."cute".

It didn't seem possible but today was actually smaller than yesterday. In fact, the elderly couple that parks beneath the trees, by the lifeguard stand labeled the waves, "cute." Though I doubt that any surfer approves of waves being labeled as "cute" and if I didn't actually want to ride them I suppose I would find them sort of adorable, in their own way.

After only an hour everyone went in and spent the next hour or so talking story on the beach. :) I think all this time spent conversing with surfer boys/men has made my once-proper English [the kine I talk on the Mainland when surrounded by haole people for months on end] slower, lazier, and nearly as perfectly-imperfect as the men I surf beside. My attempts at pidgin are still laughable ... but hey, I try.

.it's small again.

Today was tiny. After a week of reasonable size it's difficult to convert back to actualy WORKING for a wave and then not knowing what to do with it once you're on it, since the face of the wave reaches up to about your ankles.

G. made fun of me while I tried to catch a wave today and I subsequently fell off of it. I love how the guys love to humiliate me ... as if surfing with them everyday and listening to them discuss their bowel movements and having them ask me about menstruation weren't enough ...

It's okay because there will be waves tomorrow. I promise. And if not tomorrow then Sunday ...

.katrina.

Scrawled upon a whiteboard in the classroom we stayed in during our 10 day visit to New Orleans.

"We are immersed in tears, yet always
filled with deep joy; living on handouts,
yet enriching many; having nothing
yet having it all."
2 Corinthians 2:10

At times like this, even I believe.
My memories are this.

.sharp teeth.

Yesterday I got bit on the butt by a small sharp-toothed creature as I paddled back out over a wave. Yikes.

If I ever, EVER have kids and then leave them sleeping in the car with the windows up while I hop in for a quick morning session before driving them to their 7 o clock orthodontist appointment I will have to shoot myself. I swear that I'll never be like that. At least I think I won't.

.beach field trip.

The conditions held up today and though it was smaller it was still fun. Everyone must be all surfed-out from this past week since the crowds weren't particularly atrocious or unbearable.

After this morning's lovely session I spent the day at the beach [or beaches, actually]. We stopped by Waikiki to have lunch and got to watch the Duke's festivities.

H2o polo played on foam-topped surfboards. The surfboards looked like they got in the way more than anything else.

We also caught the tail-end of the longboarding contest held at Queens. The conditions were a lot mushier than Ala Moana, but still nice, especially with only 4 or 5 other guys out ...

Should be smaller tomorrow, but we shall hope.

.perfect.

Today was perfect: clean, 2-4 foot sets. Not even that crowded [Big Rights was *gasp* actually more crowded than Concessions] and the rights weren't closing out. Bliss. Tomorrow should be a little smaller [and probably more crowded] but still excellent.

Delbert played hookie cause he had to get a tooth implant and played with me so I had the opportunity to tell him my girly worries and he got to tell me that my boobs weren't that small [it's relative to the conversation]. I also got to play with Tricia's baby, Summer. She is the cutest thing ever ... so much so that I almost want one of my own. Almost.

.attempt with soft racks.

For the first time ever I had to drive a car with racks to the beach. ICK. Not only is it a pain in the behind but it also makes that irritating misquito buzzing sound when you drive too quickly on the freeway.

The night before, after learning of my intentions, my father sat me down and gave me a stern talking to about safely securing the board to my vehicle. Not [of course] because he was afraid that my board would fall from the car and break into pieces, but because [of course] there was the likelihood [with me] that it would fall off on the highway causing another car to get into an accident and for the driver to die. That last part is almost verbatim. That's my dad.

I convinced my brother to help me put on the racks last night at 11:00 pm when he returned home and we managed to do a decent job in the complete darkness. I even managed to get the board on top and secure it without any problem. HOWEVER, when I tried to start the car, the wheel was locked in place and my key wouldn't turn. I tried and tried and failed. It being 5:30 am I reluctantly woke up my brother and convinced him to help me which he did [not even too grumpily] but we failed. I was then forced to go downstairs to wake up my parents and enlisted my mother's help to come and help me [which she did] and we failed again. Finally my father, [very grumpily] dragged himself from bed and started the car and called me an idiot. It turns out I was trying to use the wrong key.

ANYWAY, I finally made it to the beach where there was surf and lots of people to go with it. I played with Estee & Tricia and we blocked the guys for one another and tried not to die [okay, maybe I was the only one trying not to die].

I also learned some very not fun news to which oddly enough I can only laugh because I am not the kind of girl to cry. [needless to say there will be a great deal of alcohol consumption tonight as a result]

My condolences to Ryan Sugihara and his family who lost their grandfather/father/husband yesterday. :(

Tomorrow will be bigger. Maybe better. Maybe.

.told you so.

