Generic running updates thread -or- "Going Pro's Goings Prose"

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

We had class again last night. It felt a bit strange being the *student* again. The last six times I've been in the classroom, it was on the other side. :biggrin:

Anyway, so now we're down to two of us, and the one of us who is not me just got hit with a doctor's prescription for a three-week surface interval. (He came to class, but he looked a bit worse for wear, even all drugged up. Poor guy. May all his drugs be strong and his recovery quick. :)) That being the case, we decided to switch the schedule up a bit and spend the next three weeks as classroom sessions, moving the scheduled pool sessions to the end so they'll work for him. (I suppose this also means that I'll be working the next basic class as sole assistant, again, since it'll be during his surface interval. More practice for me, then. :biggrin:)

We also shuffled a few other things around. Next week, we'll each do a short classroom presentation. (I wonder if that'll be easier now that I've had *some* experience? :biggrin:) I'm also supposed to get some pool-cleaning and personal pool time (to complete some more skills) in soon, so I'm fine with having the pool sessions moved back. I certainly was looking forward to next week... now I just get to look forward longer! Yipee! :D However you slice it, there are still the two required OW checkout trips, so it's not like I can be officially done before the end of April, anyway. As long as the April checkout is the final cog in the divemaster machine, I'll be content.
 
Tonight, along with the regularly (re)scheduled classroom session, we have our first classroom presentation. (Okay, so for me, it's my *second*, since I did Dive Tables in a *real* class cold-turkey-like. :biggrin:) According to one of the earlier sessions, the first presentation is basically a freebie that they don't really grade as it's just to start getting you used to things. Perhaps they'll do the honor of grading me on mine, since I've already had one "practice" (HA!) presentation.

At last week's class, when I brought up the presentations (yeah, I literally asked for it :D), they asked each of us what we wanted. The other guy took the suggested topic, "masks", and I asked just to be assigned a topic (since I surmised that would be a better learning experience than picking my favorite). We were to get an email with our assigned topics and the updated schedule.

Well, the email was delayed, so I dropped past the shop before the weekend to get my topic directly, so I could work on it over the weekend. "Fins," I was told, and on fins I began working. I had my outline and notes pretty much in second draft when I got an email just after lunchtime Tuesday... assigning me "BCs"! Oi!

I decided to try my hand at BCs, as learning more than I need has always been one of my favorite hobbies. I did a decent outline of BCs, but it just didn't have the excitement as my fins presentation had. I *could* do BCs, but I'd rather use my fins work, so I dropped by the shop yesterday. When he saw me, the instructor asked if he'd goofed. I said that depends on which assignment takes precedence. :wink: He said I could do either, and since I had all the fins prep done, I elected to take his topic.

Anyway, so last night, I spent several hours polishing my presentation and lecturing myself and the cat. (With the lights all on, I can use the back window as a huge partial mirror, which is slightly less intimidating than a full mirror. :biggrin:) I even caught Dad and let him learn all about fins. If I don't completely choke tonight, I should be able to do a decent job on it. (I even managed to polish it to the right length... assuming I don't go motormouth or megadrawl.)

I've got my PowerPoint file... I've got my "box of fins"... Is it tonight yet? :eek: :D
 
Great thread, ClayJar. Well I'm just starting out and so far haven't helped with any classes, but I did ace my physics and physiology tests today! Special thanks to agwatts here on the board for the extra practice questions.
 
Well, we had class last night. :eek: :rofl3:

I didn't know exactly when we were doing our presentations, but I made sure I had plenty of time to be ready. I hit the shop right after work, and I immediately copied my PowerPoint file off my CD (which had four copies, just in case :biggrin:). I even ran through it once using the "clicker", and I tweaked it just a little more so I wouldn't forget to plug continuing education when I mentioned night diving -- continuing ed is very important to NAUI (motto: "Dive Safety Through Education"), and it's one of the checkpoints on the better end of the grade sheets. After running through the presentation, I then rearranged the classroom back to normal mode (there had been a CPR/First Aid or maybe DAN O2 class last weekend, so everything was pushed to the sides). Okay, and I ran through the presentation a few more times from different places at the front of the room to figure out how best to stand. :D

After a bit of a nervous wait, it was finally class time. The other DMC made it, and we had two of our instructors there. After a short introductory pre-lecture, out of nowhere, it was time to do our presentations. You'd think after all the nervous excitement (that *does* sound better than "anxiety", doesn't it?) leading up to it, I wouldn't have been caught unaware, but I tell you, it sneaks up on you! Anyway, I figured at least I could go second...

