The NY Times is surf crazed in 2009

Everyday at work I inevitably make a visit to the New York Times webpage to read the days news. Incredibly, 2009 seems to be the year of surfing. Perhaps it is due the melting economy, or maybe it's because our new Commander in Chief is a wave rider, nonetheless, the preeminent American newspaper has featured 3 frigging articles about wave riding in January alone. In case your remotely interested, I have included the three links below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/sports/othersports/23surfing.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/travel/escapes/16superior.html?ref=travel
http://nytimes.com/2009/01/04/nyregion/thecity/04rock.html?pagewanted=1&%20_r=2&ref=thecity/

Sadly, it is not all happy news in the wave riding universe. The supreme ballbag of Hollywood, Mr. Matthew McConaughey has produced and starred in the most pathetic, despicable, deplorable, asinine movie to ever feature surfing, Surfer Dude. This flaming heap of dung was most likely concocted after Mr. No Shirt and his homeboys (both co-writers of the film, and one the director) from Longview had smoked a few too many joints dipped in his son Levi's placenta. To say the movie lacks a discernable plot would be way too kind. Furthermore, I would argue that the film was devoid of an actual script. Of course, this really shouldn't surprise anyone as the movie went straight to DVD, which is the most obvious sign a film is utterly terrible. I know I haven't given one reason as to why I deplore this film yet, so here are three.

1) Mr. Ballbag wears the same pair of boardshorts the entire film. Not only that, el douche never dons a shirt or even wears sandals. At the airport, at a store, in a meeting, or driving, he always appears in the Greg 'Da Bull' Noll's iconic black and white striped boardies.
2) Woody Harrelson. I am beyond peeved that one of my favorite actors would have agreed to be in such limp dick movie. It's like he completely usurped the love I felt for him after his performance from 'No Country for Old Men'. His best line in SD, 'Don't harsh my mellow, brah.' Heady stuff for any true thespian.
3) The incessant weed smoking. Seriously, I haven't seen that many joints toked since a Cheech and Chong movie. It bordered on the ludicrous, and McDouchwad's theory that life was all about sweet waves and sticky green stuff will further tarnish the largely inarticulate, and highly misunderstood tribes even further amongst the land-lubbing public.

The only thing I am thankful about regarding this movie is that we watched a pirated copy from the internet. Honestly, if I had spent even a penny on this brainless garbage I would have gone mental. As it is, I feel cheated out of 90 minutes of my life that I can never regain. Truly, those ninety minutes would have been better served eating paint chips, sniffing gasoline, or examining dog feces. I award this film negative 4 stars, and may God (and surfers around the World) have mercy on his McShirtless soul.

New Years Eve

We spent NYE at Luna Park, right across the Harbour from the Sydney Opera House and almost directly underneath the Harbour bridge. Our besties from Hawaii, Nic and Jeff, were here visiting, and we had an epic time partying, riding amusement rides, and watching the incredible fireworks. Usually New Years is a huge let down, but this year it completely lived up to the hype. Ended the night watching the sun rise on Manly Beach. Good times.

Hot Buttered goodness

This is my new surfboard, a Hot Buttered 'Drifta' shaped by the Sultan of Speed, Terry Fitzgerald.

You might remember my last post when I whined about not having received my board yet. Right after I put that up, I left the office and walked into the CBD to meet Veronica. While walking I got a call saying my board was ready to be picked up.

The board is magic, btw.

Melbourne

Had a nice, short trip to Melbourne this past weekend. The VA Xmas party was Friday night, so Jamie and I flew down for that. Fun night that featured a long walk from the office in Port Melbourne to the Crown Casino in town. Cabs don't go around that neighborhood since there isn't much business, so I had a nice 90 minute walking tour of the burbs of Melbourne.

Veronica flew in early Saturday morning. Went to Pellegrinis for coffee, a famous Italian cafe/diner situated in the CBD of Melbourne. Very tasty. Did some shopping and walked around the city center taking in the sites. For lunch we headed to the State Library to eat at the cafe. Tasty. Hung out on the grass in front of the library, watching the trams and street traffic hustle along. Loved the murals painted on random alley walls that seemed to be everywhere.

