I Gave My Wetsuit a Bath

No, I'm not kidding. I actually did give that stinky thing a bath. After today's session, I left my wetsuit in the Cinch Sac for a few hours. By the time I got around to washing it out, it stunk to high heaven. My wetsuit is always a bit odiferous. I think that's just the nature of the beast, you know? When I took my wetsuit out of the Cinch Sac today, I'd had enough. That bad boy (i.e., my wetsuit) needed a good washing. Well, it's a bit too big for a sink and I dare not stick it in the washing machine. So I worked with what I had: I put a small amount of my child's Plumeria Foaming Bath—my choice of bathing oil, not his—in the tub and then tossed my wetsuit in there. It's a miracle!! My wetsuit no longer stinks. I'll be bathing my wetsuit periodically from now on since rinsing it with the water hose doesn't quite do the trick, especially on overcast days when the sun isn't out to bake the suit a little. (Yes, I know you're not supposed to dry your wetsuits in the sun. Just allow me to be the sinner that I am!)

I finally got wet again!!! CYT, my hero, lives only a few miles from the Venice/Santa Monica beaches. Still, she was nice enough to come all the way here, pick me up, take me to Venice for a session, drive me back home, and then head right back to that side of town again. That's a true friend! I'm happy to say that the session was a good one. I was a bit scared when we drove up and saw the waves. They looked enormous to me. Not El-Porto-broken-boards-in-the-trashcans-up-and-down-the-beach enormous, but enormous to someone who's lost a bit of confidence because she's not been out in the water more than once in the last week. The paddle out turned out to be an easy one and the waves weren't as big as I first thought. In fact, the wave machine turned off after we got out there. I was left wondering where the waves ran off to. (Yes, I know that was a dangling participle.) I was in a charging mood so I didn't do any of my typical watching and waiting. Today . . . I surfed. I went right. I went left. I did rail grabs. I managed a few successful kick-outs. All in all, a good session. CYT and I couldn't help but marvel at how much improvement we've both made. The waves today were the in-between kind where you can go left or right because there's shape but no real corner. Well, on one of them, CYT and I both paddled for it. To our surprise she was going right and I was going left. We were definitely going to meet in the middle . . . and we did. Now, a year ago, we both probably would have panicked and jumped off, thus decapitating one another with wayward boards. Today, we saw what was going to happen, yelled to each other about who was supposed to go where, came within about a foot of one another, and then both turned, thereby avoiding a collision. I don't think either one of us ever panicked. I'd already picked the line I would take had she kept going right; I would simply have straightened out and allowed her to pass behind me.

Okay, the water is #$%!@! cold. It is! You know that hoodie I've been wearing to protect my almost locks? Well, boy howdy, that thing works wonders in preserving body heat. My teeth didn't chatter one bit. Yeah, I was cold. However, I wasn't freezing. I think we stayed out for a couple of hours. In past winters, I was usually good for about an hour and then I was done. I'm in love with my hoodie . . . even if it makes me look kooky!

Hair update: The locks are beginning to take hold. I don't have many bona fide locks. But I can tell my hair is changing. When we started this, my hair wouldn't stay twisted. Now, my hair doesn't want to stay straight (okay, wavy). As you can see, my hair is growing like mad. By the time I have a full head of locks, my hair may be down to my shoulders. All I really want is to feel water run through my hair again. I hate having to keep the locks under wraps while I surf. I'm patient though. I'm almost there.