Monday, October 23, 2006
A bit shorter today...
The kids talked Michelle and I into going swimming; this should come as a big surprise to most of you. Not that we went swimming but that the kids had to talk us into it. The last time we went swimming was with the Porters at West Edmonton Mall, and that was many months ago. For the girls and I, swimming was usually an every weekend thing while Michelle was at work. Occasionally, I would talk Michelle into joining us, but it wouldn’t be too hard to talk her into it.
It’s just that lately we haven’t been doing it at all. I’m pretty sure the time before West Ed was when the girls came to visit me during the Medicine Hat fiasco which means that I’ve only gone swimming with my daughters twice this year….Whoops! I forgot about the two times we went to the outdoor pool in Silver Springs here. I guess that counts as well. But still, four times this year versus 52 plus times the previous years. What’s wrong with us?
Lately, I’ve been feeling like a mushroom. We’ve spent most weekends inside with the exception of shopping (whoopee!) and Rylee’s karate class. We haven’t even signed Kristen up for swimming lessons again. There’s only one explanation: it’s the funk! The weather’s changing, making the indoors more inviting and video games seem like an extracurricular activity.
Well, thankfully the kids talked us into going swimming. I actually put up some resistance to the idea, and Michelle would have been more than happy to stay home as well, but the kid’s persistence won out. We ended up going to the Village Square Leisure Centre in the north east of Calgary. I chose this destination because I had heard that it was the home of the Pepsi Thunder Run waterslide. I’d post a picture, but I couldn’t find any on the internet. Needless to say, claims have been made to it’s awsomeness, so I had to check it out for myself.
We had a blast! The whole facility had a wave pool, diving board, two water slides, jungle gym, hot tub, rope swing with six foot drop, etc. There also seemed to be enough chlorine-salt mixture in the water to burn your eyes right out of your skull but keep you afloat while doing so.
Kristen and I tried the Pepsi Thunder Run waterslide while Michelle and Rylee sat in the hot tub. Something has happened to Rylee where she, the one who used to jump off things just for the sake of falling, is very weary to the point of being scared of trying any form of waterslide. We witnessed this at West Ed and it was apparent here, too. I hope that this is a phase she’ll outgrow because I miss that part of her. However, she still rocks! Kristen and I climbed the four stories to the top where she went first, and I waited the mandatory 10 seconds before following. They actually have a red light/green light system that in no way detects whether or not a person has cleared out at the bottom. Wonderful!
So I went! You enter a tunnel and continue to wind down the outside of the climbing structure, but at some point you enter utter darkness. This was very, very cool! You had no idea where you were going to turn or which way, and I found myself rocking back and forth uncontrollably. At one point there was a small drop that would have been tame if one could have seen it. I found myself closing my eyes just to prevent the water from getting in them. No, not because I was scared! When I finally exited the tunnel, I could hear the screams of families having fun below, and I was impressed by how much fun this slide was. As I rounded the last corner, I saw Kristen was already out of the catch chute at the end, standing off to the side smiling at me. That’s when it happened!
Pain! Intense pain! The catch chute, apparently, isn’t long enough for a person of my size. Instead of gliding to a stop like I would do at, say, any other waterslide in the world that uses a self-contained catch chute system (Commonwealth Pool http://www.gov.saanich.bc.ca/resident/recreation/scp.html in Victoria, comes to mind), this slide uses the very end of the chute to stop its victims of, ahem, size. Not only that, but the end is covered by a gate composed of one inch square iron bars. My feet slammed into the bars but thankfully didn’t slip through the large gaps between them. As I write this I am thinking that not going head first was a capitol idea!
A 16 year old lifeguard came over and asked if I was okay. That’s when I remembered that he had done the same thing to a guy that had gone before me, but I thought the gentleman had hit the end because he was rather, um, on the robust side of large. I now know that this wasn’t the case. I told the 16 year old that maybe foam padding the bars would be of some benefit to preventing any civil cases towards the leisure center, but he just responded like he had heard that many, many times before.
