Last Night I Had a Dream I Was Surfing

Last night I had a dream I was surfing. I rarely dream about the water, and when I do I dream of sharks. It was during that waking phase, where the dream blends into consciousness. It was the last thing I saw before I woke up, and I don't know where it came from. There was no background, no explanation. The dreams before I wake are so extremely vivid and intricate with emotions. They drag me into their story till I wake from adrenaline. No questions are left unasked or unanswered in those dreams. But this was a very simple dream. It was just seconds long, and all I saw were my feet. I was looking down and watched as I stepped back. The wave was rising to my hips. I saw my feet slide the board forward from under me, down the face as the wave was pitching. I watched deliberate steps back. This has never happened to me. It's always a shuffle or a stumble to the tail. All I felt was stoke. I woke up with a memory that didn't belong to me. My day began and the dream vanished.

I paddled out this afternoon. It was a small crowd for Saturday. I paddled up the inside and took the first wave that came. Pop up, go right. It wasn't the steps forward that counted, but the steps back. Blue water  pitched, rising faster. The board slid down the moving face. I moved with it. The wave ended where my paddle began. All I felt was stoke.

Spearfishing and Sunday's Hoop Jam

Aloha everybody! So, kinda bummed to say I haven't been hosting a class regularly. But I still love to teach! So email me regarding lessons if you would like to attend, and we can make a date! kama'aina first class freeeeee! I'm still completing my teacher training, 4/5 reviews done. Almost half way!


 Yesterday my buddy Mako and I went spearfishing by Kaiser Bowls on the south shore. Water clarity went in and out due to some afternoon winds, but generally there was 10-20ft visibility. It was my first time snorkeling and 1) trying to identify anything I saw, and 2) caring about anything besides sea turtles. I haven't taken any time to learn about the local ecology ( I told someone yesterday "I can still identify a rainbow trout and a brown trout..."), so everything just kinda looked like... fish. I didn't catch anything, but took plenty pics with the GoPro and chased around some kind of pipe fish. We saw hundreds of Manini munching on the reef, and a a big turtle was checking us out for awhile.

Fry em!

The Green is a Kala- super good eats! and the brown is a Palani. I'm pretty sure I saw an Uhu, among plenty of other potentially edible fish, but that's part of not knowing what you're looking for... All the good stuff just swims by. Check up my youtube in a few days, and i'll have some videos of me chasing fish!

As for last Sunday's hoopjam- acrobats, fire and stripper poles. And hoops. Nuff said. 4pm. Be there.

Morning Glass Movie Night

 If you haven't been to Morning Glass cafe in Manoa Marketplace yet, it's time. If you don't like specialty coffees brewed by the glass or breakfast burritos made with Hawaii's finest ingredients, there's the Thursday night surf movies and late-night menu. The last selection of films was A Paradigm Shift and Many Classic Moments (ft. Uncle Buttons!), both presented by projector onto the cafe wall. BYOB and house made ice cream make the party complete!

E Komo Mai!

The late night menu consists of The Burger, and The Better Burger. Bacon and cheese? Yes plz. Home-made coffee and green tea ice cream? Food Coma.

So Ono, Brah!

 Awesome way to cap off sunset with Da Canoes Crew! It's a pretty small spot in the valley, so keep an ear out in the coconut wireless (or Facebook) for future dates. To keep you entertained and make this entry hoop related, here are pictures of me and my housemates rockin' out with some fresh hoops!

Wuuuuutttt Doubles!

She Fell In Love! No Joke!

Prince Edward St Takeover!

Happy hooping and see you in Manoa!

Waikiki Paddle Festival!

Didn't make it to hoop jam. Drinko De Mayo got the best of me. Just getting that off my chest. BUT I did make it to the tail end of the Waikiki Paddle Festival! It almost slipped my mind till I paddled out to pops and it was infested with SUPers wearing race numbers.  The festival in short: races, relays, beer gardens and schwag. Oh yeah, and some major board lust (you hear that, Tropical Blends? Why do you make me feel this way?)

Winners Stage

 Here's some shots I took of the co-ed 4 person team relays. It was pretty sweet so many amazing people. And pretty sad seeing paddlers lose time on a sloppy beach entry.

Check out the beach entry on THAT guy

And they're off!

Around the Surftech buoy! (Because Surftech IS standup.)

Go Paddlers go!

Last one in... is last.

 On to the schwag portion. Roxy, C4, Tropical Blends, Surf Line Hawaii, Kona Red, Duke's all had tables. And then... there was THIS table.

Winners Table

What I wouldn't do for a conch shell trophy... Except for compete.

This was a great kick-off to summer, and an even better way to see how the sport is rapidly changing. Welcome to contest season!

Leg Hooping to the Maaaaaaaaax

So it's legit. Class in the park on Thursdays, meet at Starbucks at 5pm. I've been running a lil late, so make sure to RSVP with me if you're coming to class! Had a little sunset hoop sesh with Jen and Joan afterwards. Aaaaaaand I started a youtube, so now I can post some videos! Like this one!

I am quite Proud of my leg hooping abilities.

