Back in point

Well I finally just got back to Point after being on spring break. Although I really did not have a break. I put in 40 hours for my dads work and another 15 with mountain bay. But I really can't complain too much because this thursday I will have some sweet checks waiting for me. I am not looking forward to this weeke because on thursday I also have another Plant Taxonomy test. Ofcourse alot harder than the rest. So...I will be studing like crazy this week. This is going to be harder than usually because the weather is suppose to be so nice this week and all of my thoughts will be to diving and climbing. I just really need to focus for three days and do good on this test. I know I can do it.

Amy and I drove out to the local dive quarry this weekend and my prediction is that the ice will be out by this up coming weeking. YAY!!! So, addressing my last couple posts about the class I was thinking about takeing.....the verdict is I will be taking them. I am just going to go in to the class with an open mind and HOPE I am wrong about my predictions. I mean I don't believe the course will be unsafe in any way, but it just won't be up to the callibar the expect. Odds are the course will be another.... Do this because thats how its done...and Not "do this because (insert GOOD expaination). I am just about garuentee that I will ask some questions that the instructor will have noo idea what I am talking about.

Thats its for now...I have my plant tax lecture in a couple minutes

Good Morning Wisconsin....and others :)

Well, Its friday morning. Not just any friday morning, but the friday before spring break. YAY Unfortunatly I will not be doing anything exciting. For the week I will be working for my Dad and making some sweet cash. Then the following weekend, Joe and I will attempt to go ice climbing one last time in Munising. Hopefully where will be some ice.

Here is were I am looking for some peoples opinions..... I am looking at taking a TDI Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Theory class. (technical scuba class) To be honest with you, there will not be anything new that I will learn in the class. Much of what is being taught will be stuff I have used or new for some years now. I would be taking the course purely on the bases of getting the almighty "certification card". The cards really mean nothing except you dished out the money to take a course. Unfortunatly they say nothing about your skills as a diver. The instructor for this course seems like a push over and will be OK with just about anything. (which can be dangerouse in technical dving) We will end up doing one dive deep on AIR. By now I am sure, you all now what I think about that. I have talked to him a couple times about not going as deep on air or nitrox. He really never gave me a straight answer. On the plus side the course is cheap (unusual for a tec course) and also, he video tapes the dives. I like this so we can anaylize our skills. What do you all think I should do...... take the course? or wait and pay more for a better course. Usually I am gungho about waiting for better coursed, but the coursed I would like to take are either in washington or florida and cost about 4x the amount.

Song of the moment: Give it all by: Rise Against

Hmmm...

Well I don't really know anything new today, but felt like writing. Overall today was pretty productive, I mean, I got quite a bit done. Did all my homework, projects, but still have to go shopping for food.
I would say that not but 15minutes ago an old lady with two little girls came over....and ofcourse.....they were passing out information about how I can be "saved". All I need to do is find jesus christ. Hmmm..... I don't think I'll go there today. I will save that discussion for another rainy day.
More good news (at least for me), I get my Pee valve tommorrow! So, before anyone gets really freaked out, let me explain. A pee valve is a device that connects to my "member" and allows me to pee while I am diving in a dry suit. (obviously, it goes outside the suit) When you dive dry, there is no more peeing in the wet suit. (not that I ever did) You probably are wondering why I can't just hold it through the duration of the dive. Well, alot of people do, but as dive become more and more technical they get longer and longer. There is no way I can hold it for 2+ hours while in cold water. :)
I think this weekend Amy and I will be going to a Peace Rally here in Point. Should be a good time. This will be the first time she has ever been to anything like this. After all the main day stuff is over, we will be heading to the mission to hear some good music.
Guess that is for now...

**Song of the day: Captain Anarchy by: Anti-Flag

The double edged sword that is my life...

I live my life in a constant struggle.....a struggle of excitement and disappointment. Ofcourse what I am talking about is climbing vs. diving. When its winter and the ice is here want it leave on one hand, so I can dive, but on the other hand I want it to stay and I can continue to climb.

