Day 1 "I got dis"

Day 1 went well. The pool I go to is in Toyota, kind of on the way home from work. It's a completely stainless steel pool, which is kind of unusual. Even more unusual is that there is always only a handful of people in it. Go to the local pool in my city and there are at least fifty people in there at any one time, most of who are walkers, old people who just walk up and down the pool, creating this really strong current. Of course, the Toyota pool has kyukei time, meaning rest time, and at 50 minutes past the hour, every hour, everyone has to get out for ten minutes. Why? I don't know. To rest. The two lifeguards on duty are changed over in an elaborate and choreographed routine involving raised hands and whistles, where the empty pool is never left unmonitored, not even for a second, as the old lifeguards leave their raised seats and are replaced by the new ones. Then the radio calisthenics song comes over the PA system, which is a five minute stretching song that everyone knows. They play it here at work every morning at 8:25, though I have never seen anyone do it here. Too much like hard work maybe. But at the pool, everyone does it. Old people, kids, everyone. Except me, because I don't know the routine. So I sit there while everyone does this stretching routine, thinking, come on, I just want to go in the pool. It's probably one of those things that a newbie would think is charming or delightful, oh aren't the Japanese cute, sort of thing. I just think they are the Borg.
I'm an okay swimmer, though of course my endurance is crap. I can swim 200 metres non-stop, but that's about it. I'm trying to breath every three strokes, alternating left and right sides. Right is fine, but left is hard. So I did my 32 laps and got out. A guy in my lane must have done 100 laps while I was there, and he was still going when I left. Amazing. But I know swimming is like running. If you keep it up, you pretty quickly get good at it. My neck is still a bit stiff from last week, but not any worse. Tonight I've got the ol' X-Stretch. I will listen to the end of the Hyperion books while I do it.
Can I just say how great all the footy panel shows are? How do guys with Foxtel stay married? The first one I watch is Footy Classified. It's probably the most gossipy of the shows. I like the panel, especially Garry Lyon and Caroline Wilson. Then it's On The Couch, which is a little drier, but Paul Roos has saved it. I have started watching AFL Insider, which is interesting because they have a current coach on the panel. Then there's AFL 360, which is quickly becoming my favourite, surprising because everything they're talking about has been talked to death already. Then there's The Footy Show, which is always good value. Then there's The Winners, which I don't get to watch much because the torrent always come late. There's more if I wanted, like the one with Quartermaine and Walls, or the jokey one with Dunstall and Frawley, and the Final Siren, or the Before the Game shows, heaps of them. It's crazy.
I'm halfway through watching The Change Up. Much funnier than anything I've seen this year. It's not really the story or anything, just the two actors in it, Jason Bateman (who I'm pretty sure played Malory Keaton in Family Ties) and Ryan Reynolds, who wasn't man enough for Scarlett Johannson. I like the swearing in it, the tits, and when the baby shits in the man's mouth.
Haven't heard anything from IBM about the job in Brisbane. The job is still being advertised, and the computer says my application is still under review, but I'm officially assuming it's not going to happen. It's been three weeks. And if I'm not getting a call back for a job I am more than qualified for, then I can't help but think that I'm stuck here forever, listening to two of the biggest dorks in the world behind me chatter non-stop about fonts or something. Someone get me out of here! On the other hand, it looks like the world has shit itself again today, so maybe Disneyrand is the only place to be. Going to be an interesting few months.
Willy had a fever last night. It's funny, because it was only a few days ago Junko and I were saying we can't remember the last time he was sick. Karma police. He jumped onto my bed this morning at about 4 and I woke up instantly. It felt like he had just gotten out of a really hot bath or something. I spoke to him on the phone just then and he sounds alright.