Well, I can't believe it, but I have a teeny bit of a break tonight. I've gone in early every day this month except this past Wednesday (had to take my car to Allstate) and this past Friday (had to wait for my bed to be delivered), and stayed late literally every day. Gone in every Saturday this semester except one, and I went in this Sunday too.
Last night I stayed up til 2 am to get my presentation and worksheet done, and went in to campus before 10 am. Skived off work (will do that on Saturday...sigh) and got all my drafting done around 6 pm. Came home, my pirate costume was here and it's SO SHORT...going to have to buy stockings to wear under it. Suffice it to say, if I turned around too fast in that thing, everyone would see my "booty"!!
Also, my ride to the party fell through. So either someone rescues me, or I'm sitting at home Friday night :( I hate not having my car!!! In good news though, Allstate is fixing it (it's fixable!!) and I should get it back the end of next week. I really, really want to go to this party, dammit.
Tomorrow is my long day, and once it's over I'm going to the library to do some reading on the VOC for my term projects. Then I'll come home and do more reading.
I'm going to do some reading in a bit, but right now I'm luxuriating in the fact my work is FINISHED. Need to double-check my presentation too.
I need to call home. It's too late now, but soon. Hoping I can take a chunk of this Sunday off so I can sleep in and laze around a little.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
Car Flooded
So I wake up Sunday morning, go out to my car to check something, and it's FLOODED.
I don't know if you can see it here, but there's a line of trash on each side showing the water line was above the tires.
You can see how much water was in my trunk. Thank GOODNESS this part has plugs and was relatively easy to drain!
The water didn't get the seats exactly, but there was so much underneath them (I don't know if you can see the 2 inches of water in the bottom there) that it wicked upwards and they're all damp.
I managed to get to SCUBA and get certified (thank goodness that's done!), get home, and the guy who drove me helped me siphon the water out. Science never ceases to amaze me. Put a tube in the cab of the car, and put the other end lower and all the water neatly suctions itself out!! We also used the jack and jacked the car up on each side to help drain the water out.
We got most of the water out, but then it filled up about half an inch again and we realized the padding beneath the fabric is full of water.
I called the insurance company and they had to make it a party line and add Dad in before they'd file a claim. I need to sell a book or win the lotto and buy the car in my own name and buy my own damn insurance. This is SUCH a pain. (Not that I am in any way shape or form upset that Dad is helping me out. Without insurance I'd be up a creek alright!)
About to go down and check the padding. Wondering if there's anything I can coat my car in to inhibit the growth of algae and mold. Salt? Would that damage the fabric?
What kills me is that I (and my cars) have been through hurricanes, earthquakes, heavy winds, mountain passes and goodness knows what else and came through unscathed...and ONE thunderstorm in Texas did this.
Seriously, I'm starting to think I'll look out the window and see Sharknado coming. It's just that ridiculous.
Update: Went and checked on my car. More pics:
There was dirt in the cupholders so the water got at least high enough to spill over into it. I put some soap on the wettest parts in the faint hope it might inhibit some growth. Trying to find enough paper to soak up the leftover water as my ride took his tubing back with him. I might have to sacrifice my Victoria's Secret catalogues.
Still, I'm trying to not bitch too much. Turns out the downstairs apartments got flooded and today there's an army of people ripping out their carpets and trying to repair the flood damage. I sleep on the floor...can you imagine what I'd be dealing with if I lived on the ground floor?
Small mercies...
I managed to get to SCUBA and get certified (thank goodness that's done!), get home, and the guy who drove me helped me siphon the water out. Science never ceases to amaze me. Put a tube in the cab of the car, and put the other end lower and all the water neatly suctions itself out!! We also used the jack and jacked the car up on each side to help drain the water out.
We got most of the water out, but then it filled up about half an inch again and we realized the padding beneath the fabric is full of water.
I called the insurance company and they had to make it a party line and add Dad in before they'd file a claim. I need to sell a book or win the lotto and buy the car in my own name and buy my own damn insurance. This is SUCH a pain. (Not that I am in any way shape or form upset that Dad is helping me out. Without insurance I'd be up a creek alright!)
About to go down and check the padding. Wondering if there's anything I can coat my car in to inhibit the growth of algae and mold. Salt? Would that damage the fabric?
What kills me is that I (and my cars) have been through hurricanes, earthquakes, heavy winds, mountain passes and goodness knows what else and came through unscathed...and ONE thunderstorm in Texas did this.
Seriously, I'm starting to think I'll look out the window and see Sharknado coming. It's just that ridiculous.
Update: Went and checked on my car. More pics:
Still, I'm trying to not bitch too much. Turns out the downstairs apartments got flooded and today there's an army of people ripping out their carpets and trying to repair the flood damage. I sleep on the floor...can you imagine what I'd be dealing with if I lived on the ground floor?
Small mercies...
