Special Snowflake Stories

[Iris]

I can see why someone water jogging or doing water aerobics would not want to be splashed.  I do water aerobics and I wear glasses while I'm doing them.  Splashes on my glasses make it hard for me to see.  But I figure that's what you get when you get when you exercise in a pool.  I just try to move a little further from the splasher.  And that's what the ladies beside the pool should do - move out of the splash zone or put up with getting wet. 

I have done water aerobics at 3 different clubs in 2 cities, and I have visited even more.   There is tension between the water aerobics people and the lap swimmers anywhere they have to share a pool.  Its one of the reasons I only take exercise in scheduled water aerobics classes.  Any disagreements between the class and the lap swimmers will be handled by club management, usually in favor of the scheduled water aerobics class.

But shouldn't someone swimming for fitness not be splashing but cutting through the water. I remember my sister's swim team coach telling them that if they were splashing they were wasting energy throwing water up instead of pushing through the water.

I encountered a swimmer last summer who felt snowflakey (and strange) in his splashing. I don't normally mind getting splashed, but this was an outdoor pool and I have to wear sunglasses (with waterjogging there's normally very little splashing involved as the swimmers were far enough away and the nearest lane is for fast swimmers who tend to have decent technique). This man however managed to splash everything, his style involved rising an arm as high as it went and then hitting water with it as hard as he could. It looked like it was painful and didn't seem to do much for his speed.

Yeah, but he's not *racing*, so it's not about speed. It's about calorie burn and aerobic load.

Swinging his arms probably did increase his aerobic load (you can do aerobic exercises with your arms only), and it definitely increased his calorie burn.

In fact, the less *efficient* method is probably more *effective* in terms of "wasting energy [calories=energy]." If you want to lose weight, you do want, actually, to "waste" (use up) energy (calories).

He could just be an inexperienced swimmer. I find a lot of people who can 'sort-of' swim and have watched others swim overexaggerate the arms. I did myself until my next door neighbour, who was a triathlete, gave me some tips. As you say it probably burns more calories anyway but they can be a nuisance in lap swimming because it often goes hand-in-hand with difficulty keeping to a straight line or keeping within the bounds of sharing a lane.

[Ereine]

I can see why someone water jogging or doing water aerobics would not want to be splashed.  I do water aerobics and I wear glasses while I'm doing them.  Splashes on my glasses make it hard for me to see.  But I figure that's what you get when you get when you exercise in a pool.  I just try to move a little further from the splasher.  And that's what the ladies beside the pool should do - move out of the splash zone or put up with getting wet. 

I have done water aerobics at 3 different clubs in 2 cities, and I have visited even more.   There is tension between the water aerobics people and the lap swimmers anywhere they have to share a pool.  Its one of the reasons I only take exercise in scheduled water aerobics classes.  Any disagreements between the class and the lap swimmers will be handled by club management, usually in favor of the scheduled water aerobics class.

But shouldn't someone swimming for fitness not be splashing but cutting through the water. I remember my sister's swim team coach telling them that if they were splashing they were wasting energy throwing water up instead of pushing through the water.

I encountered a swimmer last summer who felt snowflakey (and strange) in his splashing. I don't normally mind getting splashed, but this was an outdoor pool and I have to wear sunglasses (with waterjogging there's normally very little splashing involved as the swimmers were far enough away and the nearest lane is for fast swimmers who tend to have decent technique). This man however managed to splash everything, his style involved rising an arm as high as it went and then hitting water with it as hard as he could. It looked like it was painful and didn't seem to do much for his speed.

Yeah, but he's not *racing*, so it's not about speed. It's about calorie burn and aerobic load.

Swinging his arms probably did increase his aerobic load (you can do aerobic exercises with your arms only), and it definitely increased his calorie burn.

In fact, the less *efficient* method is probably more *effective* in terms of "wasting energy [calories=energy]." If you want to lose weight, you do want, actually, to "waste" (use up) energy (calories).

For the fast swimmers lane you have to care about your speed, some of them are really fast and don't like to slow down. If you just want to burn as many calories as possible there are also lanes for slow swimmers (which I use if I make the mistake of actually swimming, I'm really bad at it which is why I like water jogging) which is why I think that he was snowflakey. It also looked to me like it wouldn't be kind to his arms but that's just strange and his own business.

[ET is the best alien.]

See, I thought he asked after he saw the 2 people in the middle of the street. If it was before, I understand more. If it was after the fact, Why couldn't he ask where she was before the fact. Asking an adult woman why they are out so late seems a bit parentish to me.

