Jun 28, 2009

Good Quote

As All I can do is laying down most of the day still, I have been reading quite a bit. I picked up new SURFER magazine which was special issue of "50 greatest surfers of all time "
I thought it was a very stupid theme , why do people have to label and rank everything especially Surfing, which is all about personal preference , it is such a broad subject and how could someone can put Kelly, Duke Kahanamoku and Tom Curren together and put ranking as 1,2,3? how can you say " Oh Gerry you are #4, you are not as great as Tom Curren or Kelly"
Wow.
Of course I have my own personal list of greatest surfers of all time according to MY OWN standard and quality I look up to, but that is personal.There is no way I can rank them as 1st and second, they all have different qualities that teach you something real special.
You just cannot rank all the surfers of different era, that is for sure, maybe it is something to do with contest oriented scene and it is always easy to categorize and put numbers.

Anyways, contrary to the stupid concept, there were some good readings in it.
magazine editors found right person to write something interesting about each of the greatest surfers.
My favorite was Rob Machado on Gerry Lopez, ( he told me the exact stor almost exact words when I interviewed him in Jan for japanese magazine and I was very moved by his story) , Jeannie Chesser on Rell Sunn, Rory Russel on Jock Sutherland( and a bit about Gerry ).
in their word, their own personality comes up vivid ly as well as their love and respect for the person, it makes you feel warm inside and feel shared the aloha they have.
I do have so many mentors in and out of water and this inspired me to put those respect and feeling into words before it gets too old.

Rob said something interesting that I couldn't put it into right words about Gerry,
"He( Gerry) is inspirational, not just in the way he makes difficult situation look easy, but in his whole act from head to toe, from sunrise to sunset. There is a realtionship he has with riding waves and with being in the ocean, there is that synergy between the two, and you can just see it."

Amen!

Jun 27, 2009

My favorite books

I think My mind gets ill before my body heals if I had to stay in bed any longer. But one good news today was when I went to the chiropractic doctor, she said it is not as bad as it has been and she only had to adjust a little and didn't make future appointment .
The bad news was she said " if you rest the same way for one more week and then start feeling the water, you should be able to slowly get back on the track"
Wow, one more week would make this healing process a WHOLE month!
Well I guess I have to realize that it could be worse and there are a lot of people who is dealing with worse situation.

I am sooooo commited to get my health back and build my strength as soon as I get string enough to train. but the hardest thing is to hold back so I won't hurt it again, it is very scary to think that there is a possibility of doing that, that scares me more than 8ft closeout sets. well close outs are pretty scary to me, too, though.

Anyways, I was given plenty of time to read all sorts of books, first I was reading easy casual stuff since it was hard to focus with the pain.
It is such a great feeling when you find a good book you love. it is like meeting a lifelong friend.

Here are some of my lifelong friends in square shapes. I am listing here only the English ones ( or the one that is available in English)They have given me limitless imaginations. dreams and passions. Real truth ( I hope) of life and people. and taste of experience without actually doing it. I've got so many words of wisdom that lead me when I was lost or delirious.
I must say my favorite is always real adventure and touch of anthropology flavor . I love good biography and history books as well.

1 Endurance
my old time favorite, Shakleton has all the quality I adore in men, adventurous, passionate and driven, tough to the bone and always have sense of humor especially when the situation gets hairy, and this whole experience they go through, I cannot imagine anything harder and tougher than that and somehow he kept spirits high amoung his men and even made acroos to the island to get help with little boat and walk across the impossible. ( the route he managed to go across wasn't accom0lished by anyone till very recent even with GPS and all the high tech gear and knowledge)

2 Surf is where you find it by Gerry Lopez
I cannot help the favortism but hey it is a great read.

3 Ordinary Wolves by Seth kantner
one of the few books that I read in English . If you love Alaska and long to be in the wilderness this is the book to read. Seth was raised in the wilderness , living in a sod igloo, and live a sustainable life ( back in 60-80's when 90 % of people didn't know what that means)
This is a fiction but painfully reveals his life and feelings with lots of sarcastic darkness with unique sense of humor. The way he describe things are so beautil and poetic and original, it takes you to the wide open tundra , or to the below 50 ice storm or in the middle of herding caribus.
not very well known book but won couple awards , much better than some of the books on Alaska.

