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A Brief Fast Leads to a Feast: March Surfing 2011

April 12, 2011 by clisanti

What a month in surfing up here in the (805)!  March started out super slow and it would be lie if I said that I was not more then a little annoyed with the early month’s conditions (see the surflog for detalis).  Then mid March things began to change and the North Pacific started to light up giving us a reminder of what we all enjoyed on a regular basis starting in September and ending in July of the 2009-2010 NW swell season.  It all started with a great but very crowded day at Rincon and then snow balled from there.  By the time Kooky Kyle got out here things were in full gear and he lucked into the best week of WNW swells of the season (see Kooky Kyle’s Lisanti Adventure Tour for more details on that).

I personally surfed my brains out.  March brought about two wonderful entities that allowed me some well deserved extra water time.  First off there was Spring Break,  and not just one spring break like most people have.  I got two!  Thats right, Westmont’s and City College’s breaks did not coincide with each other but fell adjacent thus allowing me to have one week off from work and one from classes.  Throw in Kooky’s visit, when ever I have a guest out here I feel obligated to get them as much time in the water as possible, and it all equals tons and tons of water time.  Then we moved the clocks forward an hour adding an extra hour of day light and more surf time for Chris.

The numbers were a bit interesting this time around now in their second month.  I have found so far that it seems that when my surf time is restricted I catch more waves then when I have an unlimited amount of surf time.  Also I have noticed that at Rincon I average about 15 waves a session out there regardless of the time I spend in the water.  I froth the shit out of crappy beach breaks where I average about 25 waves per hour.  Here is how it all broke down in the month of March:

Number of Sessions Surfed: 29
Days Surfed: 24
Time Spent in the Water: 50 hours 25 minutes
Number of Waves Surfed: 717
Average Waves Per Hour: 14

Spots Surfed:
Rincon: 11
Mesa Lane: 4
Hammonds: 4
Sand Bar: 2
Emma Wood: 1
Gold Coast: 1
Loons: 1
El Capitan: 1
Dredge: 1
Pitas: 1
Santa Clarita River Mouth: 1

Top 3 Sessions:

3: 3/11/11 PM Session: 3-4+ft, Hammonds
Waves Surfed: 30
Time In Water: 1hr 20mins
I wanted to get  a morning session in but then all the beaches were closed thanks to the Tsunami that ended up being yet another nonevent.  I tried to sneak in at three different spots only to be chased away by the cops.  By the third attempt I was out of time and had to go to class.  I hate closed beaches if I want to drown in a Tsunami it should be my prerogative.  Afternoon came around and my boys Mauriello and Brennan rolled into town and Kooky was beginning his Chris Lisanti Adventure Tour.  After a failed Sand Bar mission we ended up at Hammonds thanks to all the traffic on the south bound 101.  As it turned out the session ended up being super fun even if there was some cross wind on it and sectiony.  I stuck a sick full rotation backside air reverse.   Everyone had fun, Brennan got a great wave.  Good times for all.

2: 3/17/11 PM Session1: 3-5ft, El Capitan
Waves Surfed: 29
Time In Water: 2.5 hrs
EL CAPITAN!!!  EL CAP, damn it finally broke and broke well too.  I wanted to get there by 11am, but thanks to an early morning appointment at the career center at school that ran way too long Kooky and I did not make there till around 1pm.  Upon checking it I could tell it was solid chest to head high with offshore winds and moderate crowd.  We were on it.  It was probably the best El Cap I have ever surfed of course given the fickleness of the place it was also only my 4th session out there ever.  It works out that I get about one session there a year and this was it (maybe I can squeeze one more in, only time will tell).  I ended up getting a solid 50 yard tube through the bottom of the point.  Sure I had to scrap like a mad man to do it, but I made it happen.  Then in the last half hour the place just got mobbed to the point where it was so crowded I could not even turn to take a wave with out running into someone.  Apparently a group of rascally locals threw rocks at Kooky and told him to go home and some old guy cracked his head open and was bleeding all over the place.  Cheers, Jeers and epic barrels, just another great day at EL Capitan.

