15 March, 2012

Anakin, You're so WRONG!...but then again, you're right.

Recently I awoke to a glorious, sunny morning, albeit a windy one. My bamboo wind-chimes were knocking out quite an active tune! (It’s gloriously hollow sounding – I love my bamboo chimes.)

…this picture doesn’t show how high the winds were. I live at the coast. It’s windy here most of the time. (In this instance, they were blowing towards me - hard to see that.)

But a nice, sunny morning is always a call for a walk on the beach. It was ju-ust a little chilly. Maybe around 45, but hey, it was warm for the time of year, and you know how that makes you suddenly act like it’s summer? Besides, a few weeks ago I ran into the 40-ish-degree ocean for charity, so how could I balk at 45 and sunny?

I know, I know, “Hey you Star Wars nerd; get to the point! What does this have to do with Anakin?”

…oh, if you don’t know that by “Anakin” I am referring to Anakin Skywalker who would later become Darth Vader, then you’d better just move on and come back and see me later. Better yet, check out this post defining this blog (sort of), or this one which, although not my best writing does refer to several other very good blogs I love. … or if you work in an office, you will appreciate this post because it covers the pitfalls of office emails.


~~~For all those of you sticking around to read my views that I need to share with Anakin…
In Episode II “Attack of the Clones”, Anakin is with Padme on Naboo, and while they are at the house in the lake country, he says, as they look over the water, “I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere…” I guess that’s a signal of what’s to come for Anakin, that he sees all the harshness and none of the goodness. Dark side, indeed!

Granted, I didn’t grow up on Tatooine, but I have ample experience of sand from living and working at the beach for the last 11 years. [odd sidebar: my spell-check just underlined Tatooine, and for a moment I found it odd that Tatooine isn’t a recognized word. Then I realized it’s because Tatooine is in a galaxy far, far away. Hah!]

Anakin, you are wrong. Although it is rough, sand is awesome for the feet! There is no better feeling than sand-between-the-toes – wet sand, dry sand, it’s all awesome, plus it's an exfoliant. Rock on. I don’t get people who walk the beach with shoes on. What’s up with that? And walking in sand is good exercise, using the whole core for balance.

If you're not walking in the sand, sitting/laying there is great too: It will take your shape! You can dig your own butt-size spot on the beach to relax and watch the fireworks. Where else? Nowhere.

Then again Anakin, you’re right. It does get everywhere, and that can be a pain. Since moving to the beach my vacuum has become my best friend. Even when you think you’ve wiped all the sand off your feet before entering the house, it will suddenly shower down out of the cuffs you rolled into your jeans while wading.

Particularly if it’s windy in a sandy landscape, the sand gets everywhere. Did you have many windy days on Tatooine? I mean just regular wind? Whereas on Tatooine you protect yourself from sand storms, here we just have to try to shield ourselves from the wind…if we can notice it in time. For instance, on my walk I found a nice-sized piece of driftwood…


I don't know why I collect driftwood. I don't do anything with it.


...And when I set down my mug of Earl Grey to take that picture, the wind picked its moment to kick back up, filling my cup of tea with sand. …well okay, less "filling" and more like sprinkling sand into my tea just enough to make it undrinkable. That was kind of annoying. (I tried to take pictures of the wind rippling the sand like mini-dunes, but you know, you just can’t photograph the wind.)

Maybe if every day all I saw was sand, I’d agree with you Anakin. As it is, I have to say sand is not a bad thing. I’d recommend you have an open mind, but your destiny is already sealed, and we all know your mind is made up, so that recommendation would be a waste of breath.

May the Force be with you.

In other news to celebrate: With St. Paddy’s so near, EVERY day is a day to celebrate. I’m posting this now because I probably won’t post tomorrow. I’m taking one final brewery tour of our local craft-brewery Dogfishhead in the afternoon, which means I have to actually do real work in the morning, not blog. Party on!

14 comments:

  1. Anakin was a little winging bitch, and you are right in saying they should have seen it coming. Yoda got on that pretty quick. But he did punch above his weight with Padme

    RE: taking photos of wind

    Have you tried smoke to draw patterns in the wind?

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    2. (geez, when I comment from my phone, I typo)
