Burnt

About 24 hours ago I began showing what became the worst sunburn I've had that I can remember. Oh yeah, the pool was a lot of fun, but now I'm seeing repercussions coming down the line. Short-term...I'm feeling fairly uncomfortable in my own skin (har har), and maybe worse, I'll be seeing Becca tonight, and I know that I'm going to get the third degree (har har...as in 3rd degree burn...har har). The reason for her scolding will be what's going to happen long term: higher possibility of skin cancer. When I'm given only six months to live, I'll wish I had just taken the time to put on that sun block.

For more vain reasons, I don't want my skin to make me look twenty years older than I am. I used to be able to get by on my looks. The Mexican lady cashier at Chipotle that had a crush on me used to let me get by with free burritos. I haven't pulled anything like that off since I've moved to Atlanta. :( My youthful beauty is gone; now I am just a sun-dried raisin - nay - a red, sun-dried tomato.

Actually, it might not be that bad. When I was at the Census, I went to the health fair and under a special scanner the guy thought my skin wasn't sun damaged, when my similarly-aged peers got some seriously-toned words. So I at least was doing better than average three years ago, and it's not like I've been hitting the tanning beds since then.

OK, it's not enough to just compare myself to everyone else, and I'd better get serious about this. For my health routine, I've only been concerned about eating right and exercising, but now I'm going to add skin protection as an important habit. OK, I really am serious. I plan on this being the last sunburn I ever get. I bet I can hold that out through this summer, but what will be the challenge is to remember this for next summer. This is why I write these things down...but will I ever read this again?