Surfin' the Eastside

I finally got out in the water yesterday. My surf buddy Nicole invited me out to Shark's Cove for an afternoon session. Our other friends Steve and Dennis joined us as well and as usual it was a party in the bay. That was my first time at Shark's Cove (and no, no sharks - just some hungry otters feeding in the kelp beds) and it was a pretty fun wave! It was slow moving and hard to catch, but was steep and fast once it started to break! It's always interesting visiting a new break, you never realize the endless shapes waves form.

Hangin' Around This Town

Since it's been flat (yes again!) I decided to hangout inland this past weekend and do some projects around my place. Well, Alison, Ami and I ended up going to Ikea and to the Iris B. Cantor museum at Stanford (a sample of one of the exhibits is pictured above). A lot of eye candy for the day and we were pooped! Then on Sunday, Alison and I hung out within a 2 mile radius of my place and managed to get a lot of window shopping and art supply shopping done! Hopefully we'll get some surf in this week!

Uber-beautiful Charlize!

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Charlize Theron has become a action hero! She will be playing Aeon Flux (an MTV Comic series from long agone). I never thought her to kick ass, but I loved her in the "Italian Job" where she did pull some great driving stunts. The movie starts in December and would make a great birthday gift to myself to catch that flick in the theaters!

Tempting as it is, I don't see her as a Wonder Woman contender... maybe she's just too South African (nothing against them, I dated a gorgeous one for about a year and a half) or just too damn beautiful!

Recognizing Myself

I finally got out and socialized this weekend. It seems like forever since I had hung out with more than a couple people at a time. Saturday night I went to Alison and Briana's (and their 4 other roommate's) "mustache and Leather Party". The theme was a little more innocent than it sounded - you either wore a 'stache or leather, but how and where you display those items were up to you. Everyone was well behaved and wore the theme'd attire appropriately. I, myself, wore pleather (polyester made to look like leather) chaps - with jeans and boots, black shirt and leopard print scarf around my neck. It was kinda a dark, sexy cowgirl look. I'll ask around for the pics. Alison also sported a tan pleather skirt, and sported a eyeliner 'stache, which I had opt'd out on. I got home late, but managed to get up and go to Nicole's, one of my surfer buds) house warming party. That was a great time! Live music, surfers, we learned how to make vietnamese spring rolls, and we got to play with food! I then went surfing after...small but fun at 38th! I forgot how much energy it takes to be social, but I do hope to engage in more summer activities. The holidays are coming up so happy times are ahead...This was just the kick start!

South Swell We Love You!

Great Day! Finally a swell came in and sent some 2-4ft waves! I got up at 4:45am and I took out my 9'0 Bob Miller Winged Fish. I made some nice turns and finally hung 5 on that board! I can't remember the last day I came out of the water with a smile that lasted all day! I am going out again tomorrow to finish off the swell! Both pics of my awesome board!

Finishing up old business

For godsakes! No wonder I didn't finish school back when I was 21! I realize that I sure as hell didn't have the motivation to gather all my transcripts and go through class by class, unit by unit, and everything I needed to transfer. You have to really want to go to school! And I realize a lot kids get through the process and graduate, but support and motivation come in different forms. Being 30 and returning to my studies has made me come to discover the person I was in my early 20's. I seriously had no idea what the world had to offer me, although I thought I did. I figured I would get my Art History degree, travel and work as a teacher or in a museum. Well, I didn't finish my degree, I did travel (lots), and I work in IT/Networking. Hmmmm...Sometimes life takes us on different paths, but I have returned to very spot I left off. I am now preparing to finish off my degree in Art History (with a minor in Literature), but as far as what I want to do with the degree is now even more a mystery to me. Let it ride and see where I go, and what people cross my path. I only hope it keeps me on the road to where I want to be in my career as a student. Isn't the journey the crucial element in the scheme of all things?

Reality Check

We surfed Linda Mar in Pacifica today! How spoiled Alison and I are with those consistent Santa Cruz breaks! The take-off's were pretty steep (more than we are used too) so its going to take some time to get used to. We have about a month to practice for the NorCal Women's Surfest.

Be Gone Flat Spell!!

