Ruminations of a beach bum

This is a little window into my mind this morning as I sit at Pete's Beach Shack drinking my chai contemplating my life:

*The only time the actual hour is important to me is in the morning. I have to be up and at yoga by 8:15… ish. Other than that my day slips by only timed by events… and Tara. Such as: Tara going back to class after breakfast means it's about 11:30; Tara coming down to the beach means its about 1:30; Tara going back to class means I should probably go home because it is around 3; around 5 the bread man comes (a very important event in my day) which means Tara will be done soon then we will change, eat some bread, and head down to the beach for sun set. I have no need for a watch, I have Tara. 

*Sunbathing is a delicate art, involving complex knowledge of exactly how my skin feels when it is on the edge of being just slightly, will fade to tan tomorrow, pink and when it is a real sunburn. Its an art people!

*Living right by a beach showering has become increasingly hard to time. Showering in the morning is a total waste of water because, seriously, you are about to go do 2 hours of yoga then go swim in salt water and lay in the sun. Nothing on that list gives any reason to be clean. Right after lunch where Tara and I (normally) return home is also an inopportune time for a real shower (now is the perfect time for rinsing the salt off your skin) because it takes up time and Tara returns to sweat a bit more and I wander around, which also normally ends with a good amount of sweat, canceling out the good of a real shower. Then there is the gap between the bread guy and the sunset, but walking down the beach in flip flops with lotion on equals needing to rinse off again when you get home. So that leaves right before bed to squeeze in two showers. Sigh such a problem. 

*Our little house (well more apartment) has one room, a tiny kitchen space and an indian bathroom (when I say indian style its only because I haven't seen this lay out anywhere else.) You walk through the front door and our, rather hard, bed is to your left and the table, that is our dresser, is right in front of you. Then there are two plastic chairs, one with laundry on it and one with Tara's backpack (the table/dresser is rather small) and a red plastic stool, that is used both as a breakfast table and a table to put the electronics on when you are trying to charge them. Then you walk through to our tiny kitchen area with the counter and kitchen sink on the wall right in front of you, the fridge and bathroom sink on two other walls. Then into the bathroom where there is a western toilet and the shower, which has no tub or curtain so the whole room gets soaking wet whenever someone showers. Nice and cozy. 

*We're just not going to talk about the plumbing in our house. After a while you just get used to jiggling the faucets to get them to turn off and cold showers are often very refreshing. But if the toilet would learn how to properly flush that would be great, it would probably help if it wasn't cracked. 

*Electricity is… well… Indian. The gezzer (thingy that turns on the little hot water we have) makes the two bare lightbulbs in the kitchen dim by a noticeable amount. The power will probably go out. It's just going to happen. The ceiling fan is the best thing about this whole place. It runs 24/7 (unless the power is out) to try and keep it cool and mosquito free in our house. The light in the main room is a tube florescent and will give you seizers. We don't turn that on in the mornings. You need to get a plug at exactly the right angle to the outlet, which sometimes requires a few books or a tube of bug repellant, then don't breath and give the stool a wide berth.

*The amount of dirt (we live off of dirt paths) and sand on our floor is amazing. It is an unspoken rule that you wash your feet before putting them on the bed. And we seem to need to sweep all the time. 

*I have a million bug bites. I wish I was kidding. I use odomos (Indian bug repellent) like lotion and wear a bug patch at all time. WHY DO THEY STILL BITE ME?

*Cows wandering around the beach, or road, is perfectly normal. The dogs also have free roam and like to make friends with random people.

*The definition of "I almost got hit by a car" now means that the car was within 6 inches of your body and going over 20mph. 

*It is perfectly safe to cross the street if there is a one car gap in traffic. Even less if it is only motor scooters coming at you. They will honk but don't worry, claim that right of way! 

*Speaking of honking, it is an acceptable practice to wait to blow your horn until you are RIGHT NEXT TO me as I walk down the sidewalk. Scares the daylight out of me, but thanks for letting me know your flying by! 

* Dear man on the motor scooter, keep trying. Your creepy smile and unbroken eye contact, as you drive your scooter by me and it drifts closer to the sidewalk, will win me over yet!

There are plenty of other things in my head, but now the ocean calls so y'all are going to have to wait!