Escential

Perhaps some of you recall that after replacing the punk rock wetsuit, I intended to write a review of its replacement. Of course, I never got around to it, until now that is.

My original intent was to find a suit not built by one of the bigger companies. No doubt, some of these companies have their product wired but being a fan of the underdog, I figured on going with a smaller outfit. My decision came down to either a suit by then fledgling company Escential and UK based Nineplus. In the end, I went with the Escential suit.

Caveat time. It's probably riskier to go with a newer brand. Bugs need to get worked out and all that. That said, I still pulled the trigger. I ordered the suit(3/2) through Icons of Surf and got it fairly quickly, although it didn't see duty until May-ish.

The Pros - The fit was proper, flushing was minimal, and there is a fleece-like lining in the chest area for added warmth. The suit was also quite flexible.

The Cons - There was no key pocket or loop and within a couple of months, some seams on the inner thigh started to come loose and the glue around the smooth skin on the chest started to gap a bit.

As far as customer service goes, Escential are fantastic. I sent an email to Carl, the owner of the company about the seams and he had me send it back and replaced it with a brand new suit. The newer suit is the one pictured and has held up fairly well, although it has the same problem with the smooth skin around the chest. Apparently Escential has dealt with this problem by doing away with the smooth skin and it has added to the durability, although I don't have one of the newer versions.

So....do I recommend this product? I do. For the price, as well as the fact that the customer service is top notch AND that Escential is going to lengths to address any durability issues serves to make them a company worth checking out. I also dig the fact that they're based on the East Coast.

Once again, I don't get anything for the product placement. I just wanted to give with an unbiased review of a good product. If you need a new suit, support the small guy and check 'em out.

The Defiant One

Further annals in parenting.

After approaching 18 month old SoEM because he enjoys being told "no touch" whilst touching the dvd player and then touching it as much as he can as you move to stop him, I noted the presence of stink lines emanating from his diaper region and posed that most ultimate of queries, "Hey dude, did you poop?" His reply was a bold gaze and an emphatic, "No!" He had, naturally.

Ladies and gennemen, the toddler has landed.

Holidaze

Ho. Ho. Ho.

We made it alive and well back from sunny Los Angeles only to be welcomed back by this sub-zero bull. Harumph I say.

Still and all, the West Coast was a welcome change of pace. It was sunny and in the 70's most of the time. Mrs. Meezy returned from a stroll her first morning there and stated, "Let's move back." Amen, Doll. Now there's only the small matter of securing a massive chunk of change for a house, jobs for both of us and tuition for SoEM once he hits middle school. I ain't bitter folks, really I aren't. Wistful thinking is all.

I spent Christmas Morn on a borrowed epoxy longboard at Bay Street in Santa Monica. Waves weren't fantastic but were fun. I managed to snag a few decent rides. I must say that I don't care for the epoxy. It was lacking something. It turned ok and I got into waves ok but I tried to walk it a couple times and that just didn't work. It also seemed to lack the weight or the feel of my poly longboard. Needless to say, I won't be rushing out to pick up a plastic fantastic machine like that anytime soon.

Finally...SoEM slept both to and fro the Coasts. So minus having to lug a bunch of crap around the airport, the voyage was fairly seamless.

New Year's Realizations

I'm probably jumping on the "past year" blog entry a little early but that's alright because I'm winging off to LA with my little family tomorrow. It will be my little boy's first time on a plane, which should be interesting. Thankfully, we're flying at night so we hope he sleeps.

The year started off a bit rough. I lost my job back in February. My son was five months old and we were contemplating putting in a bid on a house in Waltham(dodged a bullet). My wife has been down the unemployment road with me before and the phone call I had to make to let her know that I had been let go because my company needed to dump salaries to stay afloat hit the "worst moments in my life" list with a bullet.

The situation definitely stung until I realized that being home with my son at this important stage in his young life was a gift. I realized that I had the opportunity to take a step back and try to figure out some different career options.

In pursuing a career as a writer, I have often taken whatever jobs paid my way while I worked on my "craft". It never occurred to me that I could have an actual career in a job that I cared about and still work on my screenplays, or my novel, etc. It was the arrival of SoEM(and my layoff) that gave me new impetus to search out something not just to pay the bills but also to feed the soul. I'll let you know what I find when I find it.

Thanks Again

The Thanksgiving tradition continued at the same spot as last year and while it was smaller than last year, I probably had a better time. Winds were less than 5 knots making it fairly comfortable in the water and the waves were waist-ish and clean. A small crew was out and the vibe was proper.

I grinned huge for the young(ish)kid who burned me on one wave and gave me a thumbs-up as he did it(he had position).

El Meezy's Beach

It may have been bigger elsewhere yesterday but can anyone say that they had a whole beach to themselves(I've got my hand up)?

The call was the "unnamed beach break" that I've big-upped in the past. Knee-high stuff yesterday with some waist sets and clean. I spent most of my time working on some areas that I felt could use a little polish. My two best moments were two women giving me a standing o from the beach after I had done a little carving on one wave and when I was a little overzealous with my cross-stepping and went off the front of my board(no lie). Good thing I can laugh at myself.

I'm about to break out my hood and depending on how the weather goes, we'll see how many sessions I have in me before I decide to pack it in for the season. Luckily, I'm going to LA next month and will get to prolong the stoke a bit.

The shots above were taken a couple of months ago. I don't think I had even busted out my booties yet.

I hate winter.