A little soul searching

This week one of my best friends Michelle came down to San Diego to stay with me. We're both in the midst of big life changes right now so it felt good to connect. This morning it was a gorgeous day, but there was no surf. We decided to go to the Meditation Gardens at the Self Realization Fellowship in Encinitas. The land there is beautiful: lush green plants, ponds with koi fish the size of baby seals, and lots of shaded areas. I felt like I was in Hawaii. I've now decided that I'm going to go there every day I'm in need of inspiration. It's simply beautiful.

On Sunday I plan to join the "Walk to De'Feet ALS" in honor of Michelle's father, who passed away two years ago from ALS. When Michelle's fathe r passed away she started a 'Never Give Up' wristband campaign in his honor. To this date she has raised over $100,000 for the ALS foundation. Michelle took something terrible that happened to her, and made something good out of it. She is one of my heroes.

If you never Try, you'll never know...

***Note: I came across this blog and realized I wrote it one year ago today.Enjoy. -LT**

This morning I pulled up to the beach and looked at the waves. I was a bit disappointed at how small it was. I sat in my car for 20 minutes debating whether or not I wanted to mentally muster the strength to put on my damp wetsuit and paddle out. I asked the old longboarder dudes in the truck next to me if it’s worth paddling out and they look at me like I’m some kind of wimpy freak. “Of course it’s worth going out,” one of the guys says. “Everyday is worth paddling out.”

The wisdom of the old men stuck with me. I put on my wetsuit, met up with my friend, and jumped in the water. The waves were much better than they looked—fairly small but perfect shape that was great for practicing some moves on a longboard.

As snowboarders, we are faced with decisions like this all the time. Some days it might be snowing so hard you can’t even see your arms as you place them out in front of you. But you know what, that day might be the day you score the best snow you’ve ever felt under your feet. My point is this—if you’re debating whether or not something’s worth doing, just do it and see what happens. Better to regret something you did than something you didn’t do.

I like people who say yes. Be a yes person.

2006 Orange County, CA Race for the Cure

*Taken from http://www.syrentha.org/events/index.php

Members of Thrice and SSE joined 40,000 people in the Orange County Race for the Cure (OC RFTC) 5K co-ed walk on September 24th, 2006 at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, Ca. Now in their third year of participation, team "ThriSSE" brought more than 90 people together on a sunny Sunday morning, including members of Thrice, their friends, family, fans, and SSE supporters.

Due to a glitch with UPS, the signature Thrice and SSE team shirts were unable to be delivered in time for the event. Everyone involved pulled together quickly and each team member was given a plain black tee to wear for the walk. Team "ThriSSE" had no problem getting noticed as the only group rocking black filled the streets of Orange County with SSE banners and signs. Team members will later receive their shirts in the mail.

Once the sun went down, everyone reconvened at The District Lounge in Old Towne Orange. As a special thank you to the team, Ashua, The Cold War Kids, Chuck Ragan, and Dustin Kensrue played a passion filled, acoustic only set for their fans. Thank you to all who participated and volunteered to help, you are what make SSE fly.

-LT

Let there be Internet!

After four months of dealing with major problems with COX communications, we finally have internet at our house again. In addition to this personal blog, I am going to start another blog focused on ideas that were brought to my attention while reading an article in Business 2.0 magazine. Now that I have night times to blog, I plan to be posting every other day at the very least. Blogging is so hot right now...I'm all about it!

Holy iTunes 7.0

Apple does it again. I'm so impressed with this new interface, and I'm jumping in my chair thinking about the release of iTV. More on this subject to come.

Congratulations Lukas Rossi!

Congratulations to Lukas Rossi, the new lead singer for Supernova.

Reality TV has never been my cup of tea. This summer I got hooked on a show I never thought I'd ever be interested in: Rockstar Supernova. The show is like American Idol (another program I'm not even slightly fond of), but with rock music. Fourteen finalists were chosen to compete on the show where each week the contestant is given a cover song to perform with the house band. Let me tell you about the house band: simply amazing. These guys are the epitome of true musicians. Versatile, dynamic, and can play anything and everything under the sun. It's hard to mess up a song when you've got a strong foundation like that behind you.

