dive_addict

... my old pointe shoes.
They still fit, and  I can still do en pointe.

Maybe I should work on it again.

It's not too late is it?

 Guess why.

Mid afternoon.



View of uni, still during the day.


The Great Court at uni, nighttime.


The Great Court again.


Under a streetlamp.

Oh the humidity.
I think I preferred the dust in Brisbane.

The Darwin International Terminal is a surprisingly busy place. Thanks to connections onward to Bali, Vietnam and Singapore. Darwin itself was very hazy and a little disappointing. Where were the crocodiles?

The agenda for my first day in Singapore: British High Commision, then the Singapore Immigration Department. What fun and exciting times. Such an awesome way to be spending my mid-sem break. I'm positively leaping off my seat from the sheer anticipation of it all.

 Update since last entry:

I will be in Singapore from 28 Sep-4 Oct instead of Nov. 
Main reason being the fact that I am so sought after as a field assistant (for who wouldn't want my amazing dive skills? :D), I shall be booked for Lizard Island (twice) and the GBR immediately after exams finish mid-Nov till end of Feb.
Which doesn't give me any time between now and Jan 2010 (when my passport expires) to sort out the citizenship issues.

At least my summer's not gonna be boring.

Is beautiful.
I'm now at the airport, about to say goodbye for what will be the next few years at least.
The past 10 days were spent mostly visiting the places I knew from growing up here. Many changes, some good, some saddening but necessary.
Photos (hundreds of them) are on FB.
OK some kids from Szechuan are bugging me to stop so I'll stop now.

10 minutes later:
Found another terminal. Tried to log in to FB but the airport's locked the site out for security reasons. Apparently it's under the category 'Personals & Dating'. Hmm.

It's going to be bloody freezing in Brisbane!

I am not looking forward to the long long flight back. I hate red-eyes.

Really looking forward to this. Not so much the 12 hour flight & transit time, however. But it'll be worth it!
Just my luck that the weather improves only now, when I am just leaving. Sunny (but still cold) this morning - maybe a swim?

When all else fails: do the right thing.
 

What am I going to do in Hong Kong?
That was the question posed the other day.
Most girls would say 'shopping!'. I, however, will go 'dive gear shopping!'.
Which is, obviously, totally different from JUST shopping.
And with the fabulous Olympus E-520, I will transform into a trigger-happy tourist seeing her own birth country in a whole new light. 3 years' absence gives me visitor rights.

So - 15/20 knot winds = no diving this weekend. The lucky cave divers have nothing to worry about, however, and will be doing a 60m exploration dive in some dam or other. To be with them...!
2 weeks since my last dive (the pool doesn't count, with or without scuba gear), and this dry spell looks like it's going to have to last another 2 weeks. The torture!
'Dry' being a relative term. It's been rainy and cold and foggy the past few days and I am starting to forget what the sun looks like. I miss my bed-warmer!

So here are the upcoming things-to-look-forward-to:
Reef Connection, 24-26 July, Moreton Bay
Big Cat Reality, 14-16 August, Moreton Bay
Kavieng 12-20 September - to say I really really really REALLY want to go would be a huge understatement.
Kalinda, 28 Sept - 3 Oct, Townsville/Coral Sea/SS Yongala

And, of course, the Lizard Island research trips that I am being asked to help out with at certain odd times of the year (usually during the very unfortunate school-term slots).

I need to learn how to split my body so I can be in two different places at once. 

Shortest day of the year yesterday (for this part of the globe anyway)! Much as I'd have liked to sleep in, I had a couple of refreshers in the morning, so it was an early start for me. Public transport on a Sunday morning is hell. Especially on a cold winter morning. And did I mention the rain? The pool session went real well though - my two refreshers were pretty good on their skills and they even gave me a ride home through the pounding rain. Saved me an hour and a half!
HMAS Brisbane on Saturday was CANCELLED. My one chance for a nitrogen fix this weekend and it was swept away by winds and rough seas.

On a more exciting note - I'm headed for HK in a week! WOOHOOOOOO! Not sure about the 12 hour flight time though. At least I'll be able to say I've set foot on Taiwanese soil, even if it's only gonna be the transit lounge.

Words of wisdom as seen on church billboards:

Great ideas don't work unless you do. - CityEdge Church, Caloundra
Don't blame the devil. - Brisbane Dawn Christadelphian Ecclesia (what a mouthful!), Lutwyche
You can trust the bible. - Brisbane Dawn Christadelphian Ecclesia, Lutwyche
Action is the antidote to despair. - Toowong Uniting Church, Toowong
Happiness is in the heart, not in the circumstances. - St. Paul's Uniting Church, Stafford
You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. - World Harvest Church, Carseldine

My fave:
Forbidden fruits create many jams. - Toowong Uniting Church

And, today:
Avoid cliches like the plague. - Toowong Uniting Church

...I am in love.
Black anodized aluminium frame, three 3W LEDs for up to 375 lumens, 8 hour burn time, maximum rated depth of 200m.
 
The Hollis 3x3 LED - small, sleek and sexy.
Not that I will ever buy it, as the price is way beyond my means, but just look at it!

