Celebrity I

I was on the front page of the New York Times yesterday!!! (Article on the bottom right corner) No, I wasn't getting arrested. Here's the scoop.

I had been wanting to take a surf lesson in San Diego for months, but I hadn't gotten around to it. Three weeks ago, in the middle of cold January (yes, it gets cold in Southern California, specially the ocean), I finally decided to go on a weekend surf clinic given by Surf Diva in La Jolla. It was perfect timing because on the first day I learned that a NYT photographer was there to take pictures of us girls in the clinic. He told us the photos would probably be in the paper the coming Monday. So two days later I excitedly scoured the paper, online and in print. But there was no sign of a surfing article. The folks at Surf Diva figured the story was dropped, and I gave up on getting my 15 minutes of fame from being mentioned in a small snippet in the Sports/Travel/Metro section of a highly respected national newspaper. Then today I was shocked when a friend said I was on the front page!

The topic of the article, surfing becoming upscale, was a bit surprising though. The other girls in the clinic and I didn't consider ourselves wealthy. Two of them were teachers and I'm still unemployed. But we're certainly not beach bums, and we definitely feel pride and coolness rather than stigma from surfing.

Surfing was a blast! The instructor, the woman cheering me on in the photo, was super friendly and encouraging. She told us her inspiring story about quitting med school in the Midwest and moving to California to be a surf instructor before she even knew how to surf. The water was frigid, but after a few minutes our focus was distracted away from the temperature. I was able to get up on the board a good chunk of the time! Plus I didn't drown. Bonus! Gliding on the waves is pure ecstasy. I get so stoked, floating in my own world for a few precious seconds with no idea how I got there. Then logic comes back to me and I start thinking I should be doing something like steering or speeding up. And before I know it, I'm at the shore or I've wiped out. But it's all totally worth it.

I've taken almost 10 lessons in the past 3 years but very sporadically. Snowboarding inspired me to try surfing. I thought, "Falling on water has gotta be even more fun than on snow or ice!" My first lesson was in Hampton Beach, NH. Yes, New Hampshire! It was July and the water a refreshing 70 degrees. Snowboarding and the handful of times I skateboarded in junior high really helped with balance, and I was able to get up on the board during my first 3 tries! But that's only a third of the work. There's also paddling and catching the wave which are much harder for me. Plus there's the art of not panicking and getting back up above water after you nosedive and get caught under a wave or two or ten. One of the best pieces of advice that I've gotten was from instructor and big wave rider Milton Willis on the ABC's of surfing and life: Always Be Cool. Very Zen, huh? I have lots of skills to master. My second lesson was a month later in Maine. The next year I enjoyed the warm waters in Costa Rica for two days with instructor Gucci. I've also gone to Nantucket, a couple of places near San Diego, and Hawaii where one time I actually walked the board and almost hanged ten!