Lovers Day

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Valentines day. A day to dedicate to your significant other for putting up with your shit. Whether it’s spending too much time with your friends, you bailing on plans because the waves look fun, or just about anything, Valentine’s day is a great way to reset for the year and show your partner how much you love them. It doesn’t need to be a flashy gift or extravagant date (although most probably wish for one or the other, or both). It’s a day to celebrate new love, old love, and love that has been up and down like the waves. 

But Valentines day doesn’t just need to be for those in a committed relationship. Tell the girl you might be talking to happy valentines day, even if you met her a week ago (note: this might be a little much to some, so tread lightly). Say happy valentines day to your parents. Say Happy valentines day to your close friends (more of a girl thing, but fuck it). Say happy valentines day to your dog. Or cat. Or any pet. Post on social media about valentines day and your valentines (so far I’ve seen friends, family, and pets on my feed). Or don’t post, that’s fine too.

Do something you love. Whether that is as easy as going on a bike ride, playing video games, eating junk food, or all of those things at once. Go for a swim in the ocean (for my west coasters, but people in NJ are welcome to take a polar plunge). Read. Write. Draw. Take a nap. Do nothing. Scroll Instagram for an hour. It doesn’t matter to me. Or to the person next to me. If you don’t have anyone to share the day with, share it with yourself. Share it with nature. Share it with someone over the internet. Share it with someone new. Share it with someone old. 

If there’s one thing to do on Valentines day, it is to love. Person, place, thing, it does not matter. Maybe you are some weirdo and you don’t love ANYTHING. If in that case you are, how about you spread and show love. Talk positively. Compliment people you wouldn’t normally. Smile at people when you walk past them. Hold the door open. Buy someone their coffee. Give someone a set wave (unless you really want it, then you are expressing self love and they will get that). The 14th of February is a day mostly associated with love for a single person, but let’s change that. Love everyone. Try it just for one day. Then maybe next year the whole week of Valentines day. Then the month. Then just do it. 

 

A Great Way To Spend A Saturday: Road-tripping North

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Piggybacking off of 2 blog posts ago (if you recall, we were talking about being open-arms to change in life, and almost seeking it rather than loathing it), one great way to spend a Saturday involves getting yourself out of your normal zone. We often grow accustomed to the same routine, whether it is the weekend nightlife destination or even just the local beach. From coffee to coastline, we tend to stick with what we know. And often this can leave us in a rut. Jumping in the car and heading north or south can help us alleviate the normalities of everyday life. And there are limitless possibilities in the path you can take whether it’s north south east or west (typically I like north and south, staying coastal and avoiding being on a boat in the middle of the ocean [unless it’s in Indonesia or French Polynesia]). So what did I do this past weekend? I got out of the bubble. It is far too easy to stay put over the weekend. Usually by Friday you are cooked by the workweek, or maybe you work weekends and have to stick around. But this go around I decided it was time. I used to flee the OC scene far more often in my early California years, but now more often than not I find myself anchored down in Newport. I hit the 405 and headed north to SB. Here are the tips and tricks (applicable to any location) from a Saturday spent north of helLA. 

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Driving up

One thing that can really hinder the stoke-factor of your trip is traffic. Maybe not as big of a complication outside California, but miss-timing the traffic on a little road trip can add on hours upon hours of time in the car. While half the road trip is the time in the car with your pals, every extra hour or even couple minutes where you can be out of the car already feel like salt in an open wound. The problem especially with going north on any highway coming from Orange County is grinding out the LA portion of the drive. Time it right and cruise through it without going under 40 mph. Hit peak traffic time and prepare to be shifting between park and drive while furiously skipping through songs and checking Instagram. The tactic with avoiding traffic is dodging the prime time work commute hours. This means really early in the AM or after 7PM. If you can take the day off, cruise it between 11-3 and it’s smooth sailing. 

