Water
April 11, 2008 / Friday
Water Waah
There were lots of people in the pool at the gym today, and half of them were swimming with their head completely out of the water. One of the girls in there wasn't even using her arms. Her arms were just hanging loose and she was doing some weird cycling thing with her feet and somehow managing to move forward without so much as getting her face wet. How is that possible?
No, I'm not going to stop complaining about this until I can do it too, which will be never.
02:47 PM | Water| Comments (1)
February 28, 2008 / Thursday
Half Glugs Don't Count, Right?
Hopped in the pool this afternoon for the first time in over three months. I still suck, but I don't suck any more than I used to. I even did a few freestyle laps sans fins and paddles and didn't drown. I declare Victoly!
03:53 PM | Water| Comments (1)
November 26, 2007 / Monday
Ow, My Butt, And Other Blah Blah
This is pretty lame: I pulled a muscle in my butt on Thanksgiving. I don't recall how exactly I hurt it (I can only assume that it happened during my Mt. Hamilton cheat ride), but it's been slow to heal. No ultimate, no climbing. Boo.
I did, however, decide that my butt was in good enough condition for a visit to the gym. I was immediately proven wrong by an unhappy twinge as I lightly trotted after the basketball during warmups. It made for an interesting session, as today was lower body day, and half the exercises I usually do involve the glutes in one way or another.
I adjusted by lifting lighter weights at slower reps. A five count up, and five more down. It was kind of nice to change things up some; going slow really made me focus on form.
Afterward, I hopped in the pool for a few laps. I shared a lane with a lady doing water aerobics, and we chatted briefly before I left. I'd noticed that she was able to assume a sitting position and keep her entire head out of the water with almost no effort. I asked her how she did it. "I have big boobs," she said, "and they make great flotation devices." Well, that explains a lot!
Finally, I would like to proclaim my extreme dislike for all the women who gab gab GAB on their cell phones in the locker room about he said she said inanity! Today's gabber liked to repeat herself. "Like, OHMIGOD, I was SO LIVID! I was SO MAD! Ugh, I was LIVID!" Livid? I'll show you livid! *smack*
[ Update: Forgot to mention, basketball was awesome; everything went swish! Swimming didn't suck either; I managed to breathe every three strokes, right, left, right, left, and so on... at least until I screwed up, glugged, and had to start over. ]
05:39 PM | Gym:Injuries:Water| Comments (3)
November 21, 2007 / Wednesday
Hello, Ceiling!
Returned to the pool today with my favorite setup: goggles, paddles, and Zoomers. The mask and snorkel have been put away, and most likely will never return. I focused mostly on being calm, as I realized that moving really fast does nothing for me in water and only makes me need air sooner. I also realized that the paddles and Zoomers do for me what I'd hoped the mask and snorkel would: shorten my list of things to worry about. I was able to move slowly and work on pushing water with my hands, rotating my body, and looking at the ceiling without jerking my head up for air. After about 400 yards, I finally settled down and started feeling good (relatively, of course) about my laps. I think the head jerk is gone, and I see ceiling with every breath. Granted, this is only on my right side. I'll tackle the left side later. That's the other thing I realized: I wanted to learn to breathe on both sides right away, and that was causing me not to be able to breathe on either side. One skill at a time, me! Otherwise, glug glug glug...
05:08 PM | Water| Comments (1)
November 12, 2007 / Monday
Snorkel Snort
Last Friday, I decided to try to swim with a snorkel to try to eliminate that ever-distracting feeling of air urgency while I got my hands and feet sorted out to maybe propel myself faster than a turtle, which, now that I think about it, swims much faster than I do. In any case, I put my snorkel on, hopped in, and promptly inhaled water. What just happened? As it turns out, I am unable to seal off my nose when I inhale through my mouth. I remember having this problem when I had to remove my mask in scuba. I tried to focus on sealing off my nose and gave it another go. Seconds later I was inhaling water again. I went to get my nose clip, but even that didn't seal my nose off enough. Boo.
I guess I'll bring my dive/snorkel mask next time. I spent most of this session swimming without the snorkel, but as before, I felt so distracted wondering when my next breath of air would come that I didn't focus much on form. Either way, I suppose it's good exercise. Got the heartrate up, although that may have been due more to anxiety than to activity...
I am really thankful for the higher salt/lower chlorine water at the SR24hF pool. It's much easier on the nasal passages when I inhale the stuff.
06:21 PM | Water| Comments (6)
November 09, 2007 / Friday
Gym N Swim
Went to the gym for the 5th day in a row this afternoon. I think that's a new record. I guess I've never had enough workout variety to warrant this many consecutive visits until now. That, and I'm trying to make up for a lazy October. I think I gained a pound a week last month. This is what happens when the weather gets cold.
Did an upper body workout, then hopped in the pool for a few laps. That's right, I swam two days in a row. Go me! I brought my Zoomers and hand paddles this time and focused mostly on flutter kicking. I felt a lot more stable with the increased speed, but I still find the air thing distracting. I'm wondering if I should bring a snorkel to get the arms and legs moving properly, then ditch it once the swimming motion becomes second nature. Yes, I dared to say "second nature". Skating was difficult at some point, too. Now I'd rather skate than walk. Someday, I hope to look forward to swimming like I do skating. Ooh, then I could play underwater hockey!
Tomorrow, a rest day. The groin is unhappy. I guess it didn't like all that froggie kicking yesterday. Hurry up and heal! We have a game on Sunday!
05:44 PM | Gym:Water| Comments (2)
November 08, 2007 / Thursday
Splashy Splashy
I went swimming this afternoon, and I didn't die. I hadn't tried to swim sans air aid (snorkel, tank, flotation jacket, etc.) since early last December (11 months and 2 days ago, to be exact), so I really wasn't sure how I'd do.
As it turns out, not much has changed. I still can't propel myself when using a kickboard, still can propel myself flutter kicking without one, still can breathe to the right and nervously to the left, still bend my body even though I shouldn't when I turn (I know, I should roll instead) to breathe, still can't tread water, still can do a really sloppy and totally out of order breaststroke, and still get really winded after one length of the dinky 25 yard long (I think) pool. I didn't glug any water, though. That's improvement!
The SR24hF pool really is much better than the one at the SV24hF, and not just because of the natural lighting. The water is less chlorinated, clear, and doesn't taste like crap. It's saltier than I expected; are they making up for the lower chlorine concentration with salt? In any case, I find it more palatable and I don't smell like over-chlorinated swimming pool afterward. Sign me up for another visit next week. :)
03:31 PM | Water| Comments (3)
July 21, 2007 / Saturday
A Day At The Lake
One of the guys at the office here in NC organized a boat and BBQ day at the lake, and very graciously invited me since I was in town. I showed up at 9, helped a wee bit with setup on the beach, and headed out in the boat for some wakeboarding. I watched for a bit, geared up, and hopped in. I'd heard several pieces of advice about how to get up on the board and not eat it, and it was now time to put it all together. I nodded "go", leaned back against the pull, and just like that, I was up. Up! On the first try! YEAH! Totally awesome.
