On Thanksgiving I ate pbnj sandwiches and went surfing. I hitched to Hanalei in the rain, using my surfboard to block the rain. Didn't have much trouble getting a ride fortunately. People in the water were really chill. There was a lot of people out. For a little while, the crowd wasn't all that bad. More and more people came out and it got to a point where there were so many people I had to turn off the wave and not hit somebody. So many people don't know how to get out of the way. As the wind picked up and the crowds got thicker, I decided to go in.
Saturday 11/27/10
Yesterday I went to Lihue with Alida to drop off her friend Julie's rental car. We left anticipating ridiculous traffic. Our entire day was totally relaxed, no time pressure, everything seemed to fall in place. It took 5 minutes once we dropped off the car for us to get to Walmart. We waited for the bus for only 5 minutes to go to Kapa'a. We had a leisurely lunch, hung out on the beach, picked up my bamboo chair, did some browsing in a couple stores and then met up with Julie, who got off work early, to go to Bikram Yoga. WOW. Ridiculously hot room temperature and holding your body in weird contorted positions for extended periods. The after-effects was really rewarding, I just don't know if I can put myself through that kind of agony on a regular basis.
Sunday 11/21/10
Woke up this morning kind of slowly. Started making my ritual pbnj breakfast and remembered I bought a mango! Mangoes are the best kind of breakfast. An hour later I had my pbnj anyway. I got invited to go to yoga class with Alida. I mentioned to her before that I think I should try it. We hitched a ride into Hanalei. I bought a two week pass for $50. One session is $15, so if I go 4 times in 2 weeks, its worth it. I think I'll go 4 times this week. On top of that, it'll be a great way to get into Hanalei regularly and do some job hunting. Alida invited me to join her on the 930 bus to go to yoga tomorrow as well.
Yoga was great for me, it took all the tension (that I can tell) out of my body. Our yoga instructor mentioned the stress in our minds exist in our body as well since they are connected. With yoga we relieve the tension in our bodies and remove the issues from our tissues. It made me smile. During the hour and a half class I could feel myself releasing my stress and tension. The rest of the day was wonderful because of the class. I will do yoga a lot from here on out.
After class we had lunch and hitched to Anini Beach for a friend's kid's birthday party. The park is at the end of the road which goes along the beach for about a mile. We hung out for about an hour. It was really nice there, watching the kids play and being at such a beautiful spot in perfect weather.
When Alida and I got back we had ice cream at my favorite spot near home. I'm officially addicted. After ice cream, we played Scrabble. Just as we finished, Indy stuck his head in the door and said, "Are you ready?" But he was just messing around. I then quickly jumped up and said the full moon and scooted out the door. Alida followed because of our excitement. Indy's just because he's always excited and mine because I knew it would be a beautiful night. We biked up to the top of the hill at the bird sanctuary near the Kilauea Lighthouse. The evening sky was magical. Alida led us in a chant which was to the moon so that we could harness the energy from it. Life is good.
Saturday 11/20/10
Ok, so I knew my bike wasn't sounding right so I have been taking the bus to work until I have time to work on it. The bus is every other hour on Saturdays and I didn't check to see if it came by at 930, when I was supposed to head to Kapaa for work. SO, to avoid being incredibly late for work, I decide to give my scooter a try. I break down 9 miles from home. The thing is, its not the thing I thought was wrong. My drive belt has been sounding like its flapping and hitting the casing, but the engine died. It sort of feels like I don't have any compression. Bill says it could be related to the timing chain.
I get picked up by the guy, I now at this point, used to work for. Used to, as in his wife drove me nuts today trying to talk to me during the middle of our lunch rush. She's quite demanding and not polite at all. On top of that, she's unorganized and not proactive in making sure we have what is needed to prepare food. I told her that I've been working my ass off and can't talk on the phone because orders need to be handled and then hung up on her. She would have talked to me for 5 minutes. At the end of the day she calls and talks to me, yells at me for talking to her the way I hear her husband talk to her. She explains that I need to listen to her and do as she says if I want to work there. I told her that I don't want to work for her and she can find someone else to. Later on, I get asked why I quit and to not get into details I said that the reason why is there's no aloha where I worked.
I take the bus home and have plans for ice cream and ganja and sunset and moonrise. None of that happened. My roommate, Alida, made us Indian food. It was good. Alida is from British Colombia. She'll be here a month and is on her way to New Zealand!
Thursday 11/11/10
What a day I've had. Went back to the same spot I surfed yesterday. There was one guy out surfing already when I got there around 730. I decided to surf a different wave than he was, since its a big ocean and all. The spot I picked was barreling real nicely. I couldn't believe I was actually surfing big hollow waves. Well, I tried to surf big hollow waves. The first wave I caught was kind of wimpy, I got a big fast drop then the wave got weak. I spent about 30 minutes trying to find the best spot. I paddled after about 6 waves, missing half and chickening out on half. I then got caught too far in after trying real hard for a wave and had to duck dive. Fortunately, I saw it coming and paddled real hard and didn't have any problem. After seeing how nice this larger set was, I set up for the next time some that size rolled through. I'd say the sets were 6 or 7 feet Hawaiian Scale (double the # for everyone else). I went after the next wave that came for the spot I was in, didn't like the drop I was going to have to take and didn't take it. I should have taken it.
