Shoots Brah!

I just came home from a four day trip to Oahu. (Home is currently Maui to avoid confusion) And it was awesome. I hiked, jumped, swam, sat, surfed, and loved...every second of it. I will get to that when I make a slideshow of it. Which I am getting behind on, sorry. But while on Oahu I went to the North Shore. For the uninformed...North Shore on Oahu is the Mecca, birthplace, holy grail, and most famous place for surfing in the world. And I surfed it! Now it's epicness comes from the winter months when the North Pacific storms send down swells that would eat 5 story buildings, but late September was good enough for me! yeah, the waves were pretty big. I spent a day watching and scouting before I paddled out and I was filled with mixed feelings of fear and excitement. So I rented a board and threw it in the back of my bright blue PT Cruiser that just screamed TOURIST! all over it, and went to find my surferhood (like manhood, but for surfers). I physically shook with fear, because the waves were huge and the locals are mean. I camped out at the end of the lineup for awhile waiting for a wave no one else wanted. I stared down into the clear blue water and could actually see the reef caves and canyons that have actually claimed the lives of significantly professional surfers. My heart beat faster than the first time I, well...it was beating fast! Finally, I was in a good spot to catch a wave without getting in anyone's way. Then the most amazing thing happened...I paddled into to this huge mass of moving water, stood up and rode the greatest ride of my life. I caught so much speed dropping in, then made my first turn to the right (I'm not so good at the rights) and cut back to the left and realized I still had massive wave behind me. So I cut back right again and rode the lip then turned back down the face. The reef was flying by underneath, the wind was blowing the surf into my face, and I just kept riding. The power didn't die like I am used to, just kept pushing. I realized that in a few more seconds I would be barrelled on the sandy beach, so I peeled off the back of the wave, landed on my board, wiped my wet hair out of my eyes and paddled back out. But this time I got right in to the middle of the lineup, with all the locals. Then the second most amazing thing happened. I did it all again. Then again and again and six hours later I was still doing it. I had just surfed Bonzai Pipeline, and I surfed it well. I felt like I deserved to be in that wave, I had earned respect in the lineup. Sure it wasn't going off like you see in December but hey, it was going off for me. Then I realized: I don't wear shoes anymore-I walk everywhere barefoot; I say "shoots brah"; My hair is always in my eyes and yeah, its actually really blonde; I am almost constantly feeling in my mind the sensation of riding a wave; and...I just surfed Pipeline on the North Shore!

It's official...I AM A SURFER.

I didn't even make anyone mad, get barrelled by waves, or embarrass myself in any way. It was an absolutely beautiful experience. Even the pouring rain didn't make a difference. Shoots, I surfed pipe in a typhoon!
Then today I went back to my humble little breakwall on Maui. Pulled out the longboard and it just wasn't the same as it was last time I was there. North shore changed me. Tiny little waves weren't this tiny last week. But you know what, I just worked on nose riding and still had blast! Funny thing though, here at humble breakwall I almost got in a fight! check this out:
surfer 1: Wutchyou doin brah!
surfer 2: What?
surfer 1: Wutchyou mean wut? Why jew drop in on me!?
surfer 2: I didn't drop in on you, there were like ten people on that wave. Chill out.
(surfer 1 throws his board at surfer 2)
surfer 1: where jew goin!?
surfer 2: surfing. you?
(surfer 1 grabs surfer 2's ankle)
surfer 1: Hey! We gonna take dis to da beach!?
surfer 2: you mean like a date? No thanks, I like girls.
surfer 1: I'll (expletive) you up!
surfer 2: Hey I said I'm not interested in that sort of thing
(big wave hits both surfers, surfer 2 paddles away and doesn't see surfer 1 again till later, surfer 1 is waiting on the beach)

Well, I am surfer 2, and surfer 1 is some 40 year old local hawaiian with a bad case of little man syndrome. Lucky for me (or him, I'm not really tested in the fighting arena) he left before I came in. So much for the Aloha spirit! I miss north shore.

p.s. I didn't drop in on him. Surfer law states that he who is up first gets the wave. That was very much me.

I love Hawaii!

ALOHA!

Last night and tonight.

I know this is meager, but in an attempt to help you understand why things are different here and why I love it so much here, I will tell you this....

I didn't have a phone for ten days, and the most annoying thing about that was that I never knew what time it was, and that's only because I needed to know when lunch break was and when to be back!

And on another note, I should have taken my camera out surfing tonight. It was another gorgeous sunset. I love how I can actually see every night the sun a little bit further to the south as it goes below the horizon. Remember how it used to be right where the Island of Lanai'i touches the sea, now it is way far up Lanai'i's mountains. It's beautiful to watch every night. I love it here, I still love home too. Everywhere is just awesome!