I rode heel for a while (regular stance) behind the port side of the boat. This made sense; it's my most comfortable position, especially if I have to pull against something. Eventually, I tried to move to the other side, attempted to do it by turning and riding toe, and ate it. Hello, flotation jacket! Come get me, boat!
I had a total of three pulls and managed to get up on all three, although unfortunately I pulled my right quad on the third and had to call it a day. As it turns out, I also bruised the side of my right heel at the end of my first ride when my foot came out of the binding. No biggie; both will heal.
A few notes about how to wakeboard, since I won't do this often enough to remember otherwise:
- Similar to snowboarding, but weight on back foot.
- Don't lean forward.
- Arms straight, knees bent, perpendicular to boat to start.
- Pull back as if you want to stop the boat to start.
- Riding toe is hard because there's a rope to pull.
- Try cutting right by riding heel side switch next time.
Soon, it was time to eat. There were burgers, hot dogs, and chips. Simple, but tasty. The company was good, too. Have I already said that I like the people here? Well let me say it again. I like the people here.
After lunch, tubing. Since water is relatively new to me, today was my first day tubing also. It requires a little less skill and the consequences are less painful, but it was still a workout. It reminded me a lot of riding the mechanical bull in Phoenix last May; I fought as hard as I could to stay balanced while repeating to myself over and over, "Not ... falling ... off ... dammit!" A fun, fun ride.
Later in the afternoon, I rested under the tents and chatted with others who had also opted to hang out onshore. It was nice to find out a little more about them, and to share with them bits about me.
Tonight, as I write this, I can feel the soreness setting in. I'm inclined to think it was more from tubing than wakeboarding; I definitely used more muscles trying to stay on the tube than I did pulling the cable for wakeboarding. I'm sunburned, too, despite remembering to cover all the main parts of my body. As usual, I forgot to put sunblock on my lips and on my scalp along the part down the center for my pigtails. D'oh.
In all, it was a great way to spend a Saturday. I am grateful for the invite, and really glad I went.
Pictures from today have been uploaded as part of my NC Work Trip set, starting with this picture.
07:53 PM | Trips:Water| Comments (2)
December 06, 2006 / Wednesday
Stretch That Right Arm Forward
Snuck in a 11 PM visit to the pool after another long night of school meetings. Managed to breathe to the left more easily than last time. I realized that I'd been too concerned with getting my head up instead of just reaching forward, keeping my body straight, and looking at the ceiling. Things went much more smoothly once I remembered to do that.
After my requisite 200 yards, I took my Zoomers off and did a couple lengths of breaststroke. Not so good at that anymore. How quickly I forget.
Glug.
11:44 PM | Water| Comments (4)
December 02, 2006 / Saturday
Looking At The Ceiling Shouldn't Be This Difficult
Picked up some Zoomers during the week and tried them out today at the pool. Swam my 200 yards and spent the next 100 working on left sided breathing. The added propulsion from my fins allowed me to focus less on floatation and more on getting my body and head positioned properly. Still not as smooth as breathing on the right side (not that the right side is butter yet), but way better than on Monday. There was no major glugging of water this time.
I'm also getting a better feel for slicing my hand smoothly into the water and rotating my body to reach forward before my stroke. It's amazing how much you learn when you slow things down.
All these swim implements are helping me with mechanics, but I wonder how I'll do when I go without. There I go being impatient again, thinking weeks ahead of where I am now. One thing is for sure; swimming has forced me to be patient on many levels. Maybe that's why I've found it so difficult.
Difficult, but rewarding.
09:02 PM | Water| Comments (1)
November 28, 2006 / Tuesday
Aquatic Beefcake
Sounds like a good name for a band.
Went to the gym for a late Monday night swim. It was emptier than usual; perhaps people prefer to wait until after the Tuesday morning cleaning. Personally, I like the week-old (yeah, probably not really but you know what I mean) water. It's a lot less cloudy than the freshly cleaned stuff.
I tried out my new hand paddles today. They really make me slow down so that I'm pushing water for propulsion instead of just pulling my hand through it. I likes. The guy in the lane next to mine asked about them, so I let him try them out for a couple laps. He likes too.
I finally worked a bit on breathing on my left side. I know I'm doing it wrong because I find myself too deep in the water afterward. On the other hand, I'm at least able to get a left sided breath in here and there, which is progress since the last time I tried.
At around 11:45, Mr. Perfectly Sculpted Beefcake (WfB, where were yoU?) strutted in in a Speedo. He hopped into the pool wearing weighted shoes, holding water resistance "dumbbells" in his hands, and started jogging up and down one of the lanes. Huh, interesting.
After completing my 200 yards, I tried some treading in the whoppingly deep 4 1/2 foot section of the pool. Still bobbing. Gosh, that's hard work! I eventually tired of it and got out.
I'd been avoiding eye contact with Mr. Beefcake while I was in the water because I didn't want to get distracted and drown. He'd been trying to catch my attention since his grand entrance, so I glanced in his direction as I headed toward the women's locker room. Sure enough, he was watching, and flashed a "Hey baby, how you doin'?" smile my way.
For the record, it doesn't suck to get smiled at by a beefcake in a Speedo.
I have to say, though, it was a little disconcerting. I expect to see that stuff in calendars and muscle mags. 3D? Real life? Hello? Are you real? Maybe I should have gone over and checked.
*poke*
12:08 AM | Gym:Water| Comments (4)
November 22, 2006 / Wednesday
Crap, That Was Muscle Weight
Boo. Went to the gym and did my first lower body work in almost two months. My legs are definitely weaker than they were the last time I tried to run through these exercises. I've been really bad about weight training since then, mainly because I have so many other activities (swimming, scuba, etc.) going on. The few times I've made it to the gym, I've worked upper body muscles; I reasoned that my lower body does more work on a day to day basis, and has to work harder than my upper body when I play hockey. Different kind of hard, I know, and this sure is evidence of such.
I'm pretty sure that my reduced ice cream intake is a factor in my recent mass reduction, but I wonder how much of it is due to lost leg muscle. Probably a lot, since leg muscles are big and heavy. Now that my swimming and scuba lessons are over, I should have time to work on strengthening them again.
Speaking of swimming, I hopped in the pool after hitting the weights and swam 200 yards, mostly freestyle. I was able to complete each length without touching pool bottom, even though I had to flip and/or switch to breaststroke on a few of them. Phew, what a workout!
10:13 AM | Gym:Water| Comments (0)
November 20, 2006 / Monday
Hello Ocean, It's Been A While
Saturday's rough water tabletop entry went something like this ...
Grab buddy's (Aaron's) arms. Form a four-legged two-person table. Shuffle sideways into the surf. End up with fins pointing into the surf because your buddy takes longer strides than you. Get stuck while buddy shuffles on backward because forward-pointing fins don't like to move. Struggle until instructor says "Swim for the ocean!", then lay down in three feet of water and kick kick kick while the waves push you back in.
