Early Worm Gets the Bird

Haven't surfed yet. Have to go home and surf some slop now... Looking forward to it. It is weird when I do not get a surf in early, the day just isn't as enjoyable. This morning, the waves looked actually pretty solid and pretty decent on the shape-o-meter. Oh well, there's always tomorrow. Unless this guy is right...

Notice that this was July 3rd and not in response to today's earthquake. I like the mug shot.

Gulf of California Earthquake - Is the Big One Coming? Submitted Friday, July 03, 2009 Mark Parsec

The recent 6.0 earthquake in the Gulf of California (July 3, 2009) is a reminder of the complex fault structures that run up the western coast of the United States. Although the earthquake struck 42 miles southwest of Ahome, Mexico, in Sinaloa state, the fault structures involved are intricately connected with the faults in Southern California. USGS map of July 3, 2009, showing faults and recent earthquakes. Historically, when one of these faults in the Gulf of California slips it begins a chain reaction of fault movements up and down the coast. The fault that runs under the Gulf of California runs north into the Imperial Valley of California in the vicinity of the cities of Mexicali, El Centro and Palm Springs. Not far to the west and northwest, and connected to these fault systems, lay San Diego and the sprawling Los Angeles Basin, with its infamous San Andreas Fault. A BRIEF SUMMARY OF CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKES Date Time Location Magnitude 1. 01.09.1857 8:24 am Fort Tejon 7.9 2. 2.24.1892 11:20 pm Laguna Salada 7.3 3. 12.25.1899 4:25 am San Jacinto/Hemet 6.7 4. 04.21.1918 2:31 pm San Jacinto 6.8 5. 06.29.1925 7:42 am Santa Barbara 6.8 6. 11.04.1927 5:51 pm Offshore Lompoc 7.1 7. 03.10.1933 5:54 pm Long Beach 6.4 8. 05.18.1940 8:37 pm Imperial Valley 6.9 9. 04.10.1947 7:58 am Manix 6.5 10. 07.21.1952 3:52 am Kern County 7.5 11. 04.09.1968 6:29 pm Borrego Mountain 6.6 12. 02.09.1971 6:01 am San Fernando 6.6 13. 10.15.1979 4:16 pm Imperial Valley 6.4 14. 07.08.1986 2:21 am North Palm Springs 5.7 15. 10.01.1987 7:42 am Whittier Narrows 5.9 16. 11.24.1987 5:15 am Superstition Hills 6.6 17. 06.28.1991 7:43 am Sierra Madre 5.8 18. 04.22.1992 9:50 pm Joshua Tree 6.1 19. 06.28.1992 4:57 am Landers 7.3 20. 06.28.1992 8:05 am Big Bear 6.3 21. 01.17.1994 4:30 am Northridge 6.7 22. 10.16.1999 2:46 am Hector Mine 7.1 23. 12.22.2003 11:15 am San Simeon 6.5 24. 07.29.2008 11:42 am Chino Hills 5.4 A word of caution should be conveyed to the residents of the southern California area whenever this type of fault activity commences so they may be better prepared for the BIG ONE. Keep your eyes on Southern California, I anticipate a major quake within 90 days. The Gulf of California (highlighted)

Day 134 - Ego/Insecurity

Theory:
Ego cannot exist without insecurity, but insecurity can exist without ego. I see it a lot. The biggest egos are always the most insecure people. By-the-way, I work in the finance industry. Talk about insecurity! Let's put a bunch of the "smartest" people together, give them a task that is graded on almost imperceptible differences in performance, which can be wiped out in a flash by unpredictable events. Oh yeah, and because they are "smart", let's pay them a lot of money to do it! Wait, bear with me here I'm figuring it all out, I have an ego that is fed by my insecurity, but I'm in an industry that by its nature creates insecurity because there is almost no difference in performance of what a "good" analyst and a "bad" one does? In other words, you don't have to "do" anything, but if you talk a big game from what I've seen, you are a "good" analyst! Um, teacher? Can I change my answer? I would like to be a Fireman now... What it's too late? Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but I certainly wouldn't if I took myself too seriously, if I didn't have fun with it all, trust me I know a lot of unhappy campers. Often times, it drives them to feed their insecurities by doing things better, they are constantly trying to be the best, to satisfy the insatiable, it is kind of like drinking water when you are hungry, it doesn't' work. Have you ever heard about the long hours on Wall Street? You can read these people like a book in my opinion, this is what they are doing but, then maybe that is my ego talking. Hmmm, I'm confusing myself. Ego, pride, arrogance, you know and I know that I'm better than you so... Ummm will you do me a favor? I don't know how to ask it, but, uh, can you, will you please tell me that its true? Because, honestly I'm not sure. Screw it, every time you tell me, I just increases my hunger for it, I guess I'll go put somebody down or attack somebody for no reason or at least fill my head full of useless facts and big words to tell them. By-the-way, I have always thought that you were stupid anyway. I thought this was a surf blog...

Whatever, take off your white wig... in the water, on land, puff that chest out you are insecure. Use big words when you don't need to, you are insecure. Don't let a guy get a wave that disrespected you, you are insecure. Do nothing, you are insecure. Don't fight back, you are insecure. Fight back like a rabid dog, you are insecure. So, if you have not figured it out yet, what I'm saying is that we are all insecure, it just manifests itself in different ways. However, there are different degrees of insecurity, and once again, that is not the point, the point is that ego is inversely correlated with insecurity. Being nice to people for no reason, treat them with respect for no reason, then you'll be turning insecurity on its head, you'll be breaking down the formula that drives you, you'll be breaking down primal human nature. Remember, if you have a reason for respecting someone, you are not being selfless. In other words, if you have something to gain, then it is about you, and that my friend is that little voice trying to shovel more ego into the insecurity furnace. But if you do it for no reason, then you are letting go of that insecurity, you are climbing down from the totem pole and trust me, it'll make you happier. It dawned on me out in the water today, I had a couple of good waves and I struck up a conversation with somebody who was just learning. The dude was just random, but he was so stoked to talk to me, he must have suddenly felt included out there. I definitely do not do this enough, but I bet that if I opened up these conversations a bit more, it would result in more respect and more waves, which is typically the goal of having stink-eye in the first place. The real upside is just to be human, since life exists in our interactions, a result of having respect is that both sides benefit from this general kindness, which is both selfish and selfless if you want to talk about paradoxes...

Waves were fun, I had a legit 3-turner. Trying to link turns, having fun doing that. I'm looking forward to tomorrow as the H1N1 seems to be subsiding slightly. I hope there will be waves. It was about chest high with some morning sickness, but pretty solid, not mushy at all. I like that, it fits my style.

Checking the box today.

Day 133 - Dog as a Sick

Some fun ones out there today. I was sick though so... Well, it probably didn't matter much anyway. I was surfing well, however. Whatever...

