Graduation and Recognition Pics

I woke up today with some stiffness and soreness at my back and behind the neck. Must be yesterday's backstroke attempts. Did 3 laps of freestyle and 3 laps of brokebacks today. I'd be happier if I can backstroke on a straighter line. It takes longer to finish a length especially if I go diagnonally instead! Well today, I did finish a length though - coz I was straighter.

Finally, here are the pics of events that culminated the school year:

Renz with his awards: Best in Recitation, Best in Reading and Most Outstanding student. We were pleasantly surprised when he received one more medal later in the program and this is the Top 5 award! Wow! Congratulations, little boy! You look really good in that glowing white toga!

Sandra receiving the Model Pupil award for Grade 3. She's been coveting this award for a long long time and now, finally! It was my first time to attend this kind of an event coz they do it during school hours after the flag ceremony. So they've got the whole student assembly (high school included) witnessing it. The students from other sections were cheering loudly for their own nominated classmates for Model Pupil. When Sandra's name was announced, her classmates went wild!

Sandra with her award/medal for "Best in Deportment" which was awarded last Recognition Day. Congrats, Sandra! She and a small group also did a solemn yet stirring interpretative dance rendition of Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up". I must admit I was a little taken aback with their intro where they suddenly dropped to the floor.

Karen with some of her classmates in their Graduation from elementary. Mama was with us and so was Sandra (who mistakenly thought they had a number). The graduating class gave a nice farewell song number to the tune of "With a Smile" by the Eraserheads. Gee, I could've sworn that was an old song by the group Bread. They had candid shots of classmates and teachers shown in a projector on the side. It was quite nice. Congratulations, my dear Karen!

Brokeback Sessions

No, nothing to do with "Brokeback Mountain". Today, I did 3 laps of brokeback sessions or Broken Backstroke sessions. I still couldn't finish an entire length of backstroke (not the elementary backstroke but THE regular backstroke). Either my form disintegrates, swallow too much water, get too tired or all of the above. It was tiring but for a couple of lengths, I was moving steadily! If it were only me in the pool, I'd be just so tired and quit it. But since the pool's busy, I'm motivated to do more. This may just be the opportune time to revisit, relearn and finally MASTER the backstroke. Master it in the sense of becoming comfortable at it.

There were lots of kids today. Whoo! Maybe 40 kids or more were "enrolled" in the free swim lessons project of the mayor. The water was churning like crazy with all their tiny feet splashing (seated on the gutter flutter kicks). I felt like swimming in the beach with all the water movement. There was a boy who looked like Renz (mucho guwapito also). But he was older at 6yo. I heard from another girl that he wanted me to teach him. But I told them that I wasn't a teacher there. The girl said "okay lang po, marunong naman kayo eh." I got carried away watching at the kids learn swimming that I was late getting out of the pool and coming to the office.

Busy Mornings

It's been quite a while that I havn't posted - or swam for that matter. It's the season of graduation marches and recogition. That's the reason. Last Monday morning was Sandra's Recognition Day where she got an award/medal for "Best in Deportment". Hmmm, we didn't have that award in MY grade school days. Tuesday morning was Karen's Graduation from Elementary. I took a day's leave and helped her review in the afternoon. Entrance exam's on Saturday - just a few days to go. I'll post some pics later on.

I came back to swim today. I just tried to get back into the groove of things. There were lots of kids today. Apparently, summer swimming lessons have begun and there were 6 or 7 kids for the 7am to 8am batch. I think 8am onwards is for kids who are "sponsored" by the town mayor. There's lots of them. It'll be quite busy and noisy at the pool in the following weeks. That's nice and I welcome it.

Off-Day

Yesterday:
No swim. In fact, no work! Yesterday was Cavite Day. Finally, an off-day just for us. We asked Karen to skip practice (graduation) so I can review her. Anyways, we had English in the morning and Math in the afternoon and evening. Whew! I had to turn down Doc Noy's request for a demo speech at Kimberly-Clark because of this. Apparently, they're setting up a new club there and I was invited to give a demo Icebreaker speech. I wasn't sure though if it would be credited to my number of speeches. Maybe I'd have to clarify that first - next time.

Today:
8 Laps Stroke Analysis:
There's a new guy at the pool who's been a regular for a couple of days. He's probly on school vacation.

