to be completely honest, the thought of having moles removed was a bit scary.
having a date scheduled to go back and have die injected so they can view me under an even greater microscope has me very very very nervous.  7th August – Moms birthday nonetheless!!

this weekend i was supposed to be finishing the open water dives for my 2 students on their open water course.  i went in to the shop on friday to find Andrew in a bit of a tizz as there was a problem with the last couple of spaces on the boat.
lucky for me, there was another instructor around so i was able to get him to finish my open water course … and i went to the Poor Knights on a liveaboard trip with twin tanks packed with nitrox and my camera.  and i did not think of moles or melanoma all weekend and i had the best weekend i have had in ages!

I have written a trip report and posted that on DiveMistress >> click the link for the Trip Report.

however there are a few photographs and stories that probably don’t belong over there … especially if I want anyone to be convinced enough to ask me to teach them anything about scuba diving.

i got totally Martified this weekend.  our friend BFM/Party Marty is rather infamous and i can honestly say, as a dive buddy he was awesome.
there is a bit of a standing joke that Party Marty likes to go deep.  more than once this weekend, i was told that he would be teaching me bad habits but perhaps the fact that we didnt really go below 40m means i was teaching him good ones?!?

the best of the worst

we were both diving on twin tanks this weekend and with our cameras.  well, my camera battery lasted me two dives and in the haste to pack, i forgot to take the charger – oh well.
we did six dives this weekend – Marty on his twin 15’s and me on my twin 12’s.  i won’t repeat the whole trip report but there were some definite highlights for me.

completing my first two minutes of required decompression ever was pretty major.
having the confidence in myself, my knowledge and training, my equipment, my buddy and the site were all components of the decision.  also have one computer reading two minutes (my ever present buddy – my Mares Nemo) and the other reading none (my new and whizzy Suunto Vyper Air) was a little part of it.
i will know for next time that i can perhaps extend that out to 2 minutes on one and four on the other.

we hung around The Gardens on Saturday afternoon so that Alex and her student Simon could complete the underwater navigation dive.  it was a great chance for the boys to whip out their cameras and compare lens sizes.
Me, and my little Nikon D80, just stayed to the side and took some photographs of the beautiful late afternoon scenery.
i was kicking myself a bit more on the inside by now for having forgotten to bring the charger for my underwater camera.  oh well – shit happens right!?

lazy afternoon at the Knights with fish in Shark Fin cave and a Harrier Hawk over Aorangi Island

lazy afternoon at the Knights with fish in Shark Fin cave and a Harrier Hawk over Aorangi Island

it was a bit choppy on the water on Saturday so we spent the night in Riko Riko Cave – and just a few glasses of red wine were drunk.  after a massive dinner of lamb shanks, mashed potatoes, peas and corn, i dont think anyone was ready to lie down.

feeding time at the zoo

feeding time at the zoo

early early early sunday morning we motored out of the cave.  it was so early i didn’t even bother getting out of bed for the trip.
we headed up to ngaio rock and the sun came out – it was a glorious day!

somehow, i have no idea, Ritchie started using the expression ” i fucked it!”.  meant in a good way – i cant even remember how it started.
later on sunday; second dive, i came up on him in the back of Great Wall and when he saw me he mimicked having intercourse with his camera – i nearly lost my regulator!  then he managed to coax a triplefin out of its hole and says he used the same technique.  the mans a weirdo!!

i ascended from the Waikato to find a little present on my phone from Andrew and Ritchie;

a present from Andrew and Ritchie while I was diving the Waikato

a present from Andrew and Ritchie was left on my phone while I was diving the Waikato

apparently Andrew got what he deserved though.  standing on the back of the boat with his pants around his ankles and my devil dive hood on – he ended up in the sea.  haha!
and this morning just got better.  in fact fabulous.
whilst preparing this round up, i found out i won tickets to Auckland Theatre Company’s God of Carnage this week at Maidment Theatre – courtesy of Rachel Goodchild.  Take a look at her site – www.eightyeightdates.com.