08 June 2009

"Bubbles, Bubbles!"

Swimming, they say, is an excellent exercise. And since it was Summer in Qatar, what better thing to do than take a dip, right? That's what even I thought. So I headed off to the local swimming pool, mentally prepared to shed some excess weight.

But just after I jumped into the pool, a thought crossed my mind. I didnt have goggles. And the water was filled with chlorine. Unless I wanted to be half blind at school tomorrow, I would need goggles. So I went up to the Lifeguard (well, actually paddled, since I was in the water), and asked for goggles.

"Ah, sure!" he said with a smile. A moment later, he came out of his little room, and threw a pair of goggles towards me. I took the pair, and looked at the strap. It could fit around my arm. And I dont have Rafael Nadal style arms. I meant a pair of goggles for someone my age, not an infant. (I didnt say that though, which is why it's in italics.)

Not wanting to disappoint the guy's enthusiasm, I wore the goggles. Have you ever seen a race horse? Well, I was like a race horse on drugs, with dysfunctional eye sockets, and a general lack of idea as to where to go...

Still, I swallowed all the pain, along with some water, and began swimming. Ten minutes later, I barely completed a lap, and was panting on the sidelines, when the Life guard came towards me. "Bubbles, bubbles!" he said.

"Huh, yah, I know..." Bubbles?

"No, bubbles, bubbles," he said, and enacted how I should put my head under water. Oh, so that's what he meant. For his satisfaction, I put my head underwater, and blew a few bubbles. Poor chap, must be dead bored around here...

When I got up again, he was looking at me, smiling contently. "Yes, do that. Bubbles are like...oxygen. Good to get oxygen." And before I could object, he pressed his hand on my head. In surprise, I blew a bubbles, and got up again. "Wait, that's not possible -". He had again pressed his hand down. It was like drowning, except I had a really surprised look on my face. By the time I came up again, I was pissed off.

Oy, I have lungs inside, not bloody gills, you get that? But since I had too much cholrinated water in my mouth, it didnt quite come out that way. I did what sounded more like a grunt. "Good, good, bubbles, bubbles," he said.

I got back to swimming. It was the worst I ever had. As soon as I finished one lap, I had to stop and dip my head underwater, blowing out bubbles. Not just once, about a hundred times. Alright, not that many times. Still, it was annoying...

So to change the topic, I tried asking the guy to teach me the breaststroke. It was supposed to be the best way to swim. Well, he told me to move my arms in a circular motion, push back my legs, and lift my head above water. I did most of that. Except for the pushing leg part and the head lifting. Which meant I looked like a motor pump with erratic power supply.

Tired, I changed and began swimming freestyle. "Coach, what's the best swimming style for the chest?" I asked. "This, this!" he said, pointing at the way I swam. "Oh, okay. And for the stomach?". He again said, "This, this!".

That's weird...

"Hmm...and what about for my back?". I shoudlnt have been surprised when he pointed at me and said (behold!), "This, this!"

Oh yah, wiseguy? Well, then what's the best swimming style for the ear muscles, huh?

I wish I had asked that. But before I could, he said, "Bubbles, bubbles!"

Sigh...

As I came out of the water after blowing a dozen bubbles, he smiled and said: "Good, good, bubbles are good. They give oxygen...Bubbles, bubbles!"

I dipped my head again, thinking to myself: Either the guy was crazy. Or my Science teacher was duping me...

P.S.: Please use the stars you see below, to rate this post. That way, it'll be easier to know how many people have read it. And yes, this was a filler post. Sorry!
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11 comments:

  1. wasnt a filler post..!
    "Which meant I looked like a motor pump with erratic power supply." lol...awesome lines in this one!
    well done..
    P.S: how come u never come swimming when all of us go? 0_o i would have loved to look the "race horse on drugs". :P

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  2. haha...poor u....gr8 dat he didnt put u insyd a bubble...i guess he didnt kno eng properly..is it?

