chrpai
Contributor
I was reading a thread about worldviews and I liked the comments of both halemanō and NWGratefulDiver. I was going to reply with my world view but instead I thought I'd just (re)introduce myself.
Basically I started diving while traveling alone in Jamaica. I was bored so I booked a certification course because it was heavily subsidized by the A.I. business model of the resort. I think all total it was $250. I'm a techie geek so the I loved learning all the material and practicing all the skills.
I returned home in Virginia and went diving with a coworker at Lake Rawlings. It wasn't blue water but I still loved it. I had some problems on the dive due to choices my buddy made but it was still fun. I'd later learn the words Str*ke and Trust Me Dive which I will apply to this experience.
I traveled to Jamaica again and did my advanced course. Really just a bunch of dives to build experience IMO. When I returned to Virginia I started buying all my gear and diving regularly in the various quarries and wreck diving that was available in the area. Picked up my Nitrox certification and took a Rescue Diver course ( but I don't consider myself a Rescue Diver ). I also went on several trips on Blackbeard Cruises as well as trips to the FL Keys and Miami and several more trips to Jamaica.
At some point I started cyber-diving at Rec.Scuba and Scubaboard. I became exposed to many good concepts and philosophys and I choose to discern for myself which I would apply and not apply. I also became exposed to long beaten to death horses and became a lethel enforcer of my world view. It was ugly and yes, I was banned. To be honest, retiring from cyber diving was the best thing ever for me.
Somewhere along there I moved to Houston and started diving at the Blue Lagoon and Twinlakes with several off shore rig diving trips and trips to Cozumel. Life was good. Real good.
Then I accepted a position in Austin, TX with a lot of responsibility. 70 hours a week was normal. Before I found my groove with the local diving community I found out that my wife had stage 4 colorectal cancer. As a result I decided to get a personal life insurance policy and all of these combined caused me to officially retire from diving.
If took a few painful years but eventually I found myself not thinking about diving all the time. It was at this point I emailed NetDoc to apologize for my past agressiveness. I think he was somewhat suprised ( and probably disbelieving of my intentions ) by my contact and he welcomed me back.
Frankly, I only came back for one reason. I wanted to post the Texas Swamp Divers that I was giving all of gear away. By the end of the day, I was relieved of all my Str*ke gear.
A couple more years went by and my wife's health improved. We took a trip to Jamaica ( had I really not gone in 8 years?? I used to be a globe trotter! ) and I came across an old friend of mine. I told him I was retired and he just looked at me and said nonsense. Well, how do you say know when the diving is included?
I got 10 dives in that week and it was so relaxing. At the end of the trip I told my friend that I was retired again and went back home to Texas.
So that's my story. I started off diving in the usual 'resort course' fashion, crossed over to obsessed local diving and cyber diving, thought about what it would take to get into tech diving but instead decided to just become a really experienced recreational diver and then went into retirement. Many years later I find myself wanting to go to the Scubaboard Cozumel event. If I go I'll just be going as a casual blue water vacation diver who happens to know quite a few things about diving. No, I don't know everything of course, but it's certainly not my first rodeo.
I'm honestly not sure that I want to local dive again. I used to love it so so much but at this point I'm not sure I want to spend the money to purchase all the equipment that I would need and I'm not sure I could find the free time in my schedule to go diving.
Then again, it would be nice to belong to a "church club" again.
PS- About the worldview thing.... nah, I'll pass. I spent to much time in the past posting about my world view and it's not worth it.
Basically I started diving while traveling alone in Jamaica. I was bored so I booked a certification course because it was heavily subsidized by the A.I. business model of the resort. I think all total it was $250. I'm a techie geek so the I loved learning all the material and practicing all the skills.
I returned home in Virginia and went diving with a coworker at Lake Rawlings. It wasn't blue water but I still loved it. I had some problems on the dive due to choices my buddy made but it was still fun. I'd later learn the words Str*ke and Trust Me Dive which I will apply to this experience.
I traveled to Jamaica again and did my advanced course. Really just a bunch of dives to build experience IMO. When I returned to Virginia I started buying all my gear and diving regularly in the various quarries and wreck diving that was available in the area. Picked up my Nitrox certification and took a Rescue Diver course ( but I don't consider myself a Rescue Diver ). I also went on several trips on Blackbeard Cruises as well as trips to the FL Keys and Miami and several more trips to Jamaica.
At some point I started cyber-diving at Rec.Scuba and Scubaboard. I became exposed to many good concepts and philosophys and I choose to discern for myself which I would apply and not apply. I also became exposed to long beaten to death horses and became a lethel enforcer of my world view. It was ugly and yes, I was banned. To be honest, retiring from cyber diving was the best thing ever for me.
Somewhere along there I moved to Houston and started diving at the Blue Lagoon and Twinlakes with several off shore rig diving trips and trips to Cozumel. Life was good. Real good.
Then I accepted a position in Austin, TX with a lot of responsibility. 70 hours a week was normal. Before I found my groove with the local diving community I found out that my wife had stage 4 colorectal cancer. As a result I decided to get a personal life insurance policy and all of these combined caused me to officially retire from diving.
If took a few painful years but eventually I found myself not thinking about diving all the time. It was at this point I emailed NetDoc to apologize for my past agressiveness. I think he was somewhat suprised ( and probably disbelieving of my intentions ) by my contact and he welcomed me back.
Frankly, I only came back for one reason. I wanted to post the Texas Swamp Divers that I was giving all of gear away. By the end of the day, I was relieved of all my Str*ke gear.
A couple more years went by and my wife's health improved. We took a trip to Jamaica ( had I really not gone in 8 years?? I used to be a globe trotter! ) and I came across an old friend of mine. I told him I was retired and he just looked at me and said nonsense. Well, how do you say know when the diving is included?
I got 10 dives in that week and it was so relaxing. At the end of the trip I told my friend that I was retired again and went back home to Texas.
So that's my story. I started off diving in the usual 'resort course' fashion, crossed over to obsessed local diving and cyber diving, thought about what it would take to get into tech diving but instead decided to just become a really experienced recreational diver and then went into retirement. Many years later I find myself wanting to go to the Scubaboard Cozumel event. If I go I'll just be going as a casual blue water vacation diver who happens to know quite a few things about diving. No, I don't know everything of course, but it's certainly not my first rodeo.
I'm honestly not sure that I want to local dive again. I used to love it so so much but at this point I'm not sure I want to spend the money to purchase all the equipment that I would need and I'm not sure I could find the free time in my schedule to go diving.
Then again, it would be nice to belong to a "church club" again.
PS- About the worldview thing.... nah, I'll pass. I spent to much time in the past posting about my world view and it's not worth it.
