Category: Life Happenings

Beating (The) Writers Block

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It’s the Monday after a long weekend and I am definitely tired. It was a fun weekend, capped off with surf in good conditions and some delicious Indian food before I laid my mind to slumber at 10 o’clock. I would have a rude awakening to my 6:20AM alarm, and continued to snooze it to 6:40AM. Not a big deal, but I do like when I get up at 6:20AM and am alert and ready. Today at 6:40AM I was neither alert nor ready for the impending Monday. I robotically walked to the kettle, put on the hot water, went to the bathroom, and began to make breakfast. Literally every morning I walk to the electronic kettle and turn it on before anything, ensuring the coffee will be ready in a timely fashion.

By the time I was out of the house, I was awake. I never try to surf before work on Mondays, as I know how tired I tend to be and like to start the week off with energy. Unless the waves are pumping, I sleep in. Good morning surfs will energize me more than any amount of sleep or coffee. Fast forward to the end of the day and I am staring at my computer trying to muster up an idea to write about. I have all the ingredients: newfound energy in the form of a late afternoon coffee, good music in the background, and the time on my hands to carve out a nice little piece of work. I just can’t find anything good to write about. I have a couple ideas, but this is the not the week they would fit into. I quickly would dawn on the easy solution: The Writers Block. I pop it open randomly 3 times, hate all 3 prompts, and then scour the pages for the one I would want to write about.

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Indulgence. Something that usually goes down on the weekends when minimal responsibility is present. When you think about it, is it a positive or negative word? Do you immediately go to good or bad indulgences? For me, indulgence often has a negative connotation. For some reason, I always think of vices involved with “indulging” in something. One can indulge in many things in many ways, which makes an already gray term even grayer. One way to indulge in something could be doing it daily. Pretty much in the form of a habit, but doing it every day without skipping a beat. Another way one can indulge in something is for maybe only one day but for multiple hours of the day. Again, we don’t know if indulgence is positive, negative or neutral. It definitely depends on what the indulgence is, but it ultimately comes back to everything needing moderation for a healthy and happy life.

Indulgence can be binge-watching TV for 6 hours. Indulgence can be having a couple beers every night of the week. Indulgence can be drinking one night a week but balls to the walls. Indulgence can be indulging in legal or illegal substances. Cookies or crack. Indulgence, in my eyes, is necessary. If you don’t indulge in anything, what are you going to enjoy in life? You must indulge. Hopefully you pick positive indulges. I indulge in surfing and working out and eating delicious foods. I sometimes indulge in things that may cause a negative reaction. But always in moderation. If it were not for indulgence, we would all be a lot less happy. Good indulgences can turn bad, and bad indulgences can turn good. You just never know. Only one way to really find out.

New phone, old me

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This is not my hand ^ but is what my phone looks like.

So I got a new phone. It is super shiny. It is actually a light purple rather than my usual black accessory. While it does have a ton of pretty neat features and I could probably write a whole passage purely about its glimmer, this one is going a different way. You see, there was nothing wrong with my old phone as far as function. It could make calls, send texts, and connect to the internet. However, there was one feature that was absolutely blown: the camera. Everyone knows the iPhones boast huge claims about camera quality, and it’s true. Having an iPhone in your pocket is just a step down from a full blown camera. Everyone is now a pocket photographer.

I was getting by either by flipping my phone around and taking pictures/video with the selfie camera (which sucked and has way worse quality) or I just ditched documenting it all together. I kind of only used the selfie camera to capture if it was something I don’t see as often, like a concert or something that is only going to be there for a moment’s time. Otherwise I would write it off. Funnily enough, I would often see certain things and think to myself, “Damn, I wish I could send that to X Y Z” or something along the lines of that. I would write it off and just go on with my day.

Fast forward to my shiny new phone with two cameras. I have a beautiful way to capture things that pass by, but I am also still stuck in the mindset of my camera being broken. I have even thought that I should snap this or that to someone, and still write it off since I was sans camera. A moment later I would remember I could actually take a crispy photo and share it with whomever. But do I need to?