Morning Sip

Every great morning starts with a great cup. A bad cup of coffee can really throw your day off the rails, and dialing in coffee in an unknown area can be tougher than you think. In 2020, it is pretty easy to hop on google or yelp and search “coffee shop” and get pointed in the right direction. Still, the litmus test is the actual first sip. That first drip of joe to travel through your mouth is the real tell tale sign of a good or bad cup. Getting up and starting your morning off on the right foot is essential, so if you are in the SB area (although it is on the southern end) Lucky Llama is the zone. Owned by the son of local surfboard shaper and surf shop owner Matt Moore, this place is always busy and filled with happy customers. With delicious coffee, acai bowls, and baked treats, this is the perfect pit stop for before the sun rises or a mid morning pick me up. 

Beach Day

North of LA is cluttered with a ton of super fun surf spots to take a stab at while you are up there. From beachies to points, there’s a wave for everyone, novice to expert, goofy to regular. Whether it is a long roping point wave or a hollow punchy beach break, you can find it if you look hard enough. There is however, one wave that in particular if you are making your way up to it has a special place in most California surfers hearts. Especially if you are a regular footer. And even for some goofy footers. Rincon point is affectionately referred to as “The Queen of the Coast.” And if that doesn’t speak to the admiration of the wave, then let’s just get to the numbers. You can ride a right for up to 3/4s of a mile (maybe more, most of the time less). That’s comparable to a Jbay stint, minus the men in grey suits. If we are talking numbers, on any given weekend with swell the lineup could be littered with well over one hundred bodies, from bonafide rippers to log jammers going straight. We were talking about switching it up, so unless you regularly surf down at Trestles, there aren’t many comparable waves to Rincon in OC. And they still don’t stand a chance against the Queen on a good hair day. 

Fuel for the Day

This kind of goes off the point above. If you end up posting up on the beach at Rincon point, it’s going to be pretty hard to leave. With endless right handers and the crowd only getting thinker, being hunkered down on the beach for the long haul is a good way to maximize water time in the morning before the wind and wave warriors come in stronger and stronger. Packing light, nutrient dense, and refreshing snacks to munch on the cobbles in between run arounds is the move for an all-day surf bender. Protein bars, fruits, and lot’s of water. Maybe an extra coffee to get the paddle muscles re-awakened for another marathon sprint up the point. This will increase your time before you really need a solid lunch or meal and also help you avoid cramping. Post up with a cooler and tax it occasionally until it runs dry. When it’s empty, you know you only have a couple more laps around the point left. 

Last Bite

When you are venturing outside your usual comfort zone, it usually beckons for eating out and sampling the local flavors. Luckily, Santa Barbara has a TON of awesome eats and even better ambiance in most restaurants. However, I think there is a better way to go about finishing off a hard earned day of fun in the sun. While this can only be done if you have a couple of people you might know in the area, but eating over a friends house or a BBQ with some brews is the best way to cap off a successful day or weekend trip. Whether you grill a classic or try something new, making your own meal adds even more pride and accomplishment to already getting outside your local town and adventuring into the zones unknown. If this seems like too much trouble, finding a good place to eat in SB is easy. Just walk along or adjacent to State street in downtown SB and you’ll more often than not luck into a good bite to eat. 

Nighttime Sip

You’ve done it all today. Sucked down your morning cup of coffee. Took in your new surroundings. Hopefully got a surf in. Absorbed in a lot of vitamin D from the big bright circle in the sky. Ate a delicious dinner to help mend your sore muscles and pallets. And now the only thing left is a celebratory sud. A nice beer or two is the icing on the cake, and it tastes so much sweeter when it was worked for. As far as beers, you gotta stick with local breweries and trying beers you might not have ever had before. Just to make it easy, after you ate dinner around State street, hop in an Uber and head over to the funk zone. Whether it’s Topa Topa or Lama Dog, there are plenty of craft brew creators to pick from. Try one. Try three. Just don’t try none. Happy hunting. 

Wiki Post Project: How could we forget about airs? (Archival)

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(This is an old piece from my minor in writing and rhetoric at Chapman University. Since most of my writing is pretty loose on here, I figured it would be cool to post something that had more structure. I wish I could find the prompt, alas I cannot. I also could not find the grade. I do recall it being a rather large chunk of your overall grade.)

