Bali Shortboard Day 1

Bali Shortboard Day 1:

I was cursing this goddamn shortboard... until a big cleanup set came
through. Duckdiving is brilliant. But...paddling is a dog, catching
waves is too much work, and even sitting on the damn thing is awkward.
Uncomfortable, unfamiliar. I'm used to having 9' under me, not 6. All
day long it was KILLING me to be out in PERFECT waves...and I was a
total kook. If I had
my longboard I'd have paddled out in half the time. I would have
Caught 95% of the waves I paddled for, as opposed to Missing 95% of
the waves I paddled for. Today was a huge blow to my ego. So, I'm
chalking it up to a good lesson, and a good workout. A hurt ego is a
good thing. Very humbling. I've gone from one of the top surfers in
the lineup to being at the very bottom. Humiliating...and humbling.
But, I'm trying to stay positive and give it a chance. I'm giving
myself 3 full days to get a handle of this whole shortboard thing. My
first day of rock climbing was shit, but the second day was good and
the third was better. Everyone says that I'd have gotten good at
snowboarding if I gave it More than ONE day. "Three days", they all
told me. Three seems to be the magic number, so wish me luck. I don't
want to be flailing around like a goddamn idiot for the next two
months.

Today I learned:
- duck diving is very, Very nice.
- the sun is very strong in Bali, and SPF 30 doesn't quite cut it for
virgin skin and a 3 hour surf sess
- Meesh is a goddess....taking me to the most amazing warungs to eat
cheap cheap Cheap local food. Driving me on the moto to perfect surf
spots. And speaking Bahasa Indonesia to the locals when they don't
speak English
- people from new Zealand are sexy
- the ego is a tricky thing
- I'm out of shape...need to lose some serious LBs and get my act together

Eat GOOD food that's delicious and nutritious, surround yourself with
and pour your energy into a few GOOD people, throw your ENTHUSIASM
into things that make you HAPPY- and everything else will fall into
place.

That's all of the life lessons I picked up in the past 24 hours.

My next rendezvous with mister 6'1" is tomorrow morning...wish me
luck...I'm not getting action from anywhere (anyone)else, so this is
my only option....