1: 3/24/11 AM Session: 5-8+ft, Rincon
Waves Surfed: 14
Time In Water: 1hr 45mins
See blog “Bad Decisions Lead to Great Outcomes”

 

That amazingly gigantic burger is all I have to say for the waves in March!

 

Posted in News From Lisanti Land, Surfing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

And The Winner Is…

April 10, 2011 by clisanti

The winter quarter of the UCB came to an end as of April 1st.  Let me be the first to congratulate everyone on a job well done.  It was a very tight race this quarter coming down to a mere half point.  Those half points seem pretty silly, but they do add up.  We had a double points blog courtesy of John Mauriello (There is Something About Shuttle Cocks).  Kooky Kyle took advantage of the UCB Grand Prize, a self expense paid trip to Santa Barbara to spend a week in Lisanti Land you can read about his adventures in Kooky Kyle’s Lisanti Adventure Tour.

Its been a ton of fun as always, but enough of my wordy bull shit, after all you have to put up with that everyday.  Lets get on to the winners.  Remember this is only the first quarter of the year there are still three more to go.  So if you did not win this time around you got three more tries.

1st Place: Kooky Kyle with 5.5 points
2nd Place: John Mauriello with 5 points
=3rd Nick the Kook with 2 points
=3rd Brennan with 2 points

If you did not win but got points on the board dont sweat it cause the year end title this year will be determined by most accumulated points rather then most quarters won as has been done in the past.  Get those topics flowing in and take Kooky Kyle down for a change.  The promises to buy a round of drinks at the Wild Cat for who ever beats him.  That round will be three Adios  Mother Fuckers that will ensure a shit show of a night.  I will even sweeten the deal with an authentic Chris Lisanti used condom…Yummy!

Its feels good to be a champion

For winning the winter quarter Kooky gets one crazy night with these two lovelies

Posted in User Choice BLog | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Kooky Kyle’s Chris Lisanti Adventure Tour

April 8, 2011 by clisanti

Since it is the end of the winter quarter of the UCB and although I cant officially claim a winner yet I have to assume that Kooky took the win once again (look for the winners circle blog by the end of the weekend).  If one was to read the actual rules and regulations of the UCB they would have noticed that whomever takes the year title also wins a “Self expense paid vacation to Santa Barbara California to spend a week in Lisanti land living the blogs instead of just reading them.  You get to buy your own plane ticket, sleep on my couch, get burned by me at Rincon and have at least one crazy night at the Wild Cat”.

Kooky won for the year and finally after two botched attempts to get here courtesy of our great friends and masters of incompetence over at the airlines made it this past March.    Im not going to lie at first I was a bit apprehensive about Kooky coming to visit.  I never really considered the guy a good friend, but more of a friend of a friend being that he was John Mauriello’s best friend.  After he screwed me out of an all expense paid trip of a lifetime to Costa Rica with my millionaire Russian friend Vladimir I was a little angry at the guy (he has since more then atoned for his sins).

Rules are rules and he has shown more commitment to SurfingRuinedMyLife.net then I have and its my blog.  I could not deny the guy.  This year has been a tricky one for surf here in Santa Barbara being a La Nina year (well I think the scientists have agreed on that now that year is just about done.  I will have to check with Sindia for expert advice on that one.)  Between hit and run NW’s, crazy weather and tsunami’s who knew what to expect for the kid.

As luck would have it he was rewarded with the most consistent week of waves we have had all season and it was WNW swell allowing for him to score plenty of great Rincon and the crown jewels of Santa Barbara El Capitan and Sand Spit.  I have had friends who have been visiting me for years out here yet to surf either.  Heck Im lucky if I get to surf El Capitan once a year and Sand Spit more then a handful.

One thing I have to say while on the subject of surfing is that I was very impressed with Kooky’s surfing ability.  Part of the reason for his nickname was due to his lack of surfing prowess.  One of my biggest fears was that the poor kid was going to get his ass handed to him at the majority of the spots here.  He found plenty of good ones and held his own even at the most crowded El Capitan I have ever seen and Sand Bar, which is one of the most competitive lineups out here.  Kooky kudos to you.

