I seem to have developed a habit of getting hammered at the beach during a typhoon, and then going out and (loudly) challenging the sea to dish up something more substantial than the 2m waves I usually find. Occasionally, she delivers. It's quite a rush to be tumbled like a sock in a washing machine when that happens. I won't say this is the brightest thing to be doing during a typhoon, and I'd be willing to bet that 99.99% of the residents of this "beautiful island" would think I'm a crazy 外國人 for doing it. Hey, don't worry, I'm 20% fish, 79% snow monkey. (Neither genus has a high tolerance for alcohol, so apparently I'm 1% Lactobacillus.)
Truth be told, most of the 外國人 would probably also label me sanity-deficient. Real truth be told, I've suffered a few losses along the way: one time the sea lifted me up and dropped me spine-first on a rock I hadn't seen. Most recently, the extreme winds blasted so much sand into the rear hub of my beloved bicycle that I ended up grinding it into irrecoverable failure in the ensuing week. This is a one-of-a-kind, US$2000 bike built entirely from local parts for a bike expo in 2001: I got it cheap as a birthday present...spent twice as much on a good helmet, as a matter of fact. A new hub is being installed as you read this: everyone in this tiny berg knows my bike and knows it's mine: automatically theft-proof via notoriety! I love that bike and couldn't let the bright yellow custom rim go replaced!
Oh, that, and my final shallow (well, that's what I intended, at least, but when you're drunk, the definition of shallow apparently needs to be adjusted) dip into the churning waters with my shoulder-bag: lost my wallet and bike light, and kiboshed my 4-year-old digital camera. Soaked my bank-book to unusability, and generally made a fool of myself in front of nature's awesome power.
My biggest regret? Damn, I *loved* that bike light, and I had some nifty rechargables in it that don't come cheap. Now, I'm just waiting for the next typhoon...