Class V

From the Road

Writing this long overdue blog entry from my favorite surf town in the US: Encinitas.  I started looking for appropriate surf shack / retirement properties when I first came across this quaint Southern California town a couple of summers ago ... and very little has changed about the community since then.  (Thank goodness!)

Cardiff-by-the-Sea - which is the next town to the south - is home to one of California's only public beachside campgrounds, San Elijo State Beach.  Two solid surf breaks practically in view from my tent: Cardiff Reef to the south, and Pipes to the north.  The sidewalk graffiti captured in the image in this blog's Shutterbug section (upper right) expresses the general vibe around here.

Unfortunately, surf conditions have been less than optimal ... although who can complain about water warm enough in mid-May that no wetsuits are required?  And when the waves and wind aren't cooperating, there's running along the cliff between Cardiff and Swami's, beautiful acai bowls at Swami's Cafe, smores over a camp fire, and - for only a few minutes - blogging from a cafe.

Technorati Tags: Encinitas, Cardiff Reef, road trip

7:00 AM GMT 12 June

Is about the time when I reached Uhuru Peak on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.  Back in the US now, tired from two straight days of travel and recovering from a head cold (which was conveniently caught hours before Summit Day began.)  I thought of so many people during the tens and tens of kilometers trekked, and especially as I plodded my way across the snow up to the peak.  Nothing is accomplished alone, and I owe so much to all who sent me well wishes ahead of the journey.  Hope to have more pictures from Africa up shortly.

Technorati Tag: Kilimanjaro

Few Words

Words cannot even begin to do justice to my time so far in East Africa, so I will keep it brief here from this Internet kiosk at the TED Global conference in Arusha.  12 hours in Nairobi, which were stimulating yet a touch disappointing.  The days since in Tanzania have been inspiring, breathtaking, potentially life changing.  Spent time engaging directly with the community through DATA and its founder, Bono.  The term hero should be reserved for the kind of people I met during these visits, offering their love to the most unfortunate among all of us connected on this planet.  May be off the grid for a while, as Kilimanjaro is 7-13 June and I've decided to attempt to take a proper vacation (really, I mean it this time) for two days afterwards in Zanzibar.

Technorati Tags: TED Global 2007, Africa, debt relief, Tanzania

Timing Is Everything

Heading out of town today to check in with an old friend, have him check out my shoulder (long story but I really hurt my left shoulder while snowboarding in February to the point where paddling is currently out of the question ... but fortunately, climbing 19,500 feet is not), and get a few day hikes in at a higher altitude.

In the last few years I have noticed that generally speaking, whenever I have attempted to go on a proper vacation - as in, get out of town for more than just a few days, and attempt to leave the BlackBerry behind - that work demands inexplicably peak.  Seriously, this has happened three of the last four times.  Not sure if the entrepreneurs with stellar plans are aware of my vacation calendar or if portfolio companies know to time crises one day before my departure.

So I am just letting everyone know now that I am departing for Africa on Wednesday. 

Technorati Tags: vacation, work life balance

Philosophy Is ...

... the talk on a cereal box.  That's a line from a 1990 Edie Brickell & New Bohemians song and I never thought I would refer to it in the context of riding (snowboarding) but here goes ...

Will be heading to the mountains in the coming week to celebrate my birthday by getting some early season riding in.  Adding to the list of environmentally sensitive sporting goods manufacturers from the previous blog entry, am super stoked about my new board (left) from Arbor Sports.

Also purchased Burton Escapade bindings, which came with the following warning on the box (bold sentences and ellipses are from Burton, not yours truly):

Keep it rad. Look both ways before you cross the street.  Bathtubs are slippery.  Do not stand on the top step of a ladder.  Life has risks ... snowboarding is one of them.  These are the best bindings in the world, but they are not designed to release.  The best protection you have is yourself.  Read the instruction manual ...  Learn to ride.  Accept the risks you can handle without putting others at risk.

Who knew so much of my own personal philosophy would be summed up on a box in almost exactly the way Edie Brickell described, but there you go.

Technorati Tags: risk, Arbor snowboards, Burton, philosophy, Edie Brickell

271 days 7 hours 3 minutes ...

... until I knock off another item from the list.

We all have a list along the lines of the list: places we hope to see, experiences from which we want to grow, achievements we think we wish to accomplish, etc.  A blog is too public a venue to share what my list's items are, but I will share the following (and many friends and family are already aware of my perspective here):  one of many positive lessons I have taken from the interesting challenges life threw my way earlier this year, was to get cracking on the list.

Resolved several months ago that to the extent I am blessed to have the resources (health, time and money) to do so, am going to knock off one major item from the list annually.

That is why a girl currently living 1,500 miles from the Pacific learns to surf.   When I was reflecting on my list a few months ago, decided 2006 was going to be the year to take that literal plunge.  Learning to surf had been on the list since at least 1999.  And those who have known about my list philosophy have been wondering, what will be in store for 2007? 

Well, as of this afternoon, 2007 became the year that I will climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.

I haven't been this giddy, this excited since ... well, learning to surf.  Nimefurahi sana! indeed.

Technorati Tags: Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Surfing, Waves, Surfing, Blah, Blah

Yeah, I know ... this blog is quickly becoming all about one thing (surfing) and probably boring the daylights out of those who prefer to limit their exposure to water to baths and showers.  That being said, just spent a summer week back home in New Hampshire for the first time in years.   And when I wasn't working, I was either surfing or talking about surfing.

