Misusing eCards is back!

Ever since we somehow got hacked several months back, our Misusing eCards site has been down. Well, thank your lucky stars, because it's back: misusingecards.blogspot.com. Head on over to send inappropriate ecards to all of your favorite people for birthdays, anniversaries, an assortment of holidays, and coming very soon, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Surfing the Oregon Coast

The sun was shining, the sky clear, the waves beautiful and snow was visible on the mountain tops. Though I was skeptic at first, surfing in Oregon is such a beautiful experience.

I've surfed in Hawaii where the waves can sometimes "belong" to certain people and where learning to surf is something that is only truly tolerable by all if you are under the age of 16. Learning at 21 was not such a welcoming experience even for someone born and raised on Oahu. Dirty looks would always be directed towards me and crowded beaches made it an even more nerve racking experience as I dreaded running over, into, or worse yet, dropping in on some other experienced rider's wave. But the beautiful warm water and sunshine is something that I cannot help but miss when I head to the coast to attempt surfing in Oregon.

Cold water surfing is something that I have not experienced before. Making a day trip of surfing is another aspect somewhat foreign to me. The drive to the coast (as ye Oregonians like to call the beach) is about 2 hours from downtown Portland. You must bring with you: warm clothes for the hike (yes, hike) down to the coast, sneakers for the trail through the forest (yes, forest), wetsuit (I'll get into this later), change of clothes (preferably warmer clothes as the temperature will probably drop while your having fun in the "sun"), and of course, sausages.

The hike down and the bringing of food is something pretty familiar to me (although not really for surfing) but the donning of the wetsuit has been a learned and embracing experience. My first wetsuit experience was supernatural. Though putting on the skin-tight, almost unitardian garment posed much delicate difficulty, the end results were fabulous. I pranced around and struck many a pose, uber proud of myself for getting it on in one piece and feeling much like a superhero. But how can you not? Wearing a full length skin tight garment to act as a shield from the elements would make any who sport it feel extraordinary... almost invincible. No need to worry about losing your swimsuit top, or popping out from an embarrassing spill with a major wedgie, I've got my wetsuit.

Surprisingly, not only did my wetsuit look and feel amazing, it really made the frigid Oregon waters seem not so frigid. Yes, some water seeps in through the zipper and sometimes through the arm and leg holes when a wave hits, but it warms up pretty fast... and there's also the option to pee in it which supposedly warms things up a bit for you, but I wouldn't recommend it. I farted in mine once and getting rid of the gas bubble that accumulated in the buttocks area was quite uncomfortable... let's just say that the only real means of air escaping or coming in is through the neck hole. I can't imagine what happens to the pee after you've peed. Yuck.

Bonfires along the coast are legal in Oregon, making your surf experience just that much better. After a long day of driving, shimmying into a wetsuit, and surfing all day, what could be better than warming up next to a fire and roasting sausages to feed that huge appetite you've built up all day? I could probably think of something, but I can't say right now. All I know is how marvelous it is to share my waist-deep, whitewash riding experiences around a campfire with my friends before making the journey back home. To rad*.

So, if you're ever down for a new adventure, are near a body of water, and may not be in the most tropical of places, I would give surfing a try. Although it may be lacking the sunshine and the warm tropical waters, every new experience (though different and somewhat daunting at first) has its unique qualities that make it worthwhile and original. I don't really feel like I can really compare surfing in Hawaii to surfing in Oregon. They both encompass totally different adventures, each with its own distinct attributes.

*Back in the early '90s, East Coasters believed Californians used the term "to rad" to mean "totally radical". Although this is unknown for certain, it is used as an expression of elation here.

The Program

I have been released.

After nine months of fulfilling commitments and obeying orders, The Program (a.k.a. graduate school) has dismissed me. I have been waiting for this time to come, aching for my freedom, and now it has arrived. For one week, I have been able to wake up when I please, eat what I want, drink and sleep whenever and however I wish. But The Program still looms like a constipated storm cloud over my right shoulder. Not my left one because that's where my conscience resides.

I thought I would make good use of this free time by catching up with my bills, cleaning my apartment, exercising a little, and maybe even go surfing, but the truth is I do not know what to do with myself.

It's like I've escaped from prison. I find myself paranoid that around any corner lies an unfinished commitment or assignment with the potential to drag me back to the Basement of Neuberger Hall and condemn me to another sentence of grueling clinical work, unsatisfied clients, and 20-page papers (single-spaced).

Maybe if The Program and I had completely severed ties, I would feel more at ease with my spare time, but the truth is I have only been excused for a few weeks. To some, I am one of the lucky ones to have gotten part of my summer off and to slip away from its clutches, but in reality, I have traded two solid weeks of changing adult diapers to get on part-time status with The Program. It will not be satisfied without something in return. It owns and consumes me. Almost like a really, really, really, bad boyfriend.

So cautiously, I will celebrate my temporary release from school and pay my humble respects changing dirty diapers with a smile on my face and a giggle in my voice. After all, it's better than being locked in a basement.