MAUI MATH:
long legs/surfing + low tide x coral reef =

Episode 7

It's time for another slide show! I know they all look the same but every picture means something to me! So this time...Our buddy Oren hooked us up and got us on one of the Trilogy boat cruises to the island of Lanai. It was great, we even got to help rig the sails. This is the job I really wanted when I came here, didn't work out obviously but oh well. Then the singles branch I'm in had a luau, then there is a picture from us at Pu'ukalani where the first LDS chapel in Hawaii is. Then we went to Oahu. We went to North shore, the PCC, Pearl Harbor, Waikiki etc. Pearl Harbor was amazing. I love history and especially WW2 history, I think it's amazing how our country came together during such a horrible time. Then the rest is just playing with friends. Life is beautiful. Love you all!

For the Beauty of the Earth.

So i got my waterproof camera back from the repair shop and I decided to try to share with you what I was talking about in a previous blog about last Friday night. I knew any pictures wouldn't do it justice but I tried anyway, and I was right. But tonight and last night I took my camera out with me and took these photos. It was unbelievable on Friday night, these two nights were ok. But I hope this gives you an idea of what I was trying to portray in words. And also, think about what Derrek commented on that entry. At the end watch the video closely, I got a bonus treat tonight. I was surfing with giant manarays. You can see their wingtips breaching a bit. It was amazing. The song is by Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole (Iz). He is a Hawaiian legend, this is this song I heard from the boat last Friday night. Hope you enjoy this, and all the beauty in every day!

Still not learning my own lessons...

Another stupid back flop...I can still move my neck this time though. Ugh...stupid. I promise I can do that without hurting myself, there were girls watching me this time, plus a few dozen annoying tourists...nuff said.

Friday Night Epic.

To the west is the Island of Lanai'i. A cloud sits atop the island peaks like a kings crown. The sun starts high and slowly sinks in the sky until it touches the horizon at the exact spot where Lanai'i's shores touch the sea. The color of the sky is changing from a bright blue to a golden yellow and bright oranges and pinks. The sun bands in union the land and the sea like a golden ring. For several minutes sun, earth and sea are one. To the south the whispy clouds are still lit by the suns rays and the colors are so bright and vivid only heaven can be more beautiful. Just before the sun is completely gone a sliver of light appears just above the sun and is nearly perched perfectlly on top of Lanai'i's peaks, the moon is old and waning but shows pearfectyl in the dusk. To the east the shores of Lahaina are lined with palm trees and lovers walking the sandy beaches. Above them rise the jagged West Maui Mountains recently blanketed with green life from the tropical rains. Also covering Maui's peaks are perfectly white clouds that never seem to move. The sky behind the peaks and clouds is like a painter's palette with deep purples, blues, and pinks. One star in the west sky shines brightly in the sky to balance the moon sliver in the east. Between them is the Auau Channel. The Spirit of Lahaina is moored there and from her decks is heard Iz's version of Somewhere over the Rainbow. Over the sound of the waves crashing can be heard the drums from the Feast at Lele, the ancient home of King Kamehameha. And in the middle of it all, I sit on my surfboard. Surfing some of the best waves I have ever caught. I am almost completely overwhelmed with the experience, it touches a side of spiritual. I catch wave after wave until I realize that it is almost pitch dark, and I am completely alone. Only the lights of the harbor help me find my way back to the beach. I am home now, a few hundred yards away, but that wasn't a dream. That was real. It was one of the most beautiful experiences I have ever had. Epic does not describe it. These words don't do it justice. I've still got chicken skin and it isn't cold at all. That was my Friday night, and I have never had a better.

To my Father and Creator, Mahalo for the beauty of the Earth!

Contributing to society. Ugh...

So, don't think I'm getting responsible or anything, but I started a new job this week. I just need the means to stay in Maui that's all. So at my new job, a bunch of my co-workers are from the mainland and are here just for the job. But first to backtrack a bit, before I moved to Maui I watched a movie called North Shore ( a must see) and thought to myself, no one actually talks like that in Hawaii! Then, I came here and realized I didn't have a dang clue what people were talking about most of the time. It all soundy like freaky deaky dutch to me! Now back to the present...So yesterday at work I looked at my boss (one of the off islanders) and said "We pau ya?" The man stared at me with blank eyes that muttered HUH? It then occurred to me what was happening. I am no longer the haole kook that doesn't have a clue! It is a good feeling to have. I'm slowly becoming a little less mainlander and a little more islander. To celbrate after I pau hana I put on slippers, talked story, go da store and got me mochi! It was awesome...Brah.

