I just posted two sad posts in a row which means that now it would be time for... [drumroll] Yep, another sad post. Which is totally not what I've ever been about with the blogging but apparently it's the conduit that got me to start writing again this time, so I'm going with it.
And really, this one isn't sad; I'm just being dramatic. The nephew in the navy is sad. The waitress who probably found a better job? Even that is not really sad, just mildly inconvenient. But this is at least sad enough to change life as I've come to know it over the last 3 months, so that makes it at least somewhat significant on the sadness scale.
I had to drain the pool last weekend.
First time ever doing so, given that this was the first summer ever where I actually had a pool. Lordy, I feel entitled just typing that. An actual pool. Like the Beverly Hillbillies, except my pond was not cement, it was inflated rubber or whatever it's made of. It was so nice to have, too. Like every time I'd mow the lawn and be all hot and sweaty and think "Man, I wish I had a pool right now to fall into..." And this time I DID! And I had the floating lounge tube with cup holder to drift upon, and the inflated air mattress to lay on, and the little solar disco light that charged all day and then put on a little dance show for me each night. It was just so splendidly wonderful, like my whole life had led to this.
Given the prominence this thing took in my life, you'd have thought I'd have made "pool" the number one criteria when house hunting a few years back. But I didn't, because I was trying to be all grown up and reasonable, and this isn't exactly the geography where you're going to get much use out of the thing. But as the house I did buy started coming together, that pool was always there in my mind as the thing that was making it all NOT perfect. As in, this is not my lifelong dream. There is no pool. I cannot possibly be happy here.
Two confessions.
It's barely a pool. 3 feet deep, 13 foot circumference. Two body lengths of me. I can float from one end to the other in all of .5 seconds. It could hold two people in a sitting or laying position, maybe 10 if we were all standing up, water to our knees.
And also, I really didn't get much use out of it. Took about a month for the water temperature to get comfortable, and then a month after that it was in the shade all day and never warmed up at all, no matter how hot it got outside. (August was kind of cloudy/rainy, with lower night time temperatures, not really typical for this climate. And totally the opposite of the "global warming" concept, which I think is why they are calling it "climate change" now.)
So, July was nice. Never really had anybody over to enjoy it with me, although my sister got some use from it the day after the Queen concert when she spent the night.
Most annoying of all this summer was not so much the August cooldown but the fact that even though I live alone and kind of like it that way, I was never truly alone in my backyard. Magic Mike next door was there, sitting in his deck chair, smoking his cigarettes, working very very hard on his tan, all day. EVERY DAY. Seems Magic Mike (I call him that because he doesn't wear much, despite the fact that he really, really, SHOULD be wearing more. For the love, just put on a shirt, man.), seems he's not working any more. I don't know the story, I'm not going to ask, I just know he's not working. Or doing anything. He's just there, all fucking day, every fucking day, all fucking summer. Repeated use of the word "fucking" means I'm kind of fucking pissed about it. I don't even think he's 50, so I'd kind of like the story, because if he's figured out how to not work and still survive, I want in on the action. But even if I wasn't working, what I'd have done is spend an hour at the pool, and then fucking find something else to do. Hell, I'm the most addicted chain-smoker I know, and even I take breaks in between them to do real things. It's just weird to me. Weird, frustrating, and totally counter to my other bucket list item of not having tan lines. And now you see the point.
Anyway, I had a pool. I got to use it for a month. Even when not using it, it was nice to look at. Kind of comforting, almost. Like, even though I'm not going to swim today, maybe tomorrow. That option was always there. And they were talking about a warm fall and late winter, so there was this remote possibility that I would get much more use out of it. But that just never happened.
As summer wore on it became harder and harder to keep the water clean. Despite not much surface area, the damn bugs had no problem finding that thing. I monitored the chemicals and frequently replaced the filter and skimmed the water daily. Once a week I took this little vacuum-ey thing I bought to suck the dirt off the bottom. But there was always more dirt. I guess I live too close to a busy road, or the air over this city is more polluted than anyone realizes. Point being, lot of work. And by Labor Day, there was nothing, I mean nothing, I could do to make that water blue again.
I held off on the draining for an extra week, ever the optimist. Just one more pool day, I prayed to the god I don't believe in. She didn't give a shit, probably due to my lack of belief. There was just no point anymore. Even if we have the hottest October in history, that water will not heat up and that blanket of dirt will not go away. So last Saturday I stuck one end of the hose in the water, gave the other end a good suck (yeah, it looked just as ridiculous as it sounds) and then tossed that end over to the corner of the yard that was closest to the street sewer.
The next morning, I looked out the window. Just the most pathetic sight you ever did see. My once firm and robust kiddie pool now laid limp and flaccid in the middle of the patio, still about an inch of dirty water sitting stagnant inside. It was filthy, it was tired, and it seemed like just yesterday we had been so happy together, me floating on an inflatable mattress in the cozy crystal water, Magic Mike watching from his deck next door and wishing he were as fabulous as me.
I kind of feel like there's a metaphor for the rest of my life buried in this story somewhere. Or not, who knows. I've always been kind of slow on the uptake.