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  3. too much for a swiming leson, eh???!!!!!

    was funny and a fun read mate... well i never tried swimming, and when i do , i'll make sure that i have a better life guard around me - at least someone who doesn't say "bubble bubble"

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  4. nice dude...... i guess, its gonna take a while 4 u 2 get used 2 swimming......u really require a goggle 2 swim in that swimming pool.... n ya, juz make sure that u take it with u, wen u go 4 swimming.....

    nice post .... keep goin! ;)

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  5. well.. you did drink lots and lots of water... That much is clear :)

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  6. Hey Musthafa,

    First of all, thank God you came back!! I had lost all hope that you would. I was actually feeling bored, That is why, I simply thought I will log on to the Laptop Diary. When I did, wow !! three new posts.

    Well, I am a very optimistic person who likes almost everything. But, this post, somehow, I didn't like it. I mean, the language used is awesome, like always. But, all your previous posts, fillers or not, poems or just your thoughts, conveyed something to us. But, all I got from this post is that the guard kept saying, "Bubbles, Bubbles". Is that what you wanted to tell us?

    Just because I said this, please don't decide to shut off Laptop Diary or do anything stupid like that. I know that you are not that kind of a guy. But, I don't know what mood you'll be in while you're reading this.

    Hey, now that I think of it, I don't even know if you'll read all this. I just told all this so that my favorite writer could improve.

    One last thing, I know you feel really disappointed when people don't comment. Well, I wouldn't like to comment on your posts if I don't get a reply from you. So, maybe if you reply to the comments that your readers make, maybe, you'll get more comments.

    Hoping that you will take my criticism in a positive way and will reply to my comment as well,
    A mad fan.

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  7. @Anonymous:
    Firstly, wow! I mean, the size of your comment itself shocked. And what you said made me think.

    It's a gud point. I didnt realise it though. I didnt know that i wasnt giving any message out. Well, frankly the reason why i wrote this one itself, is because I didnt want to put out too many of my good posts. Because as you may have noticed...not many people seem to be reading the posts right now. If i wrote some pretty good ones in a row, there's a chance it'll be missed out, right?

    And moreover, I want to keep experimenting with styles. Sad, thoughtful, provoking, comical...it wouldnt be great if i kept writing posts like Just a Bat and a Ball...

    But yes, I'll try my best to make sure my posts are more meaningful.

    Btw, about the comments. Two things. Firstly, I didnt want to inflate the comments count. I mean, if i were to reply, it'll look like more people commented. And secondly, if i replied to your comments, how would you be notified? Meaning there's a pretty much big chance that you wouldnt even know it right?

    Still, I'll try to reply...and yes, one last thing. Please dont drop in anonymous comments. True, anonymous comments are better than no comments. But if possible, please contact me at mohammedmusthafa@gmail.com.

    Thanks.
    P.S.: I dont think i'll be closing any time soon!

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  8. bubbles bubbles.. haahaha :D

    what a crazy story, cnt believe u still kept cool with him :D

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  9. This one is quite funny. At your expense, of course. But hilarious anyways. I like your descriptions such as "race horse on drugs" and other snide comments. I'll give this post a 7.5 for it's humor.

    And it's not a dry filler. It's quite entertaining.

    And also Mustafa, non-anonymous commenter can choose to follow-up the comments. There's an option here for us to do so.

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  10. dude... true story ya..??:P
    awesome one bro.. nice to see that u broke the ice and strted blogging again...
    and thanks for all the support u have given me by commenting on my blog.. im hoenstly say ur the only one reading it now..!:D

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  11. dude sry to say this but this is one of the very few stories tht i've read an dint find interesting in ur case possibly the onli one yet... :-p .... maybe cos it isnt the type of stories of my interest... neways an u wanted me 2 rate ur stories ryte.... well being as liberal as i can i'll give it a 5/10 mayb 6 ... well thts all 4 dis one

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