I find after the pool that I just need to relax and thus it was another session of Come Dine with Me. Dave Lamb’s announcing, honestly, is what makes it even better for me. Which leads into our next story.
Following a nice round of tennis on Day 233 to burn off some steam, it was time for experimental cooking. I made a chicken dish with rice. I’m not a huge cook but I have vowed to make things more often, if only because I’ve started reading labels on the sides of food packaging! Besides, Hans and Helga weren’t going to complain!
Day 234 and I met up with a good friend and headed off to see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Now yes, I’ve read the second and third tomes in the trilogy. And yes, I’ve already seen the movie when I was overseas in New Zealand. However it was somewhat cheap Tuesday and I wanted to see it again. The movie didn’t let down! And now I need to find some time to sit and watch the second movie as I have a copy at home.
Day 235 and my public transport “fun” continued. The Seneca pool is on a bus route and for the cost of $3.25 I was able to travel for 45 minutes to get there. I was the only one on the connecting bus route in fact, which gave me plenty of room for my gear! And at the pool, I got to test someone on underwater communication. Some of you who might have seen diving on tv understand some basic symbols whether you know it or not – thumbs up means go up, thumbs down means go down, the thumb and index finger in a circle mean ok. But how do you say “watch out for the boat” and “your tank strap is loose”? This is advanced communication… because buying underwater walkie talkies just aren’t cheap.
Day 236 allowed me to catch up with another group of sporty types – my ultimate Frisbee friends. Many were very interested to hear about my wild travels, and we also ended up being able to form a team of about 15 players, which is great because it allows for a) subs during the games and b) people being allowed to be away on a Sunday, because, y’know, sometimes people travel on the weekends! I would have normally gone out for a celebratory meal but at that point I was bushed and just decided to take it easy.
Day 237 and it was off to the GO bus to get to Barrie for breakfast. Usually my dive club will do a Friday dive, but seeing as the weather hadn’t turn nice (ie. water being tolerably warm!) we had a meal instead. Not that I minded; Golden Griddle has cheap filling pancakes.
That evening was filled with more Frisbee. It was a bit of a hike to get to the park – about 45 minutes by foot traffic, but seeing as I’ve felt more energetic this year with all of the travelling I’ve done, I didn’t really mind. We ended up mostly just throwing the disc around. Which was perfectly fine! Following practice my friends Jessica and Kevin invited me over for dinner and it turns out that not only was I their first houseguest in their new abode, but a former coworker from years ago lives across the street! Life’s funny that way.
Day 238 and it was something I was waiting for quite awhile… it was Introduction to Commercial Diving!!!
Shortly after arriving at Seneca at 10 am we started with some information regarding to the program, which is great as there is one of our younger members who is quite interested in getting involved.
At around 11 am we got to hop in the pool. This is my third time participating in the day long adventure, and it is always a bit bizarre to put on a helmet and realize that I’m physically connected to the surface with both air and communication lines as opposed to the old mask and regulator.
Following the helmet experience I was able to go into a recompression chamber.
Now let’s get one thing straight: if you’re going into a chamber on purpose, that’s fine. It’s all nice and dandy – we went down to 60 feet, you get a bit giddy, you sound like Alvin, Simon or Theodore and it’s all well and good.
HOWEVER you don’t want to go there by accident… that means you violated diving protocol! So don’t do that. All in all a fun exciting day!
Following this literary giant Sarah Brebner came to my house and we watched the Sens lose in the playoffs (this is how far I’m behind in writing, folks).
Day 239 rolls around and having fallen asleep during a late night showing of Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle I am feeling rested up. Sarah leaves, I get some stuff done and H&H invite me upstairs for a turkey dinner. It’s not Easter, but hey, I don’t complain.
Day 240 and I should explain something. I have been feeling inspired to cook, and that’s what this day is all about. I make mini meat loaves and salmon fish cakes, the latter of which I saw on Come Dine. They actually taste wonderful but I wonder how low-fat they aren’t! Later on my car-less life continues with a visit to the shopping plaza. A quick zip around is all I need! They seem a bit overwhelming at times, that’s for sure.
Day 241 wouldn’t you know it – back up to Barrie. I spend the day with my friend doing odd jobs, including a run to the dump (it’s always fun to launch really big things into really bigger bins), taking inventory on dive stock, and a run up to his cottage.
I also got an email saying that I was officially invited to be part of the Reach for the Top provincial and national tournaments! Score. This is something that I could really sink my teeth into.
Day 242 marked a milestone in my diving career. I had heard about someone in Toronto (among other divers) that had previously gotten in one dive a month for a year… something that I could never accomplish being busy with work, and the fact that February was impossible to dive in. HOWEVER seeing as I had a year off and all that, on this day I logged my April dive and I had pulled it off! Sweet.
To celebrate my buddy and I went to A&W to have a nice lunch. While we were there, a lady came in and identified her (then) eight year old son in one of the murals on the wall! Go figure.
Day 243 and it was time to get back to Newmarket, because I was heading off the next day to other pastures. Go for a bike ride, check, get bus pass, check. Run into Shermet.
Huh?
Shermet was one of the students where I used to teach and it was great to run into him. He had come over from Kosovo about seven years ago and had been working in North Bay until the airline he worked for went out of business. It was great to hear from him and I hope he does well!
I also dropped over to the volunteer fair in Newmarket. I am hoping to make some more time for volunteering in my life, as I feel it is very important.
NEXT TIME! May enters!
Cheers,
Vick
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