Rockstar LJ

There have been many inspirational and amusing moments during my career at the Aquarium, but nothing amuses me more than the fact that I have rockstar status simply because I can breath air from an oxygen tank and hover above the fish.

Today, after my dive in the Pacific Canada exhibit, I emerged from the water to find that there was a group of people waiting to "meet the diver", a couple of them very excited mentally disabled adults.
One in particular exclaimed several times to me "I was waiting for you!!!", so I gave him a wet hand shake and when he wouldn't let go I gave him a big wet hug too. So cute...

There has also been many kids who have pulled at the heart strings and made me feel way cooler than I actually am. There was the group of 5 and 6 year olds who had every question in the book and pretty much had to be ripped away from me, and the many apparently chatty kids who draw a blank when they actually get to see me in person. Then there was the little boy who watched me dive last week and was terrified for me, convinced that I was going to be harmed. His grandparents had to bring him up to meet me and prove that I had survived (his look of disbelief was priceless). Then yesterday he came in to see me again and prior to entering the aquarium was calling out "dye-dye! dye-dye!". They didn't realize until after the dive show when he wanted to come and see me again that he was trying to say "diver". Awww ...
(ok admittedly he may have been trying to say some other brilliant thing, like "the diver is going to die" or "use your diaphram when you speak, or the dichotomy of ethics in this aquarium makes me ponder" but I prefer to think that he was wanting to see me...)
Then there was the memorable 4 year old girl who, after I got out of the water, gave me the stamp of approval with a solid "good work LJ".

(sigh) I'm going to miss this part of the job...