Made the Zippy Board

The board’s a bit tricky to get up on, but once I’m up it’s super zippy. Hooray! I've named her Made (pronounced mahdeh) because that's the Balinese name for all 2nd born children. And also because once I figure out how to harness her, I'll be MADE (pronounced maid).

1st New Yorker-Malaysian Visitor in Bali

My friend Andrew came to visit and it was a relief to be with someone whom I already know well. We puttered briefly around Kuta, headed up to Tanah Lot to see the sunset and then partook in the “all you can eat Italian buffet” at his hotel. As much as it was reminiscent of an Olive Garden, it was a fab treat.

Flourescent Cactuses with Purple Bedsores

Drama. The surfboard waves are fluorescent green, outlined in black, and they have bright purple splotches all over the place. In fact, the waves look more like cactuses (cacti?) with purple bedsores. Aghhh! They young dudes said that the design they did would look better and last longer than one I chose. Rather than try & convince them otherwise, I asked them just to take off the paint. It will be a “purist” board…

EXP Lavender Funboard

Chose a lavender 6’10” board today for my very own! It runs the fine line between a funboard and a shortboard. They had a book of illustrations to pick from for paint designs- my instructor Rian and I adapted one of the designs to have turquoise-green waves with dark purple outlines spilling up the sides. Woohoo!

New Home in Canggu

My 1st choice of longer term accommodation fell through, but I found a sweet plan B in an area called Canggu (pronounced chahngoo) near Berawa Beach (pronounced berava.) It’s a private home, with the family of the 1st of four brothers who all live in a row. The grandparents, parents & kid live across the courtyard from me. My building has two guest rooms which each have a private bathroom and outdoor shower. Ahhh, showering under the stars.
When I’m using the loo I sometimes hear the cows moo-ing on the other side of the wall. This is a little chill out area in the shade:
There is a temple, an altar, and an area for doing larger ceremonies.
The neighbor in the other guest room (for just a few more days) is a gregarious Italian with soccer hair and an aversion to shirts. He's a Pilates-phile and had good recos on yoga studios. Sorry he won't be around longer!

Surf Betty

Working my way down to a shorter board.

Currently rocking a Barbie Pink 7’2” Surf Betty Board.

Check it out:
http://www.newsurfproject.com/index.php?cccpage=betty_overview

Kinda Surgery

I dreamt about a friend who is a plastic surgeon, and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why. Well the next day as I was coming out of the water I timed the waves at the beach break incorrectly, and I fell with my board. Got a big bruise on my leg from the board and a long, clean slice from the fin. Please let him stay out of my dreams going forward!