My first thought upon laying in the water to swim for it: Ack! Cold! Green! Murky!
When I finally made it into water too deep to stand in, I realized I hadn't been in the ocean past my knees since I was about four years old. That was in Hong Kong; the water there was green and murky too, but much more unhealthily so. I think my parents have a picture somewhere of a four year old me playing in the green water. In the picture, my dad's holding me to make sure I don't swallow any of the stuff.
Anyway, four years old was almost a quarter century ago. It's been a lonnng time, ocean. Nice to meet you again. I wish someone had been there to lift me above the chop on Saturday when you kept splashing your way into my stomach. I did return it, though, with interest. Hope you liked the bananas.
04:21 PM | Water| Comments (3)
November 19, 2006 / Sunday
Certified!
Woke up this morning worried about my stomach. Ate a banana, drove to Breakwater, ate another banana (bananas are kind to taste buds on the way back up), and sipped some ginger ale. Felt okay for the most part; I noticed only a remnant of yesterday's queasiness.
Dive 1 (3 of 4) - Headed out to our buoy, did some skills on the surface, descended for more skills, came back up, then went back down to check out the wall.
Surface skills - Did an out and back navigation swim, a weight belt removal and replace, followed by a BCD removal and replace. No big deal.
Underwater skills - More mask clearing, plus a full mask removal. Strangely, these are two of my favorite skills now. It's not that they're fun to do, but knowing that I'm able to do them because I worked past a mental block in my head makes it really satisfying. Next was a manual inflation fin pivot, followed by hovering. Did them both, but would like to be able to do them cleaner. I did notice that I was better able to control my buoyancy over the course of the weekend, though. I think it just takes time and practice. Finished skills with a controlled emergency swimming ascent.
The wall - Lots of cool stuff to look at. In particular, I remember reaching for a big decorator crab in a crack. I brushed against a starfish and knocked it off its rock. I felt so bad! I picked it up and put it back as close to where it came from as possible. Sorry, little dude! We also passed by an underwater geocache landmark. More on that later.
Toward the end of the first dive I was feeling pretty cold. By the time I got my gear and wetsuit top off I was full on shivering, and didn't stop for a good 10 minutes even after putting 3 layers of clothing and a beanie on. Thankfully, the deli provided me with a much needed cup of hot water, and I was able to get comfortable before the next dive. My stomach was feeling worse, but I ate another banana anyway to get some more calories in me. I also promised to barf underwater this time should the need arise, and got some tips on what to do if I did.
Dive 2 (4 of 4) - Our final dive! The only skill we had left was underwater navigation. To make it fun, we got to navigate to an underwater geocache. That was totally awesome. I'm not usually big on sign-only caches (I like swapping random useless crap), but this was by far the coolest cache I've ever visited.
After that, we cruised around underwater at various headings, eventually swimming back into shore. Along the way, we saw a huge harbor seal swim by. There we were, swimming along, and this big tubby thing passed by right in front of our noses. We also encountered a big patch of decorator crabs. I'd thought it was a small rock patch until the instructor tugged on my foot. I stopped, sank (I think I err on the side of uncontrolled ascent caution and often swim negatively buoyant), and found myself surrounded by crawling rocks - no - crabs on every which side. I picked one up, played with it a bit, and put it back into place.
And that was it. We were done! Certified! In the chilly murky waters of Monterey, no less! It felt really good to know that we'd done it. The nausea and uncontrollable shivering was temporary; this certification is forever. Yeah!
When I look back at the last three and a half weeks, I realize that this is like nothing else I've done before. Few things intimidate me like water does (or, rather, did), and this course, along with the month of swimming lessons that preceded it (for this purpose), has presented me with challenges far different than any I've ever faced. Usually, I approach things with a "I can do this, no problem" attitude. Although I tried to approach swimming and scuba with this mindset, I often found myself unable to say "no problem". I can do this, yes, but until I can it IS a problem. Screwing up in the water has dire consequences, no?
I'm used to things coming easily to me. While most of this class was not difficult, certain parts of it posed enough of a challenge to cause me some anxiety. I started off the class with a big dose of it when I found out I had to pass a swimming test, despite the fact that I wasn't yet able to swim a lap in a small pool or tread water/float for even a minute. A week later, I passed the test. A week after that, I had issues fully flooding and clearing my mask. I'm not prone to panic, but that was pretty close to a panic for me. After some practice in the shallow end of the pool and a weekend of "This is stupid; it's all in your head and you know it," I got over it. Then came this weekend. I knew I'd have to contend with being cold, but had no idea I was going to feel like throwing up the whole time. I worried that I would feel too sick to complete my certification. Fortunately, things worked out in the end, and I even got some experience barfing in the water (although not under it, darn).
And now I'm open water certified. Huzzah!
08:18 PM | Water| Comments (6)
November 18, 2006 / Saturday
Long Queasy Day
What a day. Woke up at 4:45 AM and headed for Monterey. Wasn't too hungry on the way there, but ate a TJ's vegan "cinnamon roll" once we reached the parking lot to get some food in me. My stomach felt kind of icky, but good enough to go into the water.
Dive 1 (1 of 4) - We did a tabletop entry, cruised around underwater, and crawled back onto the beach. The water temperature was much more bearable than I had expected. A few notes ...
The ocean - This was my first time in the ocean past my knees since I was 4 years old. Salt water in my mouth, gross! Salt water in my stomach, even worse.
Tabletop entry - So tiring! I burned through 500 psi of air getting out past the surf. Glad that was a one-time skill.
Cruising around underwater - It took me a while to establish decent buoyancy and stay off the bottom (I'm told I was slightly overweighted today). Saw lots of starfish, some sea anemone, played with a crab, and caught the tail end of a harbor seal orgy.
Crawling back to shore - Even more tiring than the tabletop entry. Gravity so strong! Gear so heavy! I think one of the instructors was lifting my tank as he encouraged me to continue. Fortunately, this was also a one-time skill.
After dive one, my stomach felt downright crappy. I drank some water and ate a banana to keep myself hydrated and fed. I felt a little better after the banana, and suited up to go back into the water.
Dive 2 (2 of 4) - We got to enter and exit like normal people, took turns tired diver towing out to the buoy, did a bunch of skills at the bottom, and then cruised around looking for sea life. Our dive ended a little earlier than planned 'cause I needed to barf. More on that later.
Entering and exiting like normal people - Love it. Much less painful, and a much better use of air.
Skills - Actually managed a fin pivot keeping my fins on the bottom. Huzzah! Partially and then fully flooded and cleared my mask with no problem. All right! Chucked my regulator, picked it up again, and purged it. No problem there either. Did the alternate air source emergency ascent a couple times. Then we were off to explore again.
Exploring - I saw some really cute mini anemone on a big rock. Then my queasiness caught up with me. I swam up to the instructor, caught his attention, signalled that I wasn't okay, and that I wanted to surface. We surfaced, I established buoyancy, took my regulator out of my mouth, and barfed banana everywhere. Blech!
