Me, Dan, Jesus and Te Arai.

Right after i finished writing that last blog it occurred to me that Te Arai would be in alright condition. I lept into action, board already strapped on from yesterday, left over pizza, towel, wetty, jeans jumper brrmmmm brrrmmmm.

I get to Te Arai bout 11 which was good timing cuz it's still offshore and 1-2ft. Never seen Te Arai so busy. Easter weekend ahy. but thats sweet. there was more of a varied cross section of surfers in the water including the real REAL beginners. so i didn't have to feel like THE pain in the ass in the water.

It was good, surfed for a couple of hours, not too hard work, few good little rides. Sun decided to come out. It was real nice actually. One wave I catch and I'm too far forward on my board, so I come sliding off the front of it, no biggie but this particular time my board pops UP! and comes straight down on my head. BANG! It feels like a punch in the head. And real loud.
I stand straight up and am like like OW! But when theres nobody to see or ask how you are theres really not much good in standing around feeling sorry for yourself. so i just jump on and paddle back out. I get out to backline and sit up on my board and my eye is throbbing and the whole left side of my head and cheek feels like it's standing out an inch from my face. I rub it hard, ow ow ow. and open my eyes and this guy is looking at me smiling like, you got hit in the head ahy.
Which makes me feel a bit better. it's stil bloody sore today you know.

Out in the water some older dude is like: catching much? I'm like, yeah a few, trying not to get in everyones way though. he goes: don't worry bout that just get in there.
oh nice one. you need to be told that by someone sometimes you know?

After a good effort, went back in and devoured cold pizza sitting on the bench watching the scene. Its so picturesque, surfers, families playing beach cricket, kids flying kites, toddlers waddling round like pigs in muck, kids from 8 to 15 learning to surf, mums in the water, you don't see much of that. Often i hate crowds, this day it seemed cheerful, like there is alot of good in the world.

Nick, the old surf dog from before, comes over and admires my board and we chat for a good hour. nice guy, been surfing for fourty odd years. lots to say. young mind. I think he wanted a surfing mate, i'm like sure, but you know to be honest, it's pretty hard to coordinate being able to go out. even me and pim can barely manage it. Also he tells me to keep my legs together when i paddle, to use my torso strength more. Gave that a try today and he's dead right.
Sweeeeet. good tip. He's all, ahaaahrgg you're so young! so free! you've got the surfing bug! you gotta go here, and here, and here. He recommends oz above everywhere else. He also offers for me to use the leftover water from his solar shower. AFter heating it on top of the car on the drive out, he rigs it to the nose of his board and leans it on the open boot. A seasoned surfer man. i pass though, can't really be assed.

Get a text from dan, yep she wants to do roadtrip and camp. i dunno whats happening in raggers and its' so nice here right now with the sun just come out and i'm like, i'll come get you bring you back up here ahy? how much do i love this girl!?!! pack up, and drive the hour and a half back to get Dan.

The passing lanes are really decent all the way up there, you never get stuck behind someone for more than five minutes. On the way home i get stuck behind a winnebago but this time i'm not so gutted. Theres a young boy looking out the back window at me, maybe 8 or 9. then his younger brother joins him, mayb 3 or 4 years old. little blonde bowl cut. They're looking at me, i'm looking back at them. Then the younger boy stands up and he's butt naked. He turns around so his bare little ass is facing me and starts waving it from side to side and slapping each butt cheek. Slap, wiggle, slap, wiggle, slap.

AHAAA!!! i'm cracking up. his brother is cracking up. As the winnebago turns a corner he teeters to onto one leg and collapses onto whatever hes' standing on, probably the bed. He kneels back down turning to face me, resting his chin on his hands and GRINS at me, grins and grins and grins. I grin grin grin back.

