After one month, I have reached a couple milestones in my attempts to learn to surf. I can no longer remember the exact number of times I’ve paddled out. Likely it has been between fifteen and twenty. Perhaps a few more.
My other accomplishment was a head full of staples. I cracked my noggin open on my board in the shallows near a beach in Encinitas, and it required five staples to patch up. Surfer friends had told me that it was only a matter of time before something on my body got sliced open. (Aside: staples aren’t as bad as stitches. Doesn’t seem like that should be the case, but it is. Staples good. Stitches bad, especially the gross skin tugging feeling when they’re removed.)
The injury kept me out of the water for a couple of weeks. What surprised me most was my eagerness to get back in and have another go at it. A couple times I seriously thought about ditching my doctor’s advice and paddling out with the staples still lodged in my head. I take this as positive, rather than foolish, motivation. Even though surfing is down right hard and it seems like it will take many more months to get the hang of it, the experience has been enjoyable. Sticking with it seems inevitable.
Initially I was making do with two things: a wetsuit and a surfboard. Surfing seemed like a pretty cool hobby for the 100 Thing Challenge guy. Yet I have realized that it will require a few more than just a couple of personal possessions to surf. My wetsuit feels like an electric blanket turned to high in the warmer summer waters. I’ve since bought a wetsuit jacket to wear with board shorts. I’ve added a second pair of board shorts to my clothing. I also have commandeered a storage bin and a water jug, to keep my car trunk from getting wet and to wash the ocean water out of my hair respectively. And I have soft racks for carrying my board on top of my car, though I’ve since learned that if I open a couple of the doors just right and turn the board on its side and push really hard, I can cram it into my car. I probably don’t technically need the racks.
At any rate, seven personal possessions are now devoted to surfing. That kind of seems like a lot to me. I get the sense that it wouldn’t be hard to double that in one weekend surf shop outing. For some reason, ten things seems like a good number for a hobby, even though I don’t really practice what I preach here. I have more than ten camping items. How many items does it take you to enjoy your favorite hobby?
A final thought about surfing and stuff. I am desiring a new surfboard already. Well sort of. I desire to work hard at getting better so that I can ride a smaller, more fun board. The idea of riding something more capable than my current board is one motivation. It’s not the only or the main thought that gets me back in the water each time. But it crosses my mind. And I have to admit that striving for a goal that includes a new personal possession has some appeal. It feels dangerous to me, though. Like it would be possible to start wanting the thing more than what the thing is for.
My other accomplishment was a head full of staples. I cracked my noggin open on my board in the shallows near a beach in Encinitas, and it required five staples to patch up. Surfer friends had told me that it was only a matter of time before something on my body got sliced open. (Aside: staples aren’t as bad as stitches. Doesn’t seem like that should be the case, but it is. Staples good. Stitches bad, especially the gross skin tugging feeling when they’re removed.)
The injury kept me out of the water for a couple of weeks. What surprised me most was my eagerness to get back in and have another go at it. A couple times I seriously thought about ditching my doctor’s advice and paddling out with the staples still lodged in my head. I take this as positive, rather than foolish, motivation. Even though surfing is down right hard and it seems like it will take many more months to get the hang of it, the experience has been enjoyable. Sticking with it seems inevitable.
Initially I was making do with two things: a wetsuit and a surfboard. Surfing seemed like a pretty cool hobby for the 100 Thing Challenge guy. Yet I have realized that it will require a few more than just a couple of personal possessions to surf. My wetsuit feels like an electric blanket turned to high in the warmer summer waters. I’ve since bought a wetsuit jacket to wear with board shorts. I’ve added a second pair of board shorts to my clothing. I also have commandeered a storage bin and a water jug, to keep my car trunk from getting wet and to wash the ocean water out of my hair respectively. And I have soft racks for carrying my board on top of my car, though I’ve since learned that if I open a couple of the doors just right and turn the board on its side and push really hard, I can cram it into my car. I probably don’t technically need the racks.
At any rate, seven personal possessions are now devoted to surfing. That kind of seems like a lot to me. I get the sense that it wouldn’t be hard to double that in one weekend surf shop outing. For some reason, ten things seems like a good number for a hobby, even though I don’t really practice what I preach here. I have more than ten camping items. How many items does it take you to enjoy your favorite hobby?
A final thought about surfing and stuff. I am desiring a new surfboard already. Well sort of. I desire to work hard at getting better so that I can ride a smaller, more fun board. The idea of riding something more capable than my current board is one motivation. It’s not the only or the main thought that gets me back in the water each time. But it crosses my mind. And I have to admit that striving for a goal that includes a new personal possession has some appeal. It feels dangerous to me, though. Like it would be possible to start wanting the thing more than what the thing is for.
I've never even thought about the amount of stuff required for a hobby, except to think "a lot". So, I've pulled a couple of hobbies off the top of my head for comparison's sake:
Crocheting-- I have 8-10 hooks, an instruction book, an envelope full of patterns, and a drawerful of yarn. Yikes.
Running-- shoes, socks, shirt (2), shorts, sport top (2), fuel belt, headphones, stopwatch. Ten items (11 if you count shoes as two). And the stopwatch is shared with my cycling habit, so I'm calling it 9.5. :)
Posted by: Su | August 15, 2009 at 07:35 PM
Haha Good job man! If i lived near a beach nothing would ever stop me from getting back in there and going for another round!
Posted by: susan | September 11, 2009 at 03:20 PM
I digged this for more news from you.
Regards
Anna
Posted by: Jacuzzi Filters | November 09, 2009 at 06:11 AM