sizzle
We just back from a weekend at the beach. It was beautiful and sunny, and we spent every moment we could soaking it all up. The girls swam in the pool until they were shriveled little raisins, and I read an entire book in one weekend. There were three little blonde girls staying in the condo next door, each of them tanned the toasty brown of a perfectly roasted marshmallow. Seeing them brought on my annual Summer Denial, in which I think that maybe- just maybe- this will be the year that I tan instead of burn. Every year it’s the same. I’ll take it slow, I tell myself. Just a little bit of sun exposure at a time, just the right amount of SPF, and this time it’ll work. My ability to deceive myself is astounding. I exposed my sad, pasty thighs to the first sunlight they’ve seen in a year or so, and of course got a wicked sunburn.
(Just a quick aside, in case you doubt the pastiness of my pasty skin, a couple weeks ago I was wearing a snug, white shirt. I sat down in a chair and glanced down to make sure that it hadn’t ridden up. Satisfied that I was adequately covered, I relaxed and crossed my hands over my stomach. Instead of feeling the fabric of my shirt beneath my palms, I felt my bare skin. I am so freaking white that even I can’t tell the difference between my skin and a white shirt.)
Anyway, I’ve got an appointment with big gooey bottle of aloe vera that can’t be missed. Gotta run.
I’ve always thought that even with my best, most intentional efforts I will never “brown”, just “beige”. Mostly I just blister.
Comment by misha — July 17, 2006 @ July 17, 2006 at 7:40 am
If your aloe vera has alcohol in it, to help cool you off, remember to put some kind of gentle, unscented moisturizer in the burn too. Aloe vera is great for pain but not always great for healing. A combination of it and some lotion or cream will help.
Comment by mk — July 17, 2006 @ July 17, 2006 at 10:24 am
Oh what is it like to be burnt I am pale and pastey and my legs haven’t changed color for ages. I am gonna go sit outside!!
Comment by JD — July 17, 2006 @ July 17, 2006 at 11:02 am
Glad you had a good weekend. Pity about the burn. Slather on the aloe!
Comment by Chris — July 18, 2006 @ July 18, 2006 at 3:58 am
Sorry to hear about the burn, though glad your weekend went well. I’ve been thinking of reading Devil Wears Prada, but have so many other books in the pile. I don’t think it’s coming to our theater anyway, so there’s no huge rush to read it before seeing the movie.
Comment by Caryn — July 18, 2006 @ July 18, 2006 at 4:22 pm
I hear ya. The first sunshine of the year is always so brutal (especially around here where it goes from UV index of zero to ten over the course of one week).
I don’t know whether or not I’d be able to make that get together but I’ll keep it in mind.
As for your comment on my blog, no, I don’t work for Microsoft.
The project I’m working on is for a high profile charitable organization (wink wink, nudge nudge), though. If you drive through downtown Seattle sometime soon, there’s a parking lot with a Skate Park right by Seattle Center…that’s the site I’ve been working at.
In a few years, you’ll see a Parking Garage and an Office Complex for said organization. Well, that is, if things don’t go horribly wrong.
Comment by Missy — July 18, 2006 @ July 18, 2006 at 6:31 pm
I got a burn like that once, and described myself afterward as a flaming ball of Owwww!
Comment by Heather from One Woman's World — July 19, 2006 @ July 19, 2006 at 2:27 pm
Explain this to me: my arms and shoulders tan, but NOT my legs or stomach.
What’s that all about?
Comment by Susan — July 19, 2006 @ July 19, 2006 at 6:28 pm
I too suffer from the palest of pale skin. My only sollice is that I know Ill never get skin cancer because my skin doesn’t tolerate even the slightest amount of time in the sun or SPF under 50!
Comment by Susan — July 20, 2006 @ July 20, 2006 at 5:20 pm
This spring I read your posts regularly. When you said Adieu, I missed you. I just found out you are back (OK, I am behind the times) and I am glad!
Comment by OddMix — July 21, 2006 @ July 21, 2006 at 6:55 am
Uh, Karli - I’ll join you in that can’t tell a white from a white. We can be pasties together, okay? (Girl with redhair who will NEVER tan and could never seem to make my peers understand this growing up.)
Comment by April — July 21, 2006 @ July 21, 2006 at 10:32 am