| Swimming...Citizen Matters.... |
[May. 9th, 2008|06:40 pm] |
I was happy that Citizen Matters wanted one of my, er, humorous articles, and I wrote one on how my friends and I learnt to swim....
Here it is
OK, off to the pool now...! |
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| Got my ertia... |
[Mar. 14th, 2008|10:44 pm] |
Immediately I made my last post, I went and got my swimsuit and OFFIWENT. And frankly, when I stepped into the pre-swim shower, AND when I stepped into the pool, I regretted it. I think my eerie water-is-too-COLD cry could be heard in all the flats in my apartment building and mothers are still probably comforting their trembling toddlers. There was a fair wind blowing today, too, and it was cooler than it usually is at this time of year...... and it felt, for the first 5 or 6 laps, as if someone had filled up the pool with the contents of their just-melted ice trays. Well, I didn't actually see polar bears or the march of the penguins, but you get the...drift?
But I stuck to it, did my usual 30 laps (it's a little pool...call it a poolette, or a pooling) that's about...perhaps those 30 laps are equal to 15 full-size pool laps, maybe 20...wish it's the latter! Must find out the dimensions of our poolette...) and felt cold...in fact, for a little while, I had a complexion of a delicate and intriguing shade of blue... but was warmed by the feeling that YES... I did it! (as Higgins says in My Fair Lady).
I do love the great fresh feeling swimming gives, and also the fact that I keep my dinner all ready on the table, and come back and tuck in guiltlessly!
Thank you for the nudge, ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) inspirethoughts!
Go to Google Earth. Go to Bangalore. Go to Casa Ansal Apartments...and that little dot going up and down, up and down, up and down....is ME!! :))))
Tra-la, off to Lalbagh tomorrow morning... |
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| I wish... |
[Mar. 14th, 2008|05:34 pm] |
I wish I had more ertia.
I know I should start my evening swimming, but inertia has me in its grip, and I am looking for a fresh excuse every day...!
Give me a nice nudge you lot. Get me out of the lazeeeee mode! Tell me why I should start swimming NOW instead of "tomorrow" or "Next week"... |
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| Evening Swim in the Building Pool |
[Mar. 15th, 2007|01:03 pm] |
The dim lights of Orion's belt
Shine down on me as I start my swim.
Once again...I relive the curiosity I felt
About who named those stars after him.
The darkling greenery, the fading light,
The distant circles of the wheeling kite,
The fruit bat flitting to and fro...
I see them all, as back and forth I go.
As I step into the pool
At first, the water feels a shade too cool;
But soon it's lovely, pleasant and mild
Like the casual touch of a gentle child.
I love to swim in the cool twilight
With the daytime scenes fading from my sight...
The twinkling stars appear very soon
And sometimes... the light of the moon.
Time passes quickly as I reflect
On the day's doings and introspect;
I feel how right was that very wise
Person who said, swimming's great exercise. |
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| how difficult it is... |
[Oct. 10th, 2006|05:46 pm] |
....
A new lump (part of this strange thing called panniculitis) on my hip, and the attendant pain, put a stop to any form of exercise for nearly two weeks now...and HOW difficult it is to get the old body going again!
Mind: Well, you lazy lump of lard, are we going swimming or not?
Body: Can't you see that it is raining?
M: It WAS raining...yesterday. Today it LOOKS as if it might rain....and it might not.
B: But it might....
M: You know perfectly well that once you get into the pool you like it and you actually grin all over your face while doing the backstroke in the rain.
B: Yes, but...
M: Butt is right, also tummy. UP!
B: Tomorrow, def-in-ite-ly tomorrow...
M: That's what you said yesterday.
B: I am consistent!
M: Oh yeah...you have been pretty consistent with those five-star restaurant meals, wedding feasts, and midnight snacks...
B: But I am generally careful what I eat...
M: You want to be like your mother and spend your time in and out of the hospital?
B: That was an unfair crack.
M: That's why you exercise...I hope you don't think that regular exercise is going to make you look like one of those gorgeous starlets...you will be a fit geriatric, that's more than enough.
