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The last few months are traditionally a very
busy time in the dive industry out here in
Egypt and I have had a tough time of it on
two levels. First of all, I was working day
in day out to deal with all of the divers and
students we had at the dive centre, and
then I have had to cope with the stresses
and turmoil of a couple of days off after a
long period of work. I’m not sure which was
the more exhausting
of the two!
The work is busy,
certainly, but you
know that before
you start and you
have a chance to
mentally prepare for
it. You can look at
the scheduling board
and say to yourself,
“I’ve got a busy day
tomorrow so I’d better
get myself ready.”
You can then plan to
have an early night to
ensure that you are
fresh the next day.
You don’t always
seize the opportunity,
but at least it’s there.
When you start looking at the board and
realise that you finally have some time off
soon, your mind starts to play tricks with
you. Instead of focusing on tomorrow’s
task you begin a mental countdown to that
next lie in. As it gets closer, the countdown
switches from days to hours and then you
know you’re in trouble.
NARCOSIS CORNER with Michael Onkers
BACK TO WORK FOR A REST
A light-hearted look at a few days off work in the Red Sea
by Michael Onkers
I had all the classic symptoms last week.
I was nearing two days off together
(practically unheard of during peak
season), but I knew deep down that I still
had an open water course to get through. I
won’t go into details, but the mask (and for
that matter, water) were not my student’s
friend and it was one of those courses
where I really had to earn my money.
Finally the day
came where I knew
that leaving work
that afternoon, it
would be an entire
62 hours before
I was back in the
dive centre. My
plan was to head
home, do the
washing, put some
food in the fridge,
settle down on the
sofa and relax for
a little while. What
actually happened
is still a bit of a blur
but I remember
there being shots
and a problematic
taxi ride involved.
I woke late the next day and was not in my
best physical shape. This was not a day
for housework so the shopping, washing
and tidying up were put on hold. I had just
about enough in me to get to the sofa, turn
on the TV and fall back to sleep as the
opening credits for a seventies cop show
were starting.
After my nap I felt a lot better, so I thought
I’d pop out to see some friends for a
quiet night and a catch up. That became
a bit fuzzy as well but I know that it was
a different taxi driver that I upset on that
night.
I still don’t understand how it keeps
happening to me. I went out with every
intention of being home by eleven at
the absolute latest, but there’s always
someone else you bump into that you
haven’t seen for ages and have to have
a quick drink with. I blame the natural
sociability of the diving world myself.
One more day off work and I still had
a lot to do. It didn’t get done. It was
another day of sofa, headaches, naps
and very bad TV. I did buy some food
for the flat. Admittedly, crisps, chocolate
and a strange looking cake type thing
(that I had to buy because it looked so
intriguing) may not be considered the
most balanced of diets but it did the trick.
I even managed to get the laundry finished
as well. Well, I say “finished“, but at least
I put it in the machine. It may still have
been a bit damp when I remembered
the next morning while getting ready for
work, but that’s the beauty of the climate
here - everything dries so quickly.
Not quite quickly enough for the taxi driver
that took me to work though. He does
have a slightly damp passenger seat and
he wasn’t best pleased. It’s good to be
back at work so that I can relax a bit.
Happy Diving
Mike Onkers
THE EQUALIZER Sep-Oct 2011