yesbashtiahwrites

Yup, watch me in action on TV2, this Sunday. I watched the teaser just now and dude, I sounded funny. Anyway, selamat menonton! Latest update on 18th July 2017: Don't worry if you missed it! You can watch it online at  http://myklik.rtm.gov.my/berkala-program/30893/55857

Just yesterday, I felt different. I finally feel like I'm in my own league. The big boss aka founder aka mak used to remind me now and then now and then (twice repeated as she really have to remind me a whole load of time!) our mission. I Renang's mission and focus. I Renang focuses more on water safety and water as a medium for wellbeing, not only swimming, but also other water activities. Your Body... Your Mind.  Yes. Exactly that is our mission. Nothing to do with high performance athletes etc... I have friends who are also swimming instructors. Like, duh.... Lifeguard friends, hi! Either they are full time or part time instructors. Freelance or full time. Under a swimming club, school, or operating their own swimming club. Many of them. Lately I noticed them attending swim meets to support their swimmers (Tq Facebook newsfeed) . Swimming competition. COMPETITIVE SWIMMING. I feel like I'm not IN. Because I didnt have a student or trainee to send to compete. But...

The more you learn, the more you don't know. I was disqualified for the 100 meter breaststroke event during the inter-faculty sports competition (Sukan Antara Fakulti) ... Because I finished the race by touching the wall with only one hand .   The lifeguard said , "DQ" I was like, "DQ? DQ tu apa???" Disqualified. Thank you very much. "Oh... Eh kenapa?" "Sebab touch dengan satu tangan" "Satu tangan apa? Jap, jap... Tak faham. Tangan apa?" "Touch dinding mesti dua-dua tangan" "Eh? Masa bila?"  -.-" Honestly, I couldn't get what she meant about touching the wall with both hands. Such a novice... She had to explain in great detail, only then I understood. Hahah... At first I felt okay about it. It's okay it's okay... At least I participated. At least I was in the team. But as I thought it over. I'm a swimming instructor yet I DON'T KNOW the rules. That one poin...

Just now the whole class had an aquarobic  session at the pool. I was quite excited, really.  A few years back my mum and I used to conduct aquarobic classes for ladies in which I was in charge of the music. I would sit in front of the radio and change tracks for her.  So yeah, I was really really really excited. And hence I arrived at the pool quite early. Oh. I was the only one wearing a skirt. Hahah... The others wore sport attire, complete with sport shoes. Well I thought since we're just having aquarobic, might as well wear something that's easy to change, right? Sarung aje :) Terseksa During the session I noticed a friend kept clinging to the side of the pool. And she wouldn't move even an inch away from the wall! During class too she didn't join the exercise. She only stood near the wall. And oh, do note that she's way taller than me. Such a split personality I noticed. She is such an outspoken person; her voice is always very loud even when t...

Baju renang muslimah , the best option for Muslim women who wanted to have fun in the water while at the same time still covering their aurat.  It was only yesterday, though, that I came to know of the name of this one type of Muslimah swimwear, which is called a  burqini (click for a detailed info) . Thanks to this one blog reader,  Adam Idris , who told me about it. Came another comment from another reader, Qarr , saying, "Still nampak bentuk badan". Such a provocative statement.  Thinking logically... It doesn't matter what you wear, when you get into the water, the clothes you're wearing would still stick to your body, thus revealing whatever your body shape is. But at least when a woman wear a burqini, she covers everything.  Tak nampak kulit badan, hanya nampak bentuk. (Okay this suddenly remind me of Namee's post on kalkulator dosa pahala )   I found these two pictures when Google-ing for burqini. Now you tell me, how a...

Although Bashtiah is a swimming instructor, she knew safety was important! HA-HA. Oh well, that's why when swimming, I always swim at the first lane which is nearest to the wall . Because you never knew what will happen. Who knows if suddenly my feet got cramped while I was swimming at the middle lane at the deeper end and the lifeguard on duty didn't notice me because she was so caught up talking on the phone? Who knows, right? I always told my students; even if they can swim, always choose the first lane. This is a reminder for you too, okay. For your own safety. Yesterday something happened at the end of the class. Starting from two weeks ago, at the end of the class, every student must be able to swim across the pool (deeper end, short lap). Thank goodness, syukur sangat, most of my students can cross the pool without stopping. Although their swimming strokes needed to be polished a bit but they did really well. :) As usual, all the instructors (includin...

Sacrifice + Satisfaction. There are some things in life which you have to sacrifice. I'm no exception. But there are certain times when I do get fed up of always having to sacrifice. Sacrificing weekends. My weekends are FULL. Completely booked for swimming classes all the way. Pagi petang kolam. There are times when I feel so down, so demotivated... There are a whole load of events which I have to let pass just because of swimming classes. It's as if I'm sacrificing my youth. Weekends are the days when you go out and have fun with your family and friends. One more... Semua orang nak cantik. Including me. Hah. But having to teach from 4 pm to 6 pm at an outdoor pool twice a week gives me sunburn. And also left me with a dry skin. Badan bau klorin tak payah cerita haa... Swimming a lot does turn you into a fish, eh no, a mermaid . Because when you swim a lot, your skin tend to be so dry and yeah, your skin started to look like scales. Kulit kering...

Terapung To float on the surface of the water, you must be relaxed. Really really really relaxed... B efore swimming, you must float first. Star float, mushroom float, turtle float... You float, then you glide. And only then you can start swimming. Basically, you HAVE TO relax. Only relaxed people can survive inside the water. That's why water is the best therapy.

When it comes to teaching swimming, my mum's my idol. She's also my guru. She's patient, experienced, and know the tips and tricks. But when there are two swimming instructors in one house, there's competition . Mak: Eh Tiah, mak dapat kelas lagi! I charged them 25 ringgit per hour and they agreed. Okay-lah kan? Untuk group. See? I got paid RM 75 per hour for only three students... How much UiTM pays you? 40 ringgit je kan? Oh well... Uish uish uish... Kesian you. *grins* Tiah: Iya mak... I ni kan baru lagi... 40 ringgit tu pun dah cukup... Pengalaman, mak... She is a good teacher. So I don't really mind her boasting about it. Really, I don't mind. Okay no, I do mind her boasting. Like hello, mak... I am still new . I accompanied mum teaching her three students today. One of her students actually took up swimming to release stress. She was too depressed after a divorce and decided to learn swimming just to keep herself busy. Now, this is the type of peopl...

Lifeguarding can be a very boring job. Especially when you love water A LOT and all you can do is just watch people swimming. Basically, you are paid to watch. So today, as usual I brought along my notes to study by the poolside. Sambil kerja, sambil belajar. Well, because according to my past observations, the number of people swimming during this session never exceeds FIVE . So, it's really a bit relaxing, this session. All you've got to do is sit on this high chair and observe. But today things were a bit different. An athlete came swimming to this humble pool today. OH. I want that chest. A swimmers' chest. It's broad, tough, and triangular. Like Superman. I saw Raja at the pool today. No, not 'raja' as in king, but Raja Azlina Izzah , the swimmer. The national swimmer. I recognized her from the swimming suit. The same swimming suit she wore during the interfaculty swimming competition. Basically because there's MALAYSIA written on it. So she swims...