We got out of the water before noon, but I was queasy until well into the evening. I'm not sure what the cause was. Maybe my stomach wasn't happy about waking up so early, maybe I shouldn't have had a large cup of coffee on an empty stomach, maybe the bit of salt water I swallowed made it worse, or maybe I simply get seasick underwater.
In any case, I hope I feel better tomorrow.
05:17 PM | Water| Comments (0)
November 17, 2006 / Friday
Goofy In The Water
For most things I do, I lead with my left foot. If you push me from behind I step forward with my left foot. I snowboard with my left foot forward, and ride a skateboard (if you can call what I do riding) the same way. I learned to hockey stop on my right side first, left foot forward, right foot back. When I'm waiting to return a serve in tennis, I stand with my feet staggered the same way, rocking back and forth until the ball is tossed. When I run or skate, I always take the first step with, you guessed it, my left foot.
So why is it, then, that when I make a giant stride entry I step forward with my right foot? I've thought about this in the context of stepping into a pool in just my swimsuit, and I want to do the same thing. Am I just goofy in the water?
01:01 AM | Water| Comments (12)
Final Pool Session
Had a pretty chill scuba class tonight. Covered ocean dive logistics and pretty much got to work on whatever we wanted to in the pool.
I attempted another giant stride entry, and this time I got it right. Those are so much fun!
Underwater, there was much hovering and mask removal. The instructor swam around and randomly turned off our air. I think he started with me, so I really didn't expect it when it happened. I thought I felt someone behind me, but thought nothing of it. I proceeded to get ready to manually inflate my BCD for hovering. I took a breath and got about half. Ah, so THAT's why the instructor is staring at me! I guess that was also why Aaron was hanging out nearby. I signalled out of air, grabbed the alternate air source, and was good to go.
Later, right when I'd just managed to start a good hover, Aaron swam over and signalled that he needed air. I totally hadn't been paying attention to the fact that someone had snuck over and turned off his tank. Please, no emergencies; I'm busy hovering!
Ocean dives this weekend!
12:11 AM | Water| Comments (0)
November 14, 2006 / Tuesday
Okay, I'm Over It
Had scuba class tonight. Cleared my mask in the 10 foot section of the pool with the utmost calm, then took the thing off to fix the strap down there later on in the night. No problemo. Awesome.
Let's see if I can remember all the skills we learned tonight. We did a backward roll entry, a manual BCD inflation fin pivot, neutral buoyancy hovering, removal and replacement of BCD and weight belt both above and below water, a sideways simulation of a controlled emergency swimming ascent, the same thing plus surfacing and manual inflation of BCD, the tired diver tow, the "I've got your arm and I'm talking to you to keep you calm" diver tow, and the "I grab your feet like we're in a weird wheelbarrow race" push. I may have missed one or two, but I think that covers most of it.
At one point, our instructor asked for our masks. He then proceeded to chuck them into the deep end of the pool, watch them sink, and tell us to go fetch. I told him that if I opened my eyes my contacts would float away. He told me to go fetch anyway. So I did. I swam to where I could see my mask and snorkel directly under me, deflated my BCD, and descended to go get it. For a moment I thought I felt it, then it was gone. I sprawled to cover as much area as I could and kept feeling around for it. Finally, I found it again, oriented it, put it on, pushed my hair from the edge, and cleared it. Yeah!
When we surfaced, the instructor pointed to Aaron as the culprit who stole my mask (turns out I really did have it initially). I didn't and still don't quite understand how he could mistake my fluorescent yellow (or, as I exclaimed with incredulous laughter, "bright fucking yellow!") snorkel for his totally clear setup, but that's okay. It was good for me to have something unexpected to deal with while doing the thing I am most uncomfortable with.
We're done with our required pool skills. On Thursday we'll do some skills our instructor comes up with and just hang out and work on whatever we want. For me that means buoyancy control (especially given my floatey toes) and hanging out underwater with my mask off.
Not so apprehensive about the ocean dives anymore. :)
10:19 PM | Water| Comments (6)
November 10, 2006 / Friday
Underwater Sans SCUBA
I forgot to write about this yesterday, but I remembered it just now when I was thinking about breathing maskless underwater.
At the end of my swimming lesson yesterday, just for fun, I took a few deep breaths, exhaled completely, sank, and sat at the bottom of the pool for a while, looking around. I had goggles on, but my nose was exposed, and I had no air in my lungs to blow bubbles even if I wanted to. It was totally chill, and I actually kind of enjoyed sitting there.
So what made being maskless underwater with an air source so difficult? I think it has a lot to do with having my eyes closed. That was one of my big problems with swimming, and goggles helped a lot. I hate not being able to see.
I guess the pressure's also higher at 10 feet than at 4. Plus, I think breathing actually works against me. I forget to completely seal off my nose, and while that's okay on the exhale, it does me in on the inhale.
Gotta strenghten those seal off the nose muscles, I guess.
12:18 AM | Water| Comments (2)
November 09, 2006 / Thursday
Floatey Toes And Glugluglug
At the moment, I have wrinkly toes from being in the water for three hours, but when I was in the water earlier I had a pretty bad case of floatey toes. We started off the session with a BWRAF check followed by a giant stride into the deep end of the pool. I went first, entered the pool with a very ungiant something, and promptly ended up on my back, fins (and toes) hopelessly floating on the water.
It took me a while to learn to get and keep them under me, and not before our instructor officially diagnosed me with Floatey Toes Syndrome. I seem to be better about keeping my feet under me now, so perhaps we won't have to resort to the ankle weight cure. I managed to make it through the the weighting check mostly upright. But then, we didn't really need to check much. I emptied my BCD and sank like a rock. Ready for the ocean, I am!
We ventured to the bottom of the 10 foot section of the pool and did a bunch of skills. The air sharing (plus later the "D'oh, you're out of air because the instructor turned your tank off.") and fin pivot (yes, someone had to hold down my floatey toes) exercises were no problem. We swam around some, then swam using our buddy's alternate air source, which was no problem either. Sipping from a free flowing regulator (near the surface, not at 10 feet), also no problem. I did, however, have major issues with clearing my fully flooded my mask and with taking my mask completely off. Nose in water with 10 feet of pressure pushing against it, not a happy feeling.
I took a few minutes after the first 10 foot session and at the end of the night to practice breathing underwater without my mask in the 4 foot section of the pool. When I was finally able to do it calmly, I fully flooded and cleared my mask a few times. Then I took the mask completely off, put it back on, and cleared it. I did that a few times too. I even remembered to clear the mask seal of hair on the final replace.
Next week, I'll probably have to show that I can do those skills at 10 feet. I'll probably have to do the no mask swim at 10 feet too. Will I eek (note that that's different from freak, which probably would have felt a lot worse than glugging a little water) like I did tonight? Fuck no. I refuse to fail at something I know I'm physically capable of doing. If I can do it at 4 feet, I can do it at 10. It's all in my head.
