get you (and your significant other) home if there is a dive "accident." DAN doctors gave me great advice on combining my running training with diving, too.
On the inside (left) of my dive tool box we have: a laminated card with dive computer info (I can never remember exactly which button to push for everything); blue tube of spray-on stuff for cleaning masks and glasses; a REEF creature id book; and a back-up regulator cover (with black masking tape because it cracked in the heat while in Curacao).
On the inside (right), we have: a large-toothed purple comb (untangling curly hair after diving 5 times a day is tough); black film container with extra O-rings (for air tanks), cotton balls, rubber bands, and regulator port covers; "all-in-one" dive tool (with various sized Allen wrenches, screwdrivers, and other tools); yellow wrist strap with clip buckle for dive lites; blue skinny tube with back-up reading glasses; SPIT (mask defogger); large orange carpenter pencil sharpener (for fish counting pencils); white bottle with Soft Scrub (to clean dive slates); roll of black electrical tape (good for everything!); pair of pliers; ten extra orange tie-wraps (for temporary attachment of night lites and other gear to vest); large yellow pencil sharpener (a backup since blades always get rusty); round blue pot of silicone (for O-rings); blue night dive stick (hangs on tank as a marker for finding buddies); spare carpenter pencil (gotta be able to count those fish!); Swimmer's Ear (for immediate, after-dive water blockages); and tube of toothpaste and toothbrush.
As for the toothbrush - here's an homage to my best dive friend and buddy,
Tracey. This is Tracey looking mighty fine in her super duper dry "wetsuit" on the deck of our room in Utila last October. (Note the fashionable purple dive socks.) I was having major problems with my dive mask during this REEF dive trip. It kept fogging up all week long, and nothing seemed to work to clear it for more than 2-3 minutes. A real pain when you're trying to identify fish as part of a group of professional fish counters. I was getting really good at improvising new mask clearing skills when one of the ladies reminded me of the old toothbrush/toothpaste trick. (You need to "clean" new masks with toothpaste to get all the pre-manufactured glass sheen off of it.)
Sure enough, late during the week, I grabbed my toothpaste and the nearest toothbrush (which just happened to be Tracey's) without even thinking and started scrubbing away. It worked great on my mask, too. No more fogging up. Fortunately, adhering to that old Marine/SWAT rule (see above), I had packed an extra toothbrush and gave it to Tracey for the rest of the week. She was so gracious about the whole thing. And we laughed and laughed.
With that thought, and knowing I really have to PACK NOW -- I'll sign off with a big THANKS to Tracey for the toothbrush (and being a great dive, fish-counting buddy); to Gianni (for letting me go off and indulge my addiction diving next week); and to
Alex/
Andrew - who will be joining Tracey and me next week on the boat and taking fantastic photos. I already know it.
Wish I could claim credit for this quote, but I can't. I don't even know the identity of the guest who wrote this, but I read it in a "thank you book" aboard SUN DANCER II, the liveaboard dive boat I sailed on in the atolls of Belize earlier this month. Here I am, squared off fish-face to regulator-mouth, with a pretty little Grey Angelfish. My view of diving has changed dramatically ever since I started really looking at -- and counting -- fish.
That's what I've been making a conscientious effort to do. Kind of like this Yellowhead Jawfish, peeking out of the sandy bottoms of Belize at us bunch of crazy divers and photographers. Or running so slowly that I can hear birds cheeping at one another. And breathing so slowly in and out during my yoga asanas that I can actually feel the air moving through my nose hairs.
What a grand time! Thanks much, Andrew, for the photos and the fun.
