Went to Blue Springs this past Sunday, Sept. 10th, with new dive buddy Pat Harrison, and got to use my new camera for the first time. It`s one small step up from a disposable, but it`s sturdy and it`s got a flash, and - the best part - the pics came out! Admittedly, the visibility got down to only a few feet in the quarry, in some places, and so the shot I really really really wanted (of me posing next to the underwater monster) is pretty obscurred by silt. Ah well, maybe next time. I did get pics of the spaceship, though, and a few of some bass as well as a bunch of "bubble shots". I showed Pat around to most of the sunken vehicles, etc, and for our second dive we explored about 2/3 of the quarry`s wall. Very relaxing dives as I continue to gain experience. Though it went well with Pat, I don`t forsee him being a habitual dive buddy. He`s got a lot of stuff going on, and doesn`t really seem to be as interested in diving as I am. Plus, I`ll admit, he`s older and married, and I guess I was looking for someone a little closer to me in age, and someone with whom I`d have more in common. I keep contacting people in the tri-state area, that I`ve found here or over at Diver Emporium, but no one other than Pat has ever responded, much less followed through and met up for a dive. My search for a dive buddy in the area goes on. In other news, I`ll be taking Diver Stress and Rescue & the Underwater Navigation courses next month at my dive shop, and I`m looking forward to those. Both are going to be really good to know, and I`ll also enjoy spending some time at my dive shop. Hopefully I can make some hookups with my fellow students, at that time. But the most exciting part is that upon graduation I`ll be a Specialty Diver, since I`ve got over 12 dives under my belt. I hit 17 this past weekend Another thing I`d like to do is start going deeper. Thus far, I`ve never gone below 45 ft. In Hawaii that was just because that`s as deep as our sites were; in the quarries, it`s just too freaking cold! I could probably stand wearing gloves, but I don`t like wearing a hood. It makes it harder for me to equalize. Hm...maybe that`s something I need to work on, because I really do want to advance, and not just spend all of my scuba diving experiences hovering at 40 feet or so. Anyway, that`s all for now. I`m mostly just writing here because there`s literally no one in my life who`s interested in SCUBA, alas. - Jean