back from vacation

of course, the first thing i do is blog. (after i unload my dirty laundry and change out of my beach clothes, that is.)

the vacation would have been great except for the last day. and maybe the first day. okay, fine, the vacation was pretty much yesterday. everything else was not quite memorable (or enjoyable).

thursday - eight hour travel to la union. i drove for three hours through provincial marketplace traffic. ugh. got to la union past lunchtime. waves were rough, couldn't surf. though some idiot of an instructor said we could. shyeah right. should have known better and just stayed on the beach. would have saved ourselves P700. grr.

friday - early start. made breakfast for everyone. hit the beginner's surfing beach by 8:30am. let friends have lessons first. surfed from 10 til 11. not very happy. got out of the water coz friend got smacked in the chin by her surfboard. (yes, there was bleeding.) hit the waters again around 11:30am. forgot to reapply sunblock. back of legs slightly burned. got out of water again around 12:30pm. (hungry, hehe.) was chilling by the shade when new friend walked up with a fat lip. whacked on face with surfboard. needed to get stitched up. friends went to hospital, i stayed on beach. went surfing when they got back. learned to paddle out and catch waves. BIG ones. (okay, fine, not THAT big, but at least they're not beginner waves anymore!!!) happy. gave up board for friend who hasn't gotten hang of surfing, waded in water for an hour. face got burned. ouch. head back to temporary home. friend wandered off to beach, came back saying i shouldn't go out into the water. three people partially drowned, and nobody knows cpr. ran as fast as my legs could take me. praying and silently recounting basic cpr rules. assessment: three men, between forty and sixty, staggered breathing, strong pulse. thanked god i didn't have to apply cpr knowledge for the first time. the men were put on boards and brought to a nearby hospital. our group huddled together prayed for them. for some reason, i got teary-eyed. news was 24 people drowned in that area, 1 girl died. (don't tell mom.)

saturday - group decided to skip surfing because of yesterday's events. the kids (read: the two youngest people on this trip) wanted to go play in the water, so i went with them. (hey, SOMEONE had to be the mom.) didn't want to stay too long because - 1. did not want to get burned; 2. it was freakishly hot; 3. had to pack up and get ready to leave. of course, the kids did not think it was a hassle for me to sit in the blistering heat and watch their valuables while they go frolic in the sea. (the waves were pretty strong, by the way. of course, that didn't worry them. kids these days.) sat around for an hour. stood up, hoping they'd see me and realize that i want them back on dry land. doesn't happen. i walk over. one of them gets out. says she'll stay on the beach, but she'll go buy water first. okay. waited ten minutes. already had sand in eye, in between contact lens and cornea. waited a little longer. still no bikini-clad, tan-line-concerned girl toting cold water bottle. water station was five minutes away. got fed up. left beach and brought said girl's bag with mobile phones to apartment where we stayed. went to room. finally got contact lens and sand out after a full twenty minutes of torture. older girls knew i was pissed. went back swinging bag beside me, saw girl at beach enjoying cold beverage. grr. left belongings with her. went to shower and pack up. realized back of legs got burned during the stupid ninety-minute babysitting routine. double grr. asked someone else to go get brats from beach. washed up, packed up, settled accounts. lunch, the high point of the day. ride back took six and a half hours.

got home, and mom had another surprise waiting for me. like i didn't have a bad enough day. sigh. some days, it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.

and the back of my legs still sting like crazy.

i need a vacation.