Cutting down on the out of control quote tree.   Even if she'd swerved because of the people, that doesn't mean she wasn't impaired, so he'd still ask a few questions. And asking directly "where were you?" can sometimes cue people what you're looking for and let them come up with something else. That's why cops will often ask questions sideways -- they still get the information they want, but the suspects don't always know what they're asking and so they get the real answer. (If you just say "how much have you had to drink tonight?", the answer is always "two beers." )

Have to agree with this, it's the same thing as a doctor suspecting you might have a concussion. They'll ask 'What's your name?', 'What day is it?', 'Who is the President?' and if you can't answer correctly/coherently it raises big red flags. If the OP had been out drinking their first instinct might be to fudge the truth a little - see 'two beers' above. But if they can give a reasonable answer to the question and demonstrate that they're telling the truth then you eliminate alcohol as a factor and move onto the next possible cause for the OP to swerve suddenly.

To answer the question of age, this was about a year or so before I moved to ND, so that would have made me about 31ish.  I'm totally fine with the way the cop asked the question, and it was asked after we'd established the cause of the swerve.  It was after midnight on a weekend night (I can't remember now if it was Friday or Saturday).  The cop was well within bounds to ask a few token questions to determine if he had cause to investigate me for drunk driving.  Once it became clear I wasn't drunk, he let me go without any trouble.  I'd call this a "by the book" traffic stop.  The cop did his job.

I understand. If I was stopped by the same cop, in the same scenario. I would cooperate fully, but I probably would have felt a stab of resentment at the questions. It might be best if I stick to public transit.

[Snooks]

I have to cross the horribly busy main road in the wee dark hours to get on the bus going the correct direction - and I have to wear all-black clothes for work.  I carry a flashlight or at least light my cellphone screen up while I'm making the crossing.  There are streetlights, but sometimes they randomly aren't on or it's foggy...

They sell reflective vests for just a couple of bucks. You could slip it on over your clothes for the walk and then take it off.

I do this, even though I walk home through fairly well lit streets, I live in a city with a large cycling population so I want their lights to see me (if they bother to have any  ) when I'm walking on non-road areas.

[War_Doc]

Get back to Special Snowflake stories please and take these swimming and other side conversations to their own thread(s).

[zyrs]

the answer is always "two beers." )

Or Tee Martoonis

My wife had a special snowflake spotting the other morning.  We've been having freezing fog weather and she leaves for work while it is dark, so she's been very careful.  Good thing too, because she almost rear-ended a silver-gray car that was driving without lights, in the dark during fog.

[Yarnspinner]

@Twik

I wish I could tell you the adult woman in question was a child (it would have been kind of cute if she was) but she is in her late twenties early thirties and believes she is pretty much entitled to whatever she thinks she needs at that particular moment.  Today she told me that she is going to get a job so she can buy whatever she wants whenever she wants "like you do."  I told her that, while I encouraged her to get a job and be independent, that she could not just go hold wild spending.  "Why not?  You get money you buy a house and a car and...and...and..."  Clearly, there are mental issues here, but it's hard not to get annoyed with her and her ideas about how she should get everything for free.  (And even more annoyed that she seems to think my job supplies me with all the stuff she thinks she needs to survive. )

And another special (but unseen) snowflake:  Someone apparently owed a great deal on their library card and therefore were barred from taking out the three DVDs they wanted.  SO, they took them into the ladies' restroom, pried open the locked cases...and then took something sharp and carved a tic tac toe board into the back of each one.  I guess "If I can't have it, no one can have it."  Why they didn't steal them like any of our normal patrons do is beyond me. 

[violinp]

For some reason, people still think that, even though the ground is covered with snow and/or black ice, going the speed limit is not going to endanger anyone's life. *headdesk* This is why I despise living in a place where bad weather is uncommon enough that people act in an insane manner on the roads.

Extra special points to the person who was practically on top of my mom's bumper last week when we were trying to get to a funeral, because apparently going 5 - 10 miles an hour on a 30 mph road that's covered by packed - down snow is completely unheard of by this jerk. 

[littlebird]

For some reason, people still think that, even though the ground is covered with snow and/or black ice, going the speed limit is not going to endanger anyone's life. *headdesk* This is why I despise living in a place where bad weather is uncommon enough that people act in an insane manner on the roads.

Extra special points to the person who was practically on top of my mom's bumper last week when we were trying to get to a funeral, because apparently going 5 - 10 miles an hour on a 30 mph road that's covered by packed - down snow is completely unheard of by this jerk. 

Conversely, the people who go "CRUD MONKEYS!! a dusting of snow" (which isn't even sticking) and proceed to drive 10 mph on a 45mph road. Or the person who was driving very slowly (less than 5pm) on a thin layer of slick, and pulled out in front of a friend, leaving her very little braking room. O.o

[Kimblee]

that reminded me of this: 
http://alameda.patch.com/blog_posts/please-dont-help-my-kids

Dear Other Parents At The Park:

Please do not lift my daughters to the top of the ladder, especially after you've just heard me tell them I wasn't going to do it for them and encourage them to try it themselves.

I am not sitting here, 15 whole feet away from my kids, because I am too lazy to get up. I am sitting here because I didn't bring them to the park so they could learn how to manipulate others into doing the hard work for them. I brought them here so they could learn to do it themselves.

