Surfin' round the world

It's been a while. I know you know that, because you've been telling me for weeks, months even. Who are you? You should know yourself. But just in case you are feeling a bit too singular to be singled out in a post by wee little me, yes, I am referring to the plural you, ustedes, not just the single you, you who is reading this right now (or perhaps due to the wonders of the world wide web, yous who are reading this right now), but to all of you (J, E, C, C, M, D, T, R, A, P, S, J, M, and all those other initials) who have asked me to get back at it, start posting again, and to keep it up a bit longer this time. So, here goes...

A year ago when I bought two surfboards, just after deciding to move to the desertlands of phoenix, people (maybe even you) asked why? Where was I going to surf in Arizona? Well, I answered then, I'll only be a six hour drive from the beaches of southern california. I won't have a job. I'll be able to go surfing whenever I want. So, six plus months after moving to said desert, have I been surfing yet? Yes, once, in san diego. But no, not on my board. It was a rental. So my board is sitting idly by in the house, yearning to be surfed upon, and my pool is sitting idly by in the backyard, yearning to make some waves, and combining the two seems like the perfect combination. I started by paddling around in circles (small, little circles). As my paddling form is still rather inefficient, I do get to paddle several times per hand in a forward direction before I need to throw on the hand brakes, turn, and head back the other way. As my efficiency improves, I expect I'll only get one or two paddles before I streak across the pool and outgrow the space. Then I start practicing my pop-ups, getting from prone to up-standing in one swift graceful motion. Finally, I graduate to advance maneuvers, such as the cut-back seen above. I'm ready to take on the real waves now. If only I could find an ocean...

In other news, I flew to La Serena yesterday, my old haunt, and I'm down here for most of May working for Gemini and doing a couple of observing runs. I'll do my best to get back into the frequent posting schedule I had when I lived here last.