it's amazing the things I can justify

Some of you may have met Simba. Maybe you have been lucky enough to have the privilege of taking a ride and have therefore felt her power and grace. Or, to be more accurate, felt the fear she instills in you when going up a hill. Or when the handle to the windows just falls off when you're turning it. Or when the trunk just shuts on you when your grabbing your board from the hatch. Or when the hood jiggles because the lock doesn't work properly anymore. Or when you have to unhook the battery to turn off the lights. Or when the interior light flickers on and off like you're at a disco. Or when the transmission won't let you drive in any gear but 2nd even though its an automatic car.

Yup. Simba is a real treat.

Anywho, it had crossed my mind that the best/smartest solution to her problems would be to sell her for as much as I can get and purchase a car that actually worked properly. As it would turn out, I have decided instead to buy a new surfboard. A 9 foot surfboard. It has also just occurred to me that if my car stops running I will have no way of transporting all 9 feet of board to appropriate longboard waves. Hm.

Well, so much for buying a new car. My board is now worth more than my car. Amazing what can be justified.

Looks like I'll be using a broomstick to keep the trunk open and using superglue to fix the lights and windows.....

and so it is

Sadly, I have just returned from dropping The Tosh off at the Gold Coast Airport *single tear*. On Monday we left for our last trip to Cooli together. Just me, Tash and Simba on the open road headed to our favourite spot to surf. And though the waves were less than epic, we had one last surf in Cooli's magical blue waters together and got to go on one last nighttime adventure.

I have known Tash since I was but a wee of 5. We grew up down the street from one another and randomly were brought together in Byron Bay after years living apart. I have experienced everything with Tash from making up dances on trampolines, to eating entire jumbo sized ice cream cakes in one sitting, to sharing a small tent, to owning a car, to travelling to Hawaii. She has put up with me giving her ridiculous nicknames like Tato and The Tosh, forcing her to sleep in bathtubs and eat large tubs of ice cream, listening to me go back and forth about every decision I have to make and with me waking her up earlier than she wants because I want to go surfing immediately.
Having her in Byron the last year was amazing. It's not often in life we are given the opportunity to reconnect with friends from our childhood and I am so grateful to have had this last 10 months with The Tosh. You will be missed Tash. I could not have asked for a better friend to learn to surf with, share a car with, travel with, bike around town with, live with and laugh with.

phew

i FINALLY got back into the water yesterday after taking almost an entire week off.

though my back was quite back to 100%, i was dying slowly inside. it seemed more important to surf than to let my back get another day's rest.

the water was amazing. so warm and clear. though the waves were the stuff broken boards are made from.

2 of my friends broke their boards within their first couple of waves. and the tash lost a fin within ten minutes in the water.

though the sweep was nuts and i was in constant fear of snapping yet another board, i caught 2 really fun waves and got to go surfing again. YAY! Haloa survived her first surf on a hectic day. HAZA!

i feel like me again.

off to cooli tomorrow for the tash's last night in eastern australia. single tear.

a love like this before

they say the first time you find true love, you just know right away. and you will sacrifice anything for that love. it is a love that will last forever.

i have just recently discovered what everyone has been writing, singing and talking about...

it was a balmy saturday afternoon in byron bay. with no real surf to be found anywhere in town i decided to go for a drive out to the arts and industrial and see what was happening at the munroe shop. after spending some time talking to the guys about getting my broken board fixed and glassing over my paint job on my fish we got on to a discussion about longboarding. i mentioned i had always wanted to buy one but had been putting it off. they suggested i walk next door the the NCS shop and see if they had any seconds in stock. if only i had known what i was getting myself into.

i remember the sun was strong that day, and as i walked over to NCS it was beating down into my eyes, making me feel slightly lightheaded. the air was thick with heat and the scent of resin and epoxy floating though the air. i took a timid step inside the shop. and there she was.

9 feet and 1 inch of foam, epoxy, and glass. her bright pick colour was the first thing that caught my eye when i walked in. i went right up to her, holding my breath, afraid to even touch her lest i somehow tarnish her magnificence. the next few minutes is a haze of beautiful pink flashes in my mind with coldplay playing in the background, visions of long smooth rides at the pass playing in my head.

after weeks spent going in to visit her, testing evan's (the shaper) patience, i finally put a deposit on her this week. i have a lot of work to do to get ready to bring her home with me. i need roof racks for my car, a board bag so she does not get harmed, and i need to find a place to keep 9 feet of board in my house. this is a big comittment.

very soon i will post pictures of us together...hopefully with me noseriding all over byron bay on my brand new Donald Takayama "In the Pink" model longboard!!!!

jazz hands

I've been going through some old photos and videos on my laptop and came across this lettle gem taken last winter.

