Why I didnt go swimming...

I decided to improve my swimming skills this summer. Why I decided to do so is a long story. I will delve into that some other time.

I asked a few people at my office, they said that the swimming pool in sadashivnagar is pretty good and that it conforms to the olympic standards (i.e 8 lane etc...) I decided to go there.

Luckily(which turned out to be unluckily) for me there was a camp starting after 2 days. Sameer and I got enrolled in it. I Paid 1700 bucks. Now I had to get the costumes ready, the swimming shorts that i used to use a few months/years back wouldn’t fit. I had grown laterally i guess, atleast people told me that. So I had to purchase new ones.

Along with Sameer I went to Olympic sports in Malleswaram, we told the lady there that we needed swimming trunks. For some reason the lady found it very funny that we are asking for swimming trunks????Sameer said that the way i asked it embarrassed him also!! I had an argument with him about that later on, anyway lets keep it at that.

I purchased a pair of swimming goggles, I didn’t want to burn my eyes in the excessively chlorinated water which is the easiest way to maintain a swimming pool without paying for labor or changing the water regularly.

Finally we went to the swimming pool an hour early to complete the formalities and start swimming. To my surprise, there was a swimming contest going on and I enquired in the office as to how they are going to coach us. I was told that we would be coached in the baby pool, which is further down the main swimming pool. I was also told three days a week it would be at baby pool and another 3 days at the main swimming pool!!

We went to check the baby pool and as soon as we saw it, we knew we didn’t want to swim there.

I was not new to swimming, but wanted my skills to be better so that i could use it as a fitness exercise in the future. The idea of going to gym for fitness is not very appealing to me. I am more concerned about endurance, stamina and flexibility than muscle power, brawn and great looking body.

Anyway with the reassurance of swimming 3 days in the big swimming pool we asked one of the people there as to where we could change? He said "Sir, go behind the bushes"!!!!!!????
He continued, saying that it is pretty dark and that no one would notice us. I told him it was not about people noticing me when changing, but about lack of certain basic facilities after having paid a good sum of money!!!

When we were walking along the pool I asked Sameer if we should refund the money, without any hesitation he said "yes" and so we ended up refunding.

Refunding wasn't easy. After a lot of haggling and arguments with the manager, 1500 bucks was refunded. He kept 200+200 bucks, which I am pretty sure, went into his pocket rather than the K.C Reddy swimming association.

Drenched and embarrassed

We left for anil's treat to Angeti , a restaurant in Church street. It started drizzling on the way and I began cursing my luck. My car had to be abandoned becuase it was overheating and now it starts raining when I am in my friends's bike, it hardly used to rain when i used to drive. Atleast that way my car would have looked clean, I would have considered that a gift from god. Anyway lets not digress here. As i was saying , by the time i reached Angeti I was partially wet. I went to the restroom and got myself dried emptying the tissue papers there. Finally, it was dinner time, all of us sat at the open space at Angeti. For some reason we later on moved into a closed room and within minutes the waiter was taking our orders.

As he was pouring water into our tumblers, he spilt a whole jar of water on my shirt!!!! rather he spilt a jar of cold water on my shirt. Now the scenario is like this. It is raining outside and hence is pretty cold. The AC in the room was also set to a low temperature, to add to that i am also drenched in cold water.

There was no way i could have sat there without removing my shirt. So i told the waiter that if he could assure me that nobody else was coming to the room I would then remove my shirt. He
said it would not be a problem if I remove my shirt and so i did. I removed my shirt and was sitting there with only my vests to cover my chest. Atleast it would be better than the drenched shirt.

I was comfortable. Within minutes my friend says "oh oh" and when i turn back i see around 7 -8 women getting into the room. All of them looking at me as if I am some sort of a nut case. I tried not to look at them and I tried to protect my identity. No use. I think i saw smirks in a few faces.

Just then my savior arrived. He was a person who was wearing a jacket. I then took his jacket and wore it. After a few minutes all the women left and we were the only group in that room. I guess they left becuase the idea of having food in a room of drunken bachelors didnt sound good or that there was no amusement( I was wearing a jacket now you know).