Missive from the Depths of Unwinding

I've had a few emails recently asking if I'm still alive, if I have joined Colonel Kurtz's gang up the river or perhaps am now communicating (ineffectively) via smoke signals.

The truth is, I've been deeply relaxed and turning on the computer and dealing with the sporadic connections seemed like a drag. Some of you still working or parenting for a living (or both) may wonder how relaxed you can get after 2 months of indulging in endless beachy fun. Well, let me try to explain how it worked in my case.

Case Study 1: My last dawn session in Bali (well, not quite, more on that below), I was talking to someone between sets. I said I'd been in Bali a month but I was okay leaving because--whether another day, another month, another year--I didn't think I could unwind further. There were a few breaks I wish I'd gotten around to surfing but I'd surfed so much going out and seeing the sunrise or sunset was just as cool as catching a wave. It would be nice to hang out longer, but it would also be nice for a change of scenery. I had the thought out loud and not consciously before that moment but realized it was true. I was really, really chilled out.

Case Study 2: Another way I found out how relaxed I really was occurred when I missed my flight to New Zealand. It's a long story, but the short story is I was too relaxed. It ended up costing quite a bit of money in the end to get sorted out. Someone told me maybe there was A Reason I missed my flight (you know, it crashed or was taken over by genetically evolved apes or whatever people think when they say things like that). But if there was a reason, it was discovering that I was so relaxed that the events which led to me missing my plane could happen in the first place... It was actually, in a warped way, a good thing. Or my ability to see it that way must be a good thing. Or something. I'm too relaxed to continue thinking about this. And, bonus: I avoided those damn apes!

So, obviously I surfed a lot since my last posting. I did some other fun stuff too. I had a nicely timed break from surfing after a two sessions in some seriously big surf. During one session, this HUGE swell had showed up out of nowhere about 20 minutes after we got in the water. I've been in some big surf the last few months. This was the first time the whole trip where I was on the verge of panic. Maybe past verging. The ocean had turned very, very ugly. The guy I was surfing with gotcaught inside, pounded and washed ashore with a broken board. I realized getting out of the water--navigating double overhead slabs, a crazy rip and huge surf pounding down on the beach--was going to now be the main goal of the session (surfing at the moment no longer being an interest of mine).

Anyhoo, I then passed a few very fun days in Ubud, taking a cooking class, going on a cycling tour (during which a 7 foot cobra cruised across the road in front of us) and getting my longest massage ever (nearly 2 hours). Ubud is a great place to unwind and soak up Balinese culture. In addition to learning how to cook some staple Balinese dishes, the cooking class included a tour of local markets and rice paddies.

It was interesting to learn that the local farmers are going organic. Moving away from a government-assisted program of chemical fertilizers used for the last 30 years or so, farmers are now going back to a more natural cycle that includes keeping flocks of ducks in each family's paddies that help contain insects, provide natural fertilizer etc. Apparently, rice output has virtually doubled off the same acreage as the move to organic has taken place. Plus, the ducks are super cute. And they make a nice Thanksgiving dish.

I arrived in New Zealand 2 days ago. It's pretty much rained the entire time so I'd be lying if I said I'd fallen in love with the place. Per what you hear, there are a lot of sheep and few people. The topography is very reminiscent of the Sonoma coast. I'm spending the next few days in a surf camp, but my Israeli pal and I are more or less going to be cruising around in a camper searching for waves the entire time. For those of you who know my feelings about camping, you would be amused to see how I'm living. I think its going to make me really psyched to return home. We better score some good surf for this s***. I did grill up some tasty lamb at our camp site on night one. After two months of a diet consisting of way too much rice and chicken, eating red meat and  bread again felt like heaven. Oh, and wine! Man was it good to have some red wine.

I'm looking foward to seeing some of you readers soon--hard to believe, but the journey is on its final 2 weeks.