When I was surfing in Costa Rica with Wes, I repeatedly went after a big wave, got a little wide-eyed looking down the face of the waves and wouldn't go for it. I had to force myself to just go and if I fall, deal with the long time holding my breath (getting taken into shore getting tossed like a rag doll) and the long paddle back out. In Florida when the waves are this big and you have a huge drop in front of you, the wave usually closes out. That means you have a lot of paddling ahead of you without the gratification of catching a wave. Consequently, you wind up going further in than if you rode a wave. For beach breaks, you have to catch the very edge of the wave and not the very peak. I've been doing this for a real long time.
Anyway, back to Hawaii. I didn't go on the wave because I'm used to not making that kind of drop. Its easier here, believe it or not. Well, I now have a wonderful reminder to take the wave I go after. I have to be decisive and not miss. Why? Because when you duck dive a wave the size of a building you don't make it. You get tossed like a rag doll all the way in. I was ready for the surface so I gave a nice big kick to swim to the surface. Its real shallow where I was surfing. Remember the nice hollow waves I was talking about? Yeah, its hollow because of the sharp reef below those waves.
I cut my foot open with that kick. It hurts. A lot. I've cleaned it and cleaned it and bandaged it and it hurts. A lot.
And now to add insult to injury. Literally!
Just when I get home to clean myself up, I get a phone call. I was hoping it was a friend who wanted to smoke me out. That would have been a great way to deal with my experience. Instead, its the owner of the restaurant I work at. They'd like me to come in because they got an order of 12 lunches to be catered. Do I say no, I cut my foot on the reef, I should stay off it. NO! I'm a dumb ass, always willing to help, no matter if I shouldn't be on my feet. I clean and bandage my foot, I'm not home for 15 minutes and I get picked up and we go to the store to prepare the food. After we drop off the luncheons, we go to their daughter's birthday party. I don't get to go home. After the party, I get to go to their house because in an hour, they have to pick up someone from the airport whose staying with them and their house isn't clean. SO, I sit on their couch and finally get home around 5:30.
Some day off, eh?
On top of that I'll be working by myself tomorrow and Saturday because they have a Shaman who is doing a ceremony from 9pm-9am Friday and Saturday night. I can't wait!
Thursday 11/11/10
Credit & Copyright: Left - Stefano De Rosa, Right - Babak Tafreshi (TWAN)
Explanation: Venus rose in a glowing dawn sky on November 5th, just before the Sun. For early morning risers, its brilliant crescent phase was best appreciated with binoculars or a small telescope. On that day the crescent Venus also appeared in close conjunction with another lovely crescent that hugs the eastern horizon in planet Earth's morning skies, the waning crescent Moon. The celestial photo-op is captured here from two locations. Left, separated by less than a degree, the two crescents hover above a sea of clouds. The picture was recorded from an Alpine mountain pass not far from Turin, Italy. On the right is a sharp telephoto view taken before an earlier sunrise, farther east in the Alborz Mountains of Iran. In steady skies the slender Moon is still sliding toward Venus, the bright planet's compact crescent just clearing the mountainous horizon. For now, the crescent phase of Venus remains easy to enjoy with binoculars in November's dawn skies. The first observations of the phases of Venus, made by Galileo with his telescope in 1610, agreed with the predictions of the heliocentric Copernican model of the Solar System.
Here's a link to a large version of the picture, definitely worth viewing!
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/1011/APOD2010-11-10.jpg
Wednesday 11/10/10
went this morning to a new surf spot.. i've been watching it since my third day here...waiting for the right swell. it was inconsistent today, yesterday went and watched about a dozen people surf 3 different waves. today i was there alone. it was kinda punchy (breaks real hard and fast then lingers with an occasional burst). i only had 40 minutes before i had to leave for work. i caught one good wave, fell on two and had one crappy wave. they were head high. small for hawaii. i still laugh at myself when i say head high waves are small. its amazing how quick i've forgotten my decades of knee high surfing.
i'm off tomorrow, i'm going to the same spot and going to try and get better acquainted with how it breaks.
Sunday, 11/7/10
Yesterday I went to my second Hanalei Board Swap and got a 7'6" gun/thruster hybrid. It has a bit more volume to it than a regular gun (its wider basically) and has a tapered tail so it can turn like a smaller board. Its the largest maneuverable board I've owned. I got it so I can surf the break closest to home, Rock Quarries. When I've surfed there before, I wouldn't have enough speed. This is my $100 answer for that.
I went to surf Rock Quarries this morning, but there's no swell left. I came across a bit of a rude awakening as well...Its been raining a bit more lately, and the road to Rock Quarries is not paved. Toward the end, the road gets pretty bad. The holes I usually meander around. Well, now they're puddles and there's mud everywhere. Taking the Ruckus around these puddles with muddy slopes is going to take some skill. I am certain a time will come when I wind up going in or through one of these puddles. I elected to not go all the way to the break since I could see it from the road and it would have been a challenge going around the puddles.
