almost done

with my 33rd year, at long last. i long for a nice stable boring year to pass, with no dramatic upheavals or massive changes, and i'm pinning my hopes on number 34.

the last two days in florida were relatively fantastic. i swam in the gulf of mexico on wednesday afternoon. verdict: very very WARM sea, calm water, and completely economically devastated property market along the coast itself. seemingly everything on the beach is for sale, and the towns (such as they are) are basically deserted.
thursday was spent in jacksonville in advance of our friday flight out. verdict: slightly cooler sea than the gulf, energetic waves, UBER beautiful weather, and a fantastic four hours was spent in the sea without respite.

i was actually laughing out loud from relief/happiness when i dove in. i should have chosen a career path involving the ocean. you know when you're nineteen and you think that there's enough time to do everything you ever wanted, from climbing Everest (or at least hangin' out at base camp) to getting your pilot's license, to volunteering with the Red Cross in africa for two years to teaching english for a ocuple of years in some remote japanese fishing village? yeah, well, there's not enough time, folks. it's unlikely that i'll be a marine biologist regardless of how at home i am in hawaiian shirts and topless Jeeps, with perpetually salty wind-dried hair...