No subject, lets just get to know each other

[Finnatic]

Nice thread! I'm Cindy, 46y.o and married to Robert, 50. I'm retired from nursing and working part-time mananging an office for a couple of friends of mine. We live in Schriever, LA which is a rural community about an hour from New Orleans and Baton Rouge. We just got certified last weekend We have three grown children and a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. Other interests are cycling and gardening. Most of our diving will be done in the Florida Panhandle area and we are looking forward to these weekend trips and maybe a dving vacation in Coz next year. We are definitely hooked! Tomorrow I am trading in my sedate Grand Marquis for a bright red Jeep...if you're in the area, you'll know me by my plates...Finnatic...make sure to say hello

 

[VaScubaGirl]

Hey y'all! My name's Shae. I'm irish italian and the first one in my family who went to college and now I can't seem to stop! I have degrees in Biology and Chemistry and if all goes well I'll be adding an MBA to my wall come spring. I'm an analytical engineer, but eventually I want to open my own business and get out of corporate america. I've been diving for almost 3 years now and I love it. Can't hang with the cold water diving folks...I wear a 5 mil and hooded vest off the Carolinas and Florida! Love Carolina wreck diving, next year I think I'll get certified to do penetration dives.

Hmm....what else...I have auburn hair, blue eyes, not going to tell you my weight so don't ask (suffice to say I need to lose a few) and am 5'4 and a quarter! (hey shorties gotta eek out all they can!) makes it amusing on the charter boats as most of them seem to think that all divers are at least 5'7...I can never reach the overhead lines (sometimes if I am on my tippy toes) and so I fall into all the other divers/gear/etc when the waves are rough. One of these days I guess I'll fall overboard. Grace is NOT something I was blessed with!

Anything else you want to know, just ask And if you're diving my way, let me know! I'm always looking for buddies!

 

[Former FLL Now MSP Diver]

coberry7 once bubbled...
I'd like to find out how to teach Boy Scouts how to dive. Any suggestions?

Colin - contact Pete Murray - he's NetDoc on this board. He's an instructor that's taught a whole Venture Troop to dive. I'm sure he can point you in the right direction.

Marc

 

[jagw8r1]

Hey all, I just wanted to start w/ agreeing with everyone that this is a great thread. My name is Julie, I'm 24 originally from NJ, but just graduated from college in NY (where I call home) for physical therapy... so one more big exam for me and I'll be off in the real world. I'm in the process of moving to Fl (ok so that's where the plan ends seeing as I dont have a job or home there yet and I'll be there in a few days.. but despite the nervousness, i'm sure that it will all work out) because despite my upbringing I'm a southern girl at heart.. and I dont like the cold so forget about that cold water stuff.... its not for me at all. I've been diving for about a year and a half (just earned my divemaster (NAUI)) and lets just say more than a week out of the water and I'm suffering from some serious withdrawal.. I threatened my non diving roommate at school that should would find me one day sitting in the bathtub fully geared and majorly depressed but luckily that didnt happen P
umm... hmm what else.. I'm 5'6, 140, with almost blonde hair (ok so it had some help more than just from the sun) and green-blue eyes (they change all the time w/ moods or clothes or sometimes I think just because they feel like it)
I think that is all, anyone in the st petersburg area looking for a dive buddy PM me, I'll be in the area by the end of the week )

 

[MsParamedic]

I guess it's my turn!

Hi everyone from St. Louis, MO! I'm a 50 year old paramedic educator. I currently teach for 7 different area fire departments and work at Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinal's baseball). I am a single/divorced Mom with two great kids-- Michelle (23 and taking her OW this weekend) and Bill (20). I received my OW in July, 2002 and just completed my AI.

Diving has become my passion...just wish I would have started it sooner! I hope to complete my Instructor training next spring and introduce more "mature" adults to diving.

 

[Victoria]

Hi!

Im Victoria, im 21... 22 next saturday though!!! Ive been diving since August 2002. I am PADI OWA. I graduated with BSc Honours in Biology this July and since have been working in London in Procurement & Contracts...
My diving is the one thing that keeps me in the 9-5 rat race.. i wouldnt be able to afford my trips away without the job! Love my job though and hoping to start my Foundation Level in CIPs in January. I begin to train as a swimming teacher in October... wanna teach kids to swim!
Off to Bermuda for Xmas and New Year to visit my brother and of course do some diving... hopefully a lot of wreck diving! I am booked to do my RD course next May out in Dahab in Egypt.
I do not have a regular dive buddy, i do not have an SO, i dont have kids... Im my own little vessel right now!
My aim is to have left the UK by 2005 to begin my Diving escapade around the world. I hope to have begun/completed my DM by then so that i can work my way round the world! Im really keen on Marine photography and conservation (now u understand why i did biology!)...
I have twp brothers, a sister, a mum and dad and a black cat called Mouse... you go figure!