4 Fatu Hiva by Thor Heieldar
I read this one very recently, Thor Heieldar is one of my heros who crosse the pacific from Peru to Easter island to Tahiti to prove his theory of the root of Polinesian people. that adventure is also a book called Konyiki and it has been one of my favorite since I was a child. but I found this book that is written about his experience living in a jungle around WW2, which changed his life and lead him to do that Kontiki expedition.

I guess list will never end so I will stop now...

Jun 23, 2009

Team Surfing USA

I knew Laird was off the island. I knew he was in Tahiti and my little bro Ben got to shoot him at Teahupoo while ago, but I wasn't following what he was up to lately.

I just found out that he is in the major crosscountry bike race with his friends.
The race starts from the west coast and finishes somewhere on the east coast, they are aiming for breaking the record of 5 days and some hours . the team consists of Laird himself and his good friend/ super fit entrepreneur Don Wildman( he is 76 years old who trains and surf, paddle. bike. run, snowboard with Laird all the time ) Another guy is member of rockband Rage against the Machine, Tim Commerford, and last one is former football player/ironman, Jason Winn.

As if crossing the whole continent is not enough, Laird decided to add little more than 100 miles of standup paddling right before the race from Malibu to Oceanside, then will be paddling again in NY across and around the Statue of Liberty after the race.

Anyway, they are among the top 3 teams right now and they will soon finish the race.
He cannot stand dull moment and to beat the flat summer, he always managed to find some kind of challenge that gives him adrenalin rush. At the same time raising quite a bit of money for good causes.

to follow what they are doing go to
http://surfermag.com/race_across_america/index.html

watching him makes me feel like such a loser laying in bed for so many days....

Couple steps backwards


It's been more than 2 weeks since I tweaked my back and not being able to do much.
I was hoping I would be out and back in the water by now but no, I am still mostly laying around looking at ceiling.

first week was easy, even though pain was bad, I felt the progress of healing every day. now it goes back and force, one day, it is better, and some day, it's not.
This morning, I woke up to find my back with a lot more pain than last couple days.
It is so disappointing and hard to keep my spirit high.
I went to see acupuncture doctor and had cupping and needle and some incense burning. It seems that acupuncture is more popular here on Maui than Japan.
To me right now, it is like I would try anything.

I know this is some kind of lesson that I have to learn. and back of my mind, I probably know what it is, it is that I have to know my limit and gracefully accept it.
I tend to push it too hard to the point my body cannot take it any more. I need to know when to stop so I don't have to be forced to stop and start all over again after being stuck in bed for weeks, not worth it.

I pulled out the book I had translated last year [Surf Realization]
written by Gerry Lopez. Original book is published from Patagonia publishing and English Title is " Surf is where you find it"( that itself is a great teaching right there!)
I had read the book over and over when I was translating so I almost memorasing the story but still every time I opened the pages, it seems that his writing always gives me some insight, encouragement or teaching that I need at the time. it is very strange.
I know many christians say same things about bible but maybe ocean worshippers like us can use his book that way as well.

I thkink I am going to try my self healing method of Reiki this afternoon, see if that helps.

Thoughts on Fathers Day


In Japan we don't really express our feelings. In fact, the hardest thing for me when I first came to USA when I was a teenager, was to express my feelings. I had such a hard time saying No ( in Japan you just say, "maybe" with the little bit of confused look and the person will understand you are not into it), so that if someone asked to go somewhere or do something, I would just do it, instead of saying No.

I have changed quite a bit since then, but still I don't think I'd ever said "I love you" to my parents, and we barely give each other a hug, if I did, they would think something is wrong or I am freaking out.
So it is almost embarassing for me to even bring out the Fathers day and show my appreciation to my father. But I really feel that I owe to my parents, especially my father's unconditional support when I was young that let me experience so many different things and bought any books I wanted as long as it was a good one.

