I wish you could come visit me. The Sea, the Gulf of Mexico is at my back door. if I could transport you here I would.
I have trouble walking, so when I do go, I take a pain pill to be able to go the 127 steps to the beach. Uneven sand plays heck with my ankles. I try to go every other day either early in the morning, or in the evening when it cools enough so you don't die! The water is more like bath water. Most of the time clear enough to see 40- feet down and more. Certain times of the year, it gets that Caribbean Aqua blue. It almost hurts your eyes it is so beautiful.

Our city fathers made a big mistake, they advertised this place. Now it is nothing like it was 20 years ago. Traffic is crazy. Any place is crowded. so in some ways it is sad to see it go from a quaint place to a tourist destination that is in the top 10 in the world. According to some papers, it is #3 in back of Paris, and Hawaii.

There are good parts Waves, but as a whole way too expensive now for me to hold out here. Soon I will move inland to where I can afford the ever increasing taxes. NONE of my neighbors have insurance anymore. maybe 50% have already sold out and moved.

I try to take it in one day at a time when I can. Appreciate it for what it is in the here and now.

If you ever can take a trip, take a trip here. Even with the crowds it is worth seeing. Look it up on the internet if you care to. I wish you could be here along with all of NT folks who need the break. ginnie

Dear DiWell, as you can see I figured it out. And also feel fine. But just to answer the questions:

No, no med changes. Also not "technically" sleep deprived and no insomnia. My concern about my schedule being messed up is pretty chronic -- it is hard for me to stay on any kind of schedule. I don't know if it's possible, but I've often wondered if I have a 25 or 26-hour circadian rhythm.

When I have to for work and such, I end up sleep deprived, but currently I can sleep whenever I need. Just would prefer to try and establish a schedule, for the swimming, and for job searching.

In any case, lately I have slept all I wanted; I just have had a slightly reduced need for sleep -- feel rested with just 5 hours. This could indicate mild activation. Trying to stay vigilant for that.

For reasons unknown, last night (i.e. this morning ), my body claimed 7 hours full. Today my mood is the same as it has been (good with high energy).

I loved your thoughts about smelling a flower or painting one or anything that was warm and fuzzy. Made me smile. You have a knack for that. Thank you so much for your post.

waves

THanks Donna!

Yes indeed, getting all that out was pretty cathartic!!!

waves

If only! Would love it!!!!
I am sorry about your ankle pain, Ginnie. I remember those uneven sands... I love them!
Yep, I know the kind. I grew up in the Caribbean, so I'm spoiled rotten when it comes to sea water and beaches, even though I appreciate the seaside just about anywhere. I haven't been to beaches on the Gulf Coast but some photos some look similar to Caribbean locations. The brilliant turquoise and aquamarine is something else, isn't it!

I hear you. That happened to the place I grew up too. I had some friends visit there decades after I'd been gone. They talked about diving with dolphins for $100 or more... like 10 mins worth. They were all excited about how "realistic" and beautiful the underwater environment was. Iy made me sick to the stomach.

When I lived there, there were already major hotels, but they didn't have all the super-artificial crud they started adding. There was a (man-made) channel, and dolphins would come through to visit. (also turtles, rays, etc). There was a walkway from which one could watch them play, or even reach out to them, they were friendly. But they could leave whenever they felt like.

As for "realistic" underwater places... Who wants realISTIC when you've got REAL. But they dug out the island to put in fake stuff for which they could sell tickets. The natural reefs were everywhere and splendid. All you had to do is swim out a little way to see that REAL beauty. Easily accessible, waters shallow enough for snorkeling, diving equip not necessary. And cost maybe $15 to get somebody with a lil boat to take you if you weren't at a shore that had a reef close by. Friend of mine had a house on the water... could swim out to the reef from there easy.

Yes, it is sad. I don't know the ranking of where I lived, but it is up there. I understand.

I am sorry about this Ginnie.

Let's just try to hang in there, and say a prayer for these special places that the big industries are hacking up with their "investments", Ginnie.

Thanks so much for your other post as well. I am happy to say I am doing fine today. I was overwrought after immersing myself in the swimming issues for too long. I am glad I found the explanation, too.

Take care

waves

Waves,

Today is crazy busy but I want to respond to some things in case any of my words help.

