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February 27, 2006
surfing & yoga...
i just finished up a yoga workshop with put on by a couple of surfer yogis. it was an intense week-end of ashtanga yoga for 3 days straight, plus a backbending workshop. (backbends are the key to opening up our upper back muscles that we use in surfing!!) ashtanga yoga has always challenged me on such a deep level & always made me feel so at peace after each session. it was the very first type of yoga that i learned when i first started naturopathic medical school, years ago. i still remember how it just kicked my butt & yet i was on such a high afterwards. i still get that same feeling to this day.
surfing & yoga are so much alike to me. for example, i went surfing this afternoon at diamond head. the conditions were extremely windy, chilly & choppy. there were only 2 other surfers out and a boogie boarder. and then there was me, the only girl. diamond head typically has at least 50 people on a good day. so i paddled in, got thrown around, dragged in every direction, surrendered into the white wash a few times, laughing the whole entire time at myself. it was a session about complete surrender, having no expectations of any perfect wave, being completely open & loose, in total union with mother nature.
anyway, i just wanted to put in the plug for yoga...especially if you're a surfer. it's the best thing that you can do for your body, your mnd, your heart, & your soul.
www.yogasurfadventures.com
~namaste
Posted by soul sista' at 11:36 PM | Comments (0)
February 24, 2006
blastshield bandits unite!
thks AL & jaja for the email/blog & photo's. looks like another great time up at the chiwawa-paloza cabin/ski fest. man the stories are sounding like we missed some great moments.
here's what one pilot had to say about the annual trip:
".....It was almost like old times again...skiing, drinking, sledding, and late
mornings. We finally had a good turn out and everyone really cut loose.
I wanted to send you a few pictures from the weekend just to let you know
that after I hung up with you I went right down stairs and grabbed the blast
shield and set it right in the middle of the dinner table. It was
amazing.....everyone knew just what that meant....it was time to get our
drink and party on. Yo-mix-a-lot was serving up a wicked concoction of
mixology which had people hating life the next morning. Only a few cracked
ribs and massive bruising was had on the sledding hill. I escaped serious
injury for the second year in a row. I only fell off the snow mobile 4 or 5
times going 40 MPH across the frozen snow field (Doug was driving)..."
another story i had heard from a different galactic pilot was:
"...a few too many drinks and big dinner we headed out to the sledding hill for a few midnight runs, what possessed Nathan to grab the kayak we don't know, but the resulting spectacular crash looked painful (he concurred). Using a shovel as a paddle on the boilerplate he picked up an alarming rate of speed and then rolled the boat...
Sunday was all about blueberry pancakes, warm syrup, crispy bacon, eggs and copious quantities of coffee. Then it was to the Leavenhoochie ski hill for some skating---with firm tracks and sunny skies our gang of 5 clicked off the k's and repented for the excesses of the previous 36 hours..."
Posted by Single Fin at 04:05 PM | Comments (2)
pirates & giants
there are points of time in this line of business where taking a huge risk is all that can be done. it often is the most surreal hail mary choice with the most to loose. luckily i'm part of team family that has a strong underdog mantra. quality bright people i treat like family. truly good people who are worth all their weight on any firing line. we are in the midst of some heavy thickness @ the moment. just like the movie "the dirty dozen" we've been selected for our next couple missions to die. this may be the end of all we know as a small band of misfit toys...or it might be the beginning of something wonderful. all i know is i'm part of a team that produces some of the best work in our little world of life. we are not afraid to fade away, but we are going down fighting as the true & dying breed...
Posted by Single Fin at 10:10 AM | Comments (0)
February 22, 2006
me likey surfy, surfy good...work draining.
so it goes...another day sluggin it out in the geek world. modern days version of the industrial revolution. well, kinda sorta that is. with much less harm to the body anyhow.
work is work. it's so busy i wouldn't know where to begin. but hey....who gives a rats ass. more importantly what's up with the surf???
well well well....now we are talking about something this blog is all about.
