One Down

One baby ding filled and many more to go. I experimented with the Q Cell filler in order to have the resin dry white. The ding repair stands out a bit, since the board is yellowing, but it's all good. The resin sanded down nicely and is flush with the rail. The ding was small, so it didnt require any fiberglass. I can't say that for the rest of the dings, though.

Looking forward to the WNW that's coming in.

The Creature

A few months back Ryan gave me his old longboard before he moved to TX. I've prepped it for repair and have examined all its woes and quirks.

It's 9' 2" x 22.5" x 3 1/8" shaped by Pat Ryan for E.T. down in Hermosa Beach. It's got long, parallel lines that taper to a pulled-in tail. There's some entry and tail rocker. The rails are 70/30 and there's a 2 + 1 fin set-up.

Just looking at this board now that's it's all cleaned up, I'm thinking the following: The short-board style rails mean it will hold onto steep faces. This will be great when you put your weight on the inside rail, get slotted, then just go. The narrow pintail will mean that it will ride well from the back. Just cross-step back and throw your weight for responsive turns. On racy sections you can cross step to the front, but this board is not designed for nose-riding. There's too much nose and tail rocker. Maybe a quick hang five, then step back before it bogs. I'll use an 8" fin slid all the way forward in the fin box to try and help the board hold when I visit the nose.

So yeah, kind of an all-around longboard, yet kind of a high performance log, too. That's why I'm going to call it The Creature.

I'll start patching the dings tomorrow and I hope to surf it Monday or Tuesday.

Behaving

Zuma was doing its thing this morning. Glassy, a light offshore wind and 2-3 feet peaks up and down the beach. It was really fun. I pushed a little too hard, though. My incision has a wee tear in it so I am out of commission for a few days so it can heal up.

Thanksgiving Morning With Pappy

Pappy and I went up to Zuma for a surf, then lurked at Secos for a bit. What a beautiful morning.

Not So Good

Started off with a freezing dawn patrol. It was pretty small and the waves just couldn't push through the high tide. Later in the day I tried again. It was windy, sloppy and I strained the hell out of my remaining good shoulder. Damn, it hurts. Lame.

Like my buddy Ryan would've said, "Dude, we should take up bowling. This sucks."

Eh, we'll see what the coming days bring. Thinking about pulling out the pintail and hitting Staircase or Zuma early on Turkey Day.

Rope That Dogie

Life is pretty tough right now. Just some real heavy things going on. I went out before work, though, hoping to find some satisfaction before the abyss of pure screaming terror began.

One wave really stood out. Dropped in, then bottom turned, feeling the weight of the board sling around and carry up the face, shift my weight and send all that longboard mass back down the face. Just ropin' that little wave. It felt so damn good. With everything bad that's going on, that wave felt real good.

Mellow

I checked Venice around 7am, but it looked to be walled up and dumping. so back to my regular spot I went. Pretty fun. Tiny, with some long waits, but fun. Haven't been out on a Saturday in a while. With the water getting colder, there are fewer people to battle. That of course, is fine by me.

I call the orthopedic surgeon again on Monday to see how we'll proceed. Things are pretty heavy these days, so any surgery is going to have to wait. Maybe until summer. I don't mind surfing with pain. It keeps all the other woes company, I guess.

Fall

I love the Fall. The crowds and hassle of summer seem so long ago. It's quiet, cooler and the shadows longer.

Missing my friends. The winter wave hunt won't be the same this year.

Good To Be Back

Cruised out to my fave point and did my thing. Cautiously. Paddled into my first wave, popped up, took two steps to the nose...and hesitated.

"Nah." I said. "Got nothin' to prove."

Cross-stepped back and kicked out. Why go to the nose and risk a wipeout? I had a mellow, five wave, dry hair session. Just nice and chill.

I'll take tomorrow off, go again Friday, then stay dry for the weekend. Just easing back into it.

One Last Wave

Slipped out and grabbed one last wave before taking a break to let the cortisone do whatever it is supposed to do. As far as I can tell, it's not doing anything. So, I grabbed one then went in. Weeeeee.

Big Ass Needle

I saw the orthopedic surgeon today. He looked at my MRI and disagreed with the diagnosis of a partial tear in the rotator cuff. He's thinking that there might be an impingement (the clavicle is putting pressure on tendons and causing pain) or he saw some pits on the underside of a tendon that could be the culprit. He's not sure.

