Day 27: Getting beached-azz

It is a commonly held notion that you often or only regret things you didn't do. Timing is key and it really does suck if you don't make the most of the right moment at the right time.

What I did yesterday wasn't very new. I went to the beach. I do that every summer and a lot of it every summer. However, it was my first official beaching out experience of this summer (after 2 years) and perhaps the last, before I head off to Singapore. I would have regretted it if I hadn't spent my last splendid sunny day in Auckland at a beach.

Everyday I try to be the type of person who wakes up thinking "carpe diem" but sadly, my laziness or busyness often comes in the way. There are so many sunny days wasted indoors watching TV or so many crispy cold mornings on weekends spent recovering from the night before. I clearly remember last winter in Prague. It was cold and snowy...the usual Czech winter and I was in no mood to go out and "seize the day" and make the most of the winter wonderland. I stayed indoors, avoided going out as much as possible and dissuaded others too from venturing in the "oh so pretty but oh so awful snow outside" but my flatmate, a Colombian, experiencing his first white winter begged to differ. He would go out, take photos of the christmas decorations, grab hot wine, make snowmen and snow angels and bring back a snowball as a souvenir. He held onto his childlike curiosity and made the most of a snowy day. At that time, I was allergic to his enthusiasm but now that I think about it, I actually do miss the snow and do wish I had spent more time reveling in nature's Christmas present instead of wallowing in a pool of contempt and vodka.

I didn't want to make the same mistake with the quintessential kiwi summer experience at the beach. I didn't want to regret not bathing in our chilly but pure waters before I left. The "stars" and I headed to Long Bay as a part of our summer ritual with a whole lot of junk food, sun screen and books (that remained untouched) and basked in the glory of summer. Swimming, walking, sun screen smearing, people watching, napping, more sun screen smearing, ice cream eating, more walking...times flies when you are at the beach. Five hours later, we had managed to finish a major portion of our sun screen lotions, all the junk food we bought and managed to get a tan on! The sound of the waves, the chill of the water, the jet skiers and wake boarders, the warm sand and smell of grilled meat on the barbie...this is summer. This was summer condensed in one day.

It was new because it was the first beaching experience of the summer. It was also new because I somehow managed to get sunburnt for the first time in my life! Definitely a new experience for my complexion...and a not-so-pleasant one. New you seek, new you shall get! Day 27 was a beach of a new experience!