Crowds Spell Disaster

I was feeling glum today, and I thought the swim might be helpful, but instead a man argued with me about where I was doing my stretching. It was at the end of my swim, and the interaction really irritated me! It's pretty infrequent to have a verbal altercation but it was rush hour, and just like it is on the subway, crowds spell disaster. When I was getting out, he said, "Good," and then I let my mood get the best of me, and I said, "Actually I think I'll swim some more" and I jumped in. Jumping is against the rules, but I jumped on in anyway.

Blizzard: Day 2

The blizzard let up a bit today, and I swam in the Village. The water was too warm, but what else is new? It wasn't too crowded, particularly towards pool closing time. Swim gym interaction:

Woman (entering locker room, not yet having worked out): "Hi, Sally!"
Sally: "Hi!"
Sally and Woman exchange personal data re: how are you.
Sally is done working out and getting dressed.
Woman: "What time does the gym close today?"
Sally: "It closes at 9."
Me: "Actually it closes at 8:30."
Sally: "Are you sure?"
Me: "Yes."
Woman: "Then I don't have time to work out." She had taken her clothes off but puts them all back on.
Another woman walks by, and Sally asks her, "What time does the gym close?"
The woman says, "9."
Sally and the original woman look at me. I say, "I come here at night all the time. It closes at 8:30."
A swimmer who is changing says to me, "You're thinking of the pool hours."
I give a sheepish smile and say, "Oh, yeah....Sorry."
The woman who has to take her clothes off again heaves a big sigh.

Blizzard Shmizzard

Yesterday evening I took a swim in the blizzard. I've always felt that weather conditions in NYC are overrated as gossip. Hope and I joke that none of it is such a big deal. In NYC the subways work nearly all the time, and city streets are ugly but usually cleared of snow. But last night I had taken too relaxed of a stance. I wore my flip flops, my swimmer, and a coat. I love to simply jump in the pool, jump out, and keep the routine as simple as possible. I thought I'd take a taxi but the taxis weren't around. Then I decided to take the bus, but it was a long wait. Of course, I should have taken the subway, but who wants to bother with that for a short distance. The only problem was that my toes became submerged in snow and water, and they began to freeze. It became painful. As the lights of the bus appeared in the distance, a mysterious man materialized and yelled in the wind to myself and one other man waiting for the bus, "Go to the middle of the street. The bus can't stop for you there, too much snow!" We did as instructed, and the bus very slowly rolled up. In the bus I sat next to a homeless man and warmed my red toes. People looked at me and the homeless man like we were crazy. Indeed, we were both inappropriately dressed. The pool was less crowded but did have a few swimmers. A woman tried to engage me at the end of a lane saying,

"How are you?" and smiling.
I answered back, "Hiii," with a big smile and turned away.

I had packed two long, thick pairs of socks in my swim bag, and I was looking forward to wearing them on the way home. However, I then realized that I couldn't wear them with flip flops. It was unclear what I'd been thinking overall. Perhaps, the problem was that I hadn't been thinking! Still, a good swim. The water felt warm and exotic!

Cultural rambling...

I swam yesterday in the Village. This girl joined me in my lane, and then the pool sort of cleared out but she stayed in my lane. I wanted her to switch lanes but felt stubborn about doing it myself. So we stayed in the same lane. I had the better side (the rope), and she had an awful side (the wall, with the device for lowering disabled people into the pool). I wondered if she didn't notice that the pool had emptied out or if she didn't want to interrupt her routine. I wondered if it was a cultural difference: that as a Jew, I'd be likely to wander, and that as an Asian, she'd be more likely to stay in the lane she'd originally chosen. It made me think about Jackie Mason's routine in which he describes Jews at a restaurant: not being able to wait in a line to sit down and not being able to sit at the table they are assigned. He describes Christians as standing in line forever with no complaints and then sitting wherever they are placed. Well, I better stop before I offend anyone too much :0

Swim Clock

I went swimming this past Tuesday in the Village inbetween clients. It was a wonderful swim! During the day, of course, the pool is less crowded. Afternoon and late night are the best times to swim in terms of crowds. Here's a lay-out of a swim clock:

5am to 10 am, busy especially earlier, morning rush hour.
10am to 11am, quieter but watch out for classes.
11am to 2pm, lunch crowd, classes.
2pm to 4pm, ideal.
4pm to 7pm, evening rush hour, plus classes.
7pm to 8pm, less crowded, nice, watch out for classes.
8pm to 9pm, even nicer except when swim team is around.
9pm to 10pm, ideal.

