Diary Of An Artist In A New World

Leif Kicks A Goal

When I saw this image of my son Leif on PhotoBucket I just had to share it on my diary. The proud parent loves seeing their children grow into young men and this photograph is so different from the younger boy just discovering his way in the world. Now he is confident and heading into manhood with grace and style. A father could not ask for more.

One Year In The Pool

It is now a full year since I returned to swimming. A year ago I could barely swim 25 meters without a racing heart and gasping for breath. Now the minimum distance I swim is one kilometer, and at the end of that I am breathing just a little heavier than normal.

Artist Swims 2 Kilometers!

Doesn't sound like much when you say it fast, but tonight I swam 2 km continuously. It is a big achievement for me, that is why I am telling the world!

Personal Achievement In The Pool: 1.6km

Tonight I swam 1.6km without a break. That is a mile, and it is a goal I had set myself to achieve by November. Last week I swam 1.45km, but was then told to get out of the pool as they were shutting.

Last November I started swimming again after about 10 years. I could barely swim 25 meters. Even that short distance made my heart race and I was gasping for breath. I swam until May and increased the number of laps I could do but rested after each length. In March I had started to teach myself tumble turns. I wasn't very good at them but I persevered.

In July I started again and was able to build up to swimming 200 meters continuously. The last month I went to 500 meters continuously, and then a kilometer 3 weeks ago. Oddly I am finding the extra distance little problem and I get faster and find it easier as I go past the 800 meter mark.

The new goal is 2km on my way to swimming 2 miles. I will be happy if I reach 2 miles continuously by January. After that the goals will have to be mostly about times. I swam the 1600 meters in 55 minutes tonight. There is plenty of room to reduce the times.

Swimming In Winter

Last night I went swimming again, the first time since May. It was so difficult forcing myself to the pool. It is about 10 minutes walk down William Street. It doesn't matter that it is a heated pool, the weather was wet and freezing. The whole psyche rebels at the thought of going swimming in that kind of weather.

I was surprised by how many people were there at the pool, it seemed just as busy as the middle of summer. Obviously they don't suffer the same struggles I do to get there. I suspect they mostly enjoy the process, at least those I talk to seem to. I, on the other hand simply never enjoy exercise at any time. I hate the time away from my work, I get bored moving through the water, and I intensely dislike the feeling of exertion and the feeling of muscular tiredness afterwards. Having said that i need to exercise, and swimming is the form of exercise I least detest. At least I don't have that horrible sweatiness to deal with.

I need to get back to swimming twice a week. I had allowed myself a break from swimming in order to get more work done. I hate that exercise takes away from working time. And afterwards I know I am not as efficioent in the mind as I normally am due to physical tiredness. I know people think I am odd, but I love working, and for something to take me away from that I must think it is very important indeed.

Afterwards I made a dinner for me and Pablo of salad. Salad is another thing I do not enjoy, except when i make the special dressing my mother made when I was a kid. It is really simple, but it is the only thing that can make a salad taste great. It is 2/3 fresh cream, 1/3 condensed milk, add pepper, and then brown vinegar to taste (around 2 teaspoons full for 300 ml of cream).

While we ate I was also making some caramel. It is an old country thing as well. Puncture a can of condensed milk, put it in boiling water then boil for a couple of hours. The milk gradually turns into a solid brown mass of pure caramel. It is a treat I make once in ten years or so. I made it once when I was 17 and sharing in a flat in Bundaberg. I forgot to check the water level, and it boiled dry. The can exploded and half caramelised milk was over the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. What a mess. It took ages to clean up. Now it is just a funny story to tell Pablo. I still remember the sound of the can going off, lucky no one was in the room at the time.

EQ Ice Rink Fun

I was surprised to discover an ice rink alongside the Leonardo exhibition. I haven't been ice skating in years. I used to love it when there was a rink down by Central Station every winter for many years. After it closed the nearest rinks were a long way away out in the far suburbs. I will go there soon to try and see if my body remembers how to move.

I first learned to skate in Brisbane when I was in my late teens. The rink there was gigantic, so different to this one. It has a wonderful feel of intimacy about it. There was a young woman who was skating for the first time. She was doing really well. It brought back my memories of that first discovery of that effortless frictionless speed. That beautiful feeling of that gentle rhythmic side to side movement.

I've got to get down there soon and enjoy the ice.

Its at Fox Studio's, now called The Entertainment Quarter, in the showring where they have the farmers markets. Open everyday except Monday and Tuesday after the school holidays.