Occasionally, I would backtrack and document the insta story, snapchat, or text photo because I found it appropriate. However, I definitely have held back many times just because why. Why do I need to share this with someone? If it was not enough to make me take it with the selfie cam, I believed I could pass on it. It is an interesting dilemma, do I jump back into over documentation like a millennial or keep my retracted documentation and keep it more low key. I hope to land somewhere in the middle. It was kind of cool going under the radar, but that just means I was spamming cam rewinds.

It is crazy to think we have these high-powered devices in our pockets, and they can be used for such good reasons and also for such shit reasons. Sending a photo to a friend to stoke them out or remind them that you are thinking of them is awesome. Posting something or sending a snap roasting someone, however, is lame. But we are all guilty of it, no one is completely pure of the posting plague. Let’s use our phones for good. Let’s take some great photos and post things to bring people up rather take them down. Quality over quantity.

A Will of Iron

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I was so close!!!

I almost just broke it off. Bogged it like a top turn at lowers. This morning, I knew I was faced with the task of thinking of something to write about, but I had bigger fish to fry first. Coffee, check. Taking a dip, check. A nice greasy sando check. I had successfully cured my hangover and was off biking to the beach. I still don’t know what I was going to pen.

A nice leisurely bike ride to the sound track of tame impala, I followed up this hajj with a nice stand up boogieboard session. I think I did more “turns” that session than I did the morning surf. It’s been pretty shit. I miss cooking waves. A couple of laughs and some severe sunburn, and it was time to bike back. I grabbed an iced Americano from Vacancy coffee and was ready to roll. Still no ideas!

I hoped the coffee would help me brainstorm, but it rather got me stoked to do anything but write. I knew I had to pick up my roommate at the airport so that crept up on me quite quickly. I then again was off in the car blasting some new music that came out recently (DJ Mustard, Freddie Gibbs, and the Black Keys to be exact). We would then chop it up about losing money and the demons that inhabit the strip.

Fast forward and it’s 6 o clock. I’ve done just about everything I needed to, and also have done a shit ton of procrastinating around writing this piece. Of course, when I had the littlest drip of inspiration, I decided it was a good idea to make some dinner. Some friends also pulled up, so yet again I was stuck not writing. Do I just not write anything??

I knew I’d be bummed in the long run of not being able to keep up and having a chink in the armor. I really want to try to go a year of writing every Sunday. 54 posts that I can look back on and remember how I was feeling at that time even down to how I was feeling that day. I couldn’t give up, but what was I to write?

The Perfect Summer Day

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The Perfect summer day

With the summer solstice recently passing and the beautiful days ahead of us in the months of July and August, I thought I’d share my secret recipe for a all killer no filler summer day. You probably could already guess some of the parts, but we are going to break it down from sunrise to sunset, and then some. Buckle up, let’s roll.

7AM

The timing on this one is tentative; if the waves are cooking it could be a little earlier. But factoring in all possible times I could wake up, I would say 7 o clock is the apex. Earlier and you might burn out during the day, and later you are just wasting away the day. While I don’t want to say my ideal summer day requires a hangover (because that sounds like signs of someone with a problem), it is always a little more fun reminiscing on the night before. Let’s say you went out and had a great time, and expected to unexplainably hungover, but came out unscathed and felt great the next morning. (If you are really hungover, check these tips.) Ideally, the next thing before immediately taking a dip would be acquiring some Joe. Most of the time, I make it at home, but if we were talking about the perfect day, I’d pick up an almond milk cappuccino from Vacancy Coffee. Great coffee a stone throw away from where I like to surf. Following after sucking down the nectar, it’s time to take a dip. The perfect situation is pumping toobies in some boardies. On a perfect day, this surf should cure any hangover left.

