Surf's up

When I first saw the ocean out here, I thought it looked like a prime surfing spot, but then, I am not a surfer, so I wouldn't really know. Of course, there are also warning signs all around the beach, indicating possible death due to undertow. But it turns out that for a couple of months out of the year, though, there is a big surfing competition, where surfers come to the city and get jobs or whatever, but when someone calls and says the surf is good, they drop everything and get on the wetsuit. That's what I hear.

A couple of days ago, when it was storming, the surf was incredible. The ocean was this dark, milky, jade green against the purple-grey clouds, and the waves were frothing and crashing probably a hundred yards out. Definitely something you do not want to jump into, unless you are a fish. Probably not even then.

But today, the sea was much calmer. Still several notches more active than the beaches in Massachusetts, but compared to two days ago, positively placid.

So I had seen surfers on the beach before, but they only teased me. I saw them running with their boards, or standing and looking at the waves. I was hoping to see someone get into the surf, but no luck.

Today, they were out in force, though. As I rode my bike up the shore path just after 5 o'clock, I kept passing guys in wetsuits or carrying boards. As I went further north, toward the big open spot, I saw more and more. Finally, when I went to cross the street to the ocean side, I looked out and there were bunches of them, bobbing out in the water, like oddly shaped sea birds. Seeing them all out there was like seeing how the worms come out after in rains. They were everywhere.

So I stood and watched for a while, hoping to see someone get on a wave.

Mostly they just hung out in the water, though. I guess it's not exactly what you expect to see when you think of California surfers. There were no oiled bodies and spandex gliding across tunnel-shaped waves. In fact, it looked to me like surfing is a sport that involves a lot of waiting; treading water in anticipation of that perfect wave. I can see the appeal, though. Because it is clearly a very elemental sport. It is the archetypal struggle between human and nature. One guy was stretching and flexing before picking up his board and charging out into the waves. And as he did, I pictured the way his joints and muscles were working, getting ready to do this very specific thing.

But I watched, and eventually, I saw one. He stood up on his board, and there he was, riding the wave. It was actually very exciting. I wanted to clap and cheer. Seriously. It made my day. But I restrained myself so that I wouldn't look too weird.

And as I rode the cruiser back home, I thought about why it is that surfing is so exciting. And I thought, not only is it elemental, but it has to do with control, but the kind of control that comes from not trying to control the wave. Because you can't control the wave. But you can control what you do on it. And not only that, it puts the surfer in an entirely liminal space, where the ocean meets the sand. So they are playing with what it takes to maintain balance in an otherwise chaotic, violent meeting of two diametrically opposed states of being. And ultimately that is what we all try to do with our lives. Wait for the wave, and when it comes, ride it, try not to get knocked off, try to maintain balance, and survive.

gung hay fat choy

I forgot to bring my camera when I went to the Chinese New Year parade. But that's probably okay. It was raining, and some of the dragons had plastic over their heads to protect them. It was really cute to see the little kids in the mini-dragons, some of them just holding onto the tail, with their little dragon pants on, looking slightly bewildered.

My friend and I got pelted with candy, waved at by various city officials, and Mayor Gavin Newsom came by and shook our hands. He was wearing a black velvet jacket-type thing that was kind of gathered in the front and had velvet buttons. It looked sort of retro. and he had a scarf loosely wrapped around his neck. Seriously, no Boston politician would ever dare to even consider the mild thought of even potentially thinking of wondering if they could ever possibly actually wear something like that, especially in public, never mind a parade because they just couldn't get away with it. But oh yeah, we're not in Boston anymore, Toto.

And they were filming part of the parade up in Union Square, so the whole thing was stopped for about 20 minutes. We got to examine in detail some marchers waving huge flags that flopped in the wet pavement and occasionally got wrapped around their ankles. Further down, there was a group of about 80 kids in yellow, twirling big knives. Right in front of us, though, there was a huge, green and red dragon that looped and danced around itself. It was fascinating to watch. But the most fascinating part was watching the dancers. There was a guy with a shaved head, dressed in all black, directing everyone. He would tell the leader of the dragon where to go, and then someone would crouch in the middle of the street so that all the dancers behind would know where to turn. On the sidelines, there was another whole group of dancers, and periodically, the guy in black would tell one of them to jump in, and they would go and relieve one of the dancers. It looked like a very demanding and energetic job, dragon dancing. And clearly it is something that one person cannot do alone. It also looked like and exercise, for the dancers, in anonymity, in the sense of giving up your ego for the sake of the larger whole. I could be reading more into it than is really there, but that's what I see. Because it seems to me that in western culture, we grow up with this bizarre idea that somehow we are special and more important and that we need to be recognized for what we do that is more special and more important than what other people do. Maybe not everyone thinks this, but the idea is out there. But in fact, what we do is really only important so long as it contributes to something larger. I think it can be really fun to let your ego go for a while. Egos are really so cumbersome anyway.

Ocean view

So the new place I am staying in has a beautiful view of the ocean from the kitchen window. I said hello to it this morning when I took a walk down there and observed some Chinese fishermen. I was wondering what kind of fish would be out there in that kind of surf, but maybe something. And I watched little troops of snowy plovers playing with the surf. They would all go down in a bunch to just where the foam was hitting the sand, and then run back up as the water chased them. They couldn’t have been doing it for food, because even if they were looking for it, they obviously weren’t going to be eating when the water was chasing them, and there was plenty of space for them to graze without encountering incoming waves. So they must have been doing it just for fun. And it was funny to watch them on their little legs. It was a pretty good day today all together. I got my laundry done, for one thing. You have no idea what a luxury it is to hang your shirts until you have gone without it for a month.

Outer Sunset

So I am officially still couch-surfing. Not in the online sense, but with real people - as in people that I’ve met before who I feel I can trust. It’s a good thing. Not as good as having an apartment, but still good. I am now camping out in the Outer Sunset, staying with Char and Russ and their cat. Outer Sunset. I like that as a place name. There is also Inner Sunset, of course. And the area refers to the part of San Francisco that faces the Sunset - where I took my long walk to the Pacific and put my toes finally in the water. I will have to go back there again. But it makes the sunset sound like an object, like a peach, or a person, or a building. The Inner and the Outer. What’s inside the sunset anyway? What if you could open it and find the strings that hold it together and the little machines that make the color? Yes, I am getting very tired. I am making up my own fantastical bedtime stories as my mind gradually wanders in and out of a partial dream state. But I just wanted to write something before I go to bed. Good night.