I despise the word “routine.”
It has such a melodramatic ring to it, and my daily dips in the sea with my big blue board are far from routine. Surfing is great for a person with possible borderline ADD such as myself — every single day the conditions are different, the waves have a different shape, texture, and speed, and the ocean seems to bounce around between contrasting beautiful shades of blue and green with each new session. My “routine” never feels forced, and I wake up most times not knowing which beach my always-dirty subaru will guide me to. Variety surely is the spice of life, and surfing gives me an array of new experiences and memories with each new ride.
Today the ocean was crisp, but the slight green tint shining through the deep blue gave a slightly summertime-eque illusion, even though the air felt like it was 40 degrees when I got to the Hermosa pier. I had worn my 3/2 mm wetsuit the day before in howling winds and felt overheated, so I felt as though the sun eventually rising higher in the sky would warm things up and I could wear my longjohn. Though the water was loads warmer than the air, as I made my plunge I quickly realized that things seemed to cool down a little bit from the winds the day before – so with my short sleeve suit on I made sure that I kept moving and focused on my breath, enabling me not to get chilled. I would much rather be somewhat cold than put on one of my seven-year-old restrictive wetsuits that I can barely breathe in (until I get my custom JoneSea suit tomorrow, aka stretchy neoprene nirvana!!!).
The Hermosa surf was indeed pumping and drew out a lot of local talent, including Sarah Foley, who I grew up surfing with and is one of my inspirations as a female longboarder and surfer in general. Although not on her 9′ log today, she was tearing it up on a shortboard with a smooth and graceful style, while other friends and locals switched off on the incoming consistent sets. After a few hours I couldn’t ignore the persistent growl in my stomach, so a few friends and I sat down at Brother’s Burritos and exchanged ridiculous conversations that had our faces hurting by the time we left, which included something about our next surf session involving super soakers and spraying each other in the face.
My love affair with the sea has no bounds. Passion is an understatement; when I fell for the ocean again, I felt a wholeness. I walk around with a silly smile on my face all day, and it takes a lot to get me in a bad mood, knowing that I’ll be in the ocean relatively soon.
Good surf, good company, and good food. Today especially, all is good.
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