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December 31, 2006 (Sunday)
Post-session
Worse than yesterday. You know what that means: It's really baaaad.
Posted at 12:56 PM
December 30, 2006 (Saturday)
Post-session
Isn't it true that most of the time you get hurt it's when it's small and junk? Well, that's usually the case with me, anyway, and today was no exception.
It was tiny and windy: pure wind-slop. Barely doable. After about three-quarters of an hour--the water was nice, and it was a beautiful day--I kicked out on a knee-high crap-burger by shooting my board into the air and falling face-downward, and as I was coming to the surface, my board speared me in the cheek.
It hit me hard, and the impact was a shock. My cheek hurt, but I didn’t think anything of it. Then after a few minutes, I decided to feel for a lump, and instead I could feel loose skin, like a flap, and my hand was covered in blood. Then I noticed blood was running down my face into the water. Lots of blood. The wound was deep.
One of the regulars was nearby paddling back out, and I called to him. He looked at me, and then he got a very somber look on his face and hurried over. He sat up on his board as I asked whether I needed stitches. Yes, he answered, I'll need a few stitches.
I was bummed. Now I had to go to the hospital; I would have stitches and wouldn't be able to surf for a few days; I'd have a big wound on my face and have to wear a bandage/dressing, etc., especially at work.
I went to Queen's. It was a 2.5 hr. wait before they treated me. That was agonizing. I wasn't in pain, or anything, but the sitting around was simply excruciating. The doc said I needed two stitches. I asked for glue. She said that would work, AND I would be able to go in the water tomorrow. I was stoked. It doesn't look too bad. It's a two-inch long, deep gash with a clear-looking glue-like covering. Actually, it's not glue-like, it is glue. It's Dermabond, which is essentially super glue that has the same pH as human skin. I'm thankful for it.
Posted at 8:38 PM
December 29, 2006 (Friday)
Post-session
Ever-so-slightly bigger with better conditions and form. Kooksville.
Posted at 1:28 PM
December 28, 2006 (Thursday)
Post-session
Flat to knee.
Posted at 12:19 PM
December 27, 2006 (Wednesday)
Post-session
Small but doable.
Posted at 1:30 PM
December 26, 2006 (Tuesday)
Post-session
A-framer alone. Still something, about knee- to waist-high, and definitely doable. West-y. Decent conditions and form.
Posted at 7:03 PM
December 25, 2006 (Monday)
Post-session
Might be bigger. Nice conditions and form. West-y angle. Crowded.
It's a beautiful day. Water is nice. Merry X-mas, yada-yada, and all that BS. I know some people are fond of saying that on this day no harsh or strong language should be used. Well, you can all kiss my ass.
Posted at 12:51 PM
December 24, 2006 (Sunday)
Post-session
Smaller with more wind. I had fun, and I'm satisfied. Surfed the A-framer with one other person. Did some excellent bashes and slices.
Posted at 1:25 PM
December 23, 2006 (Saturday)
Post-session
Beautiful day--just glorious. Excellent conditions and form. Small but doable. A-framer alone, not enough west.
Posted at 5:33 PM
December 22, 2006 (Friday)
Post-session
Showing signs of new energy, S-SW.
Posted at 1:16 PM
December 21, 2006 (Thursday)
Post-session
Still something but small.
Posted at 12:29 PM
December 20, 2006 (Wednesday)
Post-session
Still something. Windy and chilly. Not crowded now.
Posted at 1:20 PM
December 19, 2006 (Tuesday)
Post-session
It dropped a lot, more than I had expected. Pretty much empty until near the end of the session when it got crowded (with kooks). Lots of fun in the middle area and inside. Kinda weak and puffy at times.
Posted at 9:32 PM
December 18, 2006 (Monday)
Post-session
Bigger. My regular spot was closing out and washing through. Way too big and sloppy.
Posted at 1:16 PM
December 17, 2006 (Sunday)
Post-session
New south swell, chunky and disorganized (probably from all these previous days of strong winds) with lots of push, 1-2 with 3s and 4s and possibly some 5s. Not crowded.
Posted at 1:42 PM
December 16, 2006 (Saturday)
Post-session
Windy and very sloppy with rare over-head. I had fun. Pretty much only me, then three regulars joined at the end of the session. I'm completely satisfied.
Posted at 6:38 PM
Fuming
So I got up at 5:30, called the hotline three times (the last was just before I left my place at 7:30), stopped on the way to buy pastries for the guys who work the event, and when I got there it was cancelled. Pretty much flat with four people in the water and no waves coming in. (Tracks was nothing and Maili had some small ones.) You know this has happened to me before, but it was always because I didn't call the hotline again in the morning.
I was on the road for a total of two hours, and I almost caused an accident on Farrington Highway on my way home. Moreover, first thing to get those pastries I had to go back to my apartment (three blocks away) to get my driver's license (yes, I didn’t have it with me) because I was paying with a CC and they needed ID. Pretty much a screwed-up morning.
When I get home, my friend who also does the events has left a voicemail asking how the waves were because as far as he knew the event was running (and he thought I had my cell phone with me). I call him, and he checks the hotline while we're talking, and now the recording is changed. Then he asks me if I want to go with him to surf Rocky Point. Guess what I told him? It starts with "No."
Posted at 10:21 AM
December 15, 2006 (Friday)
Post-session
Very windy and blustery. There's some rare head-high, but at this point would have to call it largely wind-driven.
Contest is on for tomorrow at Makaha. It'll be blown.
Posted at 5:26 PM
December 14, 2006 (Thursday)
Post-session
Small, windy, cold. It was cloudy and rainy while I was out, then as soon as I exited the water, the sun appeared and it became a beautiful day.
I'm off from work today, tomorrow, and Saturday. Yippee! The next event is scheduled for this weekend at Makaha.