Here’s the rub! The leisure center actually hired someone to stay at the bottom of the slide to ask if every person who hit the end if they were okay. This was done instead of extending the catch chute a few extra feet. I’m no math whiz (ha ha), but I’m sure if I sat down with my trusty TI89 (a wonderful calculator that got me through UVic…I named mine Tiffany) I would calculate that extending the waterslide versus hiring a professional apologizer and paying for medical bills would weigh in the favour of the extension being cheaper. Just a guess, mind you!
I spent the rest of the time in the pool because I didn’t feel like hurting myself again. I’m sure that if I sat up and allowed my trunks to grab the surface of the slide, the friction would have slowed me down enough so that I would have stopped before the end, but let’s face it! That just takes away from the whole experience, and a waterslide enthusiast, such as myself, wouldn’t want to take away from the experience.
We enjoyed the rest of our visit to the leisure center as it was completely devoid of pain. Oh, and I think I’m shorter as a result of my little bump.
Here’s a wonderful new breakfast product for the kid who’s on the go:
Eventually, it’ll probably stop them with massive heart attacks but the resulting short term energy will guarantee that they’ll be first to puke after the 400 metre relay.
News on the animation: what news! I’m busy! Very busy! I’m trying to finish it, but the deadline is looming…
News on the short story: see news on the animation.
It’s just that lately we haven’t been doing it at all. I’m pretty sure the time before West Ed was when the girls came to visit me during the Medicine Hat fiasco which means that I’ve only gone swimming with my daughters twice this year….Whoops! I forgot about the two times we went to the outdoor pool in Silver Springs here. I guess that counts as well. But still, four times this year versus 52 plus times the previous years. What’s wrong with us?
Lately, I’ve been feeling like a mushroom. We’ve spent most weekends inside with the exception of shopping (whoopee!) and Rylee’s karate class. We haven’t even signed Kristen up for swimming lessons again. There’s only one explanation: it’s the funk! The weather’s changing, making the indoors more inviting and video games seem like an extracurricular activity.
Well, thankfully the kids talked us into going swimming. I actually put up some resistance to the idea, and Michelle would have been more than happy to stay home as well, but the kid’s persistence won out. We ended up going to the Village Square Leisure Centre in the north east of Calgary. I chose this destination because I had heard that it was the home of the Pepsi Thunder Run waterslide. I’d post a picture, but I couldn’t find any on the internet. Needless to say, claims have been made to it’s awsomeness, so I had to check it out for myself.
We had a blast! The whole facility had a wave pool, diving board, two water slides, jungle gym, hot tub, rope swing with six foot drop, etc. There also seemed to be enough chlorine-salt mixture in the water to burn your eyes right out of your skull but keep you afloat while doing so.
Kristen and I tried the Pepsi Thunder Run waterslide while Michelle and Rylee sat in the hot tub. Something has happened to Rylee where she, the one who used to jump off things just for the sake of falling, is very weary to the point of being scared of trying any form of waterslide. We witnessed this at West Ed and it was apparent here, too. I hope that this is a phase she’ll outgrow because I miss that part of her. However, she still rocks! Kristen and I climbed the four stories to the top where she went first, and I waited the mandatory 10 seconds before following. They actually have a red light/green light system that in no way detects whether or not a person has cleared out at the bottom. Wonderful!
So I went! You enter a tunnel and continue to wind down the outside of the climbing structure, but at some point you enter utter darkness. This was very, very cool! You had no idea where you were going to turn or which way, and I found myself rocking back and forth uncontrollably. At one point there was a small drop that would have been tame if one could have seen it. I found myself closing my eyes just to prevent the water from getting in them. No, not because I was scared! When I finally exited the tunnel, I could hear the screams of families having fun below, and I was impressed by how much fun this slide was. As I rounded the last corner, I saw Kristen was already out of the catch chute at the end, standing off to the side smiling at me. That’s when it happened!
Pain! Intense pain! The catch chute, apparently, isn’t long enough for a person of my size. Instead of gliding to a stop like I would do at, say, any other waterslide in the world that uses a self-contained catch chute system (Commonwealth Pool http://www.gov.saanich.bc.ca/resident/recreation/scp.html in Victoria, comes to mind), this slide uses the very end of the chute to stop its victims of, ahem, size. Not only that, but the end is covered by a gate composed of one inch square iron bars. My feet slammed into the bars but thankfully didn’t slip through the large gaps between them. As I write this I am thinking that not going head first was a capitol idea!
