Kind of a Fundies report

[Beiji]

You better!

---------- Post added October 6th, 2013 at 10:15 AM ----------

And I still want to dive the North Shore sometime.

 

[Tug]

It's probably too cold for you here now but there is always next year!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TSandM]

Congratulations on your Rec Pass! And isn't Bob the wizard of trim? When he pronounced it impossible to trim me out in the 72s I was diving, I knew I had tried everything

Nobody ever gets perfect, not even Bob. And it's really important not to lose sight of the fact that the purpose of the skills is to make diving easier, safer, and more fun . . . not to be perfect. If I hadn't known this before, I would have gotten an object lesson when I dove with Jarrod this summer. There was no "perfect" there -- there was the comfort and relaxation of knowing you have the skills for the dive at hand, so that diving itself is relegated to unconscious processing, and the dive can be spent pursuing whatever the goals are, whether they are exploration, documentation, sightseeing, or shenaniganry. Add to that the knowledge that your buddy or buddies have the same level of skill AND a commitment to diving as a team, and you have a recipe for some of the most fun diving that can be had. Even skills practice can be lighthearted and fun (says Lynne, remembering surfacing as a living underwater macrame project after a failed ascent while managing a bag).

Anyway, off my soapbox . . . congratulations. Now go have fun.

 

[Cyprian]

A big congrats, Beiji!

 

[Beiji]

Thanks, Lynne! Thanks, Cyprian.

Lynne, you're right re perfection. I admit that I am a perfectionist; it's one of my best traits and one of my worst. However, I know that no one is perfect and that perfection isn't possible. Still, it doesn't hurt to have high standards!

Bob is pretty amazing at optimizing gear for performance. Somehow after Primer and Fundamentals, my tanks started creeping up. By the time I was doing practice after Fundies, I could hardly force myself into good trim. I thought it was just me and my discomfort with horizontal after all those dives where I was nearly vertical. And it was me to a large degree, but it was also that the tanks were too high.

I realize that I didn't write much about Bob in my report. Here is what I wrote when I filled out the GUE quality control form:

Bob's teaching is thorough and appropriately demanding. He emphasizes safety and team and helps students build the skills to be better and safer divers. He doesn't coddle his students--which would be undesirable in a diving class--but he does motivate students by presenting them with a picture of what they can be if they work hard enough.

As is the case with many Fundamentals students, I found this to be the hardest and most demanding dive class I've ever taken and also the most rewarding. I have been able to improve my diving to a degree I honestly didn't think was possible and believe that I will continue to improve it by using the knowledge and tools that I acquired during Fundamentals.

Bob is far above the level of any other instructor with whom I've studied. I feel lucky just to know him and extremely fortunate to be able to train with him.

 

[LiteHedded]

Congratulations on your Rec Pass! And isn't Bob the wizard of trim? When he pronounced it impossible to trim me out in the 72s I was diving, I knew I had tried everything

Nobody ever gets perfect, not even Bob. And it's really important not to lose sight of the fact that the purpose of the skills is to make diving easier, safer, and more fun . . . not to be perfect. If I hadn't known this before, I would have gotten an object lesson when I dove with Jarrod this summer. There was no "perfect" there -- there was the comfort and relaxation of knowing you have the skills for the dive at hand, so that diving itself is relegated to unconscious processing, and the dive can be spent pursuing whatever the goals are, whether they are exploration, documentation, sightseeing, or shenaniganry. Add to that the knowledge that your buddy or buddies have the same level of skill AND a commitment to diving as a team, and you have a recipe for some of the most fun diving that can be had. Even skills practice can be lighthearted and fun (says Lynne, remembering surfacing as a living underwater macrame project after a failed ascent while managing a bag).

Anyway, off my soapbox . . . congratulations. Now go have fun.

that's what it's all about. I wish that would click faster with new divers going down this path.
less worrying about how flat you are when it doesn't matter or a foot or two swing in depth or how good your basic five is and more plain old scuba diving

 

[gitterdun]

Congratulations, Lisa! I know how hard you have worked, and it shows! Looking forward to diving with you, again! w00t!

 

[mruseless]

Congrats and good luck! I'm taking the extended timeline myself, although not quite as extended as yours.

 

[Beiji]

Thanks, Chan! I'm looking forward to it too!

Mruseless, I enjoyed reading your report. Have fun diving with your new skills!

 

[ScubaSam]

Lisa!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations, sweetie. I know how hard you worked for this. And a big congratulations to Mario. So darn proud of you BOTH!!!

I agree about the food offerings to the Gods as well as to my dive buddies.

Did you know during your Fundies class, Bob was trying to stir the pot and text me, "Rumors are flowing that Lisa might knock off Scubaboard Sam as the Queen of Scuba Snacks . Better get cracking"

To which I text back, "Hahaha! Grasshopper has exceeded her teacher and I am fine with that!!"

I have the text on my phone to show you the next time I see you but this thread seems a perfect place to out Bob.

I am thrilled you had such a positive experience with class. Bob is the first to say he is not perfect nor will he ever be perfect, although I think in the water, he is pretty darn near perfect. Dives are so much more enjoyable and relaxing with a team that actually dives as a team and not the same water buddy team mentality.

When are we diving together again, girlie? And drag that hubby along with ya now that he breathes compressed gas.