Aloha, 2008. Aloha, 2009

2008 was an interesting year and marked the first full calendar year that I have been out here on Kauai. The biggest accomplishments that I can account for have been acquiring my PADI Divemaster and then Instructor professional ratings. I came out here with the goal of getting Divemaster certified and I exceeded that goal. Part of me says that since I got what I came for, I should move on to something else. I am contemplating it with visions of relocating to Colorado since it offers a lot of what I enjoy. Speaking of Colorado, Justin and I just bought tickets to go snowboarding in CO for about 3 weeks. We are both STOKED. The plan is that I leave to go home, get my gear, say hello to the fam, head to Dallas and meet up with Justin, then road trip it up to CO in Justin's family's RV, spend a couple weeks at Telluride, road trip it back to TX, and then fly back to Kauai. It sounds like an adventure and adventure it will be. Who knows what 2009 will have in store for me... I rung the new year in by a mediocre night at the Point and then working a double on new year's day. After getting only four hours of sleep, I had to open the shop and then work the afternoon boat. I had the pleasure of taking out two non-certified divers who dove just the previous day so they were on top of everything. They were one of the best groups I ever led and they werent even certified!! The conditions weren't great but they had a blast. Afterwards, we got a phone call from Ryan who accidentally got locked out of the van that he took to drop everyone off at NCL. Jake, Justin, and I roadtrip'ed it to Nawiliwili harbor to rescue Ryan. Along the way we jammed out to Jake's iPod and then after rescuing Ryan, we had a couple of beers together. It was one of the best times I have had relating to work and coworkers at Seasport Divers. After getting back to the shop, I went out to dinner with Justin's family right before they left to go back home. It was a long day with little sleep but it was a good one. Its always nice to get the year off on a good start.