Three Colours Blue

Probably the most perfect day so far on the beach. No danger flags were flying, I imagine that means the Jelly Fish have been swept along the coast to terrorise other holiday makers - good riddance. I am glad they have gone as today I had to get into the water as it was too hot not to.

Water Signs

Richard & I woke up early and went to the beach. We were on sun lounger by about 11am like Germans which was just as well as by 3 the clouds were rolling in and it was time to go.

We had lunch and got home just in time to avoid 3 hours of straight rain. It really comes down hard here although its not cold.

All Is Calm, All Is Bright

The beach was relatively safe this afternoon, the green flag means moderate currents and the purple means  jelly's are go. I have not been in the sea so far I would rather view it with suspicion from terra firma for now.

I walked up to the Northern Point of the beach today, it is much quieter in that direction. There was a wedding on the beach at about 6pm. Very odd, all these wedding planners nipping around like a Steve Martin movie. Then a string quarter trudged by, then a whole bunch of over dressed (for the beach at least) guests came and then the bride and a platoon of bridesmaids. Very odd at first I thought it was going to be a gay wedding because it looked so camp but actually they were all deadly serious and had a proper  Priest etc. Full wedding attire at a beach wedding is not a great look. What worked better was Kurt & Courtney in Pyjamas stoned or Pammy & Tommy in swimwear. Both unions started rather well and ended pretty badly but in principle they were a great and well styled idea at the onset. I don't think the wedding planner had figured out quite how difficult it would be to walk in court shoes across the sand. Anyway all the more amusing for me.

While laying on my towel sniggering this total chancer guy came over and said
'Beautiful eh?'
'Not my idea of a day out, No'

Back To The Grind

Another exhausting afternoon at the beach. If you want a good tan, you have to be prepared to put in the hours...

For The Music Is Lethal

I am so pale, I had coffee with Ryan this morning and we discussed my tanning strategy. Why I would discuss risk factors with someone who sky dives for fun is another issue altogether. He said I should avoid the sun from 1 - 3, I thought I should do 2 hours 2 - 4. I don't have a clock or phone in my bag so I time my tan listening to tracks on my iPod, this has the added advantage of blocking out the unbearable sound of other people.  I estimate that I did 90 minutes between 2 and 3.30. I think if I do an extra 30 minutes each day I can build up to brown over the next few weeks. My friend Jess is doing a project about replacing chemical products with safer alternatives. She asked me to name the ones I could not do without. Right now Clarins Sun Oil SPF 15 is one. Clarin's Gentle Foaming Cleanser and Clarin's Daily Energiser Lotion SPF 15. The thing I don't understand about SPF's is this, if a product is factor 15 then I understand that it means that you can be in the sun 15 times longer without burning. If you then reapply your product - do you get another '15 times longer' or is it a once a day thing?

There Is No God I Am Alone Here

I saw this man on the way home from the beach.  He was screaming at another guy 'Do you want to see my God?' and the man was saying 'Sure'. The first man says 'Do you want to see a God you can live by?' The second man says 'Yes'. This banter went on for a while and then finally guy number one points at the Sun and says 'There, there is my God, now you show me yours!' Genius.

Tra La La La La

I am at my most brown. At school in typing class (giving away age here) we used to do typing exercises to Brown Girl In The Ring by Boney M. It was funny I didn't like school or attend much but I did enjoy typing class. We used to have this book of the text we were copying and we would sing the first line and then tap tap tap tap tap the tra la la la la la bit and do a really aggressive carriage return to plum plum.

I went on a date (I really try not to date as I find it acutely disturbing) with this idiot man who took me to see a movie called Into The Void which was about a mountaineering acident and the man was hearing this song as he was going in and out of conciousness. It was the weirdest date movie choice ever (before that one about the man who cuts his own arm off anyway)

Take me to the beach

I went off the beach around midday today it was 88 degree's when I got there. I know this since there is a large clock and thermometre on Lincoln which you can see as you cross Washington on the way. It was wonderful although I was kind of wriggling around a bit. I get so hot that my legs curl inwards a little bit like a lobster on a barbeque. I have to keep reminding myself to unravel. Hopefully I will get my colour back pretty fast as I was only here two months ago and my skin has not quite revoked to the colour of milk just yet.
I like to drink coconut water in the sun it's really good in the heat for some reason. Richard knows all about it as one of his models is hawking it for a Brazilian company at the moment. As I was laying drinking out of the tin this guy came over to me and put down a large cup of ice and then walked away. It kind of threw me off a bit as I was giving off my 'what the fuck do you want?' vibe as he crossed right into my comfort zone ( 5 metres if I am armed, 10 metres under normal circumstances, 20 metres if I am not wearing clothes)

He was just being nice, I think I managed to say Thank You. American people are very sweet, lots of people are really, I like to think I am mellowing out a bit but at times like this I am reminded that I access inate hostility pretty easily.

I poured the coconut water into the ice and drank it. For a minute I panicked incase he had put alcohol in the cup. My ego is amazingly guarded I notice, first I think 'gift of ice' man is going to hurt me, or attempt to extract some sexual service in return for his unsolicted ice gift and then once he walks away without doing either I assume his goal was to poison me or derail my sobriety.

I need to work on my trust issues.

In too deep

I lay out in the sun listening to Pulp - A Different Class this afternoon. I was trying to tan both front and back for the same length of time so I needed to play an album that I could listen to twice.

I broke after one play and had to get into the ocean for some relief. The sea was so warm, I have been in cooler baths (OD). The heat is relentless.

Big dark clouds rolled in, I listened to Joy Division, Transmission and Love Will Tear Us Apart and just lay there as the cool rain fell. Minutes later I was applying more sunscreen as the sun came through and burnt it off.

Richard was talking about work trouble with some big corporate lawyers. He was saying that he was angry that he was still capable of being in such self obsessed fear that such things bothered him. I said I was pretty worried about going home but that working on this stuff is a daily thing, like going to the gym (which I don't do) we have to build spiritual muscles. That we must welcome opportunites to do these exercises everyday. Well please God not every day but anyway the point is to metabolise. FAST

In deep

I am not sure I am getting browner any more. I might be as brown as I can go i.e. not very in comparison to locals but very in comparison to how I was when I got here. That's it : don't compare yourself to others compare yourself to how you used to be.

Don't play with me, cos you're playing with fire

Very apt to be listening to The Stones this afternoon. I wonder about my 'fry now pay later' approach to the sun. Its very hot and I can stay out all day now. I wonder about the damage but I just lay down anyway. When the clouds come in from the sea, I assume that god is timing my tan and take it as a sign to go home.

Sunshine on a rainy day

It doesn't stay wet for long around here