I dropped out of the gym sometime
in autumn 2018. I can’t remember why, I think there was no specific reason. I
just couldn’t drag my butt to the gym any more – I was mentally tired of it – and
after a couple of months I realised there was no point in my paying for
nothing. But last summer I made a decision to pick it up again. There have been
ups and downs but in general I’ve managed alright.
It was about a month ago when a
good friend (who’s also a member) wanted to visit a specific club in Tallinn
(they are all over the place) where they have a decent spa area with a smallish
swimming pool and jacuzzi and a couple of saunas. I had never been to that club…
and it was love from the first sight. Now I only go there. And it has become a
bit of an obsession. Or a really healthy regular regime, if you will. I go
swimming four times a week and I don’t know how I ever survived without it.
The spa area is a bit of a
microcosm by itself. It has its own life and rhythms. The more I go, the more I
like it, and the more I notice. There are times when it gets terribly crowded,
around 6-7 in the evening. I don’t mind much. But I’m one of those introverts
who sniffs out the quietest hours, too. Sunday morning at 9 is my absolute
favourite. There have been occasions when I’m the only one there for almost an
hour and it’s heavenly. Then I get a little confused, like a kid in a candy
shop – I should first go to the pool, no, the jacuzzi, no, it still should be
the pool, oh, but what about the saunas, do I ever get to enjoy them privately! People, when they are there, are also fun to watch. Sauna and a pool is
actually a great place for people spotting. There are all kinds of them. Some
are terribly self-conscious, some very confident, some are loud and others are
quiet. Some could be on a cover of a fitness magazine, others, hmmm, probably not.
There’s a lot of rating going on all the time, I’ve noticed. As soon as someone
new comes to the spa area, there are all those glances flying back and forth.
Sometimes one whole side of the pool is full of young men, clearly rating and
giving points from one to ten to girls. One time there was a group of gals
sitting on the edge of the jacuzzi, watching others like hawks. Guys seem to be
rating only girls but girls rate everyone. And by the looks of it, they are
not particularly merciful to their fellow Eves. Brotherhood seems to be much
stronger a bond than sisterhood.
Being there every other day, I am
surprised how few of these people are actually regulars. There are only a
couple of them I recognise. There’s a girl about my age who comes quite early
in the morning (sometimes I go before hitting the office) and who swims as if
her life depended on it, and always leaves at 9 a.m. sharp. She’s never with a
friend, never says a word, never goes to sauna. She just swims and swims and
you don’t want to get in her way. Then there’s an elderly couple, and they are
very sweet. I salute them for being there among all those fitness-obsessed youngsters.
And then there is a young guy who is the most regular; I see him about twice a
week. He is very handsome and in amazing shape, in my vainest moments I call him Mr Six Pack –
for obvious reasons. I told my girlfriends about him and they screamed their heads off, and now they are asking me every other day if I have spoken to him yet. I
never have, so they are disappointed and bombard me with pick-up lines (which, they think, I ought to use) that are so
cheesy they make my teeth ache. But it’s all great fun, I've had some good laughs about it.
There’s so much stress at work
these days. It’s not all bad stress, some of it is of the good kind. Teaching
Greek is mostly fun, for example. Or radio devotionals – my morning devotionals
were aired in the national radio last week and judging by the feedback, they were a
success. But there are also tensions and messes, one particular having to do
with money. So every time the topic comes up, my blood pressure sky rockets.
So. This swimming pool with all its wonderful and weird people has turned into
a life line for me. I would like to take a solemn moment and thank the heavens for
all the swimming pools in the world.