While I don’t exactly remember the prompt, the basic gist of it was this: find an article on wikipedia and add to it based on your knowledge or knowledge you would find that was absent from the page. It was a cool out of the box assignment that would have you etch your name into the Wikipedia archives. 

Initially, when I learned about the Wikipedia project and that we were going to be editing a page within our discourse community, the gears in my head began turning. At first, I thought about making a page dedicated to the chop hop, maybe one of the grossest maneuvers in surfing and a facet of surfing that should never get any exposure (besides the ones mason ho does).

Here is a video depicting what I am talking about:

Note: the comments on the video show the surf community’s distaste for the maneuver.

When I got over the idea of doing a sarcastic page for the chop hop, my next initial idea was to edit a favorite athlete of mine in the sport. Kolohe Andino is one of Americas hopes for a world title in surfing since Kelly slater is becoming less of a competitive threat over the years. Kolohe has been in the surf spotlight for almost 10 years, starting to gain lots of exposure in his teens. While he doesn’t have the most competitive success, I definitely expected his Wiki page to be a little more developed than it is. I thought I would be a hero and give my favorite surfer the credit he deserves. Scope his wiki HERE.

When I sat on the idea of editing Kolohe’s page, I realized one thing that could potentially be problematic. I asked myself, “what can editing this post do for the surf community/how relevant is it to the overall sport?” On top of this, I only know Kolohe from a fan perspective. Sure, he faded me that one time out at Lowers before the Hurley Pro years ago, but that’s about the closest I’ve ever been to the guy. I figured there had to be something better I could edit and maybe know some more knowledge on. I headed over to the Wikipedia page for surfing, and braced myself for the kookiness that ensued.

Believe me, I could probably edit half the page. It also is just weird seeing all these terms in there most proper form. Everyone knows the slang surfers uses to describe certain things could almost be translated to a whole new language. While I thought most of the page was trash at first sight, there honestly I suppose is a lot of good information for someone that didn’t know jack shit about the sport I surround myself with daily. So as I scanned the page for something I thought was lacking for the sport, I stumbled upon the maneuvers section.

While there were some cringe worthy explanations most likely written by someone that can’t even perform the maneuver that well, the one that crossed my mind as the weakest part of an essential aspect of modern day surfing was the air/aerial. The first air was landed around the 80s or 90s and they really have come along way. Check out these clips to see the evolution from early on to modern day:

Here is a clip of Christian Fletcher, regarded as one of the pioneers of aerial surfing. This is earlier in the evolution of the air, notice the lack of rotation and low height in comparison to the ones below.

Kelly Slater doing one of the most innovative airs to date, a 540/720 depending on how well you can count (there is a longstanding argument between surfers and skaters alike on whether it is a 540 or a 720). Kelly is the best at every aspect of the sport, so including him is imperative.

John John nabbing one of the biggest if not the biggest alley oop to this day. It graced the cover of Surfing magazine and was one of the last clips in his critically acclaimed film “View From A Blue Moon.”

Felipe Toledo, one of the best modern day aerialist and is known for a crazy completion rate for airs in and out of a contest singlet.

So, we can see a lot has changed in the world of surfing in the aerial department, and new surfers post clips to instagram same day as they landed a massive air. My feed is always clogged with boosted airs and crazy rotations. It only seemed right to elaborate on an aspect that is pushing the sport in an innovative and crazy direction, since before my edit there were 2 sentences on the subject matter.

After my addition, I believe the community will easily be able to identify airs they see or even if they are competent enough figure out what to call the air they pulled last session to tell their friends. It has taken a long time being around the sport for me to be able to call airs based on grabs and rotations, but once you get the hang of it its not the worst thing in the world.