Things got me down lately. Just how life is I guess. Surfing frees me from that, you know, that whole life thing. I don't know why people don't treat people well. I don't know why people think they can "get away with one". I don't know why the inequality of luck exists... But, what I do know is when I get caught up in questions like that, I'm much less happy than go lucky.

I'm reading the book "Blink" right now by Malcolm Gladwell, it is good. I read "The Tipping Point" prior and that is an amazing one. He's a very good writer. Anyway, in Blink, he talks about how athletes don't even know what they do most of the time. It is split second, so they make assumptions about what they do, but it is not what they actually do. He gave the example of Vic Braden analyzing tennis players and how they say that they "roll" their wrists just as they hit the ball. This is not true, they roll there wrists after they hit the ball on the follow through. It is a good point, but what is funny is how tennis coaches teach (or at least used to), rolling the wrist as some sort of functional mechanism. Just think about it for a second. They could not roll their wrists or the ball would end up in the net! It would imply that you'd have to open your wrist first. It makes no sense, the racket has to be flat or you would have to play on a ladder...

Surfing is exactly the same way. One time Damo told Tom how to crank a turn. I might have this wrong, but I think he said something like, "Go faster". Yeah, no shit. The dude probably has no clue. I've figured out all of the mechanics to surfing. I've made strides because of it. But, I'm no pro. I would put money that I could talk circles around the top 44. But there is no "dream tour" for surf mechanics debates. Why do I say this? Because this book "Blink" introduces the term "Thin Slices", making decisions at an instant, reading the court in basket ball, reading a wave in surfing. There is nothing here, I just thought it was interesting. When it comes to thin slices, as a surfer, I'm deli meat. You see, it has to do with instantaneous judgements about people as well, more conventionally called prejudices, but they don't have to be conscious thoughts, we do most of it subconsciously. Try one out, you'll see... Harvard IAT Tests Oh, yeah and if you ever want to know how Slater does it... Well I can talk you through it, but walking you through it, well that's another story or three.

Oh yeah, Tom Servais called me today. He said that he might have a few pics of me at cloudbreak. He down played them as marginal, I cannot tell what that means, since he's a hall-of-fame surf photog... I'll be stoke to see them in any event.

Wrong side of the bed.

Day 132 - Shark/Whale Sightings in MB!!!

Just to be clear the two first are purported to be real... Mine is too, but my encounter was with a whale so... Just a little different - it is the last one. Shark Sighting Link

Manhattan Beach — On July 21, 2009 Asher Ehsani was surfing El Porto, Manhattan Beach. It was 4:30 PM and he had been on the water about one hour. Air and water temperatures were estimated in the mid-70s and 60s Fahrenheit, respectively. Water was about 9 feet deep with a sandy ocean bottom and a 3 – 4 foot swell. He was about 100 yards from shore when 2 Sea Lions swam past him at a distance of 5 feet. Ehsani reported; “I was surfing El Porto for about an hour when I noticed a few Sea Lions swimming by me. I didn't make anything of it. About 20 minutes later I noticed a HUGE shark, I am 100% confident it was NOT A DOLPHIN. I have been surfing for years, and encountered many dolphin. What I saw was a giant Dark Blue/Black Shark AT LEAST 12 feet in length it was probably about 50 feet away from me. Its dorsal fin was approximately 20 inches high and the tail was about 15 inches out of the water. I was waiting for the next set of waves with 15 other surfers. I immediately left the scene, reported it to the lifeguard. He kind of brushed it off seeming like he didn't want to scare anyone. In the last week I have encountered more sharks in SOCAL then I have in the last 10 years. It seems that sharks are feeding here a lot more than they were before.” Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee

Manhattan Beach — On July 12, 2009 Jamie Tyndall reported the following; “I saw my first shark today at Manhattan Beach, while surfing between 35th and 30th Streets. The dorsal fin popped up about 25 feet from the line up and coasted for about 30 feet heading South towards the Manhattan Beach Pier. The dorsal fin was about 2 feet high, dark blue-black in color, and had nicks (missing pieces) in the trailing edge of the fin. THIS WAS NOT FLIPPER. I have seen many Dolphins, even have had them tag me on my board and had the pleasure of them swimming around me blowing water out of their blow holes. This thing was big and it wasn't a Dolphin. It was a large shark and it was putting out a bit of a wake as well. It moved very straight and fast, 30 – 40 feet at the surface before diving. It was kind of funny that none of the surfers that saw it, including myself, left the water. We all just stared at each other in disbelief. I do have to say that I was in total awe.” Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Manhattan Beach — On July 17, 2009 Mike Olson was surfing El Porto, Manhattan Beach. It was 7:30 AM and he had been in the water for about 90 minutes. Air and water temperatures were estimated in the mid-70s and 60s Fahrenheit, respectively. The water was about 12 feet deep with a sandy ocean bottom and a 4 – 5 foot swell (double to triple overhead). He was about 150 yards from shore when 2 Kooks swam past him at a distance of 1 foot. Olson reported; “I was paddling out just in front of the 34th life guard tower; there has been a pretty fun sand bar there over the last few weeks. The water was warm and the waves were really fun. I had just caught a pretty long left, that I did 3 turns and closed it out with a floater. As I was paddling back out, I saw what appeared to be a deep water boil about 50 yards in front of me, which was a bit confusing because I have lived in Manhattan beach for 9 years now and I was completely unaware of any large structures straight out from that lifeguard tower. I really thought nothing of it and preceded to back-paddle the other 5 surfers that were sitting on the peak. What happened next defies description. A set wave came and the other 5 surfers on the peak all dropped in on each other, so it was just me sitting out the back with another perfect wave coming! I started paddling for it, but all-of-the-sudden, a huge sperm whale ate me! So I was inside the whale with some sailors and other stuff that the whale had eaten, when I got the idea to light a match so that I could see in the dark. I saw his tonsils (all slimy and stuff) and I realized that I had some pepper handy so I flicked it into the air, making him (the whale) sneeze. He sneezed and blew me out into a perfect wave, I pulled right into a 12 second barrel and kicked out just before hitting the rocks at hammerland (about 950 yards). I have been surfing all my life, but that was the first time that I had to use the old pepper-to-make-a-whale-sneeze trick.” Please report any whale sighting, encounter, or attack to the Whale Research Committee.

By-the-way, the swell is gone but I had some fun wind swell waves this morning. I rode my small wave board. Back to no leash and mellow waves...

Sick day.

Day 128 - 131 - Now That’s Realer than Real Deal Holyfield

Sorry for biting your ear off. I was wrong, the swell was legit, it was not overhyped and I scored some serious bombs right out front of my pad. Come on El Nino, let’s do this. We had about the worst winter that I can remember following about the worst summer that I can remember. Something has got to give.

