.breakfast bbq.

It was smaller this morning than yesterday, but after a fun session [where I was mocked for going over the falls by everyone out] I paddled in to a yummy homecooked breakfast prepared by the old guys. Some of them brought their wives and kids, and we all just hung out under the tents eating everything from fruit salad, croissants [Byron didn't know what a croissant was ... he thought it was like a turnover ...], chili, chicken to eggs, steak, a variety of sausages, beverages, etc. It made my tummy happy.

It's going to be very small for a while which might give my poor legs a break. I have bruises all over from where my skegs [or other parts of the board] have ruthlessly attacked me. I'm not used to having so many fins so close to my body.

How is there STILL waves on the south shore?! [not that I'm complaining, really!] What have I been missing out on all these years, believing that I was only missing flat, boring surf? Hmmmmm?

Sunday the guys are having a bbq in the morning and I am at a loss for what to contribute. Mainly because I have no domestic skills. But since all the rest of them do [I mean, seriously, they make scrapbooks and bake cookies and what not] I'm sure they'll be able to compensate for all that I lack. Maybe I'll make muffins. Or just buy Liliha Bakery cocoa puffs...

Byron left his kids in the car today while he surfed. I may be voted most likely to never get married/get divorced/never have children by my friends but I would never leave my kids in the car while I surf ... I'd leave them at home with their father.

.down to two.

Last Thursday's tragic surfing incident [which fortunately, I missed, opting to return home to work on my project rather than paddle out] I admit, has made me much more wary of big waves and the people that surf them.

It's funny even on an island so small, how quickly the news spreads. I'm going to miss one of the few surfing female buddies I have out there since she's out of commission for a good 4-6 months but Estee and I have plans to bring food and entertainment next week.

Our trio is down to two. :(

This morning was junk. But then again we've been quite spoiled. Swell due tomorrow?

.what you wish for.

Okay, when I said "go surf," I didn't mean EVERYONE had to go surf. Really! There are waves in country, GO THERE! I guess I should watch what I wish for, right?

Today was fun. It was very pleasant before the sun came up and the conditions were clean and it was empty. I enjoyed a few waves [that Layne forced upon me] and only almost-died once.
Mari and Amelia paddled out later. On one memorable set wave, we were on the inside and scurrying to make it out, and all I heard was Mari in back of me saying, "Oh my god, I'm going to die." I was laughing too hard to be scared. :)
More tomorrow.

.get waves.

So go surf!

Town's picking up. It was clean this morning [and EMPTY, how glorious!] and should be up to 2-4 by tomorrow.

.i need electricity.

Who would have thunk it, but THANK GOODNESS for late-night-strip-club-partying with the boys in celebration of Christopher's birthday that actually KEPT ME IN BED and out of the water in the early AM on Sunday. I woke up to my bed shaking and windows rattling all about [and wondering - because the floor of my bedroom is kind of thin and questionable - if I was going to plummet through the second floor and onto my parent's bedroom below me]. Through the shaking I managed to secure my contacts and throw on some shorts and a shirt [in case I had to run to safety outside] and went downstairs to see my parents drinking coffee.

So then, the first throught to run through my head was, MAYBE IT WAS THE GARBAGE DISPOSAL?!
Yes, I told my California roommates, that that is the difference between Hawaii people [or just me] and California people. California people assume everytime the ground moves in any small way that it is an earthquake. I on the other hand, quickly try to attribute it to outside factors such as, say, the garbage disposal.

It was not, in fact, the garbage disposal. The 6.6 earthquake 9 miles off the coast of the Big Island [while oh-so-thrilling] quickly threw my pretty island into a state of natural disaster and NO ELECTRICITY. For around 15 hours yesterday [yes, that is from 7 am till around 10 pm] my pretty little casa in my pretty little island was without television, internet, proper lighting, copious amounts of hot water, the freedom to open our refrigerator whenever we pleased, and a working stove or microwave. Oh, the things we take for granted when we don't live in a third world country. All I did yesterday was eat [tuna and crackers and some grilled cheese our neighbors brought over], read [I finished The Alchemist] and sleep. What else is there to do? Once the sun began to set though, we were in dire straits and my mom and I had to resort to playing poker [which wasn't much fun when it's just between two people and she kicked my butt].