Note: my wiki name is surfbro808 (Here is the LINK to the page I am talking about. If you don’t want to scan on the wiki for the piece I wrote, here it is below)

Airs/Aerials: These maneuvers have been becoming more and more prevalent in the sport in both competition and free surfing. An air is when the surfer can achieve enough speed and approach a certain type of section of a wave that is supposed to act as a ramp and launch the surfer above the lip line of the wave, “catching air”, and landing either in the transition of the wave or the whitewash when hitting a close-out section.

Airs can either be straight airs or rotational airs. Straight airs have minimal rotation if any, but definitely no more rotation than 90 degrees. Rotational airs require a rotation of 90 degrees or more depending on the level of the surfer.

Types of rotations:

  • 180 degrees – called an air reverse, this is when the surfer spins enough to land backwards, then reverts to their original positional with the help of the fins. This rotation can either be done frontside or backside, and can spin right or left.
  • 360 degrees – this is a full rotation air or “full rotor” where the surfer lands where they started or more, as long as they do not land backwards. When this is achieved front side on a wave spinning the opposite of an air reverse is called an alley oop.
  • 540 degrees – the surfer does a full rotation plus another 180 degrees, and can be inverted or spinning straight, few surfers have been able to land this air.
  • Backflip – usually done with a double grab, this hard to land air is made for elite level surfers.
  • Rodeo flip – usually done backside, it is a backflip with a 180 rotation, and is actually easier than a straight backflip.
  • Grabs – a surfer can help land an aerial maneuver by grabbing the surfboard, keeping them attached to the board and keeping the board under their feet. Common types of grabs include:
    • Indy – a grab on the surfers (inside rail going frontside, outside rail going backside) with their back hand.
    • Slob – a grab on the surfers (inside rail going frontside, outside rail going backside) with their front hand.
    • Lien – A grab on the surfers (outside rail frontside, inside rail going backside) with their front hand.
    • Stalefish – A grab on the surfers (outside rail frontside, inside rail backside) with their back hand.
    • Double grab – A grab on the surfers inside and outside rail, the inside rail with the back hand and the outside rail with the front hand.

 

Essential for Development

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It is often inevitable. If we thought of a world or a life without change, we would envision something incredibly dismal. Stuck in a rut of familiarity and also stagnant in growth. From physical, to mental, to perspective. Change in all of the above is necessary for survival. It is survival of the fittest, and we would all go down to natural selection if we do not adapt and change. Some loath it while others love it. Some remain impartial to change, and just ride the waves of ups and downs that come along with life. No matter who you are, what status you have, rich or poor, healthy or sick, change will be coming down the pipeline at some point. Sometimes you are blindsided, sometimes you can know about it  for months in advance. 

On one hand, change can implement a fear. You will very quickly be thrown out of your routine and into a new one. Familiar faces will be replaced with first encounters, and things you can count on will no longer be reliable. A learning curve will be implemented with change. Sometimes steep, other times meager. The best way to meet the challenge head on is changing yourself. While change often occurs outside of you, adapting on the inside is how you will conquer it. Whether it is changing your perspective and looking at the glass half full, or looking for the positives underneath all of the negatives, a perspective change helps conquer the biggest changes. 

On the opposite hand, some meet change head on and love the challenge. Change breeds unfamiliarity and discomfort, which can lead to a person’s biggest growth and understanding of themselves. Instead of looking at a loss of your old routine, embrace a new and different routine. Maybe the best routine is a mix of the old and the new. Instead of looking at the loss of familiar faces, relish in the new relationships you will build and never forget about the old ones. If you think about it, you will just double your relationships and connections. Look at the learning curve as a helpful challenge. While you may be tackling unfamiliar tasks or daily activities, look to them for the lessons and knowledge packed inside of them rather than something you just have to do or deal with. 

The craziest thing about change is in which the speed it can take place. Things can change in the blink of an eye. In this world we live in, you never really know what can be around the corner. Good or bad. For better or worse. Large or small. Change will happen. Like stated earlier, sometimes you can see it coming while other times you are blindsided. In anticipation of the random and erratic occurrence in which change takes place, the best we can do is have an open mind. While this helps in all aspects of life, it is especially essential in the face of change and adversity. Going into every day with open arms mentally (and physically [not in a touchy way] to friends, family, and even strangers) can help enhance day to day life and help you adapt to any challenge or change thrown your way. 

