People have tried to make it clear to you, Ion, that you will not be recognized by USMS or SWIM magazine unless you swim a lot faster. They have also tried to point out, in a nutshell, that your attitude comes across as sour grapes.
I am going to postulate that you would like to be recognized for overcoming whatever it is you have overcome. SWIM magazine doesn't have the space to do it. And they certainly don't have the manpower (interviewers and photographers) to cover every story there is to tell, especially in regard to overcoming adversity.
So, here it is. I wish everyone would take the chance to tell their stories. Think of it as a SWIM web page for sharing of personal histories.
I know Tom Ellison has an amazing story that I wish he would put here. I know of many other swimmers who have overcome tremendous adversity. I hope this thread will become an inspiration to us all, and that we will all realize, as I have lately, that: looking at the past can be painful, so don't (as long as you don't repeat it!), who knows what the future holds, so quit worrying about it, and be happy in the present because it's the only thing you really have control over.
Former Member
Originally posted by Ion Beza
In another hand you have me being discontent.
You need to learn to keep your discontent to yourself, and not dish it out on other people.
Appearance of content is not the same as complasancy.
I think you're confusing comfort with complaisancy.
I appear content most of the time, but that never prevents me from moving forward with new ideas, meking decisions or improving. It can all be done without all the negativity that you seem to emit.
You've heard od 'savants'. Don't be one, immerse yourself in social studies some, and find balance that you lack.
That will be noteworthy accomplishment.
Originally posted by Conniekat8
Appearance of content is not the same as complacency.
I think you're confusing comfort with complacency.
Good point. My impression is that he doesn't seem to think that anyone else in USMS cares as much about or puts as much effort into their swimming as he does. Judging from the last meet I attended, I would say this is a false assumption on his part.
Originally posted by Karen Duggan
Zoomer,
(a calm question- not at all sarcastic, truly) I don't know how you came up with the idea that this thread was to inflame Ion? It was taking a constantly negative "thing" and putting a positive spin on it.
...
I agree with Zoomer:
you started this thread with a controversy that I wanted to correct and repeatedly you wrote that I should shut up amongst other flaming things.
As for taking a negative thing and putting a positive spin on it, I wrote about forcing the destiny.
For me, forcing the destiny beats temporal adversities.
It's not being deterministic -as in superstitiously believing that a fairy idol in the sky controls people- but instead it is being in charge with learning material factors.
(This means in my life, forcing myself to learn mathematics and Engineering -whose strict analytical thinking is feared by most people- then risk with it being in a country whose culture is new;
three countries in my life are apart from where I was born, so they are part of me forcing the destiny;
it also means in my life to be in charge to live in a chosen city in the new country by performing the profession that I was trained for in another country;
it also means in my life to take charge of being more ambitious in swimming than most USMS people are -not content with the mentality of 'whatever'- by studying and applying factors like VO2Max.)
I won't be posting in this thread anymore.
I just got back from a wonderful weekend swimming in my regional championship. It truly reminded me what master swimming is all about. I made a great friendship with someone who I competed with in the past and next year I'll be in the same age group swimming against her again. Yet that doesn't matter. What matters is that now we will encourage each other to do our best.
I am in agreement with Mark. My goal is to try and swim faster then I have in other meets. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. This weekend I only brought one of my times down out of seven.
After swimming a total of 2200 yrds in events, I had to get in the water for my last event which was the 400 I.M. My arms were killing me but I made it through. When I got out of the water I said a thank you to my daughter for being such a great cheerleader throughout the meet. She responded by saying "but you didn't win anything". This is when I explained to her that it is not about winning all the time. The most important thing is you get in and do the best you possibly can do on that day.
I might have only brought one of my times down but when I consider all that I have accomplished I am proud that I am even in the water. I may not be the best swimmer but I am a champion in my own heart. And I hope that all of us, no matter what are abilties are, feel the same way.
P.S. My team did win the championship in their division for the first time ever!!!!!!!!!!!!:D
Originally posted by lefty
Sorry Geek, Ion breaths eats and sleeps just like the rest of us. Ion has worries, Ion has goals, Ion has cares.
An orangutan has those same qualities. But you notice that I don't compare a primate to Ion... In this electronic forum, we can only respond based on what people post. Ion and AquaGeek do not post the same.
AquaGeek doesn't need an defending, but maybe Lefty remembers reading a certain thread. (It may have been the accidently deleted thread.) AG said (in his own way) that people shouldn't resort to personal attacks against Ion. Well, a few pages later, Ion took pieces of Geek's post, out of context, and used it as an example of how AquaGeek was resorting to personal attacks against Ion. (!!) AG noticed this, called Ion on the issue, and failed to receive a response (let alone an apology). Whenever I feel that AG is going over the top, or that Ion needs defending, I try to use this episode (among many others) to keep my priorities straight.
Originally posted by Tom Ellison
... Dorothy and MarkMD are both last bloomers to our sport. NEITHER swimmer has lamented on starting late in life or used that fact to justify times that may not meet NQT’ or Top Ten Times or times that are competitive within their age groups. NOT ONE TIME! ... I just realized something here that just tickles me. Tom might have created another category of bloomers ... last bloomers. Hey Dorothy, are we the last bloomers to come along? Ha!
Originally posted by aquageek
No, Lefty Ion isn't like me at all. Matter of fact, he doesn't appear to be like anyone else on this forum.
Sorry Geek, Ion breaths eats and sleeps just like the rest of us. Ion has worries, Ion has goals, Ion has cares. In short he is a human being. The same can be said about you and me too! So no matter how mad I WANT to get at you, I think, ahh that's just Geek being Geek!
Originally posted by SWinkleblech
P.S. My team did win the championship in their division for the first time ever!!!!!!!!!!!!:D
I hate you. There is no team here :( Unless me, myself, & I count as a team. But still that's only 3, leaving us 1 short for a relay.
Congrats :D