 

[Bonnet Ray]

It seems we have a wide spread of people on the board. I am 34, married to Andy with a 6 year old son. We are all mad on football and formula 1. We keep a 100 gallon (UK) marine aquarium which Andy started off over 15 years ago. That got us interested in diving, so we could see corals in their natural environment. Some of the original corals are so big now we can't get them out of the tank.

We took our OW on our honeymoon in Mauritius, 7 years ago and following 6 years of just diving for the fun of it we have just completed our rescue diver.

I work for the NHS as a manager for child and adolescent mental health services. This has been a real eye opener for me as I had no understanding of the level of self-harm and suicide in our children until I joined the team. I am currently studying for an MSc in healthcare management and policy which i will finish in January.

We have 2 Siamese cats, Monty and Annie, who make sure we know they are there.

You may have read on other threads that I have diabetes, although I have to be careful when I dive it hasn't stopped me enjoying the sport.

Our son can't wait to be a diver and borrows my mask when he is in the bath to practice being under water

I am lucky to have a busy but happy life

 

[clementyn]

hi all,

enlightening thread . my real name is lorien (yes, my mom was reading tolkein when she was pregnant for you rings fans out there). i am 27, diving since 16, present from my dad, my first buddy, for my birthday that year. diving ever since and "addicted" is indeed the only word that fits...

married for three years to ken, my best friend of nine years (yikes, just realized that i've known him for a third of my life now, wow). got ken certified on our honeymoon, we finished his AOW a year an a half ago and are both working toward rescue now. no human kids yet, not done playing yet, and babies are cost prohibitive with our current warm water diving trip junkie "habit." three cats, one siamese and two tonkinese.

i finished my master's in physical therapy the weekend before i got married three years ago, and have been practicing full time since. i am working toward my geriatric clinical specialist and am currently employed as a director of rehab services in a large rehab facility in the south bay in the 'real world'. after seven years, i am _so_ done with school, except, i kinda miss the vacation time . oh well.

thats it for now. dive safe and often.
lorien

 

[Scuba_Vixen]

being over 50 and all.....but I like Darlene better, since it's actually my name. ... now if I could just get my girlfriends to stop calling me Granny.. (I'm the oldest in our group) For the record, I'm almost 6' and height/weight proportional, blonde hair and hazel eyes. I love critters, as long as they are some one elses.... and yes...that includes kids too. My capacity as a caregiver peaks at stuffed animals.

I came to the Virgin Islands a few years back after almost 20 years in Houston, and a few in Boston before that...The older I get, the less I like the cold. Diving here is awesome, we have reefs walls and wrecks just minutes away from the door. I'm as spoiled as one can get.

I'm an engineer by education and along with 2 others and a boss, keep all the slot machines and computer tracking systems and networks in a casino running smoothly. I can dive almost any day before work if I'm in the mood. It's almost like getting paid to live in diver's paradise. It's a cool job, about as much fun as you can have when you're not actually underwater.

I'm career single, ok ...I admit it...spinster....I just can't bring myself to commit to anything other than a dive trip or a new gear purchase. I share a house with my best girlfriend from Texas...she's a DM, but not working as one. We have 1 whole room that's the Gear Room now..... I've seen less stocked diveshops.....Sometimes we even have the same days off and get to dive together, but usually I go by myself.

I'm heavily into tech diving, the wall here is just incredible. You'll usually see me diving doubles on mix, so I also have to blend my own gas. At the moment, I'm the only active techie on the island, but I'm hoping the other one gets back into it soon. Being here in the middle of nowhere, I find the board is a great way to stay current on what's new, what others are doing and for feedback on almost any diving question you can imagine......

Great thread, by the way...


Darlene

 

[Aquatic Eagle]

I wasn't going to respond being a male but someone else already did it so I guess I'll go.

My name is Colin. I am 20 years old and I live in South Carolina. I became interested in diving about ten years ago when I really started to love the ocean. I finally got certified five years ago. I recently became a NAUI Instructor and can't wait to start teaching some classes. I have always loved the ocean and especially ocean conservation. I was just accepted to Coastal Carolina University this very morning. I will be attending next fall to work towards my Bachelor's in Marine Biology and eventually will go towards a Ph.D in Marine Biology. I am very passionate about marine life and sharks specifically so you'll see me defending it a lot. I am currently single, no kids, no pets, just friends. I'm still waiting for a good couch cuddle-buddy to come around. That's me in a nutshell.