If men thought like us...

Why I love my job...

Little Joe! Here he is, in all his cherub glory, getting his golden curls trimmed for the very first time.

This is my sweet bike...

I am going to go ride it. One day the waves will return again...

Infirmary!

I made it back to work today. Probably shouldn't have. Two of the three boys now have strep, and we are all hacking like a bunch of TB victims. I just had to get back in there and help. It will be a miracle if the Azithromycin shields me from this.

On the bright side, I got to have a Quizno's Double Chocolate cookie during my break. I swear those things are a small piece of heaven on earth...

Leave them alone!

Have you noticed how popular it is to bash vegans lately? I was home sick for the second day yesterday, and in watching various current shows on Netflix, I must have heard at least six references to vegans that were all humorous, yes, but mean spirited. Do you realize the fortitude it takes to be a vegan, people?

I know, I know. Any elite position in society naturally becomes open to ridicule. But, to me, this is one of the highest in the order of personal choices. Come on! Think about it. To give up cheese pizza is akin to becoming a nun in the fifties! These people make a life choice to benefit the planet (with the bonus benefit of better health for themselves), and/or to make a statement about the inhumane treatment of warm-blooded animals that we slaughter to satisfy a fabricated craving for flesh that many humans are brainwashed into from birth.

Vegans happen because some people grow up. They become aware of what is actually happening out there in the world, and have the guts to stand up and say enough is enough! Some of us become vegetarians and then waffle around on that, even. Vegans have my total respect. They say no, and they mean it.

To me, vegans are the superior race, and I salute you! When the media laughs at you, know it is because you are making someone uncomfortable. Here's to you!

If only I had thought ahead, years ago, when I named my only child (who is now a vegan), after cheese.

Cabin Fever

Being sick is such a waste.

Sick day...

It's off to the ugent care clinic today...

If I cough one more time, my stomach is coming up through my nasal passage.

Another lost weekend

ANOTHER cold front moving in. The waves have gone nearly flat, AGAIN. A freeze is on tap for the morning, AGAIN. Worst winter ever, need I say it AGAIN?

But, luckily, there are ways to get through it and ways to keep warm.

Let's go!

Nanny McCree - It's Official!

The surf is all gone, so what's new?

My new life - and I love it these days. Truly, I do. Take today for instance...

I took my best buddy, Lil' Joe, for an outing to Target (with a stop at the Mall to play around on the rides there (ice cream truck, giant apple car, and a choo choo train). You don't even need money for him at this point, he's nearly two and happy just getting in and out of the vehicles and giggling. We went to Target afterwards, where he flirted with every woman there. On the way home, he was highly entertained by an empty wet wipe canister. He put the top on and then took it off, over and over again, as if it was brain surgery. He was so happy and proud. I looked back, at one, point, to see him taking the last drops of its liquid and putting his hands on his face as if he were slapping on after shave.

"Oh, Joe!" I said, "look at you! Putting on the Wet Wipe cologne for the ladies!" And, we giggled about it all the way home.

I feel alive again...

In the middle of putting the fruit on my oatmeal, Andy called. I had already called the surf report, and answered, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

He sounded so happy, and within half an hour we were both at the pier freezing our asses off (well, really it was my hands that were bright red) and grinning like cats. It was freezing in the water, but the air was mild. The water was green, the winds light offshore, and there were actually WAVES for once. So what if it was cloudy, the spell was broken.

I lasted nearly an hour before I just couldn't take it any more. I was worried I wouldn't be able to open my car door with my frozen nubs.

Andy scored so many good ones. I felt like I did, too, relatively. Even though we were on our long boards (seas: 4.5 at 8 seconds), it felt like I had so much energy and stoke that it didn't matter that the Dominators were at home sleeping. The boards we had were perfect for the high tide Trestles like walls that were waist to chest high and glassy green!

I feel alive again!

Still the surf sucks...

It's cold and cloudy and now it's raining. The broken record keeps playing, "half a foot to a foot... water temps 49-50."