spent a coupla hours up @ "chun's" for a rainy dawn patrol session. not a bad morning w/ lots of guys out surfing the 9-11ft'rs. plenty of steep drops w/ the larger sets cranking in a coupla feet over head. decided to take the 8ft pintail out for a spin. only to quickly discover that there was a select 4 guys dropping in on everybody. your typical scruffy, dirty ass looking rough neck moks from north shore. i swear it never stops amazing me how people keep snow balling their own stupidity. ah well...suppose being a white guy up there means i need to hold my own. which brings me to this one moment that was super funny....i was zipping down the line, hit a high banked turn & was gearing up for the next fast section. this scruffy old boogie boarder guy starts to drop in on me @ about 6ft away. the wave kicks up to 7ft & i quickly dodge him as i shoot left into the white wash. he & i both get plowed over. yet the thing that struck me the most & was the most offensive was that he had a mullet. yup...you heard right punchy....a full blown bad move tossed in w/ a mullet. but this was not a regular mullet. this class act had a mullet with style.........he had actually taken the efforts to weave into a little braid. which i must say looked amazing w/ the butched buzz cutt & missing teeth on his grill. so i figured i need to uphold the motto i live by "give respect & get respect". we both popped up from the white water & i let him know that maybe next time he should pay attention using better judegment....or the next time he might get run over. ;-)
i know i know that sounds harsh. i did feel a tad bit bad about it. however, he had done this to several others already. not to mention in retrospect throughout the afternoon he had kept on doing it to random people. so i'm not the only one i'm sure that was offended. but @ least he quit doing it to me..
on a more high lighted note for that day...one of the waves i caught was a sweet over head right hander that i did get some cover up barrel action...which then changed into to a human burrito close out bell ringer. ended up touching reef & wishing i was on shore licking my wounded pride. haha lol..
later in the week i picked up a massive 10" nose rider fin. big...black..nasty looking meat cleaver.
loving it...& going out in the morning to let her loose on the small waves.
more to come kiddies....alohas & hang loose out there.
Posted by Single Fin at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)
February 18, 2006
tubes, fish tacos, sun burns & a sandy toes
hit it on the north shore this morning. couldn't bare to surf another small session again here in town. so so small & tensions seem to be building over the lack of waves. so.....decided to load up the surf mobile & head north in search of head high love....tall, glassy, clear blue kisses from mama nature.
pulled into a full car park @ lani's. lots of lookie loo's slowing & gawking @ the head high/glassy sets. looked like a good coupla sets of some nothern sewell directions. grabbed the 9' single fin & stroked out. coupla local friendly faces in the water which was nice. provided from some chatting while waiting for the macker sets. twas sitting in the middle break @ first to feel out the local vibe. realized that there was a prettty low key crowd w/ lots of whitey's. decided i'd catch a wave in the middle break & then head outside for the bombers, which had been cranking all morning. 1st wave of the day was a nice head high ripper which kicked over a nice cover up almond barrel. pulled in w/ a small stall to make sure i was getting as much as i could...dragged the fingers along the teal blue water. zipped up for the lip & stroked out to the lineup. so so stoked.
headed outside...proceeded to catch several over head waves over the 3 hours. paddled in super happy w/ the mornings events. lots of turtles in the water, plenty of stoke & waves to go round. by about noon the western direction push had started to take over & the crowd was getting 70+ thick.
funny moment....one of the macker sets i was stroking for i had to pull off at the last second due to this massive sea turtle that popped up right in front of me as i was getting ready to drop in. must've had had a shell about 2-3ft wide. big ol'pre-historic looking thing. guess he gets rights to that wave based off of age & being a local. "give respect & get respect"
headed to the local taco joint from some post-session grub.
it's moments like this that i truly enjoy about surfing.
oh yeah....just a shout out to the chiwawa crew up at the cabin this weekend. i hear the skiiing is epic & the backcountry is fresh. wish we could be there to hit the sticks, slugs the ta-killya & keeep the stoke going pacific north west style. miss you ski bums & hope you are getting your share up in the mtn's. we'll try to represent tomorrow again up in the north shore. you slide your way & we'll slide ours....meet somewhere in the middle w/ the same shit eating grin. until we see you mainland folks again...
alohas
Posted by Single Fin at 11:57 PM | Comments (1)
February 13, 2006
kaena point day trippin
(one of my fav shots of the weekend..)
(me, wandering up the northwest side of the island)
first weekend off in 5 weeks. not really sure what to do with myself..or the free time i had. lucky for me Ye had planned a whole day of activities to bring me back from orbit to the gravity of the human race. no games, no watch, no schedules or beeping of gadgets.
headed out to kaena pt for a day trip hike along the coast. twas a nice way to get lost for the day & explore. lots of fun w/ a wide array of creatures:
{whales, dolphins, turtles, monk seals, tropical fishes, black crabs, urchins, various small birds, a random mongoose or 3 & the rare/protected nesting albatross}
monk seal keeping cool in the sun
this photo was taken once i realized that he had snuck up behind us when we were exploring the shells in the water. funny to think a 400lb water dog can sneak up on anything.. ;-)
hawaiian braddha fishing for the big guys with this kinda gear
macker set #2, double over head
ye chilling & watching the monk seals, love the backdrop in this photo w/ some great contrast
one of my fav shots. this was taken looking down into the water...it;s so clear u can hardly even tell that shell is underwater.
the bishman having a moment to himself
a motely crew heading down the road
Posted by Single Fin at 11:06 AM | Comments (0)
February 09, 2006
me so happy
the project is picking up & my mind is lost. i feel giddy about the concept of taking a day off for a long weekend up in north shore.
check out these photos from sunday (thks goes to JB @ hawaiianwatershots.com)
(goose bumps.....)
waimea bay going off
elevator going down..
mother natures hugs of love
jet ski's are bad ass on days like this
Posted by Single Fin at 12:18 PM | Comments (0)
a day in the life
these are just some shots from last night & the past week that we liked & wanted to share.
alohas...