Speech Topics and Awards

8 Laps Freestyle Stroke Analysis:
For a couple of sessions now, I've set aside my swim cap because of the warmer weather. I'll take this opportunity to clean off the grime and dirt that has stuck to it. Any ideas for cleaning the outside of a swimcap?

Last week, I was struggling to find a suitable topic for my next speech project "Your Body Speaks". Well, just the other day, I discovered that topics, especially the ones from personal experiences, can be thought of just be looking at old photographs in photo albums! Yup, something memorable must have accompanied those times when the picture was taken. Just think and concentrate. Chances are, you will recall some experience worthy of sharing with an audience.

Sandra won the Beginners A level in her piano recital last Sunday. Go Dada! Yesterday, I didn't swim coz we attended Sandra's awarding as Model Pupil for Grade 3! She's been wishing for this award a long time, so congrats Dada! Renz graduated yesterday with the following awards: Best in Reading, Best in Recitation, Outstanding Pupil (top 5).

New Stroke Feels Better

6 Laps of Freestyle Stroke Analysis
Nothing worthwhile to write today other than the new stroke feels a little better. There's a little less discomfort especially on the "elbow up" on the recovery. There are still a few times though where I forget to touch my cheek on the shoulder. I have to remember that. It's simple to do. It's physical so you know if you do it or not. It's the one real cue I need so I don't raise my head to much on the breath.

I'm preparing to write my next toastmasters speeech. This time, I need a topic where there will be plenty of body language and gestures. Anybody has an idea on a topic?

Touch the Cheek to the Shoulder Cue

6 Laps of Freestyle Stroke Analysis.
Since yesterday, I've been doing a really nice cue to assist me in remembering not to raise my head up too much when breathing. This time, I'm touching my cheek to the shoulder/bicep of whichever arm is leading. This way, my head is almost flat with the water.

Today I put a complaint on the member's log at the front desk regarding the cleanliness in the men's shower. I learned from Arni that their boss looks into this log. Great. It's about time somebody does something about it.

I gave my 4th Toastmasters speech yesterday. Even with a small audience - just 7! I must say I enjoyed delivering it. This time, I didn't go over the time limit. Whew! When I saw the red card, I knew immediately which statements I could skip and wrap the speech up. I wish I could this consistently next time.

Here's the feedback from the evaluators for my speech:

Dan as Individual Evaluator
Strengths:
  • Captured the audience (as in the past) with a question.
  • Content is information-rich just like the recent speech ala National Geographic.
  • A natural in delivering speeches.
  • Painted vivid pictures for us.
  • There was a repetition of phrases that was effective for emphasis, just like Luther King's "I have a dream".
  • The energy was there.
Opportunities:
  • Could've given the actual price of the stove to satisfy the curiousity of the interested especially on the investment, roi, etc.
  • Maybe add an appeal to a bigger scope to reinforce the importance of the cost savings vis-a-vis the oil crisis.
  • Eye contact. From an audience point of view, there seems to be limited eye contact coz of the eyeglasses. (That's it, I'm taking off my eyeglasses when I deliver speeches especially when I try my best to maintain eye contact!)

Doc Noy as General Evaluator
Strengths:
    Use of triad was effective - "tupig, patupat and bagoong" (I didn't realize I used a triad!)
Opportunities:
  • Eliminate jargon like spiraling, obnoxious (I didn't think they were jargon at all!)
  • Take the reference from past speech projects.

In addition, I was a volunteer speaker for the table topic "Never Punish the Learner."

Doc Noy as General Evaluator
Strengths:
  • Assertiveness and sense of volunteerism is commendable.
Opportunities:
  • Get into the details of the story. No need to repeat the topic, waste of 10 seconds.
  • Eye contact not adequate.
  • Although mastered PREP format (position, reason, example, position, try the SMG format also. (story, message and gain).
My own comments:
I could've have walked more as I gestured.
I forget to modulate the voice sometimes.
In the table topic, maybe I should've paused much longer before starting to talk to REALLY compose my thoughts first.

Annual Physical

Yesterday:
No swim. I had my annual physical exam at the office and came in early to avoid the crowd. It went smoothly and fast. The examining physician said that my bp 100/80 was good. Corz I'm taking these medz plus the fact that I'm swimming practically everyday now. I wonder what my ECG tracings will reveal. When I was still running, I had sinus bradychardia which I remember meant a slow heartbeat or something to that effect.