The swell didn't come in [I told you so] but it was still nice enough to spend 4 hours of my morning out in the h2o. I actually woke up before the alarm this morning and managed to stay awake enough to get me to the beach. Waited around a few minutes for the sun to come out and paddled out with Este [who apparently, all summer thought my name was Darsie]. Hmm. It never ceases to amaze me how many people there are [besides the unemployed/partially employed such as myself] who make it out into the h2o each and every day ... and then even more impressive, the guys who actually DO have full time jobs and are still in the h2o before the sun comes up. I keep telling myself that I'm not one of "them" [ie. people to whom surfing is something akin to a drug].

Yellowboard girl and yellowboard guy was out again in full force irritating a good 10-20 people each. I told Ryan I can't surf with my yellow board anymore or run the risk of being associated with the yellow people.

The guys from gallery808 were out taking pictures. At one point Ryan took over the camera and I made concerted efforts to run him over [and almost succeeded]. I asked Ryan if I skegged him if he'd hate me as much as yellowboard girl. He said no. I feel so damn loved.
I'm going to go stalk gallery808 until they post pics. Mostly so I can oggle at certain particularly dreamy people [despite the fact that I found out he has a special friend ... sad]. Also, I am particularly enjoying their new blog that they've started. The writing is simple and they have pictures. :) I'm a HUGE FAN of pictures. Makes you wonder why I did creative writing instead of fingerpainting.

I missed my 5:10 am and 5:20 am alarm again this morning and instead awoke to the sound of birds chirping and the sun rising at 5:45 am. At least I made it out to the beach while there was still parking and forced myself to deal with the 20 something odd people who were attempting to surf prior to work/school/real lives. I, on the other hand, suffer none of the above and surfed to my hearts content until after 9:30 when the waves started coming in at a funny angle and convinced me that all the talk about the swell arriving tomorrow would in fact, undoubtedly either a. not arrive or b. arrive but by "swell" they mean "waves over 1 foot." I don't know what surf forecast medium everyone else is looking at but surfnewsnetwork has been telling me for the past week or so that the swell was due on THURSDAY not TUESDAY so I feel both lied to and cheated. There must be a more reliable surf forecaster out there, there must. I just wonder if they will discover it during my lifetime.

Today Ken [a colonel I worked with last summer] came down to the beach to take pictures. I don't know how the pics came out since it was relatively small and also relatively crowded but we shall see.


There should be waves tomorrow [think: bigger than the flatness that pervaded this entire week] so I am now slumbering so as to wake up bright and early and enjoy the festvities. Night.

.mcdreamy.

I've seen him only twice this summer but I find him oh-so-dreamy.
Nick Mita [he's the one on the right ...]


Apparently he "surfs for a living" [something I will only ever do in my DREAMS] doing Japan pro tours and what not and the only few times I've seen him at Concessions/Big Rights he was shooting pictures with the guy from Gallery808. Since it has been quite small of late [though there is a swell due Tuesday ... cross your fingers!] I have had to look to other diversions to entertain my fancy. :) Pretty diversions are best.

Happy Birthday to the state of Hawaii. :)

Today was so crowded because *dum dum dum dum* it was a holiday!
The holiday meant no school, which meant that Glenn was out surfing in all of his Glenn-y Glenn-ness. I wanted to throw balls of wax at him but managed to restrain myself though I think if Glenn and I were to get into a tussle I would be able to take him ... in the h2o.

Today was Bryson H.'s last day in the aina. :( He's leaving for Seattle and won't be back till Christmas. Now I have to resort back to independent surfing.

.surfing daddies.

Daddy stole my truck today so I was forced to resort to shortboarding or not surf at all. :( I borrowed G.'s 6'4 [which is actually Eddie's old board]. It was VERY, VERY crowded, probably because everyone found out that it was good yesterday and wanted to catch the tail end of the swell. Poop. And since I was on a shortboard I stood no chance whatsoever and paddled over to First Holes to play with the little kiddies who were getting surf lessons from their daddies [so cute]. One of the dad's kept telling his daughter to "Go, Go!" and that they needed to "commit to the wave or they'd go over the falls, because 9 times out of 10 they would make it if they commited to the wave."

I always thought that I wanted a Daddy who surfed who could teach me how but now I don't know. I already have a G. and a Ryan who tell me what to do ... I think having a surfing Daddy would be too much. But regardless, those are still very lucky little kids.

Back to longboarding tomorrow ... shortboarding requires too much patience and virtue.

.new best friends.

There were waves today! Solid 1-3 and NO ONE OUT. Just Bryson, myself and 4 other guys. :) Happy, happy, happy.

I also must have been in a good mood [or all the waves went to my head] and I started a conversation with Eddie telling him that Dars had gone back to California. And he said that he is learning to "go with the flow" and has Grent introduced me to his good friend Glenn "Aloha" *******. So now we are best friends. See what happens when I learn to smile more?