Day 128 - Oops I did it again
Friday, I did not think that it was very big so I headed out there with my standard equipment. WRONG! I lost my board 2x and had enough. I went and got a leash and a new board that could handle the size. I was getting sick, but I made the dash in record time anyway.



Day 129 - Bombing
I the biggest waves out of the south that I have caught in Manhattan Beach. Crazy, crazy good times. The current was like a treadmill, and nobody could handle it. I know there was a reason for surfing 128 days in a row!!! My paddle was good, I was able to catch some bombs! I made some sections that were screaming. I did some of the biggest most critical turns of my life out there. For some reason you feel a lot more comfortable at home. I would not have gone for it that much elsewhere.

Day 130 - Fun and the Gang
Surfed O-side with my brother, Tim, Jason and Tom. Pretty fun there too. The swell was dying however and it was a lot smaller than Saturday. Still fun though, I was cool to surf with the crew. I was really beat up from being sick and the marathon week that I had, capped by the Saturday Session.

Day 131 - Still some south in the water. I was glad to be home. I just like my sand bar, that's it. I know the crowd, they know me. It is home. Some snappy turns out there today.

Day 127 - Respect...

I got some today (in the water)...

If you get respect from somebody that you do not respect, then it is an insult...

Showing respect is a lot easier than you think...

What keeps us from showing respect to others are our insecurities...

A little goes a long way...

Jack Box

They took my computer for updates, so I'm at the park reading. Jack is
here too.

Day 125 - It's official, tied the record!!!

Well, probably not really, but it is fun to act like it. I actually do not know how many days the streak lasted in '07, but it was certainly 125 or under. I wrote down each session on a calendar, but I cannot find this calendar, so I roughly calculated how many days it could be and then added a pad to be sure that I break my old record and this is how I came up with 125. March 19, is when I started this adventure, I cannot believe it! That was a long time ago! Well, I set out to surf for the entire summer last time. This time, it appears that I have surfed for the entire spring (that just dawned on me). I don't know where it stops, maybe at the official end of summer to make it interesting... I'll work that out over the next few days, but it will probably end there. Why not? 187 days? That's a likable number now isn't it? At least it is popular in all the rap songs that populate my iPod. What 187 means to me:

* 187 is an odd number
* 187 is a composite number
* 187 is a deficient number, as 29 is less than 187
* 187 is a self number
* 187 is a square-free number
* Prime factors of 187: 11 × 17
* Divisors of 187: 1, 11, 17, 187
* 187 is the sum of 3 consecutive prime numbers: 59 + 61 + 67
* 187 is the sum of 9 consecutive primes: 7 + 11 + 13 + 17 + 19 + 23 + 29 + 31 + 37
* 187 is the difference of 2 square numbers: 142 - 32, and 942 -932
* 187 is a centered 31-gonal number

Straight from Wiki... I love it. Who does this? It seems every number has a Wikipedia page. I was looking for something to do next Sunday. I got it! I'll look for numbers that do not have their own Wikipedia page and contribute!

Wait just a minute there turbo... There is some use for the info on Wiki! It appears that Tonga ranks # 187 in world population! Tonga has waves! What a better way to end my streak then to go to Tonga for day 187? Alright, I'll drop that, I'm out of vacation anyway. I've done research on Tonga and while it apparently can get really good, it is also pretty easy to get skunked there.

But, uh, back to the lecture at hand.... (remember the rap on my iPod?). Today was so fun, I still give the edge to last night however. I saw Ben out there, but I did not catch my rhythm until he left (he gets out at 6:45 as he takes his job seriously). I found the same sandbar that I was on last night, this time it was at a lower tide. I unloaded on a few, tried an air, blew out my tail, all in all that's the spot.

If you haven't heard, there is a swell coming! The irony is that I'm almost certainly getting better waves right now than when the "swell" gets here on Friday-Sunday. It is a long period swell, pointed from a direction that invites inconsistency and will require a rockpile, point or some structure to work as the beach breaks will be walled. It will have been predicted for a week and a half prior to its arrival so if you own a surfboard, boogie board or know someone who does, you probably have planned your weekend already. What does that mean? It means that anything that is working will be super crowded, where do you think the Porto crowd (that I so often reference) will go? Pull up that mental picture of Malibu on a crowded day... Never mind that, I'll do it for you:


And that is 1961! Just be advised that it is an "inconvenient truth" that it actually can be scientifically proven that there are more people now than there were then. That one is for my Dad, he is a big fan of Al. I'm not a big fan of arguing about it...



I'm just a fan of global warming in general, so I'm on Al's side I guess... Maybe it will make better waves, but I admit, it has been difficult for me to rally people around this global warming cause ... My slogan, "Save the landfills, burn your tires!", has not taken hold. Stick to the subject matter here, this is a surf blog. But, you got to admit it, if a robot can make you blood boil, that's some pretty good propaganda! I'm just sayin... I like video.

What is a centered 31-gonal number? Hmmm...

Day 124 - Continued

On a whim, I decided to head back down there at about 6pm tonight. What I got was probably my best session of the summer! Maxing tide, shoulder high peaks that offered 1 chance to turn outside and then one on the inside just before the high tide explosion on the sand. No exaggeration here, on my last wave, my board went farther up onto the sand than ever before. A record! There were pools forming on the other side of the sand bank, because the tide was so high it allowed the water to rush over the sandy little peak. My board, could have hit lifeguard tower, which sits about 20 yards back from the precipice that slopes down to the waves. So fun! Maybe I cannot explain why having a wave detonate on your head in 6 inches of water is fun, but trust me there is a different level of challenge trying to pull a critical turn with no water underneath you. I had a few of those tonight, fortunately I pulled them. However, I'm picking sand out of my ears as I also pulled underneath a number of closeouts, which were born of the same ilk.

There are few things that frustrate me more than the afternoon summer crowd that shows up at El Porto. You see, in terms of general intellect, well that is an oxymoron so I'll stop there. In terms of wave knowledge, well Laughlin, Nevada actually ranked slightly ahead in a recent study. The point is, back to my epicenter argument a few days ago, nobody is getting better, El Porto is a dormant fault line. Not to get off the subject, but this is real genius in my opinion...