Looks like the toastmaster session's all set for tomorrow. Well, hopefully. The Division Governor Doc Noy asked for my speech project title - presumably to make the invitation for our club. I need to practice.

Today:
8 Laps Stroke Analysis.
Am tired with today's session. It's okay coz I missed swimming already.

Summer's Here!

5 laps of Freestyle Stroke Analysis
Summer's definitely here! It was so hot last night that Renz was constantly fidgeting in bed. At the pool this morning, there were telltale signs of rowdy crowd activity during the weekend - a plastic cup and a Php5 coin at the bottom of the pool. Corz I dove for the the coin and added to my kitty also known as the Blackdove's Treasure Trove. If it sounds uncannily like the pirate Blackdbeard, then yup, that's the idea.

Yesterday must've been the hottest day of year so far. This morning, the poolwater felt incredibly warm and nice. I was sweating this morning coming to the office. I think I'll get a haircut today - a SHORT haircut.

I feel a certain soreness/ strain on my forearm near the elbow. And I'm guessing it's the street badminton last Saturday. Gotta ease up on those crazy smashes and quick backhand shots.

I failed to focus the eyes towards the front end of the pool but I managed to start an arm stroke when the other arm's elbow reached the head in the recovery phase.

This New Stuff is Tiring!

Yesterday: Freestyle for 12 lengths. I got the x-ray results in the afternoon. Thank God, no fracture lines and nothing remarkable.

Today: Freestyle for 12 lengths. I realize that being conscious of the "proper" movement is tiring! It's physically and mentally exhausting. Physically, it stretches some muscles I hardly used before: some part of the chest near the clavicle area, the upper traps behind my neck, the front and rear deltoids. Anyway, when I lose focus of the "proper" technique I soon revert to the "bad" (an unbalanced stroke) I did before which is what I was accustomed to and what is presently more comfortable to me. Kicking is "improved" now as I kick more from the hips rather than the knees.

An Accident and 4th Toastmaster Speech

I suffered a fall today and hit the back of my head on the edge of the living room table. It was a loud thud and got a half inch shallow cut. There is still a slight swelling in the area and, needless to say, I didn't swim and have no update. The doctor advised me to get some x-rays and I did. Will get the results on Thursday. Hopefully, no major damage has happened.

I'm now busy busy busy preparing for my 4th Toastmasters Speech tomorrow. It's great that my Toastmasters Club is now fasttracking the sessions. Hopefully, I'll get my CTM certification within the year.

See all my Toastmasters Speeches online here!

Try the Tips

Today, I tried out some of the tips that came out of the critique of my freestyle videos. For 12 lengths, I deliberately swam slow, conscious of my arm, leg, body position and movement. I stopped after each length to think how each change felt. After the session, I now feel some soreness (good pain) in my upper traps and near the clavicle area. I guess it's the attempt to maintain the high elbow position in recovery.

Anyway, I'm posting here a couple of videos taken last March 1 (this was BEFORE I asked for critique).


Here's a short clip. This is such a quiet pool. The above is what I immediately do for warmups. It's like a treading stroke or what others might call a "heads up" breaststroke. I don't know the real name for it. It's so relaxing but slow. Can you hear the birds? It's ALWAYS like this when I swim. Ahhh, so nice.


The sun behind me (it's early morning) is backlighting me in this video. The above videos were taken with a new camera. Although the quality isn't hi-res, they're better than the previous 3 videos I posted. My body is straighter in this video and the legs don't come out as much.

Anyway, tell me what you think !

My Own Freestyle Review

Yesterday: SEasy.
Had myself videoed by DH again, but this time on the Sony camera. She was with me coz it's a holiday for them at the office and she went to get the business permit. After continually reviewing the videos at home, I've concluded that all these years, my stroke was still unbalanced. My right side (the breathing side) is rotated adequately and the arm recovers well above the water. The left arm however recovers really low and it doesn't seem to completely finish the stroke.

Today: 1W SEasy.
Only one warmup lap today and it was okay. In fact, the whole session was very fast. I was more conscious in balancing my strokes today and I think I actually swam faster. I wasn't too relaxed though coz of the attention to my left side. In time, it'll be automatic - hopefully.