Jim tells me that “And…

Jim tells me that "And if" got cut off halfway through, meep. Hopefully that's a simple ftp problem and not a recording problem. I'll try to send it over again tonight before I go to bed.

Gods, I'm tired. It's 10:20, and I just got home from a marathon shopping session. One of my friends, Thida, decided that she needed to look more professional for work, and since she claims that she can't match anything, I became fashion consultant. It *was* fun deciding to spend hundreds of dollars of someone else's money (okay, advising her to spend it), and dressing her up like a lovely Thida-doll. It's interesting dressing her, because although she's not much taller than me (some), her figure is pretty much entirely different, and so I ended up choosing clothes for her that I would never wear. She looks great in those teensy skin-tight tops that are all the rage now, for example, whereas flowy things generally work better for me. Anyway, it was fun and tiring. When we finished shopping, I made her a list of what went with what, and then she took me out to dinner (with Doug) at Tropix, a really excellent Caribbean restaurant on Piedmont (near MacArthur). They've got this sweet/spicy sauce for the cornbread that was just killer.

We also talked for hours. I haven't talked to her in too long.

Let's see -- what else should I update y'all on? Oh, there's the capsizing, right.

So yesterday we finally had the capsize class. I'd been looking forward to it, mostly because I was a little nervous and wanted to get past that. Well, I'm not nervous anymore, but I *am* frustrated. So, we went out alone in these little boats, Sunfishes. Very cute. And when we'd gotten out a goodly way from the dock (in Lake Merritt, very safe), we tipped our boats over. This took a little work, since it wasn't very windy, but I didn't have much trouble here. This was my favorite part, as it turned out; the boat went over pretty slowly, and it wasn't scary at all, and since it was a hot day, it was kind of nice being dumped into the water. I do wish I'd kept my mouth closed as I swallowed some very salty and rather gross lake water.

Okay, so the next thing you're supposed to do is swim around quick to the bottom of the boat (now lying on its side), turn it so the bow is facing into the wind (which I forgot to do, but I think it was pretty irrelevent as it turned out), and then grab hold of the centerboard. Depending on how strong/big you are, you have a couple of options at this point, but given my size, it was pretty clear that I was going to have to go with the hang on the end of the centerboard and rock method, as opposed to the pull yourself up onto it and jump method. Which went okay at first -- with a few tugs, the boat started rising. Amazing. But then I made the mistake of pausing for just a sec...and it sank again. Further. And it got heavier (as water filled the sail). And the time that followed, as I exhausted my arms and lungs trying to right the damned thing was tremendously unpleasant. I wasn't in any danger, of course, with my life preserver and a teacher standing by (one who eventually came out and helped, though only as much as she had to, thank the gods for small blessings), but it was incredibly tiring, and perhaps the most frustrating experience I've been through in a long time. I *hate* not being able to do things. It turned out later that there was a hole in my mast, so the metal mast had *also* filled with water, but that was really small comfort. If I'd been a little faster, a little stronger, hadn't paused at that crucial second...dammit.

Okay, I know this matters basically naught in the grand scheme of things, and as the teacher said, it's good to know your limitations -- but dammit, I don't want to admit that I *have* limitations. (and yes, David, I can just see the gears turning in your head and I'm sure you're not surprised...psychoanalyze me later, please, dear. :-) Okay, deep breath. Not a big deal. Not a Big Deal.

More sit-ups. More push-ups. It is certainly within my power to get strong enough to right a small boat. Maybe this summer I can convince David to come out with me on the water and let me try this again.

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