HA!

As you likely had expected, the instructor called on me to go first. As I got up, I jokingly commented that I'd done one already, and so it must be the other guy's turn. :wink: Anyway, I walked up to the front, wrote my name on the board (as is our custom) and introduced myself, and then it was time to launch right into my presentation.
[with a twinge of melodramatic ring-leader panache] Tonight, we're going to talk about...

[PPT: picture of the Flipper (Season 1) DVD cover] FLIPPERS!

[PPT: DVD cover with list of dolphins' names and a sentence about "Clown", the one male who was brought in just for the "tail-walk"] Several dolphins played Flipper in the...

[PPT: same slide, but darkened 50%] Um... wait a minute...

[sheepish] Oh, yeah, I'm sorry.

[back to the big intro style] Tonight we're going to talk about...

[PPT: "Fins!" in large, bold, italic letters. A split fin and a paddle fin sticking up from opposite corners. On the bottom between them, "(Divers never call them flippers.)"] FINS! It turns out, divers don't call them flippers...​
From there, it was on with the show. I was certainly nervous, but not nearly so much as I'd been the first time I was in front of people. Frankly, I really enjoyed it.

I had a box of fins (a "basic" fin, a paddle fin, and a split fin) with different straps (plain old rubber Jet fin style, common quick release style, and wonderful spring style), and I pulled examples out as I went along. I mentioned the pros and cons of each, and I got the cavern/cave and advanced (night dives! Woo-hoo!) pitches in. (They flow naturally, so it's not really marketing as much as it feels like informing them that there's so much more out there that you can learn and do.)

I ended up having three notes for improvement. The comparison between the straps was good, but I called the classic style "rubber" straps. The problem with that is that *to a new diver*, the quick-release straps also seem to be rubber straps. That could potentially confuse, so I didn't get the extra point in "terminology completely correct".

They also noted that you want to connect more closely to what's in the book. A new student should have read the book (although in practice, that seems somewhat less likely), but that may be the full extent of their knowledge. By making sure to use more terms, concepts, or other direct connections to the material in the book, you give them a better chance to connect what you're saying through what they know and into the unified whole that is the course. That makes sense, of course, but seeing as they never said a thing about it earlier, I don't feel too bad at not having thought of it myself. (It gave an easy place to prescribe improvement, and having things to improve is a good way to keep from getting a big head about what you did right.)

Finally, they also noted that my "by the end of this, you'll know" type slide should basically be repeated at the end. I'd done that with my key points, and I'd even included a slide of review questions (which they answered well), but the way the presentations in the course go, they like to have the "by the end" stuff at the end, to. (It's quite literally the "Tell them what you're going to tell them. Tell them. Tell them what you told them." concept.) Again, I didn't know this going in, but I can certainly do it now. (Just take the "By the end of this, you'll know..." slide, change it to "And now, you know...", and drop it in the end. I think I can handle that. :D)

Anyway, I got a passing score on the presentation, and the notes are basically rather simple to address. They said I looked quite comfortable up there (to which I replied along the lines of "Looks can be deceiving, but thanks. :biggrin:"), and they absolutely loved the attention-grabbing intro. (In fact, they said they need to grab those slides and drop them into their OW presentation. :D) They said the humor I spread lightly through the presentation was excellent at drawing students in and holding their attention, and the little story tidbits (about my buddy's accidental fin swap, Mark's fins, and such) served the presentation well.

The other DMC was looking *far* better a week and change after his surgery than he was looking last week (hehe, he said he remembers a *little* about last week's class), but he didn't have time to make as polished a presentation plan as I (no PowerPoint or fully-drafted presentation notes). He soldiered on and didn't flop or anything, and I think he gathered a lot of ideas to use next time. (He did joke that next time he'll go first, since he's tired of following me. :))

Anyway, it was certainly a learning experience, and it wasn't nearly as intimidating as the first presentation. Hopefully, that means I'm getting better. :rofl3: Our next presentation will be in two weeks (March 13). I get to do buoyancy. I've already been thinking about my presentation, and I've got some visual aids ready and planned. I can hardly wait.

Next week's going to be a busy week. I've got things planned for Monday night, Tuesday night (OW), Wednesday night (dive club), Thursday night (DM), Friday night (OW), Saturday (OW), and Sunday (OW). At least I shouldn't be bored.

