How do you balance work, surf, and life?

I make my wife work.

 

I stopped surfing for a few years to do what you are doing and put myself in the position I'm in today. My work requires a lot of travel, so when I'm home, I can go in later or miss a day or two to catch some swell (comp time). Im 15 minutes from the beach & let's face it, VA barely has a number of even moderate surf days, so I rarely miss anything good.

The Sunday after Irene, today & tomorrow, I'm at the beach at 5:30-6:00am & surf until I'm spent. It takes all of the anxiety out of seeing the loaded surf racks drive by for the rest of the day! Hell...even my wife & 21 month old son will do a weekend DP.

Get a plan that will allow you to live the life you want. You may have to take a hiatus from surfing, but it's worth it. I promise.

 

I invented the window on an envelope.

 

Day Light Savings

Not to bum you out.Were all in the same boat but its getting alot darker earlier now.The window is shrinking for everyone.

 

I work a lot too...skipped that sh!t today though! I've been fortunate in many ways in the navy life. Sure, deployments suck balls, but at the same time...people are pretty chill when we're NOT deployed. I stay low-key and work my ass off most of the time. When it gets good...I'm mysteriously absent for a day. We don't get 'sick days', but I'm reliable enough that in my colleagues' eyes I've earned the right to not be hassled. It's a hard line to walk, and I have f@#$ed it up before and been called out. Seven years in the making, I have the system down pretty well. My current job teaching in college is more difficult. It's tough to just 'cancel class'. Administrations look down on that sort of thing, so I could never pull that off. Needless to say, I'll be missing the Katia 'good day' (tomorrow...). I say just do what ya can, and try to forget when you miss it. Beer helps.

 

Try throwing an 8 yr old that wants to go, an ex-wife, and a preggos wife into the mix plus a job that seems you could be laid off tomorrow and a do it yourself home remodel. I usually head out for a DP before work...but haven't been able to make it out for over a month. It hurts but you have to do these things sometimes. I live for the hope that I can skip outta work early tomorrow unnoticed.
As live aloha said "Beer Helps".

 

X 2 it took 3 years in-land but now I live within a couple minutes of countless reefbreaks in a consistent part of the world with a slack teaching job and can surf whenever. Speaking of which....

 

When my daughters were little, my water time was cut in half. Now that they are big, one in college, and one who surfs with me, I get more water time. With work, I am able to sneak out early once in a while, or make sure to arrange meetings, etc, in OC so that I can surf between or after work.

For the most part, though, I am a weekend warrior. I like to drive on to AINP, so weekend beach trips start reeeeaaaaallll early in the morning, and the wife is not shy about letting me know that is sucks to get up at 5am on Sunday morning, but she realizes it would suck more to sit on the dune swatting flies waiting for our turn to get on.

I make dawn patrols easier by prepacking the truck the night before (while drinking beer). I pack towels, chairs, boards, etc., and stage lunch meat/sandwiches/sodas in the garage fridge so that it only takes a coupla minutes to be ready to go.

 

It helps to surround yourself with people who understand how important surfing is to you. If you're single, stay single until you meet someone who understands this. Don't marry anyone who gets envious of your watertime or who doesn't understand there are times you NEED to be surfing. Make sure your spouse knows your vacations will mostly include surfing. Find a girl who likes the beach and sunrises. That sort of thing.

Same goes with work. This may take a long time, but I've been working at the same company for 12 years now. They've seen me drop everything and work OT or hop on a plane to wherever and do whatever it takes to get the job done when it's crunch time and work needs me. I've proven my work ethic and my reliability to them and so, when it's a random Friday morning in September, like today, and work is not too busy and I roll in a little late, there's no questions asked. I know, and they know, I'll be making up the time over the weekend. It's one of the advantages of having been at a place so long.

 

Also, when I was single and childless like you I had neither a car loan or a house to pay for. I split apartments with roommates and if I had $500 cash I bought a $500 car (it was Ford Escort Wagon with a roof rack made of wooden 2x4s - man I miss that crazy car).

Keep expenses low and you can work less and surf more.