Get over it, head.
10:19 PM | Water| Comments (2)
November 08, 2006 / Wednesday
Freestyle Is Back
I can do it again. Freestyle down the length of the pool without stopping. Hooray.
After a while I need air more often than every four strokes, though. Breathing every two strokes is too often, so we tried to teach me to breathe on both sides so I could do every three strokes. What happens when I try to breathe on the other side? I forget what I'm doing midstroke, my arms go blaaah, my body folds, and I take a big gulp of water.
Not so aquatically ambidexterous yet, me.
11:15 PM | Water| Comments (3)
November 07, 2006 / Tuesday
Perhaps I Missed The Gist Of This
For those of you who might be considering taking the PADI Open Water Diver course, this is the instruction video you can look forward to ...
Last night, chapters 1-2:
SoopahViv: omg the dvd is so cheesy
SoopahViv: the music, so bad
SoopahViv: flyyy through the waaater
SoopahViv: under the seeea
SoopahViv: there's lots of underwater high-fiving
SoopahViv: all divers are hotties
SoopahViv: and the male to female ratio is 1:3
SoopahViv: that's not fair!
SoopahViv: ooh the diver chick who looks like halle berry has a pink tank!
SoopahViv: i think some guy just copped a feel during an equipment check
Tonight, chapters 3-5:
SoopahViv: omg
SoopahViv: the doofus in chapters 1-4 of the video got the chicks in chapter 5
To save you several hours of cheesy video time, here is a one sentence synopsis of the DVDs: Scuba is so full of hot chicks that even doofuses can score.
Fortunately, this seems to apply only in warm tropical climates, where clear blue water and smiley people with perfectly coiffed scuba hair abound. In my class, where the dives take place in the chilly waters of Monterey, the male to female ratio is 3:1.
I think that gives me license to doofus.
10:56 PM | Water| Comments (2)
Next Time I'm Bringing A Scantron
Attended the last classroom session for scuba tonight. The final was a 50 question mostly multiple choice exam. Oh, how I've missed filling in bubbles! (Actually, tonight's test had boxes, but close enough.)
That was fun. May I have another?
10:40 PM | Water| Comments (0)
November 03, 2006 / Friday
Flip!
I was the only student in tonight's adult swim class, so we pretty much chilled and worked on whatever I wanted to. I've been having trouble with freestyle lately, so we worked on that and fixed some things that were broken. I asked to learn the basics of the backstroke, since I tried the windmilly arm thing on my own at the gym last week and failed miserably. Turns out I wasn't keeping my body and arms straight. Not so bad once I do. Not my favorite stroke, but not too hard to learn. (Notice I said "learn", not "learn well" or "perfect".)
After a trip to the end of the pool swimming freestyle, my instructor said, "Great! Now we teach you to flip!" He was kidding, but I replied with, "Okay!" It looks cool; why not try it? We had me flip in open water. I kept rotating halfway, turning sideways, and floating back to the top. Woops. He gave me a couple kick boards to hold out to the sides and I flipped a lot better. I tossed the paddle boards aside and went sideways again. I tried swimming forward some, then flipping, but still wound up sideways. Nonetheless, it was really nice to have a fun session where I could try new things without the pressure of a test ahead of me.
I drank a lot of pool water today, but I'm not minding that stuff so much anymore. I did a lot of laughing, too, which resulted in some goggle leaks, but even that was okay.
Flip!
Oh, I mean, flip-ohnotquite-darnnowimsideways-wheehereigotothetop.
07:43 PM | Water| Comments (6)
November 02, 2006 / Thursday
I Deedit! I Deedit!
I'm back, and I'm officially cleared to continue with my scuba course. Yup, I managed to complete my 200 meters and 10 minutes. I was slow and I'm sure it wasn't pretty, but I did it. Phew!
I swam the first of my 15 pool lengths with my highly incorrect breastroke, then flipped and swam on my back for most of the remaining laps. I have no idea how many more laps I had by the time everyone else finished, but I didn't really care. I just wanted to finish. And I did, eventually.
Treading was kind of fun. I got to play around some more with different kicks, and floated on my back to rest every once in a while. About 8 minutes in Aaron got bored or something and did a circle around me, which made me mad because it was distracting. Leave me alone, goddammit! Can't you see how hard I have to concentrate in order not to drown? I wanted to kick him, but I was busy trying not to blublublub. He's lucky I'm a sucky swimmer!
We actually started off the class by putting our gear on and going underwater. Underwater, we practiced breathing, taking the regulator out of our mouths, retrieving the regulator from behind our backs, clearing our masks, and throwing frisbees. Then we swam back and forth at the bottom of the 3 foot section of the pool.
My first ascent from 3 feet was pretty amusing. I tried to stand up from lying at the bottom on my stomach and promptly turtled tank-down with my fins at the surface. I thought this was hilarious, so I started laughing, which was fine in terms of my regulator, but made my mask leak. Eventually, someone came over and yanked me back upright, silly grin on my face and all.
After the swim test (the order was scuba, test, snorkel), we learned how to pike and dive with our snorkel and fins on. I'm surprised I tried it, actually, since the idea of being that far underwater with no air tank was something that made me uncomfortable ... right up until I tried it. Actually, on my first try I forgot that I was breathing through a snorkel and not a regulator. I tried to take a breath and got nothing. Thank goodness I bought a snorkel with a floatey close valve thinger at the top, or that would have been a breathful of water.
On my second try, I actually got deep enough that I reached the steep slopey drop and had to push with my arms to head back up. I wonder how far I'd be able to swim down if air wasn't an issue. Well, that and pressure. I've never felt underwater pressure on my inner ear before. That was pretty cool.
All in all, a successful pool session. Thanks SO much to everyone who helped me with swimming, be it through encouragement, tips, learning materials, or actual in-person guidance in the pool. I'm going to continue going to swimming lessons and practicing on my own at the gym. Not so afraid of water anymore. :)
10:04 PM | Water| Comments (10)
Blub Blub Blub?
Today's the big day. Today we find out whether I can avoid blublublubing on my own, so that I may proceed to blublublubing with the aid of an air tank and a couple regulators.
Here goes ...
06:22 PM | Water| Comments (0)
November 01, 2006 / Wednesday
Whoa, I Think I Got It
Went to swim class today. Played around with diagonal eggbeatering moving laterally in the 4 foot section of the pool to warm up while we waited for the other students to arrive. They did a few laps, the instructor asked if they wanted to go learn to tread in the deep end, and they agreed. (Hooray!)
The 7 foot section of the pool was occupied, so we went all the way to the 12 foot section at the end. It was wide open, the water was calm, and holy crap, I didn't sink! I played with different types of kicks, did a better job of remembering to use my hands, and did a lot of not-quite-as-bobby-as-before bobbing. Toward the end of the session, with half a minute left, I all of a sudden found myself chin high in water ... and staying there. My hands were sculling, my feet were scissor kicking, I wasn't moving ridiculously fast like I usually do when I think I'm going to sink, and I could really feel that I was moving the water. Holy crap, I was treading!
