Out with the old, in with the new

Time flies! Seems like only yesterday, I was writing about a new year of surfing and, yet, here I am again looking forward to future waves. I was trying to tweet some resolutions last night, but struggled. It's not that I don't think I need changing, it's that I realize I have sooooo much to change. That goes for surfing too. After my trip to Costa Rica in November, I wrote about a change I needed to make in my pop-up. I'm still working on incorporating that change into my surfing sessions in Galveston. And, because the waves are so "iffy" this time of year, it's hard to surf enough to make major changes to form and to incorporate them into my surfing. The major move has to do with me bringing my hands nearer to my center of gravity to assist me in pushing up instead of leaving them on the rails lined up with my shoulders. I'm sure this small difference will help tremendously once I practice it enough.

I thought I would have time to practice it this past week, but I was wrong. Since I get the week off between Christmas and New Year's, I try to do as much as I can. Last year, I took a short trip to Louisiana and still managed to make it back in time to surf a couple of times. We had small, but surf-able waves last year. This year was a different story. I didn't take a trip and, although I had big plans for myself that included organizing part of my house, cycling and surfing, I ended up spending time in bed with a stomach virus. I was only sick for a about two-and-a-half days, but it was smack-dab in the middle of the week, which sort of ruined my plans. I didn't really miss much surfing since it was so flat, but I also didn't feel like cleaning or cycling. By Friday, I was much better and managed to get in a 9.3-mile run, and, thankfully, a little surfing. My first surfing report early that morning was that the waves were building, but not quite surf-able. By the time I finished my run at 10:15, my messages included two from different people who said to get to G-town fast 'cause they weren't sure how long the waves would last. I made it down by about 11:15 a.m. They were weak and mushy, but still ride-able. Of course, the joke always is that if only I had been there 30 minutes earlier... Only this time, it was no joke. Apparently the waves had been a little better before I got there. I still managed to get in an hour of surf time, which included about four short rides. The problem with the waves were that they were hard to read. They were closing out fast so that when I finally could catch one, the ride was only about three seconds. Toward the end of the hour, I was definitely having to catch them on the inside close to the jetty and to the shore. And, on top of everything else, the water was cold!! Fortunately the air temperature was not. It doesn't help much, though, when I have to struggle into and out of the 5-4, which is so thick that it makes movement difficult. Sometimes, I even have to ask for help to get out of it when I wear it. On my first paddle out, I got caught trying to move out past the end of the jetty and tumbled over, bumping my chin on the board and hitting my upper thigh on the fin as I tumbled off. I didn't realize it until later that my chin was actually cut and bleeding. It's probably a good thing I didn't know, though, since I would have wanted to stop to doctor it. This way, I just kept surfing until the waves didn't want me in them any longer, which was about an hour and 20 minutes later.

All in all, Friday was a great day even though I wished the waves would have held out a little longer. I ran and I surfed! The gang was out on the beach also including Surf Dude Brian, N, R and my friend S who happened to be in town. (I texted her on my way to Galveston to see if she was around. She was visiting her family.) I even got an afternoon giggle. As I was leaving the beach, I happened to see a person dressed as a panda bear walking on the Seawall. I had my camera and while I was sitting at a red light, I was able to snap a picture. Who couldn't smile if they saw a panda bear walking down the street?

Christmas and a cute 'surf' present

I received an email this evening from a surf friend who said that he had been surfing today and that the waves were wonderful. It wasn't just sent to me. The message was sent to several of the surfers who usually hang out in G-town near the 43rd Street jetty. I'm not sure about the motivation behind the email other than to just let us know that he was having fun on this special holiday. He had great waves and the beach to himself. It's Christmas, and I'm sure that most, if not all, in the "to" field had other non-surf commitments related to the holiday. I did. I don't even remember having looked at the webcam on the G-townsurf site, but I can't imagine skipping it either since it is a daily ritual. So, I'm sure I must have looked at it and missed the "fabulousness" of the waves. That happens sometimes. What doesn't necessarily look good on the cam, can look pretty awesome sometimes when standing on the beach. I'm actually glad my friend got to surf, and was also thrilled to hear that on this special holiday, he was able to do what he loves to do and relax. A sharp, north wind, drizzle and gray skies made the day definitely feel like winter, and might have actually kept me from attempting to go surfing even if it hadn't been a holiday. If I had decided to go surfing, I would have been miserably cold; and, I would have had to wear my 5-4, which would have kept me warm for a little while, but not warm enough. Being miserably cold doesn't ALWAYS deter me from wanting to surf, but it might have today. Sometimes, I just feel like I have to get in the water; especially when I haven't surfed in a while. It's only been a little over a week now since I got to surf, and I am missing it, but not enough to leave my family gathering, get into a thick wetsuit and surf in the winter weather. Luckily, I have the week off. I am hoping for waves tomorrow, but the forecast is not looking good for tomorrow or any other day this week. Too bad. Sure wish I could pack up and go surf some place warm this week!  Ummmm....maybe it's something to think about and plan for next year.