      My favorite t-shirt says simply "Vader was framed". Not that I agree, but I like the twisted view.

      He has issues, to be sure, but if he didn't, who would bring balance to the Force?

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  2. Driftwood is awesome, keep collecting it! Great blog, following you now!

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    1. Just peeked over at your pages. I am going to be plugging the heck out of your history blog when you have a better "thing to celebrate" than I know of!

      Awesome. Glad to have you join the party.

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  3. I knew who Anakin was even before you explained! *blows on nails and polishes them on blouse*

    I love the beach and sand! But have never lived there so maybe that would make a difference. And yes, totally agree about no shoes on the beach!

    Well, maybe not all the time actually. Once my friends and I went to the beach here - must have reached it mid morning I guess. Anyway, the Indian sun had been shining brightly for several hours already. When I crossed the vast expanse of sand to get to the water - it was so hot that I got massive... I mean massive... burn blisters on the bottom of my feet. So sometimes shoes are good.

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    1. You are so right! I avoid the beach in midday though, unless I have company.

      During the Polar Bear Plunge I do every february, they advise standing on blankets or towels on the sand so that you don't FREEZE your feet.

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  4. The constant breeze was one of the things I loved about Puerto Rico. It NEVER got cold, but the breeze kept it reasonably comfortable. We also had a problem with sand.

    Due to a volcanic eruption on the neighboring island of Montserrat, one morning the problem was ash. It covered everything.

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    1. During the summer, if there's a breeze, my house gets a great cross-breeze. I refuse to get A.C. here, because there's usually less than two weeks of - non-consecutive - excessively hot days.

      I've never been to the carribean. The closest I ever got was the Keys.

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  5. I can't believe that an award winning blogger used a quote from me to write a blog!!!! I feel so great right now!!! And better yet I get to spend another fun filled day with Brett!!!!

    Red,

    Just a question....will you be closer to Gary IN, or Evansville? HAHA

    Hope to read another post soon...

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    1. Thank you for inspiring me to pull that post out and get it posting-ready! I hope you keep commenting on my blog, because you always have something interesting to say/ask.

      Just for you, and just for the comment-section, I'll be closer to Indianapolis.

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  6. Thanks again red be sure and look (if you haven't already) at Brett last post and my "Red defense"!!! I know it will make your day like your blog has done to mine....

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  7. I laughed coffee out my nose at your spell check side note. I often find myself using nerdy words and being shocked that my computer doesn't recognize them. My computer is such a jock.
    I grew up on a lake, but we had no sand, just rocks. However, I do find myself a little afraid of sand since I got "imitation Lyme disease" from something at the beach last summer. I live nowhere near the ocean, but while at a lake I was bit by something that the ER doc thought was Lyme, even though it is really rare where I live. I have not been back to that beach, and prefer now to stick to the rocky lakes of my youth.
    But, unlike young Vader, I do not blame the sand, just the nastiness beneath. I find it hilarious when you get home from a sandy place and find that you brought a pound of it home hidden beneath cuffs and in shoes. It's like this nice little reminder of the day you just had, like the beach is saying, "don't be a stranger"!

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    1. Oh, don't let Lymes scare you from the beach! Lymes comes from bugs that are most often in woody areas away from people. (Someone in my office is struggling through Lymes.)

      I'm so glad you appreciated that spell check thing! Yes, I am known for using nerdisms regularly, so much so that my coworkers are starting to catch on. They can recognize when I'm quoting Yoda, for example.

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I enjoy a good debate. Feel free to shake things up. Tell me I'm wrong. Ask me why I have such a weird opinion. ...or, just laugh and tell how this relates to you and your life.