Kooky Kyle is one useful motherfucker.  The kid is like a walking encyclopedia.  I don’t think there is a single topic out there the guy is not familiar if not all knowing.  Any time I had to get something accomplished he usually had the answer.  Apparently he is a master at survival too.  So if I ever am going to be marooned on an Island “Lord of the Flies” style I would definitely hope Kooky gets stranded with me.  The dude makes his own arrowheads.  He was also a very helpful set of hands in the kitchen minus his slow ass water conserving dishwashing technique.

He even got to experience a UCB all stars weekend here in SB when Brennan and Mauriello drove down from San Francisco his first night in town.  We all went out for a wild night downtown or in other words the Wild Cat.  Unfortunately I think someone must have slipped something in my drink and I got very sick throwing up all night and well into the next day.  At one point I told Ades that she may have to take me to the hospital.  I survived in the end.

In the midst of all the confusion poor Kooky got lost on the streets of Santa Barbara drunk.  Somehow he meandered his way up to Albertson’s, a grocery store about six to eight blocks from my apartment.  I guess it would not be a true Chris Lisanti downtown experience if someone did not get sick and someone did not get lost.  At least this time no one got arrested or lost any teeth.

All in all I think Kooky had a pretty awesome trip.  I know I had a great time and Im sorry for all the bad things I have said about the kid over the years.  I am definitely proud to call Kooky Kyle a true friend any time and will always have his back.  So there you have it win the UCB for the year (tally of who takes the most quarters) and you too can come out here to Lisanti Land for a self-expense paid adventure.   I had Kooky write up a little blog of his own on his take of his adventure tour.  I have not read it yet so that it would not affect my partiality when I wrote this blog.  Stay tuned for that soon…

Two crazy guys having a crazy time.

Posted in News From Lisanti Land, User Choice BLog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

There is Something About Shuttle Cocks

April 3, 2011 by clisanti

Double Points Baby!!!!!! Thats right John Mauriello scores the Double Points UCB Blog for the Winter Quarter.  I was just about to pass over yet another double points opportunity when he posted the suggestion “Badminton”.  Now this may seem strange to some of you who dont know me well and being this is a pseudo surfing blog.  Let me just state for the record that I am the mother fucking man at Badminton.

What is this game you ask.   Well it was invented by the good old Brits back in the 17th century.  Basic gist of the game is that two or four players (either one on one or two on two) hit a shuttle cock (a feathered ball like thing) with racquets over a net a bit shorter then that used for volley ball.  If it falls on the opposing team’s side and hits the ground a point is awarded to team who hit the shuttle cock.  Its sort of a combination of both tennis and volley ball.

I love this game and probably should have  pursued a career as a pro badminton player instead of a pro surfer, although I dont think I would have gotten laid as much.  You never know though, those Euro chicks are into some pretty strange things and Im sure the game is huge over in Japan.  Badminton is in the Olympics so I could have at any rate maybe gotten on the front of a Wheaties box if I medaled in it.

Forced into the game at the young age of eight by mother, I just assume I was around eight I have been playing the game for so long I cant remember when I started.    My mom was all about Badminton and since we had a volley ball court in our back yard every summer she would have me out there a number of times a week hitting around the birdie (another name for the shuttle cock).  Of course nothing with my mother could ever just be fun.  As a youngster I was a bit of a rebel rouser and was constantly hitting the shuttle in all directions wildly making the game less then stellar for my mother.

She began to drill me on it till I became rather proficient and over time surpassing her abilities by a landslide.  Just imagine playing a game every summer from when you were eight till twenty.  With that kind of repetition its hard not to get good.  Lets fast forward to 9th grade gym class.  When I entered high school I was given the choice of three different gym classes.  One was full of team sports like baseball, basketball, and soccer.  Another was called personal conditioning and involved nothing but working out.  The last had an array of other more obscure sports one of which being badminton.

As soon as I saw that on the list I signed up. Turns out the physical education class I choose appealed to a 99% female demographic.  The only other male in the class was this black gay kid, I mean he was hands down a flamer of gargantuan proportions.  I endured a ton of bull shit in that class, but when we got to the badminton unit it was on.  I kicked ass and took names ultimately being named class champion of that year.  I even schooled the best player from the other high school in the district.

