Reading is Cool.

Memoir // Eric

Memoir // Eric

Introduction Another snippet of a scene, in no particular order. I am excited to report some interest in the book itself, so it looks like this dream may, indeed, come true. Love to you all, Katrina.The way the light hits Eric's body makes me want to cry. His skin is...

Training in Brazil | March 2018

Training in Brazil | March 2018

The Copacabana sun smiles through the doors of Strauch Jiu-Jitsu as I reach the top of the stairs. Windows line the wall that faces the street, and from one story up the street below loses any sense of menace. All I feel is warmth and energy. Gis and belts sway...

Dear Diary: Six Weeks Out.

Dear Diary: Six Weeks Out.

Introduction I’m trapped here at home while I recover from shoulder surgery. Six weeks have passed and I am now allowed to type with two hands (small victories), so I am sharing some notes from my journal. I hope that when this is all over, and...

Memoir // Chapter 2

Memoir // Chapter 2

Introduction These chapters come in no particular order. I am writing down the memories as they come, and will organize them all when the whole thing is done. Love to you all, Katrina. he girls joke that you don’t audition at...

Memoir // Chapter 1

Memoir // Chapter 1

Introduction This is the first chapter in a memoir I've been writing about my time at St. John's College. For years, I've been 'trying not to write it,' but over the past year or so I have become what I would call physically unable to not write...

Training in Brazil

Training in Brazil

Rio is a city in black and white, hemmed in by mountains that loom down tall, narrow alleys. Copacabana bursts into technicolor as buildings give way to beach. The people move, like a parade, on a sidewalk parallel the shore, their conversations muted to me, save for...

People change, and so do blogs

People change, and so do blogs

I am mildly compelled to explain my long writing hiatus, but let’s just say: I’ve been busy and move on. This is where I’m at today: Something unexpected happened when I started publishing this blog; lots of people began to read it. And thanks to my well-spent...

Symbolism

Symbolism

I’m sitting, knees to chest, in the sand at Turtle Beach. Everything is monochrome. Sky, ocean, beach; muted. The ocean heaves in slow motion and I watch the guys catching waves, also in slow motion. I paddled out and felt weak. I felt watched. Like I didn’t belong....

No Pressure

No Pressure

I walk out on the pier. The sun cuts shadows into the cement in a way that seems to slow everything down. My eyes have to adjust to make out the guys in the water. It’s windy; I have to tie my hair back. There is a couple next to me. They’re young. The girl is holding...

Girl in Just a Shirt

Girl in Just a Shirt

A package arrived at my door in the normal way. I saw just the shadow of the mailman descending the driveway as I opened the door to retrieve it. I sat alone at the kitchen table in the afternoon sun to open the box. Inside were...

Debby Does Katrina

Debby Does Katrina

I meet Alexis in the Lido parking lot for the second day in a row. We drive. Tropical Storm Debby is churning up the ocean and pissing rain on everything. We get out to look at The Street and the ocean is a stranger, the seascape so heaving and unfamiliar I get a...

One of the Guys [Part 2]

One of the Guys [Part 2]

If you haven't read Part One... click here. 11am Tuesday. Me, Brad and John get out to take a break and decide to go have breakfast. I’m hungry as hell and dying for coffee. We eat omelettes and tease each other. We are in Bradenton, but it could be Nicaragua— I feel...

One of the Guys [Part 1]

One of the Guys [Part 1]

Monday 930pm text conversation: Brad: Surfing tomorrow. Maybe East Coast. Maybe here. Me: I'm in. Don't care where. Brad: I'll be at your house at 530am. Me: Ok. Tuesday 530am Due to a grave oversight on my part, there is no coffee. The early morning Florida gray...

The Sweet Spot

The Sweet Spot

The wind whips through my office window and I feel it in my chest, as if the sea and I are tethered by a cord that is tugged by the wind. I almost hear words on it, calling me to sea like the neighbor kids calling to me from below my bedroom window when I was little....

See You Tomorrow Night!

See You Tomorrow Night!

The Compound Presents 1ft @ 2s | Numero Dos Tomorrow night, Saturday, April 14th from 7-10pm, The Compound is hosting its second annual surf art exhibition to benefit Mission Mexico, a children's refuge in Southern Mexico. The event is free, but bring your wallet....

It’s Summer Again

It’s Summer Again

It's Summer here. Officially. My wetsuits, gloves and booties are all packed away (OK, they aren't packed away, they are on the bathroom floor where I pulled them out of my surf bag-- same difference). Last week brought a little swell. I ended up meeting Brad at Lido....

Surviving the Flat Spell

Surviving the Flat Spell

Flat spell. Such an apt name. As a surfer, a flat spell can cast a shadow over my life so dark that everything looks grey and dull. I just read an article in Surfer Magazine about how surfing affects serotonin levels. Surfers, apparently, are less depressed than...

You Keep Me Safe

You Keep Me Safe

This blog is like me. On the surface it is one thing. But if the light hits it right, you can see through to the scaffolding that holds it all up. The exterior is arbitrary. This blog is not about surfing, love, design or vanity or even inspiration. Its about writing....