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once upon an august in the south china sea, there was a typhoon. there was also a group of 30 people who were working very hard in the delightful surroundings of the club punta fuego in batangas, philippines. the sheets of rain outside made it easier for them to stay inside and work diligently. but three days into the workshop, they were ready to let off a bit of steam.

so they went for a late-night dip in the infinity pool. it may have been raining, but it was 30 degrees C outside, so a little rain didn't matter.

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accompanying them on this swim was a lovely bottle of limoncello. the delightful lemony goodness made them laugh a lot and left them feeling a bit daring and invincible. there was a small group who had been in phuket together at another workshop and they had fond memories of an afternoon spent playing in the waves of the andaman sea. but this was the south china sea and they were on the edge of a typhoon. and it was very, very dark.

however, the now smaller group of three (of the fond memories) decided to brave the steps down to the beach, where the waves were pounding in. the water was warm and wild and they laughed and laughed and shouted into the wind. it made them feel very alive, being there in that place, experiencing that storm up close. the waves were so wild that they were soon covered in sand and their towels, which had been left on the stairs were swept away. one of the three, uncomfortable with all of the sand that had filled his swimming trunks, took them off. and it was only discovered some time later that they too were swept away. along with his glasses. eventually, they began to feel they had sand in places it shouldn't be (ears, for example) and it began to seem dangerous and foolhardy, so the trio made their way back to the bungalows. one of them now stark naked and without his keycard.

however, he was unbothered by this, as he was sure that the door to his bungalow was open on the inside and he had only to knock on his neighbor's door (who was also at our workshop and not a complete stranger) and he would be let into his own room and saved the embarrassment of going down to the front desk for a new keycard without a stitch of clothing on. so, the other two went on towards their bungalows and left him standing at his neighbor's door.

the next morning, the neighbor told his side of the story...how he answered his door in the middle of the night, only to find his fifty-something neighbor standing there buck naked and wanting to come in. as he said, "he didn't even have the decency to pick a leaf." as it turned out the door between the rooms wasn't open, so the two gentlemen spent the night together (there were two beds, so it isn't as racy as it sounds). and much, much, much laughter was had by all.

and luckily, the naked (now clothed) gentleman headed for his flight and even managed to get on it, rather than falling asleep in a chair and having to wait to the next day (like that other time in phuket), but that's another story for another day.

to this day, the occasional stray piece of sand still comes out of my ears.