Beach Break Brutality

When my Mom arrived yesterday to watch the kids, I told her that I had a doctor's appointment at 1:45 and would be leaving early from work. After the appointment, I also informed her, I would be going surfing. "You're an idiot. You don't want to wait until it's warmer?" Thanks Mom but no, I need this.

The air was about 50, the water about 37/38. I brought the Hot Generation to baptize it. As it turned out, it would not be the best day to try and get a new board wired.

It didn't look that bad from the beach, however, at The Local, you have to get pretty close up to get a true assessment of what's going on out there. The parking situation at The Local has sucked for some time. I've previously mentioned that construction on the causeway up there, which is dragging on way too long, has resulted in the huge parking lot(state beach) being closed off. This means that if you luck out and get a spot in the small lot at the rotary, well, you've lucked out. As I'm changing, a dude with a board on top of this truck racks pulls in and barks out, "Leavin'?" "Nope." He pulls into a recently vacated spot and the huge rails give the guy away. Sweeper. "You surfing or paddling?" "Surfing, man." "Attaboy!" It's hard to be standoffish to such an affable janitor.

I walk down to "Dirt Pile" and watch for a bit while stretching. White water is heavy. It's not overhead. Call it chest to head. Doable. If you want to take a longer stroll to get to "Bath House" or "Third Bench", you can. However, it's easier to hit the peak at "Dirt Pile" where the water is nice and mungy. Again, I can't wait for the lot to open back up, so I can just go right out at either of the two aforementioned peaks.

I thought there was a channel but no. Perhaps it was wishful thinking. Perhaps I was just impatient. Still and all, paddling headway was being made. Just as I time it right and get reasonably far out, a set wave Maytags me before I can get outside. Shit. I struggle a little longer but it's not happening. I ride a reform in and walk even further up the beach. That's a channel.

This time I get out. It was 3:30 when I started all this. It's now a bit past 4. It looks to be head high on the sets. Once I've had my rest, I start trying for them. Now I'm too far out. Alright, I move in. Legs are starting to get cold. Finally, I drop in on a set wave. Lots of white water. I'm more or less on the flats, trying to turn the corner and as fast as the HG is, I never quite make it. I settle for some reforms on the inside as I know I have to get out and head for home.

At least I got wet.

Tunes for the Backseat Crowd

Do I sometimes resemble one of those parents trying to force their music/taste on their kids in order to impart some sort of taste/cool factor by way of osmosis? Guilty as charged. In my defense, a lot of it is organic as I always listen to tunes in the car and when the boys are with me, we take turns. Sometimes it's Greasy Kids Stuff(great comps) and sometimes it's Dad's choice although the two backseat critics(especially Thing 1)have exercised their power of veto on more than one occasion. Dinosaur Jr., for example usually does not go over too well. Roadrunner? Always a popular choice. Thing 1 was requesting it and singing along with it at age 2 and Thing 2 has been known to fervently car seat pogo when it's playing. So boys...this one's for you.

For the Missus

I write about some of my passions, surfing, music, beer but generally speaking, I’ve avoided too much of the truly personal. In those moments when I do write about, say, my little clan, it’s about my lads while THE most important person in my life hasn’t gotten much press. I am referring, of course, to Mrs. Meezy.

As of December, we have been married for 6 years, although we have been together for a little over 10 years.

At the time of our meeting, our intrepid hero was not feeling so intrepid. I had been out in LA for 5 years and when I arrived home for the holidays in ‘02/’03, I had been out of work for three months, having been laid off from my job at FX Networks. A job I’d held for almost three years. There had also been no traction in regards to my fledgling screenwriting career. Out there, everyone has a script. I had also been stuck in the black hole that is LA’s dating scene for a lonnnng time. There is plenty to do as a young single person in Los Angeles but life out there can be isolating, as I found out.

So it was that I arrived back on the East Coast for the holidays with my tail between my legs but with the steely resolve that at 33 years of age, I was going to be an eternal bachelor.

Little did I know...