There were a couple performers on the show who I enjoyed watching each week, but when it came down to who was best for the band, I knew all along it'd be Lukas. He was the only one on the show to change his songs up from week to week and show the band diversity in his performances. To top it off, he was willing to play without the house band making him sound amazing. None of the other rockers were really able to do that. If he didn't win, I believed it would compromise the entire show's integrity. Luckily, I didn't have to do that and I would have been really upset and pissed off.

While I'm not jumping on the Reality TV boat (it's a sinking ship in my mind), I think Rock Star is really great for rock music and music in general. Why? Most kids these days are completely sheltered from the wonders of classic rock and roll. Unless they are influenced by their parents, most teens are listening to crap like Fall Out Boy and Angels and Airwaves. There is a lot of great new music out, but throwing classic rock in the public's eye for a change is very healthy for the music industry. Plus Jason Newsted, Tommy Lee, and Gilby Clarke are all rock icons who have now been exposed to the younger generation. I still can't believe I had a crush on Jason Newsted when i was 14. Now he looks so bony and haggard to me. Eww.

Anyway, congrats to Lukas and I wish this band the best. I might even try to catch their performance in San Diego if I'm in town. If any other singer would have won, I would be staying as far away from that band as possible.

The Way of the Peaceful Warrior

I've been lucky in life. Whenever I feel I am in need of inspiration, I've been fortunate enough to find it. It could be through anything: a walk on the beach, a phone call with a good friend, sitting at a coffee shop observing others, paddling out on a surfboard, hiking in the mountains, or even reading a book.

Two years ago I found inspiration in a book by Dan Millman called The Way of the Peaceful Warrior. Recommended by my mom who devours books, I knew this had to be a good pick. I read this book at a time of uncertainty in my life and found a lot of answers by the time I turned the last page.

Last night I saw the movie adaptation of this book. I have to admit, I never thought this book would EVER be turned into a movie. However, seeing that it was playing at a small independent movie theater gave me higher hopes. I saw the movie and it was like reading the book all over again. I left the theater so inspired. My mind was clear from bullshit. I really think if people could apply the tactics of this book into their daily lives and learn to live in the moment like this book teaches, the world would be a better place.

"The past is history, the future's a mystery, and this moment is a 'gift.' That's why it's called the present."

Enough spiritual talk. Either go read this book, or have a beer in honor of LT. Either way you'll make me happy.

Half Marathon? Check.

Current mood: sore

Yesterday I completed my second half marathon. It's weird to think I've now been crazy enough on not one, but TWO separate occasions to go out and pay an organization to wake up at four o'clock in the morning to run 13.1 miles. What the hell is wrong with me?

I got to thinking about it and I realized it's not about the running-- it's about setting a goal for myself and then accomplishing it. My whole life I've always had a running list (no pun intended) of intentions in my mind I set out to do-- whether it was to get straight A's in school (yes I'm a big nerd), learn how to surf, or get a black belt in karate. I've always set the bar and made sure I finished whatever crazy mess I started.

I remember thinking my senior year of college how it would be cool to complete a half marathon. I started training, but not seriously. Getting to the gym two times a week was a big enough achievement at that time. When I signed up to train for USA Fit last summer, my main motivation was to lose weight. Staying home and not drinking every Friday night for 6 months was a pain in the ass and I hated it. Looking back now, it was all worth it. I admit I wasn't nearly as trained for this half as I was the last, but the discipline I learned in the running program last summer is what helped me get through yesterday. I even shaved off 10 minutes off my time. Not too shabby.

So what's next? Well, the half has been a big enough life check mark for now. I think I'll soak in that one for awhile, or at least until my ankles have recovered. I like telling stories, and when I'm old and gray sitting in my rocking chair, I want to have a ton of them to tell.

Now that I think about it, next on the list is learning how to Scuba Dive. I like fish.

First Blog

Hi. I'm new to this whole blogging interface deal. I have a blog on Myspace that I occasionally use, but I feel a bit overwhelmed typing my personal thoughts and leaving them accessible to my 361 friends. Yes I know them all in person and they wouldn't be my friend if I didn't think they were cool, but some stuff is just meant for that inner circle of friends. Hence this blog. I am really excited about posting pictures and learning how to use this blog as a cool way to convey my thoughts. Plus, it'll get me into good writing shape because we're in production right now and I'm taking on three feature stories for the next issue of Snowboard Trade News. I'm excited to take on this responsibility. Now it's time to get some frozen yogurt. More to come.