big airs, big crashes

Oct 18th was windy
Originally uploaded by Andy Kleitsch.

45 minutes of crazy over-powered 4.7, sprinkled with oh-my-god-i'm-going-to-crash airs and yup, i crashed, many times... two big pain pills for the encore. ouch. I took this photo just before hitting the water.

the new bus stop

the new bus stop
Originally uploaded by Andy Kleitsch.

A few weeks ago i called the school district to request a school bus stop change... You see, Karsten is always the last kid on the bus - he's the only kid that rides all the way to the end of the line. And every day the school bus drives right past our house and drops off Karsten 20 doors down the street. All the neighbors say "i can't believe the bus won't stop in front of your house!" It didn't really bother me, but it was kind of silly. So, I called the school district a few weeks ago to ask about moving a school bus stop - they said they'd look into it... i wasn't holding my breath. But guess what? They changed the stop! unbelievable. i'm really shocked. So, i had to take a photo... this is Karsten's first drop-off in front of our house. :-) Thanks school district!

what the hail?!

hail on the deck
Originally uploaded by Andy Kleitsch.

The front of my house is half-way painted... all i need is a few more nice days to finish-up painting before winter kicks in... uhh... hail?! Are you serious?! Well, I could always finish painting next spring. :-) This is a photo of our deck, thick in hail.

a lust for adventure

Am i addicted to risk-taking-activities?

...i fabricated 'an urgent sea rescue' last night just so i could get my adrenaline / dopamine / rush... is there anything wrong with that?

Why are some people compelled to take chances, while others are perfectly content to play it safe? Or, to phrase it differently - why am i a total nut-risk-taker, while others prefer to sip tea? Is there something WRONG with me? Jana must have pondered this question (many times I'm sure !) - cause she casually handed me a book that discusses this very topic... The Science of Happiness.

So, is there something wrong with me? Well... this book claims there may be a common trait among all risk-takers... we do not absorb dopamine (and other feel-good drugs the body naturally produces) as well as other 'normal' people. So, if you're a happy-go-lucky-corp-america-is-just-fine-with-me-kinda-guy then your brain must be sucking down the dopamine and your essentially stoned all the time. lucky you.

Others of us. not so lucky. we must produce TONS of dopamine to achieve the same result. That means we must take more risks. And when we run out of risks - or when life just isn't risky enough - we simply double down. chase it with a fireball. supersize it. go all in. or run from the cops.

... back to last night. it was raining. windy. fairly large whitecaps. high tide. cold. dark. just plain ugly. Yes, this was a perfect night to sit inside and drink tea... for normal people. Instead, i was pondering our rowboat - tied up to the buoy, getting pounded by waves, full of water - and what about the rope? It must be strained by the extra weight and ready to break any minute... "i've got to save the boat!"

A half hour later I was launching my kayak into the dark surf with my wetsuit, lifejacket, safety strobe, bail bucket and extra rope. Imagine a navy seal on a special night ops mission... ok, it was nothing like that. Now, imagine a middle-aged bald guy in complete darkness getting pounded by the waves struggling to keep right side up. Ahhhh the dopamine.... sooooo gooood....

wind for lunch!

Yes, winter is back baby! Southerly winds. logs in the water. migrating birds. and a little lunch-time-windsurfing-session. 7.3 for an hour. :-)

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Wake'n with the dads

Second jump
Originally uploaded by Andy Kleitsch.

Sure, we invited a bunch of single guys to join us... but they thought we were crazy! "who gets up at 7am on a Saturday to go wake boarding?!" Definitely not my single friends. Only a group of die-hard-dads... I had a great time, and caught my first air!