Autumn turns to winter and winter turns to spring
It’s not just the seasons, you know it goes for everything
Clouds can turn to rain and then it just might snow
You’ve gotta take a lesson from Mother Nature and if you do you’ll know
When it’s time to change
Then it’s time to change
Don’t fight the tide come along for the ride, don’t you see
When it’s time to change
You’ve got to rearrange
Who you are into what you’re gonna be
I arrived in Cayman in August of 2007, and in the 15 months since then I’ve been working at the Eden Rock Diving Center. I’ve enjoyed my time there immensely, and I’ve learned a great deal and grown into a very good scuba instructor (if I do say so myself). But like Peter Brady’s voice, it’s time for me to change. Today was officially my last day at Eden Rock, and as soon as my new work permit is approved I will start work at Seven Mile Watersports!
As I said, I enjoyed my time at Eden Rock, but there were a few aspects of the job that were less than perfect. First, most of the diving at Eden Rock is shore diving. They have two shore sites there — Eden Rock and Devil’s Grotto — and they are genuinely great sites. But after 15 months of employment, I’ve made at least 300 dives on these sites, and as great as they are, you get tired of doing the same thing time and again. I also did some boat diving at Eden Rock, but those boat dives were a rare occurrence, and when I did get out on the boat, it was on the west side of the island, where the diving is merely average. The best diving on the island is on the north side, and it was just too far for us to take the boat up there. The most famous dive/snorkel on the island (it is world famous, in fact) is Stingray City (where these great pictures of Andrea and the resident moray eel were taken), and I have yet to dive it because we just don’t do Stingray City from Eden Rock. The lack of variety was probably the biggest factor in my need for change. Another factor, though, was that my actual time spent scuba diving had been declining since August. The combination of slow season, hurricanes Gustav and Ike, and the general decline of tourism resulting from the meltdown of the global economy have led to a decrease in tourism over the last few months. Unfortunately, that has resulted in me spending way too much time sitting in the dive shop selling t-shirts. I didn’t give up my job as a lawyer to work retail. Finally, back in May my co-worker Natasha left, returning home to New Zealand. While I do like my other co-workers, Natasha and I got along really well, and she made work extra fun for me. She endured my silly conversation topics, engaging in serious conversation with me over silly topics such as who would win in a fight between a stingray and a turtle. When she left the job became a little less fun. I still really enjoyed working with Paul, my very good friend at Eden Rock, and not working with Paul is one of the few things that made the decision to change jobs difficult, but without Natasha it just wasn’t the same around the shop.
During our time in Florida doing instructor training, Andrea and I met a guy named James, and we became great friends. James and his wife moved to Cayman over the summer, and he started working at Seven Mile Watersports. I was already friends with Elton, another instructor there, and Andrea and I ended up doing a lot of diving with them on our days off. In September Elton decided that he was not going to renew his work permit when it expired, and James suggested that I apply for the job that would open when he left. I did, and the rest is history!
My new job at Seven Mile Watersports has positives and negatives to it. Starting with the negatives, I will be working six days a week at the new job (as opposed to 5.5 days at Eden Rock), and those six days will likely involve more hours - 7am to 4pm each day at a minimum, with the possibility that at least a few days a week (if not all of them) last beyond 4pm. I’ll also be making less money in base salary at the new job than I did at Eden Rock. On the plus side, I should do much better with tips at Seven Mile than I did at Eden Rock. Regular readers know that I sometimes had issues with tipping (or the lack thereof) at Eden Rock, and I am hopeful that the nature of the business (more boat trips with repeat divers) will lead to increased tips at the new job. The biggest positive, though, will be the change in diving. Seven Mile Watersports runs their boat on the north side of the island, and this is where the best diving is. Although we are now entering the windy season and the water will be getting a little rougher on the north side, we will still be out on the north wall as often as weather permits, and when weather does not permit, we will be doing shore-dives at various locations on the island (including Eden Rock). I will also be doing weekly trips to Stingray City And since Seven Mile Watersports services a resort and does not have a stand-alone dive shop, the job will involve a lot more diving and a lot less time playing the role of shop-tart.
I’m very thankful for the opportunity I was given at Eden Rock, and I value the time I spent there. But when it’s time to change, then it’s time to change. Don’t fight the tide, come along for the ride, don’t you see? When it’s time to change I’ve got to rearrange, who I am into what I’m going to be.
Sha la la la la la la la la Sha la la la laAAaAaA!