surfing in the snow

This winter won't bring us down! This past weekend, the surf report actually looked good, so I mentally committed to DOING IT. Fortunately, Ruth and a bunch of other ladies were also planning on going, so she offered her condo as a meeting and changing spot. She is truly awesome! It turned out to be such a blast. On Saturday, the waves were good, so a ton of people came out. It took me a while to adjust to the freezing water and the heavy gear, so I didn't surf great; wiped out a ton, embarrassed myself plenty, and caught maybe two. But who cares! I was just stoked that I made it out, and I have to admit that I felt pretty bad ass trudging through shin-high snow to the surf. And it was so nice to change in Ruth's warm place and eat pizza instead of shivering on the boardwalk and then huddling in Dunkin Donuts like a hobo. We had so much fun that I left my board and her place and went out again on Sunday. Liz and I had a whole jetty to ourselves, and although the waves were much smaller, it was still fun and I caught a handful of little ones. The best part was when we were heading back to the condo, I hopped over a fence and face-planted into the snow. Ha. All in all, a rad time, and it was nice meeting so many inspirational and like-minded folks. I love people who just go for it!

costa rica fun

I'm home from another incredible surf trip with six incredible ladies and lots of fun new friends! The conditions were perfect for learning, and we spent five hours a day in the water. Super excited by how much we all progressed. The surf camp people sent us home with video footage of our waves, and, after watching mine, I realized that my strengths and flaws in the ocean are the same as on land. While I'm good about charging without fear, I need to work on my patience and selection. (Can't tell you how many times I took off on a close-out, only to paddle back into the perfect waves behind it.) I'm also excellent at setting and achieving goals. My latest: getting barreled by age 60. Mark my words, it'll happen; I wanna be the gray-haired lady tucked inside the wave!

surf musings

When I was surfing with my buddy the other day, we decided to try to catch the save wave so he could take a picture of the two of us on his Go-Pro. "This one?" I asked, eyeing a growing bump in the sea. "No," he replied. "Not scary enough!" The perfect wave, he explained, needs to strike a little twinge of fear in your heart. "This one!" he shouted. As the large swell came towards me, I hesitated a second (eek!); enough to pace me behind the curl and cause me to purl. "What happened?" said Michael, after padding back out. "Aw, man, I blew it," I laughed. As cheesy as it sounds, I've been thinking a lot about this scene as an analogy for life. Hear me out: Most of truly important things in life involve risks, and that's terrifying. But you've got to just go for it, or the wave will just pass you by. And you have to commit, without hedging or waffling. More often than not, you'll get a sweet ride. Once in a while, you'll nosedive, get washing-machined around, and maybe break something. But at least you'll know that you tried!

Pic: My first busted board at Rockaway! I feel like it's a rite of passage. Photo by Vanessa. :)