1. You do not have to worry about crashing into other people. They are supposed to watch out for you too . (There are sites that have suggestions for this but I think it varies from pool to pool: . . .. talking to the person in the lane, finding a lane with a swimmer of similar speed)

2. Three or four people is a lot. I am hoping that you do not encounter that very often.

3. The pool is not anywhere close to fresh water or ocean. Pools are a different kettle of fish. The only thing that makes them similar is water.

4. I was at a pool that was shallow like that. It felt weird. Maybe it is a liability issue.

5. I like to swim by myself too so I understand.

6. I grew up with brothers and a sister so I am soooo past getting undressed in front of people. But again, I understand. I think one trick is to wear something that is easy to get off and on. Here there is gym ttiquette that invovles not looking at anyone dressing. The dresser should not be looking either. Looking is not appropriate. One reason is because the looking can be construed as a come one . .. (O.K. I looked all over for that and cannot find a site to link to. It cannot be that I made that up. Anyway, it is common sense to ignore people in the locker room and wait until you are in the pool area or the gym area to talk to people.)

7. Yes. That is a problem. That would be the worst problem for me. Wash yourself thoroughly when you get home ( and dry your feet thoroughly). That is the only suggestion I have.

8. Probably you cannot fix anything except adjust your previous expectations considerably. This is about living and working and working out in crowded conditions.

9.It does feel like a lot of money and you are not getting everything you want out of it.

10. I have used public pools until 10 or so years ago and they are not the same as the ocean but they can work well enough with some adjustment. They will never substitute for the beach.

11. It is o.k. that you did not check it out more thoroughly. It happens. Do not give yourself a hard time. You thought that the whole thing would make sense. . . .that at least SOMETHING would make sense. (See above when I said that apparently the only thing that does make sense is WATER.)

12. Pools in backyards have a hefty insurance cost. Non filthy rich people look for homes without pools. BUt yes, it would be cool to step outside and swim in our own pool.

There are good reasons to go to the gym.
THere are lots of sites about gym etiquette so you are not the one who wishes things were nicer:
http://www.carlmason-liebenberg.com/...tte-essential/
I tired to find lane sharing etiquette, but found much variation -- prolly depends on the pool.
. . . I saw some links about sharing lanes. Knowing what to expect from the other swimmer and knowing what the other swimmer expects from you might help with your anger/anxiety/and so on . . . .. (Do not make up rules that do not exist. 80% of the other people are doing their best to share. They are trying to be considerate of your needs. )
Talk to the people at the desk. Or ask the people who are swimming . . ask when they get to the end of the lane.

M

http://pandce.proboards.com/thread/24887

Above is a link I found. There does not seem to be agreement so you might need to observe and talk to people.

Good luck.

Try going to the gym two more times and then decide if you do not like it. Maybe the next two times will be non-horrible.

Mari

Thanks very much, Mari.

Thank you for understanding.

---------------
On lane sharing:

I looked at lane-sharing etiquette a lot on youtube. I might have to redo the search in a different language to see if I get more insight as to what is done here, but I learned enough about what is done in the U.S. to realize that, hey, this is not some totally weird thing.

I also found out there are different ways to do it, and different degrees of etiquette. One video says you must get consent from the other swimmer. Another says swimmers will often not want to stop their workout and that's ok and tells you how to proceed, i.e., the assumption is that lane-sharing is always acceptable. The guy that got into the lane with me observed what this second video said. He followed the exact steps actually, but basically the idea is to be slow and cautious about it, make sure the other swimmer knows you are there and stick to your side.

I have lots of doubts about different things. For instance, I change strokes. This is not a strange thing either -- this is recommended for exercising. Yet, I did not see one single, solitary other person in there, at any point, doing anything but freestyle. That is the easiest stroke for sharing lanes but I do not intend to swim all freestyle.

You mention picking someone with similar speed. Well, I did not pick who shared my lane. I do not know that I'd feel comfortable entering an occupied lane. If I continue, I'll have to figure that out. I do keep seeing references to slow and fast lanes on internet though. Well, I saw no indication at this place that certain lanes were "faster" than others. I can ask about that probably. I need to be on the slowest possible side if there is one.

A serious problem of mine... I do not have good balance which means I suck at swimming in a straight line. That sounds pathetic because it is pathetic. But that is why I worry more about crashing into someone than about being crashed into. It also means that, if sharing, I must constantly check where I am and where the other person is, because I stray from my orientation in the lane too easily.