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Thursday, October 3, 2013
SCUBA thoughts
Well, I've done three "dives" now and it is getting slightly easier (only slightly) and I'm still worried about being able to excavate in that condition. I think having properly fitting gear will mitigate my worst problems - today I had to wear a size large vest because there were no medium ones left and I had the worst time trying to get buoyant - it kept pushing me forward and down and I struggled constantly, worse than I did a couple days ago when I accidentally put on an extra-large and nearly drowned because I was going ballistic all over that pool because my tank kept going every which way and I can't propel myself well with my fins yet.
And I weighted myself incorrectly yesterday but didn't find out because I only used up 600 psi of air, so today I couldn't sink for the second half until one of the TAs came up and gave me extra weight and told me to add 3 pounds next dive. My weight belt was 10 lbs today, so I'll make it 13 pounds next time and pray it works.
Not being able to sink was SO FRUSTRATING I nearly cried. It didn't help that my first mask snapped when I put it on, and putting masks on BLOWS anyway because they get stuck and tangled in my hair and it hurts and is the world's biggest pain in the ass. I'm seriously considering buying a wet suit hood first thing of all so I can put them on, and then my mask will fit nicely and not get tangled. Of course, I can't REALLY do that because hoods make you overheat in temperate water, but it's nice to pretend. I asked the girl TAs and they suggested I braid my hair. So, that's going to take some practice since my hair is much shorter now and I was never good at braiding my own hair even when it was down to my butt.
Speaking of my butt, it's still pretty mad at me about all this biking. I'm equally mad at it for not getting used to this already. Nothing like settling on your bike after 13 hours on campus and wincing because your tailbones are bruised.
Speaking of 13 hour days, I'm SICK of them. I have to pull two nine-hour days tomorrow and Saturday to make up all the hours I didn't spend at my job this week due to SCUBA, the midterm, and a presentation. Oh, and the mapping project we're working on. I'm so tired. Sunday is going to be my only day of rest for two weeks straight (next weekend is a two-day dive for our final certification), and I'm going to have to do my accounts so I know how much money I have to spend on all the things I want/need - pots, pans, curtains, drawers, etc - and I hate doing my accounts. But I have to. This growing up thing is damn frustrating.
SCUBA diving is even harder than I thought it would be. Your sight is so limited, and changes constantly when you turn your head. Remembering to breathe - and through my mouth instead of my nose - is tough, and breathing even hurts my chest sometimes. But you absolutely CAN'T hold your breath underwater ever or you risk lung overexpansion, which is asking for a seriously bad injury...or death.
Today, in the deep pool, I tried to swim back and forth in a straight line at different levels (because you need to practice being buoyant) and I did an okay job - partially because there are straight lines tiled at the bottom of the pool and I could at least keep straight. I also tried to practice streamlining myself and to use my fins slowly and the way the instructors were instead of "bicycling" which they say newbies do a lot.
We have a lot of things to practice underwater - partially flooding our mask and clearing it out, fully flooding our mask and clearing it out, taking our mask off entirely, putting it on and clearing it out; taking out our regulators and exhaling constantly until we put it back in, "losing" our regulator, finding it (exhaling continuously to avoid lung damage), and getting it back, "losing" our regulator and going for our backup regulator, then locating our regulator, switching them back, and reattaching our backup to our BCD. Oh, and we have to stay with our dive buddy, check their air gauge regularly (as often as we check our own, because we need to surface while we still have 500 psi in our tanks, because a) you never want to fully exhaust your tank and b) you want extra air in case your partner's tank fails and you need time/air to reach the surface) and communicate with all these signals that I'm having a little trouble remembering. Although the "I'm ok" sign is easy, and I've started giggling because whenever the INA people pass each other in the halls and you say, "What's up" or "How are you", all the experienced divers will say, "I'm okay" and give the diving "okay" signal at the same time. Talk about a community within a community!
Diving is damned expensive though. I've been asking around and people spend between $1,000 and $3,500 on their kits. I'm going to have to sell several stories to get a kit! Fortunately on a lot of "digs" gear is provided so I should be able to go slowly and purchase good pieces that will last. Also, I don't think I'll bother with a tank. They require so much upkeep, more than regulators even. And they're much more dangerous to have around a house. I was going to ask my parents for a dive watch for my birthday (ghastly expensive) but I was informed all round it would be better to save up and buy a dive computer instead.
It feels so weird, being so deep, with all that water around you, especially when you can't judge distance at all well, and breathing into a regulator (although I'm beginning to get the hang of it) and feeling a gigantic tank on your back and just feeling huge and clumsy and slow. I wonder if whales feel that way?
I feel bad - I haven't talked to my parents in days, or anyone that I'm not in class with. I'm exhausted, sore all over, I feel congested from all this diving, headachey, and I'm only hungry when it's really inconvenient. I have been trying to eat healthier and several small meals a day. My cousin Jade just got a puppy and took two days off work to make sure he settles in with her. How I would LOVE to have a cat here! But I can't afford one, and I travel and work too much to have one.
