Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Be careful what you wish for

Ask and you really shall receive. I've got the red skin to prove it.

It takes weeks, if not months, for me to build a tan most people get from a couple days of summer poolside leisure. And it takes only a couple of hours to turn my pale skin into flaming red radiance. And that's what I've got right now.

My back. My poor, poor back is giving off heat, and I'm convinced that if I were standing within close proximity of a snowman, he'd melt. In a heartbeat.

The back of my legs are throbbing. It hurts to sit down. My right ear is practically glowing (my left is is just fine ... that's what I get for not turning my head periodically).

And I deserve every minute of this pain. I am, in fact, 28 years old. I know my skin in all its white glory. I know that SPF 4 tanning oil is not only wishful thinking - it's nonsense for me to even consider starting out with less than SPF 15.

And yet this afternoon, something came over me. I decided that maybe, just maybe, over the course of the winter I'd acquired the skin of a beach babe. No such luck.

Instead, I'm that much closer to wrinkles. Oh joy.