Online Scuba Blog: Scuba Gear & Dive Equipment Info

June 23rd, 2009

May 11th, 2009

May 3rd, 2009

Lake Denton (crystal-fed lake in Avon Park, Florida) 

I have so much that I want to write but I’m on limited time right now since I have to get to bed early tonight for another dive tomorrow.

I have photos that I need to post and everything, but I will do that in the next few days.

During the past 4 days between the confined dives and the lake dive today, I’ve had some hurdles to get over including equalization issues and clearing up my ears, air spaces, sinuses, etc. so they weren’t hurting, but that was pretty much tackled.

40 feet today!  I can’t believe it – I felt so rejuvenated afterwards and satisfied – like I’ve been given this glimpse of a whole other world, and now I’m able to be a part of it – and it’s a world where time stops and the peaceful underwater depths are all you know (and of course the excitement running through your mind!).

Gosh it was great… this is unbelievable for me… it may sound dorky, you know my excitement and all, but I’ve been wanting this moment since I was a teenager, so let it be known! )) 

I feel like tomorrow, when I officially get the certification, that I should have a party and drink a 12-pack or something…  more later.

April 30th, 2009

April 27th, 2009

Very, very busy with all kinds of work, kids activities and of course finishing up my scuba manual. 

Oh-so-very-excited to be starting my first day of the confined dives this Saturday – I have all the basic bare-bones gear as you can see above (fins, mask, snorkel, weights, and weight belt).  I’ll buy more gear though in a few more weeks.

I really should be working my day job right now, but I just had to jump on here to say that the dates are now set in stone for the open-water dives.  No more up-in-the-air-ness!

My pathway to scuba certification will be as follows: classes on 4/25 , 4/26, 4/29, 5/1 and 5/2.

All schedule conflicts have pretty much disintegrated and well, despite the fact that I’ll be in class (more than likely doing a confined-water dive) on Sunday 4/26, i.e. my son’s 8th birthday, we’ll still be able to have a party on Friday 4/24 (oh, which just so happens to be my dad’s 72nd birthday!), and I’ll still be able to have a fun Sunday night with my boy.

Disneyworld trip to be re-scheduled for the month of May.

And classes at Florida School of Commercial Diving have been re-scheduled for June which works out perfectly!  Buys me some time so that I can buy all my commercial gear and really buckle down and save up some money for school.

Time to get back to work and oh yeah, definitely gonna hit my scuba manual tonight (or perhaps tomorrow night).

Hi,

My name is Rosie and I’m now a contributor to the OnlineScuba.com diving blog… I’m going to be on here from time to time, chronicling my adventures and challenges in my quest to become a commercial diver.  I’m very excited!

Bill gave me this incredible privilege of documenting my experience.  Thank you Bill!

You can read the full background of how I came to this point of beginning a career in commercial diving, by reading “Scuba Diving is a Passion & Dream Come True For One Diver” 

Today was very exciting and monumental for me though… I finally read my first pages of my PADI “open-water diver” manual… had to look up some very technical terms and check out some visuals to grasp some of the concepts of pressure and volume and the importance of buoyancy, etc., but wow… I can’t wait to read more (which I’m about to do when I get off the computer).  

My visions of dive tanks and calculations of ATAs (atmospheres) was interrupted earlier today when my kids came barrelling through the back door after a weekend sleep over at a friend’s house… but now that they’re asleep, it’s back to studying here very shortly.

February 11, 2009  When I was 15 years old, I developed an appreciation for oceans and ocean life and came to the conclusion that I definitely have a GREAT love for the ocean and water in general, and that it is THE place for me.  The simple power of water and the concept of this vast world that is pure and un-tapped in many respects, yet so vulnerable and in need of our care, definitely had it’s allure.

Growing up in Los Angeles, California, I always had my “beach time”.  However, after having the realization that the marine world had to be a part of my life in some way, shape or form, I started doing more than just going to the beach: attending a Catalina Island marine biology camp at the age of 16; studying books about the oceans, tidal patterns and dolphins and even sitting in on a USC oceanography class; volunteering at the Santa Monica Aquarium and much more…everything pretty much aligned with my purpose of being close to the water/increasing my knowledge of it.