And really, this one isn't sad; I'm just being dramatic. The nephew in the navy is sad. The waitress who probably found a better job? Even that is not really sad, just mildly inconvenient. But this is at least sad enough to change life as I've come to know it over the last 3 months, so that makes it at least somewhat significant on the sadness scale.
I had to drain the pool last weekend.
First time ever doing so, given that this was the first summer ever where I actually had a pool. Lordy, I feel entitled just typing that. An actual pool. Like the Beverly Hillbillies, except my pond was not cement, it was inflated rubber or whatever it's made of. It was so nice to have, too. Like every time I'd mow the lawn and be all hot and sweaty and think "Man, I wish I had a pool right now to fall into..." And this time I DID! And I had the floating lounge tube with cup holder to drift upon, and the inflated air mattress to lay on, and the little solar disco light that charged all day and then put on a little dance show for me each night. It was just so splendidly wonderful, like my whole life had led to this.
Given the prominence this thing took in my life, you'd have thought I'd have made "pool" the number one criteria when house hunting a few years back. But I didn't, because I was trying to be all grown up and reasonable, and this isn't exactly the geography where you're going to get much use out of the thing. But as the house I did buy started coming together, that pool was always there in my mind as the thing that was making it all NOT perfect. As in, this is not my lifelong dream. There is no pool. I cannot possibly be happy here.
Two confessions.
It's barely a pool. 3 feet deep, 13 foot circumference. Two body lengths of me. I can float from one end to the other in all of .5 seconds. It could hold two people in a sitting or laying position, maybe 10 if we were all standing up, water to our knees.
And also, I really didn't get much use out of it. Took about a month for the water temperature to get comfortable, and then a month after that it was in the shade all day and never warmed up at all, no matter how hot it got outside. (August was kind of cloudy/rainy, with lower night time temperatures, not really typical for this climate. And totally the opposite of the "global warming" concept, which I think is why they are calling it "climate change" now.)
So, July was nice. Never really had anybody over to enjoy it with me, although my sister got some use from it the day after the Queen concert when she spent the night.
Most annoying of all this summer was not so much the August cooldown but the fact that even though I live alone and kind of like it that way, I was never truly alone in my backyard. Magic Mike next door was there, sitting in his deck chair, smoking his cigarettes, working very very hard on his tan, all day. EVERY DAY. Seems Magic Mike (I call him that because he doesn't wear much, despite the fact that he really, really, SHOULD be wearing more. For the love, just put on a shirt, man.), seems he's not working any more. I don't know the story, I'm not going to ask, I just know he's not working. Or doing anything. He's just there, all fucking day, every fucking day, all fucking summer. Repeated use of the word "fucking" means I'm kind of fucking pissed about it. I don't even think he's 50, so I'd kind of like the story, because if he's figured out how to not work and still survive, I want in on the action. But even if I wasn't working, what I'd have done is spend an hour at the pool, and then fucking find something else to do. Hell, I'm the most addicted chain-smoker I know, and even I take breaks in between them to do real things. It's just weird to me. Weird, frustrating, and totally counter to my other bucket list item of not having tan lines. And now you see the point.
Anyway, I had a pool. I got to use it for a month. Even when not using it, it was nice to look at. Kind of comforting, almost. Like, even though I'm not going to swim today, maybe tomorrow. That option was always there. And they were talking about a warm fall and late winter, so there was this remote possibility that I would get much more use out of it. But that just never happened.
As summer wore on it became harder and harder to keep the water clean. Despite not much surface area, the damn bugs had no problem finding that thing. I monitored the chemicals and frequently replaced the filter and skimmed the water daily. Once a week I took this little vacuum-ey thing I bought to suck the dirt off the bottom. But there was always more dirt. I guess I live too close to a busy road, or the air over this city is more polluted than anyone realizes. Point being, lot of work. And by Labor Day, there was nothing, I mean nothing, I could do to make that water blue again.
I held off on the draining for an extra week, ever the optimist. Just one more pool day, I prayed to the god I don't believe in. She didn't give a shit, probably due to my lack of belief. There was just no point anymore. Even if we have the hottest October in history, that water will not heat up and that blanket of dirt will not go away. So last Saturday I stuck one end of the hose in the water, gave the other end a good suck (yeah, it looked just as ridiculous as it sounds) and then tossed that end over to the corner of the yard that was closest to the street sewer.
The next morning, I looked out the window. Just the most pathetic sight you ever did see. My once firm and robust kiddie pool now laid limp and flaccid in the middle of the patio, still about an inch of dirty water sitting stagnant inside. It was filthy, it was tired, and it seemed like just yesterday we had been so happy together, me floating on an inflatable mattress in the cozy crystal water, Magic Mike watching from his deck next door and wishing he were as fabulous as me.
I kind of feel like there's a metaphor for the rest of my life buried in this story somewhere. Or not, who knows. I've always been kind of slow on the uptake.
I had one of those huge pools.plastic and rubber and it was a great joy..for about 3 weeks..cleaning the bastard was a all day every day job..my boys would jump in and use it for an outdoor bath..teenagers...jeez..and you think they would clean it? noooo...sigh..fall is here in Texas and it's 98 degrees..fck.
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