looks like somebody's got a case of the mondays...

most of you probably know that scene from "Office Space" where everybody keeps saying, "looks like somebody's got a case of the Mondays!" and it's really annoying and depressing? i can't say that i had a "case of the Monday's" today but it was definitely one of the worst days of the trip so far.

i got up early to drive to Gisborne, a renown surf spot on the east coast of NZ. a huge storm system has covered most of NZ and this place is just about the only spot not getting dumped on. but when i rolled in, most of the surf spots were all blown out with 20+mph winds. i found one spot though and hopped in. it looked like a nice, sandy beach, kids out in the water and everything but on my way out i kicked two rocks boulders really hard with my left foot. i kept trucking though and after i got out past the break, checked out my foot. for the 1/2 second i could see everything, it looked okay but felt a little funny. after i got back on the beach i noticed it was bleeding. not bad and it isn't the first time i've kicked a rock bled a little out there. as my foot started to thaw from the cold water though it really started to hurt. i broke a toe once when i was a kid playing tag in my grandma's house. i think i just broke another. it's not that bad though. it's just a toe.

add to that though, i was putting away my gear and noticed one of the fins on my board was wobbly for some reason. looking at it more closely i realized the finbox is ripping out of the board. that's bad. that's really really bad. i've heard of it happening before but never personally had to deal with it. i don't know what it'll cost but it has to be fixed because the board will get water-logged if it isn't and that pretty much ruins a board. this is going to kill the resale value of that board. i'm not as okay with this as i am about the toe. we'll see what a repair shop has to say about it tomorrow.

other than that, here are some pictures from the last couple days. i crossed into wellington. stayed for a day, left when it was pouring (and the city is now flooded) and drove up the east coast. stayed in Napier one night and tonight i'm in Gisborne.

Wellington from Mt. Victoria

Napier sunrise

blown out surf in Gisborne

NZ complaint: this is probably the best year of NBA basketball in the last 15+. for much of my memory of the league, it's been like watching selfish pick-up games at the local gym but with very gifted athletes and much less heart. at least the pick-up games are filled with guys reliving their hay-days but 10lbs heavier and with no touch and more intensity than ever before. but now that's all changing a bit, especially in the playoffs where guys seem to actually care. anyway, i really wanted to watch the first game of the Bulls vs. Heat today. NZ has four sports channels, Sky 1, Sky 2, Sky 3 and ESPN. it's rare for a household to have these channels but there's usually at least one sports bar in town with them. i walked in and asked, we flipped through the channels and were rewarded with rugby, cricket, talking heads and a MLB day-game. really NZ? no love for NBA playoffs? there is a pro league in NZ for basketball but not for baseball. nobody in NZ plays baseball, they play crickett or tennis if they're good at hitting stuff. how does this happen? it was monday at 3 in the afternoon! i bet there are many countries far less technologically advanced than NZ that had that game on. maybe this is more of an issue with the NBA than NZ. maybe NZ is just waiting for the NBA to prove itself again before they start showing the most physically gifted athletes in the world loafing around half-heartedly playing a game for millions more than they need and millions of people loving them for it.

Go Thunder Sonics!