Close encounter with an Actual AlGore Loving Kool-Aide drinker

I'd done with a mile swim at the Kroc Center yesterday, and rewarded myself with some QT afterwards in the therapy pool. I was first one in, and was joined shortly thereafter by a "hippy aged" member.

AGLKAD: I just saw the most frightening bumper sticker I've ever seen!
Gem: What?
AGLKAD: It said: "Stop global whining! " Such ignorance!
Gem: [guffaw]
AGLKAD: I think it is people's behavior that's causing the high temps.
Gem: I love it! I wonder where I can get one?

At this point, the young blue eyed blond life guard, sitting within earshot, about peed herself choking back laughter. The conversation continued...

Gem: Coldest record June temps!
YBEBLG: You bet, it's been freezing out here.
AGLKAD: [silent, like Marcel Marceau]
Gem: Matter of fact, I celebrated Earth Day by renting a humvee and driving all over town, left the lights on, and told people they shouldn't be out shopping, but home, making more babies!
YBEBLG: [not being able to stiffle a laugh burst out laughing]
AGLKAD: [opens pie hole, then thinking better of it, shuts it.]

Fortunately, at that point another woman came on in, and the conversation quickly turned to books. NOT "Earth in the Lurch" or whatever the hell it was called.

Mermaid Update

I started going to the Kroc Center to do swimming Jan. 21. So far I've swum 22 miles...not quite enough to make it to Santa Catalina ♫, but if memory serves far enough to have swum the channel.

Need to get a new suit already as the one I have is hanging on me. Dropped a trouser size and a bit. Still have a ways to go before sveltitudeness is achieved, but unless I get lazy should make great progress by end of summer if I keep it up.

I must say I like this form of exercise, I don't feel like I'm slogging along in my own sweat. On the weekdays if I swim before work I started doing 1/2 miles, and almost a month ago I started doing 3/4 mile as my base a.m. workout. If I go in on the weekend I've done as much as two miles a workout. (This past Sunday. Took me ages!) This a.m. I did the .75 at 59 minutes. In the beginning it took me 50 minutes to do a half mile. I just do an elongated dog paddle and the backstroke, so that's why the times are slow. I don't feel like taking my contacts in and out, so I keep my eyes out of the water. I think I'm starting to grow gills. Haven't changed my diet a bit so still hitting pizza and hot dogs. And Starbucks carmel cider is addictive. I treat myself before Monday a.m. Mass. I'm usually in the water 5 days out of 7 unless *stuff happens* happened.

Throwback time!!!

Yes, Virginia, there are small outposts here and there where "the youth" actually listen to adults and stop doing whatever it is that they're doing that they're not supposed to be doing. This past Saturday, I'd gotten down to the Kroc Center early before it was open for swimming. So I hung out for about 20 minutes in the ice arena where some older teens were playing pickup hockey. [The teams are ALL named "the Saints."] The center has a policy on "no foul abusive language" etc.

Ice hockey, being the sport it is, has more than a little incidental contact. Right at the end of "their time" sure enough the inevitable happened. Someone had a golden shot right at the net, so he came flying towards the goal. Someone else managed to check him in really hard to the goalie, and the goalie went into the net. There was some pushing, shoving, and all of a sudden both benches emptied and three small shoving matches took place. An adult called out "Cut it out." They sorta stopped, then started again. Adult yelled again, "I said 'CUT IT OUT." They cut that crap out. No bloody noses, though granted a few dirty looks. Both teams "huddled" for "good game" and nary a high stick from behind thereafter. Whether or not someone drenched someone else's clothes in the shower afterwards, I couldn't tell you.

I was somewhat bemused, and later asked someone about it. "Well, they want to play, and if they fight, they're barred from playing."

The ALL time ice-hockey fight I saw was a good 25 years ago during a San Diego Gulls game I think my mom and I counted a good total of some 13+ guys in the penalty box after the fight - including one of the goalies. I think there were 3 guys on one side, and about the same on the other after all the penalities were assessed!

I felt so virtuous today...

I was up before the crack of dawn to go swimming.

I'd joined the Kroc Center last night, an amazing facility with 3 pools (one rec., one olympic, one therapy), an ice skating rink, gym, fitness center, theatre, library, classrooms, and God knows what else.

In Jan the 99 buck registration fee was waived, so it was just 3 months in advance (at 25 bucks a month) and then you can go month to month after that. The widow Kroc (Ray Kroc had founded McDonald's corp) donated heavy coin to get it built. The rec & olympic pools are outdoors, but when I went in the pool though the air temp was in the low sixties, the water temp was a pleasant 84. Nice endorphin rush, and still had time to have a nice breakfast afterwards and get to work on time. Of course I felt like crashing totally at 10. So now I have no excuse for not getting enough exercise. Though I don't think I'll be going rock climbing anytime before Hell freezes over. I know my limits!