Fan-@!#$*!%-tastic

I don't know what got into me today. I wasn't my usual hesitant, feeling out of sorts self. I was a completely different person. I was feeling it from the minute I paddled out. Was it because I surfed in the afternoon rather than in the morning? Was it because I drank some caffeinated tea this morning? (Normally, I stick to decaffeinated beverages.) Was it because I'd put a small Da Hui sticker on the tail of my board for good luck? Was it because I'd watched Longboard TV before the session and felt inspired? I'll never know. All I know is I surprised myself. CYT and I hit RPB this afternoon around noon. She called me yesterday to tell me it was firing hard. I knew I wanted to catch some of this swell today before it left for good. RPB didn't quite fire today, but there was enough of a swell to deliver decent rides. My very first wave set me up for the rest of the session. I actually caught the first wave I paddled for—a very good sign—and then had the presence of mind to step up to the nose when the board slowed down. As the nose started to dip, I had the presence of mind to cross-step back. "This can't be me," I thought. A few waves later, I did two cheater fives on one wave. All I remember is going up to the nose, stepping back, going back up to the nose, and then cross-steppping back again. I didn't come off until the ride was over. "What's going on here?" I don't think I'd ever successfully done that much walking before. But it was time. I'd been a little discouraged of late, thinking (to myself and out loud to the blog) that I was regressing instead of progressing. Today assured me that I was wrong. I don't think it hurt to have seen longboarding on TV this morning. I'd also been reading about a pro female longboarder at some point this morning. At some point, probably while watching TV, I told myself, "I can do that!!" I'd never done "that" before. For some reason, I decided I could do it now. And I did. I even . . . surfed The Point. I've never surfed it before and can't say that I'll go there often. It's just too crowded and there's so much testosterone there. Not my idea of a good time. But CYT caught what I think was the wave of the day while at The Point today. She rode so far that my head actually panned from left to right. It was beautiful. I loved seeing it . . . but it's not like I wanted to go over there and try to duplicate her feat. Nonetheless, she encouraged me to go over there with her. Since I was feeling good, I thought I had nothing to lose by trying. And off I paddled to The Point. Well, once I got there, the waves kind of died. Most of those that rolled through were gutless. The couple of times I did catch something, I was riding with other people, pulling off early in order to give them room. Yes, I can say I've finally tried surfing The Point. I can say I caught waves at The Point. I can't say that I enjoyed it; it was too much like Malibu on a crowded day. I was doing quite well at Dos Baños. I may try The Point another day. I don't know. I like the open bay better. Obviously, it was personally a stellar session. And, yes, I was on the Slick.