Sempoopoo Aināt So Bad Ya Know
Iāve been putting off moving to Semporna for days now, and granted moving while I was sweating out a gnarly fever would have sucked, it actually isnāt so bad. I had a brownie with ice cream, Mabul can keep itās dumb plop cookies and dry cake! Now I want to stay, but Iāve already booked a flight out.Ā
Oh by the way, I can officially check your reef now. Reef check is actually kind of perfect because you get to dive while doing nerdy things and best of all you can give in to that unbearable urge to touch things underwater! In fact you have to touch things, for science. Sometimes coral isnāt easily categorized until you gently fondle it a bit. And sometimes sponges and sea squirts need to be rubbed softly with care to differentiate between them. You can touch slimy things, squidgy things, tickly things, scratchy things, smooth things, rough things, you can touch all the things! With respect and for research purposes of course. And only as a certified Reef Checker. Definitely not in front of customers. And the instructor might think itās a tad odd if you have to touch every single ultramarine blue sea squirt when they are clearly all the same thing. [Theyāre just so smooth and slimy.] Ah touching things, what fun. Itās even better than poking things.Ā
I donāt think Iāve mentioned that part of my dive equipment is a pokey stick, or, ātank banger.ā Itās a metal stick for making obnoxious noises to get peoples attention but it serves many purposes underwater. The actual tank banging is silly because noise travels faster underwater and sounds like itās coming from different directions. So, often youāll hear a TINKTINKTINK and look around for the source but the noise is coming from a different group of divers out of sight. They give us this stick, tell us to follow along at the back of a group, donāt use it unless you see something spectacular like an orangutan riding a mola mola and donāt touch anything. Oh, riiiight. As if Iām going to swim past a dead frogfish and not poke it with the stick thatās in my hand. Itās dead, I have to poke it, itās like a rule. Donāt tell anyone though, Iām still trying to find employment.Ā