They're not here to be at the top of the ladder; they are here to learn to climb.

Love this.

I am always the "mean" mother who is engendering self-reliance in her kids.  I am encouraging a 4-year-old to make her own sandwiches.  If she goes back to her depressed relatives, she and her brother are gonna always be able to feed themselves if I have anything to do with it!  Of course, besides the practical, it's just precious to see the face of a child figuring stuff out.  I can't imagine depriving a kid of the rush that self-efficacy brings.

When my daughter was small, I would put a cup of milk in the fridge at night so she could make a bowl of cereal without dumping a gallon of milk on the floor, and I could sleep in occasionally.

I do this, too!  I have a kid-sized (Montessori) pitcher of milk in the fridge.  I started when my oldest was 3 with a little cup of Cheerios outside her door when she woke up.  She'd have some herself and poke others between the bars of the crib for her 1-year-old sister.

Too sweet.

My friend thought her 13 month old had started sleeping later in the morning this summer. (Waking up at 8 as opposed to 4 every morning.)

Turns out he was still waking up hungry at 4, but her oldest daughter (11-ish?) heard him before he'd get loud enough for my friend to hear and would get up and make him some hot cereal and feed him down in the kitchen, clean up the dishes, then take him back to bed and rub his back until he went to sleep.

Friend asked her daughter why she never said anything and got the reply "Its OUR special time! There's five of us so BabyBrother and I don't get much time just me and him."

[TootsNYC]

She's definitely special!

[MissRose]

I went to a Snowfest thing today where there are lots of snow carvings and ice carvings to look at, in addition there are plenty of activities & refreshments for various ages.  In the warming tent, a group of players from our Major League Team were scheduled to make a stop, and answer some questions from a few selected audience people & the media, but there was not time for autographs & personal pics with the players.  (/end background)

Some people were SS's for sure before, during and after the baseball players appearance:

*When the players were on the platform, many were blocking the way of others standing up to get photos as it was not stadium seating blocking the views of others.   One lady behind me asked me to ask this guy who was doing so as she could not see seated like me.  The guy reluctantly sat down.

*I took a seat in a row that was right in an aisle/walkway.  Not far down from me was another set of chairs where this man & family was seated.  Apparently, he was leaning back in his chair and stretched his legs really far out which created a tripping hazard.  An older gentleman tripped and nearly took a nasty tumble on the pavement but he fell partly on me where I was seated.

*Several people brought large posters to the event, and held them up often blocking the views of those behind them when the players were onstage.  Many had to say, put the signs down as politely as possible.  It took the longest time to get the attention of the parents of a young boy who was holding one of the posters to have him put his poster down.

[dietcokeofevil]

My friend thought her 13 month old had started sleeping later in the morning this summer. (Waking up at 8 as opposed to 4 every morning.)

Turns out he was still waking up hungry at 4, but her oldest daughter (11-ish?) heard him before he'd get loud enough for my friend to hear and would get up and make him some hot cereal and feed him down in the kitchen, clean up the dishes, then take him back to bed and rub his back until he went to sleep.

Friend asked her daughter why she never said anything and got the reply "Its OUR special time! There's five of us so BabyBrother and I don't get much time just me and him."

That is the sweetest story!

[Outdoor Girl]

My friend thought her 13 month old had started sleeping later in the morning this summer. (Waking up at 8 as opposed to 4 every morning.)

Turns out he was still waking up hungry at 4, but her oldest daughter (11-ish?) heard him before he'd get loud enough for my friend to hear and would get up and make him some hot cereal and feed him down in the kitchen, clean up the dishes, then take him back to bed and rub his back until he went to sleep.

Friend asked her daughter why she never said anything and got the reply "Its OUR special time! There's five of us so BabyBrother and I don't get much time just me and him."

That is incredibly sweet.  And Mommy gets more sleep.

A friend of the family was fighting breast cancer and was incredibly tired as a result of the treatments.  Because her husband worked nights, she was the one to get up with the kids and get them on the bus to school.  One morning, she woke quite late, looked at the clock and panicked.  Her daughter, about 9 at the time, had gotten herself and her younger brother up, breakfast in and lunches made and off to school.  She left a note along the lines of:  Thought we'd let you sleep.  Had cereal for breakfast, packed us lunches (no junk food either).  Love you.  See you after school.

Friend cried.

[doodlemor]

My friend thought her 13 month old had started sleeping later in the morning this summer. (Waking up at 8 as opposed to 4 every morning.)

Turns out he was still waking up hungry at 4, but her oldest daughter (11-ish?) heard him before he'd get loud enough for my friend to hear and would get up and make him some hot cereal and feed him down in the kitchen, clean up the dishes, then take him back to bed and rub his back until he went to sleep.

Friend asked her daughter why she never said anything and got the reply "Its OUR special time! There's five of us so BabyBrother and I don't get much time just me and him."

That is the sweetest story!

What a darling, sweet girl.  I bet that her mother is so proud!