hypothermia: subnormal temperature of the body due to prolonged exposure to cold.

outside temp: 14 C / 56 F
water temp: 21 C / 69 F
distance: 1000m.
time: a lot faster than normal.

I got in the pool, noting the icy feeling of the water as I stepped off the ladder. Usually this is where I stand at the end of the pool anticipating the rush of blood and whatever else it is that goes from my toes and shoots towards my head, providing an instant wake up. Cold is normal. The rush is normal. Not lingering to feel the complete whoosh of the rush, I dove under and started the first lap. I got halfway across the pool and instead of being cold, I actually couldn't feel anything, which of course was like a false sense of warm. That feeling didn't last long. Swimming with goosebumps for the first 400 meters is normal. Swimming 800 meters with goosebumps and still freezing is not. The 9th lap felt great. The last lap I was praying I wouldn't black out. Or whatever happens when you swim too fast for too long and are freezing your toes off in very cold water for nearly a half hour straight.

Despite the sudden strange feeling of calmness and blurry feeling I got at the last lap, it felt great. In a very wake-upish and "wow, I didn't know I could swim that fast" kind of way.

Whatever people say about the water "feeling warmer if you keep moving" lost its validity. If what people say about the colder the water temp, the higher your oxygen intake...and the more oxygen intake, the smarter you'll be....then I should be a genius by sundown.

result: a high kind of buzz that should last at least through the morning.


reward: free hot shower.

skyless clouds

Sunday afternoon, I hopped the train into Taipei. Train rides always provide some entertaining means of people watching. This time the object of my attention was on a young kid, maybe 3ish, kneeling on the seat, face gazing at the blur of scenery out the window. I loved watching the kid. He was doing exactly what I would have been doing if it were my seat. What made him the most fun to watch was the occasional high-pitched hiccups that escaped his mouth, shaking his shoulders. It never phased him a bit, but cracked me up. His mom was abnormally cool. She talked, sang and played with him the whole trip, instead of constantly shushing him up, worried about what others would think. No, she began a song, then listened- and sang along- as the kid jumped in and completed the tune. It was cute. It made me miss my sister and nephew. I love watching people who interact WITH their children. My sister is amazing at that. I got off the train smiling.

I miss being around kids. A LOT. I even miss inevitably having to be "it" in every game of chase with giggling 3rd graders. Good times. :)


I fixed my skates. :):):) And officially know how to take them apart and do the necessary maintenance measures myself. With an IKEA furniture tool. Thanks to Dad for showing me how to do it when I was a kid. He is always good at showing us how to fix things. Like walls, toilets and cars.

Next week, am hoping to get out to the beach. We'll see. For some reason, I'm really excited about it. And feel sudden motivation to get studying done before then.

putting the guitar back in it's place in the corner..

"Sometimes it feels like a heart is no place to be singing from at all..."

Just really don't have much to say right now. I really, really want to go surfing.

back to the books...

school has started. it is the same, except the class load is a bit over half of what it was last semester, meaning there will be more time to keep up with the work load this time. yesss.

finally, i will have time to study Chinese. and relax. and study some more. i'd consider turning into a library junkie. a moment in the library tinted that mental image when i wasn't able to get a good wireless connection (it's usually REALLY fast). so i had to move to the local town library to check everything that needed checking.

the best guard at the apartment complex mentioned he missed us while we were gone. that made my day. he's got this grandfatherly smile that makes my day every time i drive in and out. our landlord gave us a box of pomelo. in Penghu, i got to drink a kind of beer that had pomelo juice added into it.... it takes beer from good to extra good on a hot summer day. might try mixing some myself.

battery is running low. bummer. guess it's time to quit mooching off the library's free aircon and wireless and go back to the apartment. and grab dinner and a cold drink on the way..

randomness...from the sista

Because I'm lucky . . .

to have been tagged by my sis.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 9:20

2. How do you like your steak? med-well

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?

Harry Potter (the newest one)

4. What is your favorite TV show?

don't really like watching tv..

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? where i live now

6. What did you have for breakfast? oatmeal and bacon

.

7. What is your favorite cuisine? SUSHI!!!! Japanese food.

8. What foods do you dislike? green peppers

9. Favorite Place to Eat? local hole-in-the-wall restautrants

10. Favorite dressing? Ceasar

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? 100c.c scooter

12. What are your favorite clothes? denim shorts and T-shirt

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? some beachy place in Asia, Marshall Islands

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? I couldn't give a flip. I have a cup, and that's all that matters.

15. Where would you want to retire? Beach.

16. Favorite time of day? around the time the sun comes up/goes down

17. Where were you born?Houma, LA

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? hockey. hands down.

19. Who do you think will not tag you back? omg, I'm so worrying about that. you have no idea..

20. Person you expect to tag you back first? I'm just waiting in pure anticipation to see who it is.

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? my sister. and she already answered. so my curiosity is already satisfied.