And then the session ended. I swam (in 12 feet of water, whoo) to the ladder and got out.
I think I finally got it! Now I'm wishing my gym had a deeper pool.
I'm actually kind of looking forward to the swim test tomorrow. It'll give me a chance to play with this treading thing some more.
Wow, did I just say that? Hello, am I a pod?
06:54 PM | Water| Comments (5)
That Swimming Thing
I haven't written much about swimming since Thursday night. That's 'cause I've been busy swimming (or trying to).
Friday night, attempted to get more practice in at the Fremont 24hF. Aaron was going to help me, but all those free pass things they give out work only between the hours of 8 AM and 9 PM. Went to Carl's Jr. instead. Fat floats, after all.
Saturday, didn't do anything, since I was going to swim early with Wendy and Judy the next day. I did some reading for scuba and went for a bike ride (what beautiful weather!) instead.
Sunday, woke up really early (for me) and headed to Alameda to swim with Wendy and Judy. Wendy was super patient and helpful, making me do drills I hated (but, as we'll see, were good for me), pointing out things about my mechanics, and giving me some very useful tips.
Monday, rested. Was tired from a very long day on Sunday. Wanted to swim after school, but got home, read another chapter for scuba, and fell sleep.
Tuesday morning, headed to the gym. Turns out they close the pool Tuesday mornings for cleaning. D'oh.
Tuesday midafternoon, headed back to the gym. Managed a couple complete lengths of the 20 yard pool and 5 minutes of floating. Discovered that my freestyle has regressed a lot. Worked on relaxing on the breaststroke so I don't wear myself out. Left in embarrassment because the pool area was packed (there was a 15 minute wait for a shared lane) with middle aged Asian housewives who all swam better than I could.
Tuesday evening, had scuba class. Asked if I could wear my mask for the swim test. Was told yes. Awesome. One of my big problems is getting water up my nose, so this was good news.
Tuesday night, went back to the gym (yes, 3 times in one day; I'm cramming) armed with a noseclip. Wendy's flip from front to back to front to back drill came in handy. I was able to do 10 lengths of the 20 yard pool by flipping from my very-not-correct version of the breaststroke to flutter kicking on my back whenever I got tired or out of breath. Moved over to the loafer lane and worked on treading/bobbing/floating. After 10 minutes (the scuba swim test requirement), I relaxed some and played around, swimming/flipping/bobbing/treading/floating for another 10 minutes without touching pool bottom.
Okay, so I can do it. I can do 200 meters and 10 minutes. I just have to remember not to freak out when I'm over the deep section of the pool on Thursday.
Tomorrow, I'll ask to spend my half hour lesson in the deep part of the pool. I hope the other students are willing.
12:37 AM | Water| Comments (9)
October 27, 2006 / Friday
24 Hour Murkiness
I finally went to (try to) swim at the gym tonight. I've been meaning to do it, but with swimming lessons every MWF this past month it was too easy to blow off the in between days. Now I have some cramming to do. I want to learn to scuba for my sailing trip in January. I'm signed up for a 3.5 week class that started tonight. The class comes with a requirement, though: I have to be able to swim 200 meters without stopping and tread water/float for 10 minutes. The test is next Thursday.
That finally got me to drag myself to the murky pool at the Sunnyvale 24hF for some practice. I've known for a while that I should go, but was avoiding it because I find most 24hF facilities to be fairly nasty. I drank less pool water than usual, but still enough for me to worry a bit about pool murkies growing in my stomach. Grodyness.
You know how I've been flip-flopping between being able to do the freestyle and the breaststroke? Tonight proved to be a freestyle-unfriendly night. I couldn't make it more than 10 yards. I'm having trouble getting air without gulping water. Too much tweaking of the head lately, methinks. The breaststroke, however, felt much better than it has previously. I think it's because I've totally slowed it down. I'm still doing a funny stroke to bob for air, but I at least made it down the 20 yard length of the pool with that one. Now I just need to multiply that by 11.
Some people there were doing this breaststrokey looking thing with their head completely out of the water the entire time, with no bobbing. How do they do that?
I hung out in the deepest section of the pool (a whopping 4 1/2 feet) and tried to eggbeater. Still does not lift me one bit. So I tried to hang out and bob every once in a while. Definitely can't do that for 10 minutes. So I tried floating on my back. My legs would sink. So I tried kicking them to not sink. That rippled water up my nose. Bah.
I'd like to go back tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I can find time. That pool is usually packed until late in the evening. I don't really want to go swimming at 11 PM every night. It really messes with the schedule.
Skin so dry! My arms actually felt tired from applying moisturizer just now.
01:01 AM | Water| Comments (3)
October 25, 2006 / Wednesday
Tweaking, Tweaking, More Tweaking
I swam the length of the pool today.
I cheated, though. I had fins on. We used them to help me get a feel for the position my feet should be in. It was all part of much tweaking done by today's instructor. I'd never worked with her before, but I think I made more progress today than with any of the other instructors. I hope I get to work with her again in the future.
It's been about a week since I last got to work on just swimming. I've been asking various people how they move their arms/hands, and have been thinking about what to do with mine the next time I had a chance to try it out. Even without the fins, when I first hopped into the pool the in-my-head tweaks resulted in my swimming faster than ever before (which, compared to others, is still butt ass slow, but hey, I'll take what I can get).
The instructor pointed out that I wasn't finishing my stroke, i.e. getting full extension on my arms. We fixed that. Then she pointed out that I wasn't rotating my body. We tried to fix that too. Then she pointed out that my hands and wrists were sort of just in this random blah configuration. More tweaking and fixing. I'll have to work on all that in my head for next time.
We also tried to get me to turn my head properly for air. I'm still trying to bend it up, despite thinking "doorknob!" repeatedly as I do it. She told me to imagine a tether from the top of my head to the bottom of the pool. Okay, I could imagine that, but I still wasn't doing it. More to think about for next time.
And when is next time? A week from today. That's a looong time from now.
06:52 PM | Water| Comments (8)
October 23, 2006 / Monday
Monday Is Blublublub Day
More treading, more blublublub. Still can't find a kick to settle on. I think I have the most success with the breaststroke kick, but I end up kicking hard and bobbing a lot. Need to remember to use my hands, too. Half hour classes, too short!
06:49 PM | Water| Comments (4)
October 20, 2006 / Friday
I Just Wanna Swim, Dammit
Had a substitute instructor today, which was good and bad. It was good because it's always helpful to learn the same thing from different viewpoints and techniques. It was bad because that meant instead of learning something new I spent time relearning different aspects of the same things.
