Yesterday we headed out to go white water rafting on the French Broad River. Our friend Sandy is a veteran kayaker and rafter, and so owns all of the necessary equipment for this type of adventure. She and Xavi treated themselves to their kayaks, and the rest of us (a group of six) hopped into the raft.
Now, a few things regarding white water rafting in class 3 rapids:
1. I was apparently ignorant of the fact that this "extreme sport" is apparently a leisure activity. As such, the consumption of beer (in reasonable amounts) was not only permitted, but in fact encouraged by Sandy, our boat's owner and resident expert.
2. Rafting with strangers (the four others that joined my brother and me--friends of Sandy) can be stressful, especially when one begins to strongly doubt the commands that come from the vessel's chosen guide. For instance, when the guide yells, "Forward Right" (meaning only the right side paddles) and one (or in this case two--PJ and I) disagrees with their command (ie It is obvious that we need to go RIGHT, and so paddling on the right side is a really dumb idea), it is difficult to keep one's mouth shut. Mutiny is all too great of a possibility at all times.
At one point, PJ got thrown from the boat, which although not a wholly uncommon experience, was rather nervewracking for me. As he fell from the craft, I reached out for him, catching only his foot. Unfortunately, this left him in a rather strange and more dangerous position, and so I was forced to let him go.
I watched him bob up for air, course beneath the raft, and come up eventually, laughing, trying to hoist himself up onto the boat. I grabbed him by his PFD (life jacket) and swung him up, happy to see him alive, well, and laughing.
Over the course of the ride, which lasted a couple of hours, things got better. Our "guide" improved a bit (at least she learned her right from her left), though PJ and I never quite stopped doubting most of her commands. The ride was fun, and at time exciting, as we popped over rapids, through water chutes, and over rocks. It was never easy, however, and I'm sure never will be, to be in a boat over which you have little to no control. Especially for a person like me, who finds it difficult to ride shotgun in a slow-moving car, kayaking seems like the better option.
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In completely separate news: For anyone that knows me or has followed this blog, it is obvious that graduate school applications and plans have played a great part of my life over this past year. Well, guess what?
I ain't going.
After careful deliberation, I've decided that I'm just not up to it--Not that I can't handle a challenge, but this particular challenge, which no longer seems to entice me, allure me, fascinate me, just doesn't seem quite worth it.
Which is all good and nice. Now I've got an open horizon, empty and ready to be filled with half-baked schemes and hatching plans.
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More completely separate news: My brother PJ, over the course of his visit, turned me on to some of the most hilarious commercials that I have ever seen in my life. Their weirdness and sheer surreality are amazing. In fact, the mere memory of some of these advertisements nearly caused me to lose my balance and fall off the raft yesterday. Hopefully you'll enjoy just as much. This geek from Slate/NPR doesn't quite agree with me about the Skittles commercials.
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