No, not Jew. Yew! This is the new word to express exuberance amongst surfers. I like it. It’s more of a whoop than a word. So sometimes it’s more like YEWWWWWWWW!
Anyway, the weather and waves in San Diego have been magnificent. Today it seriously felt like summer outside. It was great for the people who had Presidents day off. Yesterday I went surfing with Beth at a break called Terramar (or Terra Mar, not sure if it’s one word or two). We were trying to find a spot that was a bit sheltered from the brunt of the sizable WNW-NW swell that’s hitting the coast. If you went to a spot that was facing the swell the waves were hitting double overhead. At Terramar the waves were only about a foot overhead – 6′ or so. I think maybe one or two 7′ waves might have rolled through as well. It was fun to push my limits, and it felt good to have a friend out there with me. I caught a bunch of waves, and my last wave was just perfect — except that I had to drop in on a longboarder to get it. For you non-surfers, dropping in is not very nice. It goes against surfing etiquette. Basically dropping in means that someone else is already riding the wave and you take off in front of them, effectively cutting them off. Well, I don’t think I exactly cut off this longboarder. All I remember is looking over my shoulder and seeing him there, and I thought to myself, “well he’s just standing there cruising, so I’m just gonna go and ride in front of him.” I don’t usually do this, but this particular wave was just so perfect and I was in the absolute perfect spot to catch it. I couldn’t let it pass. Somtimes you just have to break a rule now and then…
For more details on this situation and more surfing etiquette rules, check out my article on the subject at my website:
http://www.surfinghandbook.com/knowledge/surfing-etiquette/
Today was another beautiful day, and in between doing some work and going to a chiropractor (more on that in a second), I had just enough time for a mini session. I knew Grandview was going to be big, but I only had time to go there since it’s the closest spot. I saw that there were some pretty sizable sets coming through, but it was SO clean and organized I just had to paddle out. I can definitely handle the conditions, it’s just a bit of a mental challenge against the fear of bigger waves.
I paddled out and had no trouble, but once I was out there I was a bit nervous. I had to concentrate on just staying calm and reminding myself that I could handle it. The average sets were running about a foot overhead, which doesn’t really sound like much, but it’s BIG when you’re out there. The only fear I have of big waves is getting caught inside – this means being in front of them when they break. Sometimes you really get caught and you end up right in the impact zone where the lip comes down. That’s the worst place to be, and in cases like that I tend to jump off my board and dive. Otherwise you risk getting a broken nose or a board to the face.
Anyway, I told myself I’d just catch one wave and ride it in to shore, especially since I had to go to this chiropractor appointment. Well, I got lucky and after about 15 minutes a really nice one came to me and I caught it perfectly. Even though the session was really short it was a great confidence builder. I’m slowly working my way up and able to handle myself confidently in larger waves. Larger waves are definitely more fun if you can handle them – you go faster and it’s just an awesome feeling when you’re flying down the line with the lip feathering above your head.
After my session I went to a chiropractor in San Diego because I’ve been having a very annoying neck issue for the past year and a half. It started as a crick in my neck one morning when I woke up and lifted my head off the pillow, and it just keeps coming back. Eventually it became a chronic low grade pain that flares up every once in a while. I can’t really turn my head to the right without a sharp pain, and looking over my shoulder in the car is kind of hard. I was just ignoring it for a while, but my friend Lori works at this chiropractors office as a massage therapist and she recommended him. He actually works with a lot of professional and olympic athletes, and his prices are extremely reasonable for those without insurance.
Anyway he took X-Rays just to make sure my neck wasn’t messed up, and they came out fine. My spine is actually in great condition, and I actually DON”T have minor scoliosis like the school nurse told me in high school. I just lean for some reason, so one shoulder is slightly higher than the other. It just has to do with certain muscles shortening. Anyway, he gave my neck a minor adjustment and used ultrasound to stimulate the particular muscles in my neck that were shortened as a result of whatever problem or injury first caused my neck to cramp up.
Then the doctor put this tape across my shoulders in the back to help slightly adjust my posture. I have to wear this tape for 4 days!! It’s not that uncomfortable, but it’s kind of weird. My shoulders are so rounded forward from surfing that it’s causing my whole body alignment to go out of whack. Anyway, it was a good visit and I just want to nip this in the bud before it becomes a chronic or worse problem.
Well, that’s the update!
I didn’t have any pictures from this week to update, so I’ll just post this one. I just found out that President Obama is going to give the commencement address this spring at the University of Michigan, which is pretty cool. So, here’s a picture of my friends and I from graduation:
