It seemed like a bad idea at the time

[redbird]

The people who hosted the new year's eve party Adrian and I went to have a hot tub. As do many people. Unlike some, they welcomed their party guests to use the hot tub: bring your own towel, and flip-flops or similar to wear on the deck.

I am fond of hot tubs, and did in fact bring a towel and sandals to the party (in the pack we carried the cake in, and in fact the towel was wrapped around the cake). At some point other people started talking about the hot tub, so I stripped down, grabbed my towel, and headed outdoors.

Walking over to the hot tub past the snow, I kept saying things like "Why the fuck did I think this was a good idea?" Then we got to the hot tub and discovered that, since we were the first people to use it, we had to remove the cover first. Fortunately, the other two people were more organized than I (and I think had used this tub before), and dealt with it, partly from inside the tub.

The hot water was wonderful, and the sky overhead was gorgeous: clear and starry. As I told our host when he wandered out, I was quite happy, except for the realization that I couldn't just stay in there until Spring. I did stay in a bit longer than I otherwise would have, because the idea of removing my body from the nice warm water (104 %deg;F, 40 or so C) to the cold air (I think it was down to 7 F by then) was not appealing. But emerge I did, grabbed sandals and towel, and hurried back into the house.

We were not the only people to use the hot tub, and I gather there was some concern later in the evening about whether more people wanted to go in at once than there was convenient room for.

Other than that, the party had nice things to eat, not all of them chocolate; a variety of drinks; and conversation. Lots of friendly people, most of whom I didn't know, talking about everything from whether, or to whom, "spouse" is a gendered term; to the point that not all doggerel, nor any other kind of writing, is necessarily dreck—but that even though Ogden Nash's work is not dreck, many people have imitated him badly; to someone's strong preference that people only use the term clothing-optional if they will in fact be comfortable whether or not he wears clothes in that context. Also gossip, of course, much of which I lacked the context for.

In some sense, the last thing I did in 2008 was join people to burn scraps of paper with things we wanted to be rid of at the end of the year; it feels more as though my last thing of the year was hot-tubbing in the snow, which is not a bad thought. It's been a weird and in some ways difficult year, but my life is good.

Comments

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

I'm curious about people who find "spouse" gendered-- I'm reminded of a long-lost friend who was certain that only unmarried women were permitted to style themselves "Ms."

[calimac.livejournal.com]

OTOH, there was the church which used to list women on committees & such by their husbands' names, e.g. "Mrs. John Smith" and then thought they were getting with the times by changing it to "Ms. John Smith".

[redbird]

This conversation started with mention of an elderly legislator who wanted to eliminate same-sex marriage, and offered as an argument "We don't even have a non-gendered word for 'spouse'" and when I said that that really sounded like a conclusion in search of an argument, someone mentioned that to his grandparents, "spouse" always meant "wife." A man might refer to his spouse, but according to this person, a woman would always say "husband." This may be limited by place as well as time.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Happy New Year, and hooray for hot water!

[calimac.livejournal.com]

Good conversation topics.

1) 104 v. 7 degrees F is extreme, but I'm even reluctant to step out of a hot shower into a merely steaming bathroom.

2) "Doggerel" usually implies it isn't good; "light verse" is a more complimentary term. Of course Nash can be imitated badly, but almost anyone good at any writing can be imitated badly.

3) Agree that "clothing optional" should genuinely mean "optional." Always irritated at the so-called temperance movement, which actually meant prohibition: I'm in favor of genuine temperance, but against prohibition. Then there's "compassionate conservatives."

[darcydodo]

I gather there was some concern later in the evening about whether more people wanted to go in at once than there was convenient room for.

We don't have snow out here, but we do have hot tubs, and it's not an uncommon sight on a Thursday evening (at bab5, specifically) to have naked people positively crammed into a hot tub and wondering if it's possible to fit anyone else in. The answer often being "no, but that's not going to stop us from trying!"