9/10/17, “A Day with Nothing To
Do”
Fagatogo, American Samoa
I could probably write this
entire entry in one sentence. I had
breakfast at the local McDonald’s, spent the day at the beach, having lunch at
the same place I had breakfast yesterday morning, got thwarted in trying to
visit the southernmost point in the US, and then came back to my hotel, where I
proceeded to write this entry. That’s
it. Literally. Oh, and I got sunburnt. Badly.
Really badly. Now, my readers
know that an entry this short just wouldn’t be my style.
This has been a trip full of tactical errors,
and today was chock full of them.
Strategically, the trip was brilliantly planned. I had been planning it for four years, so of
course it was. However, it was the
little things that have led to adversity, and the tactical errors are starting
to add up. I made at least four of them
since I closed last night. I had been
still considering the Samoa option, flying to Apia, having a cigar, having an
Official meal, and taking a ceremonial picture at parliament before flying back
here, but I was on the fence. It would
have eaten the entire day.
If I could
have done it all over again, I would have.
The entire purpose of spending the day on the beach today was to avoid
looking like a cappuccino. Well, getting
sunburnt entirely defeated that purpose.
The sunburn will look far worse than the paleness did, and, I would much
rather have been at 72 countries and pale than at 71 countries and
sunburnt.
After I closed last night,
around 5 PM, I was planning on going across the street for Japanese food. I had a fiber bar and took a nap. When I woke up, it was 1:15 AM. Fuck.
That meant everything, other than the McDonald’s, would be closed, and
that it was too late to write another entry, being past midnight and having
slept for a very significant amount of time.
That said, I wasn’t hungry. I was
very full, a pattern that would continue all day, my battle with Montezuma’s
Revenge edging towards victory as I replenished my body’s levels of salt and
sugar. I grabbed my laptop, posted the
entry, and published my photos.
I went
back to bed, waking up at 6 AM. I was
now once more seriously considering the Samoa option. I could make the 8:30 AM flight and be back
at my hotel by 4 PM or so. That would
eat the whole day, but I went to look at the fares. It did not show an option to buy a ticket for
the 8:30 AM flight. Whether it was too
close or sold out or not offered today, I knew not, but I was not driving to
the airport unless I knew I had a ticket.
Around 7:30 AM, I got out of bed and went to the McDonald’s. I opted for the Portuguese sausage with rice
and eggs. No, you cannot get that on the
mainland. I paired with coffee and a
hashbrown. It was quite good. After breakfast, I went in search of sunscreen
and a refill for my lighter. I found
both, and I was glad, especially since it was a Sunday, but an Asian market was
open. I then lit up an Oliva and went
back to get my car and drove to Sadie’s by the Sea, bringing my car with me so
that I could continue from there to the southernmost point in the US. This was another tactical error. I should have just walked, and I never should
have went to the southernmost point.
Instead of the 15-minute walk, the drive was 2 minutes flat. It would have been 1 minute if I hadn’t
overshot the entrance. I got my towels
and put on sunscreen. I sat out in the
sun until I was done with my cigar, and I was at complete peace in total
bliss. I then sunbathed for a couple of
hours, changing postion frequently.
After that, I did a few laps in the pool.
I then got lunch, which consisted of chicken
katsu and a fruity island drink, along with an Aroma de Cuba. I reapplied sunscreen and sunbathed in a
seated position until I finished my cigar.
I then tried to lie down. Some of
my readers may be familiar with my medical issue that prevents me from lying
down to sleep before a few hours after a meal.
Today I learned the hard way that that also applies to sunbathing. I started suffering almost as soon as I lied
down. I then lit up a Graycliff and
continued to sunbathe in a seated position, again frequently altering my
position. Once I was able to lie down, I
sunbathed that way, ditching the cigar.
That was probably how I got burnt, as I kept altering my position so
that a different quarter of my body would be facing the sun directly, and I was
schvitzing profusely, which probably ruined my protection. That was another tactical error. After a while, I had enough, and I hadn’t
realized how burnt I had gotten.
Instead, I was disappointed that I still looked pale. I went for another swim and changed. That was when I started to realize that I was
burnt. Fuck. It was bad.
Very bad.
I then went back to my
car, lit up a PDR, and started driving to the trailhead that I hoped would lead
to the southernmost point in the country.
This was a bad idea. A very bad
idea. It was not mission-critical, and I
soon realized that I was risking ruining the rest of my time here by getting a
flat or worse. I took a wrong turn and
found myself in a construction pit. That
was bad. I was seriously afraid of
getting a flat as I attempted to turn around, or of getting stuck in loose
earth.