So what did I learn? Just some subtle things like how I'm not actually trying to harm the water with my kicking, but instead just moving my legs while sort of floating in general. I finally managed to hold onto the wall and kick for an extended period of time without my legs sinking. Also learned to think about the stroke not as one big pull, but as a bit of a bend the arm, extend the arm motion. I'll have to think about that one some more; it made for more water movement when I was just trying it out standing, but I suspected it resulted in a jerky arm motion when I was actually trying to swim that way.
Drank less water today. Woohoo.
06:25 PM | Water| Comments (0)
October 18, 2006 / Wednesday
Back To Freestyle
Feels like I made progress today, though I'm not sure if I have any quantitative measures to back it up. When I got out of the pool I felt like I got a workout. In the pool, I was winded, and it was because I was actually swimming back and forth in my little just-over-half-a-pool-length section of the pool. I can turn for air pretty consistenly in freestyle now, although I still can't do it endlessly. We continued to tweak my technique. I got a better understanding of how to simply (yes, I said simple) roll my head and look up for air without unnecessarily bending too many parts of my body. When we slowed me down it got even more simple. I also learned that I don't need to kick really really really hard, which helped a lot in terms of oxygen consumption and allowing me to focus on the efficiency of my strokes, which, for the record, is currently rated at highly to extremely inefficient, but hey, it's a lot better than when I started. I didn't even know how to take a stroke two weeks ago.
Wow, it's been only two weeks?
06:39 PM | Water| Comments (2)
October 16, 2006 / Monday
Blub Blub Blub ... Bob!
We took me back to the 7 foot deep section of the pool today to have another go at treading. I'd been working on being comfortable eye-deep in water, and this time I was able to let go of the edge, hang out, exhale, then bob up for a breath. I could string a few of those together, which was way better than the last time I was in this section of the pool, when I managed zero breaths per attempt because I got nervous the instant my hand came off the pool edge.
We even taught me to shoot down to the bottom of the pool and jump back up. The instructor had tried to convince me that it wasn't that far down last Monday, but there was no way I was going to agree to try it. Today when he suggested it, I said okay, bobbed up, straightened out, and headed down ... far enough to brush the pool bottom with my toes but not enough to get any push back up. Fortunately, instead of freaking out I swam my way back to the top. Wha? Was that me? Hey, cool! A couple more attempts later, I was able to plant and push. Whee!
The instructor had a bit of trouble with my hanging out forehead-deep in water: he couldn't tell whether I was hanging out or on the verge of drowning. He decided he'd ask.
"Are you gonna die?"
"BLAAAH HA Ha blublublublublublub ..."
We decided that was not a good question to ask me with most of my head underwater.
Toward the end of the class we tried to get me to tread with my nose above water, but I can't seem to figure out how. The breaststroke kick serves me well when I want to bob up, but when I want to use it to maintain height I somehow end up pulling myself down instead. I tried the scissor kick too, but nothing there either. Next time, Gadget, next time!
06:39 PM | Water| Comments (2)
October 13, 2006 / Friday
Progresh! Yesh!
I've been shying away from freestyle for the last week because (1) I can't seem to get anywhere and (2) I can't figure out how to get air. Today, the instructor suggested that I give it another shot. At first I was a little reluctant because I'd been working on some breaststroke timing in my head the last couple days, but then I remembered Red's "chin towards shoulder" tip and decided to give it a try. Wouldn't ya know, it worked! I turned, and huzzah! Air! Thanks Red!
The other big thing that happened today was I was finally able to tweak my kick enough to propel myself. That, paired with my newfound air gulping skillz allowed me to swim twice as far as my last record distance. No, I'm not telling you what that distance is, partly because I don't know, and partly because it's still not the length of the pool. I will say, however, that the pool is not dinky and the distance I covered was more than halfway, which took me into uncharted waters. I'm hoping to make it the whole way before screwing up and gulping water next time. I'm also hoping to learn to turn my head more and my body less. So many little things to work on!
We also spent some more time on the breaststroke. We split up the pull-kick-glide, slowed me down, and had me pause between the pull and the kick. Much better! My impatience was really doing me in on this one. Strangely, even though I can swim more efficiently, I seem to have forgotten how to get my head out of the water. Huh.
So there it is. Freestyle: air. Breaststoke: no air. How quickly things change.
Speaking of things changing, I want to swim, like (OMG?), every day now. What? Am I a pod?
06:20 PM | Water| Comments (2)
October 11, 2006 / Wednesday
T ...Tr ... Tre ... Trea ...
Worked some more on knees-to-chest egg beatering today, back in my usual 4 foot deep section of the pool (thus knees-to-chest). I seem to be getting it a little more, and was able to hang out eye-level until I needed air, then bob up for a breath. I was able to string a few of those together before I got confused and had to touch bottom.
So I can egg beater my legs and I can sort of scull my hands/arms back and forth, but when I put the two together I end up neither egg beatering nor sculling. It's like trying to pat my head and rub my belly at the same time. Not easy. Fortunately, this is something I can practice at home. In fact, I'm gonna turn around, swirl my legs, and wave my arms as soon as I finish this post.
Worked more on the breaststroke. Improved my understanding of the arm movement a bit more. Unfortunately, I have the same trouble with arm-leg coordination here, too. I'd start off okay, but after my first breath I'd bob back down somewhat out of position, get confused, and only be able to stroke or kick. Darn!
I had a lot of seal issues with my goggles today. I wondered what was wrong, then realized that I was laughing every time I screwed up, which scrunched my face enough for water to leak in. Screwing up and drinking water is funny? I know that makes no sense, but yeah, it kind of is. I'm glad I'm taking the time now to enjoy my n00bie ineptness. It reminds me of learning to skate in Green Division four and a half years ago. That was all screw ups and giggles too.
Next class Friday. Seems so long from now.
Blublublub?
06:46 PM | Water| Comments (5)
October 09, 2006 / Monday
At Least I Wasn't Flailing
Tried to learn how to tread water today in the 7 foot deep section of the pool. To my credit, I didn't panic, and even managed to hang out for a few seconds, but despite my best efforts, I kept ending up eye-deep in water. Floating on my back wasn't much of a problem, but being upright would instantly lower me in. I tried kicking, I tried eggbeatering, I tried pushing, I tried sculling. My stomach feels blech from all the water I drank, but I'm looking forward to working on it some more on Wednesday.
Also spent some more time on the breaststroke. I think something finally clicked on arm movement in the final minutes of the session, much like the something that clicked on leg movement in the final minutes of Friday's session. I just need to practice that and the leg kick 'til they come naturally, and somehow put them together. Also looking forward to working on it more on Wednesday.
After drinking all that pool water, I tried to drink some unchlorinated water when I got back to my car. Instead, I inhaled it and ended up spraying water all over my dashboard, console, and steering wheel.
I rule.
06:43 PM | Water| Comments (4)
October 06, 2006 / Friday
Swimming Update
I should probably document my swimming lessons here. I'm not likely to remember my progress in half hour increments otherwise.
