89. First Time Surfing

Day 89
Location 17: Dublin
Jan. 28, 2023

The day started with a trip to McDonald's. On the way, we passed the most depressed gas station in the world. Here's the updated McDonald's scoreboard for the trip:
# of McDonald's Visits
5
# of Times a Non-American Suggested McDonald's
3
# of Times I Was Happy To Be At McDonald's
5
# Needed To Keep This Table's Pattern Going 
3
Nationality Present Most Often At McDonald's
Canadian
Nationality Most Apologetic At McDonald's
Canadian
% of Times Chicken McNuggets Were Ordered
100%
Most Common Destination After McDonald's
Toilet
% of Percentage Values Repeated in the Right Column
100%
Was The Previous Row Too Meta and Confusing?
Yes


 
When people list the world's best surf spots, they name Hawaii (home of the world's biggest surf competition), the coast of Portugal (home of the biggest waves in the world), or Ocean Shores (the fictional town in Rocket Power, a Nickelodeon show that taught me I'd never be as cool as a cartoon). 

They don't name Lahinch, Ireland. But that's the destination of the surf weekend trip I was invited to by three wonderful friends I met while almost getting run over in Slovakia.

The ecstasy from riding waves for the first time instantly filled me with empathy for people who have mid-life crisis, bleach their hair, move to Cali to surf, and start listening to Sublime nonstop.


 
Back at the Airbnb, after surfing, the four of us played a game with the following premise: a plastic bag is placed on the floor, and everyone takes turns picking up the bag using only their mouth–if any part of your body other than your feet touches the floor, you lose. After each round, a piece of the bag is ripped off to make the bag smaller, and the amount of flexibility required to win greater. To picture the game, imagine stretching to touch your toes with your mouth and without falling over.  

Luckily, I'm super flecible (sorry for the typo, my fingers are stiff and it hurts to reach for the "x" on the outer reaches of the keyboard). Despite my physical superiority, I lost the game. 

But luckily, I'm not competitive. In fact, I'm probably the #1 least competitive person in the world (if you disagree, I'll fight you for the title, you little punk)!! 

Despite losing, the game supplied us with endless fun and at one point I had to stop playing for my health...because I couldn't breathe from laughing (and not because the contortionist-like stretching had me in fear of my groin ripping apart like a pair of tight jeans worn by a 2005, 2007, 2012, 2017, or 2021 Jonah Hill). Here's proof:


 