and i said all y'all go take a walk

There's something about jogging around the neighbourhood in the evening.

People rush home in their cars to, hopefully, a homecooked meal...

Other joggers run on by... making me wonder how anyone can jog without listening to music...what do they think of? (maybe: hmm..maybe i should get myself an mp3 player)

Jogging past some houses, you get a hint of what food might be laid on the table.
Going past one house, the smell of fish being fried...
A few more houses down, the tempting smell of garlic, tomatoes and perhaps a hint of seafood stock... marinara sauce?
Down another street and I distinctly smell fragrant coconut rice. I wonder what else is in store for that family.

It made me think of what awaits me at home - some soup with daikon, beef stew, broccoli and carrots, a porkchop type dish, and my leftover teriyaki chicken wings!

Jogging in the evening is such a nice change from the mornings.

Before this stint, i used to have to drag myself out of bed for a quick jog, as early as possible before the sun gets too hot and before the kids clog up the pavements and their parents' hugeass cars block up most of the road, before I have to breathe in the exhaust of all these vehicles, and before i end up being late for work.

And yet somehow I still hate to jog. I'd rather be swimming. I like the cool water on my skin on a hot day. I like being underwater, doing lap after lap. Ironically, while I need my music on a jog, I like the silence of the pool. It gives me a chance to think, to wonder. I guess it's also partly cos I grew up swimming, I think lessons began when I was 6?

Every Saturday would involve a long drive down to Tanah Merah with my sister to have lessons at 4pm. It would begin with 10 laps with the board, freestyle. Then we'd do sprints across the breadth. And some sorta diving lessons - as in being taught how to plunge properly into the pool, not the other kinda diving. The coach - Uncle Vincent we called him - would always offer an award before the last sprint of the day. The winner would get an ice-cream or some treat like that at the clubhouse. Of course, it usually went to the guys. Then it'd be 10 more laps to cool down.
We did the usual - survival swimming and long distance swimming tests and took part in some competitions, within the club, that is. I remember the first one I took part in, when I was... 7? 8? ... it was a 25m breaststroke and I kept turning my head to check how the competition was doing. It was nerve-wracking but somehow I got used to it, standing up there, looking down at the pool, ready to plunge in and kick my way to the other end.

Then I went to secondary school, and decided I didnt really want to swim anymore. Kids do silly things.

I've been thinking of taking up a new sport. It's been a while since I've done something new like that.

Today's dl: Spoon - Take A Walk