Found this article in the LA Times. I've never heard of Bobby Martinez before but that just goes to show you how out of current surfing events I am [since apparently he's second only to Kelly Slater in WCT standings].

It's a nice article about overcoming obstacles and staying away from gangs and drugs and what not, though since most people typically overcome some sort of obstacle in their quest towards some lifetime dream it didn't make my heart bleed [except for the part where he saw his cousin have her neck slit open on the sidewalk, that is kind of heartwrenching]. I hope he wins the WCT. Kelly has enough titles.

This afternoon I learned Phillipine martial arts from my haole neighbor. =) He's teaching his own little girls so he started having weekly classes for their friends so every Monday there are a flock of little girls in their front yard brandishing sticks and counting in Spanish. He said I'm the fastest learner he's had in 25 years of teaching [and I asked if this was only in comparison to the five year olds and he said no]. Yay hooray. I've been promoted to swiss-army-knife carrying status. Don't mess.