Had my first--and hopefully only--shopping jaunt of the holiday season this afternoon. It was painless. It helps if you know what you want because it's so-o easy to get sidetracked. The crowds were tame and parking was a snap.
Posted at 11:17 PM
December 13, 2006 (Wednesday)
Post-session
It's way down. Very disappointing. Small, sloppy, and crowded.
Posted at 12:49 PM
December 12, 2006 (Tuesday)
Post-session
Oddly, it's bigger. Had lots of fun at my regular spot. It was empty--pretty much just a few guys and me. Kinda sloppy and mushy but some over-head sets with long rippable wall-ages and some doubling over the inside reef.
Took me about an hour to warm up, and then I hit my stride and got into a nice rhythm. Got real loose and had some good rides. Committed some vertical wrongdoings and some slashing transgressions. My board was working awesomely. Extremely fast off the bottom and very nimble in the pocket. Throwing buckets on slices. It's the fins, stupid.
Two people called me this morning to report that the Right-hander was going off. It looked so-so this afternoon when I got out of the water. But I was completely satisfied with what I got at my usual place. Later by the cars, some of the regulars were showing up, and we were talking and watching the waves. Very relaxing day off.
Posted at 10:27 PM
December 11, 2006 (Monday)
Post-session
Windy and sloppy 1-2. Water is a bit chilly.
Posted at 1:22 PM
December 10, 2006 (Sunday)
Post-session
New south swell. LH was going off this morning. Consistent 1-2 with 3s.
It was empty due to the road closures for the Marathon. I rode my bike, and when I arrived there were only two guys. All I saw were head-high to over-head sets rolling in. And the two guys weren't even catching anything. I ran down the hill.
When I got out, I found Eric M. and his friend. Then I learned why they weren't hustling: they were tired because they had already caught so many waves. We three were ecstatic. And it was true, after about half an hour, I was tired too.
We were having a blast. Just relaxing and talking and laughing. We'd be sitting and waiting, and a totally lined-up, rippable bowl would come in and we'd look at each other, and maybe someone would go, or maybe not. We were letting a lot of waves pass, ones that normally we'd be fighting over.
Near the end of the session, more people came out, and the conditions and form deteriorated, and the sets became infrequent. We had scored. The three of us went in at the same time. What an awesome time we had.
Posted at 12:50 PM
December 9, 2006 (Saturday)
Post-session
Bigger, for sure, but very windy and sloppy. Pretty much empty, but surprisingly there were several people.
Nothing is more humbling than surfing with a pro. There was a guy out who was with two girls. They were all Japanese. They were on the beach just before me. As they were getting ready to paddle out, I noticed the guy's board was plastered with stickers. It was a high-performance short-board, thin and narrow. Okay, so he must be somebody, but we'll see, I thought to myself.
Sure enough, the guy was unreal. He had a super smooth and polished style with flawless execution. I saw him do a 180-air on a barely-waist-high mushburger. The rest of the time he was slicing and slashing and destroying waves that otherwise would be un-surfable.
He was definitely WQS material. There's no doubt. His level of skill was much higher than that of, say, an up-coming semi-pro. The gap between a true professional and everyone else is very wide as to be seemingly unbridgeable, unless, of course, you're already one of them.
With that guy in the water, it was painfully obvious to me how I lack in skill. I felt...ashamed? But why? I'm just out there to have fun, right?
After a while, I had to stop noticing his rides because it was affecting me and inhibiting me. I had to block him out and just do my own thing. I had my moments. I did a few really good turns and bashes. Still, the guy overshadowed everyone and he influenced my session negatively. That's my fault, I know. But it hurt to see that truly I'm a kook.
Posted at 4:23 PM
December 8, 2006 (Friday)
Post-session
Blown-out slop. Very windy.
Posted at 1:14 PM
Rejoice?
Omigosh, could this be true: "Road Runner Service to Double Download Speed in Q1 2007"? If so, I'll be as happy as a pig in...
Posted at 8:35 AM
December 7, 2006 (Thursday)
Post-session
Blown-out crap.
Posted at 12:09 PM
December 6, 2006 (Wednesday)
Post-session
Pretty much the same except without the fun.
Posted at 12:40 PM
December 5, 2006 (Tuesday)
Post-session
Surprisingly fun time at the Right-hander. Started at the A-framer, and it was not doable because it was simply too small. Spied some bowl-ages sweeping in at the RH. Earlier there had been about five guys there, but now there were only two, so I paddled over.
Daniel K. was there murdering it. I mean the guy was killing. Just him and me catching anything decent. We would rotate with the one other guy, but he was kind of an intermediate and was missing a lot.
For about an hour, rippable waist- to chest-high east-angled walls were fairly consistent. I had fun. Did several good snaps and slashes, although I stumbled at times.
Then near the end of the session, some guys joined us, and the sets died. It got real junk. Wind seemed stronger too. I think we had scored--just that little push during that brief time. I was more than satisfied. Definitely the biggest stuff in a week for me.
Posted at 11:17 PM
December 4, 2006 (Monday)
Post-session
About as bad as it gets.
Posted at 12:42 PM
December 3, 2006 (Sunday)
Post-session
Gosh-awful. Really bad.
U.H.'s loss last night was a bummer. I'm not a sports fan, but I do like U.H. sports. I think the defeat was painful for the state.
Posted at 12:30 PM
December 2, 2006 (Saturday)
Post-session
Small and blown. My friend called me yesterday afternoon and wanted me to go with him to Country this morning, but he never got back to me. Guess it's junk.
I'm having a relaxing day off. Gonna hang out at home and watch the U.H. game tonight.
Posted at 5:17 PM
December 1, 2006 (Friday)
Post-session
Small and windy.
Posted at 12:43 PM