Onto a good thing, he's up again. Waving that little toosh and slapping it. he goes to the side of the camper so his body is hidden and pokes only his butt out, wiggling it and slapping it. I think i'm above it and stop laughing. But nah it gets me again. And I'm laughing real loud and real hard in the car. The wonderful surprising hilarity of this is enough to make the whole day a good one. I'm in the car not wearing anything under my tee and if that little bugger was sixteen or older i'd flash him right back. but you can't go flashing four year olds now can you. Even if it seems fair and square, you just can't. When they turn off at Waiwera I beep beep bee beep my horn. thanks for the entertainment ya little bugger.
And i'm in practically in Aucks.
Get dan, tent, supplies, cooker. hour and a half back. My car isn't black anymore, it's "off white dust", very now.
It even got tagged. ('sup mason.)

It says no camping down at the point, but people are camping. theres a whole frickend carlton party hire van and two cars and a massive tent with fairy lights and cookers and like, if anyones getting in trouble for camping it aint me and dan and our two man.

We pitch our tent and pour the ciders, crack open the snacks and get to chatting laughing ranting and drinking. We stroll down to the beach to watch the last of the sun saunter out of the sky. As Dan says: that so beautiful it makes my tummy go all tingly inside.
We retire to the tent and get to getting tiddly, reminiscing, telling great camping stories, and laughing our head off. We get all snoozy and it's only 9pm so we push it til about ten, but tireds tired. BEd down and I hear dan start breathing rhthmic sleep breathing. I've never been so comfortable cuz my bed at the moment is two short for me and in the tent i can spreeead out.
So it's all good but then a whole buncha kids turn up and light a fire and start playing the worst fucking music i've ever heard. It's hard to say what this genre is but it's like trance meets techno. and it's like all these old songs from the nineties 'remixed' so that they've got a base 'line' that is at least 120BPM. OONST OONST OONST OONST. It's music for people who take herbal pills and smoke P. muther fuckers. at first it's a bit funny, nah it's not that funny, but it goes on all night and i get the most shit sleep ever. The speed of the base makes my heart race, i can't quieten it for the life of me. I use every tactic i know to make myself feel calm and sleep. i nearly get hysterical and have to go over and plead with them, but somehow I eventually manage to get to sleep. probably about 3am.
ear plugs. ear plugs. ear plugs.

Because my body is tuned to wake up at 6am i do. tired, but thats cool cuz i get to watch dawn. (see pics.) It's dead quiet, the bad music has been turned off, everyones sleeping. just the waves crashing and the wind blowing and the sun rising. two surfers are already out and they rapidly multiply. its pretty small and onshore. but lots go out so i guess they think it's the best its gonna be all day. i ask these two german surfers what they reckon and they say, yeah it'll only get worse. but germans are typically pessimistic so i take this with a grain of sand.

Back to the tent and with one cooker, one pot and no spoons, like the true chefwhiz I am, I make me and dan poached eggs on toast and steaming hot coffee. mmmmm. mmmmm.
I have to admit to how bad i am inside, a black and rotten apple. When we left the house in a big rushing fluster, I grabbed the coffee plunger cuz theres no way i'm up there all day surfing without coffee. but i know, deep down inside in a part of me that knows these things, that jan will want that plunger tomorrow herself. i squash the thought.
when im' making coffee the next day i feel really realy bad. what a bad naughty selfish thing to do. like a bad child.
when i get home she (laughing) has me up about it. she managed to find an old one, which was good, but she tells me i better watch out now cuz she's going to do terrible things to me when i'm least suspecting, that i will live in tension, because she can be very wicked.
i apologise profusely but it's no good. i say don't start something you mightent win and she cackles, unafraid.

With my belly full of eggs toast and coffee and adrenals revving my motor, i suit up and head out. oh but wait, wheres my bikini top? it was hanging right there drying over night...
someones taking my bikini top. not my bottom, not my WETTY, and not dans sneakers, just my top. you know, that bikini is three years old, it's a one off cuz one of my best friends made it for me, and it's an awesome fucking bikini, but the REAL problem here is, i'm at the beach and i have no fucking togs. it's really more annoying than it is anything else. i have to suit up with nothing on underneath, it's not that comfortable ahy. Wetsuits don't hold your tits in. or up. and it rubs. you get the picture. I wish i could just find whoever took it for a laugh and explain all that to them. but you never can can you.