He gave me so much energy and time for me and my friends, taking us hiking on weekends, reading me books, taking me to museums, trips, and always good to all my friends. he was very supportive of me writing any sort of things, and I used to write stories for my little brother when I was first or second grade.
I think he wanted me to be a writer.
It is funny that I am actually making living
( well, sort of) writing, even though I don't consider myself a journalist or writer.

I am not sure if I turn out to be what he was hoping me to be, most likely not. I am still causing lots of confusions and frustration to my parents but I do know that what I am has a lot to do with what my father gave me. all the imagination, experiences and chance to give anything a try.
So I would not say this in person in Japanese but in a English diary, maybe my Americanized side, I can express a little more feeling.

Thanks dad!

Jun 21, 2009

This is what I missed last week!


Tracy sent this video that her fiance/ videographer/my kite mentor, Eliot Laboe shoot and edited.
Not that I can get barrels like these but this give me a biter taste of what I had missed all last week while trying to get my back healed in bed.

I am still in bed, wondering if I ever get better, but I shouldn't think that way, I gotta be positive and believe in my healing evergy.
wind is hauling and I can pictue all my friends paddling downwinders, kiting in Lanes, surfing southside.

What is it that I have to learn not to hurt myself, revend beforehand?
I am really sick of taking times off like this and start all over again every time!

watch the movie
sup dog at Maalaea

Jun 20, 2009

Little bump on the Northshore


Now that the whole 2 weeks of great south swell is finally slowing down, North side is showing some swell .
I drove by myself and got out my house for the first time since I hurt my back only to find what I am missing.
I almost rigged my kite and went out but my smart side talked me out of it, thank god.

After coming back home to rest, my back was sore from just standing for a while and driving, reminded me that I am not all healed yet. bummer.
I have to keep telling myself that it could be worse, I could be somewhere far away from the ocean, not having enough to eat , or having family killed or something but it sure hurts to think that I am missing those quality weeks of kiting and surfing.

Had dinner with young uo and coming windsurfer Yuma and his mom who is so cute and always get mistaken as his girlfriend or sisiter. They are here for 3 month for windsurfing training.
it was fun night with bunch of Japanese friends.

Jun 18, 2009

Getting better!


It's been a week and a half since I hurt my back. I am finally up and cruising again, it feels so nice to know that I am getting better. But this time I am not going to rush it, I feel that all my strength is gone and muscle disappeared so I am going to start building a bit and be patient to get in the water, maybe next week I will start kiting and paddling little by little. it's amazing how body knows how to heal itself ( if you give time to rest)

So thankful to all my friends who came to check up on me and bring me food, etc. So nice to have good friends who cares and helpful.

I hope I did learn what I needed to learn and not to make same mistake of hurting myself again.

Since Sumomo and her family came, the house has been very cheerful and lively. It's so nice to eat together and enjoy the food every night!
here is a shot of Sato family at Breakfast.

Jun 12, 2009

Welcome, Sato Family!

My best friend Motoko, her husband Hide, and their lovely daughter Sumomo arrived today. Motoko has been leading professional waveriding windsurfer in Japan and had won world title couple times, right before she had Sumomo.
She is still in top shape going hard at it and they spend couple month on Maui every year. Motoko just won one of the big standup paddle race in Japan , too so I am excited to go and train with her.

Anyway, I had all these plans of cleaning the house for them, picking them up at the airport, cooking nice meals, giving sumo some gifts, etc, but all I could do was greet them in my bed .

Sumo freaked out when she saw me in bed not being able to move, she didn' even want to get close to me and hid between motoko's leg.
I thought" great! I have to start working for our friendship all over again " but soon after, ice was broken and she wouldn't stop talking and hanging around my side.

Too bad they finally came to the paradise but now they have to take care of this grumpy old women who cannot take care of herself.
I am going to have to pay back when I get better.

Anyway, it is always good to see them, to me they are as close as my family, and I feel super comfprtable around them. I hope they feel the same at my house.

Jun 10, 2009

Thank you Keiko ans Skip

My back is getting better, I can feel the progress every day but I am still stuck in bed 24 hours. Last couple days, my friend/ yoga teacher Keiko has been coming to my place 2,3 times a day to make sure I am ok, bring me food and drinks, icepacks, snacks and everything else she can think of.
Even her husband Skip has been coming to help here and there and without their help , I would have had a very hard time. I couldn't thank them enough to going out of their way to help me out and make sure I feel comfortable.

