My first SCUBA pool session

I went for my first scuba diving practical session today. It was held in the Outram Secondary School. There are altogether, 4 of us Open Water newbies. There's Khalil - the big macho guy, Zaidi - the joker, Linus - the energetic NS boy and myself. The scuba instructor is Dominic Chow. He's too skinny for a scuba diver and he's got tattoo all over. But he's quite cute. Don't you think so?

Scuba diving is not an intensive sport but divers are required to be fit so they don't die from exhaustion or the likes in the sea. My boyfriend had previously told me that there would be a physical test but I wasn't aware that it was going to be today! I have not exercised for 2 years and I am definitely not fit to swim 200 metres non-stop.

I managed to finished the 200 metres but was really tired from it. Right after we were all done, they made us tread water for 10 minutes. I was quite comfortable with it cause my Dad (thank you Pa!) trained us in treading water when I was very little. But Khalil and Zaidi had a really tough time.

We finished lessons at about 10:30pm and I got home close to midnight. As I am typing this, my arms are aching, my chest hurt, my legs are weak and my back is strained. Darn! Can someone give me a nice soothing massage?

Disgusting People

I dig my nose. So... who doesn't? I do it whenever I am in the toilet. That way, I can wash both my nostrils and fingers with water and soap. My sister sometimes find it disgusting eventhough I do it in the toilet. Well if you wanna hear disgusting, then read on...

A few years ago, my friend and I were taking the bus (number 13) in Singapore from Marine Parade to Lavender MRT. We were seated just beside the exit door so there was no obstruction and I could see the whole front part of the bus from where I was seated.

An old man boarded the bus and stood next to a pole. The next moment, he retrieved a tweezer from his shirt pocket. Right after that, he started plucking his facial hair and stuck the hairs that he had succesfully extracted onto the pole that he was standing next to! Throughout the journey, he just kept doing that. Pulling out hairs from his beard, his mustache and even some of his nostril hair. All the while, sticking each of his facial hair to the pole.

I got so disgusted that I grumbled and complained non-stop to my friend. I wanted to shout at that old man and tell him off but my skin was crawling and I felt queasy. I am not a health freak but after that incident... I wash my hands thoroughly after every bus ride! Maybe you all should too.

Scuba Diving

That's not me in the picture

I've always wanted to take up scuba diving but fear kept me away. There are so many risks involved and as we all know, there's no gain without risks eh? My boyfriend is an avid scuba diver and he encouraged me to take up the sport. He even paid for my open water scuba diving certification. Thank you Shin!

There are many levels of certification. You will have to start with the Open Water Diver, which is what I'm taking. Then, followed by Advanced Open Water Diver, Emergency First Response, Rescue Diver, Master Scuba Diver, DiveMaster, Assistant Instructor and finally the Instructor Development Course. But that's not all. They also have specialized diving certifications. Please click here if you would like to read more.

The other reason that kept me from learning is that scuba diving is an expensive sport. For my open water certification, it costs my boyfriend S$495. Whoa! Enough for me to buy new shoes, bag, clothes, watch and lots of junk food! How many of you can scuba dive?

1st Year Anniversary

Today is my grandmother's 1st-year anniversary. Feels like just yesterday that she passed away but I guess time flies. My grandmother was 83 and she had accomplished so much in life. Almost everyone who meets her likes her. She gets along fine with people from all races or ages. She even speaks English. For people of her generation, that is quite a wonder. Sometimes, she is even more broad minded than my father. I have lots to learn from her. Hope she is very happy now, wherever she is.