When I moved to Jersey badminton was part of the regular curriculum allowing me play one quarter every year.  I ended up cleaning up there as well taking class champion sophomore, junior and senior year.  The only guy who could even come close to a rival was actually my good friend Jay.  Later on we would have a falling out after he attempted to sell my ass out to the cops for some bullshit we sort of got caught up in senior year.  It was total kid shit that became real serious real fast.  Im not about to get into the details here on the internet, bottom line is he should have left my name out of his mouth all together and it did net him shit in the end anyhow.  After which I completely washed my hands of the dude.

Senior year he gave me a run for my money.  The champion game was a set of five and it came down to game five.  In Badminton you play to 21 but you have to win by two points.  I think we ended up playing till like 33 or something absurd like that.  When  I made that point I was so stoked I ended up smashing my racquet on the gymnasium floor breaking it to pieces.   My victory was rewarded with detention and the costs of a new racquet.  Jay and I teamed up for doubles and went undefeated all the way to the championship.

That pretty much ended my competitive badminton career.   I guess I could have pursued it on a collegiate level but at the time I was more interested in going to school for music.  Now Im probably to old and have already missed my Olympic window.  It looks like I will have to file badminton like so many other entities in my life under could have been but never really was.   My Olympic medal hopes are not all extinguished.  I still have time to perfect curling for the winter games.

Here is a video demonstrating some expert badminton playing:

Even black people in wheel chairs can enjoy this game!

Posted in User Choice BLog | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments »

Its All In My Head

April 2, 2011 by clisanti

It all comes down to the wire.  Not really I guess in truth the UCB technically ended as of April 1st which was yesterday, but since its my blog and my rules I dont really give a shit.  At SurfingRuinedMyLife.net I do whatever the fuck I want.  I wish I could say the same for my life.  I think at one point I lived like that.  These days though I find myself conforming to the machine more and more everyday.  That is an entirely different blog all together.  What the fuck am I talking about?  The last UCB of the winter quarter of course.

Its been a great quarter and a close race.  Kooky Kyle snags the last official blog of the winter quarter.  A long time ago way back “when I had the red and black lumber jack with the hat to match” (where are those fun lyrics from,  first person to post it in the comments gets an extra half point for the quarter) at the beginning of the quarter I threw down a challenge in Groovin’ High to ask a UCB about my mental check list.  At the time no one ever bothered to look at that page and I actually updated it regularly.  I assumed no one would ever get it.  They say when you “Assume you make an ass of me and an ass of you”  (first person to name the television show this quote was first used on will also receive a bonus half point).

Who ended up getting it?  None other then the UCB King himself Kooky Kyle.  I never wrote the blog out of spite most likely, but all jokes aside it really is a good topic and one I feel is worth covering.  After all this blog is about me and its hard to truly understand how Chris Lisanti ticks with out an explanation of my mental check list.

I dont really know the origin of it.   The list may have started in the womb for all I know.  Priority one get the fuck out of this place.  Basically what my mental check list is, is a list of things I have to get done in some length of time.  I know that sounds rather vague and confusing.  It gets worse.  Out of this list I have both a long list, a short list and a mandatory list depending on the period of time.  For example, my eventual move to New Zealand and getting my sheep farm is on the long term list.

Organized people write these types of things down in planners or on calenders or other entities of this type.  I however have it all floating around my head with fictitious dead lines that are constantly not being met.  First priority is the mandatory list, which are the items that need getting done for my life to keep on its present course.  These have actual physical dead lines that have to be met.  They are things like paying my rent, showing up to work, my class work, bills etc.  I hate these because I am tied down by actual dead lines meaning it will probaly get there late and I will face some kind adversity as a result, which will ultimately be a pain in my ass and make me angry.  We all know Im not a fun person to be around when Im angry.

The next level is the short  list, which are items that need to get done in a certain amount of time but the period is more vague or an extended period of time.  This includes all sorts of fun things.  The Coffe Table Saga is a perfect example.  That thing has been on the list for almost over a year now.   My herb garden is on this list, all sorts of little chores that need doing around the house are on the list.  Getting a hair cut has been on the list since the fall when I got my last hair cut.  I may have to move that one up to a higher priority before I look even more ridiculous then I do already.  Designing SurfingRuinedMyLife.net was on this list for like three years before it actually got done.  Bottom line if an item gets on this list it will get done, but the real question is not if, but when…..

