Monster Wave!

Surfed Bolinas on Sunday. With the full moon helping things out, the waves were decidedl above average. A thrilling day, with gorgeous warm weather ... dare I say, in stark opposition to normal Bolinas operating conditions. The beach was also crawling with your usual palette of Marin hippies and their excited dogs. I love Bolinas!

The grey-green water was cold, and I was shivering after about 2 hours, even with my Roxy 4/3 Cell, but it was worth it. I went with a bunch of guys and I wasn't about to be the first one to go back to shore. Represent, that's my motto.

About an hour into our session, the absolute largest mass of water I have ever seen with my own eyes arose before me. It was easily 15 to 20 feet tall, if not taller. Massive. I watched as it approached swiftly and everything fell silent. I had seen waves on television that dwarfed this one, but it's a little different when you're seconds away from getting smooshed.

Strangely, a sudden eerie calm overcame me, even though I was fully terrified. I was completely focused on one thing: survival. I was clear; no one was around me. I kicked my board back and dove headfirst into the meat of the wave and let it crash over me. Miraculously, it did, and I just felt a strong tug on my right leg by the leash.

What a rush! If only I could approach other hurdles in life with the same coolness and resolve.

On an unrelated note, I just saw the funniest thing on television. Today is/was the dreaded Valentine's day. I fucking hate this day that makes everyone (single or not) feel like shit. But anyway, the late news on Channel 11 had a reporter interviewing single folks this evening. They put a mug of the person talking on screen, with their name, like "John Smith," and their title, which would normally be something like, "City Councilwoman," "Local Homeowner," or "High School Student," was "Single." Hilarious! What a grand scheme for public humiliation on V-day! Might as well make that "Loser," "Dateless," or, more to the point, "Worthless Piece of Shit"!

Another great story idea would be to figure out just how much suicide hotlines and actual suicides spike on or around V-day. I wouldn't be surprised to see a helluva jump in these figures.

But seriously, this day is particularly dangerous because it is a huge faux pas to share the chocolates you have received. This is equivalent to saying, "You suck, pathetic dork!" to your single friends. So, you're basically stuck eating all the fattening chocolates you received by your goddamned self.

This day also tends to engender an arms race of sorts, among both gift givers and receipients, who are trying to outdo the Joneses next door, but all the while remaning secretive about it, as though they were mining plutonium ore in their quest for nuclear power and world domination. Yuck, I'm so glad it's over!

And one more thing: those Olympic girl snowboarders rock so hard! Especially Kelly Clark, who managed to get phenomenal amounts of air on her last run. I have never seen a girl get so much air; it makes me proud to think that someday women snowboarders will be close to indistinguishable from guys. It's a pity that she skidded out on her last 900 - I still think she was robbed of some Olympic bling.