I'm going to lie here and watch Law and Order until I'm calm enough to sleep.
And I weighted myself incorrectly yesterday but didn't find out because I only used up 600 psi of air, so today I couldn't sink for the second half until one of the TAs came up and gave me extra weight and told me to add 3 pounds next dive. My weight belt was 10 lbs today, so I'll make it 13 pounds next time and pray it works.
Not being able to sink was SO FRUSTRATING I nearly cried. It didn't help that my first mask snapped when I put it on, and putting masks on BLOWS anyway because they get stuck and tangled in my hair and it hurts and is the world's biggest pain in the ass. I'm seriously considering buying a wet suit hood first thing of all so I can put them on, and then my mask will fit nicely and not get tangled. Of course, I can't REALLY do that because hoods make you overheat in temperate water, but it's nice to pretend. I asked the girl TAs and they suggested I braid my hair. So, that's going to take some practice since my hair is much shorter now and I was never good at braiding my own hair even when it was down to my butt.
Speaking of my butt, it's still pretty mad at me about all this biking. I'm equally mad at it for not getting used to this already. Nothing like settling on your bike after 13 hours on campus and wincing because your tailbones are bruised.
Speaking of 13 hour days, I'm SICK of them. I have to pull two nine-hour days tomorrow and Saturday to make up all the hours I didn't spend at my job this week due to SCUBA, the midterm, and a presentation. Oh, and the mapping project we're working on. I'm so tired. Sunday is going to be my only day of rest for two weeks straight (next weekend is a two-day dive for our final certification), and I'm going to have to do my accounts so I know how much money I have to spend on all the things I want/need - pots, pans, curtains, drawers, etc - and I hate doing my accounts. But I have to. This growing up thing is damn frustrating.
SCUBA diving is even harder than I thought it would be. Your sight is so limited, and changes constantly when you turn your head. Remembering to breathe - and through my mouth instead of my nose - is tough, and breathing even hurts my chest sometimes. But you absolutely CAN'T hold your breath underwater ever or you risk lung overexpansion, which is asking for a seriously bad injury...or death.
Today, in the deep pool, I tried to swim back and forth in a straight line at different levels (because you need to practice being buoyant) and I did an okay job - partially because there are straight lines tiled at the bottom of the pool and I could at least keep straight. I also tried to practice streamlining myself and to use my fins slowly and the way the instructors were instead of "bicycling" which they say newbies do a lot.
We have a lot of things to practice underwater - partially flooding our mask and clearing it out, fully flooding our mask and clearing it out, taking our mask off entirely, putting it on and clearing it out; taking out our regulators and exhaling constantly until we put it back in, "losing" our regulator, finding it (exhaling continuously to avoid lung damage), and getting it back, "losing" our regulator and going for our backup regulator, then locating our regulator, switching them back, and reattaching our backup to our BCD. Oh, and we have to stay with our dive buddy, check their air gauge regularly (as often as we check our own, because we need to surface while we still have 500 psi in our tanks, because a) you never want to fully exhaust your tank and b) you want extra air in case your partner's tank fails and you need time/air to reach the surface) and communicate with all these signals that I'm having a little trouble remembering. Although the "I'm ok" sign is easy, and I've started giggling because whenever the INA people pass each other in the halls and you say, "What's up" or "How are you", all the experienced divers will say, "I'm okay" and give the diving "okay" signal at the same time. Talk about a community within a community!
Diving is damned expensive though. I've been asking around and people spend between $1,000 and $3,500 on their kits. I'm going to have to sell several stories to get a kit! Fortunately on a lot of "digs" gear is provided so I should be able to go slowly and purchase good pieces that will last. Also, I don't think I'll bother with a tank. They require so much upkeep, more than regulators even. And they're much more dangerous to have around a house. I was going to ask my parents for a dive watch for my birthday (ghastly expensive) but I was informed all round it would be better to save up and buy a dive computer instead.
It feels so weird, being so deep, with all that water around you, especially when you can't judge distance at all well, and breathing into a regulator (although I'm beginning to get the hang of it) and feeling a gigantic tank on your back and just feeling huge and clumsy and slow. I wonder if whales feel that way?
I feel bad - I haven't talked to my parents in days, or anyone that I'm not in class with. I'm exhausted, sore all over, I feel congested from all this diving, headachey, and I'm only hungry when it's really inconvenient. I have been trying to eat healthier and several small meals a day. My cousin Jade just got a puppy and took two days off work to make sure he settles in with her. How I would LOVE to have a cat here! But I can't afford one, and I travel and work too much to have one.
I'm going to lie here and watch Law and Order until I'm calm enough to sleep.
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