6 tweets · October 2021 · 20 likes · 0 retweets · read on Twitter
I fell in the ocean this evening! Got soaked up to my armpits! Am home safe & sound 😊 I was trying to circumnavigate a "point" & the beach gradually turned to rocks turned to cliffs. Phone maybe fucked but I at least have this one pic I sent the friend I was on the phone with.
I grew up climbing around on rocks like this (in NS, on the other coast) so the challenge had a flow state quality to it. I was in my element! 🌊 But the rocks got steeper to the point where I'd have needed *rock-climbing skills*, not sure-footedness, balance, & jumping skills.
May cost me $400 to replace my phone & $XX for earbud case (we'll see if they dry out ok) but it was worth it for the feeling of adventure. The only way to 100% ensure your favorite shirt never gets dirty is to never wear it. Not gonna be that guy.
And I feel better calibrated from having actually made the other mistake—had basically never fallen in in decades of such climbing. I recall a thread recently about learning handstands via overcommitting; can't find it but found this old pith:
Oh I was also pleased though unsurprised to experience how unpanicked I was when I fell in the water. There was a huge adrenaline rush (in part just because sudden coldwet ofc) but then pure clarity of purpose: "wade/swim to a place I can climb out" (10' around the cliff)
Fascinating counterpoint to the story in this essay, where I thought I was gonna die no matter what and immediately accepted it. Today was: might die if don't do something, so do something! I see slightly more clearly why people like extreme sports. malcolmocean.com/2019/10/the-ch…