From the useless trivia file: It has been almost 11 years since Janet Jackson’s famous “wardrobe malfunction” at a Super Bowl halftime show, but I have come to understand that there are regular occurrences, albeit not to the same degree, at the community complex on a fairly regular basis. I started drawing this conclusion in a hot tub discussion (where many of the world’s problems are solved) last Wednesday with a couple other patrons, which happened to be the day where our timed-to-the-second regimen of swimming at 5:40 a.m. prior to work fell horribly apart.
Nobody really likes getting fired up in the pre-dawn hours, so our Monday, Wednesday and Friday early morning lap swims are co-ordinated like a space shuttle launch, with lunches made the night before, coffee on a timer next to the travel cup, porridge primed to shove into the microwave — all so our wheels are hitting the gravel by 5:30 a.m. I believe we had hit Hillside Street when Heather, aghast, realized she forgot to put the swim bags in. Twenty minutes later, we were in the same spot after our 20-kilometre round trip and finally hit the pool, unable to do laps but at least got a few rounds in the lazy river and a soak in the hot tub. In relating our woes, I discovered it wasn’t uncommon that underwear has been forgotten, workout clothes aren’t being worn when you thought you had put them on and various other malfunctions.
With the swim and fitness set, much of our dressing is done for speed and convenience, such as putting your swim suit on at home, so, like team roping, you can shave a few seconds off your time in order to hit the surf. I heard how that same practice was followed for workouts in the gym except that when the blue jeans were taken off to expose the workout pants… Wait, where are my workout pants? OK, so that’s how a workout in blue jeans feels. Lesson learned.
More than one person has finished their swim, myself included, only to find you forgot to pack underwear, which leaves you a couple choices; either race back home for a wardrobe upgrade or grin and bear it. In fact, I believe if you look up the word chagrin, the picture actually shows the face of a person in a change room at the exact moment they realize what they are missing. This is why I have a secret compartment in my swim bag that has a backup pair because as Murphy’s Law dictates, guess what I was missing the same day we forgot our bags at home…
Through November and December we head into some of our most busy times, beginning with the Health and Wellness Fair this Saturday and on through to auctions and art shows, Christmas craft fairs, Christmas parties and Christmas hampers, with a generous helping of Thunder Cats games to keep you coming into the complex between events. Check your Leisure Guide or watch for ads in the Creston Valley Advance so you can fill in your day timer accurately.
Neil Ostafichuk is the recreation supervisor at the Creston and District Community Complex.