4 Ways to Avoid the Frost in 2020

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With 2020 rang in and all of us following our new set of precedents and goals for the new decade (more on that at a later time, it’s too early in the journey), some of us might find ourselves in need of something a little extra. Whether it is exercise, getting up earlier, or any resolution that involves leaving the house, one thing is always a deterrent and can halt any ambition or progress no matter how strong the will. It is kind of ironic that the first two months of our “new lives” are typically lived out in the coldest environment we experience every year. Whether you are in California or New Jersey, or just about anywhere, cold weather is imminent during the months of January and February. Immediate discomfort can come from being cold, and usually the warmest place is staying in bed or in your heated house. But here, I’m going to recommend 4 ways to stay warm and battle the New Year chill that accompanies the change in the calendar date. 

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Warm beverages 

On top of already being a satisfying way to wake up, a warm beverage can help ignite your body heat and break any chill you might have. Starting the day with a hot cup of coffee adds energy and warmth all at once at the start of the day. Typically this is extra essential if you wake up when the sun is just starting to rise, so by the time you finish the cup it is high in the sky and the land is slowly starting to heat up. Not just for the morning hours, a warm and welcoming cup of anything warm midday can also break a freeze and warm the inside in preparations for a commute home, a run outside, or just heating you up in the office. Coffee, tea, hot water with lemon, anything that has steam coming off of it is worth a go when the weather starts creeping down on the thermometer. 

Cozy Clothes 

Being comfortable in the chill is one of the number one ways to not be crippled by the cold. Whether you are up early in the AM or out late at night. Maybe you live in a climate that is stupid cold even when the sun is out at 1PM. No matter where or what the occasion, having a solid set of stylish cold weather gear can be essential to retaining heat all hours of the day. The two integral pieces are the jacket and the footwear. A heavy-duty jacket can help keep you warm in all types of weather, and adding some waterproofing properties might help if you find yourself caught in a snow or sleet storm. Either get a super heavy one or layer up to keep it toasty. On this same idea, having some extra warm hooves on your feet can also help stop the shiver. When your feet are cold, it typically tends to travel upward quite quickly. A good boot or something with fur on the inside will make it feel like you are walking on heated floor tiles. Warm toes and warm clothes brings the heat.  

Sweat 

While it sometimes is incredibly hard to exit the house or office and get a sweat going, it often can really heat up your internal temperature and make even the coldest soul turn warm. Running in the bitter cold can be tough, but it really only takes 5-10 minutes to warm up and start breaking a sweat. Whether you are running in a sweatsuit or shorts and a long sleeve tee, at one point you will begin to sweat. The more you bundle up, the less effort you have to put into breaking a sweat. A quick bike ride bundled up can also raise the temperature to sweat-worthy levels, and lets you take in your beautiful town or city while also escaping the cold. Sometimes just getting outside can lift the spirit, and the more you do it the more you realize how integral it is to living a happy life. The only thing that might be worse than being frozen is being cooped up inside for multiple days. Cabin fever is a real thing. 

Winter sheets 

Although it may seem a little counterintuitive since in the opening paragraph I was telling you ways to stay warm upon exiting your bed, staying warm while sleeping and recovering is also a key factor to a healthy lifestyle and also not waking up in the middle of the night quaking from the cold. We sleep for at least a quarter of our day, and helps our body reset and take on the impending cold the next day. In most climates, surely your summer sheets will not fight the cold enough. Rather than using every sheet you own on top of each other, having a second set of heavy hitters for when the nighttime chill creeps in definitely can lead to better sleep. This in turn also leads to not waking up cranky from the cold. The only downside is you might be so warm and cozy getting up might take a little bit more effort. But all in all, the better nights of sleep you get lead to better results in recovery, energy, and overall peace of mind.