I'm hoping to dive Saturday, then get back to work up a bunch of stuff to make things easier on me for the OW class. I think I learned a lot in the first class I assisted, so now we'll see if my second time around works better. I now have a laser printer to go with my laminator, so I can make student, gear, skills, and other checklists to my personal specifications *and* have them survive the week. People with engineering degrees will go to great extents to optimize processes. :biggrin: (I just need to stop by the craft store to pick up a handful of grease/marking pencils to go with my Sharpies... Sharpies don't work in water. :D)
 
So, last night was the beginning of another basic class, and it was packed. There were 15 students and one refresher there. I wasn't the only assistant, however, as there were two DMs there as well. Like I said, big class, and there are more coming for the weekend part, for which we'll have two instructors, two DMs, and myself.

I'd done inventory (and sorting) on the wetsuits and BCs, and with that information in hand, I'd made a special class sheet. On the top of the page was the complete inventory of wetsuits and BCs (so they could be crossed out as they were assigned), while on the bottom was a table with the class roster down the side and columns for wetsuit and BC sizes and numbers, plus a check-off column for waiver, medical, DAN, and so on. The staff seemed to really like the idea, and it worked out quite well in practice. (I have a couple tweaks to integrate into it next time, but those are basically just trivial presentational bits to optimize the usability.)

I also adapted the wetsuit and BC sizing process somewhat. Last time, I'd done what I was told and had everything on the ground. That did *not* make it easy to know which size was where. This time, I moved everything off a rolling rack and put the wetsuits and BCs on it in size order. Amazing how such a trivial adjustment made everything that much easier. :biggrin:

I'm sure I'll get better with experience, but the adjustments from the first run to the second were quite helpful. Friday should be rather straightforward, since all the balls were properly juggled this time. It'll be interesting to see what develops in the pools this weekend. We're using the brand new pool at one of the local Ys for Saturday's class, and then we'll get to use a different site Sunday (with the full Olympic range of diving boards and platforms, so it's plenty big and deep).

Anyway, tonight is a Dixieland Divers club meeting at the library (with a presentation from a guy from the new shop near town), and then tomorrow is DM class again. After that, it's assisting with the basic class all weekend. This ought to be fun.
 
Well, I've made it through another week and another basic scuba course. :biggrin:

We had our DM class Thursday evening. It was informative as always, but there wasn't really much to write home about (and there wasn't much time to write, regardless). There was a significant discussion about what makes a boat a commercial charter and the liability aspects of boat owners, boat operators, boat captains, and divemasters. The only other interesting bit was a discussion about what divemaster-specific content is in the course, as opposed to things leading toward instructor. I explained to another guy that, as I understand things, it's the fact that he's been drydocked that's made him feel like there's not much divemaster-specific stuff, as most of being a divemaster is practical (and usually wet) work.

As for me, I was doing the surface work of divemastery pretty much all of last year, even before we started the actual class, so I have that background already. I was also used as an additional set of eyes (not counted toward ratios, and not allowed to do most other things, except being a buddy for odd-numbered classes) for many of the dives, which let me hone my observational, communication, and problem interdiction skills. That experience is invaluable when tasked with being an actual practicing divemaster. I've also now assisted with two basic scuba classes and one advanced class, all of which definitely added to my understanding.

Speaking of assisting with classes, was this last one ever a doozie or what?!? :D Counting the refresher guy, we had 20 students, two instructors, two divemasters, and myself. At the Y's pool Saturday, we even got to deal with a crotchety old coot who was walking back and forth along the wall in the shallow end (where we had to enter, as you don't start with students over their heads :biggrin:). I was like playing Frogger, where you were the frog and the meanest guy you've ever seen complaining at the grocery store was everything else, all at once. He wouldn't even pause for a second to let anyone through. You had to time it just right and jump or he'd literally walk right into you and push you out of the way, all the while muttering and complaining like someone who has never had one gram of fiber in his entire life.

Anyway, eventually he left (a swimmer said that he's *always* like that, and that he's even upset that they didn't build a 4'-deep ledge all the way around the pool so he could walk the whole perimeter), and once he was gone, things were much less annoying. We had a few people who had the usual mask clearing problems, and we had some other issues. The biggest problem was that the group was so large, we were having to compromise on gear sizes. (We don't usually have a class so large, and I have no idea why this one was so overbooked.)

The most fun drill on Saturday was the mask "easter egg" hunt and swap. Everyone gives their masks to the instructor, who descends to the bottom. Then the students head down to him (breathing without masks), get a mask from him (not their own, of course), clear it, and go around trading masks until everyone has their own mask on and cleared.

