OT: The glorious water.

When I woke up this morning it was still dark outside. I saw that there was a slight breeze because I could see the leaves and small branches on the forest of trees that surround our house swaying and shimmying. I sat up on the edge of the bed and did a long stretch; then I looked for my shoes. Or rather, my sandals. It is Summer here after all. No matter what the calendar says...

I've been to swim practice consistently and over the last week the pool manager was having some difficulty keeping the water cool, and an imbalance in the chemistry was causing the water to be cloudy. We say, "cloudy" but what we really mean is that there was a uniformly limited visibility, more like a water fog. I had high hopes that everything would be figured out today. Yesterday the pool seemed on the mend. 

I pulled on a beleaguered pair of khaki pants and a seersucker dress shirt. I marveled that the shirt, a size "medium" was loose and floppy. I might have lost all the holiday weight I added two quarters ago. You can really feel that extra two pounds when it arrives. And when it leaves.

We have a long hallway from our bedroom to the dining room and the kitchen. I stopped halfway down to look out at the side yard which is still lovely, lush and green. The heat hasn't wrapped itself around the tender tendrils of grass and nudged it all toward dry and brown. The day lilies are in full bloom. The sweet olive bushes have recovered from two devastating freezes and are standing tall and looking confident. 

It's always good to eat something at the start of the day. It doesn't have to be something you think too much about. It's okay to wing it. I toasted some Parisienne sourdough bread, spread a light coat of fresh butter on it and then an even lighter coat of apricot jam. I have mastered the toaster. The result? A perfect brown finish. Crunchy. Full of flavor. 

While waiting for the toast I boiled water for coffee, arranged the filter inside the ceramic cone of my pour over coffee apparatus, ground freshly medium roasted Columbian coffee beans in my hand grinder, and followed the ritual for optimum flavor. At least "optimum" from my point of view. I knew it would be a tough workout this morning so I opted to drink the coffee black instead of indulging myself with an ample splash of half and half. 

After I rinsed off the coffee making parts, the cup and my plate I headed to my bathroom to apply sunscreen and to brush my teeth. None of my lane mates should be subjected to morning coffee breath. At exactly 7:45 a.m. I left the house with my towel, dry suit, swim bag full of goggles and post swim toiletries, and a bar of Newton Bay Swimmer's Soap, got into my wonderful white car and headed over to the pool. 

UT classes are over for the semester. The local high school is wrapped up, I think, and traffic was light. I pulled into the parking lot at five minutes till eight. Perfect timing. 

I stood on the deck and chatted with my lane mates, Jane and Sheila, pulled on my silicone swim cap, adjusted my goggles and plunged into clear, clean, cool water. It was at the perfect temperature; 77°. 

The pool chillers are doing their job. The chemical fog was gone. Coach Jen was on deck writing a very scary (challenging?) workout on the white board. For the next hour everything, EVERYTHING, was right with the world. 

What did I think about as we progressed through sets of butterfly swims, backstroke drills and fast, freestyle sprints? Mostly about technique but when I would get into a nice flow I let my mind drift to the camera and lens I would take out this afternoon as a companion on my lackadaisical travels through Austin. I kept coming back to the Leica M240, in black, with a 35mm Zeiss lens on the front and a Zeiss 35mm bright line finder in the hot shoe. Seems like just the camera for a day with no real agenda and no pressing commitments. 

I remember back ten or twenty years ago to a more hectic schedule. I'm reminded that no matter how crazy things got at work I nearly always set aside that hour in the morning to swim. To greet the morning with enthusiasm. To honor a routine. And it makes me feel good to know I had the discipline to show up every day. It's not just swimming; it's a way to navigate through life, feeling as well as possible... for as long as possible. 

Best just to answer one's mail, pay one's bills and get out the door with a camera just as soon as you can. You only get one life (that we know of). Why fuck around and wait for something to happen?