My daydreaming time is being spent shopping for a standup paddle board. When it comes time for me to actually buy one (Jeez, I can't wait to get back to America) I'll probably end up with a decent used one, as these are all in the 2 grand range and I don't have that kind of loot to drop on one right now. I think the middle one is my fave, as natural materials always appeal to me more than synthetic, but it's ridiculously heavy and twice as long as Einstein. The bottom one is the first one I've seen that looks like a big fish (a whale?), so I thought it was cute.

Anyway.

It'd probably be fun to paddle on the Han. Doubt I can find a decent board that big anywhere in Korea, though. And there is that rumor of the Han River Monster...I definitely don't want to be swallowed up by any kind of river monster.

The other day we rented some kayaks and paddled around to some of the neighboring islands. When we got to one we met a couple schoolgirls, and it took them about 0.003 seconds to fall madly in love with Ant. Totally understandable, in my opinion. :-) They followed him everywhere he went, giggling hysterically the whole time, and slowly working up the nerve to inch their way closer to him. Occasionally, one of them would shove one of the other girls in his general direction, and she would scream and run back to the protection of her girlfriends. It was quite funny and endearing, especially when they started offering commentary to each other, "Look! He's drinking the water!" "Now he is sitting down!" I could have stayed and enjoyed the entertainment all afternoon, but soon it was time to leave and make the journey back to Cloud 9. As we were getting ready to shove off, they finally worked up the nerve to ask him his name, and he snapped a pic (well, he says pic, I say total crotch shot - you guys be the judge) of them.









Other than that, it's been a whole lotta nothing, day in and day out. There's 2 decent surf sessions a day, and in between those we sit around, read, play cards, go for a swim, and just pretty much pass the time by doing whatever. It's been awesome. I've been running, which has turned out to be a great way to meet the locals. Some of the kids come out and run with me for a few minutes when I pass their house - they think it's hysterical - and most of the adults cheer me by name. Even some of the other tourists are like, "Dude, you're the girl we saw running down the street. You're nuts!"

One more week until I head back to Seoul, where brutal reality and air pollution will no doubt slap me in the face. At least I have Shells' visit to look forward to!

Yesterday Ant came home from work early (I don't really believe he even has a job) and we loaded up the Sprinter, got into our smelly wetsuits, and headed to Crissy Field to do some paddling. I think I set a new record for most number of falls in a 5 minute time span. Ant, who was probably a fish in all of his past lives, was like, "It's a little bumpy today, right," as he zoomed past me at warp speed. I was like, "BUMPY?!?!? #@!!$@#! A tsunami would be easier to paddle through than these freakin' waves!!" And SPLASH! I was in the water again!



Despite the fact that I spent more time in the water than on the board, it was a super fun time. The water was freezing but it was warm and sunny so it felt awesomely refreshing every time I fell. Enjoy the pics. In the ones where I'm actually standing, that's Angel Island in the background. In the sitting ones you can see Alcatraz. And the one with the blimp? I'm the teeny tiny speck waaaay out there.

I know you're all wondering all about my plans for today, so please, allow me to share. I'm quite the sharing individual, you know. It's currently 10:21 a.m., and as soon as I finish this up I'm gonna go jump in the shower. Cause it's time for me to shower, trust me on that one! Then, I'm gonna mosey (not amble, not wander, just mosey) to the bakery for a cup of coffee. I will then meander down the street to the book store. I will basically be wasting time in a wonderful fashion until I meet Boriana at The Plant Cafe for lunch. After lunch I'll zoom home, jump in the van, and head over to Crissy for some running. After running, I'll smoosh myself into a wetsuit and do some paddling! YAY! I'm contemplating a hash with the gypsies tonight, but otherwise I have no plans.

I have taken an enormous liking to paddleboarding. It's so much fun! I love being out on the water, I love the exercise, I love trying to go faster and farther and turn sharper. I love that I fall less often than the other people I see doing it. I love that my fantastic boyfriend lets me use all his stuff, because come on, what am I gonna do with my own 10 ft long surf board? Nothing, that's what. I drive a Smart car for God's sake. I wouldn't even be able to get the thing to the water! That means it would be one more piece of gear that would sit around our living room, mixed with his surf stuff, my camping/backpacking/running stuff, our bike stuff, and other random posessions that make all of our guests feel totally inferior to us because we are just so obviously more cool and outdoorsy than they are. You can tell by all our stuff.

Anyway, as the above picture proves, my fabulous boyfriend is really cool about letting me use his stuff. The wetsuit in the pic? His. The 2 boards? His and his. The paddle? His. Hell, even the girl in the wetsuit (that would be me, btw) is his.

But lets return to the wetsuit for a moment, shall we?

It stinks.

Seriously. It totally reeks. Imagine the worst thing you've ever smelled, and multiply it by a zillion, and that's almost how bad this thing smells. Imagine the stench of a dead creature that's been puked on, and then left to rot and grow moldy. It's sort of a smell like that. It's not his fault, it happens to old wetsuits (or so I'm told). He probably doesn't notice it, because he doesn't wear that suit often, and he falls alot more than I do (I've been dying to work that little bit of info into this). Anyway, since I am NOT falling off the board and am instead floating gracefully atop the water, basking in the sun - pause and picture me basking, please - I notice the smell. I notice it so much it makes my face crinkle up, and I eventually end up jumping in the water to try and rinse the stench out of my nostrils.

So give me 183 dollars, and I will purchase my very own wetsuit so I am not forced to endure the awful smell of corpse/puke/mold while I am out having fun in the water whilst you slave away at your day jobs.

In exchange I will send you a picture of me in my brand spanking new, nonsmelly wetsuit. You won't be sorry.

so far, I am $9 closer to a new wetsuit.

WETSUIT

Option 1 $1.00Option 2 $5.00Option 3 $10.00