The Life of the Office Surfer: Winter Edition

(assuming you have days to take off) This is the best month to go south and just GTFO of here. Caribbean tends to fire this month.

 

sad but true. I sometimes wonder if cams are more a curse than a blessing if you work in an office.

 

Perspective...

Your career and living situation are arranged such that you are able to paddle out. On a weekday. In the winter, when light is at a premium. While employed in an office job that (presumably) allows you to rest your body much of the day due to the lack of physical demands, so you're ready to go when you do get in the water. And that allows you to earn enough to live on or very near the coast in one of the more populated areas of the country (i.e. not cheap).

I get it. Happens to me regularly too. Swell dies mid day, or the wind goes to shit. But I've also lived 1000+ miles from an ocean. Once went 26 months with a single, 20 minute session in knee high chop in the middle of it. So I'm not taking it for granted now. Most people never experience the feeling of standing on a wave even once in their life... most that do, eventually reach a point in their lives where they no longer can regularly, due to career/family logistics, excuses, health issues, what have you. Most northeast surfers that still surf semi-regularly take the coldest months of the year off. Too cold. Too expensive to buy the wetsuit gear. Too heavy when it's going off, and too inconsistent to stay in good enough shape to handle the big days when they come. And even most that still do surf regularly, year round, in big, cold, winter waves don't EVER get in the water on a weekday this time of year.

Yeah, it sucks when the cams are firing all day and you end up getting 15 minutes of knee high shit. But there've been multiple times in my life when I would've stabbed someone just to get in the water for 15 minutes of knee high shit. I've taken it for granted before... even long stretches away I've eventually fallen back into laziness and complacency. But I'll never take it for granted again. There's a million ways I could change some aspect of my life situation to spend more time in the water in good waves. But none of them are worth the corresponding trade-offs.

My situation is similar to yours. It's frustrating sometimes. But I surfed yesterday. I'll likely surf today too. And I won't jeopardize my career, my marriage, my finances, or my family's health or safety in the slightest in order to do so. That's a fucking win as far as I'm concerned.

 

Get rid of your dog--you will have an extra 30 minutes. Give the dog to a chinese restaurant.....

 

I like it.

I'm not a religious man, so the beginning of daylight savings tends to be my holiest of holys.

 

Missing waves is brutal any way you look at it IMO. I certainly have been hemmed up by work and missed my share of waves (like OP mentioned, late to the party....conditions changed etc). EC surfing is all about timing it. I actually think it is like a second job coordinating surf sessions throughout the year on the EC. It's all about scheduling. Avoiding conflicts in the schedule when it comes to surfing is challenging especially when your priorities get confused (unless you are retired).

Sometimes I recalibrate my schedule...especially during the late summer/fall and spring time when waves are best. And, as others mention, Daylight saving/longer days is critical in this as well.

Still, even though I get hemmed and miss waves, I am thankful for a long term perspective on lifestyle. I believe it pays off even though in the moment, missing a swell is excruciating. The key is creating flexibility in the schedule and sometimes that takes creativity...cough cough!

 

Ha, I remember those days

 

i initially came on just to diss u but the story turned out to be reality so it was actually pretty cool,shitty at the same time missing waves..

I don't work in an office and don't get to watch surf cams all day,but I did take off yesterday for the super bowl and the eagles won and the waves were pumping yesterday here in nj.it was a mighty fine 4 day weekend for me.

when I'm at work tho I don't even want to check the waves,id rather not know what I'm missing

 

getting skunked is all part of the game.

aint like skating or mountainbiking where the track is set in stone,mother nature turns on and off,sometimes u get lucky,most times u do not

 

For such times, it's good to have other interests, activities, or hobbies that you enjoy: musical instrument, art, woodworking, working on cars, shooting, etc. Heck, learn a foreign language. Don't lament. Make constructive use of the down time.

 

I too was going to come here to diss. I'm in the same boat but I'm outside feeling those cold temps all day. At least your inside. Forget office job. Any job. Don't segregate homie.

Although i always make time for waves. Just today i got offered a job. 20K more then I'm making now, pension, full benefits, and the best part..... I'm done at 230. That will make afternoon seshs all winter doable. We will see how things turn out but I'm stoked

 

Working and winters in the NE are no fun...

The way I see it- you will invest in what is most important to you. So surfing is important, but not as important as my family.... so I work to support them. There are a few guys that have found jobs (or owners of companies) that are the exceptions and surf when ever... but most ppl have to work the regular job. What I have noticed over the years- is that 'some' of the guys that put surfing first and foremost, constantly bailing on work and family, do get a lot of water time but usually within 10 yrs their family life falls apart... so what left? There's always gonna another swell...

I have also noticed a large majority of those guys you see on the surf cam at 10am on a weekday are guys in there 20s... I was one of them... had the job I could easily rearrange my work schedule and get water time when ever... but then again I was renting a tiny bungalow at 500 a month...

Anyways, just my observations, and there's exceptions- but just remember your not alone, and family is way more important. Soon summer will be here- and we will be paddling out at 430am in board shorts...

 

The wind marred leftovers and the missed sessions that you see on the cam behind the desk make the good days that much more way better. When I get good waves nowadays, it's like unwrapping a present and finding another present. It's like totally WOW!

 

Good luck with the new job BassMon, that's great news

 

Instagram hurts me worse then surf cams.

 

Working next to the beach when it's going off sucks

 

I was in an office job for a long time and recall the pain. That pain of missing swell caused me to work my ass off for ten years to become self-employed and open an office at the beach. Nowadays I don't miss surfing when the waves are good. But in any job, self-employed or not, if you are going to succeed and make any money, you have to sacrifice days of waves to do work shite.