Keiko and Skip are my great role models of how simple and happy life should be. They are happy with each other, helping anyone who needed around them especially their friends and family. They may not be famous or super rich but they are rich at heart and in their life indeed.

I realized once again how lucky to have them as my friends and have previledge to feel their tgood vibe all the time . Smile is contageous and it sure is better to be around people who smiles all the time. life is easier that way.

Thanks for all our help , Skip and Keiko! I think I am healing quicker even, because of their good vibe!

Jun 9, 2009

SIB(stucck in Bed) in Stead of SUP(Stand Up Paddle)


Since I blew my back yesterday I knew it would stiffen up this morning, thanks to Keiko who came to rescue , she brought food, icepack, all the little thoughtful things, I wasn't going to starve.

I still cannot move much, my highlight of the day is making it to the bathroom right next to the room and it takes full effort on hands and knees for 3 mintes crawling , just to climb on the seat is a huge mission. I am using bathtub and lean on a rail to bruth my teeth and wash my face while I go to bathroom, and that is the only trip I make outside of my bed at this moment.

This is not the first time I have done this so I know all it takes is time and rest and let the inflamation go down.
but it didn't have to happen just as the first good south swell of the summer started ! damm!

I guess gardening and pilling the roots can be pretty extreme. I gotta be careful.

Jun 7, 2009

In loving memory of Silke Gorldt

Don't know what happened but I am stuck in bed, not being able to move.
It could have been the yard work from yesterday that I put too much stress on my back. or maybe I hadn't done much yoga and my body got shocked from practice, or .....
Whatever it is, as I tried to stand up, I felt this blazing sharp pain through my spine and fell right there on the ground and couldn't move.
I was lying there for a while letting mosquites eating me alive for a long time, trying to e-mail some of my friends. It was painful even just to move a little.
Luckily, Keiko, my yoga teacher who lives close read my mail and rushed to rescue me. I crawled inch by inch to make it inside the house and then used all the strength to get myself on bed. keiko got me everything I needed , even his husband Skip came to help. There is nothing more than friends that make you feel better when you are in pain. it helps more than painkiller.
Thank you guys!

Today is 7th anniversary of Sike's passing. She was my best kiting friend back then , we practiced and pushed each other a lot, but most of all talked and laughed and tried not to take competition too seriously. She was an amazing jewel. shining star, only 25years old and rookie of the year the previous season.
It was the hardest death I had to deal with in my life so far and I made a promise that I will enjoy kiting for both of us from then on, so I have to appreciate and enjoy twice as much every time go out.
I find myself forgetting about that lately, so today is a good day to refresh my memory.
Between our mutural friend Andrea ( from England) and I , rainbows are always Silke's signs, especially double rainbows. I can hear some rain drizzling outside while i lie in bed. I bet there are some rainbows sighting today. Usually on her memorial day I do something special dedicated to her, like downwinder, sending floweres to the ocean, or trying some new trick. etc. but not today. I have very hard time even crawling to the bathroom. Maybe Silke can reach down from up above and send me healing power instead.

Jun 6, 2009

Windy condition continues

Summer is officially back! strong gusty wind, heat, and no waves.
I went down to kite beach, first time in how long? probably couple month at least, it felt weird, almost felt like I don't belong there. I used to pretty much live there from 10am till dark , kiting all day every day with my friends. Now I usualy only go to Lanes and barely make it down there.
I was supposed to see my friends and their baby but they weren't there, in stead Jill , Ben and their baby Levi were there. They moved to Dominican Republic last year but right now they are here for business ( well sort of) for about a month or so.
Levi was such a water baby and wouldn't wantto quit riding that surfboard. Like father , like son.

missed the downwind run today because I left my phone in my friend's car and had no way to contact anyone, still I tried to go to the meeting spot in hopes of finding them but they were already gone. maybe tomorrow.

Jun 5, 2009

Downwind Paddling Season !

