If You Give a Girl a Hot Tub...

For my last birthday, I received a City of Edmonton gift card, usable at most of the city's attractions and facilities. Given that it was the dead of winter, I first used it at a rec centre near by, solely to soak in the hot tub

It was glorious.

And so, I hopped around from rec centre to rec centre, checking out the different hot tubs, and the occasional steam room. Once or twice I took a yoga class. But mostly I just liked sitting in the hot tub. 

I found myself coming back again and again to the leisure centre closest to home. It's smaller, older, and therefore tends to be quieter. I started bringing a book each visit, reading while I soaked.

As the weather started to warm up, I found myself one headed to the leisure centre one evening thinking, "y'know, it might feel refreshing to dip in the pool first, before the hot tub."

Now, let me pause here to clarify that I am not a swimmer. In my educator days, I didn't mind playing in the water with the children I was teaching or caring for, but the sport of swimming has never appealed to me. I failed swimming lessons over and over (and over), mostly due to an imperfect front crawl, and a refusal to dive without plugging my nose. But my mom, having seen me tread water (which I could do like a boss), and feeling confident that I could save myself if I fell off a boat, finally took mercy on me and let me stop lessons.

So, when I say I considered a dip in the pool, I quite literally meant a dip in the pool and nothing more. I grabbed a couple pool noodles, put one under my knees and one under my arms, and floated around on the small waves made by other swimmers.

After a few weeks of this, I figured "y'know, since I'm already in the pool"--and since the novelty of the  new energized version of me was still mesmerizing--"I might as well do some aqua-jogging." And so across and around the pool I went, moving to the beat of whatever playlist the lifeguards had chosen.

Faces around me started becoming familiar; I realized the pool had "regulars," and that I was becoming one of them.

One evening, the pool was unusually crowded, except for the area sectioned off for lane swimming. And I thought, "y'know, since I can do so much aqua-jogging, certainly I could do a length of lane swimming." There aren't many swimming strokes I care for, but I do have a fondness for the backstroke when the situation calls for it.

And so I pushed off from the wall, the water just covering my ears, so that the 80's music around me faded, and all I could hear as I followed the line on the ceiling was my rhythmic breathing; it was nice.

Over time, one length turned into two, two turned into three, three turned into four.

And I thought, "y'know, snorkeling might be kinda fun." Snorkeling definitely draws one's focus to the breath. And I also remembered how, the few times I'd snorkeled on holidays, I'd found the act of swimming to be easier and more enjoyable.

And so I bought a snorkel.

And what started as just a soak in the hot tub has become a mix of self-guided aquacise, lane swimming, and snorkeling. ...Though,
definitely still a soak in the hot tub.

Canon Ball! OR 342/365

The sign says no diving.

I'm not diving.

237/365

There's pretty much no place my camera can't go.

Just Keep Swimming!

So, I went swimming with N and the girls today, and I decided to take my camera for its first ever water adventure. I definitely got some interesting looks at the pool by having a camera slung over my shoulder in its plastic pouch. It was so neat to be able to be IN the water with the camera floating beside me (camera stayed dry!). I was able to have both hands free to move myself through the water, and then just stop and grab the camera whenever I wanted a picture. Just as if I were on land!

P thought the contraption was hilarious. She was in a giddy mood today as it was, and every time I lifted the camera up to take a couple more shots, she about doubled over in giggles. Fortunately, her ease of laughter made for some successful photos; not bad for my first try!

Day at the Beach

I spent this last weekend at Sylvan Lake--pretty much Alberta's only beach town in this land-locked province. It's quite a popular spot year-round, but especially in the summer, and especially on a weekend like this last one where it was 30C (85F) the whole time!

Two friends and I enjoyed spending a chunk of Saturday and a chunk of Sunday on the beach and in the water. You will be pleased (intrigued? surprised?) to know that each of the four times we ventured into the water, I submerged myself of my own volition (the water was slightly colder than a cool swimming pool). And two of the four times, I actually swam. As in, propelled myself several metres at a time (mostly back stroke and flutter kick), occasionally in areas where my feet were not able to touch the ground. That's not to say it's going to be my newest hobby, but suffice it to say I was actually productive in the water.

I think the most interesting part of the weekend was people-watching while we were soaking up sun on the beach itself. I feel there's more diversity among people at a beach than in general public areas, and it's neat to see. Bodies are more exposed in bathing suits, so everyone's uniqueness is on display (whether it should be or not). Wow, that guy's hairy; oh, she has a cool tattoo; so that's 'pear-shaped'; she must tan at a spa somewhere, she has no tan lines; wish I could put my hair up like that; ooh, that looks red... And at the same time as I'm marveling at the diversity of people, I'm in materialistic awe at the diversity of bathing suits! Plain, checked, jewelled, striped. One-piece, two-piece, one-and-a-half-piece... Two girls had similar bathing suits (one a bikini, one a tankini)--they were black with little gold 'G's all over them. That would definitely work for me, I thought. Too bad the only thing I really liked about it was the 'G's.

Sunglasses are pretty wide and varied, too. A lot of people had what I call the "bug" sunglasses--those big huge-lensed ones. Very Hollywood-celebrity, but slightly on the insect side of things. One girl had glasses with lenses shaped slightly like guitar picks (pointy side down); those were awful.

I wish I had been more able to take in the conversational culture (that's a polite way of saying I wish I'd eavesdropped more). Most of the audible conversations around us were punctuated with profanity, and I quickly tuned out. I do have to admit, though, it was hard to hide a smile as I overheard (and discreetly observed) the guy next to us receive a ticket from the RCMP for alcohol possession. She found it in the guy's cooler. "But it's sealed!" the guy declared. Um, doesn't matter. I think watching this little scene was just as funny as when his friends returned and tried to make him feel better. "You can't get busted for public drinking if it's sealed." "No, she ticketed me for 'transporting liquor'." (...inaudible conversation...) "Well, I didn't know this was a Provincial area... I thought this was just a town..." Yeah, cuz THAT makes a difference when it's prohibited nation-wide... It was actually very tempting not to get involved.

...Anyway, it was a highly enjoyable weekend--warm beach-weather, fun water activity, gorgeous evening sunsets, and a great time away with good friends!