We met up with Jamie's ex-girlfriend who took us to a few bars. The first bar was right on the river and pretty chill. The second bar was a 'Pop Up Bar', which means it is not a permanent bar, but rather a bar that is thrown together for a few months and is made of all recycled materials. No pictures of this bar because the stupid camera batteries died on the way there. Bollocks! Then headed over to Section 8, a bar set in the middle of an alley in Chinatown. Super cool and the bar is actually constructed from a shipping crate. And yeah, no pictures again. Perhaps the coolest thing we did was that night when we headed to the Rooftop Cinema. As the name implies, you actually watch a movie on the roof of a 7 story building in downtown Melbourne. Super cool layout up there with a bar, astroturf flooring and comfy chairs to viddy the movie. What wasn't cool was the movie we saw, 'Funny Games' with Tim Roth and Naomi Watts. Trust me, don't watch that pile of German directed brown doodoo. And no pictures of the rooftop cinema.

Sunday, after getting batteries for the camera, we headed on a tram out to St. Kilda beach. St. Kilda's reminded me of Venice Beach in LA. Very trendy, cool restaurants and shops, and tons of choppers. Amazing bikes looking like they came straight out of West Coast Choppers. Walked around the market, had lunch at a place called Big Mouth (tasty), and then perused the stores in the area.

Was quite impressed with Melbourne. It's definitely a cooler city than Sydney, with innovative businesses, shops and cafes with style and substance. If it wasn't for surfing I could see living there. But who am I kidding, I probably couldn't get a job in that city either.

Which brings me to the final note concerning 2008. Yesterday I received another rejection email for a job I applied for a couple weeks back. Like a complete jackass I had thought I would give it a go since the company was a client of ours, plus I had people there at the company that could vouch for me, and I was actually qualified for the position. I had told Veronica all I wanted was the opportunity to at least have an interview and I would be happy. Moral of the story, it looks like I should search for happiness elsewhere. And to add insult to injury, I still have not received the surfboard I ordered back in August!

So, as you sit down and have a delightful Christmas dinner with you and your loved ones, you will no doubt give thanks for all you have. Inevitably you will think about the less fortunate amongst us; those who don't have a home, a job, or food to eat. I implore you to please think about me as well. The fact that I haven't got my new surfboard yet surely puts me into the less fortunate category, right? :)

Merry Christmas. See you in 2009.

2 months later

Wow, I am terrible! Nary a post in almost 2 months. In my defense, I did warn everyone that the blog had begun to feel like an enormous chore, but still, a pretty poor performance nonetheless. Additionally, Veronica and I hadn't taken a single photo since her birthday, and I know how everyone really only checks the blog to look at the pictures.

But as you will have noticed, there are new pictures up. These pics are from Veronica's Xmas party (after party in Kings Cross), and I think they tell the story far better than words possibly can. :)

On a hokier note, I decided to make a Top Ten List of my favorite songs of 2008. Pretty sure I have mentioned a few of these songs in previous posts, but here they are and not necessarily in this order.

1) Department of Eagles 'No One Does It Like You'
2) Little Joy 'Brand New Start'
3) Okkervil River 'Lost Coastlines'
4) Vampire Weekend 'A-Punk'
5) Santogold 'L.E.S. Artistes'
6) Beck 'Vampire Voltage No.6'
7) Elbow 'Grounds for Divorce'
8) The Black Keys 'I Got Mine'
9) Cold War Kids 'I've Seen Enough'
10) Bon Iver 'Skinny Love'

And fear not, there will be future posts as V and I head to Melbourne next weekend for my work Xmas party.

Hitting the Wall

Well, I guess it was only a matter of time before this blog began to feel like a chore. Sorry for the hiatus, just been enjoying some beautiful spring weather here in Oz. Since Maria left we have been taking it pretty easy, eating at our favorite places, hanging with friends, and in general trying to savor our remaining time in Manly.