The list is a bit crazy and drives some of the people in my life batty.  I know Sindia hated the mental check list back when we were together.  I think Ade’s has just at this point learned to live with it.   My Dad thinks Im a moron as a result of the list on most occasions but he too has learned how to work with in the system to help me not sink in matters in life like my taxes, finances and other legal matters.  I think if not for the wisdom of how the real world works from my father I would be either, dead, on the street or in jail.  Your the man Dad, dont ever die or I will be lost.

So that is a brief (yea if you call a 1000 words brief!) idea of the list.  Now Im not expecting any of you to understand or even be able to grasp it.  Shit I have no idea how to get my arms around it and it belongs to me.  I just thought it would be fun to let everyone a little deeper into the retardation of Lisanti Land and why it is so utterly dysfunctional.

There will be no UCB this week being the break week between the quarters.  The Spring quarter will begin with first blog to be written somewhere around April 14th.  Look for the winners blog in place of the UCB this week.   I cant really say who it is although if I had to wager my money is on Kooky, but one thing is for sure it is a close one this quarter.

Posted in User Choice BLog | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments »

Lisanti Book Club, Book X: Lord of the Flies

March 31, 2011 by clisanti

Book X: Lord of the Flies, William Golding, first published in 1954, 202 pages

I know I should have read this book back in like the eighth or ninth grade.  Some how though it slipped by me being it probably was not required reading and at which time I was all about the dime novel series The Hardy Boys.  Lord of the Flies is a work that I have avoided reading for a long time mostly because  I had a pretty good notion of what the plot was about thanks to various TV and movie spin offs of the novel.  Whenever such is the case I am always hesitant to read the book for fear of my imagination being corrupted by one of these aforementioned sources.  Ade’s found a copy being thrown away at the local art museum where she teaches at risk kids art two nights a week.  I figured it was about time to give it a read.  its fairly easy reading similar to our last book Peer Gynt, which I can only hope any one who keeps up with the book club has long since finished.

Summary of Book IX: Peer Gynt

I went into Ibsen’s Peer Gynt not quite knowing what to expect from the renowned Norwegian playwright.  Turns out I found the play to be a great read borderline profound.  The book’s take on the afterlife is very interesting and its guidelines on living as well.  At times a bit tough to follow Peer Gynt keeps you guessing on the outcome all the way till the end where you will never expect what happens.  If you missed it the first time around I strongly recommend picking it up.  Its a 160 page play that is an easy read.  Give it a shot I promise you wont be sorry.

Where is the Lord of theses Flies?

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Essential Packing

March 30, 2011 by clisanti

This will be the second to last UCB of the winter quarter, the final one being this week’s.  The double points blog is still up for grabs since I have yet to see a topic worth while.  That means there are still potentially three points up for grabs making it anyone’s game against the untouchable Kooky Kyle.   Nick the Kook wins this week with a topic he posted about a month or so ago asking what I thought to be the most important items to pack for a surf trip.  This is a question I have been asked by many people on different occasions and that being the case decided it is about time to put it here for all to benefit from.

The most important thing to do before even considering what to bring is doing a bit of research on the place you intend to visit.  Im not just talking internet and surf guides for information. Those are great.  Before I go anywhere I always like to get in touch with someone who has been to the destination before.  There is no advice better then first hand.  In todays global surf world where traversing the world in search of the best waves has become as easy as scratching your ass one does not have to look to far to find someone who has been to a place you want to go.

The facts on a potential surf trip are crucial to packing the correct gear.  Basically its a tool box, like I said a while back in the blog about building the perfect quiver (click here for that gem of knowledge), you put the right tools in to get the job done.  Questions you should ask are

  1. What is the weather/water temp
  2. What is the average surf height for the season I am traveling
  3. How big will I surf it, how hard do I want to charge?
  4. Are surf shops readily available?
  5. What type of accommodations will I be staying in?
  6. What is the airline’s surfboard travel policy?
  7. Does the country Im traveling to tax surfboards?
  8. Is there reef and if so how sharp?
  9. What health issues should I be prepared for?
  10. Is medical help easily found?
  11. How long am I going to be traveling?

