Waaaay back in the day I used to work for Sea Isle City Public Works as a Summer job. I was that guy who emptied all the trash cans on the beach. Every morning I had to watch all the DP guys getting on it while I dealt with the refuse the tourists had discarded the previous day. It always seemed that by the time I was done, the afternoon on shores had kicked in and the surf was crappy or flat. That sucked balls. The upside was every day I got to see every bikini wearing hottie from 38th street to 86th.
So what happened to the OP- did he change his name to AccessDenied or did the admin give him the boot?!? What's up with that?
wourde Belmar doesn't pay the bills. id say my prime of surfing was 2008-2010 when I was on unemployment for 2 years under the Obama regime.i was literally at the beach every single day,no matter what the conditions were,i really had no other place to go.those were some of my happier years but I was also a broke deadbeat who didn't have 2 coins to rub,but I got to surf almost everyday. lol used to do the polar bear plunge thing by ourselves,i remember the girl I was with at the time jumped in mid February during like a 6-8' swell,i saw a perfect one peeling right at her,thought she was dead.she didn't just like walk in,she'd dash full speed and dive in under a wave lol,she was a trooper
Perspectives. I work an office job. I also have a family thus additional obligations. If i know i cant surf i dont have the cams up all day long. Why bother - your just torturing yourself. My schedule makes me appreciative of every surf i get. Yes, missing surf sucks but i like my job and it provides for family. I worked myself to boss level thus next year when my son goes to college i will be able to surf a crap ton more! Sometimes you do what you gotta do. One size doesnt fit all - errybody gotta figure out their own balance. But you gotta stop staring at cams otherwise your gonna end up in the looney bin!
Thanks for the congrats fellas! Not going to celebrate yet. Waiting till everything is finalized and set in stone first. But im stoked on the opportunity and the fact that i was essentially drafted here. If you work hard and are good at your job, people will recognize that. I won't say i believe in karma, but i believe in something like that. Things like this will fall into your lap. I've been busting my ass everyday to better my situation. Meaning more money and better retirement plan and surfing more. This is an opportunity that fits the bill, but if it don't work.... well ill keep busting my ass and another opportunity will present itself. Moral of the story. If you don't like your situation. Don't surf enough. Not enough money. Whatever. Work hard. Do what you do best. Make an opportunity to better your situation yourself. Although i feel OPs pain, only you can make the change you want to see
I had a desk job, but it was next to the beach, a good beach break. If I looked at the buoy and the flag outside my window was down or moving in the right offshore direction, then I would check the surf and if there were rideable waves I would paddle out. Once in a while I would see my boss out in the line-up, and he would crack smile in my direction. He surfs way better than me and a lot of people at that place, and I think he got to that level because he knew "when" to prioritize surfing and if the office work can wait for another time in the late afternoon or evening
very relatable. i work in an office (proj management life) 10 mins to my closest break 20 mins to ideal break. when the clocks go forward post-work sessions are convenient. i hate daylight savings.
i office plus i travel. i can be in Mississippi or Tennessee and i still check the cams to see what im missing.
All you guys that live and/or work <30 min from your breaks have it figured out, IMO. I'm at least a 50-60 min drive to surfable waves (with no traffic), and changing in and out of all the winter gear can easily add 30-40 minutes of non-surf time that has to be factored in. Run the numbers, and I don't even think about going unless I have over 4 hours of "me time" to burn, which is a very foreign concept nowadays with two kids...
In college I had a job washing windows and painting in Lost Tree Village, it's very private, Jack Nicklaus lives there along with multimillionaire industrialists. A totally private beach patrolled by security guards 24/7 with mean dogs. It's on a corner of reef that is exposed to some decent power. I used to watch it go off while up a ladder earning money for dates and frivolities. Never got to surf it, and it still haunts me to this day.
