Happy Mother's Day 051213

Surf Report: 2-3 feet with the occasional 4

Water: Cool

Weather: Overcast and Glum

Winds: Light on shore

Happy Mother’s Day!!

Surf was meh this day… I don’t remember much.  Except… DA BOYS were out!  Dais, Khang, and I think Tom was even out there too. 

The waves were pretty shitty, but hey, when all your friends are out, it makes the surf session a hundred times better. 

I do remember Matt being stressed out like crazy and shutting himself out from the world since he had lots of school work to finish up.  He is leaving for Java on May 15^th, so he wanted to get everything done before then and leave free of any stress and unfinished business.  He said he took a page out of my book for this sacrifice.  Good for him… it’s a big sacrifice, and it sucks, but it will be all worth it in the end when he gets the job DONE!

Mahalos Mother Ocean!!  

On an ending note, I went to a Dodger game later that day!  I initially invited my mom, but she said:

"Is there anyone Japanese playing?"

Me: "No.."

Mom: "Then I don't want to go."

Mom: "Oh, but I heard you get a free Tote back, bring that home!"

sigh.  

It's ok, I took my extended family, the Morimoto's, out! 

Quentin, Maddie, and Mama Morimoto!! It was HOT!!!!

Short Term Memory 051113 - 26th Street

Surf Report: 2-3 feet with the occasional 4

Water: Warm!

Weather: Sunny

Winds: Light on shore

It’s been a hectic week going out with friends, new and old, catching up with them and thanking them for all their support during my CPA exam time.  I was super glad to be able to finally go out and not worry about anything!  My boss is set to leave for his vacation, so work has been nothing but clean up and organizing for the both of us.  He hasn’t taken a vacation since last year May, so I’m glad he is finally taking a long vacation. 

So Saturday, I get to surf my heart out!  I was wearing a 3/2, and it felt toasty… my god, it was so hot this day!  I couldn’t believe it. 

Not too many memorable waves though.  No power in them!  And none of Da Boys were out.  Yes, the locals are there, and I know them, but it’s just not the same without DA BOYS.

Oh well, Mahalos Mother Ocean!!

The Extent to Which I'll Go To Surf 050513

Surf Report: 2-3 feet
Water: Warm for Ventura County
Winds: Slight off shore
Atmosphere: Kloudy

I was hungry for surf.  Khang and I got skunked yesterday, and I thought I was ok with it, but it turns out I wasn't.  I need to be in the water!! 

I drove to 26th Street, and the waves looked bleak.  Hideki was calling me seeing if it was worth driving down to paddle out.  The place looked like the biggest lake ever.  I told him no, it isn't, and I'm going further north to see how the waves were. 

5/5 is Children's Day in Japan.  It's a day to celebrate the children that are in your family by flying carp kites outside your house and of course, gorging yourself over copious amounts of food.  I was on a time table, but I needed to surf, so I made my way back up to Zuma beach. 

Roy was already in the water, and we surfed here for about twenty minutes, until he said, "Let's just go to 0's!"  I was hesitant, but then I just started to paddle in and yelled at him, "See you there!"

It was starting to drizzle a bit, but hey, at least it wasn't as windy as it was in the South Bay.  We drove to 0's, and we watched it for a while.  there were only 3 guys out, and there were some small sets coming in every fifteen minutes. 

I decided to park up on the PCH since my credit cards were being denied at the pay station.  My pleasure, I thought to myself.  I can save $8 for stupid beach parking. 

I only had a 3/2 because I wasn't planning on surfing outside of the South Bay, let alone all the way up to 0's.  I was a bit weary about the cold water, since it tends to be a few degrees colder up here, but once I got in the water, the water was pretty amazing. 

I had a few memorable rides this day.  I do remember trying to hack off the top and realized that my stance is too wide for any sort of aesthetically pleasing turn on my back hand. 

I caught a fair share of long rides, and headed out.  I had to get back home and make guacomole and cilantro pesto with black beans for Children's Day. 

The day continued with lots of food, family, and fun.  I had to leave early because I had to coach a basketball game.  My boys were in the championship game of the South Bay FOR Tournament.  The team was a tough match up, well coached, and nitty gritty to the end, but we came out on top.  We can finally call ourselves "Champions."  So proud of them!! 