I will say that surfing on a longboard sure is easier than traveling (flying) with one.  Have the time to write this blog entry, because I am stuck at yet another airport because I just missed yet another flight, due to issues related to checking my board.

Is it worth it?  At least this time, absolutely.  Apparently, I arrived back home during the one week this season when there was actually some surf ... due to Ernesto.  Words fail to describe how powerful it was to surf at the beach where I grew up, learned to swim, lifeguarded, etc.  And to make a nearly perfect morning even better, I was able to share it with my childhood friend (KG) and her husband (KB).  KB was in the water with me, and KG captured me on video.  Cannot wait to check it out!  The picture above is a still they've sent to keep me happy until the DVD arrives.

Just before the trip, bought a video iPod.  Between this new gadget and my appreciation for captuing something like surfing on video, I believe the next purchase for this gadget girl will be a videocamera of some kind.  Have never been a big video person - other than for use in athletics and training - but I think a large part of that was just not being a TV person and not having a device that made it easy to take in a video anytime, anywhere.  The video iPod addresses this issue beautifully.  It's not quite the holy grail of consumer media devices, because the battery life is still limited (especially when playing video).  But it's closer ...

Technorati Tags: surfing, Rye NH, video iPod

Technical Difficulties

Awesome weekend in San Diego ... becoming very comfortable in the lovely community of Encinitas, which I am now regarding as my home base for surfing in North County.  Now have my favorite post-dawn patrol breakfast spot, soulful coffeehouse , and Italian trattoria there.  Am so impressed by how welcoming everyone has been to me, just a random solo traveler trying to learn to surf ... heartfelt appreciation to all!  Met the "King of Swami's" during a dawn patrol on Saturday, and decided to finally go for it at this legendary spot.  Conditions were favorable for a beginning longboarder like me, and I enjoyed some nice long rides before rushing off the water by 8:00 AM PT and successfully scoring Rolling Stones tickets as soon as they went on sale for their first ever performance in Austin.

Any pictures of Swami's, you might ask?  Well, my inner shutterbug has been darkened for now ... seems that there is an issue with the new MacBook Pro's and USB / SD card readers.  And it is not just me: one of my colleagues with a new MacBook Pro has the same issue. 

Am also suffering technical difficulties with my BlackBerry at the moment, at least for my corporate e-mail address (which is, of course, what the device is supposedly primarily designed for.)  My employer's outsourced e-mail provider decided to upgrade their BES to Version 4.0 without letting any of the users know.  Friends and family have known of my increasing frustration with both Cingular and my BlackBerry 7290, and both are changing shortly (after Verizon rolls out the BlackBerry 8703e on August 28.)  So it could be a bumpy few weeks getting a hold of me, but hopefully, my mobile phone number won't change through any of this ...

Back to this past weekend in San Diego.  Other highlights included my first rides at another well known spot, even further north, called Oceanside Harbor.  The adjective here would be crowded.  And my first rides without neoprene, which posed all kinds of, um, equipment challenges that guys don't have to consider (and let's just leave it at that.)  Finally, I saw a movie Saturday night that while not exactly life changing, left a powerful impression.  The movie will be the topic of my next blog entry.

Technorati Tag: Encinitas

Baggage Buzzkill

See that lovely 9' longboard in the picture to the right?  So exciting to have taken the plunge and own my first surfboard and I am all set to go surfing during the upcoming holi ... oh wait.  Yeah, that's right.  I don't have a surfboard anymore.  I've already told my longboard saga to anyone who will indulge me here in Texas with ten minutes of his or her time.  It's sad and involves 50 feet of bubble wrap, Southwest Airlines, and a ding that is better classified as a deep tear that resulted in the board being not only warped but half broken.  All this on a board that was specifically bought because the materials were supposed to be a bit more travel friendly than average, and was packed by the store specifically to survive its virgin flight back to the Lone Star State.  I didn't even get to wax or ride it.  Sniff.

For several days, all I was left with as a reminder of my loss was the shoulder strap for the special travel bag I had bought for the board.  The airline needed to send the board to the National Baggage Services Center in Dallas to allegedly confirm the damage, and I desperately wanted something to mark what was supposed to be a happy day.  However, I did get the bag (not the board) back a few days later ... so I remain optimistic that the airline will in fact issue me a check for the full retail value of the board.  At least, that is what the airline's current party line is to me.  Either that, or there is a Baggage Services Center rep who is about to score himself a sweet ride, assuming he can find someone in the Big D that actually knows what a longboard is and can repair a tear like that one.

And in any case, my 4th of July plans to go riding back home have been scrapped while the manufacturer tries to find a board close in dimensions to the first one I bought.  This ties in to my other sad saga involving wetsuits, the details of which I am not going to bore anyone here with.

So what I have learned from all of this?

You can never have enough bubble wrap.  And on a completely separate note, but because I promised a couple of readers I'd write this, one should always call (512) 264-2740 before heading out to his or her favorite swimming hole in the Texas Hill Country.

Technorati Tags: bubble wrap, surfing, travel

Gidget's Travels (Short)

For those that do not have time to read the longer description (just below) of my time last week in San Diego / La Jolla attending Surf Camp, here is the summary:

I loved it so much, that I have already booked a return trip to depart Austin this Friday morning and catch more waves for the weekend in La Jolla and North County.

Technorati Tag: surfing