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Poolside Pandemic

Chapter 3

By ZerefPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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Poolside Pandemic
Photo by Aalok Atreya on Unsplash

It's not every day that a devastating epidemic sweeps the globe, uprooting human existence as we know it. While this improbable tragedy has become a reality that is still unfolding, things like employment and education are in jeopardy. Many people are unemployed, and school enrollment is declining.

In late March of 2020, with Covid swiftly spreading across the United States and threatening to bring life as we know it to a halt, I found myself alone in my downtown apartment, isolated, and horrified by what was going on. Travel plans to the tropics had been cancelled. Trying to comprehend the enormity of what was going on and witnessing it develop in front of my eyes seemed like I was living in a nightmare. I read for hours and days, waiting for better news, but it never came. I determined that I needed to modify my circumstances for the better for whatever reason, or perhaps because of some heavier-than-normal drug (abuse).It was up to me to make the world a better place by being the change I wanted to see! So I did what few, if any, people would ever do: I did what few, if any, people I knew would ever do: I made lemonade out of lemons. My pals were also unavailable to persuade me out of it this time.

If you reside in a downtown apartment building in a large city that is suddenly and dramatically silent, there is at least one best-in-show Spring and Summer feature that is always a fan favourite and never disappoints: the swimming pool.

Since much of the pool season was already looking like it will be disrupted by the 'vid-19's widespread spread, I like to believe I was far ahead of the curve when I found the deal of a lifetime on Amazon for $29.95. (minus Prime delivery due to pandemic delays). In less than a week, the family's 'play paradise pool' arrived. I had 300 gallons of every landlord's worst nightmare to float on a raft in arranged in a few short hours without ever leaving home, save to walk down to the lobby to pick up my box.

I couldn't help but think how nice it was that my pool was filled with hot water that I didn't have to pay for while lying face-up on an inflatable raft beneath the warm glow of a heat lamp I hung from the ceiling fan in my living room.It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows in bringing my vision to life, so don't try this one in your own rental apartment living room unless you're a true pro like me and have a tarp, some pool toys, tonnes of kinetic sand, a few palm trees, 100 beach balls, a "no" life guard sign, a heating sun lamp, assorted pineapple drinkware, an attachable rainfall shower head, 50+ feet of flexible pvc tubing, a

When it comes to directions for setting up above ground inflatable swimming pools for families of six indoors, there isn't much to choose from. This may lead some to believe they are solely for use outside. In reality, the instructions may state that they are "designed for outdoor usage only.".

To me, this just signifies that there is still some TBD work to be done before the pool may be used indoors. A few simple Google searches may often fill in a lot of gaps. In this case, my strategy was straightforward: I would disregard the setup instructions unless anything went wrong. To be clear, I was constructing my pool inside. It was going in my living room, where I could wait out the pandemic in front of a 4k HDTV and a popcorn machine, right next to a wetter "wet bar" that was within reach of my hand grabber claw contraption.

Some of the individuals I told about my renovation plans felt compelled to ask me silly questions, such as whether or not I knew what happened when a swimming pool leaks. Obviously, I'm not a moron. It would be precisely the same, only with hotter water that I didn't pay for, faker grass from the hardware store, and polished wood flooring, since I had a swimming pool that leaked once outdoors. Did I own the house where the pool was going to be installed? No. Obviously not. Not in the least. I can't afford renter's insurance, and even if I could, I'd never dump 300 gallons of water in the centre of my living room. That would be ridiculous.

It's worth noting that no one lived in the building below me, so I wasn't concerned about anybody else. Although that eliminated any risk of my flying through the roof onto someone's dinner table as they were eating on a flamingo raft. That's a tremendous bummer. Just joking.

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About the Creator

Zeref

Ends Well All is Well

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