This video is the result of 3 sparkly hats and a little bit of magic...






***sorry Diva and Kate***

80 hours since my last surf, but who's counting?

It's 16 hours into Day Three of my week without surf. My back is feeling a bit better but I am starting to go a little bit stir crazy.

So far this week I have: tried to sew myself a shirt out of recycled fabric from the opshop (emphasis on tried), started knitting a new scarf, bought a sketch pad to try and learn how to draw, consumed 3 times my normal snack intake, watched 4 , cut bangs into my hair, gotten ally drunk with some friends, painted some frames, made mixtapes for some friends, and bought a new surfboard...(more to come on the new board)

I am having trouble remembering what I did with all of my time before I started surfing. It must not have been that much fun. Any suggestions would be very welcome.

As a result of an injured back incurred from either some evil rocks at Lennox or a 50ft cliff jump or more likely both I am about to embark on something I have not tried since entering Australia...

...a one week surfing stoppage.

This will hopefully give my back enough time to heal properly or for me to at least figure out what's wrong with it.

It's currently Day 1; 7:39AM and I'm already going stir crazy.

I am armed for today with classic movies Point Break and Surf's Up and a long list of university application paperwork.

Wish me luck.

there goes my mind...way out...in the water...with little fishes

the line-up was just released for Australian music festival Splendour in the Grass...and...it's unreal.
it's as though they looked into my musical heart and soul, then took some of my most beloved bands and then put them all on to one musical ticket created to blow my freaking mind.

mission accomplished.

it could only be made better if kate was going to be there with me.

check out this line-up...

www.splendourinthegrass.com/artist-lineup.html

i kid you not

after our surf this morning, diva and i went to pick up our freshly glassed boards that we had painted.
quite satisfied with the results we decided to drive around and look for some waves to try them out on. during our travels we come across a garage sale and decide to stop.
the woman hosting it comes up to us and is pointing out what they have to offer...

she says, "We have lots of shoes and kids shirts oh and tons of undies, most of them hardly even used."

i think a line should be drawn at trying to sell your children's "hardly even used" undies to strangers.

way too excited

today is the first day that I have been able to wear pants comfortably all through the day since I left Canada. and I biked into work.

I am definitely overly excited about this fact.

but man do these pants look good.

l is for laurie

this is my first foray into the moviemaking world.

i dont want to admit how long this took me to complete.

be kind.

my new board is so sweet.
it makes me move my dancing feet.

my new board is so fit.
i know you want to surf on it.

my new board has so much style.
it can always make me smile.

my new board is so quick.
its better than a magic trick.

so im no poet. but i do love my new board.

thoughts from the line up: show me your best wave face

i always love looking at the faces people make when they ride waves.

some people are smiling. some people are concentrating. some people look angry. some people look scared. some people look excited.

i think i probably look surprised when im on a wave. and super stoked.

next time your paddling out have a look at people's wave faces.

board envy

Last week the women's surf movie "Dear and Yonder" played in Byron Bay.

And it was amazing.

I have serious board envy after watching the film. Not only did all of the women featured rip, they did so with a style and grace unique to women's surfing. I love seeing women out there not only surfing, but shaping, being adventurous, hilarious, strong, fearless, and witty.

My absolute favourite part of the movie was all of the boards. Stand outs were the fish and longboards shaped by Donald Takayama and by Bing shaper Ashley Lloyd. If I don't get a longboard of my own soon I might die. Seriously. Dad. I know $1700 for a board seems excessive but it's an investment in my professional surfing career. And Donald just happens to have a shop out here in Byron...





If you haven't seen the film I recommend doing so immediately. Now. Music is wicked. Waves are sweet. Chicks rock.

www.dearandyonder.com

yay for waves! yay for new surfboards!

surfsurfsurfsurf! surfsurfsurfsurf!

with consistent 3-4ft swell and beautiful autumn offshore winds rocking the beaches in byron i finally got to take my new board out for his maiden voyage. venturing out at broken head, the scene of kolohe's recent accident, the water was magical.
Im talking dolphins calling you into waves, high fives being tossed amongst surfers, banana pancakes, and rainbow kind of magic...well maybe im exaggerating...

but the water was crystal clear, super warm and turquoise. plus the sets were consistent and smooth. there were heaps of people i knew out in the line-up, which meant every wave was a party wave!

i had been unable to decide on a name, but after surfing him i finally came up with one. ladies and gentleman, meet "haloa" (it means long life in hawaiian). i had such a great surf on him today. i think haloa and i are going to do terrific things together folks.

and check out those fins! mmmmm.
the board came with a quad fin set up but i wanted a thruster. i bought these fins second hand at the michael cundith surf shop in byron. GORGEOUS!