Anyway, Saturday was pretty good, but Sunday was better (or at least, it was with the half that I worked with). Almost everybody looked much smoother (except for one guy who... *sigh*... you know, you're *really* supposed to don a weight belt while facing down, not while turtled). I worked mostly on one end of the group with a buddy pair or two, and we had a great time. They acquired all the skills and did quite well, even doing decently on communication (i.e. trying to tell a buddy "Your SPG is behind your back and sticking through your right arm hole." is not something that was covered prior to one of them encountering it in the final pool checkout).

That was a fun drill, by the way. Thankfully, one of the other DMs had made up some cards with all the skills in our "final pool checkout", as I was surprised to find myself participating in that one. (I'd worked with it the first class, but more on the water's surface side.) In the drill, a buddy pair comes down. You review mask removal, replacement, and clearing. Then you do regulator recovery and clearing twice, once blast clearing and once purge clearing. Then you do alternate air as donor and as receiver. After that, the student removes their BC and shares air with their buddy, and the two of them make a slow ascent to the surface. That's when the *real* fun starts.

While the student is at the surface, we... "mess with"... their gear. Depending on the student, this may involve popping the inflator off, unbuckling the shoulder straps, sliding the tank out, or any number of other things (all of which have been covered individually earlier in the course). More adept students get their gear messed with more, so as to give them a fun challenge. (Air is *never* turned off.)

Once the gear is thoroughly "adjusted", the student (with buddy) is waved back down. With no regulator, the student surface dives down to their gear, where they recover their regulator (which we're holding out to them). As their buddy watches, they check their gear, find any problems, solve them, and don their gear. Once they're done, okays are exchanged (and often high fives), and then it's the buddy's turn. By the end of it, they've had a chance to see that any problem (even fun, intentionally-created ones) can be solved underwater, as long as you have air. (It's usually everyone's favorite part of the class, too.)

Anyway, everybody but one passed the pool. (The one was just not in shape enough to handle it. With some exercise, I'm sure he could come back and pass, and I certainly hope he does.) Only one person was late on Sunday due to forgetting about the time change, and he wasn't one of the students. (I wasn't the one -- I'd actually reminded everyone in class and at the pool Saturday.)

Well, I guess that's enough rambling for now.

Oh, I forgot to mention... When we first were in the shallow end of the pool on scuba, right after the instructor dropped under, *BAM!* *hissss-ss-ss-ss-ss* Yep. I blew an O-ring. I quickly leaned back to put the valve underwater (to muffle the noise), reached back, and closed the valve. (It was a quick reaction, too: I only lost about 200 psi out of an AL63. :biggrin:) I let the other DM (who saw it) know that I had to swap it out (and "my" students were his for the moment). Then I pulled my fins, hopped out of the pool, swapped the O-ring, flipped my gear back over my head, donned my fins, and made it back to the group, all in about two minutes. Afterward, when I told the instructor, he said he hadn't heard the O-ring, but he'd wondered where I went for a minute right there when they first went under. :D
 
I was like playing Frogger, where you were the frog and the meanest guy you've ever seen complaining at the grocery store was everything else, all at once.

That's when you use him like a lily pad or a log. :D
(Just kidding - that might negatively affect your 'professionalism' score.)

I like the way NAUI has students do so much underwater recovery of their gear. In PADI the students just have one exercise where they slip it off and then slip it right back on.

===

So... I'm off to the Bahamas this weekend on a live aboard where I'll (hopefully) be completing my final skills in the open water.

It's been a long journey - but well worth it!
- Can't wait to be part of "the club". Maybe I'll even learn the secret handshake! :wink:
 
I like the way NAUI has students do so much underwater recovery of their gear.
Most NAUI shops I've had dealings with have had at least a few places where they go above and beyond the standards. You're required to inform prospective students of what your requirements will be, but as long as you do so, you can require whatever you believe is necessary (as long as you do not violate the standards, of course). It's encouraged for instructors to add requirements based on their types of diving. (We have 7 dives on our basic scuba checkout trips, for example.)


So, anyway, tonight is another DM class for us. I have my presentation, "Buoyancy", all ready to go. The instructor who assigned it didn't explain the expected time well, unfortunately. (He said 10 minutes several times and 5 minutes a few other times.) With the required portions, I don't think it *can* fit in five minutes and cover the required material. I timed just the required bits (intro, learning objectives, key points, review of key points, and review of learning objectives), and that took between 2 and 2.5 minutes right there. (As a section in a unit, you wouldn't have that overhead for just this section, so you could pare the time down considerably, but as a standalone presentation that still requires those pieces, it works well in 10 minutes but not really at all in five.)

