The courage to try

Moments after my swim under the lights

I did it! I swam in the longest running United States Masters Swimming meet in America (47 years) in St. Petersburg today. After training for 11 months, it was time to do it "for real." This photo is me after I took third place in my age group (55-59) in the 200 yard freestyle. Let me give you the back story.

A year ago I was in the emergency room with dangerously high blood pressure. The medicine was not working. I felt awful and did not know what to do. There is a lot left to do in life and I was not ready to check out yet. The doctor said it was up to me now and he recommended a change of diet and aerobic exercise. There were no more new fangled pharmacological that could save me - it was up to me.

You can see how dark the skies are getting

The great tennis player Jimmy Connors was once asked what was the best exercise. He said it was the one you will do. Swimming is the one thing that I will do. As Arnold Schwarzenegger said about swimming...1) you can wear a speedo 2) Get a tan 3) Everyone is almost naked! That's the one I like.

I was off to the pool.

Problem. I could barely finish one 25 yard lap. The early days were really a struggle. I was soon able to swim a straight 500 yards and do about a mile total in my workouts. I was really making progress and my health was improving. In fact, my blood work now is fantastic and I have been off gout medicine for a year with no flare ups. How cool is that!

Today, I did the perfect swim. I negative split each 50 in the 200 yard freestyle race (each 50 faster then the one before) and sprinted the final lap home. I looked up and my team (SPM) was cheering for me. I looked up on the jumbo scoreboard where I could see my lane with time and splits. I felt like I had just swam in the Olympic finals! In reality, I had.

The St. Pete Masters hanging out in our area by the warm up sectioon

My Olympics was to change my lifestyle and focus on health. I set this goal and I accomplished it. I did it on my own and nobody can take this away from me. That is BADASS!!

There was a storm coming and the meet had to be postponed for Sunday. In fact, I was on the blocks for the 100 breaststroke ready to race and they stopped the meet. I'm glad they did for I was in the wrong damn lane and would have been disqualified! Good. I will swim it tomorrow.

Comments

Albert ZeeApril 3, 2016 at 1:04 PM
Tim,
Very inspirational story for fellow cab drivers and congratulation on your achievements.

http://stpetersburgfltaxi.com/

ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

FUCK UBER

Listen, you Uber fuckers, you screwheads. You are stealing my shit. I tried to be rational (What's that?). But not now. I am a man who will not take it anymore. A man who stands up against the scum, the cunts, the dogs, the filth, the shit. I am a man who stands up. Look at it this way. A man takes a job, you know? And that job - I mean, like that - That becomes what he is. You know, like - You do a thing and that's what you are. Like I've been a cabbie for nineteen years. Ten years at night. I still don't own my own cab. You know why? Because I don't want to. That must be what I want. To be on the night shift drivin' somebody else's cab. You understand? I mean, you become - You get a job, you become the job. One guy lives in a shit hole, another lives on drugs. You pick up a lawyer. Another guy's a doctor. Another guy dies. Another guy gets well. People are born, y'know? Why do you want to drive Uber? You think you can avoid your destiny? You'l...

Read more about it here! »

Sleeping with the enemy

I sort of stick out in this sea of pink I always seem to get on TV. This is Tim Fasano (in the yellow shirt with camera) sitting in the room full of Lyft and Uber drivers. Did you ever feel really alone? These rideshare people are operating an illegal business that is cutting into my livelyhood, and I wanted the Hillsborough County Commission to know it. The Lyft drivers are a bunch of punks and kids who have never worked a day in their lives. They will get whats coming to them. How do you spell douchebags? You will see me in the video shown on the local news.

Read more about it here! »

The Taxi Truman Show

I may have found the escape hatch Regulated Taxi driving is now dead. Uber has taken over. The current situation is no longer tenable for drivers who face an old model of cab leasing, and can no longer continue paying a Pre-Uber lease. Today was the tipping point. This time of year we should be very busy...EXTREMLY BUSY. We are not. It is dead as a doornail with drivers at the airport waiting up to 5 hours to a ride. It should be off the hook. It is for Uber. They pay no fee to the airport, yet they are allowed to operate. I made a good living for years. Transportation was regulated in Hillsborough County. This insured uniformity or rates, insurance, and accountability. But no more. The HCPTC has now allowed a gypsy cab company take over. Uber has not only taken some or part of our business - they have taken it all. This is because they are low balling the market in an attempt to establish a monopoly. They are well on their way to doing that with the compl...