These questions are super important to take into consideration.    Depending on the weather that will determine what type and range of clothing to bring.  If you are going to a tropical climate then your looking at a few pairs of baggies and t-shirts.  If your going to Ireland you will probably want to pack your warm clothes.  The same goes with wet suits.   In may opinion if your are going someplace that requires a suit bring two.  Having a dry wettie is invaluable when your contemplating a second or third session and conditions are less then desirable.

Remember you are traveling to surf and that means surfing as much as possible.   It always blows my mind when people go on surf trips and barely put in one session a day.  When I go on a surf trip thats all I do is surf.  As a  matter of fact I think the only time Im not surfing is for meals and traveling from one surf spot to the next.

Questions 2 through 7 are key for determining how many what types of boards you should bring.  Back when I was traveling all the time in most cases you could get away with a coffin filled with 5-6 boards for no more then $100 bucks each way  and that was considered getting raped.  These days if you can get one way with two boards for under $200 your thanking your lucky stars.  That is why picking the right boards is really important.

Thanks to great advances in surf forecasting you can get a rather accurate five day surf report, and a semi accurate 8-10 day report for just about every location in the world.  If your only going to a place for seven days and the forecast is not calling for anything bigger then six foot I would leave the guns at home and maybe bring a fish.  I spent more energy lugging big boards all over the place only to have them in the corner of my hotel room collecting dust.  I had a 6’6 Merrick step up that I think went on about four different trips with me and I only rode the thing once and that was because I broke all my other boards.

These days if I know the place I am going has plenty of surf shops and no shortage of  boards I only bring two or three boards the most.  If I am going to place like California or Australia where there are more surfboards then people I would consider not bringing any boards at all and just buying what I need used there.  With the exuberant board fees right now it costs about the same anyway, but with out the hassle of lugging around a bulky heavy board bag.  Its fun to ride boards shaped for the place your visiting and get a new take on surfboard design.  If your not a charger dont bother bringing a gun, most places in the world have spots that are always fun no matter how big the buoys are reading.

Once again if surf shops are readily available like Oz or Cali I dont bring extra gear.  Why schlep it around when you can just buy a spare leash or bar of wax?  Accommodations are something you must really think about when packing.  If you are going to stay in dormitory/hostel style lodging (the most affordable for the budget surf traveler, which the majority of us are) I would pack as light as possible.  These types of places usually cram as many beds into one room as possible leaving little room for bags.  The ability to lock up valuables is usually rare as well thus you usually have to always take your belongings with you every time you go out for the day.

That being said I am totally a fan of hostel traveling.  There is no better way to meet and experience people from all different cultures then to live in a multi person dorm for a few days or weeks.  I know when I was cruising around New Zealand I met tons of interesting people at the hostels I was passing through.  Its usually a fun time and for the solo traveler (the only way to go if you ask me) nothing makes socializing easier.  If you show up with an open mind there is no telling what might happen.  If your are crashing on couches for friends I would pack light as well.  No one likes when there house guest’s shit is all over their living room.

Medical supplies are always an important concern.  My rule of thumb has always been if there is something I need to have I bring it with me, especially prescription medication.  I dont care where you go if you forget prescription meds that you need to take it is going to be a head ache at best getting more.  I usually pack a small first aid kit with different size band aids, tweezers, scissors, gauze, medical tape, clear packing tape, crazy glue (put it in wounds to close them up), bedodine, neosporene, and lots of Ibuprofen.  If you are traveling third world it is a good idea to get your hands on some generic strong anti biotics like zythromax just in case you start feeling sick.  In these places some type of anti-diarrhetic is probably a good idea as well.  In countries with high risk of malaria, malaria tablets are a must.

