observations on dominance

Katy the sizeable youngster edges little old Max out of the way pretty often, whether it is for pats or drinks of water. He's figured out ways to work around her (I think he would say that he has "chosen" to do things differently), but she is definitely playing the part of top dog around here.

Similarly, I've found myself swimming in a new lane, edged out by a youngster. Varsity (keep 'em straight, there's only three: Gary, Monkey and now Varsity) started swimming in "my" lane a couple of weeks ago - which I don't really mind - so now I use a portion of the fast lane.

Irony aside, it is interesting to see the difference in how I perceive the swimmers around me. Mostly, I think I need more than one thing to think about at a time, so I watch to see what others are doing. I find it useful to keep track of Gary, who appears to swim at a consistent rate and is therefore a good clock. He laps me several times each workout, but I can tell by when he does how fast or slow I am going, which is a big help near the end of my workouts, which typically end at the same time as the lap swim hour expires.

I can't see the real clock unless I pause, which I am loathe to do, so hurray for Gary. Varsity uses almost the whole hour, but I haven't got her measured yet, so I'm not sure if she'd make a good clock, too.

Neither would make a good wristwatch, of that I am sure...