I am proficient, damn it!!

All in all a good day yesterday. I was awake early (as you may have noted from my blog) and a little fuzzy-headed from the shots and drinks from the night before. Despite feeling a tad out-of-kilter, I still met Heather and Danielle for 8:45ish. Of course, even though we had discussed this before, they were both passed out and so I ended up waiting for 20 minutes while they surfaced. We had agreed to meet early because I had a couple of errands I needed to take care of at Sairee and Ban’s before the dives. It seems that there was general miscommunication from all sides, however, because they had no recollection of agreeing to meet. They also had a recollection of me taking a crap in their room, which never occurred. The two of them swore silly that I had gone into their bathroom and left an awful stench. Now, Stone, don’t get grossed out, this story isn’t going where you think it is. Anyway, I finally convinced them I hadn’t taken a dump (which would just be completely bizarre), so then they were resolute that I must have farted in their bathroom. Which, in and of itself is nonsensical….how could a fart linger for hours?

The answer lies in the septic systems on this island. Their toilet was simply “over-flushed”. If you pour enough water into the toilets here (99% are not automatic-flush), they fully flush and drain the water out of the bowl entirely. This allows fetid air to come up through the toilet itself from the septic system. It really does stink. “Sulphur” is not an adequate enough word to describe the gagging smell. It takes a few hours to dissipate. Heather accepted this rationalization, however, I could still sense Danielle’s scepticism.

Which was prevalent on the dives too. I suppose it is natural that they simply trust other divers more than me, because they knew me from open water until now and because they know me quite well in a non-diving context. But it is somewhat disheartening when they willingly look to anyone else for diving advice or leadership rather than trust me.

The truth is that I am now a much better diver in all senses then the Chris they knew three months ago. Yet they can’t seem to accept that. After three months of learning the actual theory and mechanics of recreational diving and after three months of diving almost every day (and in relatively shit conditions on top), I think it is not too conceited to say that I am now an extremely good diver and know a lot more about diving than your average Joe. In fact, I would go a step further…..out of the entire group of people I know that have become recent instructors, I think that Noé and I were perhaps the two divers who learnt more of the intricacies of the academics of diving. This is no criticism of my fellow IDC’ers, because they are all also fantastic divers, but I know that the academics were not as thrilling to most of them. They know what they need to know to be instructors and they found out what they need to know to pass the IE’s, but I don’t think many of them have a burning desire to dig deeper.

I do. And I have also now completed the MSDT course, which provided me with additional information. Yet on the first dive yesterday, my “kith and kin”, so-to-speak, would barely accept a word I was saying (Heather was particularly sceptical about my knowledge of camera housings, despite having finished the underwater digital photography instructor specialty about 6 days ago) and Danielle swam off after Noé at the drop of a pin once we descended.

Overall, it was actually a fairly good dive at Chumphon (although the visibility was a bit poor due to the thermocline, yet again). By the end of the dive, Heather was following me (although I am not entirely sure if it was because she was starting to trust me or if it was due to Landym’s tendency to lag behind any group she dives with), but Danielle was still off chasing Noé. But then he ascended, so she was stuck with me. And I got them back to the line and the ladder at the back of the boat.

Still, I was a tad grumpy when we were back on the boat. I think they could tell, but hey, I didn’t just spend three months training for my friends to think I don’t know jack-shit.

The next dive (despite being at oh-so-exciting White Rock) I think they felt bad, because they followed my lead throughout. In fact, I think Noé also felt like they should give me more of a nod of recognition (thanks, Dude), because he purposefully hung back. The viz was far better at White Rock and we simply saw tons of shit. And my camera knowledge got a ton of better shots for Heather than the previous dive.

I think by the end of the diving yesterday, they were beginning to believe that I may have picked up some dive knowledge….I’ll have to work on it some more today.

Then we had a nice cheap dinner at Buddha View (ahhhh, baked potato and salad, my dinner of yore), because we needed some cash for the evening’s main event…..the BEER PONG SPECTACULAR. I didn’t have my camera, but I think Danielle did, so when I get the chance, I will try and post some pics.

It went very well….I even managed to find real ping pong balls yesterday morning in Mae Haad. Unfortunately, Tim and I got wiped out in the first game, which was especially bad for me, because I had agreed to drink half of Tim’s drinks as he is teaching the IDC right now. Still, great time….loads turned up, Jon, Noé, Célia, Tim, Nat, Ben, Emily, Mark, Alice, Scott, Mo, Leor, German Chris and his friend, Devon….a bunch. In fact, so many that a second beer run was needed. I think everyone had a good time….all I know is, as expected, I ended up at the pancake stand again at the end of the night with Noé, Célia, Heather and Danielle….followed by cheese toasties.

Good times. Although I am now only scant days away from the end of the sabbatical and thus the end of the Chris in Koh Tao blog…….

…hmmmm, perhaps the blog will change to Chris Starts a Company……..