I started out at Rosecrans and ended up catching a couple of waves, but they weren't that great. This morning I noticed a decent sandbar down at the life guard tower just south of Rosecrans. I eyed it tonight and decided to head over there. To my surprise, I scored it! It was a left that held from the relative outside until it detonated as I previously described. I had a number of good waves and then the gnat showed up. Some clown followed me down from Rosecrans and proceeded to sit right on me! I would call him a leach, but other than the 1st wave, he didn't take anything from me. You see it is important to clarify what bothers me. I do not mind beginners, I love beginners, there is so much stoke in them. I do not mind mellow competent surfers (I would describe myself as one of these). We can surf, but nobody is paying us. I do not mind pros (they get paid). What I do mind are complete idiots, who clearly have no clue and take themselves too seriously. This was one of those. It started with him following me and then sitting right on top of me, as if he did not have the ability to determine where the waves were going to break on his own. And then it happened, this goofball back-paddled me more blatantly than I can remember ever happening to me. I leisurely paddled for a left that was coming right to me and this guy proceeds to paddle around me and take off. Now I could have taken him out, dropped in, I would have ran into him. No, not worth it, torture is better in this case. First I snowballed the wave onto him and he never made to the open face. Then I caught a wave (described below) and paddled back out, very calmly. You see, what I was about to do did not make me anxious, I was excited about it. I knew exactly where the sand bar was, so I knew I could keep anyone off of it that I wanted. I decided to make the rest of his session very miserable at the expense of mine being really fun. I paddled him too deep one time, I fake paddled for a misto-right another, he bit each time. I sat right behind him giving another surfer plenty of room to go as he made a futile effort for the shoulder that the other surfer was on and then he turned and I'd be on the next wave. I simply caused so much confusion that he could not catch a wave. The fun part (for me at least), is that it is possible to do this all under the cloak of kookdom. I just acted like I was a spazz and super amped, which I could tell was his normal way of being. I just did it with one objective, not to get waves (this is sometimes done by guys that are so amped to get waves they are all over the place) but to keep him off of waves. I'm very calm in the water, very respectful, I can tell when somebody snakes me and they don't mean it, I don't take offense, if I drop in on somebody and it is rare, but it is always an accident. Worse than being dropped in on is certainly the back-paddle. You see it is the difference, to use a bad analogy, between first degree murder and manslaughter. If you back paddle someone, you know you are doing it, it was planned, there is some premeditation. Most of the time, a pure snake is caused by a fit of emotion or general lose of judgement. One thing still puzzled me... Why did he do this? I'm not a great surfer, but this guy couldn't surf, I'm not a great paddler, but I could paddle circles around him, I keep to myself, don't cause trouble and share waves. So why then? This puzzled me as I turned his session into frustration. Then, I got my answer. He finally gave up around 7pm after about 1/2 hour of struggling to catch a legit wave, he got out he went to his things and picked up a second board. Remember, I'm an analyst by training so I'm constantly asking "why?" His second board was about the same length as the one he was riding, it was about the same shape as well, maybe just slightly more pulled in on the nose, both were thrusters. Why would he have 2 boards down on the beach on a standard summer day? He couldn't surf well, so he certainly could not tell the difference, or could he? Is it possible? No, I know it isn't, but in his head it was! This is the classic situation where he hasn't yet seen himself on video! He thinks he "rips"! So funny, I've seen this many times. I even thought that I "ripped" before I first saw myself on video. The simple fact is that this guy really, truly thought that he was a good surfer. That he had the "right" to perform a first degree back-paddle on me. So funny, I'm so glad that I'm at a point where this stuff doesn't bother me, that I can make it all into a game and have fun doing it. I'll admit it, I could almost feel bad. But I don't. Very similar to driving where everyone is waiting in line in traffic and somebody flies up the shoulder and "snakes" in. You want that person to suffer for their lack of respect of others and I want that too. I guess, that's why it is so fun. That must be it. Remember I'm an analyst by training so I have to ask myself "why?" Don't I?

Can you see the "SNAKE" part of this illustration? That's basically what he did but just draw the arrow behind the surfer on the wave instead of in front of him, so that the illustration would then look like the "DROP IN" one on the left. In other words, he would have forced me to drop in on him, not worth it because there was no room to do so.

The irony of the whole episode is that the wave after he back-paddled me was the best wave that I caught all day. I unloaded on it, right in his face, had room for a full-rail cutty and finished it with a close-out blast. So good. So rewarding. The rest of the session was more of the same. Probably the best of the summer for sure. I'm so happy. I'm just so stoked on everything, what is wrong with me? No one person should be burdened with this much stoke!

Re: My post July 18th

I had a movie poster from "Valley Girl". It looks like Google removed it for me. Ha! What technology! Anyway, why would somebody care if I put the poster up from a 1983 B movie? Another one to ponder. I reality, I'm advertising for them. Go figure, I guess algorithms cannot do it all...

Fwd: Hot Temperatures

You see what I mean? I'd rather be at the beach...


Begin forwarded message:

Subject: FW: Hot Temperatures

Forwarded from the office of the building.

---

Sent: Monday, July 20, 2009 9:24 AM
To: 865_tenants_1@manulife.com; 865_tenants_2@manulife.com
Subject: Hot Temperatures

We are anticipating extremely warm temperatures in the downtown area this week. To assist with reducing the heat load in your workspace, we recommend:

- Closing all blinds in exterior office, particularly those facing the sun
- Turn off overhead lighting if possible, particularly in the common areas and use task lighting instead
- Turn off any machines that are not absolutely essential

Each one of these suggestions, while seemingly minor in impact, as a whole could greatly reduce temperatures in your workspace as well as reducing the energy load on the entire building.

Thank you for your assistance with this request.

Manulife Financial

Day 124 - Another Summer day...

Clean and fun this morning. Mandatory Monday - worked out again not much crowd and fun little peaks. I didn't surf all that well, I think because I was tired from the day before (surfed for about 3 1/2 hours). I also have a hole on my foot, which started originally from the reef in Tavi, and it seems to be bothering me every time I stand up. Anyway, I had trouble getting my board on rail this morning even though waves were pretty good. Chest high sets, perfect glass, not much power.

How do I get out from under the steel and glass... I wish that I could, even though I like my situation about as much as somebody can, living and working in the jungle. I just want to be at the beach right now. That's it.

1 day to tie, 2 to beat.

Ok last one, couldn't resist.

What a day2

Well i'm not trying to get anywhere. I'm actually just trying to stay
here. Good times...

What a day.

You know how people are always trying to get somewhere?

Day 123 - Take 2

Surfed all afternoon. For some reason they left a pretty good chunk of beach allocated to surfers today. The weather hot and the water warm, the beach was packed with inlanders crowding out the surfers. So there were only a few people that live around here and beginners in the water where they were allowing surfers. It was pretty funny, because the swim part of the beach was packed and the surf part was empty. I trunked it for a solid 2 hours there was quite a bit more swell in the water than I had expected. Pretty fun. The only time that I lost my board all day, it was right on the surf/swim line and it pretty much ran over about 10 kids that were just on the wrong side. Nobody, was hurt, but still was pretty funny. The lifeguard handed me my board. Those dudes have their hands full. You know the drivers on the road that do not have a clue? Yeah, you know the ones and you just shake your head? OK, well at least they have driven before... In this case, you put thousands of people into the water that don't have to pass a test first, you mix in waves and you have a recipe for disaster. All day the life guards are running up and down the beach keeping people safe. I don't think I could do it.

