See Lion?

See, Nico? Sea Lions don't really look like surfers from down here...

Watch Out Joe Curren

Nico had his eye on this little fish when we walked into the surf shop today. Too bad it has wheels on the bottom. That wild look in his eye tells me that he'll be outsurfing me in a matter of months. Pure stoke!

Wassup, Daddios?

Happy Father's Day to all you surf dads out there: Mark, Porky, Gaz, JP, Jeff, Whiffleboy, Patchy, Pete, Kyle, Twinfin, Lawless, Writer, Glayfin, Brownfish, Kono, Totor, David, Mick, Jason, and anybody else I missed. We don't all have to be as committed to "the life" as Doc Paskowitz above, but here's to the joys of sharing our love of the ocean with our kids... And of course, big shout to my own Pop, who threw me into the waves way back when we were still Californians.

Last I checked, Surfwise was actually playing in Portland. I may go peep it tonight in honor of Father's Day.

Oh yeah I remembered (while surfing today) that I forgot Doc and Dubstar, who is new to the brotherhood of surf dads...

Cinco de Mayo in Mexico: Fishy Fishy

How I spent Cinco de Mayo: Woke up like a fisherman at dawn and stumbled out of bed, wandered up the beach and caught some fishy waves on my fish (avoiding dead puffer fish along the way). Went to lunch at Taqueria Rossy, the best fish taco place in the world, and ordered dos de pescado and dos de camaron. The hipster in the Mollusk shirt was calling for some fish tacos too, but got denied on account of being toothless. Maybe next time, amigo!

Kouple of Kooks

The first Sissyfish movie night went off without a hitch. A few old friends stopped by and a few new friends were made. It looks like this event could become a regular thing, so watch this space for the next announcement.

Halfway through the evening OS, who helped organize the evening, pulled out a big box of t-shirts and handed them to me. With some reconnaissance by my wife (who ransacked my computer for art) he made a bunch of shirts using the controversial graphic from the infamous t-shirt post a couple months ago. There was even a small onesy in there for Nico. You'll notice that they didn't put the spot name below the drawing, thereby keeping it "mysto."

I have 25 of them. The idea is that, instead of contributing to my birthday board fund, OS wanted to give me a chance to sell the shirts and maybe make a bigger dent in cost of a stick for bigger waves. I'm lucky to have friends who believe in my artwork. I'll do another post soon on sizes and how to get one, if anybody is interested.

Don't worry Gaz, you get the last freebee. Actually, Writer gets one too, since he was probably more profoundly moved by the concept than anyone else.

In the top picture above, I'm teaching Nico how to throw a shaka. In the second, he almost looks like he's getting the hang of it. Yeah. We're kooks for life.

David Bowie - Kooks
"...Will you stay in our lovers' story
If you stay you won't be sorry
'Cause we believe in you
Soon you'll grow so take a chance
With a kouple of kooks
Hung up on romancing

We bought a lot of things
to keep you warm and dry
And a funny old crib on which the paint won't dry
I bought you a pair of shoes
A trumpet you can blow
And a book of rules
On what to say to people
when they pick on you
'Cause if you stay with us you're gonna be pretty Kooky too..."

Curse of the Bambino

So my friends all came into town for the holidays and, of course, they wanted to go surfing last Saturday. I heard the forecast was looking good, but I haven't checked buoys since I came to terms with the fact that I won't be getting wet for awhile. Gee (on a homecoming from LA) swung by my house, said howdy to Nico, and borrowed my quad. I'd be lying if I said it didn't sting a teeny weeny bit, but--I swear to you--one huff of baby smell makes my temporary land-loving ways beyond bearable. He's awesome.

Anyway, I'd actually forgotten that all my chums had gone out when my phone rang in the early afternoon. It was Gee...

"Dude, I have no idea what happened," he said. "The forecast said 5 feet at 10 seconds, but I haven't experienced waves that big in a long time. It was hairy!"

He told me about how there were some macking waves to be had, but also a lot of closeouts that made the prospect of throwing your juevos over the edge a little sketchy. Between all of my friends on this Thanksgiving surf reunion, only one wave was ridden--and that was if you added all their failed rides together.

I was actually cradling the phone between my shoulder and ear when he called, because I was rocking Nico in my arms as I watched a college football game. I looked down at the infant, who was sliding in and out of dreamland, and imagined that he had somehow influenced the elements from the magical unconscious place.

Winter has made its wet, windy presence known now, and I can't think of a better time to have a bambino and be an Oregon surfer.

Pylon - Working Is No Problem

My Minnow

I spent the morning listening to reggae with my new best friend Nico. His favorite song is "Night Nurse" by Gregory Isaacs.

"...I don't wanna see no doc

I need attendence from my nurse around the clock

'Cause there's no prescription for me

She's the one, the only remedy

Night nurse

Only you alone can quench this Jah thirst..."

Nico arrived Friday morning at around 8am and he's proven to be a bit of a night owl. So I'm getting used to his schedule. Late-night binge drinking seems to be his favorite pass time; it's been awhile since I've pulled an all-nighter, so I'm working on my stamina. Handling him reminds me of the first scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana Jones transfers a bag of sand onto a stone scale that's the exact weight of an idol. Very careful, or there are some extreme repercussions.

Anyway, Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright and baby Nico's doin' alright too. Dims? 7lbs, 70z x 20" long. Thanks to everyone who has given us support, snacks, love, champagne, and Cohibas.

Gregory Isaacs - Night Nurse

Mini Shakas

Wow. You'll have to forgive me for the lack of posts. As you can see, I've been busy. Got a first look at "Baby Chum" today and was pleasantly surprised to find the little gremlin throwing a mini-shaka our way. And no, we're not finding out the sex.

In other news, I've been packing my bags for Nica the last couple days and setting myself up for a nice little vacation. Waves looked really good yesterday where we'll be "shacking" up... I'll make up for the less frequent blogging starting tomorrow.

Adios!

The Knife - Heartbeats
(You've heard the song, but have you seen this amazing video?)

Bring on the Dancing Horses

Just got back from the doctor, where he put a microphone up to my wife's belly and we heard a sound that bore a striking resemblence to running horses. Time to make the announcement official: There's a little Chum on the way. This whole thing took us by surprise at first, but now we're starting to get used to the idea. I may be having to lean on the advice of some of the surfing papas out there in blogland to figure out how I'll maintain my paddling arms with a baby on board. Baby on board... Hm... How soon until can I start charging tandem with the little sprout?

Echo and the Bunnymen - Bring on the Dancing Horses