I then found the right spot, but
it seemed very sketchy, and someone told me it was closed at 4 PM. It was now 5 PM. I gave up and drove back to my hotel, glad
that the only thing I lost out of this was an hour of time. I then looked up sunburn online and did what
I could to treat it, but I will really need to get some aloe vera. I am hoping that that market from this
morning will have it. I then went to the
balcony, where I proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so that
I can head out to dinner. No nap this
time.
In retrospect, I should not have
had that fiber bar or taken that nap last night. I should have flown to Apia for the day. If I stayed here, I should have walked to the
beach and not taken the car. I should
have been more careful in tanning and spent less time out in the sun. I should not have tried to drive to the
southernmost point.
That was the
difference between a perfectly relaxed day (or a highly fulfilling day) and the
oddly stressful day this day became, especially given that I am now worried
about not being able to sleep on my flight back to Honolulu and not being able
to enjoy saying, “Mission Accomplished,” due to the pain from this sunburn. However, none of that matters. All that matters is the mission, visiting the
last two National Parks I need to visit to complete the mission. The mission always comes first, even in the
face of third-degree sunburn.
I somehow made two more tactical
errors after I closed. I should have
just published early, gotten the aloe vera, and gone to bed. I don’t know why I keep making these tactical
errors. Maybe I’m so focused on the
mission that I am losing sight of properly pulling off the things that are not
mission-critical. That would explain why
I didn’t make the reservation for sunrise at Haleakala or think to rent the car
in Guam. It would explain why I didn’t
do better research on the food opportunities in Saipan. It would explain why I didn’t rent a car on
Kaua’i. It would explain why I’ve made
so many tactical errors here.
Everything
that is mission-critical, I have done perfectly so far. As I got closer to those two words that will
end this quest, I am becoming more and more averse to taking risks that will
jeopardize the mission, but, yet, somehow, I keep fucking up. If I am in excruciating pain on Tuesday, it
will be a disaster. I have been doing
everything in my power to prevent that, yet, why did I allow it to happen
in the first place? It’s simple. I didn’t do my research. I didn’t think that spending six hours under
the midday equatorial sun, exposing skin that hadn’t seen direct sunlight in
over three years, would cause sunburn, no matter what sunscreen I used. I didn’t think to constantly check for early
signs of a burn. None of this occurred
to me since my day at the beach was not mission-critical.
I have about 40 hours left in my mission, and
I can take some solace in the fact that the pain from a sunburn starts to
subside after the first 24 hours, which will be when I am flying overnight to
HNL. I should have gone to Apia today,
then none of this would have happened.
After I closed earlier, I headed out, stopping at the same store from
this morning to get aloe vera and bottled water.
Around this time, I realized that I didn’t
have an appetite. No, surely that wasn’t
possible. I had a decent breakfast and a
little bit of chicken for lunch, nothing else.
I needed dinner. If I didn’t eat
now, I would be hungry later. Besides,
it was Sunday night. I wanted Chinese
food. I continued to the restaurant,
still thinking I should turn back. When
I got there, I had no appetite and should have just walked out. I wound up ordering sweet and sour prawns, no
egg roll, no rice. It was nine
prawns. I only managed to eat four. I struggled to eat the fourth one.
I should have just forgotten it. Now, I had to wait to go to sleep. I could have published earlier and then went
straight to bed after getting the aloe vera.
That’s what I should have done. I
got the rest to go and went back to the hotel.
I then realized that I hadn’t had any coffee since breakfast. That could be a problem, and it was too late
to have coffee now, as I wanted to go to bed as soon as I was done with my
usual end-of-day activities.
I applied
the aloe, which seemed to help, and then I went out to the balcony and lit up
my trusty Ardor. I looked up more about
sunburn, and I learned that taking a NSAID, such as ibuprofen, helps with both
the pain and the swelling. I had some in
my bag, so that was a boon. Satisfied
that I had done all that I could do to treat my sunburn, I proceeded to write this
entry, which I will now close, after a few notes, so that I can publish and
post my photos.
The first note is about
the title of yesterday’s entry. The Girl
Scout cookies that are called Samoas are not made here, nor are they made in
Apia. They’re made in Kentucky. The name may not even have anything to do
with these islands. Instead, it may have
a similar origin to S’mores, the words “some more of” in the phrase, “Let me
get some more of these,” being pronounced “suh-MOE-uh,” which gets spelled out “Samoa.” The only thing that connects the cookie to
these islands is coconut, but there are other islands that are far better known
for coconut than Samoa.
The other note
is in an “Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?” type of way, other
than getting sunburnt, it was a great day.
I just wish I had gone to Apia, but it’s not mission-critical, and there
will be plenty of opportunities in the future to spend a day in Apia. Now, I close.
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