I had a dog for 24 hours… wait maybe less than that. I don’t know how I talked my dad into buying us a puppy and a kitten on the same day but I did. Cayla, Dad and I went to the Humane Society the day after Christmas in search for a new friend. My dad wanted two cats so we were going to help him pick them out. Of course when we got there I stumbled upon the cutest little three month old black labrador retriever and I just fell in love. He was so mellow and sweet and just looked like he wanted a home. I didn’t even think twice about how much attention and care puppies need and if I would be able to give that to him or not. The reality is I can’t! I travel too much, am on the move constantly throughout the day and honestly don’t have the patience. I mean I can’t even handle a boyfriend and they are potty trained. Anyhow it was fun for almost a day and I promise you I really did have good intentions. So let me fill in the gaps a little more. We ended up buying a little kitten as well. We named her Misty and the puppy Leo. We had just gotten home and I was playing with Leo on the porch when my sister decided that she wanted our new animals to meet. Cayla opened the sliding door and the cat saw the dog and immediately darted across the porch and leaped into the jungle. Say what? Yeah… that really happened, all in a matter of three seconds. The good news is the cat came back when it got hungry, I found the dog a good home and peace is restored to the valley. 2012 I am keeping things simple.
So I had the best surf session of my life yesterday. I couldn’t sleep at all last night because I was just so excited thinking about it. I spent the afternoon surfing Backdoor and Pipe. It was only about four feet but no one was really out and I was able to catch a few. For the longest time I have heard guys brag about getting barreled there and I was finally able to see what all the hype was about. There is no better feeling in the entire world than committing to a steep drop, standing up and feeling all the speed and power beneath your feet, pumping and not thinking you are going to make it and then feel the whisp of wind as you are released from the tube of water. Wow. I have officially caught the bug. Besides that the winter season has been a little funky. There have been moments of greatness but for the most part there has been weird winds, the wrong swell direction, too big or too small. I took my ski out with some friends the other day and tried to tow. Figuring out my new tow board and getting everything dialed for when its the real deal.
The north shore is starting to empty out. As soon as the Pipe event finished most of the pros vanished and the vibe more or less mellowed. So stoked for John John and his win at Sunset as well as the triple crown. My heat at Sunset was pretty wave starved again and the one good one that came thru Sunny (Garcia) caught. I found a couple small waves and was able to at least do a decent turn. I was stoked, halfway thru the heat I was advancing! Kind of a bummer with my end result but I was realistic about the situation.
Surfing aside I have had some epic moments. Surferpoll was a fun occasion. Got to get all glamorous, hair and makeup, high heals, dress. My little sister and dad were my dates. I was pretty stressed out all night worrying about what I was going to say at the podium. I tried to be funny, don’t know how many people caught on to my sarcasm but I tried. Thank you to everyone who voted! Went to my first UH football game at the stadium, helped out at the Rell Sunn Menehune contest, hiked more than a thousand stairs to the top of Koko Head with Bethany, attempted to make a gingerbread house (unsuccessful), and also volunteered with Mauliola and took kids with Cysticfibrosis surfing. The highlight of it all was recently watching Cayla do her first runway fashion show modeling Sofia Beschen’s Chama swimwear line. She did amazing! I have to be honest I was nervous for her, thought maybe she’d trip or wouldn’t be able to hold her composure but she rocked it! I was cheering and screaming at the top of my lungs as she strutted her stuff, such a proud big sis:)
Christmas is only less than a week away, can you believe it? I have only gotten half of my Christmas shopping done and am not really looking forward to going back to the mall and standing in all those crazy lines again. Urgh! Doesn’t really feel like it’s the end of the year already and am having trouble feeling the Christmas vibe. Maybe I’ll hang some more lights today, or go into town and check out the holiday displays to get in the mood. I guess what I am realizing is that I don’t need presents, or trees, or lights, or funky sweaters to put me in a good mood. Everyday is a gift and I am completely content with the love and people I have in my life.