I had fun making this one, too. I have 10 distinct graphical elements I myself created ("wave" background, bubbles, falling anchor, bathtub, rubber ducky, fish, weight, balance [complete with two glasses of water and one salt shaker, which was fun in and of itself], heavy object, and lift bag), one Monty Python joke (wood, ducks, and "very small rocks" on the positively buoyant list, with that last one crossed off on the next click), and some really fun, really quick physics demos (involving a pitcher of water, a can of Coke, a can of Diet Coke, a small unlabeled jar the same weight as the Diet Coke, and a bottle of concentrated salt solution).

Anyway, I guess I'll find out tonight. If they insist on five minutes, it'll necessarily be a failure, but I don't think they will. For the one thing, the instructor was unclear. For the second thing, claiming that the required items (from the list) preclude it being five minutes is a strongly logical defense. For the third thing, well, I'm pretty sure that they're going to want to see it in its full form (with all the cool bits), since that's really the whole *point* of the exercise. :biggrin: (Plus, it *is* going to be really cool. :D)
 
You had to time it just right and jump or he'd literally walk right into you and push you out of the way, all the while muttering and complaining like someone who has never had one gram of fiber in his entire life.

That is too funny . . .

I suspect you are going to be an extraordinary instructor, Clay. I can't see these presentations you're putting together, but just judging from your SB writing, I would imagine they're superb.
 
I can't see these presentations you're putting together, but just judging from your SB writing, I would imagine they're superb.
Doumo arigatou gozaimasu. :biggrin:


So, we're sitting there after the presentations last night, just two divemaster candidates and a pair of instructors, when one of the instructors says that the next thing they usually do in training (once the trainees are in the state that we find ourselves) is that they spring a topic on the trainees, give the trainees a few minutes to prepare, and then have presentations right then and there. We, on the other hand, were planning to head to the pool for some wet work. Of course, since the pool was unavailable (there's a meet this weekend at LSU, so the Nat is full of practice and prelims), well... But I get ahead of myself. :D

The main thing on the schedule for last night's class (other than the pool) was a presentation each by the two of us. My compatriot was to do a presentation on "pressure", and mine was to be on "buoyancy" (as mentioned previously). As I'd done the first presentation of our first round, it was his turn to lead off, which he did with a *bang*, quite literally. (He had a balloon over the valve on a tank. As he introduced himself, he opened the valve. Everyone braced, and *POW*, it quite expectedly popped. :D) Anyway, his presentation was quite nice, indeed.

And then it was my turn.

After introducing myself and the presentation, I led off with a pitcher of water, into which I dropped a floating stress-ball heart and a sinking rubber ball. Then it was on with the show. Everyone seemed to enjoy the cartoonish art sprinkled here and there, and the Monty Python joke ("very small rocks") got a chuckle. Shortly thereafter, I arrived at the "What determines buoyancy?" section.

Although the pitcher of water was a nice little attention grab at the beginning of the presentation, its inclusion there was almost but a ruse. Now the real purpose presented. I removed the heart and ball and tossed them aside, and out came those stalwarts of physics teachers everywhere, a can of Coke and a can of Diet Coke. In dropped the can of Coke, which promptly...

...um...

...refused to sink. Some combination of the water at the shop and carrying the can from home apparently added together to make the can right on the positive borderline of neutrally buoyant. I had never had that demo fail before... *ever*... but next time I'll stash the can in the fridge at the dive shop the day before, and I'll bring my own water from home. (The can sank perfectly normally once I got home. Go figure.)

Anyway, so they saw the can *just about* sink. Then in went the can of Diet Coke. It had no problem floating, of course, and it graciously demonstrated that it was significantly *more* positively buoyant than the rebellious Coke. What was the difference? Well, the can of Coke weighed 13-5/8 ounces, while the can of Diet Coke weighed 13-1/8 ounces. So, obviously, *weight* determines buoyancy.

Ah, but wait (pardon the pun)! Out came a small glass jar (filled with unnamed something) that *also* weighed precisely 13-1/8 ounces. Well, if the Diet Coke floats and the jar weighs the same, will it float? Into the pitcher it goes, and (unlike the rebellious can of Coke), it drops right to the bottom. Why (considering it weighs the same)? The jar is much smaller than the can (and the pen mightier than the sword, of course), so it displaces less water, which means (thanks to Archimedes and his bathtub two slides back) it's buoyed up by less force. So, *volume* is also involved in determining buoyancy.

