Blogging on the Beach. Surf-viving.

Don’t you hate it when you log onto your Facebook and see a “working on the sand” Status Update? Well today, it is your turn to hate me as I am “Blogging on the Beach.” I ran into an old friend of mine this past month and we decided it would be mutually beneficial to carpool as we work and live less than a mile away from each other. I used to sit endless hours next to him trying to absorb all the poker knowledge he had and it help grow my bankroll. Now that I no longer play competitive poker we do not have that crazy addiction bond. This brings up a new challenge in my life: Surf-viving. I do not see standing on the board and riding the wave as the hard part, but instead the act of survival when a wave pulls you down and slams you into the ocean floor. So being the generous and free going spirit he is, he took me out to Linda Mar in Pacifica this AM, I got a call at 5:45 that woke me up enough to get me into his car and proceed to fall asleep under the cigarette adapter powered electric blanket. I sleep for the next hour and we reach the beach. I have been to the beach many times, but how many times did I actually go into water deeper than my waist? 0. Plus I just learned how to swim across a pool this summer, so this was going to be a fun experience. Yeah, fun if you are sadistic. I put on the wet suit, which took 7 minutes and I had to do it in the bathroom because I could not figure how to put it on without flashing the entire parking lot. I then had to get some stuff out of the car and used the emergency key tied to my suit, I didn’t realize my leg could not be lifted at a 75 degree angle long enough for me to put the key in, turn and pull out. So I broke that little gadget. I then proceed to bring my goggles with me as I need some sort of security blanket, he tells me I can bring it if I want but it was equivalent to wear Oakley’s at a 3-6 table. So I left the goggles on the shore and jumped into the water. The wet suit performs miracles: the 55 degree water was not cold anymore, my ability to float was exemplified ten times and it made me look 20 pounds skinnier. So I wade out there and get worked by the ocean. I got hit in the head by the board, hit in the side by the fin, hit in the head by the ocean floor and swallowed over a gallon of ocean sewage. I am drained and frightened after 45 minutes, so I take a break and lay down on the sandy beach. I head back to the car after a short nap and realize my goggles are no longer on the shore, no biggie as I am no longer a surf virgin.