At least I got back into the water this morning. The conditions were pretty choppy but at least there were waves? Maybe? Hmmmmmm. Hopefully the conditions will clean up by tomorrow. There's supposed to be a 4 foot swell forecasted for later in the week. And hopefully my electricity [which had the nerve to go off AGAIN this morning] will stay up on a consistent basis. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

.news from all over.

Yesterday my parents and I went down to wave signs with Della. How very political of me. Daniel Inouye was there too and we spent a good hour in the hot, hot afternoon being ignored by drivers on cell phones. I now have a much greater appreciation [or is it commiseration?] for [political] sign-wavers. I guess that means I'll be waving at the [weird] Linda Lingle sign waver who stands by his lonesome with seven signs on the Pali at 5-ish in the a.m.
If you live in the Makiki district vote for Della Au Bellati!

Paddled out a bit late this morning, around 7:30. I don't know if it's the fact that it was FLAT all week or that I was on a shortboard but the waves appeared rather large. Conditions were good though and there were only 4 or 5 guys out.
This is actually my first winter HOME and if the south shore would stay in the 1-2 foot range I think I could actually get used to surfing in empty, clean conditions while everyone flocks to country. Mari wanted to surf North Shore this Sunday but if it's in the 3-5 foot range I think even the "smaller" breaks might be too large for me. Yikes. At least everyone will be over yonder rather than invading my personal bubble, right?

Must go to sleep so I can get up early, get in, and get out and go teach lessons. It's the first Saturday lessons of the Fall session [since the pools been closed for 2.5 weeks] and I have SIX kiddies in my level 1 class including one whose autistic and gets his own special helper. Arghhhhhhhh.

.all alone.

For the past 4 months I've been lying to myself, saying that I "surf by myself." In reality I can't remember the last time I had to paddle out by myself [it's been some time that I didn't have Dars, G., Delbert, Steve, or another "buddy" to paddle alongside]. This became abundantly clear when [due to the total lack of waves everyone stayed landlocked] I found myself paddling out [on a shortboard, nonetheless] alone.
I was about to paddle in, having given up on the concept of "shortboarding" for the morning, when Eddie paddled out. I stayed out for another 45 minutes working on my "backside" and talking story with him about how to woo women and about how certain people are worried about me. Go figure.

I guess this means that the 50/50 swell they forecasted won't come in [unless by some miracle it appears tomorrow]. All I can do is hope for bigger waves, and that haole Brian shows up to play with me tomorrow like he promised.

.surfing with girls.

Thanks to a week-long "vacation" [her job ran out of $ to pay her] Mari deigned to surf with me at Concessions. It appeared just as flat as yesterday, but Mari, Amelia and I, being the die-hard adventure-seekers that we are, paddled out.
I must say it's very refreshing and very un-Concessions-like to have the ENTIRE break to ourselves. The last time I can remember such a wonderous occasion was two or three years ago surfing with Toe right before the sun went down as we taunted one another that our "grandmother could paddle faster than that." Good times.
Today was equally entertaining - falling on itty bitty waves, trying to cross over, cheering eachother on the "bigger" waves, and talking loudly about future occupations for Amelia ranging from being a surrogate mother to construction worker.

Sometimes I think I miss surfing with girls my own age.

.back from my sojourn.

Sorry that there's not much to blog about. Just back from my sojourn to SoCal [the land of Target, In N Out, Chipotatle, Shaken Iced Tea Lemonades, H & M, Victoria Secrets, Trader Joes and other wonders of the world] and I must say that I haven't missed Hawaii oh-so-much. The humidity here is particularly unbearable - I'm sweating just sitting in the living room typing this. Yuck. Not to mention the fact that there are NO WAVES on the south shore. I surfed yesterday [Sunday] with Delbert, Warren, Bradley, Gavin, Gaylen, and some other guys but it wasn't particularly remarkable what with the size and the fact that everyone has already migrated to the north shore for the winter. Today I got up and drove down to the beach only to look at the lake and turn around and drive back home.

There's supposed to be a "bump" on Wednesday. I hope so because I need motivation to stay in the water and out of this heat.