 

I work for myself... I might not make 100k a year but I work 2 days a week all summer... winters off to travel,(would like to work on a fishing boat in puerto or Hawaii during winter for extra cash) the busy week to week work is in the $pring--$$$. As my business grows, I hope to have weekly work all summer, but have people help me. Most of my jobs are a block away from the ocean!! SCORE

 

solid plan

 

live at the beach,marry a woman who understands,get a job that doesn't tie up surf hours too much,learn to be there when the surf arrives.
school and then raising children can drastically cut surfing out,but you graduate and children grow up and then you're back at it again.
i missed a lot of swells when i was in college,and when my children were young,too,but it was more than worth it,and there's still waves,now,so what did i miss?

 

Priorities change. Balancing is difficult. Knowing there will always be waves should be enough to keep survivng. Keeping hope is key. Reflecting and remembering sessions past always helps. Anticipation of your next chance to surf keeps us going. "......because sometimes life gets difficult for no reason at all."

 

Marknel, consider this: I live three hours from the beach and have two kids, wife, mortgage, the works. So I'm pretty well relegated to weekend warrior status, though I teach and can go where I want in the summer. The east coast has typically zilch in the summer though, so talk about frustration....I still get out enough though that my mindset is altered and yep it's still a drug. Ditto on the beer Self medication is a God-given American right. What I realize now and then is that the ONLY reason I have the mortgage, the car payments, all those things that tie up time, money, and effort is the fact that I chose to have the wife and family. Without them, I'd pare down everything and live on a shoestring to travel and surf. I have friends who are single and blow every dime on the right car and pad and such and I think they are nuts.

As a single guy, you have all the options and latitude in the world. I wouldn't work 75 hours a week for myself.

Cheer up, get a beer, watch some football, and run out the door if there's banging swell.

 

i feel ya bro im trying this new thing this year where i dont skip class to surf so yesterday was balls being in class all day know my friends were out surfing having a good time. Work is another story its impossible to get my coworkers to cover my shifts. Last summer I worked for a contractor that surfs so he was lenient with the "work around the swell" deal.

If its any consolation to you though, i live pretty close to the beach and the days that i see the most ppl driving around with boards on racks on top of their car is usually when its small and ****ty like two days after the swell peaked. i expect to see a couple cars on my commute to work today with boards on their roofs. Whenever its pumpin though, the people that are surfing carry their board in their car. So when you're working and see cars driving by with boards on the roof its prob just a few beginners trying to catch some sloppy seconds

 

Feeling the pain...

Kinda been feeling the same way. We just had our first little baby girl in December. Needless to say, social life has dropped.

Now, I love being a new daddy very much, but wife can not accept that I take a day off to go hit the waves- she thinks I just out there to goof-off (this is coming from a girl from florida).

Biggest problem is that I am 2 hours each way from my break, so it is an all day thing.
It seems like the Dp method works for some of you dads out there, I might have to try it!

I found brazilian jiu-jitsu trainingg a couple of times a week to almost sastify the need........almost....

 

I work about 50 hrs a week so if its monday - friday I'm either standing the beach waiting for the sun to come up or enjoying some quality sick time. In college I could just ditch lecture and go surf whenever I wanted so that aspect is a little difficult. I think you just have to make the most and prioritize. Certain times of the year.. ah hemmmm.. surfing takes top priority in my life and I push the limits of my to make sessions happen.

 

My opinion is there are 3 different types of surfers.


1. You have a job, a family and probably kids, a house, bills, etc... You will surf when you take the fam on vacation, and if it just so happens to be good, then ****ing A! But you will not leave and take any extra days to go track down good surf. You have officialy transitioned from a 'surfer' to a family man (or woman).

2. You probably have a job, and maybe have a wife. You might even have some bills,... etc.. but you do not let any of this deter you. You will go surf when its good. You will take vacation days, sick days, pretty much whatever you got to do to make it happen. You are transitioning from a 'surfer' to a family man (or woman).

3. Dude brah all i gives a ish about is overhead sheet glass. You probably dont have a job, but if you do its seasonal. You would never dream of missing a good swell because your working good god haha. Probably live with random friends and eating whatever they are compassionate enough to feed you. If you are fortuante enough to have a lot of money or whatever the case may be this is the perfect spot for a surfer. You will never need anything else.

Im trying to stay at NO. 2 because I dont have money