Surfing Ruined My Life

With everyone stuck indoors I thought why not throw down some of the books, movies, shows, and jams I have been enjoying as of late.   Since beach closures are growing exponentially, maybe faster then the spread of the actually virus surfers everywhere are going to need something to fill that one to four hours a day they would normally be chasing surf.   I have been reading lots of social media posts of people looking for good books so lets start there.

I will give you five for now.  Keep in mind I am a slave to the classics with a favorite in British Literature from 17-1900.

Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy 1895 roughly 500 pages edition dependent

Hardy’s book were way ahead of his time and all are full of pushing the acceptable social conduct of that era.  Full of sexual angst and content in a decadent way you can’t miss a good Hardy novel.  He always challenges religion and government as well.  Jude the Obsure is actually his final fiction novel because it was so heavily criticized in his day it led him to give up fiction.  That being said scholars today consider it to be maybe his master piece.  Isn’t that how it always goes with genius.  Basic plot follows a peasant dreamer through his life of misadventures and poor life choices ultimately leading to his downfall.

A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens 1859 roughly 450 pages

Dickens is with out a doubt one of my favorite authors.  If you think times are shitty right now just think how much they sucked living in France post revolution.  Love, lust, honor, blood shed and unrequited romance make this novel a winner.  It is also one of my personal favorites.  A must read for everyone.

Measure for Measure – William Shakespeare 1604 5 acts

Considering he had just lived through quite the plague why not enjoy a Shakespeare comedy set about a corrupt government official ruling poorly at the hand of his own selfish vanity.  Sex, pirates and plot twists all make this a fun filled read.  If you really feel eager why not act it out with some friends over face time.  You may not survive this Corona plague but Shakespeare’s words will.  At the very least you won’t die an illiterate.

1984 – George Orwell 1949 roughly 340 pages

Keep giving up those rights because you are scared and George Orwell’s dystopian future will become a reality.  1984 is an ugly truth about human nature and the corruption of power.   Throw in a little romance, sexual content and some good old fashion torture and you got a decent read.  Better read this now while you still can before we start burning books of it’s nature.

Sea Wolf – Jack London 1904 roughly 330 pages

An intellectual gets impressed into being a sailor after being picked up a float from a boating accident in San Francisco.   The schooner is a gnarly seal hide trapping boat with a schizophrenic captain ready lose it at any moment.  Its a sadistic fish out of water story that sort of works out in the end.

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Solitary confinement

I never really saw myself writing about something likes this.  Sure I made a few doomsday predictions back in my younger years, most likely penned a word or two on it here.  None of us are really ever prepared for such times as we are now living.  I suppose that is because it seems rather counter productive to focus on the extreme negative.

Like most of you I don’t own a safety bunker or escape shelter out in the middle of nowhere.  I don’t have a years store of MRE’s and non-perishables.  Nor have I stock piled weapons.  Up till recently I just lived my life and did my thing assuming the status quo would remain.  One could say I may have bitched and complained about minuscule things in the grand scheme of life and preoccupied my time with mainly bullshit.  I don’t regret this for I have lived a rather charmed life as it stands

This could be my new home

This is actually the third blog I have attempted to write on the current state of things.  The first one was a bit too nonchalant.  The second a bit too militant and extreme.  On the third try I have just decided jot down a few thoughts, that are my thoughts; so please as per usual take them with a grain of salt.

Before all of this pandemic stuff began my life starting in 2020 was off to a rather hectic start.  I had a wedding to plan, my wedding.  What started as a mellow affair steadily became a 180 person black tie event.  Luckily it is my industry and that being the case I had the insider edge every step of the way.  On top of all of that my  work life was getting a bit dicey.

My lovely betrothed and I

My major employer and mentor for the last four years suddenly decided to retire and move to the east coast.  Considering I was entering my slowest time of year it became evident to me that I better begin hunting for some new form of hopefully more gainful employment.  Through a few connections I had a few possible opportunities afforded to me.  One in particular was as close to a dream job for any chef looking to mellow out.  It was a position that I could have retired in.