If I can just hang in until February 12th, at 12:20 p.m., when the plane touches down at Liberia airport...

Everything changes...

...each and every second, doesn't it? Never count on anything. That is the thought for this week.

Paradise...or prison?

It's times like these...

Makes me wonder what surfing ever felt like. The water is about to touch then all time low of 48. Two days ago, I awoke to this on the local weather channel: "Freezing fog and black ice in the forecast today, folks." This is north Florida, not Minnesota! This is not supposed to happen. I want my money back! Today the water hit 49.

I have not surfed since Christmas Day, and there has not been a day since to even tempt me into that type of third degree ice cream headache.

My life has changed in so many ways...

I now have a job I love, and someone who appreciates me. Not to mention an awesome son and the best friends on the planet. Things may change and go the other way, any day, but for now... I thank my lucky stars. If only I had some surf... but, my head might explode from joy.

Surfing can wait, I suppose. February 12th is not that far off. There is a river mouth in Central America that is calling my name... Someone else, who hasn't surfed for 19 years, is coming along - make that two tickets to paradise.

Write the story of your life

Make it good. You only get one. It is never too late to find love.

Officially insane

The waves are now flat and the wind is howling offshore with the same forecast for days.

That's it, time to book a ticket to CR

A mid-February trip, to one of my all time favorite places, is the beacon of hope and sanity shining in the distance ...

Reading not Surfing

The sorry state of our surf of late...

Echoes... "Half a foot, fair shape, semi-choppy, water temps 55, cloudy skies..."

I just finished reading Jonathan Franzen's "Freedom" yesterday afternoon. I was stunned at how much I could relate to in this book. It is a clear and sobering portrait of life in America at this moment in time; of family, friendships, marriage, children, the environment ... the many ways we live out our lives. It took me many places, and I recommend it highly. The surf will return again someday, but the book is always there.

Another reason to hate New Year's Eve

Why is it humans feel the need for loud explosions and flashing light to celebrate something?


BEEBE, Ark. — Thousands of dead red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky in an Arkansas town on New Year's Eve after massive trauma, tests by veterinary officials concluded on Monday.As many as 5,000 birds mysteriously rained on Beebe, Ark., after nightfall.

"The birds suffered from acute physical trauma leading to internal hemorrhage and death," the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said in a statement. "There was no sign of chronic or infectious disease."
The birds were otherwise healthy, according to the statement. The injuries were primarily in the breast tissue, with blood clotting and bleeding in the body cavities.

Story: No poison found in birds that fell on town.

Dr. George Badley, the state's top veterinarian, told NBC News that the birds died in midair, not on impact with the ground.
That evidence, and the fact that the red-winged blackbirds fly in close flocks, suggests they suffered some massive midair collision, he added. That lends weight to speculation that they were startled by something.

Scientists believe that fireworks appeared to have frightened the birds into such a frenzy that they crashed into homes, cars and each other. Some may have flown straight into the ground.

"Loud noises were reported shortly before the birds began to fall from the sky," the commission's statement said, adding that blackbirds seldom fly at night.

"The blackbirds were flying at rooftop level instead of treetop level" to avoid explosions above, according to Karen Rowe, an ornithologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. "Blackbirds have poor eyesight, and they started colliding with things."

Another theory was that severe weather such as lightning accounted for the load noises but this was discounted because the violent weather had already left the area.

I just want to celebrate...

Another day of living. I rode the bike 20 miles on January 1st. I did yoga for an hour and a half on January 2nd. Today, well, I walked my little charges down the street to the patch of grass and hurled them around in circles by one hand and one foot (I call it "Airplane") until we all nearly threw up. Then their mom came walking in the house shaking her head after finding that the boys had made an hour home video of their creations in the bathroom toilet. I just want to celebrate another day of life.

Life is a Cartoon

Live it. The end comes too soon.

Merry New Year!

Start it off in your own special way, okay?