Career as a diver

Recently I looked into a diving school in north Seattle. I’ve always enjoyed the ocean. So I was thinking this may be a good way to make a living. It would be hard work, a little tedious I have to say, since the job that the school seems to be able to guarantee me is working directly supporting oil platforms. Whether it be repairing, inspecting, or building. Now I know this is not the only kind of job available to a diver, but for the moment and the foreseeable future, is the one in most demand. Hence, pays the most money. Now this is the draw for me, the money. I’ve been working in the service industry for eight of my ten years on the work force. I have an easy going personality and don’t tend to let things get to me. I have been working in restaurants for most of that time, with a small stint in a hotel. Of the two sides I have to say I enjoyed the hospitality side better. The pay was better, but I found I enjoyed the environment better. Restaurants just have too much drama. It’s also almost a dead end job, the fact that you can control your income is what keeps my in it. I am ready for more of a challenge. Some people enjoy doing jobs that won’t challenge them, or should I say blue collar labor; but not I. I don’t want to become less intelligent as I get older. As long as I have to go to work to pay bills I want to be challenged by my job, or what’s the point. In hospitality it had the potential, as move up through the ranks, of course. Now to the reason for this thought. I was reading the jobs section of the Sunday paper and it said that jobs that will be in demand three to five years down the road will be computer jobs, due to the graying baby boomer population. And of course health care to help to take care of this segment of our population.

Since I was fifteen I’ve been into computers. Friends and I would setup token ring networks to play video games (at the time cat5 network equipment was out of our reach). I currently and running a Win 2003 server box in my apartment, with the intention of setting up a way of accessing all the information on my storage drive, across the internet from anywhere, as easily as possible. Mainly through the web with the normal other means that come with that ftp and RDP. I’ve also got a domain setup but my lack of experience in this part is hindering me from fully integrating it into my laptop. I just end up with two profiles. Both my sister and my dad have said why don’t you back into the computer field? We’ll my response to them is that; there are too many people in that field. It is really saturated. Everybody and they’re father has an MCSE. I believe DeVry is way overpriced in what they offer. I don’t want to spend $30,000, on something and find out that it’s not what I paid for. In 2001 I got out of the computer field because of the dot.com bust. Fell back on my experience in the service industry. Then I tried to join the navy, that didn’t work out. Hence because of that I got really depressed and it was a downward spiral, I lost my car, totally fucked up my credit. Which I am paying dearly for now…

Something just occurred to me! I hadn’t realized or rather noticed this about myself before, I’m playing victim! I’m trying to find reasons as to why I’m not responsible. Ah-ha! This is why I moved to Seattle in the first place to grow personally and professionally.

Anyhow, back to the point of this post, ultimately I’m worried that by becoming a diver in that I just simply, won’t be challenged to the degree that I want to be. Now a challenge doesn’t have to be just mental, but I want to be able to exercise my brain. Doing the same thing over and over is no challenge. It’s repition.  However I think I know enough of what the computer industry will entail, and I enjoy that work a lot.

 

Pros of diving:

• Travel
• Not stuck in an office day in, day out
• No rush hour traffic to have to deal with
• The money
• Excitement
• Opportunity to work in varying locales
• Working with my hands

 

Cons of diving:

• Out of touch with the world for weeks at a time
• Difficult on personal relationships
• Possibility of mundane tedious manual labor (non-challenging)
• Working with hicks

 

Pros of computer work:

·         Having to fix finicky technology (Hence the challenge half)

·         Money

·         Ability to have a personal life

·         Weekends off (most)

·         Stability

·         Playing with new technologies trying to integrate them into the buisness

·         Working with intelligent people

·         Corporate America (if you find a company you can mesh well with. Very difficult)

 

Cons of computer work:

• Corporate politics
• Call center work
• Corporate America (this and politics could be the same)
• Working with idiots

 

 

I guess ultimately I just need to make a decision. I’m just worried that this diving thing won’t pan out the way I am picturing it. Now don’t get me wrong I am not disillusioning myself here, I know it’s not going to be some walk in the park. But this is something I’m going to be doing for a while, not necessarily my whole life but, five to ten years at the minimum. However it is really exciting in its own right. My uncertainty stems from my past at making bad decisions, and not following through with things. But once again that is why I moved to seattle. To clear my head, and to grow, I should’ve done this long ago.

Visited the KCLS, did some soul searching

I got off work today and decided that I didn’t want to sit at home and stare at my walls or go down to the beach at that time of day. So I decided to go to the library. I was just planning on doing some research for my quest into credit repair. Seems that the subject is pretty easy after doing some initial research, since this is my first visit to an actual Seattle area public library, I have to say that I am pretty impressed with the King County Library System. You can have books shipped to your home library from anywhere in the system. I put on hold nine different items. A couple of I hope Hungarian language CD’s.

 

Since I moved up here I have been having this urge to get back in touch with my Hungarian heritage. Both my parents are natively from Hungary, my sister and I are first in our family to be American nationals. Since my grandmother died three, no, four years ago this mother’s day. I have come to realize that if I don’t take an active role in trying to relearn my language now, before I become too “busy” with my life, there’s a good chance I never will. So as a consequence of that I have decided, I have partied most of my twenties away and now am ready to start my life and making a difference in this world. To also stop considering myself a victim, life is what I make of it.

