John wrote :

>1) "Why don't you get a computer?"
>Every little bit of info helps.
>Then, 2) "With whom are you going on this trip?"

1. No money  :-)  ...  But I do have plans of buying one after next month's
salary. I'm still doing some 'research' but I'm leaning on either a Suunto
Vyper or a Suunto Mosquito. I'll probably bombard the list with some 'dive
computer' questions a few weeks before I buy one. For now I already have
the basic gears (fins, mask, snorkel, wetsuit, booties).

2. I'm going out with the dive shop where I got my OW card. This way they
would know exactly how novice I am.

    But one thing that I saw in my OW class is that they have a different
approach when it comes to 'teaching'. It's like their philosophy is that  a
diver should be self-sufficient - whether or not he is a novice. In our
last 2 open water dives - we did a free descent and free ascent - there
were no lines of any sort to help us. And when some guys in the OW class
started shooting up, the DM and Instructors did not go after them to pull
them down. It was up to them to descend again (I don't know whether or not
this is a good way of teaching). So I don't know how the dive trip will go
since we're not OW students anymore.



- Angelo