What do you you have when you have weight and volume showing up at the party? ("Any science people in here?") Why, *density* of course. (Run the density procession from styrofoam through lead, and reference the rubber ball from the intro, just to tie it together.)

From there, it was just neutral buoyancy, why you want to maintain it, and what you have to compensate for (using, amazingly enough, a buoyancy compensator -- sorry, PADI, we don't throw "device" in all our names :D). But wait, we can't forget about freshwater versus saltwater, can we?

And so, out comes the final piece of the physics demonstration set. Back into the pitcher went the rebellious can of Coke (which still didn't *quite* sink, but it was just about neutral), and out came a bottle of nondescript clear liquid. Yep, concentrated salt water. :D With just a bit of flair, the salt solution is poured into the water-and-can-bearing pitcher, turning our nice not-quite-spring water into salty not-quite-ocean water. Even a rebellious beverage must eventually yield to the awesome power of simple physics, and so, the can popped right up to the surface and *really* got to floating, showing in plain sight the effect of the density change (freshwater versus saltwater) on buoyancy.

Toss in a quick page about buoyancy checks in the pool (just to give a heads up and, perhaps, to end up with at least a couple people who will know what we're doing when we get to that in the pool, hehe), and it was time for the wrap, a quick on-screen quiz, and ending the lesson with Archimedes' bathtub on the screen (now with about six rubber duckies in it).

This time I had a much better idea about what procedural pieces were *required*, and it was quite easy to be sure those were hit. (When you've got a slide allocated to each procedural requirement, it's rather hard to miss any, eh? :biggrin:) The bits of art got kudos, as did the humor. (They like my style, as they agree that a little sprinkling of relevant humor does wonders for holding attention.) What really impressed was the basic physics demo. Neither instructor had seen that one before (what, did they never attend a science fair? :D), and such a simple demonstration of the concepts is just what you need to give students something with which to connect. (One of the instructors said he just *knew* the bottle was saltwater, but he didn't know exactly what of it until he saw the demo.)

Anyway, both instructors said they had a hard time coming up with any constructive criticism for the presentation. One said it was hard to criticize too harshly when you're watching the presentation and thinking, "We need to take that and put it in *our* classes." :D I came in one point from the top of the scale, and they said it was probably about that and a half, but since there are no half points... (Personally, I noted a few places I can improve, but I didn't make it a point to note every detail out loud. :wink:) Regardless, it certainly improves your confidence when you nail a presentation.

Of course, it also improves your competence when you get blindsided...

So, we're sitting there after the presentations last night, just two divemaster candidates and a pair of instructors, when one of the instructors says that the next thing they usually do in training (once the trainees are in the state that we find ourselves) that they spring a topic on the trainees, give the trainees a few minutes to prepare, and then have presentations right then and there. We, on the other hand, were planning to head to the pool for some wet work. Of course, since the pool was unavailable (there's a meet this weekend at LSU, so the Nat is full of practice and prelims), well... ...without anything else to do (hehe), we plunged right in.

If you knew me well, you'd know that I've got the OC part of OCD down in spades. I'm not obsessive or compulsive to the point of it being a disorder, but (for example) I can't watch Monk without being frustrated that "they're doing it wrong!" (Ask me on a SI sometime and I can give you a few highlights.) Anyway, doing a spur-of-the-moment presentation without time to make any training aids or other interesting bits is not my forte, but at the same time, I'm not going to shy away from it. (As a sound guy and as an occasional wedding photographer, I'm not at all averse to stressful situations, and I have enough of a drama background to enjoy the thrill of "stagefright".)

Obviously, I didn't do as well on the cold-turkey seat-of-the-pants presentation, but I didn't fail miserably or anything. It was, perhaps, more of a learning experience than the main presentation (which was more of practical experience than brute learning). I was definitely far more nervous. If anything, it gave me a great incentive to study *everything* in order to be ready for *anything*. As a sound guy, I know every button, every knob, every pathway in the sound board so that if anything happens, I can respond well (even for those things that you'd never have imagined and could not have practiced). To be the instructor I plan someday to become, I'll have to be just as familiar and have just as broad and as thorough an understanding of the diving material.

Well, anyway, needless to say, it was another great night. :biggrin:
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

Back
Top Bottom