Susie's Blog: Uh oh, I can't feel my feet anymore...

You know the saying, people will do anything for a free t-shirt? And you know how if you say something is for charity it totally makes whatever you just did ok? Well last Saturday both of those thought were swimming (literally) around in my head as about 20 of my friends and I did something ridiculously crazy-- we jumped in the 30 degree ocean on January 31st in a charity event called the Drowned Hogs.

This happens every year on Nantasket beach and some of my friends have been doing it ever since freshman year at Stonehill I was supposed to go last year but when my phone rang at 9:30 am on a Saturday with my friends on the other end calling me to pick me up, I decided I was far too sleepy to get excited about jumping in any frozen water. So I did what any normal person would do- I silenced my phone, rolled over and promptly fell back asleep. Evidently this was not what my friends had in mind and so this year, they started reminding me weeks in advance that I was not sleeping through it this year-- no no, I WAS GOING.

So I woke up at 9:30, texted a friend to ask what I thought was a perfectly legitimate question: "Are we REALLY doing this?" got my response: "Yes. We'll be there in 10 minutes to pick you up", flew out of bed and threw on the swimsuit I haven't looked at since August along with a t-shirt and sweats, put my contacts in and brushed my teeth. No longer had I done all that than my phone began to vibrate and it was JD saying that the car was outside. I grabbed socks, jammed my feet into my uggs and sprinted out the door. In my haste, I forgot some very crucial items, but we'll get to that later.

So now we're en route-- I text my mom to tell her what we're doing, knowing she'll call me in a panic as soon as she reads what I wrote. Sure enough, about 10 minutes later I get a call saying "I'm just calling so I can hear your voice in case it's the last time." I reassure her that they have done this every year, and all have survived. So we get there and as soon as we all see the ice and snow, the girls in the car fall silent as the guys start yelling about how AWESOME this is gonna be... uh, yeah, ok. So we get out of the car and are immediately thrown back by the blustering wind and I start to think that my actions last year were probably smarter and maybe I should have done the same thing.

Inside we go to the holding area and promptly stuff our face with the complimentary coffee, hot cocoa and muffins, donuts and bagels galore. We all register, receive our t-shirt and make a $10 donation to the food pantry that this was benefiting. Now, 20 college students can cause quite a ruckus. EVERYONE and their mother turned to look at us as we walked in and you could overhear people talking about "that group from Stonehill" for the rest of the morning.

I can't remember who, but one of the guys gave me great advice: start taking off my clothing in layers so I can get used to the cold at a slow pace. So I did. I took my sweat shirt off, which left me in a t-shirt and sweatpants + shoes. The shoes came off next, etc etc. Now about those crucial items I forgot in my quick departure that morning. The first thing was what everyone else was wrapping around themselves: A TOWEL. Duh, Susie, you're going to the BEACH don't you think a towel would be helpful?!? Thankfully a guardian angel named Jillian Houle had an extra and graciously offered it to me. The next thing I forgot? A hair tie. Now guys may not realize why this is so important, so allow me to explain. I have long hair that goes down to mid-back and after jumping into the ocean I really didn't want freezing cold hair touching my back and shoulders and making me any colder. My guardian angel delivered again with an extra hair tie, and I was almost good to go. I also forgot flip flops-- something that would have been so great to have when walking on the freezing cold cement path from the holding area, down to the beach and back again post-jump. I forgot one more item, but we'll save that for the end.

So. It's getting closer and closer to jump time. We are quite the crowd. LP has angel wings on, Kate has a gold bike helmet on (from when the guys dressed up as legends of the hidden temple contestants for halloween), some of us are in swimsuits, all of us have leis on and Dave, Matt and Justin are wearing legit 3-piece suits. I turn to Val and give her a nervous look, to which she responds "How bad can it be if they do it every year?" Point taken. Soon, we hear a yell and everyone starts to bolt for the door... it's time.

Stepping outside barefoot onto a frozen cold cement path covered in snow, ice and salt is not something I'd call fun. But there we went, along the path, clutching our towels around us and feeling the chilly January wind literally make it to our bones. Because there were so many people jumping and the path was only so wide, we couldn't really move very fast. There was only one point when I seriously considered going back and if all my friends hadn't been around me, I probably would have. It was right before my feet went numb and the cold underneath them was seriously more than I could take. But I rallied, and my feet quickly went numb, relieving me of the sharp pains going through my legs. Our one friend Laura decided she wasn't well enough to jump (she was battling a cold) so she volunteered to take pictures and hold all of our towels, the saint that she is.

Down to the beach we went, Val and I hand in hand, dodging little children and weaving in and out of people. We could see some of our friends already coming out, dripping wet, some laughing hysterically and some looking more in pain than anything I'd ever seen. GREAT. Soon we hit the sand and we started full out sprinting. There were actually waves and when the water hit us (mind you, the water is 10 degrees warmer than the air at this point) it actually felt... good? Seriously. I saw Val full out dive in ahead of me and I thought "Shoot, it's my turn".

So I did it. I don't think it was very graceful or coordinated, but somehow my whole body got into the water and I was submerged. Not realizing that it actually felt kind of warm, I got out quickly and had one thought in mind: FIND MY TOWEL. (Well I had a second thought too: don't lose your bathing suit, as it is NOT the sturdiest thing in the world... but did I think of that that morning? NO.)

So I find Laura, and my towel, she takes a hideous picture of me wrapping myself up and I make the painful trek back inside. All I was thinking was "I hope one of my little toesies doesn't fall off" because they were so frozen I couldn't feel them. Anyway, we all get inside and take an after-photo and start laughing hysterically about what we just did. I mean seriously, who jumps in the ocean in January? But it was a blast, especially once I felt the tingle in my toes again.

Here comes forgotten item #4-- clothes to change into afterwards. I go into the bathroom with the girls and realize... ummm, what am I supposed to put on once I take my bathing suit off? Granted I have the clothes I can in, but you get the idea. Oops. All in all, not my finest memory moment. Anyway we dry off as best we can and head back out in the main area when the boys inform us we're all heading back to their house for brunch.

OH MY GOD- YUM. This sounds like the best idea in the world right now and I couldn't imagine how anyone would want to be doing anything else. So back to Canton St. we go, armed with bacon, eggs, toast, pancake mix and coffee. We warm up by the fire and everyone pitches in to make ourselves a feast.

It was seriously the best day ever. We ate, watched a movie, napped and just hung out. It was a lot like how Cape Week will be and I said that to JD at one point and he got this huge smile on his face. The day was awesome and it was totally something I never imagined doing. People have since asked me: would I do it again?

You bet.