Since the diving season is just right around the corner I think I am going to talk about that. This year should be exciting. My dad and I will be utilizing helium more often in our gas mixes, thus reducing the danger associated with nitrogen (air) Technically, helium is only used for more "technical diving" but dad and I will be using it on deeper recreational dives. i.e.-below 80ft. More often than not people won't dive helium/oxygen/nitrogen (trimix) mixtures due the cost. Heluim is not cheap, but due to the fact that we mix our own gas its actually cheap to do.


-This is our fill station at my house. The green bottle is the oxygen and there will soon be a brown one with helium in it.
HELL YES!!!!! and yes the entire fill whip was made curtousiy of Matt and Steve Van Zeeland.




Some many people are afraid of heluim, only becuause they don't understand it. As the years go by the phrase, "Air is for tires, mixed gasses are for diving" is soooooo true. There is scientific evidance the shows air actually hurts your body in scuba applications. (narcosis, offgasses slowly, bone deteriation etc...)

I talk about this alot because it pisses me off when people shoot off there mouths about "techical diving" and don't know jack shit about it. They are the ones doing the stupid dives and killing themselves as well as others. I am by now means an expert, but damn it, make diving the safest you can. You know, the worse ones are the older generations. They give the "I have been doing this for twenty years, so don't tell me how to dive". Fucking get off your soap box and change with the times. If helium was so bad and hard on your body. Why then, would hospitals put people on a heliox (oxygen/helium) gas when they are in surgery, or actually any time they have a hard time breathing. Because heluim is soo easy to breath (physically) and so easy of your body to perfuse in to your lungs. To dive trimix is no more difficult than diving Nitrox, PADI's new push. BUT WAIT, that is the same certification agency that used to call nitrox the "devils gas" and that its totally unsafe. DEMA banned it from their shows and some islands banned it. (cayman) But now its the big thing to hit diving. Even though its been around for along time, contrary to popular beleif.

Anyways, to get off my soap box, my dad and I will be limiting our dives to 150' and minimal decompression, less than 15 minutes. I don't think people understand my excitement. We will be able to dive many new wrecks and dive with a clear head (due to the heluim).

Thats it for now about diving. I just finished up with a presentaion in my 490 class, which went very well so I was excited.

Need I actually say more....

There are moments in my life when a slap to face is what I need......not necessarly for anything I did wrong but to make me suck it up and live the life I want. Adam (my brother)wrote this to me in a pure Mark Twight /Punk fashion. I fucking loved it!!!! That is who I am and how I live....

Perhaps it is not the schooling and the learning that is getting you down it is the lack of full body stimulation that you are seaking, for example when ice climbing your entire being as a human gets a workout. Your body is screaming at your mind and your mind is telling it differently. And anyone who has ice climbed knows what i am talking about. With school all one can do is sit and let the mind learn the body is silent. However i dont like the talk about putting stuff on the back burner to me that is bullshit....you need to dig deep into your mind and find new ways to get excited ex. more school equals more earned money in the long run and then that means more time do do what you want. Less school and doing only what gets you by, is like taking the same ice route everytime and that is no challenge. so what im trying to tell you is that yeah you are a senior and 3/4 the way up the ice wall right at the point when it gets touph and you want to say ahhh i put in my time and made if far enouph....BUT NOW is when you need to take total mind control tell every voice to shut the fuck up and keep going, for tomorrow will bring new walls and oppertunities that will challenge your mind body and spirit.(if you didnt catch it matt climbing the wall is like your schooling hah )

Don't know why I am doing this....

.....because I don't know what to talk about. Actually I probably will talk about stuff that most won't care about, you know like Diving or climbing. Or possible write about some stuff that pisses me off. In that case I am sure I will have a lot to talk about. Don't worry, there will be good stuff also.

Right now in my life I have the worst case of senioritis. I told myself that I would stay motivated, stay on track, and focus. Right!..... That never happened. I am putting school on the backburner to my girl friend, climbing, diving...just about everything except school. Now this isn't particularly a good idea since I plan on going to graduate school. I think that I am getting burned out. This summer will be a good break and either make me despretly want to get back into school or find something better.