How I waste some of my time.

I'm feeling surf starved. Yes, I did go surfing today and yes, it left much to be desired. I'm attempting to grin and bare it through this nasty flat/wind spell that's been mucking up the water for what seems like weeks now. It's springtime right...it's normal? But I have somewhat pleasant memories of spring seasons past. Maybe I have blocked out the bad days because pain has no memory. Yes, I'm in pain. I'm stressed out with moving, in with my man, working, and lack of water time. I've been trying to get some treadmill action and yoga in when I can, but I'm starting to fear that the page will never turn. Ok I'm being dramatic.
Anyways, when the surf gets flat (and all other time of year) I peruse the used boards for sale on craigslist. Here's what I found that peaked my interest this week:

michel junod longboard, 9'10, single fin, square tail, red outline. some dings-all repaired and water tight. $375


Owl surfboard, 7'10, Single Flex Fin, Displacement hull, old school glide, Volan Glass, Mark Adreini Shape, Blue, Great Shape, ready to surf. $350

Channel Islands MSFg2 Surfboard 6'6" Blue - $550

8.0" Andreini Vaqueros de Las Olas California.
Specs: 8' x 16" x 22-1/2" x 14-3/4" x 3-1/4" $600

Yeah, I know. They are all single fins. Therefore I won't be purchasing, just coveting. The only new single fin I might deserve is a new longboard (like that Junod). Poor Stewie is on his last legs. J and I went over the damage and possible repair needs today. It will be a large endeavor to say the least. I checked my bank account and no magic lottery deposit was made to support a new board. I do think my trip to Costa Rica in July might require a twin or quad fish good for traveling but we'll have to see. I'm sure I am just coming up with board fantasies to make up for my lack of time spent in the water as of late.

I shot these photos of Rich from Rickland surfboards a couple years ago. I wanted to do a photo project on all the local personalities and their contribution to the community. Eventuatlly I realized I was taking on a lot and needed to narrow it down a bit. Rich was a nice guy. He's very dedicated to surfing and shaping, and that's how he feeds his family. I've never ridden his boards and we didn't exactly click in terms of my being interested in getting a board from him, but I thought of him last week after reading Surfy Surfy's blog about globalization in the surfing industry, read it here. It's a tricky issue, and one I have a lot of feelings about. I've had a hard time coming up with exactly what I want to say about all this hoo ha. It's a personal and complicated and layered issue. Either way, I applaud JP for being vocal and giving everyone something important to think about. I agree with him 100% but I also feel it isn't my place to be judgemental of those with a differant opinion.
I think that we choose our battles in life. Preservation of what is most dear to me has and always will be been one of my battles. I'm a big believer that if you feel strongly about something you should try and represent that by your actions and by the companies you support with your money. In this country money is power and how you do and don't spend your money is exercising what little power of influence we have left. If more people put their money where their mouth is more changes would be made on a regular basis.
I have a track record of only be able to do that with one issue at a time, or so it seems. I was a vegetarian and even a vegan for almost 8 years. I eat meat now. Granted, I try to eat humanely raised and slaughtered meat as much as possible. I used to boycott the Gap because their ownership, the Fisher Family, was responsible for clearcutting miles and miles of old growth forest in the northwest. I worked the phones at a non profit getting pledges to preserve trees from the logging industry's dirty fingers. I boycotted Nike for years because of their poor labor practices overseas. These are all issues that I still care about, still fight for, but after a while I lose steam in terms of holding a strong stance all the time.

Time can wear us down, and our apathies can take over.

I don't think that the privalage of being able to buy a board that was a custom designed, built and glassed is something that will ever go away. If anything it might become a niche market. I think that glabalization in the surf industry is unavoidable, and unfortunate. It affects the environment, the local shapers like Rich all over the country, and the individual quality of surfing in general. I think that as surfers we have a responsibility to preserve the quality of our culture and the quality of our water (environmentally) as best as we can. I think we need to encourage local shapers to stay in business, and do that by supporting them with our dollars.

For me that means consistantly buying used, or locally manufactored and custom boards. Right now all of my boards were deals I found on craigslist. My favorite is a custom shape from BoB Miller down in Santa Cruz--what a SCORE that was! I am chomping at the bit to be able to afford to get a board made for me but for now I have to wait. I'm at no risk of settling on a board from Costco though. But I'm not everyone. For me, it also means being conscious of what is made overseas (like t-shirts and gear)and whether I want to support it, or not.

There's an awesome local shaper who runs a small shop in a remote part of town who mentioned that he's getting boards built overseas as well. He's a small business owner, I guess he builds templates and sends them over. His shop has the local feel you look for and feel good about for supporting. Is it my place to criticize his decision to ship out to China?

I guess it's gotta be like buying meat for me now. When I go to the grocery store, I buy grass-fed, often organic meat products. Grass-fed is the most important factor because most farms that grass feed their cows are organic anyways, but can't afford the certification. I try to choose restaurants that serve this kind of meat, especially if I am gonna drop a bunch of money on a fourstar meal. But it doesn't always work that way, and sometimes I'm hungry and the local mexican restaurant by the beach is really tasty and has none of the above. But I feel better if I try to do my part and encourage others to do theirs.

Summertime.

Hot weather, hot sunshine, 8 o'clock sunsets. Surf should get easy and fun. Today was, kind of. I've been thinking a lot about how life should be that way as much as possible. I've reached an age where I don't want things to be as difficult as I can make them anymore. My relationships, my family, my work, my living space. I don't want to make messes. Some things are unavoidable and I realize that a good challenge in the water can be exilarating and great, but at the same time, I can still appreciate the small stuff. Those light, mellow waves that roll up so slow you are basically stepping up to your feet and cruisin into shore.

I surfed with an old friend today. Someone who knew me during one of the darker periods of my past. I found myself worrying that she might still hold it against me, or remember what a mess I was. I kept wanting to tell her that I'm not like that now. I realized though that she probably doesn't careanymore, it's just my trip. The person I was, is part of the reason I am who I am today. I wouldn't even be surfing if I hadn't gotten through what I did. I was glad to be out there in the water with her, doing something fun and positive, something differant than the context I once knew her in. I'm glad to be where I am now, and thankful to the ocean for it's help in getting me here.