**as a side note, i am finding it slightly alarming how sexy i find my new fins**

swell is supposed to hold up and get bigger over the next few days. HAZA!

peace and love

no surf makes laurie go something something

one brand new board plus one sore back plus no waves make laurie get a little stir crazy.

the result?

one painted surfboard.

all apologies

this is an apology to my actual first follower. the lovely miss yogesha lacroix.

yogi, under the pseudonym "woogie," was my first true follower. but i, not knowing yogi was the allusive woogie, was under the assumption that it was some random creepy person out in cyberspace.

i apologize yogi.

you rock.

legen-wait for it-dary

This post is dedicated to my dear friend Landa Mark.

Landa, as you are the only person i know following my blog you get a whole post to yourself, just for being you!

Landa is: lovely, hard-working, motivated, hilarious, in love, a mini-egg eater, known to steal cups with pop still in them from Denny's, a dancing queen, generous, passionate
Landa will: scale giant signs at 2am in the name of an impromptu photo session, rock gold lame and body glitter, jump on a flight to Tokyo to spend only 4 days with her friends, drive to Montreal for a dance party
Landa has: a kind soul, recently defended her Masters thesis, a mischevious cat named Buster

If you hadn't figured it out already Landa is the bees-knees!

I love you Landa. You are a legend.

ode to a board

6'1"-18 1/2"-2 3/8"
smooth rails and only a couple light dings
handshaped by Byron local Neil Cormack

I have sad news to report dedicated readers (ahem Dad)...

On a warm and sunny day, and my first surf out of my roadtrip, Kolohe had an unfortunate incident with another surfer at Broken Head just south of Byron Bay. She was snapped doing what she loved most, trying to get me into sweet sweet waves.
Kolohe is currently being looked after by the superduper guys at Munroe Boards and I am told she will emerge slightly bruised but still stoked to catch more waves.

So not to fear, Kolohe and I will be riding waves into the sunset for some time to come.

Plus, her injuries have allowed me to justify the purchase of my brand new Emery board...pictures to come...

pretty pictures make me smile

since I dinged up my board I was designated photog for the first session out in Angourie.
got these ones as the sun was going down behind the point.

five days of perfect tunes

Slightly bruised and slightly broken, but unbelieveably stoked and refreshed. That is how I feel after having just spent the last week camping and surfing everywhere from Byron to Cooli to Lennox to Angourie on a strict diet of beans, cookies and bananas.

We had just received an Easter gift of solid swell and armed with only our boards, a tent and some tunes that made everyone sing we drove up and down the coast surfing like crazy and doing our best to find places to sleep.

I always love surfing with different people and at new spots. Not only is the change of scenery refreshing, but its also great to get out and feel the unique energy at a each break. Plus its always motivating to be in the water with people at various levels- both more advanced and less experienced than yourself. I got to watch someone who was just beginning catch some of his first waves, see my friends trying to pull airs and find barrels, and gain some local knowledge from some of the experienced old guys out in the water.

**apparently when surfing at Angourie every wave is a party wave if you have enough space and if you ever feel like giving Jim on the big old mal a push, he is more than happy to accept it**

A definite stand out of the trip was Gavin who had only been surfing a handful of times and managed to paddle out everywhere we went. Despite breaking his mal, he was still able to catch a few waves on a borrowed 6'4" fish and never complained or went in early once. plus I always love watching Tristan surf. He has a true gift in the water, plus it was hilarious watching him try and pull a Big Z on his short board.

I hope everyone had a super Easter holiday packed with delicious food, family and lots of laughs.

Peace and rainbows.

today's thoughts from the line up

i tend to spend a lot of time thinking when i am sitting out in the line up, especially on a day when there are small waves.
thinking about what i am going to have for lunch.
thinking about what i am going to make for dinner.
thinking about what i should have for breakfast tomorrow.
ok, so i spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about food.

when im not pondering possible meal options, i sometimes come up with my most clever and insightful and outright hilarious ideas and stories while out in the water.

today i was wondering why it is so difficult to find bottoms that actually stay on in the surf. i am constantly watching chicks coming off waves and out of a duck dive only to inevitably have to pull up their bottoms to hide their white ass. my friends and i have tried heaps of different sizes and styles, all to no avail. it seems we are cursed to continue coming out of a duck dive and having to yank up our bottoms while turning around in embarrassment to see if anyone has noticed. and folks, someone has always noticed.

anywho...what to have for dinner...mmm...

much love,

laurie

***if anyone has discovered bottoms that stay on in the surf please let me know***