Part 2

This video is part two of our week as tourists with Cindy and Stacie. This one starts with our two day Hana adventure. We camped on a beach again except this time it RAINED all night long. Tent was really good at letting water in, but not letting it out. We did most of the normal Hana things, so most of that part should look familiar. I just didn't have my waterproof camera anymore so the pictures are much more dry than normal. After our Hana trip we went to a Luau, and several beaches. The girls parasailed and we drove up to the top of the volcano Haleakala to watch the sunrise. It was FREEZING up there! Yeah, I said that right. We done froze our nippers off! But alas, the ladies went home...

Pushing the reset button.

Things Hawaii is teaching me that I hope I'm learning:

• There is beauty in everything, even the ordinary. I wish I was a better photographer so I could capture the simple beauty in this world. It's in everything and everyone. We just have to slow our lives down a little to notice. Yesterday I spent an hour following a giant sea turtle around the ocean, he was almost twice my size. It was pretty amazing. Sea turtles have been around since ancient times, they haven't changed and they still aren't in a hurry. We should be more like sea turtles. Every tree, rock, wave, sunset, and person has something uniquely beautiful about it, I am glad I'm finally starting to notice.
  
• You will never get today twice. You can never have yesterday back. Make the best of it. I have mandatory 'in the ocean' time every day. What if I don't live by the ocean someday, I don't want to regret not exploring every wave and reef while I had the chance. Make the best of your situations or make a better situation. Don't restrain yourself by what others think you should be doing. If you are not happy it is not good. If you find yourself wishing something...stop wishing and make it happen. If you are wishing you could fly, probably don't listen to me, or at least wear a parachute.
  
• The ocean is pretty darn cool. We know more about the moon than we do about the ocean. I want to live on a sailboat someday. Just go wherever in the world I want. A tropical storm just hit Hawaii. I watched the ocean in the channel between Maui and Lanai'i for hours. It looked like a giant river the way the wind was blowing the water. It was beautiful. I don't know why I'm so fascinated with water but I am and I should have been a fish.
• I'm proud of myself. I'm proud of myself because I haven't grown out of the things I think are fun. I love to do all the same things I loved when I was little, plus a bunch of new stuff. I'm not saying I haven't grown up, I just haven't grown boring. I hope I backflip off ridiculously high cliffs when I'm 80!(just hope I land them better then) Simple things in life still give me pleasure. I still get giddy at waterparks. Brightly colored fish are still fascinating. I still put my hand out the window in a car and pretend it's an airplane. And I really wish I had my legos with me. Stupid silly things still crack me up. And farting will always be funny! Kudos to me for still doing the things I love to do.
  
• I'm still kind of a hopeless romantic. A little more hopless than before I think, but still. Most of you that know me at all problem won't believe any of this, but I still hope I have a sappy 'chick flick' story to tell my kids someday. Kinda thought I'd lost faith in that mushy stuff but I guess it's back. No reason in particular why that I can think of that it's back, time heals all wounds I guess. But I'll even be so bold as to use the L word here. I'm super stoked about falling in love with someone someday. Hasn't really happened yet but that's why it's so exciting, it's never happened so it will all be completely new. Like eating chocolate for the first time after a lifetime of chocolate fasting. (Hmmm, I'm talking about lovey stuff here, not kinky stuff;  chocolate analogy might not have been the best.) I look forward to all that mushy lovey stuff. And even though there's still other stuff I want to do in life first, I like knowing I will always have that great eternal adventure to look forward to. And all the small everyday adventures we'll have together!
• Laughing is awesome, I've always know that, but just brain farted a bit.
• Music is awesome. I totally regret only going to piano lessons for three weeks. I love music. Kinda thought I was loosing that too but it's also back. There is so much good music out there it's a little overwhelming because I just want to listen to it all. I have a musical surprise for everyone too, to be disclosed at a later time! Sure wish I had a lick of musical talent though.
• Lahaina is FRICKING hot! That's where I live, Lahaina, thank goodness for mandatory ocean time.
• Being kind to people is a trait I value in people more than anything else. I wish I was better at it. The secret to happiness, (besides all that gospel stuff) listen up people this is important, is kindness. Being kind to others and being around those who are kind to you. Also, a lifetime supply of chips! I L O V E chips. seriously, it's like joyfull bliss in a bag! But really though, kindness=awesome. Having a bad day? Go to a nursing home, or a parking lot, or your neighbors house, and do something nice for someone. To those of you in my life who are kind to me (you know who you are because you are still in my life) Thank you so much! I love you all!
• But mostly... life is Awesome. I like it, a lot. Thanks for that all those involved.