Rewind to Wednesday. Worked on freestyle. I find it difficult to coordinate my arms, and to get a good feel for what the water should feel like as I pull/push back. More importantly, I am very reluctant to try to turn to breathe. On the upside, I can make it a good 15-20 feet on one breath.
Fast forward to today. I had some fun playing with pseudo-breaststrokey motions on Monday, so I asked if it was okay to try that instead. I still have some work to do on coordination, but I have a lot less trouble with the breaststroke than I do with freestyle. Plus, I'm much more willing to push and bob up for air doing this stroke. I'm sure it looks like I'm flailing for my life when I do it, but hey, I'm actually catching a breath with my feet off the bottom!
I'm definitely less panicky in the water now. When I need to breathe, I plan out my next bob, or, if I don't feel confident that my next bob will buy me enough air time, I'm able to flip onto my back, float, breathe, and hang out for a bit before I flip over and continue. I can't do it forever and ever, but 3 or 4 breaths without touching the bottom of the pool is a vast improvement over OHMIGODI'MGONNADIEEEEE!.
No swimming lessons over the weekend. Gotta wait 'til Monday. Bummer!
06:46 PM | Water| Comments (4)
October 02, 2006 / Monday
Swimming Lessons
I went to the first in a series of 11 swimming lessons (3 times a week) this evening. The classes are only half an hour long, so I'm going to have to make good use of time. I spent a few minutes today getting used to floating on my back again, then grabbed a paddle board to work on kicking. I kicked and kicked and went nowhere. We decided to have me float on my stomach instead, so I could get used to having my face in the water. I had my goggles on, and had some fun just hanging out and looking around underwater. I even started to propel myself with my hands, and am getting a better feel for the water. Next class: Wednesday. I'm quite looking forward to it.
It sounds a bit strange for me to say this, but I think I'm starting to understand why some people love being in the water so much.
06:55 PM | Water| Comments (5)
July 23, 2006 / Sunday
Water Me
It's been hot enough the last couple days to drive me into the pool. That may sound like a reasonable thing to do on a hot day, but those of you who know about my fear of volumes of water greater than that of a bathtub and/or my conviction of my inability to float will know that this was indeed a blogworthy event.
Even more blogworthy was the fact that I tried to float, and finally did. I started by trying to float on my back yesterday, and on my stomach today. I still can't figure out how to get my head out of the water for air, but I'm making progress. Speaking of progress, I managed to swim, yes, swim, despite its being on a single breath of air with my face in the water, from one side of the pool to the other. It's not quite the distance I covered the time I tried it with a snorkel and fins, but it's a vast improvement over the last time I tried it without, which resulted in a whopping six inches of backward movement.
I think the big block right now is feeling water go up my nose and getting panicky. I'm hoping a cheapie nose clip will take care of that.
Need for a nose clip aside, huzzah, forward motion with no extra gear!
I credit the instructor. :-*
In related news, while I was trying to figure out how to float yesterday a yellowjacket landed nearby in the water. I happened to sweep my hand by it, and as I unknowingly curled my index finger around it it stung me. Fortunately, I pulled my hand away quickly and not much damage was done. My finger swelled just a wee bit, and a couple hours later I had pretty much forgotten about it. That was my first ever yellow-and-black insect bite. I figured I should document it. :)
In conclusion (I'm in school paper mode):
1. I can float. (For a little while, anyway.)
2. I can swim forward without aid. (For a short distance, anyhow.)
3. I'm not allergic to yellowjacket stings. (At least when it's a small sting.)
Whoo.
04:30 PM | Water| Comments (16)
September 25, 2004 / Saturday
I Kinda Swam! WhoO!
Yes, that's right, I kinda swam today. It was more like, I made it from one end of a 4 foot deep pool to the other with the aid of a snorkel, mask, fins, and lots of aid and encouragement from Wendy and her girlfriend Judy. This is the farthest I've ever gone without sinking in my life. My previous record was negative 6 inches, just before sinking, in the YMCA swimming class that I took a few years back.
I'm so excited. I finally feel like there's hope! I'm going to check out the pools at the gyms that I go to and see if they're Viv-safe, i.e. shallow enough not to drown me. If they are, perhaps it's time to invest in some new toys!
This is huge step forward for me, and long overdue. Thanks, Wendy and Judy!
11:02 AM | Water| Comments (0)
January 20, 2004 / Tuesday
Dream Dream Dream 1: I Can Swim!
So I show up to gym class, and we're at a pool. It's the water version of the presidential fitness tests or something. We all have little cards to keep track of our score for the various tests, which involve acrobatic movements in the water. I'm thinking, oh great, I can't swim. I run in to Maryam, who lived on my floor in the dorms freshman year. I seem to remember her as someone who was afraid of everything, including water. Turns out she joined a posh gym with an excellent pool and has since learned to swim. Well, if Maryam can do it, so can I. I hop in, fully expecting to sink and need rescue, but the next thing I know I'm swimming my way to the other end of the pool. I hop in again later, and backstroke my way across the pool. I can swim! Cool! Now if only I could magically work that into real life.
Dream Dream Dream 2: Underwear Buddy
In case you care, I'm working my way through my dreams somewhat randomly. I'm writing about them in the order in which I remembered them. I remembered dream 1 when I woke up, but didn't remember this one until I was, well, putting on my underwear.
Plain and simple, one of my hockey homies from a past team was in my dream, and she was helping me with some art project thing, and for some reason she wore the same type of underwear I happened to be wearing. Now, the fact that I could see her underwear means that she wasn't wearing pants or even much of a shirt, but in my dream that was normal. Who needs clothes anyway?
Dream Dream Dream 3: Mirror Paranoia
I think after the underwear thing I headed back down to my car, which was in the underground garage of the aforementioned underwear buddy's apartment complex. I got in, prepared to back out of my space, looked in the passenger side mirror, and almost had a heart attack when I realized it wasn't my mirror. I looked at the driver side mirror and realized that someone had come and stolen my $200 European split mirrors and replaced them with cheapo Kragen-grade generic mirrors. Why anyone would even bother to put replacements in I don't know. The funny thing about the generics was they were not convex, but flat, and behaved like a concave mirror, as it somehow magnifed and reduced the visible area behind me.
I remembered that one on 280 this morning, right as I was passing the Daly City Krispy Kreme exit. That memory was followed by a moment of great relief and happiness.
09:49 AM | Dreams:Neurosis:Water| Comments (0)
July 28, 2002 / Sunday
Dense
Today I went on a boat, went out on the lake, strapped on a life preserver, and jumped. Splash ... water ... water ... I think I should be surfacing soon ... water ... water ... I think I should be surfacing soon ... water ... water ... glug glug glug ...
I'm as dense as I ever was.
You know how they used to "test" for witches by throwing women in the water? If they didn't drown they were witches and if they did they weren't? Well you can do a similar sort of test for me. If you throw me in and I sink like a rock then I really am me, and if you throw me in and I float or swim away then I wasn't really me after all.
If, however, you try it and even though I'm really me I manage to not drown by some miracle of doG, you're in deep shit.
