Sometimes I worry what you must think of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I made mention<\/a> on Twitter the other day about once being sorely tempted to strip off and jump into the main pool at Bath. It was in the context of an upcoming fancy ball at the Roman Baths that I think would be a hell of a lot of fun to attend. The stark contrast between such an event and such a temptation is very funny to me and, as is my wont, I played to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was serious, though, about wanting to go to the ball. And about needing a date. *<\/p>\n\n\n\n But I was also serious about having eyed up that pool. And when I reiterated as much, I began to wonder what you might think I\u2019d actually do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a delicious delight in letting that just dangle there … holding a steady gaze at you, eyes sparkling. But there\u2019s also a potential drawback in that I might never be asked out, for lack of trust, and that would just suck. Subversion for one is an incredibly lonely affair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ahhhhh … subversion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Time and place, time and place. A major key to life is realizing What Is Important and What Is Not. I advise investing heavily in figuring out the distinctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some years ago, a girlfriend and I were up on the North Antrim coast. We stopped at a beach in the late afternoon. It was hot, sunny, and we\u2019d forgotten our swimsuits. We stood looking longingly at the sea for a while, watching others splash and laugh, and then 3, 2, 1 bang! I tore off my shirt, shimmied out of my shorts, and bee-lined for the water. She was two seconds on my heels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That story isn\u2019t about nudity, except for the obvious situation of having stripped off. It\u2019s about making the most of a summer\u2019s day. I honestly don\u2019t know what our hesitation was, but we felt it until we came to our senses: \u201cwhat are you doing?! you can\u2019t take your clothes off in public! you can\u2019t go in the sea like that!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I can, and I did. **<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bath baths story isn\u2019t about nudity either. If the water hadn\u2019t sported toxic bacteria, what would I have done? It would be awesome to swim in a real Roman bath. Who gets to do that these days?! The opportunity to be half starkers in the process is only a bonus. I was tickled by trying to estimate whether I could wiggle out of my clothes faster than the guards could react. It was a surprising thrill to realize I had a viable shot at it: \u201comg. I could do this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But would I have?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s the thing. I don\u2019t dismiss such opportunities straight out of hand. I think<\/em> about it. Weigh it up. When I reach a decision, I know why I\u2019m there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How awesome would it be? How would it shake down? Would I embarrass or horrify the friend I\u2019m with? Would their estimation of me take a nose dive? Would I ruin the event for others? Would I cause damage? Would I have regrets? In what ways could this go badly wrong? How bad is badly? ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n I do enjoy scandalizing prudishness, and (you might not have noticed but) I have a strong tendency to challenge what I\u2019m told is \u201cappropriate\u201d. I am highly suspicious of what I see as arbitrary conformity. Mostly I think it\u2019s intolerable to miss out on a great opportunity because of being on the stupid side of any of the above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is important and what is not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n What would you have done?<\/p>\n\n\n\n * Ahem<\/em>. I can dance. Just sayin\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ** Ha ha ha!, maybe one of these days I\u2019ll tell you my other beach story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n *** A&E? No. Just no. Escorted off the premises? Mmm … weigh it up carefully. Arrested? It better be something well worth it. Don\u2019t do it unless you really mean it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sometimes I worry what you must think of me. I made mention on Twitter the other day about once being sorely tempted to strip off and jump into the main pool at Bath. It was in the context of an upcoming fancy ball at the Roman Baths that I think would be a hell of … Continue reading Jumping in at the deep end<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/electromagneticretaliation.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/electromagneticretaliation.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/electromagneticretaliation.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electromagneticretaliation.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electromagneticretaliation.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/electromagneticretaliation.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44,"href":"https:\/\/electromagneticretaliation.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42\/revisions\/44"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/electromagneticretaliation.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electromagneticretaliation.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/electromagneticretaliation.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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