A 16 year old lifeguard came over and asked if I was okay. That’s when I remembered that he had done the same thing to a guy that had gone before me, but I thought the gentleman had hit the end because he was rather, um, on the robust side of large. I now know that this wasn’t the case. I told the 16 year old that maybe foam padding the bars would be of some benefit to preventing any civil cases towards the leisure center, but he just responded like he had heard that many, many times before.
Here’s the rub! The leisure center actually hired someone to stay at the bottom of the slide to ask if every person who hit the end if they were okay. This was done instead of extending the catch chute a few extra feet. I’m no math whiz (ha ha), but I’m sure if I sat down with my trusty TI89 (a wonderful calculator that got me through UVic…I named mine Tiffany) I would calculate that extending the waterslide versus hiring a professional apologizer and paying for medical bills would weigh in the favour of the extension being cheaper. Just a guess, mind you!
I spent the rest of the time in the pool because I didn’t feel like hurting myself again. I’m sure that if I sat up and allowed my trunks to grab the surface of the slide, the friction would have slowed me down enough so that I would have stopped before the end, but let’s face it! That just takes away from the whole experience, and a waterslide enthusiast, such as myself, wouldn’t want to take away from the experience.
We enjoyed the rest of our visit to the leisure center as it was completely devoid of pain. Oh, and I think I’m shorter as a result of my little bump.
Here’s a wonderful new breakfast product for the kid who’s on the go:
Eventually, it’ll probably stop them with massive heart attacks but the resulting short term energy will guarantee that they’ll be first to puke after the 400 metre relay.
News on the animation: what news! I’m busy! Very busy! I’m trying to finish it, but the deadline is looming…
News on the short story: see news on the animation.
Comments:
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I believe the "lifeguards" who stand at the bottom of the slide are actually not lifeguards but "slide attendants" or "Jr. Monitors". They are hired not as apologizers, but to enforce rules in the animal attic, hot tubs and slide. They enforce rules such as "sitting up or lying on your back, feet first at all time" so that in case of mishaps such as yours, you DON'T wind up with a broken neck. The thunder run has been in place since the beginning of time (20+ years). To extend the length of the catch at the bottom would be a very costly operation, however you will be pleased to know that Village Square is shutting down for a year some time in the near future for major maintenance, update and repairs. I’ve heard rumours of an entirely new slide, plus on huge hot tub instead of two separate ones. However at present, these still remain merely rumours.
# posted by 
: 1:13 PM
: 1:13 PM
Odd, then, that they are placed at the bottom of the slide for AFTER the mishap occurs. If they wanted to save me from hurting my feet they would have had the reclining lifeguard (that's the one at the top who sometimes says "stop" or "go" when the light is red or green. I say "sometimes" because she sure didn't say anything when I and a gaggle of children were at the top awaiting our turns) tell me to sit up or remain sitting and do not lie down. Instead, like I stated in my entry, they had the life...whoops, sorry, Jr. Monitor ask if I was okay. No one was informed of any danger to their limbs. Perhaps they should have signage or a guide stating the angle one should keep their upper body at depending on their weight. My boss whom frequents the slide many, many times a year was surprised that I had actually hit the end, but on a subsequent visit to the slide with his children found that he came near hitting the end as well. His theory was that they had waxed it or cleaned off whatever resulted in the necessary friction. It was only my story that saved him the same plight as myself. I still ended up slightly hurt from my experience with absolutely no warning beforehand. Also, as I mentioned in my post, so did the gentleman beforehand. But don’t worry about me! I’m, sniff, tough! I can handle it! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Oh! And I should inform you that, yes, I was lying down on my back, feet first and was not, I repeat, WAS NOT carrying any ballast or lead weights or anything else that would increase my downward velocity vector. I'm too old, wait, not old but careful, to try any foolhardy stuff like head-first or sitting on my knees or using a surf board or a live dolphin on the waterslide. That's just plain silly. I'm a parent, for crying out loud. Do like you want your kids to, right?
