So grateful to be back out in the water today! (well yesterday!) Surfed a nice section of beach in Oceanside and was reminded to just make the best use of every day! The water was warm and blue/green, not a cloud in the sky and a really chill vibe. The waves were on the small side. But, every so often, a nice set would roll through. I was able to catch a few rides, nothing spectacular... but after nearly a year of basically no waves...l was just glad to be out there!

I was apprehensive since I haven't been able to close my left eye completely for about 7 months now. I tried swimming in just a pool a couple months back and got out screaming in pain after trying to swim underwater. Man! Having health problems and getting old just totally SUCKS! And, I haven't been dealing with it very well. I've basically been really pissed and depressed and wasting a lot of valuable time "lying in bed, just like Brian Wilson did...".  Not helpful.

Anyways,... I finally got my ass up and headed down south for a surf trip. Car packed up with my tent, bodyboard and ample tunes for the 10 hours drive down the coast. Missed the turn out and stayed on the 101 farther than I'd expected. Instead of the beautiful coastline, I was locked in the valley. Beautiful, but still heightening my anticipation for the sight, smell and feel of the ocean. Then it happened.... somewhere around Carpenteria. I was smiling and admiring the beauty of the great Pacific, when I just became overcome with emotion. As my 135 song, mp3 mix CD shifted to Pato Batan's "Life is a Miracle", I just got a huge lump in my throat and tears welled up. I found myself looking over at the awesome beauty and majesty of the ocean, the power, the depth. And trying to remember the glorious elation of riding a wave,   just made me realize that all the time spent bitching and moaning about how things are... and how they are NOT.... is just a huge waste of time! Life IS a miracle!

Last night, in my tent, I was looking up at the stars and listening to the sounds of trains and trucks as they whizzed by the San Onofre campground. And as I closed my eyes and started to drift off to sleep, muscles tired, mind cleared, I could still feel the rocking of the waves all through my body. Forget all the other bullshit...... THAT feeling makes life worth living!

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really missing the surf.... this fall has been a whirlwind at work leaving little free time. Now that it's winter break..... i'm ready to get back in the groove. Just hoping that I can make some progress. For me, 2007 wasn't a very good year in terms of that. But then again... maybe it's okay to spend some time observing and pondering.

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

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Finally! One day to enjoy my summer vacation! School starts back tomorrow and there was no way I was going back without getting at least one day of waves! With work and summer classes and tests and whatnot.. I haven't been in the water for months. It was making me nuts.

I tried a new spot today, Montara State Beach. The water was absolutely filthy!!! But the waves were pretty thick with a lot of face to ride. It was a really fun session and I caught a few waves... so.. that made me happy. :-)

There were a couple other bodyboarders out and they were really friendly, which was a nice change from the usual encounters. We all rode for about 3 hours and had a blast!

I've really missed surfing... and this board.

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Ah......! Sweet freedom!!!! My foot has been in a cast for the past 6 weeks. They slapped it on on December 19th and I have been out of commission ever since. It is now off... and it feels so good to be free of that cumbersome contraption

I've really missed the waves. Christmas vacation was a total grouchfest of being cooped up indoors for the most part. And don't even get me started on having to drive along the coast in So Cal with 80 degree temps and blue skies but no chance of catching any waves for me. :-(

I am really looking forward to this weekend! I hope the weather holds up. I'll be doing all sorts of stretching and stuff because my foot feels better... but it feels a little weak. Kicking off might be tough if I don't prepare.

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Caught a few at my local break this morning.... storm c
oming in, so it started to rain and the wind picked up ny m
idday. The waves actually got better as the wind was blowin
g sideshore and helping to create some peaky lefts. yum!

I had a few wild rides, but still mostly riding foam. I
can't seem to duplicate that perfect first wave. Maybe I t
hink about it too much.... butu more likely... it's the 4 m
onths of almost no waves at all that have set my progress b
ack. My arns are really out of shape for paddling and I get
tired a lot faster than I remember.

School starts back tomorrow. At least after this vacati
on, I'm a little more organized at home. If I can hang in f
or 3 more hellish weeks, I'll be able to head down south fo
r some warmer water.

Despite the cold and the wind...it was great to be back
in the water!
Today was really fun!

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Man!.... I am really tired! But... it's a good kind
of tired since I was finally able to take a day and just
surf. It's been far too long!

I've been soooo mad about not being able to surf.
And... kind of mad about the cold water.... even though
it's pretty stupid to be mad.... our water is always cold
here. But, I've kinda been made ever since the summer.
It was hard coming home after surfing warm water
every day.

Anyways... today I packed up the car and ran some
errands on the wayto the beach so I could feel a
little better about indulging myself in surfing til sunse
t.

It's been so hard to get away from work these past few
months. And.... it's really taken a heavy toll on me. I've
been quite grouchy and easily irritated. And frankly,
just mad a lot.

