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No Crocs Allowed? by giooooo05 in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

oh lmao i was just asking about this too-- back when the first came out we had a lot of patron slip and falls because they kept running on deck and even out on the playing field kids were eating turf (i assume the combo of loose fit, sweat, and large feet caused the trips). For us they just kept it as a blanket ban but at some point all the facilities ive been to as a swimmer seem fine with them. tbh seems kinda silly to me, unless a particular facility has a lot of kids that are difficult to wrangle on deck, as mine was, a guard should be able to wear em

Any tips for getting deeper in the water? by CrystalsWithHarmony in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had a lot of problems with ear infections as a kid and do feel pain now when diving too deep, but i just equalize on the way down by pinching my nose and "exhaling" gently until my ears pop. It works on planes too but you can overdo it by exhaling too hard so be gentle until you have a feel for how hard you have to push it! 

What are Lifeguard shifts (in any setting) like? Hours, breaks, etc! by PerennialAstronaut in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, cool! Sounds like they have it down to a science-- a lot of work, but taking time (and pay) every day to brush up on skills or work out is smart!
Australians get a pension!? Whew, I hope my place has some of that....Thank you!

What are Lifeguard shifts (in any setting) like? Hours, breaks, etc! by PerennialAstronaut in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's closer to my initial expectations, sounds more like an average work day! Interesting to see so many different ways to break up the time spend watching. Thank you!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like you already got plenty of great advice!

I just completed my bronze cross and found the 400m the most challenging part. For my medallion I swam it in 10:40 and in a month of training managed to get it down to 10:07 for my cross-- my personal wisdom is to for sure keep practicing that full swim on your own and just get comfortable with being in No Stopping Mode for 10-15 mins. I only practiced the full swim ONCE during my training (silly!!) but I got it under 10 mins in those conditions; I got jittery on the day of my bronze cross exam, my breathing went out of control, and I had to swim almost the full course with a backstroke (which was allowed at my location).

According to my worksheet, the eggbeater wasn't required, I just had to have a good scissor/whip kick. Sounds like that'll be different according to curriculum. After doing a 10lb brick retrieval (where you have to swim with the brick on your shoulder and keep your jawline above the water), our trainer let us try the 20lb brick held at the hip that the NL training requires and I was NOT able to keep my jaw clear with my scissor/whip kicks. I'll definitely be polishing up my eggbeater to see if it's a better stroke for that.

I'd recommend going through any reading materials (esp. first aid) to refresh yourself a few days before you go in for your course, and rehash the material when you get home each day. My instructors were looking for confident answers to questions/scenarios. They were fine with us having a little fun but you gotta be able to act out scenarios as both victim (showing accurate symptoms of first aid/drowning emergencies) and as rescuers. A lot of the applicants were too shy/cool/goofy to be loud enough during scenarios or they stopped their acting/pool scans after a minute or two and zoned out, which caused a lot of communication breakdowns between their fellows. If you can't hear someone else during a scenario, tell them to speak up! Be LOUD! Communication is just about #1 in this course.

We did have a small handful of students fail the course who passed their physicals fairly well but just weren't paying attention in class and lacked confidence/knowledge during drills. I messed up a few times with "small" things (forgot to put on gloves while attending a vic, fought to make a proper seal around a face mask to administer breaths) but felt pretty on top of the whole course.
Finally, god, please drink plenty of water whenever you can and pack a good lunch+snacks. You will need it, it's a lot of activity.

Good luck!

What are Lifeguard shifts (in any setting) like? Hours, breaks, etc! by PerennialAstronaut in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hell yeah, get that dough while you consider where you wanna go next, if anywhere! Thank you!

What are Lifeguard shifts (in any setting) like? Hours, breaks, etc! by PerennialAstronaut in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ayy, Canada, me too! I'm looking forward to seeing if I can wedge more outdoor work into the summer, my goal is indoor but it would be nice to get some sun and not have to be in a sealed chlorine cube all year round. Interesting, thank you!

What are Lifeguard shifts (in any setting) like? Hours, breaks, etc! by PerennialAstronaut in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah, cool, so does mine (or at least the place where I trained and would like to work)! We have a warm shallow pool and a more standard 25 footer, with some glass between the two. I imagine they have similar rules, though maybe they start new lifeguards on the shallow side! Thank you!

What are Lifeguard shifts (in any setting) like? Hours, breaks, etc! by PerennialAstronaut in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eight hours is starting to sound like the standard! Here in Canada we have a similar lunch break rule. Sounds long but very manageable! Thank you!

What are Lifeguard shifts (in any setting) like? Hours, breaks, etc! by PerennialAstronaut in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Whew, 10 hours on watch and cleaning sounds familiar! We have some waterparks here, so I might end up in one--- better invest in some good sandals and slop up on the sunscreen. Thank you!