The amount of time you plan on traveling must come into play at some point.  If I am traveling for less then two weeks I bring about four sets of clothes.  When I am traveling for months then I take into account the span of seasons and pack double the amount than I would for a short trip.  Finally if you are going to be surfing over shallow, sharp reef packing a set of reef booties may be a smart idea.  It sucks to have to sit out any time of a surf trip courtesy of reef gashes.  In places where surf gear is scarce things like wax, surf stickers, t-shirts, etc.  can be used as currency.  On a trip to Costa Rica a friend of mine traded two Volcom t’s for a kings ransom of free meals from this one restaurant cause the owner loved Volcom clothing and could not buy it there.

I hope some of this information will be useful.  I felt like a bit of a hippocrate writing this blog since the last surf trip I have been on was like two years ago.  These days the only traveling I do is to New Jersey to see my folks and have all sorts of terrible mishaps happen to me.  As Chicken said in “…lost Across America” “I only get to go on the cheap trips like to the liquor store” , a mantra that seems to hold true for me these days.  When I go up to Jalama or Malibu for the day its sort of a mini surf trip.  Dont cry for me though folks I surf amazing waves all the time and stay wet nearly everyday right here in my beloved Santa Barbara.  Maybe Im on a permanent surf trip of sorts?  One more thing dont forget a jumbo roll of duct tape.  The shit has so many versatile uses is crazy.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions....

I bet she would fit in your suit case.

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Yesterdays (3/24) Rincon Session Revisited

March 25, 2011 by clisanti

Yesterday I wrote a blog about the crazy Rincon session I had entitled “Bad Decisions Lead to Good Outcomes“.  It was a fun little surf tale from what may have been one of the best days I have seen at Rincon this season.  There were a few guys shooting on the beach and occasionally some of the pictures get to the internet.  My boy Brennan once again found a few pictures from the session on SantaBarbaraSurfer.com, they must have put them up after I wrote the blog last night because I actually did check around to see if any photos from the session made it to the internet.  As I always say a picture is worth a thousand words and it is always great to have an idea of what I am talking about when I write this stuff.  There are about six photos of me kooking it on the slide show, but a ton of Bobby killing it and a few other guys getting some nasty ones.  Its worth a check if you have a minute http://www.santabarbarasurfer.com/index.php/news/article/under_the_radar_spring_session_rincon/.  Below is a little slide show I put together of the shots of me from the session.  All pictures taken by Steve Bissell.

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Bad Decisions Lead to Great Outcomes.

March 24, 2011 by clisanti

Bad habits die hard.  I was suppose to be in wine class this morning, my favorite class and one I really hate missing, but I had to work the Lunch/Dinner shift at work today thus forcing my hand.  I truly thought there was a Friday night section of the class, which I would later find out was on Thursday night.  I really need to pay more attention to the details in life so I stop constantly blowing it.  That being said if I had to do it all over again I would still miss class, even if I went into the session knowing I was to destroy my favorite surfboard ever.

I woke up and checked the buoys.  They were solid and the wind was off shore with an eight am low tide.  All signs pointed to Rincon.  I got there and the lot was barely half full.  I knew judging from Santa Clause that there was a wave so I just suited up with out checking it.  As I came out of the trail I saw a solid eight to ten foot set five waves deep stand up and unload top to bottom through the cove, barrel and spit.

There were only about ten guys on it.  The water turned out to be freezing and after the first half hour the wind went south.  Bobby was killing it as always.  I had a few great ones including a really fun inside double up that I had some words with some dude about claiming that i paddled around him.  I mean come on man its fucking Rincon. That sort of thing happens all the time.  For the record I did not deliberately paddle the guy.  I was paddling further up the point when the wave came and I swung around for it.

I was a solid twenty yards up from him when I took off.  He proceeded to burn me then call me gay as I passed him, floated a fifteen yard section leaving him in the dust.  That turned out to be one of the better waves of the session for me.   Then it happened, I caught the best wave of the winter for me at Rincon.  I was fucking freezing and it was toward the middle of the session.  This bomb set came and caught everyone out of position.  The eighth wave in the set missed the outer break point of high cove and doubled up right where I was sitting.  No one was deeper so I took off.  I got to the bottom of the thing and it was way way way over  my head.  Im going  to have to claim ten feet on this one.   I hit it three times before pulling into a huge gaping tube which I came out of then did another two huge tail free backside hacks.  As I was going up for the third one I blew my tail out way to far and found myself free falling down a good six feet with the lip.  When I looked under me there was this dude right where I was going to land so I ditched.  I ended up getting worked super hard.  I hit the bottom and got pinned there!  When I came up dude and I were tangled while being battered by solid six foot waves.

