About Me
- Kola Kokahalla
- Some call me the space cowboy... Actually, no one calls me that. Not least of all because I'm a lady. A proper lady, with ambitions and passion and lipstick. I'm brimming with love and scorn, courage and fear, hope and disappointment, alcohol and pathos. And I make great pancakes!
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Sunday, July 25, 2010
Turns Out There Is a Cure For The Summertime Blues!
12:35 PM | Posted by
Kola Kokahalla |
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I always anticipate any trip to the beach as a day removed from the rest of the world. There's just something heavenly soothing about lying around in the glare of the sun, napping on a blanket on the sand and swimming in the cool water that just seems so apart from the rest of the week. The traffic, the people, the jobs, the negotiations, the chores the bustle.
Of course there's also the sunscreen thing. I never seem able to master the application of sunscreen. Visions of perfectly bronzed, never burning Adonises fill my brain and I slather on the lotion with the fervent zeal of a fanatic, while I wait the prerequisite 30 minutes for it to settle into my skin. I pass the time sensibly, shielding my exposed flesh with a towel and reading a book, before throwing myself, filled with enthusiasm, upon the mercy of the waves where I bob, swim, float and pour myself into the inflatable dingy I brought along so I can continue reading on the water. Sometimes this is a dangerous exploit. One engaging chapter and you can glance upwards to find yourself in an entirely different zip code.
Still, I always hope the reading on the dingy will trick my brain into believing I am afloat upon a millionaire's yacht in the Mediterranean, mere yards from a fully stocked cocktail bar, a cold seafood buffet and the sparkling, clear aqua sea. It works too, so long as you don't look up at the sometimes murkiness of the water or the tremendously well-fed citizens with farmer's tans wearing tiny bathing suits, laid out in the sun like cured turkeys.
But back to the sunscreen. I apply it thick and even and pay attention to the most easily neglected areas, my ears, the insides of my knees, under my chin. I miss nothing. Yet still, five hours and many cold beverages and sunscreen re-applications later, I notice I managed to burn anyway.
I also note that it isn't in any logical manner. A red patch here, a white one there, a red strip in the inside of my leg, one burned knee, both feet escaping the sun but one ankle looking scarily scarlet and angry. My nose and forehead, concealed under a trucker's baseball cap, are sunkissed but not burned, however my chin looks as though it was possibly employed as a punch bag for Muhammad Ali during his heyday.
I fear I will never master the art of tanning gracefully and painlessly. But when you add things up, it's really a small price to pay for a day of serene, waterside therapy. I'm almost looking forward to getting things done this week, now my batteries are sufficiently recharged.
It's really too bad that summer has to end.
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3 comments:
I can't master the lotion either. I have a big crescent shaped burn down my shoulder where I missed the space between my tank top and bra strap. Ouch! My lack of lotion applying skills is also why I don't use fake self-tanners. I always end up looking like a block of marbled cheese. - G
I seem to color in patches, also. Maybe spray tan is the answer!
I never touch self tanners either, Georgina, for the same reason. I always think I've done a stellar job yet when it dries and develops what are all these horrendous blotches and streaks? I will never learn that either. Eva might have a good point with the spray tan thing. Although it wouldn't solve my sunscreen dilemma either. Oh what to do! :)
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