"WORKday" Surf

cube slave here, im going to shred all weekend plus every weekday dawn patrol and evening session. Gotta make the most, bra!

 

I will have a stomach virus of some sort of another kind o f virus with high fever if we get waves Monday or Tuesday from Emily, hoping it catches a speedline up north and brings waves Saturday and Sunday here in VB/obx area but not counting on it, just planning to be out Monday

 

One of my Kids will be sick and I will have to take them to the Dr's

I work a mid day shift so I can get Dawn sessions mostly and weekends I have off so it isnt too bad for me

 

I either dawn it and rinse with a gallon of water before heading to the cube, or if it's REALLY good, I'll call out with anal glaucoma. aka I can;t see my @#$ coming into work.

 

i feel ya man. i actually live in monmouth county now (working in hoboken) so i can usually squeeze a dp or get in after work but my gf got a new job in the city and we're thinking about moving there. i can barely surf weekdays anyway (ideal conditionals are almost 100% during the day - tide, wind, etc), plus when there's waves on a weekend, i can just crash at my parents for the weekend.

point being, i only take off when i know it's going to be a macker. this swell is no macker. don't get stressed about some waist-chest high bs.

i feel your pain though and i'm sure everyone else does as well. there hasn't been a decent wave in the water for months. i'm learning not to make major life decisions based on surfing for the reason that there are simply not enough days of rideable surf. california? that's one thing. NJ, that's another.

 

Epic fail..... you only get one crack at life and when an opportunity passes you by, you don't ever get it back. Not just with surfing but with everything. I had to go through some serious health stuff for this to actually sink in. I had heard it before but now I understand what it really means to have no opportunity wasted. Now, my friends say I'm always Turbo. I'd rather be Turbo than regretful!

 

how is this an epic fail? 'im making good $ and have an opportunity to pursue a great career while still being able to surf(just not EVERY DAY) and make money to take big time trips, have a nice house, etc. what you're saying is i should quit my job and bail on this life to surf, especially when waves come this infrequent? i can just take off for big swells anyway.

 

In response to WANG

I think what he's saying is save the days off for when we have guaranteed head high hurricane swell. Not might have waist high weak waves.

As far as not missing an opportunity... there are more important opportunities in life than getting every waste high swell.

For example, there's 2 guys.

Guy #1, calls out every time theres waves and next time there's an opportunity for advancement at his job, his boss gives it to the other guy who has been around more and is more committed to the company. He gets to surf a lot but the ceiling for advancement for him is pretty low.

Guy #2, busts his butt at work for the first five years and misses most waste high swells. He still gets some on the weekends but not much. But he gets into a position where he gets 5 weeks off of work and makes a good amount of money. Then he has saved enough money to go on an indo boat trip.

The choice is, do you want a lot of waste to shoulder high waves now? Or set yourself up for a lot of waste to shoulder high later and trips to wherever you want.

 

Then guy #1 meets a nice girl and has to explain to her that the reason he still lives in his parents basement is because he can't afford a house. He takes off too much and never advanced in his career but his wrap around cutback is pretty sick. Guy #2's wrap around is just alright but he goes to Hawaii, nica and costa once each year.

 

whatever makes u happy is most important, unless u got kids...then its whatever makes them happy and keeps em safe.

 

wally, you nailed it. you put in your time when you're young and it pays off big in the future. not only do you have a lot of time off, you also have the beach house to crash at.

 

\r\n \r\n

I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder. I am a very healthy(now), accomplished, active 30 yr old and make good money and have in the past given up waste high days in the middle of summer with friends to get work done. But, after suddenly being diagnosed with cancer and then spending 3 months in a hospital bed doing chemo treatments...... you have a lot of time to think and it puts life in a whole totally different perspective. Most will never understand unless they have to go through it (and, I hope they don't).

