Much of the gear I have ordered was piled all over the kitchen counter when I arrived home from the faculty meeting today. Sixty five degrees in February but it felt like Christmas! Camera battery. Check. Memory card. Check. Wrist compass. Check. Strobe diffuser. Check. (Which reminds me to call tomorrow and order the camera kit!) Octo (spare regulator for Rescue Diver). Check. Dive computer! Yay! But wait.....the instruction manual mentions a digital compass, and I ordered the VT3 which doesn't HAVE a compass.....uh oh.
LeisurePro goofed. They sent me the $1100 model, not the $650 I ordered! The receipt says the VT4, but the price is listed as $650...time to make a phone call. I can't put my life in the hands of a piece of equipment with bad karma on it. Sheesh.
But I need to go buy a lotto ticket immediately! Listen to this; LeisurePro was surprised to hear from me. They were out of the VT3 I ordered, so they upgraded me to the next best model at the same price! OMG! They were truly surprised that I was calling. Really? That's kind of sad. I like to think most people would do the right thing. So I will return the wrist compass, as I have the jazzed up compter with a digital compass. News of my grant should hit the small, local paper soon; I know the district is writing a press release and I was interviewed for an internal human interest piece. Aw, shucks. ;)
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Get out.
Seriously. I won? I never win anything!
When I read the blog of a former Teacher Creativity Grant winner, I learned that grant notification was much like college applications were in the old days; big envelope, good news. Small envelope, sorry, better luck next time. So when my husband emailed me at work to tell me there was a THICK envelope waiting for me at home from the Lilly Endowment, I wouldn't let him open it!
While *I* thought my idea - to spend the summer getting my Rescue Diver and Underwater Photography certifications in Cozumel Mexico - was pretty cool, there are a lot of creative people out there and I wasn't sure I'd make the cut. But in 99 days, off to Mexico I go!
Once the reality of the work ahead sunk in, I had to get busy. I had done extensive research on the gear that I need (camera/housing and dive computer) but I used some leftover airline credit towards my ticket, which left me $400 extra in my budget. So off I go to consider some gear upgrades. I did choose a slightly better computer (Oceanic VT3 wireless, for you gearheads), and a Sealife DC1400 camera, as the kit comes with a strobe. My research says that pictures are exponentially better when a strobe is used. Next I'll have to figure out how to use all this new stuff....you get into a routine diving, and so this will be all new, while at the same time I am learning new dive skills. Ai yi yi.
So upon reflection, I guess I have changed things already. I plan to use the 'extra' personal stipend money to add EXPERIENCES this summer; night dives, extra dives, maybe a shark dive. My feeling is that I would eat and live no matter where I am, so I cover that and use my grant monies for diving!
99 days. Once my gear arrives I have to take an online class to use the new computer. This ought to be interesting.
When I read the blog of a former Teacher Creativity Grant winner, I learned that grant notification was much like college applications were in the old days; big envelope, good news. Small envelope, sorry, better luck next time. So when my husband emailed me at work to tell me there was a THICK envelope waiting for me at home from the Lilly Endowment, I wouldn't let him open it!
While *I* thought my idea - to spend the summer getting my Rescue Diver and Underwater Photography certifications in Cozumel Mexico - was pretty cool, there are a lot of creative people out there and I wasn't sure I'd make the cut. But in 99 days, off to Mexico I go!
Once the reality of the work ahead sunk in, I had to get busy. I had done extensive research on the gear that I need (camera/housing and dive computer) but I used some leftover airline credit towards my ticket, which left me $400 extra in my budget. So off I go to consider some gear upgrades. I did choose a slightly better computer (Oceanic VT3 wireless, for you gearheads), and a Sealife DC1400 camera, as the kit comes with a strobe. My research says that pictures are exponentially better when a strobe is used. Next I'll have to figure out how to use all this new stuff....you get into a routine diving, and so this will be all new, while at the same time I am learning new dive skills. Ai yi yi.
So upon reflection, I guess I have changed things already. I plan to use the 'extra' personal stipend money to add EXPERIENCES this summer; night dives, extra dives, maybe a shark dive. My feeling is that I would eat and live no matter where I am, so I cover that and use my grant monies for diving!
99 days. Once my gear arrives I have to take an online class to use the new computer. This ought to be interesting.
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