Your points are fair enough. I think your boss is right, they have recently done something to the slide (possibly during the shut down?) and a lot more people do hit the end as a consequence. I don't think there is anything that can be done about it at present, though. Plenty more people do manage to go zipping down on their backs and stop safely, so I'm not totally sure what causes people to hit the end some of the time. I am glad that you were ok though.
Just a couple side notes.. The job of the monitor at the top is to ensure what is posted in the rules. People should be waiting for the green light to go, small children need to be with parents, people should be sitting up or lying on their back feet first, etc. Admittedly though, many of the monitors ARE 16 year old teenagers, and top of the slide gives them freedom away from supervision that they might not be ready for. They may tend to text message their friends from their cell phone, listen to ipods, take a nap, etc. I would encourage you if you ever witness these behaviours to stop by the pool office on your way out and mention something to the "senior attendant on shift". This is not acceptable, and negligence such as this can wind up in unnecessary injuries. The role of the monitor at the bottom is to watch for injuries, and monitor the people going up the stairs - it's pretty irritating for a parent with a 6 month old get all the way up the stairs only to find out from the monitor at the top that their child has to be at least 3 years old and climb all the way down again. And injuries can happen even if the monitor up top IS paying attention - accidents can occur, and unfortunately a lot of kids think it's fun to screw around. Until they wind up with a bloody nose or concussion that is. The monitor at the bottom can also hopefully see this as the kids come down and stop them from doing it again if they're fortunate enough not to be injured already.
The monitors generally have a lot of responsibilities, especially considering current staff shortages. Although there are a number that are just plain lazy and need a good kick in the pants, there are a few that take their job seriously. However, it becomes very difficult, because those few can’t be in all places at once. It just seemed that in your post you were painting all the staff with the same brush. It is, however, unfortunate that I can see where you’re coming from – if one of the 16 year olds was rather flippant about it then it’s quit possible he’s the one doing the painting, not you if you’re just telling what happened.
And I am all for keeping the comments family friendly. I was, after all, just commenting. No hard feelings, right?
One more thing, the only reason I'm anonymous is because I don't have a blog, so therefore no name to put my comments under. That's all.
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Just a couple side notes.. The job of the monitor at the top is to ensure what is posted in the rules. People should be waiting for the green light to go, small children need to be with parents, people should be sitting up or lying on their back feet first, etc. Admittedly though, many of the monitors ARE 16 year old teenagers, and top of the slide gives them freedom away from supervision that they might not be ready for. They may tend to text message their friends from their cell phone, listen to ipods, take a nap, etc. I would encourage you if you ever witness these behaviours to stop by the pool office on your way out and mention something to the "senior attendant on shift". This is not acceptable, and negligence such as this can wind up in unnecessary injuries. The role of the monitor at the bottom is to watch for injuries, and monitor the people going up the stairs - it's pretty irritating for a parent with a 6 month old get all the way up the stairs only to find out from the monitor at the top that their child has to be at least 3 years old and climb all the way down again. And injuries can happen even if the monitor up top IS paying attention - accidents can occur, and unfortunately a lot of kids think it's fun to screw around. Until they wind up with a bloody nose or concussion that is. The monitor at the bottom can also hopefully see this as the kids come down and stop them from doing it again if they're fortunate enough not to be injured already.
The monitors generally have a lot of responsibilities, especially considering current staff shortages. Although there are a number that are just plain lazy and need a good kick in the pants, there are a few that take their job seriously. However, it becomes very difficult, because those few can’t be in all places at once. It just seemed that in your post you were painting all the staff with the same brush. It is, however, unfortunate that I can see where you’re coming from – if one of the 16 year olds was rather flippant about it then it’s quit possible he’s the one doing the painting, not you if you’re just telling what happened.
And I am all for keeping the comments family friendly. I was, after all, just commenting. No hard feelings, right?
One more thing, the only reason I'm anonymous is because I don't have a blog, so therefore no name to put my comments under. That's all.
# posted by : 2:43 PM
: 2:43 PM << Home
