It definitely feels like autumn. The water has gotten cold(er) again and surf has been decent as of late, though I haven't gotten out since Wednesday. I rode the MSF a few times over the last couple weeks. It's a lot of fun and it feels good to know that I can be that comfortable on it now. I guess the timing is right because I've never had much success on it--it's always just felt foreign compared to my other boards. I still haven't taken it out in stellar conditions yet but I'm certainly looking forward to it.
This week has been strange. Maybe it's the full moon. Maybe it's the changing seasons that can give me the impression that I feel stuck and it's a hard feeling to shake. Not stuck in the kind of way that I can't get out, but stuck in the way that society lets us get that way and most of the time it feels normal. I've got a lot right now, a lot to be grateful for. Most importantly friends and family and D...a good job doing what I want and lots of material possessions as well...a nice house to live in, a decent car, surfboards in the basement, and nice cameras with which to do my job with. Often I feel like I have all I could ever need. Othertimes I'm reminded that we live in a culture of want, and it's hard to battle off the influences which fuel it.
Surfing, being outside, traveling, listening to great music and having love all around me reminds me that consumerism isn't what life is about--that freedom can still exist within that. I'm forever struggling with my desire to choose experience over material, and to stay as close to my roots as possible when it comes to both surfing and my photography career as well.
I have no point really, it's just where my heads been at lately.
As if timing was perfect, Into the Wild was released this week and D and I saw a matinee yesterday. It's an incredible film, based on the book that changed my life when I read it 10 years ago as a crazy kid trying as hard as I could to get far far away from suburban Virginia. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves movies with a beautiful story and scenery to match. We can all learn something from this guy.
Off to work this evening and dreaming of good surf tomorrow.

D took this shot in Big Sur last spring. It's funny the way autumn can feel like fall, especially here in Northern California where the seasons only change so much.