And in completely unrelated surfing news I have two brand new options for a future life occupation.
#1 winning the Honolulu Marathon [prize money is $40,000 and an additional $10,000 if you break the record]
#2 find any one of the 8 most wanted child molesters [Oprah is offering $100,000 for tips leading to the arrest of any one of the men]
In the mean time I'm going to revel in being able to surf everyday ... because one day soon I'm going to have to get a "real job." :(

Yesterday there were two cute newly-planted little baby fronds near the showers at Concessions [the ones closer to the tennis courts than the Concession stand]. Whoever planted them had also dug little tunnels so that the run-off from the showers watered the baby fronds all day long. They were cute [and obviously not planted by the City] and I hearted them and had every intention of naming them one day soon. I was even going to take pictures of them.

But today they were gone and there were only little holes in the sand where baby frond #1 and #2 once stood. Either they were stolen or went back home with their owner. :(

Darsielyn left today so I am left sans one more surfing buddy. I miss her already.
But Bryson H. returned home till Saturday!




I have heard tell that a man contracted the flesh-eating bacteria after being in the h2o at Ala Moana Beach. It hasn't been in the news and they say that they cannot definitively say that he contracted the bacteria while at the beach. Still ... CREEPY. I don't like flesh-eating bacteria. I like my flesh.

Teeny tiny waves means no people out [except for cool, chill people that I heart - Earl, Warren, Steve, G., Este, Paulo, Oj, Bradley, etc]. It means paddling for waves that are about as high as my ankles [maybe, MAYBE mid calf] and prancing about on my board because I can. It means bringing out my goggles to look at the fishies and then losing my goggles on one of the itty bitty waves and not realizing it for another 5 minutes. It means listening to Steve talk about the implants he bought his special friend, their impending wedding and me asking to be flower girl.

I like small days, but we NEED to have another swell before the end of summer. Because I don't do North Shore and I don't want to surf in flatness for another 8 months. :(

.flat like a rock.

It has been so flat this entire week I'm going crazy. I missed yesterday and today because I was literally too lazy to paddle out in knee-high waves. Poop on the south shore. I want waves. 1-3 feet [and no crowds] please.

.where's waldo?.

Remember the Save Our Kaka'ako rally from so long ago? Well, perusing Makai magazine in Jamba Juice, I found a one page spread with pictures from the rally ... and we are in it. :) Guess which one and you win a prize ...

.the tide is high but i'm holding on/you're going to be my number one.

Something about the rotation of the moon and sun made for a very high tide yesterday and today. Mari O. said that yesterday the tide was so high there was talapia swimming about over the "beach." Today the high tide was at 4:30 pm at 2.6 ft and low tide was at 9:18 am at -.2 ft. Such high tide makes for junk[er] surf.

It's going to be flat all week. Yay for longboarding.

.surf contests for surf stores?!.

They have surf competitions for surf stores?!

Maui's Hi-Tech now has state bragging rights, too

I like the prize. One full page ad in Surfer magazine [which runs for about $4,000]. Not that I would personally want a full page ad ... okay, yes I would ...

.cursed.

After being plagued by an allergic reaction to a bee sting, a sprained ankle, and hives, I'm now sick. Grrrrrrrr. So another surf-less weekend for moi.

I heard the "old guys" had fun playing at D & B's for Mike's good-bye though. They are so "cute." I want to be part of a "club" like that when I am their age ... :)

Dear Darsielyn,

Sorry that I dragged you from your slumber this morning only to have some stupid guy let go of his board, have it tangle with yours, and leave your board with multiple dings. :( If you want I can find out where he lives and put bologna on his car.

Love,
Me.


People suck. And this is just proof that everyone else is nicer than me because I think I would have yelled at the guy for being such a dumb****. Grrrrrrrrr.

.duke's ocean mile swim.

After we finished the Waimea Bay swim my little cousin told me that she was swimming Waikiki Roughwater AND the Duke's Ocean Mile Swim. While Roughwater might still be slightly out of my ability levels I am enticed by the prospect of being able to complete another open water swim [short, though it may be]. LAST YEAR [my little cousing LIED to me and told me that he would be there this year] Aaron Peirsol was here and swam it. I'm so sad that I missed the opportunity to swim in the same water as such a dreamboat as Aaron.

The proceeds will benefit the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Scholarship Fund so it's all for some kind of wonderous cause. The swim is straight out from Duke's [the canoe club, not the statue] and is not as devious, and angular a course as the Waimea swim since it's just straight out to the buoy's and back [guess it's harder to get lost/confused that way, but also one would assume, easier to cheat]. AND you get a free t-shirt.

So if you're not doing anything on August 26th at 9 am [Mari!] play with me. At least it's cheaper than Waimea [and not as far a drive]. :)



Duke's Ocean Mile Swim application form.