mood tanning

Back in the day (i.e. a few months ago), I used to run outside almost daily, thereby staying pretty tan. I run in rain, hail, sleet, or snow, whether it's 90 degrees out or -20 degrees out. That is how I managed to stay tan during Cambridge winters, and why everyone thought I went tanning at a salon (don't you know that only white people do that).

When I get really really busy, though, my running takes a backseat (and is sometimes ironically replaced by smoking, a disgusting habit that I kick for years at a time and then give in to for brief, godwilling, but stressful periods), so my tan fades. I haven't been running in almost two months. I'm naturally darker-skinned, so I'm never going to be freakishly pale, but you can always tell when someone has been out of the sun, no matter what their complexion is. It's a little sad, because when I'm this pale, I know I'm stressed. It's like I'm a mood ring--you can tell what's going on by what color I am.

Life is good, but I can't waiiiit for this to be over so I can change colors again.