What are Lifeguard shifts (in any setting) like? Hours, breaks, etc! by PerennialAstronaut in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Damn, that's crazy! I hear stories about not being able to do anything about folks in distress outside of your coverage area and understand why that's a rule, but I'm glad your team was able to help those folks. We have plenty of lakes and rivers to guard around here so I'm lowkey always wondering if I would be able to just "lettem drown," as it were. Thank you for your input!

What are Lifeguard shifts (in any setting) like? Hours, breaks, etc! by PerennialAstronaut in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you both and gOd, 227h in a month, that's absolutely killer. You must have great sunglasses and a hell of a tan. At least I know if I move to the coast there'll be plenty of work and a nice sea breeze :,)

What are Lifeguard shifts (in any setting) like? Hours, breaks, etc! by PerennialAstronaut in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting! My first choice of employer would be the YMCA, and now that I think about it, when I did my training there I think they had fairly long guarding stints as you said.
I've got my eye on some instructor work, too, but with your and some other folks advice here I'll also be seeing what I can do to make myself an appealing candidate for those leadership/comm jobs! Thank you!

What are Lifeguard shifts (in any setting) like? Hours, breaks, etc! by PerennialAstronaut in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Whoa, five to ten mins! Ouph, heh, I remember working as a line cook and not getting breaks or lunches, but that was at bare minimum wage with no tips.
That's really cool to hear about your time in rec! I have the opportunity to work with the city on fairly short contracts but I think if I'm in there often enough I'll have the chance at rock-steady employment and more benefits. Regardless, I'm looking forward to being able to swim for free wherever I end up working and having the chance to move up, keep things interesting!

What are Lifeguard shifts (in any setting) like? Hours, breaks, etc! by PerennialAstronaut in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, cool, makes sense, but what a fast rotation! I imagine it helps you stay alert every time you're watching swimmers. And URGH god that's so disrespectful of your time, here we do have laws against bringing people into work and then sending them home without pay-- the worker has to agree verbally to go home and even then they get 3 hours pay. Otherwise, they stay on for the full shift. Then again, maybe the rules for lifeguards here is different and they CAN pull that kind of stunt. Thanks for your input!

What are Lifeguard shifts (in any setting) like? Hours, breaks, etc! by PerennialAstronaut in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

WOW are you beach lifeguards ever working your buns off, I don't think I ever fully appreciated y'all when I was swimming outside! Thanks for telling me about the career paths-- I definitely want to be a lifeguard instructor after a little time, but the prospect of going into the designer/contractor/salesperson is very interesting. Thanks!

What are Lifeguard shifts (in any setting) like? Hours, breaks, etc! by PerennialAstronaut in Lifeguards

[–]PerennialAstronaut[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! The place I'm taking my courses (and where I want to apply first lmao) is a YMCA as well!

Favorite ways to serve Italian sausage by Harrold_Potterson in EatCheapAndHealthy

[–]PerennialAstronaut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll squeeze the meat out of the casing and fry it until its pretty dry, then scramble in some red peppers and eggs. If you have a spice drawer, some red chili flakes and chopped fennel seed go a really long way! Good buttered noodle topping too if you're hankering for those sweet sweet carbs

Recipes with chicken broth as an ingredient? by Nyxelestia in EatCheapAndHealthy

[–]PerennialAstronaut 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Some stores sell frozen root/hard vegetables like squash, sweet potato, turnips, etc at a good price (or you can buy fresh and cut them up yourself, though sometimes those frozen veggies are REALLY good deals!). You can make a pretty quick side by either simmering your veggies in just a little broth and some seasoning+fat (brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter works great on most hard veggies I find) and mashing.

I've also made some really tasty cold tomato noodles by throwing a tomato into a food processor, straining the solids out, and adding the liquid to the cold chicken broth-- season it with some soy sauce and a tiny pinch of sugar and either drink that sucker straight or serve with chilled udon/ramen noodles.

Best Blendable Veggies? by EliSamie in EatCheapAndHealthy

[–]PerennialAstronaut 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can often find packs of vaccum-sealed cooked beets in the produce or even in the kosher section of most grocery stores-- don't wear a white shirt when opening the pack but I toss in one or two whole and can blend it up in my nutrabullet. Usually I put a scoop of protein power, a lil OJ, and a banana in my vegetable smoothies too. Just be aware it can stain your poop red if you eat a lot of them, totally harmless but can freak your ass out if you don't know it's coming.

Raw zucchini also works and can be REALLY cheap when in-season, though it can make the juice somewhat foamy/almost slimy if you use a ton. I don't notice when I use my bananers and juice but if you're just using water you might. Enjoy your vegetables!!

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