That's right, our time here is coming to an end. The plan is to leave here in March to go travel for 4 months. A bit weird, part of me is quite ready to leave, but the other half is pretty sad. Living in Manly is very enjoyable. Walking to your favorite coffee shop, being so close to the water and your friends is something that will be tough to give up. And for what, a crappy US economy when we arrive back to the States? I've never gotten political on this blog, BUT, if McCain and the hockey Mom win the election I might think about staying here as I will have completely lost my faith in America. So I am gonna hope that doesn't happen, because we really miss good Mexican food. :)

On to happier thoughts, had 2 great surfs this past Friday and Saturday. Narrabeen turned on, throwing big, meaty turquoise barrels. So much fun, and best of all very few people in the water. Most impressive though was that every surfer out were completely cool, no drop-ins, no snaking, just hooting one another into waves. Reaffirmed my faith in humanity a bit.

Veronica and I got hooked on "Dexter", perhaps one of the greatest TV shows EVER! Just finished Season 1 on Saturday night, and my oh my, what a fabulous show. I am so excited about seeing Season 2, I almost feel like a kid again with all the anticipation I have running through me presently.

Haven't taken any photos in a while, so alas, nothing to view with your peepers except for my turgid ramblings. I promise to write, sooner rather than later.

V's 30th B Day

Where to begin? Maria, Veronica’s mother, left Sydney this past Sunday morning. Drama ensued upon check-in at the airport because unbeknownst to Veronica and I, the clocks had been set forward an hour the previous night. (No mention when I read the paper on Saturday, or when we watched TV that night.) So, Maria had ten minutes to make her flight. But, besides for that little snafu, Maria had a great vacation here in Sydney. She spoiled us rotten, cooking up a storm, and no doubt I gained a few pounds throughout her stay.

We celebrated Veronica’s 30th birthday on the 2nd. The celebration was a low-key dinner at our favorite place, the Bavarian Bier Café, with our good friends Andy, Jamie, Jay, Martina and Gavin. It was a good time filled with tasty food, delicious mango beer and a drunken French chick thrown in to boot. The drunken French chick was courtesy of Andy, and here 4 separate pit stops over at our table provided everyone with some good laughs. The laughs were due to her telling us repeatedly, ‘I’m drunk’ and ‘You’re hot’ to different people at the table. Comical, yet bizarre.

I got Veronica tickets to the Cirque du Soliel show on Friday for her birthday. The show had been in Sydney for about 2 months. Since Veronica had wanted to go, but was a tad dismayed by the price, it was an easy present to give. And don’t you love it when you give a present that entertains the receiver as well as the gifter? Exactly! Great show, if you haven’t seen it, definitely check it out next time your in Vegas, or Paris. Highlights of the show would have to be the little Chinese acrobat who could rotate her entire body all around while perched up high on one arm. Nuts! The trampoline set with two guys was also very impressive, and a tad scary, since they performed without safety nets. Good times, and we enjoyed some delicious ferry floss (cotton candy). Hence the picture with blue tongues.

The rest of our long weekend was spent relaxing. Sunday night we went and saw “Waltz With Bashir’, an Israeli movie about a man trying to recollect his memories about his experiences in Lebanon during the conflict in 1982. The film is animated, yet there is nothing childlike about the topic or pacing. I highly recommend this movie; check it out if you have the means.

Monday we hung out with Jase, Brenda and Hunter over in Freshwater for most of the day. The sun finally peeked its head out in the arvo, so we took a walk around Manly. Katrina and Naomi, two of my coworkers from the Melbourne office of Video Australasia were in town, so V and I met up with them and Jamie at the Steyne Hotel, one of my least favorite places in Manly. This bar is a dirty cesspool of humanity, and it did not disappoint in showcasing the worst behavior mankind is capable of. Case in point, we were all standing at the bar, waiting on a beer, when a skirmish broke out between a small man and a big man. I literally turn around when I hear Small Man say ‘WTF?’, see him take one step forward, and Big Man (either a Maori or Samoan who looked like he played rugby) moves forward like a cat and throws a right, which connects squarely on Small Man’s mouth. Small man fell like tree and was knocked out COLD. The bouncers immediately had the Big Man in a bear hug and dragged him out of the bar. I’ve never seen anything like that before in my life. One-punch knockouts were the stuff of fiction I had reckoned. After last night I can assure you, that is not the case. DAMN!