When I got to the beach,.,, I was a little concerned
because it looked pretty rough. Lindy is considered a
beginner's beach, but even still.... 4 months of barely
catching waves was enough for me to get my ass handed
to me a few times today. Once in particular when I tried
to take off with some really bad timing and i got sucked
right over the lip. No injuries..... but it was nice of
the surfer guys to check on me... it probably looked
worse than it was.

It was a perfect day in most respects. At first,
I was still pissed that I was having so much trouble just
getting past the inside break. I was angry and thrashing
and fighting. The ocean just kept on coming and really
wore me out til i couldn't even fight or be mad anymore.
When I pushed through and finally made it out to the
lineup and caught a few rides.... I sort of forgot all
about being mad.

I surfed away from the crowd most of the afternoon. But
as the sun was setting... I moved closer to the pack.
I had a nice chat with this longboarder (John) whom
i've met before out there. I have to say... of all the bre
aks
I've tried so far...people here are the friendliest. It wa
s
a good time.

As the afternoon passed...the tide went out and
the waves calmed down.... the water became glassy
and even though the waves were much smaller....
it was just perfect for a tired old lady just trying to
get back into the swing!

It's funny...... how the ocean often seems to know just
what is needed.

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I paddled through the foggy mist out into the cold, cra
shing waves of Ocean Beach. Full wetsuit, booties, gloves,
cap.... the whole shabang. I forced myself to forget about
the blue skies and warm water of the past 2 weeks. The sunn
y playground of southern California where we all jumped int
o the waves wearing just trunks or a swimsuit. How I missed
the glorious feeling of the sun beating down on my skin an
d listening to the soothing sounds of crashing waves while
we lay on the beach sunning after a good session. It was Au
gust in San Francisco.... and you know the old saying!

"The coldest winter I ever spent, was a summer
in San Francisco."

Mark Twain

I surfed alright. the waves were fine. Just made me rea
lly sad to be shivering in freezing water when it was the m
iddle of summer! I didn't have time to be sad for long, how
ever. School started back and I have been swamped with gett
ing my rooms ready and getting to know my new students. The
re's a lot to do and very little time to do it in. I can ha
rdly believe that it has been 8 weeks since I came home fro
m San Diego and felt that cold water. ::sigh::

In my eight week absence from surfing.... I've really h
ad to come to terms with what is important to me and what
I need to do to have a life that I love waking up to. It's
pretty simple. I have to live someplace where it's sunny an
d warm, with blue skies... and someplace where there is an
ocean with waves. That doesn't seem like too much to want..
. so... I'm not settling for less. But... how to get there?

I had been all set to move from northern California to
southern California. But, for a lot of reasons...... I had
to put my plans for moving down south, on hold. I have a gr
eat job.... great friends.... and a great opportunity to co
ntribute to my community... and yes... we even have waves u
p here. So, I had to make a hard decision that this was not
the right time to make a major move. And,....It kind of se
nt me into a bit of a funk.

My one year mark has come and gone and I still haven't
really improved my bodyboarding skills that much. But, I'm
not giving up. Although, it's been 2 months since that day.
.... last Sunday, I paddled back out again... into that sa
me pea soup fog.... that same frigid water.... wearing that
same ridiculous outfit. It's just the way it is up here...
. so I'm going to make the best of it. And... I'm going to
get myself organized so that I won't have any more gaps in
my surfing like these past 8 weeks.

I'm still at work.... at a quarter past 6..... so... ge
tting organized will take some doing! But at the least... I
'm resolved to not let another weekend go by where I don't
paddle out at least once!

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Surfed for about an hour this morning in the
choppy waters of Del Mar. I took some elderly
friends with me who had been wanting to
go swimming in the ocean.

They were having surfing and boogieboarding
lessons for kids. It was really fun watching
the little kids learning how to catch little waves.
They were so excited about it! It reminded me
that THAT is the reason I surf too! The fun and
excitement that those little kids faces were
beaming... made me happy to be surfing again.

That's what it's suppposed to be about....
the joy of being in the ocean and moving with
the waves. At least.... that's what I think.

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Did my laundry and headed back out for the afternoon ses
s. Today was really mellow, with nice waves..... but not re
ally rough. Just what I needed! I chose Black's for the aft
ernoon because I really liked that break.... lots of lefts!
I tried for some rights though... still needs work.

I was practicing trying to get into the right position
to catch a wave.... I was trying that "paddle towards the p
eak" advice. I can't say I perfected it... but I do underst
and it better now. I caught a couple really nice waves. I'm
still ending up in the foam though. This,... I would defin
itely like to change!

The hardest thing about today was getting down to the b
each. I tried a different route today... this one has stair
s. Man! Do my legs and rear hurt! There must be 1,000 steps
down to the beach. But, it's all good... I can use the exe
rcise.

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