I'm a @PADI Certified Scuba Diver!!!

Underwater and still photogenic lol

I've been missing in action the last few weeks because I was in the process of studying for my PADI Scuba Certification!! I'm so freaking excited to scream from the blogging rooftops that this past weekend I passed all of my tests and am now a PADI Certified Open Water Scuba Diver!! What does that mean? That means I can scuba dive with the best of them to depths up to 130 ft. I got in 5 dives this past weekend at Haigh Quarry (check out my review here), and am looking forward to logging a few more on my vacay in a few weeks.

I did all of my training at Underwater Safaris in Lincoln Park (2950 N. Lincoln Ave.) and had the amazing instructor Orest (like Forest without the O). His combination of experience, patience and comforting humor made my time in the water and classroom top notch. I would highly recommend him and the center to anyone curious about scuba diving.

As long as you know how to swim and have an overall comfort in the water scuba diving could be for you. Underwater Safaris offers a nice "Discover Scuba" course for $50 which gives you an opportunity to have an instructor brief you over the basics and try the gear out in the pool. It's a lot of fun and offers the chance to see if scuba diving is something you want to pursue.

Scuba Gear

** On a side note, I want to say that I wish more black people would get into the sport. Let's dispel the stereotype that we can't swim, don't get our hair wet, or do anything active. Over the weekend there were at least 100 divers at the quarry and I was the only black woman - - *insert crickets here**

I have a quick video from one of my dives this past weekend, but need to edit it. The visibility in the quarry averaged 10-20 ft so it's not the best, but it's still pretty cool to see yourself underwater. Like always, if you have any questions please feel free to ask away in the comments section! Happy Diving :)

UFC 118: The Aftermath

In the co-main event of the evening, UFC Hall Of Famer Randy "The Natural" Couture fought (and I use that term loosely) James "Lights Out" Toney. This match-up was supposed to be boxing versus MMA but Toney had no business in the cage with Couture or any other mixed martial artist. I'd even pick most bantam weights to defeat him in a fight.

He started the fight in his usual boxer’s stance (a huge no no) and you could immediately tell he had no idea what he’d gotten himself into. Randy proceeded to shoot in for a successful takedown, punching Toney in the face for a couple of minutes before finally deciding to choke him out with an arm triangle. This fight had no business being put on and was a complete joke and waste of time. Many of the hardcore fans speak of freak show fights outside of the UFC with much disdain, but could they give any explanation as to what this was?



Now onto a real fight, the main event of the evening: "The Prodigy" B.J. Penn versus Frankie "The Answer" Edgar for the UFC Lightweight Championship. This was a rematch of their hotly contested fight from earlier this year where Edgar defeated Penn in a very controversial split decision. Saturday was supposed to be the return of the king to his throne; however, someone just forgot to tell Edgar.

Frankie Edgar put on a clinic of true MMA to retain his championship in lieu of a unanimous decision. There was no question he dominated the fight from start to finish. Watching him move in and out of Penn's range was masterful. Penn had no answer for "The Answer". Edgar did a great job of making Penn react to his movement the entire fight. Every round was pretty much the same - - Edgar would move in at different angles, attack Penn, then move out at a different angle all before Penn could even touch him. Being a B.J. Penn fan, it was very hard to watch and admit that Edgar just took it to him completely. I had Penn only taking one round, and that was being extremely generous. Hell, I gave it to him because he's freaking B.J. Penn!

There is no disputing that Edgar had Penn's number and there's nothing wrong with that. Some guys just tend to have a certain skill set that trumps another guy no matter how great he is. I know there's a lot of disappointed Penn fans, but rest assured he'll be back.

Something I found particularly disturbing was Penn's corner men giving him terrible advice during the fight. After each round, they were being too calm and not showing any kind of urgency about Penn losing round after round. Even at the end of the fourth round they didn't seem to think he was losing the fight. This is why corner men need to be completely objective and honest about what they're seeing as opposed to giving their fighter false information. It was pretty obvious that Penn needed to finish Edgar to take the title in the fifth round, but that message was never relayed to him. His corner spoke to him as if he had five more rounds to go. I've seen a disturbing trend with corner men not giving correct information to their fighter in order to help them succeed. I'll touch on this topic further in a future post.

- Julian Arnold, Sport's Contributor for Six Twenty Seven

Bears Fans: All-Access 10/13/09

Listen up all Chicago Bears fans - - you will have the opportunity to get a taste of the VIP press life as part of the Chicago Tribune's "Press Pass - All Access Series". Join Tribune sports writers Fred Mitchell and David Haugh as well as current Chicago Bears players on Tuesday, 10/13 for what's sure to be an evening full of good times. The event will feature a panel discussion with bears players, buffet dinner, tour of Soldier Field with on-field photo opportunities (weather permitting) and a host of prizes. Tickets are $45 and with this being an all-ages event feel free to bring die hard Bears fans, young and old. For more information visit the website or contact Annie Abrams @ 312.222.4774

What: Press Pass - All Access Series "Chicago Bears Football"
When: Tuesday 10/13/09
Time: 5p-8p (registration at 430p)
Where: Soldier Field 1410 S. Museum Campus Dr.
Cost: $45/ticket

Valentine's Day Ski Trip

I hope everyone enjoyed their Valentine's Day. I had a wonderful time skiing with my boyfriend and managed to go from skiing neophyte to hitting blues. I swear I crossed onto a few blacks...but quickly got back on the blue/green slopes. The resort we stayed at was really nice and the instructor I had for my 1 on 1 lesson was amazing. (During our lesson he saved a little girl that was dangling from the lift about 20 ft in the air. Her mother was holding onto her but couldn't do it much longer. My instructor, Ron, along with 2 other guys were able to catch the little girl. It truly was amazing to see them react so fast and prevent a situation from being tragic) I have to say that I didn't know what to expect but ended up falling in love with skiing. It's such a wonderful feeling to glide across a mountain with the wind in your face. I see how people fall in love with those types of adrenaline highs. I'm eager to get back on the slopes and find some cute gear to add my own touch. (I saw some of the brightest, most fun looking ski gear while I was out there) My favorite memory was skiing until 10p. Being out there at night is amazing. It's like you have your own personal mountain! Plus, with non existent lines for the lifts you can go up and down a ton of times. Here are a few pics I took while there. (I still haven't replaced my canon power shot so I'm stuck with my blackberry camera)







As we were driving to the airport I saw an interesting sight on the side of the road - a "local" that could be officially deemed a hot ass mess. Not only was he wearing plaid pants and a fur, but he had this crazy pimp walk that was priceless!