The other weekend

[i_kender]

I never did post about the previous weekend, did I?

Well, Saturday was spent watching PotC2 withbuddleia and her niece. The experience itself was great - nothing like watching a film like that with two kids (especially when you are one yourself!) The film? I really enjoyed it, the FX were astounding, the story whizzed past with verve and merriment. It wasn’t as good as the first one - crucially less comedic episodes, no “Where is the rum?” stand-out moments here – and how incredibly irritating was the non-ending? Argh! At least we only have a year to wait for the next one.

Sunday was Hampstead Heath, first time I’ve been there. Blankets down, lots of food and fruit, met what seemed like buddleia’s entire extended family (ok, ok, it wasn’t that bad…), eyes boggling at heaped mammalian mounds of sunny skin, and then we swam in the Mixed Pond.

Now: this’ll be the memory that stands out. Because I enjoyed it, I was very excited to be swimming in an actual pond with green murk and scum (another first)… however for the first time ever, I experienced real fear and alarm while swimming. You see, you can’t see the bottom. The water’s too murky. And that means you can’t touch the bottom with your feet, and because of the way the place is set up, and the gung-ho lifeguards who have to insure egress and access are unimpeded, there aren’t that many places to hang onto either. So I did get a little panicky, and this led to shortness of breath, which in turn led to spluttering and taking on water, and I left pretty quickly after that. It took me a while to calm down.

Her family, in case you were wondering, are lovely… I ended up having a long conversation on comparative religion with her uncle as we baked like apples in the sun. (Good god I hate the sun! Why do you think I moved to this anaemic country? More rain please! Sort it out.)

In other news, I have been to see my doctor about my shortness of breath and my recurring sinus infections. It is these, I think, which are starting to affect my sleep and leaving me fatigued and brainless during the day. Three months to be seen by a specialist, so I wait.

Comments

[blankbadge.livejournal.com]

I think they missed out on new stand out comedy by getting too much comedy from referring back to the first film.

That pond sounds great. I think it's good to do things that are scary pretty often. Keeps life interesting.

[i_kender]

Well, there's interesting, and then there's just... short.

[blankbadge.livejournal.com]

I don't know though, I'd rather risk a shorter more interesting life than avoid risks and definitely live a longer, more boring life.

[i_kender]

It's an interesting point. I mean, in general, I wholeheartedly agree with you. But I think there's a difference between leading an interesting life, and taking unnecessary risks. Especially life-threatening ones. Which is odd, because I would quite happily throw myself out of a plane or off a bridge (*with* a parachute or bungee cord, needless to say!)

But I wouldn't, say, lie down in motorway traffic for giggles. I mean, have you *read* the Darwin Awards recently? Sheesh. There's such a thing as dying with dignity too, you know. (http://www.darwinawards.com/ ...I like the current one about The Mile High Club Failure!)

[blankbadge.livejournal.com]

Well yes, unnecisary risks are just stupid. But most of those people who get Darwin Awards aren't realising that what they are doing is dangerous. Hmm, after so many years of evolution you'd think humanity as a whole would be a smarter species by now.

I would love to bungee jump though. That's one of my next major goals.