I worked in college also, the last 2 years, but it was a "work-study" job for the Atomic Energy Commission. I performed radiation experiments on mice, did the bloodwork, wrote up study proposals and results, etc. But prior 2 years, I would go to Manpower and sign up to work some weekends unloading trains and/or tractor trailers with all the drunks. They would run off during lunch and return after an alcohol based lunch. Both jobs gave me a good work ethic. And money for weed and beer...... Never had an office job.
#frivolities Man, I had a similar set up when I was 18...washing windows in the big beach houses in Corolla. Most of that stretch was (is) hard to surf due to lack of parking. Northern outer banks doesn't have the best setup but there where plenty of times we were watching empty surf doing its thang!
I grew up and Cape May and was a lifeguard and did maintenance at a hotel right on the beach... surfed morning, noon and night every swell. Went from that, to being a "commuter surfer" when I moved to North Jersey in the late 80's (north of the Driscoll Bridge). I lasted exactly one year... couldn't take it, and went back to CM. Then moved to Michigan where I was landlocked for 4 years. It all paid off though... been living and surfing in a beach town for the past 25 years or so.
If you already have a family I understand the sacrifices one must make but if your in your 20's - 30's and have no real responsibilities I would do everything in my power to push a desk job off as long as I could (forever if possible) I would make my life as simple as possible and enjoy things way more important to me than money, like surfing. I've never understood the thought of working your butt off when you're young for the desire of an early retirement (like when you're 50) I would rather enjoy life while I'm young even if that means you have to work as a senior because I promise you the future isn't promised. Hopefully it is but I guarantee something will happen like your body breaking down, losing your money from an investment, your partner getting sick, etc... I plan to leave this world with no regrets and a fully used up body!
Doing paperwork all day is not fun. But neither is beating up your body on a construction site. My job has the best of both worlds. Sometimes I'm on my feet doing labwork, sometimes I'm off my feet doing paperwork, sometimes I'm f***ing off on swellinfo ha! Its all about balance. Too much of anything is not good. Except maybe surfing.
I'm not disagreeing. Not entirely. I'm 28. Thought just like you for the longest time. Lived life fast and hard from my teens till a few yeasts so. Maybe 25 or so. I view things differently now. I'm busting my ass so i can retire early with a fat 401k or pension. My dad's in his 60s, didn't start a 401k till his 40s. He's screwed. He's getting old, not able to work like a young guy, and should be retiring soon. How's he going to live with such little money. Not only that, but if i didn't start really working till i turned 30.... I'd be screwed. In my field (HVAC/R) its all about experience and what you can do. School is a good start, but it doesn't mean a high salary. You got to prove yourself and put the work in to earn that higher salary. I met my fiancee when i was 20. We're getting married in September. Looking at houses. Put a 10K ring on her finger. I almost left the east coast and was just going to work random bartending or waiter jobs at night and surf all day. Live cheap. When i get tired of where i was, move on. I didn't because i was with her. Turned out it was the right decision for me as we are still together and have a good relationship. But if we didn't work out, i 100% would of regretted not going. With all that being said, if i did go....i wouldn't be getting married, wouldn't of had the money to buy a 10K ring, expensive wedding, or house. My point is i can see both sides. And you are right that tomorrow isn't guaranteed. But there is a happy medium. Live your life hard early, then get to work. Waiting til your 30s or working your ass off from the get go both aren't good choices in my opinion. Like i said, i lived life fast and hard for a long time. Now I'm busting my ass. Hopefully when I'm 50-55, i can cash out, surf until I'm dead, and still live comfortably.
I agree... funny I just had this thought the other day: when your around 40 and you feel like you have been working forever... your body starts to feel worn out... your tired.. then you think retirement is just around the corner... then you realize you have a good 25 more years ... 25 years!!!...of working until you can retire! Now that's kinda depressing lol And that's with working hard the whole time! Looking back, I couldn't imagine going through my 20's without a steady job. But I will say that I did have probably the best job during that time that allowed me to hardly ever miss a swell... but I still worked hard. Anyways- the 20's are a good time for surfing and life... but what was said above has a bit of wisdom- there is a medium... and it's also a good time in life to set your course for the next 40 years of working that you'll be doing... better find something you enjoy