Friday, 11 May 2012

Surfing and the gainfully employed...


To me there is nothing worse than being at work and I know the surf is firing.

Like today, motoring out the driveway on my way to work I quickly glance at the surf. It’s glassy, no wind and in the 3–4 ft range, absolutely perfect conditions for the lagoon mouth.  My first re-action is to ponder the idea of phoning in sick, what excuse can I give???  But then I remember it's Friday, there are deadlines and other gremlins that need attention at work. So not turning up for work is out of the question. 

So of course, the whole time while I’m driving into work I’m thinking about the surf and that got me onto the relationship between working and surfing. As a surfer we all want to get into the water on a day like today. Regardless of your level of surfing - whether you are a Kelly Slater, an underground charger or just a weekend warrior like me, all you want to do is get your board and get out there. 

But for many of us working is the only (legal) way to get the money needed to fund our surfing lifestyle. Not that surfing as a lifestyle is expensive; it’s all the other things in our modern society that go with living that is draining our precious funds on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. I don’t want to go into all the various things like food, housing, clothing, petrol etc.  That all adds up - but the fact of the matter is we need these things to live / function / survive and without it we won’t be able to surf.  Not in the long term anyway.

The equation for me is simply no work = no surfing 

So, working is the only way to buy new boards, wetsuits or even just a bar of wax. Then the next thought though my salt ridden brain is simply “What if I can get a job in the surf industry?” Will that be a win win situation for me??       

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