What is important to me is that if I die tomorrow, I did everything I wanted when I wanted. Life is precious and you never know when it could end. I have a good job, an understanding wife (knows that surfing is a very high priority to me), own a home, and work hard when I do work (as I am my own boss and hold myself accountable), and take every moment available and savor them as I do. I also make sure that I don\'t miss anything if I don't have to. I made the decision years ago, because of my love of surfing, that I would never be a cubicle rat or answer to someone else...... I make my own destiny.

To Wallysurfr:
Then guy #1 meets that girl and she wants to get married but doesn't fully understand him or his passions or hobbies, so after years of falsities they get divorced. Then she takes half his money and he can no longer afford to go on those once-a-year trips. jk but somewhat serious (I have seen it before with surfing, fishing, etc).
or
guy #3: works for himself and controls his own income. he works hard when he does work b/c he knows that you have to work to be able to play. But, because he has carefully planned out and carved his own path..... he can take as many surf trips a year as he wants and never have to take any sh*t for it..... especially if it is for more than 5 weeks out of the year. His income might decrease a little bit b/c of the work-to-play ratio, but that is a consequence he is willing to deal with b/c he knows life is very special, you only get one crack at it, and it can be taken away at any time.

Sorry to get so deep on you guys.

 

To each his own, that's the beauty of individualism. As for me? If it is waist to chest, clean, warm and sunny, yeah, I think I'm starting to feel sick already. Sorry boss

 

"What is important to me is that if I die tomorrow, I did everything I wanted when I wanted."

This changed for me when I had kids....but I'm cool with that. I'm also a cubicle rat....but I'm cool with that too.

If it's waist to chest clean warm and sunny, I'm telling my boss I'm going surfing. One of the perks of working hard for the same boss for a while...

 

Kids aren't in our plan right now, as we both love to play and want to grow our careers when not playing. But, I can totally understand..... then it becomes about them. xJohnnyUtahx hit that spot on too.

 

a lot of valid points here! Sorry to hear you had to go through that Wang. I hope you are still doing alright and will pray for continued health for you.

I didn't realize you were guy #3. For some reason I picture every guy who posts on here as a grom in high school or college. Because I know that's what I would have said back then. I was always blowing off work for surfing (and partying).

Also, I didn't want any of the younger guys on here to take that advice as law to a surfers life. You know? I wanted to give them an example that you can still surf plenty and set yourself up for a beach house and trips once your older.

It's really all about balance. On the flip side, you can't just work forever, saving all your money and then before you know it you're 45 (no offense to any 40 year olds here) fat, out of shape and couldn't surf Hawaii anyway! Balance...

I had a near death experience similar to yours back in 2006 although mine was because of my stupidity rather than illness. I broke my neck while surfing some waiste high surf at low tide. I realized very quickly that I'm lucky to be alive and still have use of my arms and legs. Girlfriend at the time is a chiropractor. Go figure.

She's now my wife (almost 4 years) because that experience made me think how fragile life is and how I do want a family and to own a house and other things that really did flash before my eyes as I was struggling to keep my head above water after my neck broke.

 

If you are planning for kids one day, take advantage now. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change a thing, but pre-kids, I went on at least one surf trip to Central America per year for 6 years running. Had tickets for trip 7, but cancelled when I found my wife was pregnant.

I lived on the beach for a while, only in Jersey, but still close enought to hear a solid swell breaking. Now I live pretty far inland to be close to family, and haven't been on a real surf trip since my kids were born, but those are my priorities now. I do still get out, just not with the frequeny I once did.

I have two young girls now, and I am really hoping one of them wants to learn to surf when they get a bit older.

 

What I don't get is the abundance of kids that don't go to college in order to surf as much as they want. These kids are usually really talented, but nowhere near good enough to make any decent living from surfing. Pick a college near the beach, but just go to school man.

 

@ Wallysurf - thanks, I am good and (knock on wood) now cancer free. Sorry to hear about your experience. And, I am guy#3..... did what jackson said to do: picked a school near the beach (college of charleston) and surfed as much as I could b/w classes. The older I get the more I find that life in general IS All About Balance. It's the yin and yang of things.