#17 Polar Bear Dive at Night

This adventure started at the Knittle brothers annual ugly sweater party. These guys have a sweet corner apartment right on Alki directly across the street from the water. The party was great, as always and reunited me with a bunch of old friends I haven't seen in ages. During the last 5 years I've really noticed myself grow personally and socially. A party like this 8 yeas ago I would have made it 30 maybe 40 minutes..

I can remember leaving the house for the weekend when my old roommates would throw a party. Now it's the complete opposite. I'm watching people come and go in that 40 minute timespan and I'm closing the place out with the hosts. One, two, three deep you start to get to that point where you've settled in. We're past the point of no return. I'm not driving anywhere but I'm also not leaving my car. It's always good to have the blessing from your host that its cool to crash at their place. 

I meet tons of new friends, we debate the new Star Wars and compare horror dating stories while getting a few new ideas for my 30 during 30. New friends come and go. Old friends make the rounds and reconnect. The night grows longer...four, five, six. The house is getting warm. Why'd I wear this damn scarf? One of my new buddies stuffs it in the freezer; genius. Pull it out and it's good for about 10 minutes of relief. Mariah Carey's All I want for Christmas plays again for the third time. People laughing and having a good time. They all start to fade away a stuffed apartment becomes empty and then there were six. 

Someone passed out on the sectional. The brothers with a couple of gals. My new friend and I creating commentary for them hitting on these girls. Suddenly! Dave gets a crazy idea! He shouts Polar Bear! Come on we're jumping in the water. Being fueled with alcohol it doesn't sound like the worst idea in the world. It's only the middle of December and 3 in the morning. Dave tosses me a pair of swim trunks and I meet him outside. 

I've never done this so let's chalk it up to a new experience. We run across the street barefoot and Dave plunges into the black water just past the concrete steps. The show's on for our audience of one and I splash right in after him. It's cold, but not nearly as bad as I thought it'd be. The booze helps, I'm not freezing nor did I feel myself scrape my knuckles on the concrete or my toes on barnacles. These are injuries I find over the next couple of days. My body's in the water, I get a taste of salt across my lips. We swim out a bit but it's short lived. The excitement wore off and the challenge has been completed. We get back inside towel off and that caps off our night. 

Things I learned today:

Never would I ever go into Alki at anytime of the year sober. 

Drunken night swimming is probably a bad idea.

Living an interesting life leads to good stories which make social interactions very easy.