yesterday (sunday July 8) was a great day to go swimming, it was around 93 degrees... a friend of the family decided to have a little get together in her place... bar-b-que chicken, spaghetti, and scuba diving in a 7 feet pool...
her place was awesome... trees were tall enough to provide substantial shade while letting in enough sunlight... the water was just the right temperature, not freezing cold but alluringly just right...
another friend of the family came also, he brought his scuba gear, wife and three children... he was very enthusiastic to share his scuba gear with those interested. At first I was iffy, then my dad tried it so I decided to try it also- well at least I took the first step in trying anyway.
my instructor doesn't believe in "steps" it's all or nothing... however for me, I fear things I don't understand so of course I asked a lot of questions... the instructor sort of got annoyed because I asked too much questions...
I put on the water boots followed by the flippers, then I slipped on the vest with the oxygen tank and wrapped the belt with weights around my waist... he showed me the buttons that'll automatically bring me down and bring me up... I put on the mask and praticed breathing... I was doing okay, but my instructor wanted to rush everything which is a bad thing for me because I'm slow... I have to understand and be at least comfortable before going to the next step...
the breathing part with the mask wasn't that bad... the physical was okay, it was the mental that made me panic... my mind is trying to adjust and maybe overthink things... at times wearing the mask made me feel claustrophobic... of course I'm wearing those googles and I can see pretty clearly... seeing the bubbles come out from the mouth piece... seeing it so close to your eyes, then I get reminded of the fact that I'm underwater and yet I'm breathing as if I don't have a mask... just a natural thing I normally do above water... it seems illogical/magical/mind boggling... then I felt as if my mouthpiece would slip out of my mouth... so it's like a puzzle... to add to the challenge, the oxygen tank have a tendency to float up and make me horizontal and while I'm trying to keep upright (because I'm just practicing), the flippers are trying to flip me out of my standing position... all of these things are happening while my mind decides to make up a scary story of a heavy oxygen tank dragging me to the bottom of the pool...
the oxygen or maybe lack of oxygen started making me laugh at the absurdities of the things happening so I surfaced ... my instructor losing his patience told me to put the mask (I did) and then he started pulling me towards the deeper end of the pool (he doesn't believe in steps- it's all or nothing), I couldn't control my mind, i didn't breath in a normal pace... I started inhaling and exhaling in a shorter period so I surfaced again...
another person wanted to try it so i was more than willing to hand over the equipment... to my instructor my attempt was fruitless BUT I disagree... I learned a little bit about the equipments and their functions, I got exposed to breathing using the mask and oxygen tank, maybe next time I'll practice using the flippers and someday I'll put it all together...
the instructor's kids were adorable... one was only around 9 months, the other 21 months and the eldest one may be 2 to 3 years old... the eldests were just doing their thing... with parents watching over them, they'd sit next to the pool, wet their feet, splashing and kicking water everywhere... sometimes grown ups are sadists, they'd scare the little kids by picking them up and half dunking them on the water (up to their waist)... the little kids would cry and once they're safely on ground again, they return to their happy selves, act as if nothing happened, sometimes they would leave the crime scene of traumatic experience and wander somewhere else.... good qualities of kids... sometimes they're not so self-conscious, instead of self-editing themselves, they go ahead and express themselves the best way they can (even if sometimes they seem babbling or incoherent to adults)... they are not super conscious, but they know what happen and they're expressing the moment... it's amusing to watch children while they're playing pretend or using their imagination...it makes one wonder about the ongoings of their minds: what's going on inside their heads? how are they seeing/perceiving this world?...
amazing! :)
Posted by Michael Diezmos at July 9, 2007 9:16 PM