Here's another one I love, and this one's mine:

Star Trek the second time was even more brilliant, if that's even possible. I could watch it a few more times.
No HMAS Brisbane on Wednesday, due to torrential downpours that brought dam levels from below 60% to nearly 80% overnight. 2 of the 3 dams are now at above 100%, and we are officially out of water restriction mode, although it would be wise to retain water restrictions for the moment. All this rain is only temporary, and we should make water-saving part of our everyday life, not only when dam levels are below 60%.
Felt crook Wednesday morning (possibly from the thought of a cancelled day of diving?), and in a matter of hours became terribly sick, sicker than I've ever felt in a long, long, time. Fever, chills, body aches, headache, stomachache, hacking cough, all in one fell swoop. Promptly collapsed into bed at 10am and couldn't summon the energy to get up until 11am on Thursday. During that time, the worst of the storm had passed outside. Roads had flooded, cars had become stuck, people had drowned, and there I was, in a haze of aches and pains. Managed to stay out of bed till 2pm, when I couldn't take it anymore and went back to bed, where I tossed and turned in a fitful sleep until 9am Friday morning. Wandered downstairs for the first time since Wednesday, where the sun - bringing joy to countless who'd endured the non-stop rains wide awake - brought back the dizzy spells and drove me back into bed.
Only this morning did I feel ok to venture out of the house. Brought on more by necessity than an actual feeling of wellness. I had 3 Open Water students eager and waiting for their theory session, and who was I to disappoint? Summoned up all my energy just to walk to the bus stop, and then had to sit through the 1.5 hour commute to the shop, where I arrived utterly exhausted. But, 3 hours of classroom work beckoned, so I somehow channeled enough energy to smile and act all enthusiastic about dive profiles, Navy tables, the evolution of dive gear and diving physiology in front of three avid learners. The guys were great, really, despite my bouts of coughing and occasional mental derailing. Surprisingly, I felt much more refreshed after the class.
Which gave me enough energy to head out to Angels & Demons tonight. Met the other two at Be Green, where they were having a cake promotion and I got a free slice of green tea cake. Heavenly! Went really well with my soy latte. On the way out, the waiter called me sweetie, which tickled Emmanuel no end. I reckon he was just jealous the waiter didn't call him sweetie too! The movie was, once again, a far cry from the book, but I've been disappointed by movies based on books countless times, and this wasn't bad as far as they go. Better than the Da Vinci Code, but then again I thought this book was better as well. When the antimatter exploded in the sky and created the black-hole looking purple mass, I half expected Nero to come hurtling through, followed by Spock. Star Trek meets Angels & Demons!
I need a dive soon. If only this weather will clear up!

Met 3 students on the weekend who were just nightmares to teach. And I wasn't even their instructor. Mick had such a difficult time trying to get them to do anything properly, sometimes I wonder how he keeps his patience. I would have shut off their air a long time ago.
My 6 students were amazing though. No problems with any of their skills, and they were a great bunch overall. The good conditions helped.
HMAS Brisbane this weekend! And next Wednesday. Can't wait!
I should start booking my flights to WA. Rottnest, then IPFC. Yes.
And then, Big Cat weekend. I'll be certifying my first specialty students!

Saturday: Pool session with Peter, Andrew, James & Owen. All 4 of them were pretty good and we finished at 2pm, ahead of the expected 4pm.
Sunday: Not being on the Fish Rock trip and therefore missing out on shark & cave dives, I decided to organize a shore dive at the Seaway. Dave, Lisa, Emmanuel & Praveen showed up, and we had a great fun dive. 10m viz, stonefish, scorpionfish, moray eel, catfish, and a tawny nurse! Awesome stuff.
Helped S on a Rescue course yesterday at Currumbin Creek. Harley & I were victims, and we got 'killed' at least twice by our rescuers. But the group was great fun to spend the day with. Even better was the fact that they bought Harley, S & I beers (2 rounds!) at the RE after the course.
Wolverine on Friday night was pretty good. Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool was great, and Liev Schreiber was awesome as Victor.
The Boat That Rocked last night truly rocked. Bill Nigh is amazing, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman? Classic. A brilliant film.

Ukrainian vindictiveness is getting on my nerves.
Seriously, how low can one possibly get?
Very, apparently.
Such spite and pettiness is just beyond my understanding.
An amputation would not be enough.

Southport Spit early this morning - good viz! Saw an amazingly hideous stonefish - always watch where you put your hands...
Sliced my finger open while trying to maintain a hold on some rock due to the raging tidal current. That makes it cut number 28. On my hands alone.

3 weeks into the trip and we are all out of chocolate.

Not to mention fresh fruit and vegetables.

The fruit and veg shortage has been resolved, however, by a simple raid into the free-food section in the cool room. No shortage there.

Chocolate, now. Any leftover bits in Free Food have long been claimed, it being very nearly the staple diet of all researchers in the field. It seems that most of us eat chocolate (or this much of it) only when we are out in the field. Gotta get that energy somehow, hey?

Easter was not much of an affair here. Certainly nothing as festive as Christmas. Work as usual for everyone.

When I return to Brisbane it will be to a cold city. Made all the much colder by my 4+ weeks on a tropical island. I need a new wetsuit, just haven’t found one I want yet.

I want to go to Belize. And Woods Hole.

 

Been here the past 2.5 weeks, diving every single day (yes - no days off yet!), doing lots of fish observations, clove-oiling, transects etc. It's great to be back, even though the damsels seem less than happy to see me brandishing the fish net and clove-oil bottle.
Spent 3 days going out to the Outer GBR, taking advantage of the few days of calm weather. Otherwise the wind's been blowing up, there've been brief periods of rain, and the swells have been relatively big on the outside of the Lizard group.
The data collected today is screaming for attention.

In other news:
The new shop is shaping up real quick. Much more space, bigger classroom, larger storage space... I had the honour of holding the inaugural Open Water theory class in our new classroom last night - the four guys were all great fun, and I don't foresee much trouble at the pool session this Sunday.
Flying to Cairns and Lizard Island next Tuesday! One month on an island with daily diving :D
And now I am off to the pool for a swim. Gotta get that water time somehow, hey?