Hot Days and Swimming Pools....

Short weeks at work are nice. It means that today is the middle of the week instead of only being Tuesday. It's shaping up to be one of those weeks where I just feel frustrated with my job and am starting to get the itch to look elsewhere again.

It's not that I don't like the work. I'm just frustrated with the politics. No matter what I do or what I say, I end up playing second fiddle to my coworker who seems to be able to do no wrong.

She mostly doesn't do wrong although she's a little bored at work at the moment. Thus, she goes to 'talk business' with her friends and disappears for hour-long stretches at a time. My boss doesn't notice. I know that sometimes she does talk shop but, mostly, she disappears and starts whispering with one of her friends.

I hate whispering in the office. I think it's quite unnecessary. There are enough locations throughout where people can go inside, shut the door and talk properly. Whispering incites gossip and I get fed up with that.

Still, it's not all bad. I've been busy lately which has made the days go fast. Also, it's been so hot outside that going to the office isn't so bad. It's very cool in our building on hot days where the heat index is above 100 degrees, it's nice to be in the air-conditioning, looking out on the hazy day.

It's so hot out there that it feels as there's no air moving at all. It feels like a classic summer day where all you want to do is lie on a raft in a swimming pool and float the day away. I've done that before and it's one of the pure joys of hot days. You lie on the raft, listening to the gentle lap of the water as it brushes the sides of the pool and the edges of the raft. Chances are, you got in the pool to get on the raft and so your swimsuit is wet and the last drips are evaporating on your skin. You start to get warm as you dry, the hot sun beating down on you and, just when it gets to be so hot that you're going to start sweating...plop! You roll into the pool and begin the whole process again.

When I was younger, my parents got us one of those inexpensive above-ground pools. It was somewhat flimsier than the more 'permanent' models but it held water and was deep enough for us to float. My younger brother and I were the primary users of the pool, playing and floating on a Little Mermaid raft that provided endless hours of amusement. Summers later, the pool began to leak and we got rid of it.

Sometimes, I think it would be nice to have one of those pools in my back yard now I have one of my own. Unfortunately, my back yard isn't nearly as big as my parents' and a pool would take up most of the grass. Also, I'm afraid if I did get one, the summer's day peace would be interrupted by the yapping of the Dog Whisperer's beasts.

The closest pool is just down the street at the community center. It requires a membership to use and, given that it's summer, its primary users are children. This means that it would be hard to peacefully float on a raft because if there's even enough room for a raft, it would probably be jostled and splashed by kids doing cannonballs and learning to swim.

The best floating I ever did was at a spa in California with one of my best friends. It's a wonderful place, that spa. You pay an entrance fee and you have access to their multiple pools which include saltwater, sulfer, hot springs and other spa-oriented pools and you can also get a mud treatment. My friend and I floated for hours in the pool that allows rafts, slowly getting punchier and sillier as we floated and we relaxed more than more. That was a hot summer day where it felt good to get wet and let the sun dry away the water.

Since I don't have a pool now, I can only close my eyes and imagine I'm floating. The closest I've come is accidentally soaking myself with the hose while trying to screw it to the tap a little tighter. The cold water felt good on my skin, even though it soaked my clothes. I let myself dry in the sun and the sensation was very nice and cooling. It's not a pool but it did the trick.

Sometimes, we just have to improvise. Especially on hot summer days.

Happy Thursday and stay cool!