So I don’t know if I’m courageous or insane, but will you sponsor me nonetheless?
December 18, 2011, 10:31 PM
I really don’t know if this makes me courageous or insane, but I’m going to be jumping into the Potomac River on January 21, 2012 as part of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network‘s “Keep Winter Cold” polar bear plunge event to help raise money for climate work.
In other words, I’m going to be doing this:
Yes. That.
See, the way I figure, everyone had so much fun last year at the Keep Winter Cold event that I thought I’d give it a try this year. Basically, Katy and Ryan, whom you may remember as basically being the stars of the 2011 event on Schumin Web, managed to talk me into doing it this year. And so I’m registered to do it.
So now, of course, between now and January 21, the job is to raise some money for climate work. Thus I want you to sponsor me. I’ve set a fundraising goal of $350, and I think I can make that. As of this writing, I’m 27% there, with $93 raised so far. But I will need your help to get over the top. Katy and Ryan each met the $350 goal for 2011, and I think all of us can do it, and propel “Team Schumin Web” (yes, I registered “The Schumin Web” as a team name) to the $350 goal.
Then there’s also a certain matter of what to wear in the water. The idea when going “polar dipping”, as I described in 2010, is to wear as little clothing as possible in the water so that the water doesn’t cling to you and make you cold afterwards. Then there’s also the whole idea of how much showmanship I want to do. Realize that besides your typical polar bear plunge fare like bikinis, speedos, and boardshorts, you also have people wearing costumes, like superhero outfits, zentai suits, crazy wigs, crazy hats, and much more.
I actually thought about doing the plunge in my green zentai suit, but I ultimately vetoed that idea for a few reasons. First, it’s built to the same specifications as the black zentai, and we all saw how much that doesn’t fit (and that was 20 pounds ago!). Secondly, there’s the whole idea of as-little-fabric-as-possible that still applies, and a full-body costume would retain a lot of water. Lastly, and most importantly, I don’t want anyone thinking that I sent a stunt person in. After all, a crucial part of a zentai suit is a face-concealing mask (without that, it’s a catsuit and not a zentai), and that could raise suspicions that I didn’t actually go in. After all, I’ve seen enough Power Rangers to know that the main actors don’t do their own stunts, and that when they’re morphed with the helmets on, it’s not them in the suits, but rather a stunt actor. I’m not doing that. I want you to know without a doubt that it is definitely me in there freezing my behind off.
So basically, I’m down to a few choices as to what to wear. First of all, I do, as I mentioned a while back, own a speedo. It is blue. And you’re welcome on that mental image. Then there’s also what I normally wear when I go swimming in Olney, and that’s a jammer. That’s basically like bicycle shorts for the pool. I have four of those: a solid black one, a solid navy one (though now closer to purple from use), a black one with yellow patterned stripes down the side, and a black one with solid red stripes down the side. So feel free to write me and let me know what kind of suit you think I should wear for this. Your suggestions will carry more weight, however, if you make a donation along with said suggestions. I look forward to hearing what you think about how I should attire myself for a very cold swim.
And considering how much I’ve dealt with health issues this year related to weight and losing said weight, blood pressure, and getting in shape, I did the right thing ahead of taking this plunge, and I asked my doctor about it. My doctor has given me the go to do it, and so I’m ready to go. Now I wonder if my doctor will donate. Do you think?
So there you go. Sponsor me!
Web site: Sponsor me in this event!
Song: Anastasia Shestakova sings "Let's Go Swimming" at CCAN's 2011 plunge event.
Quote: So I'm excited about this...
Categories: Events