Family gatherings are wonderful. Today was no different, except for a little family drama. We successfully struggled through the drama though and, all in all, had a fabulous Christmas celebration. Gifts were exchanged and games were played. We ate and laughed. I was pleasantly surprised by a little gift from my sister. (We siblings aren't supposed to exchange gifts.) Picture attached. This cute little board with a magnet will be great for a photo or even a note. She had noticed a photo of a Robert August surfboard in my vacation photos and had decided to decorate my board (she made one for all of the women in the family and included special designs that reflected our interests) with a miniature picture of the RA board. It was an incredibly thoughtful gift and one that I will cherish always. Now, I just have to decide where to put it so that I can see it often.

Merry Christmas!

Cold water and commencement

Friday morning surf

Finally! I surfed. It had been a couple of weeks since I had been out, and I was dying to get in the water. Waves, wind and the lack thereof has kept me from my usual twice a week, Friday/Sunday schedule. But, this past Friday, a scheduling change at work gave me the perfect opportunity to get in some pre-work surf on some decent north-wind waves. The SwellInfo report suggested that the best waves of the week would be Friday morning since a cold front was predicted to cross the coast late Thursday/early Friday. One of the guys I surf with had sent me and my surf pal Robin an email earlier in the week saying that he had re-arranged his work schedule so that he could surf early on Friday. Commencement weekend could have put the kibosh on my wave time, so I negotiated a scheduling shift with me working later in the day on Friday and all day Saturday and taking off Friday morning. I made it to G-town around 8 a.m. I had been reading all week that the water temp was in the 50s, but decided to brave it in my 3-2. Master surf dude Brian had on a 5-4 and my other friend had on his 4-3 with a head covering and booties. I hate wearing booties, so I left them at home. Needless to say, after about 45-minutes to an hour later, I was freezing. Dude Brian claimed that my lips were blue. I don't know about that, but I do know that while I had some great rides in that first 45 minutes, shortly after that I had a hard time standing on my board simply because I couldn't feel my feet. They were like blocks of ice. As I said, the first almost-hour was nice. The sets were decent and well-defined. I've certainly surfed better waves, but Friday morning was nicer than many of my summer surf days. After about an hour-and-a-half (probably 30 minutes longer than I should have stayed out), I limped in to shore -- definitely a limp since I couldn't even catch white water by that time without wiping out. (I feel certain it was the cold keeping me from doing ANYthing right by then.) Circumstances were dictating that I get out of the water and get warm. I shivered as I tried to remove my wetsuit and get into dry clothes quickly. Dude Brian was forced to pull the wetsuit off of me because I was shivering too much to do it myself. Peeling off a wetsuit is like peeling off a layer of skin, and, when it's cold, shivering fingers cannot peel anything. Getting in the car, cranking up the heater and driving to the closest Starbucks was the only way for me to survive the misery. It doesn't matter though. I would have done it all again today if there had been waves simply to experience that first hour again. Winter surfing can be fun!

In addition to surfing this weekend, I had the pleasure of working at the commencement ceremonies for UHCL. What a fun time! Everyone is happy at commencement: faculty, administration, staff and, especially, students. Speakers at both of the ceremonies offered their advice and provided reminders to people like me -- people who had graduated a long time ago -- that the future is bright and that we all have the ability to make a dream a reality.  As one of the speakers put it, "Who do you want to be? Not what, but who? You get to decide that every day." What a great way to think about our lives. Yes, I get to decide who I am every day. And, I'm fortunate this weekend that I not only got to be a surfer, but also a spectator/worker at a fabulous event that marks a turning point in so many lives.