Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Day 19 - May 26

Life Guard Station 26, Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA
trash collected for 20 min.
estimated pounds collected today - 2.5
estimated pounds collected to date - 138.5
I hate when I see a piece of trash right next to the water, and I don't make it in time to pick it up. It bums me out when I see it wash back into the ocean. This is funny to me because I DO get so many pieces of trash off the beach. It is a gut reaction I have. I guess that feeling is a part of the same feelings that brought me to the beach today.
Candy wrappers and beach tar. The beach tar is natural, but smells like tar, and is really hard to get off flip-flops. There was a ton out there today. 
Lately, I find myself thinking a few thoughts that are not the point when I am collecting.
1. I think - when it is windy - "I need a big piece of trash to keep my bag weighed down in the wind." - NO I DON'T. I HOPE MY BAG REMAINS EMPTY.
or
2. I think - "I hope that there's more trash at the water line, it's easier to walk there than on the soft sand." NOT THE POINT, I COLLECT TRASH WHEREVER IT IS.
or
3. I think - "I hope I find something really gross today." WOW - AGAIN, I SHOULD HOPE I FIND NOTHING. WOULDN'T IT BE NICE IF I HAD NO PICTURES OF TRASH TO POST?
Then I hit the "jackpot". A condom, washed clean. Should I be excited? NO!
Even though the time stamp from my camera is wrong on these pictures, I am posting on the same day that I collected. Meaning, I've caught up, and am now posting in real time. I thought about doing this blog a couple of weeks ago. It has been a time consuming project to learn the bare bone basics of the blog-o-sphere. In fact, it took a lot of my time away from collecting beach trash. I found this frustrating, but there are only so many hours in the day. Garen, ever my voice of reason and positivity, kept reminding me it's all part of it. But now I can go back to more days on the beach. That's the point. And I've thought about this before, when I was writing the introduction to this blog, that I wouldn't be doing this without Garen's influence. He's the glass full guy, and I am perpetually, the glass half empty girl on just about everything. 
So thank you Garen, if you're reading this, you help me feel like life is easier to live. Truly.