Underwater
 Today
was my first full day of working underwater. Up to
this point, I've been tending hoses and watching my
coworkers blow bubbles. But yesterday, I jumped
through the final hoop—my checkout
dive—and was cleared to start diving. This
morning, I found myself swimming with dolphins and
penguins and saying to myself, "I can't believe I
get paid to do this!"
Before I make it sound too glamorous, let me
qualify my gushing by affirming that it is indeed
hard work. And I'm not petting, feeding or
otherwise interacting with the animals. But
spending a couple of hours underwater while black
and white Commerson's dolphins (pictured) buzz by
you is about as far as you can get from sitting in
front of a computer screen in a fluorescent-lit
cubicle farm. Such a working environment can make
even menial tasks like scrubbing floors
fun—which is fortunate, since scrubbing floors
is essentially what I'm doing.
I've picked up another open-ended freelance
writing client, so I'm one step closer to my goal
of supporting myself with my pen and keeping the
Sea World job as a side diversion for extra money
and extra fun. Tomorrow I'm hitting the road again
for the holiday weekend to do some research for a
trio of articles, at least one of which I hope will
be my big entrée into the travel writing
field. I'm not pulling down the big bucks like I
was working at Disney, but my quality of life has
certainly improved.
I started this column
on a note of guarded optimism for what this new
year would hold. It's been slow going, but I have
to say I'm excited about the new direction my life
has taken. I'm finally pursuing my passion for
writing as a career instead of a glorified hobby;
I've met a great group of new friends who have
rekindled my spirit for adventure; I've found a
perfect way to spend my free time. Oh, and did I
mention I swim with dolphins every day?
©2003 Michael
Strickland ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
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