New Year’s Eve arrived and I found myself at The Druid in Inman Square, Cambridge with “The Bollocks” and his lovely wife. Although there were a number of lovely young women in attendance that evening, I was sticking with my steely resolve. Besides, see how well you do when you're attempting to chat up a NE girl but then have to admit that you live in LA. Picture the scene where Daffy Duck tries to upstage Bugs Bunny and gets nothing but crickets for his troubles and you should have a clear picture of how that bit of information usually went over.

However...

Fifteen minutes after my arrival and "she" walked in. She wasn't backlit and fans weren't blowing her hair around but I was instantly drawn to her. She was very pretty, dark brown hair, nice smile, bright blue eyes and to cap it off, when I sidled up to get a closer look, she went and ordered a Stella Artois. I was done for. Now she had noticed yours truly as well and was subtly trying to get my attention and although I am not a shy person by any stretch of the imagination, choking out even a “hello” was proving to be impossible. She then asked me to take a picture of her and her friends and we spoke and then adjoined to another bar and I walked her home and took her out on what would be the best date of my life two days later and a day before I would fly back to the West Coast.

For the next 9 months we flew back and forth across the country(admittedly, she came West more than I flew East)to see one another until she made a decision that she had actually been pondering for some time and moved out West.

The End?

Hardly.

One move West, another back East, two more moves from Somerville to Arlington and finally Dedham, MA, a house, two kids, countless laughs, some tears, some yelling, a lifetimes worth of “good conversation” and no end in sight. She’s my best friend and a large part of why I’ve made the advances that I’ve made in my life. She knows the above story all too well. She’s lived it and it’s been told a million times but the best part is that it’s far from over.

Happy Valentine's Day my Love!

PS -

Even if I said I wouldn't put up any pictures of you, you're incognito behind those shades and yet...your beauty is still readily apparent.

Maiden Voyage

Since November, either I, or a member of my little clan have been sidelined with some kind of illness. Sometimes the timing wasn't right. A lot of times, there just weren't any waves. Yesterday, however, the stars aligned a bit.

I joined the crew at The Local yesterday morning to try out my new acquisitions. It was a tad small for the Hot Generation but conditions were perfect for longboarding. Enter...The Golden Girl(sobriquet provided by Brian Hilbers).

Pause.

I had my mind blown a little.

Unpause.

D-fins do indeed turn. In this case, the board whips right around into trim. Glide? Yes. Nimble? Oh yes. Stable? Mmm-hmm(I can knee paddle it just fine). I love how I can throw it around. I might love it too much. I nearly took out Tony P when I called "Left!" on one wave and then decided to whip back around to go right. Jay got nearly the same treatment. It takes a high line perfectly. I got a bit of a stretch five at one point. It was a good day.

I don't know. It may have been only the first session but I'm drinking the kool-aid that Mike Black has been peddling. Pigs rule, man.

Friday Dance Tunes

I'm not a cool guy anymore.

Evolution 2

Annnd the Golden Girl/Grey Lady. Hilbers is killing it.

Evolution 1

As I both improve and evolve, in regards to my surfing, I have also gotten more in tune with what I like in a board and where I want to go. In the interest of my continued evolution, I made a decision to sell my Mini Zombie for a different style of ride with more of a hull-ish feel and ordered a Hot Generation from Brian Hilbers, via Pilgrim Surf and Supply.

While discussing the HG with Brian, I mentioned that I was interested in potentially ordering a pig from him at some juncture and HE mentioned that Pilgrim had one that he had shaped which is based off a board that was a favorite of Reynolds Yater and I promptly sold my noserider.

I drove down to Brooklyn to pick both up yesterday. Pilgrim is owned by former Mollusk Brooklyn owner and artist Chris Gentile. Both he and employee Eric(sorry I didn't catch the last name) were fantastic in regards to ordering and then going in to get the boards. The shop has a great vibe, Chris is very welcoming and knowledgable and he is dedicated to stocking great hand shapes that work on this coast.

Without further ado, here's part one of the board porn. I present the Hot Generation:

Look for the pig in the above post.