Got some fun waves this afternoon, a couple of really good rights. Had it to myself until some clown started crowding me for no reason. I don't get it, I never will. People are generally idiots and then you have exceptions. I'll probably be a grumpy old man. Good times anyway.

Side note:

Lutrell said I look like Nick Nolte on his DUI arrest picture... Funny, I posted that earlier this week.

Day 123 - Crowded but bigger.

I was on my game. It was fun for sure out there. Wind swell peaks at about stomach high. No leash and risking it today, but I did not lose my board once. I think I'm just getting used to grabbing on to it if I'm going down. But, a side effect of this is that I'm doing things more under control and it is cutting down on my stupid mistakes. The biggest plus is not having that thing throw down a hog tie on the set waves, which murphy says always happens. The crowd was a little more amped this morning, I wasn't having it, if I hadn't seen somebody before, I gave them no respect. I guess, it is just necessary when surfing in the Jungle. It is so dangerous out there when it is that crowded and when the crowd averages about 1 summer of surf experience. Panic is everywhere boards get jettisoned in the most indescribable places. Anyway, still fun. I wish that I was still out there.

Nice day!

Little waves + warm water = a lot of fun

Day 122 - So crowded, It was small.

I some how ended up in the middle of a big group of soft top surf schoolers. I just surfed as I always do, I wasn't mean, but I did push a couple of people over who were obliviously dropping in on me. Nobody could surf out there. Which brings up the "epicenter theory". Is it he quality of waves or the level of talent that brings about better surfers? This is a discussion that happens a lot. I think it is more related to the epicenter. In other words, the more good surfers there are around, the more likely you will be good. Yes, I guess, waves are a requirement, but then why do the best surfers in the world come from Florida? It makes no sense. Bad waves + good surfers = the best surfers. Pushing the limits in slop, is tough, but it makes it so much easier when you actually do surf good waves. The point of this is that there were no good surfers out there today, so I probably did not improve...

Knee high and clean wind swell. I surfed my short board.

She just said "tripindicular"... The stuff that is on TV during the weekends. I don't know how it ended up on this channel, but I'm into it now. It also fits with the theme as there were certainly a bunch of Val Surfers out there today.

I may go surf some more slop now... Not feeling like working right now. I work a lot, not always for my day job though.

Day 120 - Even Smaller. How is that possible?

In between goofing around and having a good time, sometimes I like to surf. I thought yesterday was small! Today, I was riding, well let's just call them waves for lack of a better descriptor, they were micro! I did manage to catch a bombing knee high wave and with all the pressure to perform, well I fell off the side of my 10 footer. It was glassy and the water was warm, I think a SUP would have been the call out there today. This guy would have been stoked: TheLittleGuy. Anyway, still a good time, still a good way to start my day.

120 / 30 = 4 is that true? I've been surfing every day for 4 months? Wow! The thing about it is that life flies by so fast, but these last 4 months have gone by exceeding slow as they have been packed so full of experiences and such a good time. You should try it sometime, you know doing what makes you happy...

Day 119 - Small, Very Small...

Clean wind swell at about ankle to knee high prevailed today. It called for a long board a 10 footer at that. I had fun still, that is just how surfing is. Ankle high to triple over head, I have a smile on my face. When it's bigger, that's when I put my serious look on.

The crew this morning had to double take as I have not been on the mal (aussie for long board) for a long time. Good times are had on the journey... The destination is always waiting.

I was afraid this would happen...

I did not want my site to become an outlet for posting funny haircuts...

But, what am I going to do?

Reader contributions:

Happy B-day Pops!

My Dad's Birthday today! I hope it is a great one!

Forecast...

Umm?

Day 118 - Home Stretch

Small wind swell prevailed again today. Clean conditions made if fun and I was surfing fairly well. I went for it a couple of times and almost pulled some big tail slides, but just barely losing my balance a the end. I feels good to be back on my game. I cannot wait for tomorrow, for real swell or even this afternoon. I'm not sure how many days I'll take it to, but I doubt 126 will be the end of this streak...

Day 117 - Finally loosening up...

Wind swell, my favorite kind of swell for Porto. The pace of it, the randomness, you stay on your toes and find some gems. I had 3 rights that I let loose on - caught about 15 waves total. Wow! That felt good! My Komp loves to release on this kind of shit. My back is still bothering me, but it loosened up enough to transfer some real power to my back foot for a good tail slide or two. I'm back in the game, now its time to count my blessings and get back on the program. Hot Yoga tonight is the call - not looking forward to it at all! The first one is the toughest one.

Day 115 - Toughest 2 days yet

Hot summer fun. Well, it should be anyway. But my back is jacked up. It is weird, a little more like my neck is screwed up. Anyway, I got out there an caught 3 last night, but I was in so much pain that I think I was probably turning white. I have been icing my back all day and I'm ready to head out and get 3 again, just to keep the streak alive. I'm so close to reaching to my goal, but it could slip away if my back doesn't get better. We'll have to see after today.

Right now it is about waist-to-chest high with quite a bit of afternoon breeze on it. I'm not concerned about he waves... Just getting it into the books is what I'm concerned about. After, I'm looking forward to a beer and UFC 100 at Summer's. Should be a good time as long as my back is not completely seized up.

No Surf Yet - Will have to surf after work.

Back is still bothering me. Not sure what to do about it. Hot Yoga? Maybe tomorrow. The waves looked really fun though, with glassy conditions and waist to chest high with good shape.

Day 113 - 3 and out

I suddenly have a problem with my neck. Almost bad enough to threaten the streak... I made it though, the waves were so good. I just caught 3 very short ones to log a day. I'm going to start updating again, no matter how short they are. Such a nice day...

Closing in on my goal of 126. I don't know where I'll stop, but probably not at 126. It is just too fun!

Um calculating... Day 92 - Yesterday

So I have to admit, it has been a little tough to get in the water after 2 weeks in Tavi. My mind is running wild after my travels over the last month or so. First Nica and then Tavi. During this streak, I've had 7 + 15 or 22 days of surf in foreign waters. In world class waves, what an experience!!! Now what? More surfing at home, more loving life for what it gives me. It gives me a lot! I'm so fortunate, shooting from the hip all the time and hitting my mark enough to keep it spicy.

