Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Playing Hookey!

I need to get a tattoo somewhere on my body that says, "I make terrible life decisions!". This morning I blew off work to go surfing because the surf report said there were going to be 8ft waves breaking pretty far out! I couldn't pass that up no matter what! I didn't care that I had a HUGE project at work I was still trying to get a handle on, or that it rained a couple of days ago so the ocean water was still WAY TOXIC! All I knew was that there was some serious goings ons happening in the Pacific and I NEEDED to be a part of it.

So I went into the garage and I pulled out my 5/4 wetsuit and then I went through my box of swag and found this awesome electric warming vest (it goes underneath your wetsuit and is powered by a battery pack kind of jabbed up against your ribs) that I have been DYING to try out and I headed for the beach for some serious surfing! The waves were HUGE as promised, the yellow flag was up, and as the morning progressed the sets just GOT cleaner with the surf breaking several feet overhead! I was out there until the battery pack in my vest died, and then I started to get REALLY REALLY COLD, so I got out of the water for some food and a quick rest. I was exhausted and EXTREMELY out of shape after having done nothing but sit behind a desk for the last several weeks.

I ate and then I called all my surfing buddies to let them know it was imperative they all leave work and join me for the rest of the afternoon for some AWESOME waves. By the end of my meal Tyler and Johnny had joined me along with 7 of our closest friends and I got my suit back on and got ready for round 2! I lasted about a half hour before I was just soo exhausted I couldn't even paddle back to the beach. So when I eventually made it back to shore I just collapsed on the sand and stayed there for a very long time. Once everybody else had had enough, we all went out for some more food and then everybody headed off to wherever people go when they aren't hanging out with me. I went home and fell asleep immediately because I was so freaking exhausted it was the only option!

Two hours later, I have 5 voicemails from work and more emails than I care to count. Also my body aches all over and it feels like I have just ran a full marathon! Seriously it actually hurts to open my eyes too wide. Today I was reminded that I am no longer a teenager and if I am going to do crazy shit like surf in toxic waters with huge ass waves, there's a certain amount of conditioning and stretching I should do beforehand to not feel like a 90 year old arthritic man. Oh well! I always say that if you get to the end of your life and everything on your body still works as it should, then you obviously haven't lived much of a life.

I am still debating with myself whether or not I should go into the office for a few hours. I have a buttload of work to do and taking a whole day off isn't going to make my job any easier tomorrow. But on the other hand, the day is practically over and I don't really think I have much of a mind for work at the moment. I am leaning towards going to the sauna for awhile and then going out for a couple beers and maybe some grub with my homies. I have been working 60 hour weeks and everybody needs to blow off some steam every once in awhile. Like I said at the beginning, I make terrible life decisions, so it shouldn't be a surprise to anybody on what I am going to do with the remainder of my day.

6 comments:

Jason said...

I will take "going out drinking with the boys" for $1000 Alex!

I have tried out that warming vest and it does jab your ribs with it's oddly positioned awkwardness. Still it's really amazing the way it really does keep you warm and able to deal with the cold water longer.

Have fun drinking!

Chris said...

You know there were 40ft waves at North Shore in Hawaii today? Are you a big wave surfer?

Trevor said...

You made the right decision taking some time off for yourself. You have been working so hard lately it's crazy wrong! Try reducing your time at work to a 50 hour work week next week and see how much happier you will be.

Anonymous said...

posts like this make me wish that I lived somewhere near a coast...well I do but nowhere near the Cali. waves you speak of...but I think the funniest (funnest) thing about this post was "headed off to where people go when they aren't hanging out with me..."

I always wonder what people do when I'm not with them, lol.

RGB said...

Let's see... Yes! Smartass Jason, I did go out drinking with my buddies thank you very much!

Chris, I did know there were 40 ft waves in HI and at the moment I don't think I could actually surf and survive those right now. I have before, but waves like that are something you spend a VERY LONG TIME preparing for. Just because I have the experience doesn't mean I have the actual strength and stamina I need to survive something like that.

Trev, if only!

formysake, Go narcissism! I just tend to believe ppl go find an electrical outlet and plug themselves in so they can charge their batteries until our next engagement.

Devil's Advocate said...

Trevor has it right. You can only pull off so many consecutive 60 hr weeks and remain sane. You took a necessary personal day.