"so i peeled off my skin,
just slipped right in
and i become alive
'cause down here there's no fear
there's no cause for panic
there's just bright cold calm
yea, i feel no harm
this underwater feeling's abandon and it fires my heart"
1. on many fair-weather days since march, i've tried to get out to do laps in our apartment complex pool. i'm not the most-skilled swimmer, but i enjoy it. it brings me a peace of mind that [i am ashamed to admit] i haven't felt with other loves (i.e. running, photography) lately.
what do you think about when you swim? it's funny...since i always swim outside, i have a similar mantra as when i run:
"i'm tracing a thin line between the ground/water and the sky." the concept somehow humbles and calms me at the same time.
as i got to higher number laps during one swim session, i started thinking about what i was doing at that age.
lap 22: f-in 2-2, graduation, london, ibiza, philippines. lap 23: first job, moving to oakland, presidential election. then as i got past 26, i started wondering where i'd be.
2. hawaii seems like a dream. the last afternoon we were there: even in the rough waters behind our
ewa beach vacation rental, i was so content clinging to a boogie board off-shore, looking across the water towards honolulu with a rainbow hovering above pearl harbor and the sun setting behind me.
3. it's quite often that i have to explain to people that i am allergic to fish. since dad has been helping with a family friend's tuna business, it's been a more frequent occurrence. my dad has recently come up with an entertaining new twist to the explanation which he used over father's day dinner on sunday:
"she's allergic to fish because she used to be a mermaid. she can't eat her own kind."
4. dad drops me off after dinner and i settle into my sunday night with a manicure session. coincidentally, my cousin tweets the name of an
opi nail polish color. they always have fun names for their nail polishes. i contemplate using the new blue/green color i picked up at a japanese beauty shop in hawaii. i check the bottom of the bottle to see what it is called:
memaid's tears