Yesterday, I held off surfing until the last moment. I got out there at about 7pm with the intention that I'd just get 3 waves. The waves were bad, but I found myself not getting out after my 3 wave quota was met. I stayed and surfed until about 8pm or so. I found myself enjoying the challenge of the 1 to 2 foot dirty wind slop peaks. A lot of people complain about the quality of waves. I'm one of those people sometimes. But come on! I've surfed for 92 days straight! Are you kidding me? How is that grounds for complaints? If I can do it, anyone can. Excuses will certainly stop most people as they try and stop me everyday. In the end commitment supercedes all, commitment and integrity lead to fulfillment. I'm so stoked! Stoked on life! My next chapter in life will be governed by the prior principle. To be continued...

I still need to get out there today. I could not wake up this morning for some reason. Next week, I'll start back in the gym - not crazy - just at maintenance levels.

One more point. My homey just made it to 90 days of sobriety today. I'm so stoked and proud of him. 90 days ago, the Vegas over/under line would have been a week on the bro, but now he has a new job, new attitude, new lease on life. The gutter is where he was headed but the sky is the limit now. So stoked. It is my opinion that we tend to gravitate our conversations towards the negatives in life, complaining about this or that, political blunderings, what is going to happen if the economy doesn't get better, whatever. But also just an opinion, these success story's like Jay's are where life lives. It is why we live, for the positives. I have to admit, I'm transforming more now than I ever have. I'm embracing these successes and using them for inspiration. Call it what you will, fulfillment or whatever but the end result is that I'm happier than I ever have been and I'm really not trying to get anywhere. I'm here now and it is perfect. I'll be somewhere else in the future and that will be just as perfect as it is now. Wherever that is...

The streak still lives!

I haven't surfed yet today because of an early meeting, but I returned from Tavarua on Saturday and got our there. A little weird, to surf SoCal after 15 straight days surfing some of the best lefts on the planet. Trying to go right was funny, my body just could not do it. I wonder how many waves I caught in Tavarua? I wonder how much tube time I racked up? I wonder how much distance I covered? I wonder why I'm not living the dream now. I wonder a lot of things these days.

I'll have to calculate the my streak later on. I have a lot to catch up on here at work! I didn't know that I would stay 2 weeks! So many stories.

Headed to tavi!!!

Sorry I haven't been updating much. Just too busy! I'm a little
conerned that the waves aren't going to be epic. Oh well, I'm sure it
will still be a blast! Look for my tavi shackumentary shortly after
the trip!!!

Day 65 - Excuse me, Um, Ma’am?

Mrs. Nature? I’m not sure if you are married, so I’ll go with Ms. Nature: Please do not do this to me. I’m going on the surf trip of a lifetime and the super long range models are not showing any life at all!!! Why would you play such a joke on me? I have stamina for miles, lungs for days and determination for weeks, which I’m sure, are all great for snorkeling in Fiji, but that is not the point! Yeah, I get it, I haven’t recycled enough, my carbon footprint is arguably bigger than a house, but I don’t go out of my way to upset your ways. If I had more motivation, I would, I could strap myself to the front of whatever environment destroying machine that the capitalistic greedy evil exploiters are employing to accumulate useless illusionary amenities at the cost of the health of your children. Ok, so I’m not a tree hugger, but I'm conscientious! Please mother, will you spin some magic in the south Tasman Sea for me? I’m just asking nicely, I will not change ways if you don’t, I won’t start pouring my motor oil down the storm drains, I’m not going to start using Styrofoam again and I won’t start making fun of hybrid owners, it is not like that. So just to be clear this is by no means a threat. It is just a kind request, I am just asking nicely for you to work your magic. Do you remember that time that we went to Indo, in ’04? You were there, pumping swell at us, calming the winds for us, and making the right conditions for a trip of a lifetime. It was you, me, Jason, Ed, all the Brazilians and that one Auzzie on the Huey? I know you like to joke around and you got us! We were smoking and drinking everyday and you kept pumping swell at us. I was like, “Mama, that’s funny, you held me down for 15 seconds!” We had such a great time, do you remember? I do! I miss those times with you Ms. Nature, I do miss them indeed. Well, if I don’t hear back from you, take care ok? I’m sure there will be other times when you are not so busy refreezing the southern seas or getting ready to stir up hurricanes in the eastern Atlantic and maybe we can get together for some coffee or something.


Yours truly,

Mike



Today was small again, the water is warming up. Jay was noticeably perturbed with the conditions, but I was in Tavarua again. I had one wave where I was able to generate plenty of speed, lay on my rail and bring it around for a bank off the whitewater. I’m feeling pretty sharp, pretty loose and very ready. I’m ready to head out today!

Today is my peak day of training. I’ve been stepping it back up again. Yesterday I swam 3000 yards; today I’m going to do 3500 yards and then I’ll begin to back down and start to rest. I’m holding my breath every lap for as long as possible on one of the lengths so my cardio is tip-top. I’ve been working out as well, the strength is good. Yoga every other day has me feeling lose. My weight is down to about 175 or so – that’s a good weight for me. The Nica trip was great training! I mean I cannot express enough how stoked I am. There are no words, there is no way to transfer it to paper and it simply is not quantifiable. I’m a kid, I have grom-stoke frothing from every pore. Living it up and loving every second.

Dropping:




Floating:






Tucking:

Super Long Range Models...

They are showing absolutely no swell for the beginning of the week that I'm going. Hopefully, the models are wrong (that far out, there is a high degree of error). Maybe it is a good thing, but I'm assuming it is not. I'd prefer to see some potentially large storm developing under Australia in the long range forecasts. However, I also do not like to see a ton of swell just before going to a destination (this is certainly not the case - it looks pretty bad there right now, so I'm optimistic). Usually, when there is a ton swell or it is ideal just prior, it means that when you go, it will be mellow or the conditions will have changed for the worse. I guess that is just how weather is, heatwaves and coldsnaps always break. In Nica, we caught about 1/2 of a solid swell, which kept us busy for about 3 days. We also capitalized on a pulse on the Thursday (one day swell). So, this is what I do, I start looking at all the charts and put my amateur wave forecasting hat on (I'm pretty bad at it - I just cannot help it when I'm this fired up).

Day 64 - Tavi Tavi Tavi!!!

I surfed waist high Tavarua today. Well not really, but that is where my mind was, so it may as well have been. I'm working so hard to peak (physically) even a little bit more - it's all mental at this stage, I'm there physically. I want to be ready if it gets serious out there, there will be a bunch of Hawaiians on the trip and a ton of better surfers than me, so I'll be pushed by both talent and cajones. The Hawaiians will certainly be like, "It's 2 foot out there", which is when I'll double take and say, "How do you get a stand up barrel in 2 foot?". That's what they do you know, it is all about downplaying the conditions on their end, that's the culture which has developed out of regularly being subject to serious surf. This happened at Macaroni's once. I'll have to find the video of that sometime. There were some Hawaiians calling it 2 foot and guys were getting stand up barrels. The joking aside, guys from the islands are typically the real deal and they'll drop in and they'll pull in. They'll surf double overhead stuff like its nothing, doing turns where it doesn't seem possible. I can't wait to see this, experience it, take it all in. There is no way that I'm going to let this opportunity pass. If I can paddle in, I'm on it. If there is a barrel, I'm in it. That is what I'm thinking, that is what I'm doing. I'm in my twilight of taking a serious beatings, so I'm going to rack up as many of those as possible now (I think I got whiplash from a pounding in Nica)! Without risk, no reward. So stoked, so stoked. Just have to hope for a solid swell or two during my time there. I watched a show on Tavarua on Fuel TV last night after Tom informed me about it via text. It was a Nixon trip to Tavi, probably in February or something (not prime time), they got fun waves, but nothing serious. So you can get sort of skunked there, I hope that is not us.