The north shore season is finally in full swing. Everyone is here, the first comp is over and done and the waves have finally arrived. As you may already know I was invited to compete in the first two events of the mens triple crown. Pretty darn cool I must admit. It is still so frustrating tho that all the women’s events in Hawaii got cancelled due to lack of sponsorship this year. I want our events back! All the girls are ripping harder than ever but our tour is possibly in the worst state it has ever been… So Haleiwa didn’t go as well as I would have liked. I ended up in fourth to Roy Powers, Ian Gentil and Cory Lopez. The heat was a bit wave starved and I wasn’t aggressive enough to mix it up with the boys and catch the few that came in. I think I was more disappointed that my performance was so weak in that heat more than anything. Hopefully I can use this to fire me up for the next comp at Sunset in a few days. Congrats to Taj who ended up winning the event!
Happy Thanksgiving by the way! I hope you all shared it with the ones you love and ate a lot of yummy food. To be honest my day was a little hectic trying to organize and prepare my first thanksgiving dinner at my house but it was so worth it. All of my New Zealand friends are here on holiday and spent the evening with my family and I. We ended up sharing songs, laughing, having a dance party, and just soaking in each others love and energy. It really was a beautiful evening and one that I will hold dear to my heart forever. So much to be thankful for:)
I can’t sleep. It’s 3 am and I am wide awake. Night two of tossing and turning. Let’s just say not a big fan of jet lag at the moment. Despite the lack of sleep, it feels so good to be home. The boat trip to Indo was fun but the surf was pretty below average as well as the weather. We made the best of it. Went on a wild goose chase to find a crazy native Shaman, had a costume party on Halloween and busied ourselves with SUP-ing, jet skiing, snorkeling and shell finding. It’s hard to complain when I was on a beautiful boat in one of the most breathtaking places. Sometimes I have to take a second to remind myself just how lucky I am.
Our adventure to the Shaman was a perfect reality check. We anchored off shore and took a dingy thru a small town and up a river two hours. It was like crossing a threshold into a completely different world. I felt a sense of guilt living on a million dollar yacht whining that there wasn’t enough surf while people were living in such poverty right there. The Shaman’s home was next level. Hidden twenty minutes off the beaten path we had to hike thru mud and death thorn trees to get there. The house was simple, wide open, animals running everywhere. Pigs were bathing right next to the house. The stench was almost unbearable. Nothing was clean. Where was the bed? A blanket on the ground. Skulls of monkeys and alligators decorated the walls. Looked like something out of a movie. The people just sat and stared at us as if we were the aliens from outer space. Maybe we were. To them we were fascinating. Made me think about reality and normality and how we each have our own perception and definition of what that is. So weird. From my eyes it was shocking to see that in this day and age people still live so primitively, simply just existing without the luxuries of the modern world. That may be all they want because that is all they know.
On a lighter note I am happy to announce that Noah and Shane are now my adopted family. I have always wanted a little brother and I have decided he is perfect for the position. We had a blast together. The best part was that on the way to Indo we made a bet that if I did an air reverse before him I got to dress him up like a girl. Low and behold half way thru I had a little sister, Nicole. So awesome. Laura, Nick, the FUS crew (German Chosen Winners), Moose, PJ, Lieber, Kev and Worthy rounded up the rest of the crew. Good times, lots of laughs and new memories for the bag.
So… been home for two days. Haven’t done much besides clean the house, attempting to surf, and catching up with the fam. Time to start thinking about moving up to the north shore. Haleiwa starts Saturday! Packing up the truck and heading that way tomorrow.
Surfboards… check! Sunscreen… check! Swimsuits… check! I think I’ve got everything I’ll need for my boat trip. Tomorrow I am Indonesia bound for two weeks!! It was nice to be home for five days. Rewashed all my clothes, took dad out to a belated birthday dinner, cruised on my porch, hot yoga once, surfed a few times at Walos, swam in a waterfall. I feel like I am in a good place right now. Happy, content and excited. I have to be honest a few weeks ago I was kinda depressed. I had no reason to be but I was just in one of those weird funks, unmotivated and uninspired, just going thru the motions. I was struggling to find the passion and purpose of what I was doing. It’s been a time of transition for me. I have been doing a lot of thinking and asking myself: what do I want? Where do I want to go? Who do I want to be? Reflecting on everything that has happened, the relationships I have had, the good and the bad. I found that I was ignoring a lot of my feelings because they were hard to acknowledge and embrace. Feeling of emptiness and loneliness, busying myself to keep my mind off of those things. After awhile there is just too much dust under the rug and you have to clean it out. For me it’s letting myself feel down and angry and giving myself that time to sort thru them. Anyway sorry for getting so deep just thought I would share. I got to finish packing! See you in a few weeks xo