Read more about it here! »

The Party Cab

I've seen this guy at Tampa airport before. He is the Party Cab Guy. The inside even has a disco light and he plays club music as he takes people out to party. Paul Hinton, manager at United Cab, said he remembers the guy from St. Petersburg. The Party Cab dude is personable and the chicks dig him. Paul thinks he is from Turkey and has a beautiful wife. I noticed he was wearing eye liner. Just another eclectic guy that drives taxi for a living. I saw him again today and he gave me his card. Thus dude is high energy and he puts a lot into it. It shows real ambition. Strange. Taxi driving is not an ambitious man's pursuit. However, I think he is independent which means he pays no high lease to the taxi overlords. He is expending that energy in something that will really pay off. Good for him.

Read more about it here! »

How Uber is hurting workers

Robert Reich is an economist who worked in Bill Clinton's cabinet. His problem with Uber and the "shared economy" is no sharing is going on. The worker absorbs all cost and risk, for less than minimum wage.

Read more about it here! »

Key West Uber drivers face arrest

Uber faces another battle for its drivers in South Florida. Uber drivers in Key West will face arrest and a possible $500 fine if caught driving without a passenger vehicle-for-hire license, following a city ordinance that went into effect on July 1. The ordinance, which city commissioners approved last year, says it is illegal for Uber or any other ride service to operate passenger vehicles-for-hire without the proper licenses. Key West spokeswoman Alyson Crean said drivers without this license can be arrested, although no arrests have been made. Crean says the ordinance has to do with city liability, since Uber takes passengers on city roads. Uber uses freelance drivers operating their own vehicles; passengers hire them via an app. Uber spokesman Bill Gibbons says the company hopes Key West officials rethink the ordinance. "It is unconscionable that [Key West] would seek to limit safe, reliable transportation ahead of one of the deadliest weekends of the year for dru...

Read more about it here! »

National Taxi strike called for October 26, 2014 against Uber & Lyft

Following the crowd is the opposite of the Uber Man...They want your mind...don't let them have it! There is more at stake then a ride to work. The battle for man's mind has begun. The Internet has made many things possible and reacting with incomplete information has had a debilitating effect on peoples behaviour and mental acuity. The ability to assess facts accurately has been diminished. When wide swaths of hipsters chose to use a ride share company because it has a slick app, without considering the consequences to society, then harm is being done. Ignoring that modern society is structured by law - they proceed anyway. This course must be redirected Back in the dark ages, villagers and townspeople would often react to a rumor and then take action swiftly to bring justice upon the presumed guilty party without waiting for the authorities to resolve it. The more emotionally attached people were to the crime, the less real or confirmed information they needed to follow...

Read more about it here! »

Its not season

I don't care what any driver says, we ARE NOT having a tourist season. Cruise ship passengers on the weekend does not make a season. Its Monday morning and no airport flights are going out, just like all last week. I am not making money. I am on the brink of eviction. I owe the company money. I am wearing dirty clothes because I don't have the 5 bucks for Landry. I have nothing and I work 7 days a week, 10 hours a day. Something is wrong.

Read more about it here! »

I voted

I voted for Rick Scott for Florida Governor. I felt he has done a responsible job. The state actually has a financial surplus because Scott cut all the pork out. We are not California which is insolvent after all the giveaway programs to poor Obama voters. Scott has kept regulations and taxes low creation a favorable business climate where firms are beginning to view Florida like Texas. Florida is poised for a massive boom. This is now going to be the place to be. I voted against the medical marijuana bill, as I did all constitutional amendments. The bills were vaguely worded and I believe deception was used to disguise their true intent. posted from Bloggeroid

Read more about it here! »

A Trolly crash on Channelside along with Gasparilla

It was bound to happen. A car hit the trolley on the way to the cruise ship today before the Gasparilla parade. The cross ways are poorly marked, and someone from out of town would not be looking for it, or expect it. Believe me, I have come very close in the past. I always thought those things were a bad idea for nobody rides them, and the conductors come flying through intersections. I wonder who was at fault. We were busy today as the pirate festival kicks off the start of our tourist season. May, 5 will mark the end.You will see me with my Corona beer that day drowning my sorrows for the party is over. That's what really sucks about the seasonal nature of Florida. Today was not a normal Gasparilla day for me. I was working the Westshore area and got three ship runs in a row. They were very nice people from up north that were amazed and loving the beautiful weather we are having. They wondered what all the fuss was about and I explained the pirate heritage of Tamp...

Read more about it here! »

Tampa Taxi Shots

Search This Blog