B: That was an unfair-er crack. Sob!
M: Sob is right. SOB stands for...no, not that, I couldn't call you Son..... Stop Occupying Beanbag! GO swimming, NOW!
Well, I think, today, finally, Mind is winning...see you lot after my swim.... |
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| should I? shouldn't I? |
[Jul. 27th, 2006|06:44 pm] |
....
It's 6.45 pm...enjoying reading my friends' LJ entries...it has rained heavily, but it isn't pouring right now...should I swim? Or should I worry about catching cold and desist?......OK, I am off to the pool! |
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| Why the back stroke? |
[May. 8th, 2006|06:18 pm] |
I have been swimming quite regularly for over a month now, and yesterday, a little kid asked me, "Why do you always swim the backstroke?"
Because:
1. Far less water gets into my ENT system, and I don't spend the rest of the evening and night sniffling or sneezing with the water.
2. I am still very scared of water...it was my big "Fear Factor" thing to learn to swim...I think that if I can see the bottom of the pool, I will wind up there.
3. It's far more fun being able to look at so many thing around and above me...there are the various people in the flats around me, the children running around the pool (when they are not hitting me in the pool that is!)..the birds flying past, the large eucalyptus tree in our lawn swaying in the breeze, the moon coming up over the silhouette of our building....
4. I am still hoping that I might be able to swim with my contact lenses on if I use goggles and the back stroke...but I haven't had the courage to try this yet!
5. I am still amazed at the fact that the water bears up my body without letting it sink...it matches the wonder I feel every time a heavy lumbering jet soars gracefully into the air...
Swimming, walking and cycling...three of my favourite activities. I don't enjoy gymming very much...but these are three things that I can do for longish stretches of time on my own, without any need for company. My thoughts keep me company...and they are enjoyable ones.... |
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| realities... |
[Jul. 27th, 2005|12:28 am] |
I was swimming in our building pool. As usual, to get around my fear of the water and also to prevent too much immersion of my nose in water (which results in allergic reactions) I was doing the backstroke. This has the added advantage that I can look at the various balconies of the flats as I go up and down, doing my laps. I ruminated....my hip pain was worse than usual. Walking that morning was not the greatest of pleasures, and walking has always been one of my joys. I was on the way to feeling sorry for myself, when I saw him. A young boy of about 12 or 13, standing on one of the balconies. Quiet boy, standing there motionless...on a pair of crutches. Was it an accident? Was it permanent? I didn't know. But my self-pity vanished in an instant. What must it be like to be 12 and not be able to play in the evenings, to have to stand on the balcony and watch other children play? At 50, I can take some hip pain and lumps.... |
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| Swimming... |
[Apr. 1st, 2005|11:48 pm] |
The days have warmed up. Though the initial shower is somewhat chilly, and getting in draws an involuntary gasp, it is lovely in the pool after that. I do the backstroke to avoid getting too much of water in my eyes and nose and having a sneezy reaction to that. I watch the twilight sky aglow with light and then slowly fade into darkness. The huge eucalyptus tree on the lawn sways in the evening breeze, and birds fly to and fro. In the larger pool that I swam in, in Chennai, crows would fly in and dip their beaks in the water.
The water feels like silk as I cleave my way. This is a tiny pool; it probably takes two-and-a-half lengths of this one to equal a regular-sized pool. So I do my lengths, spending a physically active but mentally calm hour...I get out feeling not in the least tired, but refreshed and with my body feeling cool and clean. Exercise should always be like this! |
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| Exercise has to be enjoyable... |
[Mar. 24th, 2005|12:25 am] |
Hip and ankle pain had been getting in the way of my exercise...as had the increasingly warm weather. I started swimmiing a few days ago...and am glad to realize that it is not really lethargy that has set in. I enjoy swimming so much, especially at twilight...yesterday the pool lights had also not been switched on, and I could see the half moon slowly rising over the top floor as I swam up and down our small pool...when exercise is this pleasant, keeping fit is no big deal. |
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lazy
content
contemplative