Old and creaky

It was my first day back in the water after two weeks and a cold. I forgot how much fun surfing can be when the water is clear enough to see stingrays underfoot and the sun is lighting up the sky (and unfortunately blazing down on fires in the valley). I also forgot how easy it is to lose muscle, cardio-vascular capacity, and timing when all you do is lay in bed and blow snot out your nose for two weeks.

137 pounds, 1 virus infection, 1 week no surf

I came back from the east coast with a cold. I would be okay if it were a normal cold, instead, I have the mother of all sore throats. I've never been in such pain. But a visit to the doctor told me I'd lost three pounds, even though there was nothing she could do for my throat.

I also came back from the east coast with a grudging acknowledgment that I'm no spring chicken anymore. I headbanged my way through a song late in a Cape Cod wedding reception only to wake up the next morning with a kink in my neck which progressed all the way down my back by the end of the day when we had driven to meet my brother in Boston. I was sitting in his back-room poker game with a backache that unfortunately, and amazingly, outweighed my curiosity at his vaguely shady hobby.

That said, I've missed and will continue to miss this swell until I'm well.

Hopefully fewer pounds, 0 cigs, 0 alcohol units, no breakfast

I'm really glad I'm going to be out of town this weekend, because I could see the sets start rolling in this morning and it wasn't pretty -- but it looked FUN. If I'd done what I wanted to do this morning and taken out my 9'0" thruster, I'd probably have taken my share of suicide drops. But no, I kept to my commitment to ride the short(er)board until I learned how to ride it -- which I haven't done yet, so I hesitated on waves that the adrenaline junkie in me would have paddled for.

At 7am, there were some shoulders and I managed to hit the lip going backside -- ugly, but I did it. By 8am, I was shivering in my springsuit because wave after wave was big and unrideable. Gloved Guy was taking some insane drops and, from over one close-out, I could hear him hollering all the way down. When he paddled back out, I laughed at him.

"We could hear you yelling, 'Whooooo!' on your entire ride. That's a good thing because then we know you're okay!"

I'm glad I'm not going to be here this weekend. I'd be tempted to be a part of the carnage. Weekend warriors and crowded point breaks. Good times. I'll be thinking of y'all while I have lobster rolls on the Cape and chomp on a hot dog at Fenway.

140 pounds, 1 beer, 1 cigarette, 1 Killer Shrimp

I thought donating a pint of blood to the American Red Cross would bring me down a pound. I was in the doctor's office with my shoes off, hoping that bleeding the day before would tip the scale in my favor. It didn't happen.

Me and the Okazaki are doing better, but I still wonder why people feel the need to ride shortboards and "paddle." What is this "paddling?" Isn't it better to be up and riding a wave instead of swimming all the time?

I have to keep reminding myself that I have to ride this board like I don't have two longboards sitting dry in the garage if I want to learn how to ride this board. Good thing I'm going away this weekend so I won't be tempted to break out the 9'0" thruster when the purported monster waves come rolling through.

140 pounds, 1 beer, 0 cigarettes, 1 short(er) board

7'0" Okazaki and me = v. bad.

I'm indulging my Bridget Jones neuroses at the moment. I'm taking a page from chick lit to chronicle my ill-fated relationship with a shorter board. I'm not usually weight conscious, but I stepped on a scale for the first time in a year... and I'll never do that again!

I'd rather wash dishes

I surfed with N at Pipes in Encinitas this weekend. COLD! What happened to the water temp? On Sunday, I paddled a lot for rolling waves that didn't break. I turned to my friend and said, "Where have you taken me?! Don't you know me? I DON'T PADDLE!" But I got some nice long rides that made up for it. It's nice taking off on a wave and consistently finding a shoulder ahead of you.

On Monday, I was frozen because I'd learned my lesson from the day before. Don't paddle for waves that look good on the horizon, but peter out at the line-up. Since I didn't paddle, I didn't stay warm. Still, though, consistently kicking out frontside made the session worthwhile. Now, if only I could learn how to do that going backside.

Tuesday, back at the home break. Sunny. Warm water. BUT it's so hard to go back to those dumpy close-outs when you've had two days with shapely waves. It was so hard to go back to those close-outs that I woke up this morning at 6:30 and briefly pondered loading up the surf gear only to decide to clean the kitchen instead.

***

Also, not in surf news, I've been having a hard time giving the Red Cross a monetary donation (but they're getting my blood). I just don't feel like giving a percentage of my dollar to administrative fees in this case. I gave to them when it came to the tsunami in December, but for some reason I feel like the behemoth organization is not the best way to get things done here in the States. That's part of the social ethos that got us into this mess -- we rely too much on a large organization (the federal government and the despicable Bush administration) that doesn't have a clue about what's best on the local level.

(By the way, I heard Halliburton and their subsidiaries have already been awarded the contract to rebuild the military bases in Louisiana. Your tax dollars are going straight into the pockets of Dick Cheney, once he's done with his gig as VP of the U.S.)

I am impressed with the work of a local comedienne named Tig Notaro who will be driving down to her home town of Pass Christian, Mississippi. She's renting a truck in L.A. and making the trek to drive supplies down to Mississippi on Thursday. I'm about to get my ass off this chair and use my lunch break to buy things like bottled water and diapers. It's not going to be tax-deductible, but at least I know that the dollars I spend are going to directly effect a person's life.