10AM

Post dip, its time to retreat back home and figure out the rest of the day. I’ll most likely just whip something up from my groceries for a brunch, but on occasion treat myself with something nice (probably a c’est si bon sandwich). After this we could be running it back for a second session if the waves are cooking or planning some sort of other outdoor activity. Most of the time it involves the beach, since it is so beautiful out this time of year. As the food settles, I get my scroll on and if it is Sunday I try and write something decent. On a perfect day, I write something good.

1PM

Now it’s time to hit the beach. While I am open to doing other things, it’s hard to argue against it. Maybe a skate or something we don’t do that often could substitute, but if I had to pick, we are hitting the beach. Ideally I’d be doing something that lets me tan but also not just be lying still, so maybe some bodysurfing or stand up boogie. I can’t think of the last time I went to the beach and didn’t try to catch a session, so boards are always at the camp. Now we just sit back and let the skin sizzle. On a perfect day, I don’t get burned.

4PM

Unless I am just locked at the beach, I either will return home and relax or try to go get a workout in. While it seems like this is a lot for one day, I’d rather always have something to do rather than thinking of things to do. It would definitely be a light workout, but it feels good to get a nice sweat especially if we hit it hard the night before. End it in the sauna and head on home. If no gym time is happening, I might lie in the hammock or rip some Skate 3 to pass the time. On a perfect day, I crush a workout AND have time to play some skate.

7PM

My favorite way to end the day is in the ocean. Nothing like surfing at sunset as the sun descends into the darkness. However, we have had ample beach time already this day, so I’d swap sunset surf with a sunset BBQ. After all this action throughout the day, I am going to need to refuel. While I sometimes just run it solo or with my roommates, I enjoy it most when we have a couple extras and just cook up a storm. Beers are optional, and I usually opt out depending on the amount of alcohol consumed over the weekend. On a perfect day, the chicken doesn’t get too crispy.

10PM

At this point I am either laying in bed on my laptop or fresh out the shower getting ready to start sipping. On a perfect day, I’ll take either option.

Film Flash(come)back

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After a fun night out with some friends and waking up later than usual, I was faced this morning with a challenge: I had no post written up for today and did not really have any idea what this post should be about. There was a surf related post as well as music related one floating around in my head, but they seemed a little too easy. I rolled around in bed until I thought going for surf would kick start the day and maybe something would come to me in the water. All morning before the surf I heavily contemplated not doing one today, or posting like a sentence as a gag. But the show must go on. Here we are.

I have a film camera, and I definitely don’t use it nearly enough. I used to try to bring it a lot of places, but it is a little on the larger/heavier side, so it usually just looks like a chore rather than an ancient time freezer. However, the last two years of high school I had it in my backseat and whenever I remembered to capture the moment, I did. A lot of shitty photos came out of this, but there are definitely some I am proud of. And now you might be able to see where I am going with this.

Above is the best picture I have ever captured on my film camera. I look at it and can immediately put myself in the same spot I stood capturing it. This is a rather small day at home surf check. When it looks perfect for an ant to get barreled. Ankle high and cooking. This photo really just tells the story of my hometown Lavallette. From the days exactly like this were you haven’t surfed in a month to the days were this wave is scaled up to a 6 footer and you just have yourself a day.

The best part is even if it was cranking surf; the scene would remain the same. And this is the telling aspect. Home in the off-season is so quiet and tranquil and often you can wander in the sand without seeing a soul. Very different to the California living and I enthralled in currently.

I can’t really get too technical with the shot itself, but the contrasting blues in the sky and the fact the bench is in the corner with no one sitting on it makes the photo seem like I knew what I was doing. A perfect right and left reel away, unridden since the only thing that could ride that wave are fish. I have surfed at this beach for all of my life, and is pretty close to a second home during the summer months. My families surf shop is right down the street. You could blindfold me and I could probably make it from the shop to the beach.

While I know this post is admittedly rushed and more filler than killer, I hope it can spark an interest again in lugging around the camera and capturing some moments.