It has been an interesting generic period of time since the last time our literary paths crossed. I am, for once, not remorseful about the looseness of the consistency of my communications because, for once, I have been actually real-world busy.
I am becoming more involved with life at LD (Liquid Dumaguete) which I am immensely happy about. Naturally, this means I maybe staying here a little while longer than initially planned, which means that you have more time to come and see me or, if you’ve already been once before, then you have ample time to convert that yearning into ‘come back here’. It is rare that I will ever admit to this but my Dad has said for quite some time that I should work in the hospitality industry and I always gently (internally) agreed with him but I never really knew HOW on EARTH I could make that transition. It turns out that I have done it accidentally and have destiny and good fortune to thank for giving me this path. Thanks destiny. Thanks good fortune. You’re both awesome.
The last month has been almost utopian in the mix of the guests we have had ranging from two ultra laidback Chinese through to theBeer Jenga loving Scandinavian contingent. The days continue to wander by, sountracked by laughter, excitement and bottles opening. It’s just another day at Liquid Dumaguete. There have been MANY days recently where I walked out of my front door, stood on the balcony and looked out over the views punctuated by coconut palms, tiny boats, gorgeous blue skies with that glorious summer-ish breeze wafting around whereupon I smile to myself and think (in Louis Armstrong’s voice) what a wonderful world.
Don’t get me wrong, the oceans seem to be blooming with the joys of spring and excitement for summer. There have been continued sightings of dolphins on the way to Apo Island and from Sumilon. Ne’er a day goes by without countless stories of turtles (juveniles and dinosaur-like adults), sea snakes and a noticeable abundance of life on the reefs. This in turn has lead to an increase in predatory species to the area. Insta-disclaimer – Let me make this clear, they are predatory to other fish NOT humans. There are some HUGE schools of Jacks, a Great Barracuda, a whole school of juvenile yellowtail barracuda, trevally, a baby Whitetip shark and an adolescent Blacktip shark. AMAZING. Oh and (holy shit) – a Mola Mola – a Sunfish was spotted just down the coast from Liquid HQ.
As a Divemaster, you are expected to have your own equipment. I am sure I mentioned the other day that I had bought an Aquamundo QR12 first stage and an AROQ2 second stage. They are excellent – pics to follow. This means, I have the breathing apparatus sorted. I have a mask (and dorkel), a noisemaker which is a metallic pink pointer with matching weight belt my favourite blue rash guard and a fetching pair of purple and gold basketball shorts for diving in.
It turns out I need a Bouyancy CompensationDevice – BCD – which is basically a jacket that you can put air in or take air out of to alter your underwater buoyancy. It is also the means to hold your tank in place and store all the bits and pieces you want to take with you into the blue stuff. There are many MANY types, details and personal preferences to take into account so regardless of whether you like it or not, I will explain why I chose the one I chose – the Zeagle Scout. My prerequisites include the need for a comfortable harness with an easily adjustable fitting system, a back mounted air bladder, lightweight when dry and versatile. I have taken advice and recommendations from many people and I am VERY excited to play with it when I get it. HURRAY!!
It has been a nice time to sit back and think about how life has moved on to the current tangent. I have been a qualified PADI Divemaster for 3 months now and I seem to be enjoying it more and more every day. If you imagine that is was a year ago today that I first emailed Zoe after a drunken conversation with Gav, a mutual friend of mine and Zoe’s, about coming to Liquid. Having signed up for an initial 6 months, you have to remember that I do not think I had ever snorkelled before, I can honestly say that I regret NOTHING. The life of a DM is not all sleeping on boats, sleeping on sofas or sleeping on the ground. There is diving to do, equipment to talk about and people to please. The INTERESTING thing for me is looking back to my humble diving beginnings and now understanding how they helped prepare me for doing what I do now. From the day arrived I knew I would be being trained in the right place by the right people seeing as the instructor to DMT ratio is usually about 1 on 1 or better (bearing in mind there are 4 instructors living and ‘working’ here at the moment).
Something that surprised me was how useful it was to talk to guests/customers/divers about their experiences and expectations which were made easier by open plan communal spaces. EVERY NIGHT without fail you will hear talk amongst the hubub about dive gear, best practice, amazing sites and the inevitable nights out that precede too many early mornings after. From a trainee’s point of view, the instructors or scheduling overlords employ the stick and carrot method to incentivise you. If you work hard, push yourself and go the extra mile (e.g. cleaning gear even if you are not diving) you will enjoy life much more. The package is set up to help minimise daily living costs and negate the need for additional diving cost so your biggest expense is usually the bar tab, the academic materials as well as any gear you may choose to buy for yourself. The best part for me happened without me really noticing until the time was long passed – you basically end up guiding dives and learning about dive shop operations by the time you finish. THAT is the part I really liked and is super transferable. Interestingly for me, it was not until I had been to other dive shops and seen how they run that I realised what a well run and tight operation Liquid has. Let’s not forget that you live, entrenched in a team of like minded people whom you can learn with and from with the prospect of the next beer or Dumatini just a few hours away! Hurrah!!
I know I talk the big talk about life here but I refuse to use anything but gentle exaggeration, hyperbole and superlatives. To put it bluntly, I am calling ALL of YOU out on this. Come find out for yourself (that I am right). I would love to see you.
For now my friends,
Massive amounts of Love (with a capital L),
BeardFace
