For kate

OK, so...

It's pretty clear that I'm not writing much at the moment. Which is massive. For me.

Truth be told, I'm not doing much of anything at the moment, so please don't think that my lack of inspiration/motivation/productivity is limited to this modest little blog, because it's not - I'm generally useless in every aspect of my life right now! Sigh.

But I am trying. I really am. I am looking everywhere to bust myself out of this lethargy, but it was a particular little comment on my last post that really kicked me into gear to post something today.

So this post is for Kate - who always manages to encourage and inspire me! xx

*****

I have a lot of wax on my board. From the nose to the tail and out to the rails, I've pretty much got the whole thing covered!

It rises up from the deck in piles, like little drip-castles that you build on the beach, letting the wet sand run between your fingers to form unstable, piled-up stacks. Most surfs, I add to these wax castles by running the soft, white, scented cake across the surface adding to their height and instability.

The other day someone looked at my board and told me that's a good wax job you've done there! They were serious and were genuinely impressed! I found it a bit odd, but who am I to shun such a particular comment? I just said Oh? Thanks.

The wax in the centre of the board is grey from contact with my wetsuit - it's kind of gross. Even under the bumps - throughout that thin coating across the deck that you barely notice - the wax is grey and dark. In some places, the bumps have come off and the red glass burns through bright and smooth. I like watching where the bumps stay and where they wear away under my feet, under my chest, near the rails. I like that I know where I need to replace it more often and the spots that I can ignore. I like the way my hands stall and catch on the grippy stickiness as I run them across the board.

This morning in the water, I was lying flat on my stomach along the length of the board between sets, stretching my arms, hands and fingers towards the nose, seeing how far I could reach. As I lay there and looked at the nose, I found bits of grass, dirt and a small stone sealed in amongst the bumps where it was pushed when I lay the board down in the grass near my car the days before. Long strands of green and brown curling and sticking up through the wax. I used the time to pull them out and watch them variously float and sink into the water around me.

After my surf this morning, my friend and I went and had coffee and toast in town. We sat for ages chatting and pouring through magazines, looking and commenting at the images. My car was parked in dappled shade, minimising the heat and protecting my board inside. When I got into my car, my nose was filled with the vanilla scent of the wax which had warmed and softened.

It was lovely.

The bumps in the middle of the board

I got new swimmers and somehow they make surfing more fun.

(You can just see the frill that goes right across the front!)