Lessons Learned This Weekend

[cjsmith]

• People at ashrams are friendlier than people in my daily life.
• Walking around without shoes on for a couple of hours is a bad idea.
• I need to learn the difference between what I can do and what I won't regret doing. This is harder than it looks, because the immediate pain isn't always proportional to the cost that'll come due later on.
• I need to let go of something I'm clinging to. I don't know what yet.
• If I dip my toe in the pool and it feels "not so bad", it's bad.
• If I'm standing outside the pool and I'm not wet yet and I'm chilly, it's bad.
• Water takes a long time to drain out of my ear.
• I can ride some exercise bikes because I can get my foot far enough forward on the pedal. Rob's exercise bike is like this. However, the seat is so abysmal that I still won't touch that thing. It's possible, maybe, that I think I might actually... rather... (shh! don't say it)... swim.
• I tape my feet better than the PT intern does.

Comments

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of SwimEar. (DEFINITELY heard of, and have had, swimmer's ear. That sux.) When I was growing up we always used to use hydrogen peroxide to help the ear drain. Is SwimEar a big improvement over that?

(PS: I used the swim cap! It fits all my hair, and of course the hair's all chlorine-wet afterwards but at least it's in one place.)

[dizzdvl.livejournal.com]

Yay on the swim cap!

SwimEar is alcohol based so it dries it out pretty quick. You might have to do the "oooh I just dribbled alcohol in my ear" dance when you put it in but it works. Over the last few years I have managed to get swimmer's ear 4 times and it stinks! And I usually got it when I didn't use SwimEar or alcohol to dry my ears out.

Oh yeah, and my hairstylist suggested getting my hair wet and coating it with a little conditioner prior to swimming so the hair shaft has absorbed non-clorinated water and it will resist the chlorine a little better. They also have treatments now to de-clorinate your hair.

Remember just dunk yourself under to get it over with! Hee!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I remember that dance - I did it with the hydrogen peroxide all the time. It oozes in and it FIZZES! :-)

I'm probably going to just cut the hair, because it'll be so much easier that way.

This time I took your advice - after standing on the step up to my knees in water I said "screw it" and jumped off the diving board! I regretted it ;-) but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Another month or so and my pool might be enjoyable to use... I hope!

[dizzdvl.livejournal.com]

Now I will just have to send you some sammiches! I probably have more insulation than you do!

*sends you bacon sammichs on white bread with mayo*

*GRIN*

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

AIEEEEEEEE NOT THE MAYO! Help! Help! :-)

[tenacious-snail.livejournal.com]

one of the things that my friends with more hair than I have do is put conditioner on their hair before putting it in the swim cap. As I understand it, this is supposed to counteract the ickiness that otherwise results from chlorine exposure (coating the hair shafts and keeping them safe).

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

dizzdvl just suggested that very thing! Me, I think I'll just hack it off, but it's good to know that there are alternatives.