I become a paddling fish… July 20, 2008

Nusa Dua Beach, where I attempted surfing and kayak surfed

The last day and a half in Bali was wonderful!  I finally got that long desired surf lesson and actually caught a few waves, laying down on my long board of course.  It was soooooooooo much fun!  I paddled, paddled, and paddled, with my back arched and everything.  Although it was a very short lesson, but I feel so much more confident about being able to actually surf one day.  I really do love the ocean despite my lame swimming abilities.

The morning of our flight to Singapore, Alex and I ocean kayaked; it wasn’t a surfable condition ….   Kayaking turned out to be an awesome decision.  Being the surfing addict that I am now, the entire time, we were kayaking toward a wave or trying to catch one.  By the end the ride, we caught 2 waves on our kayak!   The feeling you feel when riding on a wave is incredible, like flying on water!  I think I’m in love again and wish I was a dolphin!!!!

Running along side the Forbidden City October 14, 2007

I finally got the chance to run the perimeter of the Forbidden City a few days ago. It was so crowded, but very amusing. Even though I’ve been inside a handful of times, I still get completely sucked in by its incredible beauty every time I’m near it. Maybe is its massiveness or the mysterious stories hidden behind those tall forbidden red walls, I simply can’t resist the strong desire to just stare at it and allow it all to sync in for at least a moment in time. Under those golden tiles and behind the intricacy of the wooden window frames, hundreds of years of glory, shame and mystery were held within. How could I not surrender to its beauty, its magic, and allow my imagination to run wild?

Windsurfing day 2 September 16, 2007

After much practice and the help of a slow wind morning, I’ve made some progress today. I successfully tacked (upwind turn), jibed (downwind turn) and sailed without falling in water. It was so much fun. In fact, I felt so encouraged after the 4-hour class, I went back into the water with a smaller board under windier conditions for another 3 hours to practice. In retrospect, that was probably not that great of an idea, since I was already very physically exhausted after the morning training. And I can’t believe how much difference a slightly smaller board can make on water. It is so much harder to balance. I pretty much spend most of the 2nd half of the day in and out of water and peddling against the current. Very frustrating. I probably should have stopped after the first 4 hours. Oh well, no regrets, it was still an amazing day to be spend in the water. My body is so worn out now, my elbows are both bruised from climbing back on to the sailboard countless times. At the end of the day, I was so beat, I had to actually get towed back to shore. But then again, if not for all those falls during the day, I probably won’t be enjoying dozing off on the sofa so much right now!

Windsurfing in the Bay – so hard, but so fun September 15, 2007

Yes, I am having a little ocean fever right now. I just can’t seem to get enough water activities these days. So this week, the chosen challenge is windsurfing. I watched it from ashore for the first time in my life when I discovered the beauty of the Berkeley Marina 2 weeks ago. It looks like one of the most liberating sports on water. But, as I learned today, to get to the point of flying across water, countless falls must take place. 4 hours today and another 4 tomorrow. Hopefully by the end of tomorrow, I will somehow get a shot of me actually standing on the board with the sail in my hands. haha…

The joy of falling in water and the magic of a wet suit! September 12, 2007

I had an action packed weekend!

Inspired by my walk in the Berkeley Marina and the previously discovered lust for the ocean, I took a sea kayaking class with Alex this past Saturday. For those of you that know me well, don’t be shocked. I know I have always been a scaredy cat when it comes to being in water, especially very cold ocean water. I am proud to say that with the discovery of the wonderful and powerful wet suit, I am no longer afraid of falling into cold water In fact, during the 8-hour sea kayaking class, I fell into the ocean 3 times, 2 of which were for practice. Surprisingly, the 3rd time was when I had the most fun. The fall was completely unexpected and in turbulent waves, but since I was already previously trained on what to do should such a fall occurs, I did not panic at all. I actually loved it. Alex even performed a rescue on me. It was awesome!

In case you were wondering what is there to learn about sea kayaking in 8 hours, like I did going into it, there are actually a lot. In fact, the 8-hour course that Cal Adventures offer was a crash course for sea kayaking. The normal course is a 12 hour training over 3 days. Like many things in life, the finer details are what tend to make the difference between someone who think they know what they are doing and someone who does know what they are doing. And kayaking is not an exception.

GOooooo BEars! September 2, 2007

Yesterday was the kickoff game for the Cal football season. Last season, during this game, we were upset by the Vols in a huge way, so as you can imagine how big of a deal this game was going to be. Everyone was pumped for it.

Its been a year since my last Cal football game, and I almost forgot how wild the whole place can become during times like this. The energy, the youthfulness, the liveliness, and the rising level of adrenaline floating in the air were unavoidably contagious. The minute you set foot on the campus streets, you know you were in Bear territory. People were spilling out balconies of frat houses, door steps of bars and restaurants, every single sidewalk leading toward the stadium, and of course, our notorious Top Dog joint! Oh Bear pride was in the air…

At last, our Bear fighters did not let us down. They brought us a victory of 45 to 31…

* of course the frat houses were hoppin’

* the band was playin’ and the alums were lovin’

*the beer pong was bouncin’

*the enemies (and the t-man) were comin’

* the line outside of Top Dog was out of control!

*my game face was rockin’

* the stadium was jammin’ and the people have spoken

* by half time, the Bears were already kickin’ the enemy butts by 10 points

* yes, believe it or not, the game did last til night. it was all excitement though

* there’s no better way to celebrate a Bear victory than the good old La Burrita