Time to Play for Reals

I wake up very briefly at 03:00 and then again at 07:00. And it's
right about there that I form a plan. This place has a pool the size
of Sloan's Lake, but it's only open from 07:00 to 19:00. Which means:
no night swimming, AND it's bloody hard for a whitey like me to make
the rounds during the day. I'm not interested in swimming per se, but
I am interested in being in the pool, at least once, just because I
can.

Oh yeah, and there's a Jacuzzi. THAT is what I want.

I put on my trunks, my swaky robe and my sandals and head out. The
place is completely dead. You throw a bunch of poker players into a
specific situation and of course what you're going to get is
insomniacs, none of whom are awake at this hour.

The pool still has "closed" signs around it, I ignore them and go into
the Jacuzzi. The jets aren't on, there's no clear way for me to turn
them on, but that doesn't mean that it's not great. The air is an
orange and blue strata. I look straight out at the ocean through the
palm trees over the perfect beach. And it's just me. Just me.

Time passes and the workers come through. I've seen these people all
over In. and I've never been clear who they are -- I used to think
they were Muslims, but now I think they are one of the low castes.
Always women, always in the cleanest and most saturated robes you can
imagine. They don't cover their faces and they work with the
earnestness of a President during State of the Union. But they are
always happy and always talking amongst each other. They always sweep
with brooms that aren't really brooms, but something like handfuls of
elephant grass clutched together. Always.

After a bit the jets come on and it's even better than before. I sit,
then I go to the pool and take two laps. I go back to the room
perfectly serene, take a shower, grab a quick breakfast (just yogurt
and kingfish) and go back, reading poker until 16:00.

I surreptitiously sign up for the tournament and sit down to play. In
< 1 hour, I'm out (details will follow), leaving me with an evening I
wasn't expecting. I write a little more of a letter, read a little,
but don't dare leave the confines due to Holi.

When 23:00 rolls around, I settle to bed. Tomorrow I play for the
next, and last, time.

Hope all's well,
b1