It is still very flat out there in Monterey Bay! I should take up kayaking. I went out yesterday morning to 38th and ended up paddling over to 1st Peak (Pleasure Point) and it wasn't much of an improvement. Here are some pics of how mellow it was:

Flatsville

Geez it was flat this morning! I had my digi-cam with me this time to share this tragic day. I went to Cowells (which I knew would be lake-like)and basically just hung out in the water with my local buds, Nicole and Steve. I had a good time with them and its one of the reasons I like going to Cowells. Here's what it looked like:



I then drove over to the Eastside to see what Pleasure Point and 38th was lookin' like and it wasn't that much better. I think the small birds on the rocks were catching more than the surfers in the water (38th):



Tomorrow Alison and I will see whats going on with the surf. I heard its going to be slightly better. Her and I agreed to do the NorCal Women's Surfest Sept.10th at Linda Mar in Pacifica. Time to go practice on crappy shore breaks!

My English Teacher Surfs!

That is what my friend Kelly's students are going be saying when she returns to school in the fall! Kel and I went out this morning and she was a complete rockstar! A true natural that got up on the first wave she took! She used the "Crouching Tiger" technique, but so did I when I was first learning to stand. She had no problems paddling and catching a wave! Here is what she had to say about her experience (this was a comment she had made on my previous blog):

Kelly said...

Okay, can I tell you what an awesome surf "teacher" Leigh is? We went out early this morning, apparently on "dawn patrol," and caught a few calm waves, perfect for learning. I'm definitely hooked. But, once all the surf schools arrived, a bit tough to navigate a clean line without crashing a bit. Very fun!

9:12 AM

We did get ambushed by the surf schools and had to bail outta there. The tide was starting to come in, completely shutting it out. Lotsa people and no waves equals no fun. I had such a great time and am very happy with the results! The above pic is of Cowells on a very flat morning (kinda like today but without the Surf School University out!).

Little Wednesday

I did get in a surf session yesterday morning. It was pretty fun and foggy and I got a chance to try out Alison's rejected skeg (shown to the left). Her and I are two very different surfers. Her goal is to carve and do cutbacks and floaters, as to where to I want to cruise, noseride, and do weird quirky tricks. With that said, the skeg proved to suite my goals and I was quite pleased with it. I felt it responded well and locked the board into the wave.

Tomorrow I am going out again and my friend Kelly wants to come! I am so excited! Kelly and I go way back to my days as a student in Paris. She was very much a part of that trip and I am very happy she is still a trusted friend to me after all these years. I am sure she's going to rock tomorrow!



Pictured is one of my favorite surfers, Kassia Meador. When learning to noseride it is so beneficial to watch videos, see where the surfer is on the wave and watch their body language on the board. Here are my favorites to watch:

1. CJ Nelson - Fun to watch cuz he pulls off some innovative maneuvers!
2. Phil Edwards - Oldie but goody - stylish and all around casual and effortless.
3. Kassia Meador - A goofy-footer like myself and THE best woman longboarder ever!
3. Alex Knost - That guy just plants himself on the nose!
4. Wingnut - He just goes for it and just a fun improviser.
5. Melanie Bartels -yeah she's a shortboarder, but she rips!

Wonder Woman Revised!

Someone had corrected me on my Eva Mendez info. She was actually born in Miami, FL (not TX) and grew up in Los Angeles. That still makes her very much an American and very much a canidate for the role of Wonder Woman. Although, isn't Wonder Woman an Amazonian?? Go figure...as long as we get some tough, sexy thang, I don't think anyone is going to complain.




Oh, and as I was checking my resources and facts, I came across some Eva quotes of interest to those of us women who enjoy women ;)...so straight from the mouth of Eva:

"..I'm a girl's girl."

"...guys can be yucky, and girls are sweet, soft and smell good."

I can certainly relate to Ms.Mendez's sage words that are oh-so-homo-erotic. Now I am going to be dissappointed if they pick someone else to be Wonder Women because my expectations are so high. (hmmm...she suspiciously looks like the girl who stocks our medical supplies once a month at work, to whom I have been shamelessly flirting with for the last couples years - I vow here and now to do something about that, but thats another blog for another day!)