warm like bathwater

"- If diving in salt water, rinse stings with salt water, not fresh. Don't rub stings, it makes them worse.
- Use vinegar on jellyfish, fire coral and other hydroid stings.
- Remove spines from punctures with forceps if you can do so without breaking them.
- Treat bites like any wound by controlling bleeding and bandaging."

 I spent a luxurious lazy afternoon in our front yard, studying my dive book, testing out an underwater camera, and falling asleep in the breeze on my wet towel.

Sometimes I cannot believe where I am, or how I got here. The work days are long with the commute, but the moments of reflection and quiet I can gather for myself in stolen moments on weekends are a kind of rare gift in life I shall likely not encounter again.

 There are days when my anxiety rises, not knowing what is next, where I'll live, if I'll have a meaningful job to feel proud of. It's like floating in a lucid dream, reality constantly in the peripheral.

A reality reminding me that I have one chance at this life, and without risk, there is no discovery, no growth, no failure.


"Most new divers want to know what they should do if they see a shark. You should watch it and enjoy the experience. You don't see them often. Remain still and calm on or near the bottom, and don't swim toward it, doing so may cause defensive behaviour."