We caught some fun ones out there today. Nothing GOOD but, I had fun. I kept trying to bottom turn even though there was no room to do so. It was about waist high on the inside and bowly. We both were able to get some speed. One wave, I thought Jay was going to launch as he had a ton of speed, but he instead opted for a super extended floater - probably the right call, but I like to let loose when there is nothing to lose.


Backside Airdrop!


Ben sitting pretty:



Turning where I shouldn't:

I love surfing:

Day 63 - Getting Better

I had fun out there to day on the fun gun. Had a couple of full-attack snaps on the fun gun! Generated speed on some waist-high bowls. Yeah, I can go fast after that Nica madness. I'm ready, so ready for Tavarua. You thought I was amped for Nica! Are you kidding me? I'm going to surf arguably 2 of the best waves on this planet with about 20 or so surfers? Really? Life is so good to me. I count my blessing every day. I truly have a special life going and love every second of it. I am a happy, happy camper.

Laker game last night agains the Nuggets... I lost my voice. Me and Jay, yeah we went. Insane!!! Nail-biter! I'm a huge fan if you haven't figured, even though my pops is a Laker-hater. I guess, I forgive him.

If you don't surf, this is Tavarua:

http://www.tavarua.com/

I really hope there are good waves while we are there. I'm in shape, I'm ready. I'm pulling in on bombs!!! It's that simple. Tube time is the call. The high line is my line on this trip.

I don't know anyone on the trip, but I'm sure I'll get to know them. It will be mostly industry people as a guy from Volcom is setting up the trip. More on how the trip came about later. I'm pretty busy right now.

A couple of Nica Pics (More to come)

Me (having the time of my life!):

Painting in the airport in Nica.

I just saw this (forgot that I took it) as I was sending the pic from the Laker warm up. Had to share it. I almost bought it. Just kidding. I wonder who does buy these things? There were a lot of them.

Lakers!!! - Addendum: They won!!! Crazy Crazy game.

Day 62 - Lakers!

At the game tonight. Should be good, we have take down the Nuggets in game 1! Got 4 waves today, it was a little bigger than yesterday. Had to throw some turns on the big daddy again. Still had fun. I'm back on the workout plan... Did I mention that I'm going to Tavarua next Thursday? There is a pretty good story behind that, but it will have to wait since I'm watching the purple and gold warm up right now and I'm sending this from my phone. More to come...

Day 61 - 3 and out

Just got my quota today. Tiny!!! I got my 3 on the long board and got out. Ankle slappers on the sand, it happens. Still tried to challenge the conditions - I cannot resist - I tried to crank a turn on the long board where I shouldn't have and it rolled over, I fell on it banging my forearm on the rail. Some things never change. Not worth the pain, but I cannot stop myself. I have a lot to do in the coming days. Oh yeah, did I mention that I'm going on another surf trip in less than two weeks? I cannot wait (again)!!!!

Day 60 - Small and Bad

It is hard going from thumping barrels to crumbly knee high mess! I got our there with Jay pretty late as I was messing with my computer all day. It seems I screwed something up with one of my programs, so I had to restore the whole computer from an archive instead of messing with it. Fortunately, that worked.

I rode the long board and Jay rode this fish that he has been fixing, which he borrowed from our buddy Frank. It was downright awful out there. What a contrast! But, I still had fun. Imagine that! I caught about 6 waves and didn't get my hair wet.

I'm going to do the best at recounting my Nica trip over the next few days. I'll probably forget some details, but I think it is better to get something logged now. It was a good trip, but not an epic one. We had a blast, some barrels, some bombs. I love surf trips. Now it is time to start prepping for my next one. In two weeks! I leave May 28th! More details to be revealed later.

Day 51 - Taking off to nica!

I cannot wait to get there. Today was really fun, buy I cut it short
in order to rest and get ready for nica. I had 5 or six waves, which were chest high and peaky. So fun, but my mind was set on getting to Nica. I got out early and got to packing.

Day 50 - I don't remember...

But I know that I surfed! I'm updating this after my Nica trip. I got a barrel the day before, I cannot remember my session right now. That's OK, I was out there. We had a pretty good string of wind swell before I took off to Nica.

Day 49 - Fun but not so fun

Session 55

There was a lot of swell in the water, and it was pretty shifty due to the proximity of the secondary wind swell. I got lucky out there. My second wave, a doubled up left came right to me. I knew it was going to be meaty so I paddled for the shoulder to get to the edge to try and avoid getting closed out. I dropped in with no expectations, but it threw and I pulled into the slot, suddenly I was looking at the lip crashing in front of me just past the nose of my board. I was in there! A fairly quick in and out, but I got pretty deep and I came out dry. I don't know the last time I had a legitimate barrel, one where you pull in and shoot out dry like that. Maybe a few months? I don't remember right now, but I know it has been a while. I closed it out with a floater off the whitewater and a hoot. Remember the post where I said don't claim it? Well, I did not make a physical gesture, but my hoot probably resulted in the same effect. I was stoked! I shouldn't have, but I couldn't hold back the emotion. I had the discussion with Jay after that, he said, "you won't see another one of those out here, so don't even bother looking." He was right, but I was still looking. Other than that I had a closeout floater/off the lip on a wave that was overhead - about as big as I can go on something like that. I pulled it, which was another highlight of the session. In general though I was not surfing that well on waves that were a little frustrating to deal with. I'm so looking forward to getting on the road. We locked in our lodging today. We just need to get a ride to the beach from the airport and we are set. I'm extremely busy at work and I'm behind - back to it.

Day 48 - Viva Mexico!

Very short - It's crunch time. I'm under the gun at work. Today, Jason broke his streak and did not head out there with me. The waves were backing off in the high tide, but I still had a couple that I was able to connect through with some pretty good cutbacks. Waves were probably shoulder high on the sets and I went left more than right. My surfing is pretty sharp at this point. Yesterday was my last swim workout. I'm planning on heading to yoga tonight. I think it is the teacher that used be in a Russian circus. She is good.