Doing what I do

At the same time my surfboard company Clarks Surfboards had been churning out some of the best boards we have ever done and finally had tested and proved all of the various models in the catalog.  We were ready to take the next step and really go after a piece of the surf market share.  Talk about exciting times.  A possible great new job, marrying the woman of my dreams in just a little over a month and my surfboard business finally gaining traction after years of hard work and sacrifice.

This was all shattered by a few tourists from China who may or may not have eaten at bat?  At this point there is so much misinformation out there it is hard to know what to believe.  The government has managed this whole situation very poorly.  As a result people panicked and now we have a bit of a food shortage on hand because the sheep decided they had to buy every last can good, roll of toilet paper, non perishables and  dairy out there.  Surprisingly I have noticed a fair amount of vegan food on the shelves.  Luckily for me my lady and I go shopping every other week for a big grocery load and had just before things got really nuts.

As a chef I tend to keep more raw ingredients in my home then most and have a par level I keep for the basics to make anything.  By my judgement we could hold out eating decently for over two months on what I had.  After that I could churn out two eight ounce portions a day of protein gruel for up to six months.  I figure between fishing and foraging, maybe trapping of small prey like rabbit and squirrels we could last indefinitely.  Of course this is me just “doomsdaying” it, which I really hope it doesn’t come to.  Anyone who knows me knows how much I hate camping and in a resource lacking future everyday would be like camping.

I suppose with a view like this camping isn’t so bad

At this point I am taking my life day by day.  Minus being able to go to the Wild Cat and having a job my life hasn’t really been affected all that heavily.  Lets face it I have not really worked a steady job in the last four years.  I think few people are as crafty about making ends meet with out a job then me.  I live with my fiance and my best friend, they are my quarantine buddies so to speak.  Besides that my disdain for most human beings usually keeps me at a distance of six feet from others anyway.  I pretty much spent my life avoiding crowds of any size shape or form.

There is a certain peaceful solace to not traveling in groups

It is a bit annoying going to the market and having to be a more creative on what I am going to make for dinner.  I will say this all the fresh foods like produce is still very plentiful.  Maybe people will learn how to eat real food again instead of all the processed garbage out there.  I don’t like feeling guilty every time I leave my apartment even though I following all of the current  “social distancing” rules.  It breaks my heart that any day now the government will close the beaches and I will no longer be able to surf.

At least we are entering one of the junkier times a year surf wise

For now I and the people dear to me remain healthy, we all have enough to eat and can still laugh and smile at times.  My fiance and I have decided we are going to get married on the 17th of April no matter what even if we have to do a civil ceremony with ten people all standing six feet apart.  Being out of work, the realistic difficulty of rescheduling (as an insider in the wedding industry venues, caterers and rentals are going to be short and booked for months maybe years because of this.  The wealthy will be able to get what they want, but poor people like myself will have to settle or wait) and the fact that we won’t have any available funds due to the heavy losses taken being out of work, to even pay for the event leaves us to this somewhat crushing decision.  Our union was always about the love we have for each other and not some ridiculous overzealous party. All we can do is play the hand that we are dealt and so be it.

That is really all I have to say on this topic for now.  I am taking life on a day by day basis during these seemingly desperate and scary times.  It is the only course of action any of us can take.  Maybe this will blow over at the end of the month, though most likely it won’t.  If everyone stays calm we just may get through this with out major catastrophe and life as we know can get on in a civilized fashion.

To this avail I will be more active writing.  I don’t really have anything else to do at the moment.  For the most part I want to keep it light.  The surf log will still contain my day to day whether or not I am in the water or not.  I would like to pen some fun blogs on surfing, tell some of my old surfing stories from back in the day and thoughts on all things surf related.  Whether we can surf in the near future or not lets still keep the stoke alive here.  Feel free to suggest anything you wish to read about in the comments like we used to do in years prior.  Stay strong and healthy everyone.

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