04 Jul Cali Blog #2: Surfing, Dolphins, and Filming

5:00 AM rolled around and sure enough, my friend, Nicolas Putnam was already on his way to pick me up for surfing. Despite going to bed the previous night fairly late, I surprisingly found it not difficult to wake up. I am sure the “first time” surfing nerves helped. We went back to Nic’s house to collect the surfboards and wetsuits, make breakfast (bacon, fried rice… my own creation), and head to the beach.

Upon arrival, it shocked me to see the beach already filled with surfers. I had thought we were way too early, but in reality, we were not early at all. Some of these surfers had been there by 4 AM in the morning. Going to the beach around 6 AM, meant that temperatures were only around the 70s. After traveling from Austin, Texas where the temperatures rose past 100 degrees Fahrenheit, this definitely felt a bit chilly. Watching the roaring waves knock ripped surfers off of their boards, left and right, only further convinced me to stay behind and take photos and film, while Nic went into the water first.

I made sure to take several pictures of hot surfers for my roommate to admire.

I soon grew restless and Nic convinced me to try going into the water. The water was cold. In addition, I must confess that swimming is not my strongest suit…add on waves and being attached to the surfboard, and you end up with a scared sh*tless Christine.

When you are in the water, even the puny waves seem ginormous. Being 5’2 does not help either. I felt myself taking two steps and then being knocked back 5 steps. I swallowed probably a few gallons of salty, ocean water, and within 10 minutes, was exhausted. Ocean = 1 Christine = -5. I managed to get on the surfboard only 2 times (no standing, just flat on my stomach, so I don’t even think it counts) with Nic pushing me.

Nic stayed out in the ocean for a while because he made a new bromance friend. I stayed in the ocean and swam around trying to get myself to feel more comfortable in the water. I felt that part of my inability to surf was due to my fear of being in the ocean. After a few hours and taking Nic’s advice to go under the waves instead of over them, I started to feel more relaxed. Nature rewarded me by having two beautiful dolphins jump up from the waves into the air, just a few feet in front of me. Too bad I only had my mental camera to capture the moment. Nic mentioned to me that he felt particularly lucky that day because the dolphins actually touched him as he watched them swim underneath his surfboard.

After surfing, we grabbed some yummy Hawaiian food and came back to work. Such is the life of a filmmaker, we are always working, always making ends meet. We pretty much worked the rest of the day then finished the night off by writing a commercial spec at dinner. Now, I’m back at my friend’s place working some more. Tomorrow is 4th of July! I wonder what kind of havoc will be wrought.