Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Joys of Summer

Strangely enough, one of the things I remember most fondly about my high school tennis days are the funky tan lines.  I've been playing quite a bit of tennis lately in this wonderful 100+ degree Texas heat, most of it at ridiculous hours.  I usually try to time my games, practice, etc., when it's not as hot, like right before the sun goes down.  But the last couple of weeks I've played in two tournaments, so I had no say on what time I was actually on the court.  The tournament directors were nice enough to start a few of my matches at 2:00 pm, also known as way-too-hot-to-be-doing-anything-but-sitting-in-the-AC pm. 

When preparing for a match when the sun is at its absolute hottest, it's really important to put on plenty of sunblock.  I slathered on the SPF 50 (and reapplied), but I tan REALLY easily, so I still got darker.  Here's where the funky tan lines come in:
  • Like everyone else, I have a nice sock-line.  Unlike most other people, I wear an ankle brace on one ankle, so the sock-line is higher on one leg than the other.  
  • Sometimes I wear shirt with sleeves, sometimes without.  Now I have a mini-farmer's tan going.
  • I wore a shorter pair of shorts on Saturday than Friday, so I have two different shorts tan lines on my legs.
  • And the most interesting part, or at least the part that leave the most funky tan lines -- I tan through my shirts, just not as dark as on exposed skin.  
While the funky tan lines do bring back some memories, they just are very attractive.  I guess I didn't care all that much back then, but I seem to be a little more vain now.  Oh well.  At least school starts in a few days and I'll be back to wearing long pants and jackets and hiding all those funky lines.  On the up side, at least I don't burn!

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