Dichroic Reflections

More bedamned rowing angst

I don’t expect to enjoy the rowers’ meeting tomorrow, but I hope it will be productive. I’m so fed up with all the recent conflicts that I don’t even want to row these days. I need to keep my mind on the sport itself, and not on any associated pettiness. Luckily, quite a few people seem to feel the same way, and I think changes will be made. DI has ‘retired’ from coaching the Masters’ program, and Yosemite Sam wants us to define our objectives in the class, rather than having him dictate to us. He has a busy life (career, fiancee, children), unlike DI who does nothing but coach rowing, and so doesn’t want to take on responsibility that he thinks we ought to handle. I sympathize.

I found out last night that, although DI is giving the impression that he is quitting in a huff because we don’t appreciate him (translation: Dichroic is a spiteful bitch), he would have had to quit coaching us now anyway. The Juniors’ class has been scheduled since march to begin rowing in the morning, at the same time as our practice, during their summer vacation. DI has always put Juniors ahead of us, so he would have been coaching them anyway. So much for his vaunted integrity.

And I’m tired of talking about DI. I have to do it at least once more, at tomorrow’s meeting, but other than that, I’m going to try just to think about rowing. It’s a very pure sport: there is only one motion, and you spend all your time trying to perfect it. Physically, it’s demanding and sweaty and abrasive, but if you can just let the frustration go, it can be mentally very soothing. I confess, though, that I have a hard time doing that. I tend to spend practices mouthing obscenities -- directed at my own shortcomings, not other peoples’. Something else to work on: Zen and the art of rowing.

This all is one more reason I enjoyed the weekend; I didn’t even get near water, except in the shower or in a car on a bridge. (I think we crossed th river a few more times than strictly necessary, because Mechaieh is right about her sense of directions, but we just considered it extra sightseeing. Being on vacation means never having to worry if you could have gotten there faster. Who cares? You may be in the car longer, but you’re still in good company.)