Finally it feels like summer, it felt like we never even had a winter, not much big waves and too much rain, and then we had no wind in spring and fairly good waves . all through the winter and spring it was very cold.
But finally it is getting hot , tradewind is finally back, and no waves on the northshore. yep that s summer on Maui.

I used to be bored with these conditions but this is perfect for downwinder ! I got together with Devin ( my mentor in downwinder!) and Scott. and paddled out from Maliko.
it was windy so super fun but oh boy was I out of shape, I fell in the water more than 10 times! I gotta get back in shape.
I can see that everyone is getting motivated for downwind paddle these days, there were hardly much parking space in Maliko and all star sighting from dave kalama, paddle queen Andrea, big wave charger / sup instructor Maria Souza, Ekolu, etc. everyone was paddling!
I heard Motoko ( by best friend and champion windsurfer) won a sup event in Japan and really keen on training , so when she comes in a week, I have more people to ride with!

I difenately rather ride waves but what a heck, if you cannot find waves , this is the best alternate .

Jun 4, 2009

Disapponting south swell

Everyone was talking about this south swell for days, sure it came to Oahu but didn't make it to Maui. Typical.

I had so much chores to do anyways so I took 2 days off from water and tried to do everything I was supposed to do , not what I wanted to do.

Heard from my climbing guide friend Rob that they found those 2 Japanese climbers who were missing last spring in Cassis Ridge. the bodies were found while cesna plane was seaching for different missing climbers and Rob said they were found connected with rope. My friend from Patagonia Japan was a very close friend with them and they are doing similar climb at Denali right now.
I cannot help thinking that those guys in the snow showed up so that they can meet up with their buddies and asking them to take them back to Japan with them.

I heard the way they were climbing was very radical but innovative and dedicated. Even Rob was telling me that he was impressed with all their climbing .
It's really hard for their family and friends to let them go , I am sure but I think now it may be easier since their bodies showed up so they won't have to keep wondering and can say good -bye officially.
R.I.P

Jun 3, 2009

Endless To-do-list


Now that my friends left for Oahu, I had to deal with all the chores piled up in front of me!
garden, cleaning, washing, paperwork, translations, writing some assignment, making plan and proposals, testing new kites, sort out all the shells I picked last couple months from all over.
First of all I have to translate this tape I had been neglecting for months and then plant all the starters in the garden that way I can start eating more veggies again.
And Yoga, I cannot even remember when I did the full primary length practice last time, that is terrible!
Also I want to make downwind padle almost my daily routine, I bought the board for it so I have to use what it was worth. I need to strengthen my legs especially the back side of my legs , I am hoping when motoko and hide comes in a week, hide can tune up my old bike and motoko can inspire me to go for a walk, paddle and train .

Jun 2, 2009

Maui Style Wedding

I wanted to do this as a gift for my newly-wed friends, a very romantic ( maybe tacky) wedding pictures.
I got some while miniskirt and bikini top for Keiko , and Yuji had a white shirt so that worked.
Also I picke flowers from the yard and made 2 tyoes of bouquet. one big , one small but cute.
we went down to one of my favorite waterfalls and I was running around with camera. Light was perfect and the set up was just amazing. they felt something in this sacred place , I think , and they felt really free to poise so many ways that they probably would have hesitated if they were shooting in , let's say Kamakura, or studio. but this place makes you feel so free and open.
so here are some of the photos full of their happiness.

3 days were not enough to show how great Maui is but I think I did a pretty good job on making them fall in love with this island and with each other even more!

Eventful Day


Met up with the homneymooners at Thousand peaks in the morning then took them to wailea and go standup paddling. Since I rented pretty big boards for them , they had no problem balancing and had time to enjoy the scenery. we paddle out to the point and then I gave them snorkeling gear , they were blown away by the clear water, fish, and turtles , they got to swim with huge turtles while I was taking pictures of them doing everything.

after a little but of siesta in the shade, we head towards upcountry where I feel at home( southside is way too hot and hip for me).
I knew it was windy but didn't know there were still some waves so I decided to go out for a quick session. we gotta get any waves while we can ,it will be completely flat soon for the whole summer.

BY the time we had dinner ( Thai curry and frsh rolls with bunch of house grown veggies) we had harly could keep our eyelids up.
fully active and moving around all day.