The blog of the thirty-something fag- July Edition 2008
Quotes of the Month: "They say such nice things about people at their funerals that it makes me sad that I'm going to miss mine by just a few days." – Garrison Kielor.
On the Death of George Carlin "Shit, piss, fuck. cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, tits. Seven words you cannot say in a eulogy" -Bernie Keating, What fresh hell is this? http://berniekeating.blogspot.com
July 28th 2008
It was like going to work, but not.
The official RPA interactive camping trip; was at Emma Woods state beach and I went and drank and fried and napped and generally had a good time. I was one of a handful of people who had enough by Saturday afternoon and packed up the tent. I had initially planned to stay as late as possible, but a few thing stopped that from happening.
#1. No wind. Null, nada nuthin. It was blowing big when we arrived, so much it was hard to set up the tent, but the breeze conked out as soon as I had my kite inflated on Friday p.m. and on Saturday there wasn't enough wind to qualify as a fart. My whole intention of making this a kitesurfing weekend crashed and burned.
#2. it got hot. Without a breeze it got uncomfortable, and without shade it got unbearable. After boogey boarding for a half hour, I neeeded a nap, but my tent was an easy-bake oven, and there was so little shade to be found. Dehydrated and overheated, I started to whine, and we all know where that leads.
#3 Showers? We don't need no stinkin' showers!? I've done a lot of camping, but I've never falling into this dilemna. The only showers available were "surfer showers". This consists of a pole sticking out of the ground with a valve and a shower head. The message is typically one of "Wannna rinse? Have at it!". It's usually a cold rinse and there's really no place for things like soap, shampoo, conditioner, shaving supplies or a towel for that matter. And usually you leave it with your feet muddier than when you went in. This particular shower was very close to the bathrooms, which were perched on top of a large, steaming septic tank that needed maintenance, so "fresh" was not a word I would use to describe this hot mess. This situation was probably the greatest contributor to my question "Why am I here?"
#4 Did anyone bring a crossword puzzle? My old standby line has often been "Only Boring people are bored" but man, I was quickly running out of options. With no kitesurfing available, and the only other options being: Eat junk food, or drink beer- desperation quickly set in. The people were great as long as they were drunk, drinking or making drinks, but by 3 in the afternoon I was walking in circles looking for something to do. A year-old issue of Teen Beat would have sufficed at that point, I even went to the stanky bathrooms to see if I could find ANYTHING to occupy my mind for a while- nuthin! That's when I heard my bed calling me "Come home, Tommy, Come home!"
Overall it was a great time, just went a little long for me. Had it been scheduled for the week before, I'd have been kiting all day, and writing about how I'm walking funny after jumpiing waves all weekend. SO I guess it all boils down to timing. Incidently, as of right now, the wind at that specific beach is blowing hard at 22 knots- go figure!
This weekend in the annual RPA camping trip- (Associates only- so I guess as a freelancer I'm officially crashing it).
It's at Emmma Woods State park, which is actually a State Beach, with a small history of kitesurfing. I have informed Howard that the proper gear is mandatory and the two of us are bringing our kitesurfing gear in the hopes that the wind will be brisk enough to get us off the ground for a little while. I know there will be food, fireside chat, and a hell of a lot of embibing, but I'm only really interested in the kirtesurfing ops. If the wind doesn't happen, I'm not going to be very happy, and that will probably only lend itself to more drinking and then eventually happiness.
We leave Friday afternoon and head north, car packed with gear, tents, beer, food, sunscreen, and the most thorough emergency first-aid kit ever devised.
Things were slow at the office yesterday so I decided to play a little hookey- and as soon as my files were uploaded and emails sent I closed shop and headed south to beat the rush hour raffic to belmont.
The wind was perfect; 18-20 and there were lots of kites in the air already. I had mine inflated and launched in record time and I was out there rippin it for about 2 hours. I tried to do some jumps but only ended up landing on my face. I'll have to take another lesson or watch some more video before I can actually figure it out.
Some of my buds say they've "got air" recently, but I'll have to see it to believe it. I think the keys are; fast kite, strong wind, and try try again. We'll see.
I know I said I wasn't interested in jumping when I first started, but the guys out there doing it look like their having a hell of a lot of fun, so I want to try.
Yes, I have insurance . . .
For those of you who've never seen kitesurfing before- here's a little video:
The Rich Coast Review Christopher Columbus named the central part of the continent The Rich Coast,( i.e. Costa Rica) and with good reason. The place is thick with dense jungles of rainforest foliage. I posted a poopload of images from my Costa Rica trip on my .mac gallery space and when I went there last to check it out they were gone. Today there back- I hope where ever they went they had a nice time (?) Welcome back fellas.
The images are without comment(haven't figured that part out yet) but they're worth peeking at. If you have any questions about Costa Rica let me know- it's such a small country I got familiar quickly, I feel like an expert now. Check 'em out
Tommy contemplating the options I mention in the JUNE version of this blog-
I'm Baaaaack! Since the kiteboarding situation is Costa Rica was a Nada due to poor weather conditions and lack of proper motivation (Too busy enjoying the hot-springs) I have returned to Southern California to grab some wind and get my kite on. I'm heading out to Belmont with Howie today to see if there's and blow for us~ we have a cooler of Brazilian brew in case we end up waiting. I'l be happy just to have my toes in the sand at Long Beach once again.
Nothing like leaving the country and visitng another to remind you how good you have it. After 24 hours back in SoCal I was ready to kiss the ground. Not that there's anythig wrong with Costa Rica, I'm just addicted to things like infrastructure, uncorrupted law enforcement, and use of the English language. Sounds trite, I know. I'm not complaining mind you. I'm owning this. I am.
it!". It's usually a cold rinse and there's really no place for things like soap, shampoo, conditioner, shaving supplies or a towel for that matter. And usually you leave it with your feet muddier than when you went in. This particular shower was very close to the bathrooms, which were perched on top of a large, steaming septic tank that needed maintenance, so "fresh" was not a word I would use to describe this hot mess. This situation was probably the greatest contributor to my question "Why am I here?" 
This weekend in the annual RPA camping trip- (Associates only- so I guess as a freelancer I'm officially crashing it).
Things were slow at the office yesterday so I decided to play a little hookey- and as soon as my files were uploaded and emails sent I closed shop and headed south to beat the rush hour raffic to belmont.
Christopher Columbus named the central part of the continent The Rich Coast,( i.e. Costa Rica) and with good reason. The place is thick with dense jungles of rainforest foliage. I posted a poopload of images from my Costa Rica trip on my .mac gallery space and when I went there last to check it out they were gone. Today there back- I hope where ever they went they had a nice time (?) Welcome back fellas. 