Rating NYC Pools

I swam on Monday, MLK Day. I don't even remember it to be frank with you because I am behind in this journal. But I do like to have an entry for everytime I swim, so I think I'll review NYC pools as suggested by a reader:

Ratings: 1=worst, 10=best

92nd St. Y: Great Jewish talk in the locker room, upper east side, closed for every Jewish Holiday I've never heard of, too crowded, no rules about how many people can be in a lane, rating: 1.

Reebok: Ultra expensive, lots of stars go there, upper west side, music underwater but this is just a goofy gimic-nothing special, attitude-bad vibe, good water temp, good rules, rating: 8.

Paris: A few blocks from my house (LOL), 20 min lap limit when crowded, crowded, hot tub that is very social. Rating: 1.

Coles: Too crowded, no rules for how many swimmers can be in one lane, too few showers, large pool. Rating: 1.

Holiday Inn: I put this pool in for fun...but it is fun! It's small but is located on the roof of the hotel and is available for twenty bucks to the general public on weekdays. They have a bar and lounge chairs. It's a wonderful secret.

Equinox, Upper West: I have all-access pass to all Equinox pools, so this is very convenient. I can swim at work, at home, or anywhere inbetween. Equinox is my current pool for quite a long time. Anyway, the upper west side Equinox has the longest lanes and the best water temp (cold). It is new so the showers are great, as is the pool. Not as crowded as the Village Equinox. Rating: 9.

Equinox, Upper East Side: Old so the showers are not that great. Most empty of all the Equinox pools. No classes or swim team, so that rocks for lappers. Slightly too warm. Hot tub that is not social. Rating: 8.

Equinox, Village: Beautiful New Age lay-out, very new, too warm, crowded, good rules, friendly lifeguards, slightly smaller pool than upper west side. Rating: 9.

Pools I'd like to try: Manhattan Plaza Health Club (MPHC), Printing House (very NY name for a gym), NY Sports Club, and Asphalt Greens (or whatever it's called).

Swim N Sleep N Swim N Sleep

I had a great swim yesterday s/p a sleepless night. I'm so glad I did it. It wasn't even a "struggle swim." I enjoyed it a lot. The high-fiving lifeguard high-fived me afterwards and said, "Nice job!" I was envious because I heard him approach another swimmer and whisper in the man's ear, "A +!" Maybe one day I will get that honor from him too.

The High-Fivin' Life Guard

I swam in the late morning with only two others. Thus, we each had our own big lane. Damn, nothing to complain about (LOL). The water was a little warm, but it felt so good to sink into warm water that I didn't mind so much. My arm and shoulder muscles felt tired, so maybe I need to get more sleep tonight. The swimming has been helping my sleep and keeping my mood much more intact. The lifeguard who high-fives me was working today. He high-fived me. Nice!

Water Church

I swam this morning, and it went very well. This evening my muscles hurt a bit. That happens more when I don't take any days off. I can feel it in my upper arms in particular. Still, I don't want to lose that groove, so I plan to keep at it.

The Best Saturday Night Date

I had a great night swim yesterday evening (Saturday). I've been swimming about 40 to 45 laps in half an hour lately, then stretching for about five minutes. As opposed to a slump, I'm in a groove lately and just loving it!

Laughing Underwater

Today a fat female professor who I'm friends with at the pool gave me her postcard for an art exhibit she has at a Chelsea gallery. It's called "Appetites." It ends tomorrow. I may stop by. If not, this will be the second time I have expressed interest in one of her exhibits and not attended. What a flakey swim friend! She was there for a swim class. The music was great but it only gave me one lane. I had a common, very funny interaction with a guy who joined me in the lane.

Him: (Thinking I'm going to be easy to push around)"Ill take the side by the rope, okay?"

