So, yesterday morning..... I finally got my first chance to surf. HECK YEAH!!! I was so incredibly stoked.

I got up at 7am.... (how un-godly is that?) and waited for Shawn to pick me up.

Hodge wanted to sleep in and catch up on his rest..... so, he didn't come. (Pansy)

Well, things were goin alittle slower than expected, so I just walked up to his house and we left around 8 or so.

We got out to where we were goin (I have no idea how to spell it for you, so I won't try) and the water was smooth as glass........and the waves were perfect for learning on. They ranged from 1 1/2 to about 3 feet depending on the set that was rolling in at the time.

Shawn let me borrow his 9' long board (talk about a tank in da water) and it was on!!!!!!!

We paddle out what I would like to call, the "staging zone" were we'd wait on the waves to come.

From there, we'd paddle and try and get enough speed to get in front of the wave and then let it take us........... AND THEN, WE GOT TO PADDLE BACK TO THE STAGING ZONE.......... WHICH SUCKS!!!!!!!!

I can't lie; I think that I fell off that stupid board everyway possible. I fell to the side. I fell backwards as the board launched out from under me. I fell in front of the board (now how I fell in front of a 9' board when I was standing at the very back... I have no clue.... all I can say is that it was talent.) I fell on the board. I fell under the board. I FELL. I FELL ALOT.

And in the course of falling, I got my first battle scar.

And then, about 5 minutes later, I got my second wound from the treacherous ocean coral….. but this time, I wasn't even falling off the board or anything cool like that. I was just trying to get on the stupid thing when my foot slipped and hit some coral…….. talk about gay!

But my day was not unsuccessful; OH NO MY FRIENDS!!! I WOULD HAVE MY VICTORY. I WOULD ESTABLISH DOMINANCE!!!!!!!

I finally caught my first wave.

(ok, so maybe it wasn't this exact one......)

I was picked up by the wave and from there, I decided that the ocean would no longer own me. I would own it. So, I grabbed hold of the wave like a mad man at the end of his pitiful rope. I lassoed it like a sea turtle and held on for dear life.

As my ride came to an end…. I showed off my incredible mainland heritage and began yelling in triumph. "I got it… I got it… It's on now, Baby!..... Woooo-hoooo….. Bring it… Let's go… I GOT YOU… I GOT YOU!!!!!!"

At this…. Shawn was just laughin at me and smiling in approval of my first wave.

We stayed out on the water for another 30-45 mins, and the ocean then resumed its battering and dominance over me.

But this I can now say, "I CAME, I SAW, I CONQUERED!"

-Jeff