22. Bird watcher? don't you have to sit still for that??

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning all the way.

24. Pets? none.

25. Any new and exciting news that you'd like to share? most ppl don't get the same kick out of the things i call good news that i do...like how I decided I want to meet an eldila.

26. What did you want to be when you were little? cowgirl, detective, CIA agent.

27. What is your best childhood memory? going with Dad to get haircut on Saturday mornings, visiting Alabama with Dad on business trips, P'cola trips

28. Are you a cat or dog person? dogggggg.

29. Are you married? nope.

30. Always wear your seat belt? yep. most of the time...

31. Been in a car accident? no, but I almost ran into my friend's van yesterday. kinda hard to stop a skateboard going down hill when you're sitting on it...

32. Any pet peeves? ha. too many to count. people who don't make effort to find a way to solve the problem before complaining about it.

33. Favorite pizza topping? pepperoni

34. Favorite Flower? i forgot what it's called. but it's really pretty...

35. Favorite ice cream? mint chocolate chip

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Taco Bell

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? oh, the thing where I had to make four right turns around the block with the police lady in the car? no, I did not fail that..

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Target. if they had that here. or surf shop.

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? got a job working at a B&B on a tiny island. and got shaved ice with my housemate last night.

41. Like your job? LOVE it.

42. Broccoli? with cheese

43. What was your favorite vacation? Disneyworld with friends, north cali last summer

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? work people.

45. What are you listening to right now? Chinese movie

46. What is your favorite color? purple

47. How many tattoos do you have? none

48.How many are you tagging for this quiz? mm.....I'm just stressing too much to be able to decide right now....

49. What time did you finish this quiz? 2:34pm

50. Coffee Drinker? duh. I am my own barista at present.

I LOVE...


waking up and going to work every morning.
feeling the sun on my shoulders while I drive.
figruing out how to roll out the pizza dough.
seeing a clear sky of stars at night.
breathing the air at sunset.
wearing a bathing suit everyday.
not having to wash laundry as often because of it ^^
wearing tank top, cut off denim shorts and flip flops to work.
listening to music while I clean the bathrooms.
CLEANed rooms.
listening to people chatting.
watching people enjoy themselves.
laughing. and watching or making others laugh.
making my own lattes.
ice banana.
hanging out with random people.
meeting new people.
meeting hippies.
playing with the dogs.
learning about surfing.
SURFING.
more surfing.
reading books.
realizing sometimes I don't have to think about anything.
falling alseep on the sofa.
lazy afternoons.

my life.

Sailing, sickness and splendor

A recollection of yesterday and the day before...

Day before:

Spent the 9-3pm partof my day on the sailboat. I love my life. I have the coolest jobs this summer. We set out at 9:30am with 6 customers- three women and three kids. Having kids on board was fun. Tony (owner/skipper) let the kids have the wheel most of the time, which they enjoyed. It was still pretty choppy from the typhoon when we started out, which made one of the kids a bit sick.He never puked, just felt sick. I felt it a bit in my stomach, too- usually don't get seasick, but a combination not having slept well the night before and the medicine I'd been taking made my stomach almost start turning. Blah.

I lost my voice- for three days in a row. That was kind of fun in a way. It was the best way to amuse people for three days. And amused they were.

Last night....BBQ with surfer guys & co. Yummmy. And....I made a joke in Chinese. One of the guys has a pair of boardshorts with a design around the waistband that looks like eyes. Giving him a hard time about it is fun- I always tell him it feels like his butt's looking at me. Yesterday he wore a different pair. The swells we had yesterday were already hard to catch, and I'd told him it was probably just harder to catch them since he couldn't see without his shorts. While bbq-ing, he randomly turned and told me, "I took the eye pair of boardshorts home to wash."
"Ah, so tomorrow you'll be able to see clearer."
(that was all in Chinese...but making a joke in a foreign language that you'd make in your mother one is a major accomplishment). He threw back his head and laughed. And I smiled with relief. I still have a sense of humor. And it can still show through. Screw language barriers.

This morning I woke up and felt the same as yesterday- sick. I decided after a week of battling a cold and going 3 days without a voice, I was going to the doctor. Funny thing, I HATE going to the doctor- hence the 5 day procastination. But I went, and the doctor was funny enough to brighten my morning. We chatted while he checked my temperature and sprayed some stuff into my throat and nose. If you're wondering if that feels gross, it does. But it worked. He hooked me up with some meds and off I went.

I drove customers most of the morning, hence missing surf time, except for a brief 20min session. I didn't mind too much. There's always tomorrow. But I got to see Greg's surfboard workshop- where he turns old/broken boards into recycled vintage-styled boards. Awesome stuff.


That's it for the day...til something else exciting happens. :P