Focusing on relative position so much distracts me from focusing on my stroke. Bad thing, because cleaning up the strokes is important for 1) healthy movements, 2) a good workout 3) implicitly straighter swimming!

---------------
On the foot pool:

That is so majorly gross. The memory of wading through it has sort of haunted me. I do have an idea for a post-correction (besides washing at home as you suggest). I was thinking of bringing a travel bottle of disinfecting detergent washing my feet & top part of flip-flops when I rinse after the pool. I can probably find an essential oil that is antimycotic to add to the det. Hopefully an oil we already have at home. Still, the whole concept of that foot pool does gross me out big time, even if I can correct for it afterwards.

---------------
On the changing:

I mostly do the "look stupid and take measures to not be nekkid" approach. That still involves underwear exposure and stuff, or I might not be completely but somewhat exposed... can deal with that. Also I show up with my suit underneath, so I only have to change when leaving. If I get too bothered, I will forgo that and keep a wet swimsuit underneath. Yeah, less than ideal. Can't think of anything in this experience that is ideal though.

Another thing about the changing rooms. Actually 2.

1. Children. Last time, a grandma was in there with her grandSON who was about 5. The boy would not take his eyes off me. I fiddled with my stuff until they were ready -- and they took their bleeding time. The kid stared at me continously. No other women were in there. I do not know if that grandma totally expected me to go ahead and change in front of the kid, or what. Even if I were ok changing with other women, it seems hugely inappropriate to do so in front of a 5 year old male child, but that may not be the case in this culture. I mean many women go topless beaches but I've not seen full nudity at "normal" beaches. A different view is taken to nudity overall though, so who can tell what the expectations are. Anyway, I was upset by the kid being in there. I also felt like the stupid woman should have reprimanded him for staring, regardless of what I was doing or not doing.

2. Maintenance. While fiddling with things, I suddenly heard an adult male voice. They are repainting the changing rooms and he was showing someone something about a color. A female attendant was with him. She probably checked nobody was undressed before entering, but I was standing there in a dripping bathing suit and towel. For all she knew, I could have stripped nekkid the very next second. That was creepy.

Sorry for the super long reply. I am going to go off and do something different for a while now.

Thank you for taking the time to reply before. Your post was comforting.

waves

I was very glad to read this.
bizi

LOL Bizi! What is it that makes you glad:
-- the one 7-hour night?
-- the possible activation?
-- the "sort of vigilance"?

I was back to 5 hours last night... and I woke up after only 3 hours feeling almost good enough to get up.

waves

This is a helpful and maybe doable suggestion. It is a sensible suggestion and doesn't put lots of pressure on me, unlike my mother's:

-- Well now that you've paid for it you better do it because you'll definitely get some benefit out of it.

Sure... but at what additional cost? Anyway.

For my part, I'd thought in terms of breaking even on single-day entries, but even that seems onerous right now. I'd have to go 5 times (4 more) so that what I spent would be just under the cost of 5 single visits, but even that feels too hard. I think I need to take it one day at a time for now, despite being painfully aware that if I space things out too much I won't increase my fitness level at all.

Today I was all packed to go, including mini-bottle with disinfectant detergent spiked with melaleuca essential oil for antimycotic action. I didn't make it. I ate leftover turkey at 9 am - probably dumb, but I was real hungry. It doesn't usually bother me but at 11.00 today my stomach was churning - swimming not good idea.

-----------------

I think I need not to read any more stuff on the internet. I have read what I need at this point - the rest must be figured out in the situation. I searched for some local stuff this morning to find out about lane sharing tendencies here, and found people with serious attitude. One guy was talking about blimps, fata$$es, slowpokes, old farts, etc... It made me angry and resentful, but also really inept. With my current level of (un)fitness, after decades of not swimming, and considering I was no hotshot to start with, I qualify for two of the four insults I mentioned.

I slumped back in bed, fell asleep with the stupid turkey on my stomach and the mean forum posts (those above AND others) on the brain. I dreamed that I skipped the gym pool today but practiced in the small condo pool (inexistent in RL). Every time I tried to adjust my stroke somehow, I'd end up vertical -- basically treading water.

Such were today's swimming adventures.

waves feeling under the gun