After Hours

One would think that after a 9 hour day on the beach in the hot sun, as soon as 5:30 comes around we would go home to the guard house, feast in the air conditioning, and lay low in the "man cave" watching movies for the rest of the night. I am proud and happy to say that is certainly not the case for the majority of COR guards. Instead of crashing, most of us suit up, lace up, or "man camp" it up in the backyard to get a nice sunset workout in. Some of us go for long runs on the beach, others head to the rec center to lift or swim in the pool (or go in the sauna). Sometimes we play basketball, other times we play volleyball, sometimes we skate. Yesterday, I came back from my run and Nick and Harris were doing speed drills on a latter in the sand training for rugby. But when there are waves, we always, always surf.

It's pretty incredible to live in an environment where being fit and healthy is a priority not only for our own personal benefit, but also for our job. We have to be able to sprint a half mile, swim 200 yards, and drag in a victim twice our size. Being fit is not just about looking good; it's a necessity for our job. That's why fat lifeguards are few and far between.

After sunset workouts, the house enters and flurry of activity, and it's all centered around the kitchen. All 26 of us are now famished from the day and the workout, and we are all on a one track mind to consume copious amounts of food. Everyone is their own gourmet chef; we have about 10 meals cooking at once, ranging from kraft mac and cheese (the Ohio boys), to frozen pizzas, to salads and grilled vegetable (the veggos), to burgers, pasta, and of course some kind of seared tuna steak. And then you have Mike A, Corolla's own personal gourmet chef, whipping up ridiculous entered like "braised tofu topped with a puree of balsamic and asparagus sauce". Happy birthday shout out to Mike A woot woot! The kitchen is hilarious because it is always a mad scramble for pots, pans, stoves, cups, and utensils. ESPECIALLY spoons. Those damn spoons always seem to disappear, and I usually end up eating my ice cream with a fork. But after our culinary desires are fulfilled and our bellies satisfied, the events of the evening can begin.

Depending upon what is going on the next morning greatly affects how we spend the evenings. On evenings when we have pt in the mornings, it is usually tame at the guard house. Last night was one of those nights. It was breezy outside, the stars were bright, and the skeeters were not biting, so it was a perfect night to sit outside and play guitar. I was joined by Donnie, and we jammed out on our deck for a few hours, messing around with Iron and Wine, City and Colour, and Guster. Being able to just play and sing along with someone impromptu is pretty freaking awesome- and were going to begin working on a few things to play at open mic night down at the Grille Room. There were points last night where I just could not believe how lucky I am to be here. And the best part it, it's only June 2nd.