Making Friends With The Neighbours

Sunday morning brought a delightful surprise in the form of a visit from Dan. He was in Brisbane so called me to catch up. He came over and we talked about Noosa and whether he should head up there or not. The surf had been pumping , but the wind had just turned, so it was a bit risky considering the drive/fail ratio. We talked a bit until I brought out my laptop so Dan could so some reconnaissance on where he should go. He sat using online resources (no cameras though!), his phone and his own knowledge to come a to a decision. Dan didn't go to Noosa but he did get waves...

I went to a karaoke bar on the weekend and it was SO MUCH FUN!! Among (many) other songs, I sang Xanadu , and it was much more of a hit with the other chicks there than I could ever have hoped for. I also sang some Britney song and it was so great. But, the song of the night must go to Maddy and Zoe who sang Paradise by the Dashboard light. Do yourself a massive favour and listen to the whole song today. You will not be sorry... By the way, how awesome is her jumpsuit!!

I love surfing when it's overcast and raining. I love the way the water is green, rather than blue. I love that there are always fewer people out. I love the way the surface of the water looks when it squalls. I love that it doesn't matter if it rains because you're already wet anyway. This rainy day clip is by Tom Woods , with surfing by Sage , Brett and Jack , and it makes me want to get the hell out of the city... Rainy day at Crescent from Tom Woods on Vimeo . I have a feeling I could find them up at Noosa this weekend if I went and had a look.

I've been checking out this blog this morning - 31 days/31 ways . Basically, every day for a month they get up and surf and film and then post it up for you to watch. It's cute. Currently, they're in Byron so their latest project is based there, but if you go back through the blog you can see stories from their home in St Augustine in Florida as well. I like the idea of them surfing and filming in their own hometown a lot more because it's always an interesting project to explore the places you have grown up and spent so much time and have so many assumptions about. It means that you don't necessarily go over obvious locations or aspects of the town or place and that you can really plumb the depths, since you will be pretty well-versed in the surface. Byron is so over-exposed that, as visitors, it might be a bit hard for them to get too deep in 31 days without first understanding the surface, but I could be wrong. I've been wrong before. Many, many times. I supp

Jamie over at Pineapple Luv , always manages to make me smile. She has an amazing outlook on life and surfing, and her posts never fail to urge me into the water. She is always posting things that are inspiring and new, and with Jamie, they're always fun as well. She's one cool lady and I've learned a lot from watching her site and sharing emails. Laura Thornhill in another awesome Jamie post on Pineapple Luv Thanks Jamie, you're the best!

I surf longboards . I have a few boards, but two of them are 9'2" and wide and thick and have heavy glass. I often find that my arm gets tired if I have to carry one of them too far, but when that happens, I just put it on my head and let it rest on my skull. Unless there's a howling wind, it's easier to carry like this, and I find it works better for me than having my mal under my arm. When I go to the beach with friends, it can be the case that I have the longest, heaviest board. Definitely not always but sometimes. And sometimes it's kind of funny; I think of the way I can be carrying this big heavy board down to the water, while my much stronger guy friends can skip along with their little, thin, light boards tucked under their arms, barely noticeable as far as weight goes. But it's ok and it wouldn't even cross my mind to ask them to swap with me. I wouldn't think to ask them to carry my big board for me, because it's not really an issue. It

This morning, quite unexpectedly, I happened across a link for this film, First Love , which looks like it will be released later this year. It also looks like it will be pretty cool. First Love Teaser from First Love on Vimeo . First Love is a feature length surf movie that takes an in depth look into the lives of three passionate young girls from Phillip Island en route to making a career out of surfing.The film documents the everyday lives of Nikki van Dijk, India Payne and Jess Laing, the trials and tribulations of training, competitions and injury. The camera follows them to Hawaii for their first crack at the heavy North Shore waves, where we gain and insight into the world and lifestyle of Hawaiian female surfers. It highlights the recent rise in standard of women's surfing and touches on the attitude surrounding female surfers at a grass roots level, in an inspiring (and not overbearing) way. I'll look forward to seeing it at a venue near me!!

The 2010 Byron Bay International Film Festival kicks off this Friday 5 th of March. There's some really interesting films that are on and I've been sussing out the program and there are quite a few cool films, and there happen to be several surfing films that I'd really, really like to see. Anyway, it's rainy and sleepy here and I am in no state to be pre -reviewing films right now, but if you're going to be around Byron from this weekend, and you'd like to see some films about surfing, then check out Sessions 23, 25 and 29.

I found these online... (Click the images to go to the shop and see more)

I've heard quite a few of my girlfriends talk about how they would find it hard to go out with someone who didn't surf. They've told me how they've had partners who didn't understand when they wanted to get up early and get in the ocean or when they want to just surf all weekend. Their significant others get jealous - especially if they're boys. I've had girlfriends who've managed to convince their boyfriends to learn to surf and have organised to get them a board and to teach them, which is cool. But other women find it difficult to negotiate the ways that their surfing impacts on their relationship and vice versa . I've talked a bit about that before , but it's something I'm still mulling over and still hearing people talk about... I know lots of guys have the same kinds of experiences, although I've noticed many of my male friends end up with non-surfers. I suppose that women have a bigger surfing pool to paddle in really, but still, i