So, he jammed a big ass needle full of cortisone into my shoulder. I'm missing a few crayons in my box, so I may have missed some of the details. Basically, if the pain goes away I'm good to go. Surf on and be merry.

If the pain comes back in two to three days, it means that the lidocane has worn off and the cortisone isn't doing any good. That means the impingement is more serious than it looks. Surgery!

If the pain comes back in two weeks (after the cortisone wears off) that again means the impingement or pits in the tendon are causing me a fair amount of pain. Surgery!

Bottom line. If the pain comes back, it's surgery. The doc would shave down the bone and maybe stitch the pits closed.

I'll be out of the water for another two weeks, Man, shit. I'm losing my mind. Waking up, going to work, then driving home is not my scene. I recall the lyrics to a song I once heard:

So you go to work and you pay the rent
Drink a beer and watch a baseball game
And wonder why you do the things you do

If you are healthy right now and are able, go surf. I don't care of it's flat. Go paddle. Just get in the water every day while you still can. One of these days, I hope that Toddy shares his "Lapsed Catholics" film. It will get you off your ass and into the water faster than anything.

Equality

I paddled out on my knees, sat there for a bit, then said, "What the hell." I wheeled that pig around, slowly paddled into a 2' dribbler, took the drop, rode for 3 seconds and kicked out. Then I went in. It felt good. My nads throbbed, but that's okay.

I love surfing because out in the water, everyone is an equal. Black, white, man, woman, rich, poor. It doesn't matter. Only one's ability is important. Take me, for example. I don't have a lot of money, so I have to ride a $390 plastic overseas pig. I'm not proud, but it's all I can afford. It makes me happy that I ride it so well. I get every penny out of that lifeless hunk of epoxy. My ability allows me to excel, to equal people who have more money and better equipment.

I struggled for a way to write the following words. I tried last night, but there was too much hurt. It didn't come out right. (I apologize, Matt for deleting the post and with it your comment.)

Just as everyone should be treated equally in the water, so should they on land. Last night the missus and I lent our voices to the protest at the LDS temple in Westwood. I was proud to walk alongside the people who were wronged by the passage of prop 8. The rights of a minority group should not have been put to a popular vote, where religious intolerance and bigotry could carry the day.

Live and let live.
Surf and let surf.

It Wasn't Surfing

But it wasn't bad. Paddled around a bit. 100 strokes out, 100 strokes back. Pretty day. It's all good.

Always Churning

Sometimes I get down on myself about my surfing. Why aren't I better at walking the nose on my log? Why does my backside cutback suck so much when I'm on my shortboard? I get angry and start pushing myself, never happy with my ability. I used to think that was a character flaw, that I was taking surfing for granted and not appreciating the skills I do have.

Well, I don't see it like that anymore.

Today I paddled out on my knees. 100 strokes out, 100 back. I felt wobbly, hot and out of it. If I wanted to paddle into a wave, there would have no way I would've navigated the drop and bottom turn. Forget about walking to the nose and kicking out. As I drove home I reflected upon my surfing ability and it hit me: I push myself so hard because I'm simply taking trying to maximize my time.

I won't be able to surf forever. Nobody can. I have a buddy who is sidelined because of arthritis. Another friend had to move to TX for work. Both of these guys can't surf and it kills them inside. If I don't give it 100% in the water then I'm wasting the gift I've been given.

Shoot, today was a mess, but I gave it my best. It's the effort that counts, I think.

Peace.

I Couldn't Help Myself

I grabbed my board, walked out to thigh-deep water, hopped on and knee paddled out for about 50 strokes, then knee-paddled back to the beach. It wasn't much, but damn it felt good to carry my board along the sand. When I took my wetsuit off, it was still dry on the inside, so that made me feel better. No filthy water to get in my incision.

Home now. Resting, watching some football and waiting to see what the election returns bring.

I Like The Gray

I woke up to a very gray sky and felt kind of bummed. Not sad because the sun wasn't out, but because I should be in the water. I love surfing on cool, gray days. They are the best. No fair-weather goobers in the line-up, just the other committed people who - like me - don't have the sense to come in from the cold.

Still sore, but slowly on the mend. The antibiotics are keeping everything in check and the pain meds reduce everything to a comfortable hum.