christmas in july

sshhh...

i've ordered a new board

you see....

the genius is old
suffers from many stress fractures & is starting to delam
i rarely ride her anymore & i don't want her broken

the stewart hydrohull has suffered a few dings of late
a rail gash (that i thought the cute boy would never speak to me again over)
a rock puncture from our last trip south & it too suffers from several stress fractures

sonja....well....let's just say the latest damage to her was kept from me (for a couple weeks)
i'm sure the cute boy thought i would never speak to him again over it

eh...shit happens
boards get beat up

so...

the cute boy and i started discussing local (pnw) shapers & the quality of their work, but that conversation quickly digressed into a bitch fest

sure...there are a handful of shapers that make nice boards with decent glass jobs that i could go to

BUT...

i started with the 'i wonders...'

i wonder if so & so would be interested in making me a board...
i wonder how much he charges...

i really like the idea of using...promoting...the back yard guy....a grass roots guru

with the 'i wonders...' it didn't take me long to come up with someone

a fellow blogger
talented artist
beautiful board maker

so i sent him an email...

totally stoked that he was willing to take me on

ssshhhhh...........

i have a new board in the works

and i'm keeping it hush hush

hee!

Occam's Razor

I haven't read a book in months.

Not for lack of reading material...mind you. There are several new books (borrowed & bought) sitting on a shelf. Each and every one patiently waiting for their pages to be pawed. Unfortunately...nothing gets read this time of year. Well...excepting tax law updates, the NY Times and my horrid scope.

I stood at one book shelf and perused the goods.

Several borrowed.
Two in particular...that I've been wanting to read.
Devil in the White City...passed on to me by my uncle/boss. And...Autobiography of a Face...passed on to me by my uncle's wife. There are several more...but these two happen to be at the top of the stack.
I pick up The Devil...set it down again.
Not in the mood.
Pick up Face.
Too heavy.
Too...involved...for this time of year.

One new.
West of Jesus.
Surf oriented.
But really...I bought that one for the cute boy to read.

Wander over to the other book shelf.
(because my apartment is so expansive...that wandering is warranted)

Sigh...

Then I spot it.

Tucked in the corner...behind the wooden cat.

Straight Man

My favourite Richard Russo novel.

Haven't (re)read it for years.

He may have won literary awards for his other works...all, of which, I have read.

But this one..
has
repeatedly kept me engrossed.

Repeatedly kept me laughing aloud.

Repeatedly
kept me.

What I expected, was
Thunder, fighting
Long struggles with men
And climbing.

~Stephen Spender

rock dance