So, I've been working on leg hooping. I've got both legs down pretty well, still working on step-ins and step-outs. But it's like 90% so far, so I'm pretty stoked. Aaaaaaaaand because everything can now be combined with yoga, here is a picture of me hooping in tree pose. I am also quite proud of this. I can maintain it forever and ever.

Inner peace much?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know what I did to upset Blogger, but I can't get the above picture center anymore. 

Hoop happenings- Acro-juggling-slacklining-hoop jam at Kapiolani Park tomorrow! Sundays, on the grassy section between the beach volleyball park and the Waikiki Aquarium. 4:30ish is what I've been hearing, but make sure to take Hawaiian Time into consideration. I'm gonna try and pop in, so see you there! Sunday Funday!




                                     

Tanks and Waikiki Hoop Class Times!

So first things first! Hooping class will be held Thursdays at 5-6:15pm, staring this Thursday. Meet at Starbucks at Kapahulu and Kalakaua at 5pm, and we can walk to the park together. Class cost is $10, Kama'aina first class free. Since the number of hoops is limited right now, please BYO body hoop or RSVP with me by phone or email. I'm super stoked to have a weekly group class!

Da Hoop Hut opening on 4/20 was great! I made some custom Hoop Hut tanks for Lacey and Kate, and if you haven't seen it yet, it's the cutest lil tiki hooper hut ever. I've been pretty bad about bringing my camera with me, or else I would have a few hoop party pics of us showstoppin by Leonards. Note to self- take more pictures and post in blog. Rinse and repeat.

 I wanted to post a few pics of Niki wearing a custom Tank. The from is the wave heart design and the large hoop is on back. It's a ribbed tank so it has a little fade effect when worn.

Niki Holding up the Ceiling

 

 

Hottie

South shore conditions: flat, crowded and windy. Projected 3-7ft faces for Thursday! Cheeeeeeeeee!

Barge Talk and SUP Hooping

So I'm officially coining a term. "Barge Talk", n. Meaning: small kine sh*t talk. This term has originated in Waikiki, early 2012 when the large sand barge was anchored about a half mile off the beach. When you have personal or gossipy conversations during your surf sesh, it is mandatory to paddle out of ear range. To avoid information traveling via coconut wireless, it has become practice to paddle out to the offshore barge. Here it is in a sentence: " You heard she's dating a magician? Lets save that for barge talk."  So pardon me while I contact Urban Dictionary.

And I assume you are reading this on company time because I am writing it on company time you are such a great multi-tasker, so here are some much requested hula hooping/ water sport related videos.

World hoop day: THE SUP hooping video


The Group Dance

And this chick can probably bust chestnuts on her abdomen...


Aaaaaaaand a reminder that Da Hoop Hut is opening Friday 4/20! Pick up a hoop, one of my prints and of course some munchies at Leonard's! See ya at the barge!

Stencil Art!

So, I've recently gotten into stenciling with spray paint. Here are a couple of the designs I've made.

Hula hoop!

Ocean Love

So far I have them on patches and tank tops. I want to do them on blank trucker hats, but the island retailer of blanks has a dozen minimum order so we will see how it goes.

Meeting with Lacey!

A mellow sunset for paipo boarders at The Wall

So this afternoon I met with Lacey Coop of Revolve Hawaii and Da Hoop Hut! It's located on Kapahulu by South Shore Glass, and she's getting ready for the big opening on the 20th of this month. They will be servin' Maui coconuts and hand-made hoops among other things, so make sure to cruz by and treat yourself to something special! We are gonna get together for some hoop making, so I'll be posting soon about my group class times in Kapiolani Park including Kama'aina rates.

On another note, is everyone ready for some weekend swell?  - wait, I mean, I heard south shore is gonna be, uh... flat. Go north or something. I had my first major collision at Canoes this weekend, and as much as I love lifeguards, I feel bad about that guy's face (even though it wasn't my fault). Have a good weekend and remember to give the right-of -way!

Old News

You know you live on a small island in the pacific when a Tsunami safety guide comes in your Sunday paper. It's quite thorough with information about travel times, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center system, and evacuation zone puzzles. Remind me to ask the crew where our Ohana meeting place is.

                                                  Some Hawaiian wisdom on tsunamis.

 And of course, Evacuation Zone Superhero Turtle. When you hear the alarm, just ask yourself WWEZSTD? ( What would Evacuation Zone Superhero Turtle do?)

And of course, on a less disastrous note,  awhile back, my girl Nikki's custom board made it into the blog of designer/shaper Mitsu! She asked for the Warhol banana on the bottom of his Genki model, but don't be confused, it's a tribute to the Velvet Underground. If you read Japanese, the full blog entry is here. And for those who don't read Japanese, it's just a sweet photo. if you see the banana cruising south shore, make sure to say hi!

A Trip Down Memory Lane...

So with many hoopers, our early inspirations come from youtube. Today I figured I would post one of the early videos that inspired me to hoop. It's Christabel Zamor's performance on View From the Bay from 2007. It isn't particularly complex tricks that are amazing, but her energy and style. She radiates the love and passion and excitement that we all want in our lives, and it's obvious that hooping brings this to her. So here it is, and watch for the 5min mark. Happy Hooping!