When we got free I noticed that the tail of my board was destroyed.  Too bad to cause I really like this board and Kooky dinged my other board while he was visiting last week.  Although beat up I deemed my tail still surfable and the waves were way to good to get out considering I still had another half hour of surf time.  Right after that wave the tide and wind got funky and I never saw another really good one.

Then on my last wave to add injury to insult some dude burned me and as I was attempting to pass him he smashed his nose into my rail compressing it a half inch into the board.  I was dumbfounded by the whole thing because it was not even a good wave.  It was an insider I took just because I was out of time and had to go to work.  Basically in summary I missed my favorite class of the week, caught my best personal wave as far as size and quality go at Rincon for the season yet managed to destroy my board on it and some idiot decided that my board was not broken enough and went ahead and helped to finish the job.  For some stupid reason if you asked me if I would do it all over again my reply would be damn straight.

My wonderful board before getting mangled at Rincon.

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The Problem With Bureaucracies

March 20, 2011 by clisanti

A long time ago Mauriello requested this blog and it was a topic that I had a bit to say on, but at the time just could not find the words to voice my opinion.  Before I get into the blog I want to remind everyone that the UCB Winter Quarter is about to come to a close April 1st.  That being the case it is time for the double points blog to make its elusive appearance again.

 

As usual the double points UCB is in addition to the remaining two that are left in the quarter and will only be written if the topic is one I feel is double points worthy.  If you think about it if you were to win the last two blogs and score the UCB double points blog that would be four points and put you clearly in contention for the title.  Just thought I would throw out some food for thought.

 

A bureaucracy is defined as a system of administration based upon organization into small groups or bureaus, division of labor, a hierarchy of authority, etc designed to dispose of a large body of work in a routine manner.

Bureaucracies are pretty much the tiny subdivisions of organization that we have to deal with in our society on an everyday basis be it good or bad.  They are also the reason why certain things like legal proceedings, the DMV, even renting an apartment in some cases take forever and can be frustrating as hell.  Bureaucracies have rules, and lots of them it is the only way to make such as system work with out falling apart.

 

It is a in most cases “too many chiefs and not enough Indians situation”.   You see it all starts with a few little employees such as the DMV for example were there are “x” amount of customer service agents.  Each one of those agents report to a supervisor, who then imparts their findings to his supervisor, who then goes to his higher up and so and and so forth.  This is all fine and dandy for your everyday operations but when something out of the ordinary needs to be done even if it is the simplest of tasks it ends up taking forever.

 

I will use the transferring of my apartment from joint tenant-ship with my last roommate to adding my new roommate to my lease.  This should have been an easy seamless process considering I was still on the original lease but thanks to all of the rules of the bureaucracy of the rental agency became the biggest headache ever.  I had to get the place inspected, fill out new rental applications, pay rental application fees, sign waivers.  It became a mountain out of a mole hill process courtesy of a bureaucracy all because they have a protocol that must be followed for all procedures no mater what the situation.

 

The reason for this is because of the pure stupidity of 90% of the public.  Lets face most people are morons.   I see it everyday and it makes me sad.  For that reason bureaucracies exist.  To firstly keep the hopelessly stupid employed, in many cases all the way up the food chain thus you have the blind leading the blind, and it helps the retarded coup with living.  Basically it is a house of cards built by some very smart people, but run and managed by idiots.   It is for this reason that such institutions drive the intelligent crazy.

 

What shall we do in place of them?  If you take away bureaucracies then you would have complete totalitarianism.  I don’t really know what’s worse, one jack ass calling the shots or a whole collection of them lost in the woods.  For me it comes back to my age old dilemma: do we educate those who are willing to learn and excommunicate those who are unfit to help with the betterment of society or do we keep sailing on the sinking ship we know.  If we did this who would be the judge and what would be the criteria.  Unfortunately I don’t think I would still fit into it.  Face it we are all fucked, but who cares the world is going to end in a year any way.

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