Me: (Smiling as if I think he's offering me the lane by the wall to be nice) "That's okay!" {and I stay in the lane by the rope because I had it first, and that's the etiquette}

That response of mine is ambiguous and makes me laugh underwater.

Dove In

Yesterday I swam after therapy. The therapy was not with Dr. Gorgeous; instead, with my old therapist, Jane. Therapy is on the upper E Side, so that's where I swam. With the yuppies! And, indeed, I got someone with attitude. I was sharing a small lane, so when a man got out of the pool, I darted under the rope into his lane and continued my lap. Well, it turns out he got out to stretch...or something, because he then dove right back in. He literally dove in, and that's not allowed. He not only dove in, but he dove in in the Shallow End! A big guy! I don't know how he did it!

A Lane of One's Own

I had a fun swim today, folks. I swam slightly after rush hour (the same as regular rush hour) so it was crowded but I narrowly escaped circle swimming. I found a lane that was like a bad nyc studio apartment that one is grateful to have to one's self. The lane was tight, with a close neighbor, and had a major obstruction. The obstruction was a machine designed to lower people into the pool who can't use steps. What was nice about this lane was that I knew that it was highly doubtful that anyone would want to share it. And I was right! My close neighbor was doing free stroke and could have kept closer to the rope, though I've certainly had worse neighbors! I'm not sure if he could say the same. I was the aggressor in all three of our contacts:

1) I kicked him
2) I scratched him
3) I knuckled him

None of these contacts were too hard, and both of us were too serious about swimming to even blink regarding them.

Got Water?

I had another fantastic swim today. When I'm in this rhythm, it feels so good! I think better, have more energy, sleep better, and feel much happier. My mood goes way up. Since I'm in a relationship again, I'm going to have to be careful not to neglect the swimming. That always happens. I've told my boifriend about it, so hopefully we can keep it as a priority. I'm so much nicer when I swim, so it should be of importance to both of us!

Bold Flippers

Today I swam next to this woman who irritates me and not just for one reason, more like a package irritation. She wears a skimpy bikini, huge flippers on both her hands and feet, long dangly earrings, and a thick kickboard. I frequently get bopped by her flippers without her knowledge! The hand flippers are particularly outrageous. In the pool rules, there is something that basically says (my wording), "The lifeguard can use his or her discretion to determine if you are bringing to much weird stuff into the pool." I always hope she will be approached and told to calm down! The flippers are colorful and bold too. They don't look appropriate for the uniform atmosphere of the pool area. As for my swim, though, it was fantastic. I hope I can stay in this groove because it feels great!

Heavenly Swim

I went swimming tonight in the village. The water is always warm downtown and cold uptown. Both feel good in their own way, but cold is always a safer bet health-wise (too warm gives head-aches). I started out circle-swimming and then shared a lane with a new guy.

New guy, "Is it always this empty?"
Me, "No."
New guy, "This is my first time."
Me, "That's great! It's wonderful here!"
New guy, "It's heaven to be able to swim in the city!"
Me, "It sure is!"

1/1/2005

I swam on Saturday, New Year's Day. I always enjoy a holiday swim. The water felt cool and refreshing. I thought about how special swimming is to me. It makes me feel in control of myself. The fact that I am not hanging onto anything and doing something with my whole body feels powerful. It feels exhilerating.

Swim Gym Cliche:
"This is a good way to start the New Year!"
"Yup!"

Abandoned Make-Up

I went swimming on Thursday night, then to see Meet the Fockers. Swimming and a movie (with popcorn) is one of my favorite solo dates! A typical locker room exchange occurred tonight:

Annoying Woman: "Oh, my god! Someone left their wallet on the bench!" Turns to everyone: "Is this yours? Is this yours? Is this yours?"

Annoying Woman: "Who could be so careless! I better take this up front right away."

Annoying Woman goes over to the "wallet" and then says, "Oh, it's make-up. It's someone's make-up."

X: "It's been there for a long time."

Various folks pass by and Annoying Woman asks them all if the make-up is theirs.

Annoying Woman: "I better take this up front. It's not a wallet, but make-up can be two-hundred dollars...Yeah, I'm takin' it up to the front desk."

Annoying Woman picks up make-up pouch and exits.