Day 47 - Bad Time

I headed out for another session. The waves looked good, but I really struggled. From stepping on my leash to just being in the wrong spot. The tide came in and the wind picked up, it was overhead and I caught probably 10 waves, with the best one only resulting in 2 cutbacks. I did not have my mojo out there tonight.

Day 47 – Objective accomplished

I’m worn out! Smack! Face first into the wall of exhaustion. Perfect. By the numbers so since last Tues (6 days): 6 workouts (3 legs/3 arms), 6 yoga sessions (3 Hot/3 normal), 6 Swims (12,000 yards), 6 core workouts (1/2 hour long each) and of course surfing every day. Basically, I’ve been working out in some shape or form (including surfing) for about 4 ½ to 5 hours a day and I’m not messing around, sweating a lot pushing as hard as I can. I’m pretty happy with my progress! Especially yoga, I’m actually feeling pretty good in class. 2 things to note here, I think it is clearly easier to get back to levels that you have already been achieved (last summer for me) and the second is that there are huge benefits to going to yoga for consecutive days. It just seems your body does not have a chance to tighten back up – they always say this, but I guess I’ve never really believed them. My arm and leg strength are about 80% and 90% respectively (as % of peak weight I have lifted in the past). I think I will be close to 100% after a few days of rest. What do I have left? My final 2k yards of swimming will be today and then I’ll begin to rest my arms. I have a 2 more leg workouts (tonight and Wednesday), One more arm workout (tomorrow), 5 more yoga sessions (3 normal/ 2 hot). Tomorrow I’ll swim as well, just breath training however (I’ll only do 1,000 with as much as possible underwater). I might add in a sand hill or two on Wed/Thurs. The point is that my legs don’t need rest, it is the arms that are always problematic because it is necessary to paddle so much when you are surfing everyday. Of course, core workouts every day until I go (even while I’m there). Well, it would have been better to spread these workouts over a few months, but I didn’t know that I would be going. Yeah, this has been hard work, but for the amount of benefit that I’m getting, it is nothing. My back is pain free! A little twinge here or there, but for the most part it is good. I’m exhausted, but my surfing feels reasonably sharp. I feel like I’m going to be ready. Bring it on, maybe well get a bombing swell that I can test my limits on. Maybe it will be just small the whole time and I’ll be able weave and turn. I don’t know but, I’m glad I’m here instead of that place of physical insecurity.

Today, the waves were solid, but I didn’t really get much. A solid cutback, a weave to the inside, a few beat downs from the lip. There were some pretty solid sets out there. Jay says it will pick up in to the close of the week. We’ll see, it could be good to test my thumb tail before I go. I think this will by my “go to” board – 6’3” rounded tail, but wide enough to keep things loose. It works well in waves where you need to turn and fit into barrels. Hopefully, it will get challenging here on Thursday or Friday. That would be a nice late season surprise!

Day 46 – Thanks Warren!

My good buddy Warren, who is also my lifelong physical therapist, designed a program for me to strengthen my core. He did this a while back, but I still have the workout (he does these stick drawings of what I’m supposed to do, utilizing the ball and the foam roll). I have been doing this everyday along with my other workouts. The surprising thing is that it is not only helping my back to feel better, but I’m reaching new levels in yoga as well. It is not that I care to be a standout yogi; it is just that it is much more enjoyable when there is less pain. Anyway, it is allowing me to make more progress than I had previously thought possible for such a short period of time practicing. My back is feeling good! Multiple surf trips have been hampered by my bad back and it has been real trouble for the last 10 years. The first one that I remember where it was a real problem was Punta Abreojos with Tim, probably around 1999. The first session, the waves were good, but I had to get out of the water after only 3 waves. Then we got his Jeep stuck in the sand… So many stories. Anyway, I had an MRI once and they said that I had a herniated disk and that there was some degeneration. So, I need core strength to make up for the difference and fortunately it is right now. Incidentally, Warren had given me 4 exercises before I went on that trip to Abreojos and it got me back in the water then too! I did them on the beach before and after every session.

This morning the waves were good and my back felt perfect. I got out there, but I was too amped. Jason, had already surfed and he had told me that it was good. My first 5 or so waves, I really struggled. I couldn’t find my groove after riding the long board and the fun gun. And then it happened, right in front of a good surfer that I know from Santa Cruz, his name is Nick. I took off on a chest high left, slowed things down a little, got in tune with the wave, picking up speed I got out ahead of the wave so I laid that squirrely board on rail. My cutback was so strong, I had strength to burn as I turned the compressor so sharp yet so efficiently that I was heading back up the face at the whitewash that I had just left behind and I crushed it, throwing my board off the whitewater with authority, finding myself in the right spot again. What an amazing feeling, that’s how you are supposed to do it. Nick gave me hoot and then came up and said hello. From there I was letting go of snaps, floaters, cutbacks, everything. I felt very good physically even though I was worn from all the working out.

Day 45 – Just 3

There was news of a front coming through, so I knew it could be bad. It was awful. White caps and wind. I rode the fun gun and Jason rode my 6’8” traveler (pin tail made for barrels – funny that he rode it). Afterward, I pushed very hard on my prep, the workout was brutal. I finally tried out the Spectrum Club in Redondo Beach. I liked it, it is in the marina, it has an outdoor pool and the gym is open air throughout. I did Yoga, Lifted (legs), Core and then swam 2,000 yards.

Day 44 - Up the Ladder

Today was small, but better than I thought. I sandbagged by ridding the long board as it was very small and frustrating yesterday on the shorty, I just wanted to get a lot of waves and not struggle to catch them. I did, I got my share of waves, pretty much every set that came through and I even had some pretty good turns on the 10 footer. As I usually do, I imagined that I was on my short board, arms in proper position, switchblade stance* trying to take the extended rails of that 10 foot boat to their limits. It was probably waist to stomach high with some decent punchy waves on the inside, I could have ridden my shortboard. I always ride that long board without a leash. I lost it once today and had to swim in reminding me of the soreness in my arms from swimming for the last three days and surfing the last 43.

I’m still on my plan to do yoga every day until I leave, workout (lift) up until Wednesday, swim up until Monday or Tuesday, and continue to do core workouts everyday. I was pretty happy with my ability to hold my breath longer yesterday so I’m a little intrigued to see what happens today. What I do know is that my strength is pretty low right now as I am very tired, exactly where I want to be. Powering through this will pay dividends, I am certain.

*I call it the switchblade, where you put weight over the front foot and the back leg extended with a bend in the knee), Machado doing it nicely on a top turn:

Huh?!? I have to see his… I think it is from a movie “The Present” by Thomas Cambell, not sure though. I think I checked out another Woodshed Films production down in Encinitas at Patagonia last September or with my bro. I'm pretty sure this is Chris Malloy. Funny.