Theres are two sections of the beach that are forming good peaks, the point, and then fifteen metres north of that, which is where i head in. The suns coming up and it's warming up. theres roughtly eight to ten guys. i get out, am right in position straight away, turn paddle and catch a wave and just as i go to stand, a guy is there on the wave on my left and he goes SHIT and bails into me and i bail.
whoops. i dropped in on him and didn't even realise. he looks pissed off. i feel stink about it! i'm like sorry dude, he just waves his hand like whatever.

fuck man it's so shit. i feel stink and hang back a bit, but like, you have to be somewhat aggressive and go for your own, i barely catch anything, and if i can catch it, i have to at least try. also what dudes do is turn, do a few strokes like they're thinking of catching it, decide to wait for the next one and let it go, and i miss it cuz i do'nt want to poach, but if they'd left it i'd catch it. i don't really know the wave ettiquite (Sp) i try to stay outta everyones way. but you konw, a girls gotta go out for her own too. And sure, these dudes want you to be a little intimidated cuz to themyour'e just ain the way. but fuck, to me you're just in the way too bro. Also once or twice i'm fucking placed for a couple of big ones, the peak is behind ME and i just happen to be in the right place, more good luck than good management, and two dudes paddle in and take it. it's a dog muzzles in and takes your wave dog world sometimes. shit happens.

anyway it's all good. my board snaps away from me and hurts me knee one time. wish i had a spring suit and i'd strap it to my calf. next summer. Another chick comes out and shes rad. she's fully really really good. really fast and strong and just really good. yay i get such a good buzz from good chick surfers. it warms up. must be bout 11 and i head in to go hang with dan.

i go to change outta my wetty and realise i can't really hang at the beach all day with no bra no bikini, i've only got a tshirt and it's black. I suggest we go into mangawhai see if i can buy a bikini.
off we go, trip to town. score a rad new bikini on sale at the shop, just my favourite colours, i like alot. it all works out okay. blessed relief to be back in a bikini instead of sweating in black tshirt.

then we drive up to mangawhai heads cuz theres an easter market. it's pretty crafty, glazed pottery, big cotton clothing, paua jewellery, nothing real special but a good atmostphere. we get the best masala dosa ever for lunch and try on lots of weird clothes we'd never buy.
head up to the heads just for a peak and it's mushy cappy onshore crap.
so those bitter germans were right ahy.

head back to te arai beach and lie down for a nap. hot dudes to the left, hot dudes to the right. it's a veritable check out scene. it's hilarious. these three dudes are checking us out hard, dans just looking straight back at them cuz she's gotta boyfriend, she thinks this makes her immune, or invisible or something, a no score zone like home base, she doesn't realise that they dont' know and don't care. everytime i look over one of thems looking and grins. we just crack up. i roll over to get a nap. after lying there for twenty minutes suddenly three tablespoons of water come trickling from the deep recesses of my head out my left nostril. its the weirdest feeling bit like wasabi and makes my eyes tingle and weep.
it also makes me laugh it's so ticklish. we're sleep deprived, sun sleepy, giggly.
dan wants a swim so i accompany her. she holds her hands up by her chin and elbows tucked into her sides and doesn't go in far enough to get her pants wet. we're ridiculous.

then maybe it's pack up time cuz who knows how traffic will be and we're supposed to be going to a housewarming tonight.

make a swift gettaway that is retarded in its tracks my signs in WELLSFORD that say: traffic jam in orewa take alternate route. so we do. stuck behind ten grandpas in people wagons going eighty. we get to kaukapakapa before we get to auckland. i'm over it.
we both lose our steam and get real tired in the car.

FnC for dinner and watch a dvd. awesome. go easter. thankyou jesus for rolling that stone aside and coming outta that cave so that we may all have four days in april to kiss the face of a dying summer and get our washing in order. Amene.

Was thinking of cleaning room, gardening, doing washing etc today, but ended up at Piha having a surf. it was pretty nice, bit all over the place, had a good hour or so. The real nice thing was i managed to connect with nic, a fellow wellpark girl, and her flatties kim and amy, they all live at Piha, just up the road, and are as committed to surfing as me. wellll, maybe not that committed who knows. but very ace ladies, spent the arvo with them and they said come stay anytime. heres betting i will.
radness.

how was your easter?