So, this weekend, I drove from LA to San Onofre, back to LA, then from LA to Manhattan Beach, from Manhattan Beach to Zuma, from Zuma to 0's, and then back home.  This is the extent I am willing to go to find surf.  Crazy? Definitely.  Love?  Passionately.  

Mahalos Mother Ocean!!!

SKUNKED 050413

Surf Report: SKUNKED

Water: Didn’t go in

Winds: Strong South wind

Atmosphere: Sunny yet kloudy?

There’s south swell in the water.  The hills of Los Angeles are burning.  And I have all day to score some surf.  Khang has a day off, so I tell him, “Let’s do Trestles!” He obliges. 

However, he is not feeling well when I pick him up.  He has had a sore throat since Friday night and is not feeling himself at all.  With this, we decide to say screw you Trestles, and head to Huntington.  We call Hideki to see if he’s in the water.  Hideki calls us back as we are passing Westminster that the surf sucked and that it wasn’t worth going at all.  The winds are too strong, the current is ripping, and the high tide washed out everything.  Ok, to Trestles we go! 

We get to Trestles after an hour and a half of driving.  When we pull up, we see that there are no surfers at Old Man’s.  The wind is howling from the South, and there are just NO WAVES.  We couldn’t believe it… we got completely SKUNKED.

I had to laugh.  We’ve scored Trestles the last few times we came here.  Heck, Khang scored it on Thursday.  But oh how the winds have changed.  We got completely and utterly skunked.  The water looked clear and beautiful.  The waves were being knocked down by the wind when they did come in.  There were four surfers out there, all beginners, and they drifted about 30 yards in 30 minutes. 

After 40 minutes of watching the Ocean and playing my ukulele, we decided to go grab some Pho at Pho Vie.  We laughed saying how we got skunked as we ate our warm, life-giving Pho.  We went next door to Lee’s Sandwiches to grab some baguette sandwiches, and then to the supermarket next door so Khang could grab some fish for his mom.  They scaled, gut, and deep-fried these two Jumbo Tilapia for $9.00.  What a fucking deal!!  I got to get me some of that next time. 

Mahalos Mother Ocean!  It’s not about the destination, but the journey. 

But man, we got skunked so hard. hahah

Back to Blogging 26th Street 050313

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Surf Report: 2-3 feet and sloppy

Water: Cool

Winds: Slight on shore and trade winds

Atmosphere: a bit kloudy

Back to blogging again… I just want to take a moment to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my arduous CPA exam.  I’ve thanked most of you in my life in person, but for those of you who I haven’t been able to thank, thank you always for your support!!  I did my absolute best… if you saw me in the last two months, you would know that I was obsessively studying for this damn section of the four-part CPA exam that I failed four times.  Over the past two years, I've sacrificed so much of my life for this exam... friendships, would-be relationships (one girl that I was catching up with told me, "Don't wait two years to contact me,") surf trips, camping trips, parties, sanity, and my own personal happiness... all sacrificed for the one goal that I never thought possible... This time… this time, I know I did my absolute, 110% best, so I am happy with my results.  This was my version of Kobe Bryant scoring 81 points in a single game.  He doesn't recall scoring 81, he just remembers "We have to win... we have to win."  I put in the work, I put in the effort, I put in the blood, sweat and tears.  Anyways, thank you all.

So, back to surf:  this day is kind of hazy now… I talked to Khang and Dais the day before as they drove back from Trestles, and telling me how they scored.  They invited me to dawn patrol Friday morning, which I kindly obliged.  I woke up kind of late, and got to 26^th street around 700 AM.  I see that there’s surf, and I see Khang’s car.  There are a lot of people in the water this morning… but I find Khang in the line up.  He’s on his New Flyer model from Channel Islands. 

The surf is a little wonky, with the high tide ruining the conditions.  I didn’t really care.  I was just so happy to be surfing on a work day!!  It’s been far too long since I got to surf on a work day… I was just happy to be in the water in my 3/2. 

No memorable waves this day really… I just remembering being really happy to be in the water.  Khang and I leave the water and talk to Don and Ross.  They said that the past two or three days were much better.  “Should have been here yesterday.” 

I’m still getting back into the swing of things on this day… it finally struck me that I have my life back, and that I should do what I’ve been wanting to do this whole time.  I’m just taking life by every moment, since for the last two years I was locked up with handcuffs on my small wrists. 

Mahalos Mother Ocean!!  I am happy.