no, you may not take my picture.

yesterday, i went surfing. it was really fun, but i was not good at it (which i learned from my first experience last year). my friend had parked the car away from the pier we were surfing by because parking at the pier is ridiculous, so after we were done i sat and waited for him to bring the car back to load up and head out.

i pulled out a book and waited for a few minutes, when a hispanic man about my height wearing a camera around his neck approached me. in a thick accent he asked me, "excuse me miss, can i take your picture?" a little startled, i asked him to repeat the question. "why?" i asked him. "i collect pictures. for myself, personal use. not going to put it anywhere."

still very confused by his question, i eventually figured out that he had watched me and my friend rinsing off with our boards and everything, and knew that i was waiting for him to come back. he wanted to wait until my friend came back and then the hispanic guy wanted to be in the picture with me. a thousand thoughts as to why this was a terrible idea crossing my mind, i respectfully declined.