(anybody looking for just one left flip flop?)
(one of the land markers we see from the break)
(classic beach shot)
(google earth?)
(the fuzz)
(small & glassy last night)
Posted by Single Fin at 11:49 AM | Comments (0)
February 07, 2006
bruce banner is your mama
it's official..
today i reached a state of mind where i actually experienced a short circuit. a mental flickering during one of the most crucial moments. it was a surreal moment where i thought for sure that in front of this group of people...uttering the words "i give up" was not only an option, but the only thing that might come out of my mouth. i closed my eyes & all i could think of was the midgets from the wizard of oz singing their sweet song & the good witch telling dorothy that she just needed to click her heels 3 times to go home.
@ that moment i realized that being crazy is fun. we have 3 more weeks left on this project cycle & it might as well be 6 months. we are at the top of the projects hamburger hill push & the nerf gun is out of bullets. the plastic sword is bent in half, my 3d glasses are missing a lense & the driver of this bus is now in the back seat w/ the other fruits licking the window.
man...i need to surf.
Posted by Single Fin at 09:32 PM | Comments (5)
February 06, 2006
humpback whales
there are days when my mind seems like it just won't stop thinking...no matter how much i tell it to be quiet and be still, it just won't. the one thing that always brings me back to balance is nature. i started my morning for a nice run up the makapu lookout. it's a gradual hike that gives you full view of the ocean, a perfect lookout for humpback whales. i had the honor of seeing 4 this morning. spouts of water shooting up from below the ocean up into the open sky, big fat tails flipping out of the water...an occasional big gray body jumping up and out of the water. i ended my day for a sunset surf(which was pretty teeny tiny, but well worth it), seeing another 3 whales out in the horizon.
a day of gratitude once again out in the middle of the pacific ocean. mahalo for the humpback whales & of course, mother nature for always keeping it real. one time we saw a humpback whale "breech" (that means propelling its body out of the water) 13 times up in north shore!!! can you imagine how tired it must've been from all that action?! (single fin, could you post a picture of a humpback whale breeching for our friends?)
"single fin" is working hard trying to release his video games. so you'll have to excuse him for not being able to give you guys some new entries. he'll be back soon.
Posted by soul sista' at 11:57 PM | Comments (1495)
February 02, 2006
hot buttered glass love
Posted by Single Fin at 06:07 PM | Comments (559)
this world is just wrong
i mean really. couldn't they have spared the poor pups? everybody knows if your gonna ship drugs using animals...use a cat. for god sakes men...get it together. :-)
NEW YORK - Colombian smugglers turned puppies into drug mules by surgically implanting them with packets of liquid heroin, authorities said. Investigators believe the ring used the dogs, as well as people who swallowed the drugs, to conceal millions of dollars of heroin on commercial flights into New York for distribution on the East Coast.
Ten puppies, including Labrador retrievers, were rescued during a 2005 raid on a farm in Colombia, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said Wednesday, while announcing more than 30 arrests.
Posted by Single Fin at 11:52 AM | Comments (0)
February 01, 2006
the hurt
damn i'm hurting inside after seeing these shots.
check out "jockos" yesterday morning. sic glassy, nice size, great weather...
i neeeeeeeeeed to take a sic day asap. i think i can be sic one day next week......cough cough sneeze.
Posted by Single Fin at 05:09 PM | Comments (0)
double session
hit it in the morning & then hit it in the eve.
morning dawn patrol was killer fun small kine. lots & lots of old guard out w/ more 10ftrs then you could shake a stick at. ricky crigg, surf garage crew, coupla local pros & the standard dirty dozen all slugging it out wakiki style.
lots of fun & chitter chatter in the lineup. great sunrise with perfect vision to the reef floor. coupla fun noserides as well.
eve session was choppy & lots of faces in the water that normally are not there. so of course it was a bit tense at times. ah well. that's what the longboard is for....crowd control. :-)
after sunset the line-up went in & the regs were getting a nice little bump for about 20minutes in the twilight dusk. was nice & really a great way to end a long day at work. we're i've been driving hard enough to feel broken.
i love the ocean...it just takes all the exhaustion away & allows me to see the big picture of life.
Posted by Single Fin at 09:35 AM | Comments (0)