text: A friend and I agreed to get certified and that was that Previous to signing up for this beginners course I would never thought at all about scuba diving and had zero opinion of the sport I had done something similar with a motorcycle license about two years ago and have not done so much as sit on a motorcycle since Would this pursuit end as nothing more than another dusty license achieved on my quest to become a poor mans James Bond Or even worse James Bond Jr nnThe following is not to be used for inspiration We visited the shop and Gary gave us our PADI study guideworkbook and dive calculator and told us it was important that we complete the guide previous to starting class on September th We had two months Cut to September rd we are removing the cellophane from the guide in the car driving home from a music festival in LA with hangovers We complete chapters PatheticnnThe class structure is as suchnWeek Tuesday classroom session PM PM chapters nWeek Thursday classroom session PM PMnWeek Saturday pool session PMnWeek Sunday pool session PMnWeek Saturday Lake Pleasant open water PMnWeek Sunday Lake Pleasant open water PMnnThe classroom sessions were taught by Gary in a way that was not boring That said it IS a classroom environment so come alert Whenever I would start for my phone or a daydream I found reminding myself that stupidity underwater could kill me was a pretty good way to return to attentiveness Be prepared to spend around on gear Fins boots mask and snorkel are a requisite primer for getting you in the water nnand in the water is where Gary and Edward really shine Here the of us were in the somewhat daunting task of learning a completely new and foreign skill set and feeling pretty good about it I never felt unclear on what skill we were to be demonstrating Gary and Edward would describe and demonstrate the skill above water and then perform it underwater We would follow suit one by one and then head to the surface for constructive criticisms The two pool days were like this and the two Lake Pleasant days somewhat mimic the pool days but in the much deeper open water settingnnI thought being underwater was so awesome that even dumpy Lake Pleasant complete with visibility and nothing to see but the occasional rusty can previously home to some shitty American lager was a blastnnOn Sunday we completed the Open Water certification with Scuba Magic My concerns of repeating the motorcycle experience were laid to rest and I am happy to report that I am looking into my first real dive trip AS SOON AS POSSIBLE