Friday 11/5/2010
Just got home from my first happy hour in Kilauea. Met a couple of interesting bar flies. I talked with a guy who saw me in the water at Kaliahiwai, a pretty heavy surf spot near my house. For the rest of the world, outside Hawaii, its REALLY heavy. The waves were small. 5 foot Hawaiian. That means the backs of the waves are only 5 feet tall. OR you can consider the waves to be double the height of what the measurement is. I only had an hour to surf before work, so I knew there was a chance I wouldn't catch any waves. I went after 5. caught 2 and got slammed. There's a lot to this wave. My roommate told me about this wave. I took him seriously and only went out after I watched the swell several times. To be honest, I watched the early stages of the swell and the peak of it. As it was diminishing, I decided to give it a shot. from the shore it didn't look so bad, so I figured I'd be able to get a wave in before work. NO CHANCE. This fucker has power. A LOT of power!
The thing is I'm goofy footed, that means my left foot is on the back of the board. The other way the guy in the picture is surfing. Its a lot harder to surf a powerful wave this way. I spent a lot of time cussing while getting pummeled by the wave as it sends me closer to the shore and its nearby cliff. No big deal, the current sends you away from the cliff as you get closer and all you have to do is get on your board when the ride is over and paddle the fuck out of there. Typical surfing.
Anyway, I want to master this wave. It looks like a lot of fun. Today, the guys surfing at Kalihiwai were encouraging me. Come to find out, they were encouraging me to ride the closeouts. It didn't seem right when I'd look at a wave and would not like the way it'd look and they'd say, "Go, go go!" I never bit on their encouragement. They just knew I was new and wanted me to get pounded so I wouldn't surf there. I feel like trying tomorrow but the board swap in Hanalei is tomorrow and I really want some more surfboards.
I took some pretty aggressive drops and didn't make it. I want a full day at Kalihiwai without having to jockey for position and I'll be able to catch this wave. Unfortunately, thats now how it works here. All good breaks are very popular. Fortunately, the same guys surf these waves all the time and eventually they'll get to recognize me. If they like my style I'll be allowed to catch waves. If they don't I'll have to get faster boards and drop in closer to the peak of the wave and rule these waves. This takes skill. I have the nerve to obtain this skill. Unfortunately, these waves get REALLY big. We're talking triple of what I've surfed so far. I told the guy I talked to at the bar today that I expect to spend a year learning how the different spots break and pick it up in the next year. He says it will take ten.
To be continued...
Aside from the topic of surfing, I took my first ride home from work today in the rain. Not just a sprinkle, but a real rainstorm. 30 mph winds and at least an inch of rain. I anticipate 12 inches during my ride home at some point in the future. But that's another story (when it happens, I'll tell a story about it). In the meantime, my homemade windscreen (rainscreen?) worked nicely. My arms got wet, oh well. I want to lower my seat and install foot pegs so its easier to stay out of the weather. I've ordered a piece of diamond plate that will bolt to the floor of m scooter to strengthen it, but thats unrelated to me staying out of the weather. Next time I'm at Walmart, I'll get some footpegs.
This morning I made coffee and put it in my water bottle to go in my holder on my Ruckus. I rode to Kalihiwai, froze on the way in the rain, drank my coffee, did some stretches and paddled out. Much better than paddling out freezing cold from my scooter ride. Ironically, to the guy I talked to at the bar, I was the guy without the wetsuit.
Holy cow, this is my third addition to my Friday edition to my blog....
At work today, I got to take the owner of the restaurant I work at to the hospital. This is on my way to Costco. Unfortunately, her husband didn't buy any gas with the money I loaned them two days ago (the drawer was short on cash after going to the farmer's market, so I elected to give them some of my daily pay to buy gas. I would get the money back the next day. Her husband didn't buy gas! SO, on our way, I forgot to buy gas because we went around town and didn't see a gas station on our way AND we ran out of gas! He says it was MY fault! HAHAHAHA!!!! Whatever, doesn't bother me. We'll see how this plays out. When we ran out of gas, I ran to the nearest gas station (approx. 1 mile away) and filled a 32 ounce Gatorade jug with dino juice. Put it in the gas tank and dropped a bit in the intake. Start her up and get a less than stellar performance from their 1999 Dodge Caravan. After come encouragement from Janet, I try to get her going and just drive! Well we get to a spot in the road where there's an armco barrier on our side of the road and BLOCK TRAFFIC! Minutes later the DOT and shortly thereafter, the police arrive. TO OUR RESCUE! They push us out of the road to a nearby apron on the opposite side of the road. AAA comes and puts more than a quart of gas in the van and gets it off the road.
BTW this is the Reader's Digest version. Its too much to blog all the crazy details..... =)
Wednesday, 11/3/10
Just found out local pro surfer Andy Irons died yesterday. The world of surfing has lost one of its best. He called the north shore of Kauai his home. His wife of three years is pregnant with their first child which is due in December. Please keep him in your thought and prayers.
I saw a local surf movie two weeks ago with Andy in it. He was a class act. Such a loss.
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