 

You know, I was thinking of this while I was at work today, I really do admire my father. Not only is he a good man, granted a little crude around the edges at times (ex-army), he has some of the best character that I have come across to date. Mind you I work in a restaurant/bar, so I have seen my share of shady people, also worked with a few of them. Anyhow back to the point, my father, his integrity is excellent, and he always has a different perspective on things. I don’t always see eye-to-eye with him. But in the end he is still there. You know growing up as a kid, i wanted to be accepted. My parents, because of their immigrant background, tended to dress me and my sister in traditional Hungarian dress. The getups could be pretty tacky! I mean I had rainbow suspenders! Oh if the pictures came out at my wedding I’d still be a little embrassed, but not really. This was back before the rainbow symbolized the pride colors. Ever since I’ve tried so hard to be accepted and to please people, moving to the northwest has helped me to understand what kind of a person I am. Unfortunately, I can be an easily influenced person. And this is were I see how I want to be more like my father. He doesn’t care what other people think of him. Goes about his business and only when you communicate to him what you feel does he understand. Or acknowledge. I used to think this was an aggravating trait since, I tried to get everybody to see things my way. But because of two people, my father and Bryan, both being very like the other, stubborn. I have learned not to change people but to appreciate them for who they are and what they have done.

 

I have done many stupid things in my life so far, and no doubt I will do many more. But the stupidest thing I have done so far, actually it’s two, got onto drugs, and tried to fit in and please everyone. Granted my moving up to the northwest was a half bone-headed maneuver, as in the fact I didn’t plan things out the way I should’ve. I wanted to get away from, not texas, but sadly Randy. The route in life that he was traveling was just not the same way that I wanted to go. I’ve realized sometime ago that I don’t want to do the drugs anymore. I really miss the outdoors. Growing up in cali., you did outdoor activities. Other than the horrible air pollution, the climate was absolutely amazing. Come on isn’t that why everyone wants to move to Southern California? I understand why there are so many fat people in Texas, you don’t want to go outside. It’s fucking HOT! I remember working at Stream in Carrolton, I was driving this 1980 Honda Civic Wagon “the Beater”, it was the summer of 1999, and we had sixty days straight of at least 100 degrees. You don’t want to go outside in that weather. Who would?! So I didn’t do much outdoors there, nor does anyone else really in the state. Why you ask, did I mention how hot it is?! In that kind of a climate you sit around inside in the air conditioning and find things to do to occupy your time. For me and my close friends it was smoking pot. Hell, I was a doing it daily for a while there. I mean I was a pot head. Now I’m no, saint, by any means. Some of my best friends are still daily smokers… but I want to know what’s beyond that foggy haze. That also kinda brings me full circle on the Randy thing, he was headed down a path with much more serious drugs. For him pot turned out to be, the gateway drug. I never wanted to know anybody who could get meth/ice. For obvious reasons… it’s not that I didn’t like to have a good time, I never wanted to lose control! There were a couple of times when I was on the verge. It was thanks to my boss at my frist hotel job that helped me to see that. That shit, fucks with your head way too much. At least it did mine. I never saw it as a challenge to see how long I could stay up. I remember back in my younger days, what I happened. Hell, I pawned my N64, that I wanted so bad, and played so much for the drug. Lost a really decent job… was on a really steep downhill path. I had different reasons for doing it then. You know, somehow the outcome ended up being the same. Well, almost the second time.

 

I have a pretty ambitious agenda for myself, in the coming months, well ambitious for what I’m used to. Since I really have no T.V., or any real friends, Zynnya, has given me an idea. Why don’t I join some kind of club and do races. She suggested that I do running, but, I’ve never cared for it. Regardless of how good it is for you. I’m worried I’ll screw my ankles up, and I’ll be handicapped in someway, way too young. Also the fact, what’s the point. It takes so long for you to get somewhere! I much prefer bicycling. You can really cover some distance/see more, and in the end I feel accomplished, which is the important part, no? I’m going to join a bicycling club as soon as I get one. Which by the way is really high on my priority list. I am going to take up running for a lack of better options for the time being. Before I get distracted by some other thought here is my personal agenda for the coming months;

 

• Complete a 5k run or a comparable bike race.
• Clean up my credit. So that it is no longer an issue in job selections. The hold up should be my lack of skills or what not, not my financial history!!!
• To lose most if not all the fat around my mid-section. Or rather get in shape/lean.
• Start college, right now it’s looking as if I’m going to take Chinese studies. (I love to hear mandarin Chinese. It flows really beautifully. And it’s the future)
• If not start studing Chinese. Maybe diving.

 

I have to say after reading this list, it sucks as a list, but, it is something for me to see and commit down to “paper”. The worst one on this list, I have to say, has to be the credit repair. That is going to be the most discouraging. Since I am not exactly sure what to expect from this process. To be physically healthy you have to be mentally healthy. That means being positive.

 

Till next time