Blue Hat

I nicknamed myself BlueHat today, because of my swimming cap. I used to be a bit self conscious about it, but now I don't care. Here's a picture of me sans my blue hat, but avec zinc on my nose and cheek bones.

When I want to surf, I grab my board, put in my earplugs, don my blue hat, and hit the surf! I tell my Indo friends who man the surfboard stand, "Blue Hat's going out!" and they respond with something like "Go for it Blue Hat!" and I dash off into the water.

People look at me oddly out there, and at first I assume that I'm in their way, or their really impressed with my surfing. Then I remember it's probably my blue hat.

Today was an OK day in the surf, and I caught one sort-of-wave today, so that was fun. It was during the first of my three sessions, and I think it happened because I wasn't tired. The rest of the day, I had a tough time standing up, because my arms lacked the strength to pop-up with confidence. (

(A pop-up, if that's the correct term, is the transition from laying prone on your board to standing up. Ideally, you do it in one explosive maneuver, starting with a dynamic push-up movement followed by swinging your legs under you. It's tough. The good surfers have big shoulder muscles and arm muscles from doing it, and paddling, all the time. I do not.)

I spent all day on the beach today, with the exception of an hour when I changed some money and ate breakfast. I spent the whole day in the shade by the surfboard stand, where I read my book, took a nap, and chatted with Jake (real name Bernard, pronounced very differently) and Robin. I took the odd walk up and down the beach too.

Jake/Bernard and I talked about what it's like to work the surfboard stand. His English is good enough to work in a restaurant or a hotel like his friend did, but even though it would pay more, he's not interested.

He said "Of course I make less money...but I like working on the beach. If I want to sleep, I sleep. If I want to surf, I can surf. If I want to have a beer, I have a beer. I get to talk to people all day, and make many friends. I don't care that I make less than other jobs..." A good example of money not being everything.

I will make another surfing appearance as Blue Hat again tomorrow. My ear is doing OK, and the earplug/blue hat combo is proving effective.