Last Night, Oy

Last night turned out to be a little crazier than my average Thursday night. Let me tell you about it!

My first stop after work was to vote in the state primary, where the most eventful part was my continued inability to remember which door to go in (there are two precincts at the school where I go to vote). Apparently my memory strongly says that I should go in the right door, but really I should go in the left. Hopefully November is close enough that I will be able to remember it then. Not that it's a big deal, I just have to walk to the other side of the room, but it's one of those little annoying things. Anyway, I voted just fine, no big contests but a couple of choices and a couple of uncontested, and my ballot went into the machine as number 55 (which, at 5 PM, shows just how sadly low voter turnout was).

I drove on to the gym, arriving early and with way more time than I wanted to spend in the pool before class, so I sat in the car and listened to the radio for a while. I noticed some voices off in the corner of the parking lot, which sounded to me like teen boys being overexcited and possibly up to no good, though I couldn't see anyone from where I was. There was the usual traffic as people came and went, but I noticed a couple of police cars prowl by, and wondered if they could possibly be there for the (presumed) kids. There were more of them, both city and state troopers, and some non-marked cars with drivers wearing uniforms, and I decided that it was a little freaky and time to go inside.

But if I wanted to avoid seeing the drama, I had waited too long. There were a whole bunch of officers wrestling with a man nearer to the door, and I could hear someone telling someone else to relax and "I will not relax!" and more cop cars were pulling up and it was really kind of freaky! Perhaps I am sheltered*, but I am not used to seeing anyone arrested, and he was struggling, and it was just a little too real. I looked online today and couldn't find any information about it, so I don't know what was going on.
*I am totally sheltered. I'm okay with that.

But it's not like I couldn't get in the gym, once I edged past all the people who were standing around watching (which is weird, right? or is it?), and I got ready for class and went to the pool. The regular teacher was on vacation, so I knew we would have a sub, and I was just hoping it wouldn't be the one we had a few weeks ago, since I hated her found her style not at all compatible with mine, and it wasn't, it was a man who I liked a lot more. Not more than the regular teacher, and I didn't like being told to smile (which he said to the class generally, not just to me, but ugh: I can exercise, or I can smile, pick one), but it was quite the workout, which is slightly painful but overall a good thing.

But then. The class usually runs from 6-7, and at almost quarter of 7, a manager walked in and went over to talk to the instructor, who then told us, "Five more minutes," and it turned out that a lap swimmer got into a snit about the class taking up the whole pool, so we were stopped early so that the special snowflake didn't have to wait ten more minutes. Which pissed me off! I stopped on my way out to complain, along with several others, and that manager told us that he had been told by the "activities director" that if there are fewer than 15 people in the class, we have to leave a lap free for swimmers.

I wrote them a letter this morning, in which I explained the situation, then said:

First, I disagree with this rule. I do not think it is unreasonable for the entire pool to be set aside for a class one hour a day, as long as notices are posted so that lap swimmers can arrange their schedules accordingly. The evening class is only held twice a week, so if other swimmers want to swim between 6 and 7 PM, they can come on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday. I only come for the classes, and I have to come when the classes are held; they have other choices.

Second, if this is going to be the rule, then the class instructors and class members should be told ahead of time, so that when class size allows, they can share lanes as necessary to leave a lane free, rather than end a class early. The idea that 13 people had their workout cut short for the sake of one person is ridiculous.

What do you think? Reasonable? I tried to stay on message (one of the women complaining last night said that this instructor was the best instructor! Not just one of those who just has you walk around! Like that was the point). And I managed to refrain from calling the woman who threw the hissy fit a special snowflake or precious princess or just someone who thought she was more important than everyone else ... even though that's what I was thinking.

Between all of that, and my usual post-exercise ... what's the word for the opposite of euphoria? Well, that's why I wasn't here last night. I have plenty to blog about, coming up soon.

Which hopefully will include nothing about my mammogram tomorrow other than the usual "ow".