Lifeguard Log Day 1

The coolest people I'll ever meet SO FAR

We arrived at 7:30 in the morning. It was hot, humid, and cloudy. It was the feeling that you would never want to feel at the first day of work. Waiting in the car, minutes passed and not a single classmate had shown up. We began wondering whether if we were too early, everyone was late, or it was on a completely different day. By this time, it was 8:00, the official time to begin the lifeguard work, yet, no one had showed up. Sitting on the car, we reminisce about the times training together, how we may not see each other again in the same room altogether, or the fact that when school begins, we won't be able to send time in the water for a while. It was depressing, knowing and worrying about the future. I guess that the past and present is much less depressing to think about in current situations as such.

The time turned 8:30, so we decided to head into the lobby and ask if our instructor was late. Apparently, 實習--or the two days after you take the test, and if you pass, you need to spend 16 hours volunteering as a swimming pool lifeguard--had nothing to do with our class, but everything with the selected swimming pool. In other words, we wasted about an hour waiting in the car when all we needed to do was report for duty at Headquarters. Allow me to just say that this is not a good way to start off the day.

Well, a few minutes later, we were led by wonderful girl that gave us a tour of the place and assigned us lifeguard positions. She was a very nice girl, with a very nice swimming body shape.Anyways, I was assigned to the indoor pools, which along with the sauna and hot baths, was indeed very hot. Sweat exploded from my skin and in addition, the moist muskiness made it all the better. However, children and their grandparents laughed and smiled inside the pool. They were having fun. I guess it's the inside of me that felt good, instead of the sweaty outside; for I felt honored to be safekeeping someone's life. Watching them have fun was just about enough for me, not to mention number of bikinis I counted <creepy>.I cannot understand why people need to wear swimming caps, without them it would have made my observing hours more "fun", in other words, it would have been a great view.

An old lady hitting on my classmate

Soon, a rotation occurred and I migrated outside. There, a swimming class was in session, I saw in the class a few old folks and teenagers. I said to myself, "Wow, there's a bad-ass bunch of old people and teenagers that are actually doing something rather than going to the mall, or playing video games. I respected them due to the fact that even if they're old, they are still excising and completing their bucket list. For the teenagers, I saw that they had fun, fun without joking around, hurting their eyes, or offending someone. Thar was when I saw my friend Billy. He told me that his dad forced him to take the lifeguard class. Ironic isn't it, but Billy did not resist, instead listened to his father.

My friend's tower, mine was 6 times taller

Soon, I was assigned to the towers. I climbed the tower to the top and sat on a worn chair without a leg. I got to see the entire pool from this view, every corner, and even into the water. I realized that lifeguarding is such an underrated job, I feel as if I was not seen as a guardian angel watching the citizens swim, but as a coaptation of mediocre swimmers walking around a pool for the whole day. The thought of that made me sulk, thus I climbed down the tower and walked for a bit. I thought of anything else that I could do, perhaps, assist the class during their session.

What do you know, being a lifeguard has its benefits, and its forms of luck, I was called to be the "drownie" <lifeguard jargon> in their class. All I had to do was float. This was better than sitting under the hot sun on a tower. Meanwhile, on the other side of the pool, a few employees turned on a water vacuum machine and called me over once the demonstrations were complete. Pretty busy for a lifeguard volunteering is his 4th hour. Soon, I found myself cleaning the pool. A few days ago, the typhoon struck this exterior pool and left its trail of leaves, soot, algae, and filth inside the pool (It's only filth if dipped in mud, otherwise, nature is pretty great). I sent the next two or three hours sucking up all the waste in the pool, leaving my skin soggy. I reckoned that they'll want me to dry up and sit back onto the tower, so automatically headed to the class and helped them out.

It was also time to leave. the first day of being a lifeguard was, not very exciting, except for the parts with two pieces. Furthermore, seeing the few old people and teenagers was heart lifting. I suppose being a lifeguard only officially matters if there is a person drowning, but in the meantime, certain everyday chores must be done. Personally I don't mind, so I look forward lifeguarding in the next 8 hours of 實習!