My life moved forward onto a different path in March of 2000, at which point I embarked on a career in the human rights/non-profit sector, putting my marine dreams on hold for the moment (but the dream was still alive in the back of my mind).

Fast forward to the year 2001 or thereabouts and while sitting at home watching a television program, I was fortunate enough to watch a commercial for the College of Oceaneering, a college that specializes in commercial diving (Los Angeles headquarters are based out of Long Beach).

I ordered a packet of information about their program and read every bit of it and watched the DVD.  I called the Admissions Advisor to gather more information and get more questions answered.  Several years later I even went out to the facility to take a tour and then I went online to check out other divers’ viewpoints and get feedback on the availability of work, how the pay scale works, typical places that divers travel to, etc., etc.  I wanted to be certain that this was the profession for me.

In 2001 I became a mom to a baby boy and again in 2003 to a girl. That threw a bit of a curveball into my plans, but I knew that one day I was going to need to really put my overall marine plan and dreams into effect. And I really did need to make a decision on whether I wanted to be a diver or any one of the other numerious marine professions out there; or did I want a career in some other entirely different field.  But I took my time on making this decision.

My human rights work was completed in December of 2004 (my passion for human rights will never die though).

In 2006 as well as 2007, I was fortunate enough to travel to the Caribbean and snorkel in some of the most beautiful environments I’ve ever seen. Simultaneously I was fortunate enough to get out of an un-healthy relationship with the father of my children.

And then in mid-2007 I moved to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and took advantage of the opportunity to do more snorkeling and have more time both on the sea as well as in the sea.  It was amazing, and just served to increase my love and appreciation for the oceans.

Moving back to Los Angeles, CA in April 2008, I got involved with various other work endeavors and had a few bad experiences.  One experience in particular involved an employer that didn’t pay me for a full month’s work…upwards of $3,000.  This experience and the devastation that came along with it, kicked me in the butt and made me realize that I needed to get my act together and really had to focus on what’s going to help me achieve career success, and provide a good life for my children, and allow me to be in an environment that I love.  It’s been said that if you love what you’re doing you’ll never work a day in your life, and that’s what I wanted to achieve.  And all roads pointed towards diving!

As if to confirm the above thought, in mid-June of ’08 when I was leaving New Orleans to head back to Los Angeles, I ended up missing my flight and had to be put on the next flight out; not a big issue.  The seating arrangement though ended up putting me next to a bona-fide commercial diver (with 4 yrs experience) that had graduated from the San Diego campus of College of Oceaneering. This was an incredible opportunity, and I pretty much picked his brain during the entire flight to get the scoop on his diving experiences and travels and everything I could think of that I wanted to know about the profession.
 

Fast forward to August of 2008, and by that point I had it set in stone and guaranteed that I’m going to be a commercial diver.  All of the experiences that I’d had and everything I had learned over the years seemed to culminate into this pinnacle that only had one direction.

I had it planned out that I would go to the College of Oceaneering in Long Beach. I filled out the school application form and paid the fee; I did the financial aid application online and was approved for grants and all kinds of other stuff; I was scheduled to start classes in October…but then I spoke to my diver friend and found out that the same type of school exists on the East coast at a much more reasonable rate.

I took a cross-country road trip in mid-August and also took a flight out to Florida in September. I researched the elementary schools, cost of living, job availability and of course the diving schools… all roads led to St. Cloud and the Florida School of Commercial Diving. So me and my brood moved out to St. Cloud in October 2008…

And now I’m here and poised and ready to start school. Just need to secure my health insurance and medical exam and a few other bells and whistles, and the dream will be set in motion. Classes will begin some time around June or July…sooo exciting.

So it’s done. I finally made it out here and I’m at a point where things are really happening in my quest to achieve the career of a lifetime: I get to learn rigging, mixed gases, underwater cutting and burning and all kinds of other exciting aspects of diving. And then I get to actually do this for a living! Wow! Well this is what I’ll be doing for a living when 2010 starts; fully certified and ready to go.

Despite all odds and barriers, it’s finally happening.