Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

That Ocean is One Fickle Bitch

Not to sound too OB... but the ocean really is a perfect balance of karmic energy. Wait, wait... let me explain. The ying and yang... no, no. The universal balance... um, what I mean is... the ocean has a way of giving you heaven and hell all swirled into one. And you can usually expect to get one delivered swiftly after the other.

The ocean and I often have a love hate relationship, like an old frenemy that I can't seem to break up with. And it seems I'm not the only wahine caught in this middle school game of give and take.

The perfect day of surfing this weekend came with some dues that had to be paid. Ten of us spent the day playing in clear, turquoise water rolling with gentle knee-high peelers. We'd venture out only to take a nap under a tree or scarf down a fresh halibut or steak taco. The sun was shining, the waves were easy, and the silliness abounded.

But the ocean doesn't just give summer bliss unendingly. My roommate paid hers first, getting stung by a stingray five minutes into our first surfing session. We weren't even waist deep when she felt that unmistakable pinch in her foot, then the throbbing tingle of poison swirling up her veins. She spent the next hour and a half soaking in a bucket of hot water waiting for the pain to wear off so we could all venture back out into the sun.

Coincidence, you may be saying. Everyone eventually gets stung by some sort of ocean creature if you spend enough time flailing around in their territory. But I couldn't help but consider the noteworthy day of good rides my roomie had just enjoyed a few weeks ago, in which she boldly paddled for waves I was too scared to attempt and was rewarded with speedy rides down their curling faces. "Her time had come, hadn't it ocean?" I couldn't resist thinking. (Poor girl must have really had a good surf session that day, because the ocean also paid her back with a bout of nausea and a little fish-calling on shore.)

Slowly, as the misfortunes piled up, I began to panic. Earlier this week, I had been swimming in the euphoria of back-to-back surf days where I felt unstoppable. The waves were peeling just the way I liked, their gentle crumbly peaks were easy to paddle into on my longboard, and each day I had practically floated back to shore elated at catching so many waves that I couldn't keep count. Clearly, my time is due.

I have mild anxiety and deep water happens to be an old childhood fear of mine that I aggressively battle to suppress. What was I thinking?! Having so much fun! I have obviously lined myself up for a karmic bitch slap and the ocean is a fickle mistress with a short temper.

Now here I am, trapped in ocean purgatory. Not wanting to go back to my big blue frenemy for fear of what's waiting, but unable to stay away, lured by memories of all our good times together. This weekend was pure delight, but my luck has probably run out. I'm panicking about our next surf day and the foamy punch in the face that's obviously waiting for me, like so many times before. Still, I'm already making plans to surf on Friday. I suppose frenemies are like that.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches

Not to sound too OB... but the ocean really is a perfect balance of karmic energy. Wait, wait... let me explain. The ying and yang... no, no. The universal balance... um, what I mean is... the ocean has a way of giving you heaven and hell all swirled into one. And you can usually expect to get one delivered swiftly after the other.

The ocean and I often have a love hate relationship, like an old frenemy that I can't seem to break up with. And it seems I'm not the only wahine caught in this middle school game of give and take.

The perfect day of surfing this weekend came with some dues that had to be paid. Ten of us spent the day playing in clear, turquoise water rolling with gentle knee-high peelers. We'd venture out only to take a nap under a tree or scarf down a fresh halibut or steak taco. The sun was shining, the waves were easy, and the silliness abounded.

But the ocean doesn't just give summer bliss unendingly. My roommate paid hers first, getting stung by a stingray five minutes into our first surfing session. We weren't even waist deep when she felt that unmistakable pinch in her foot, then the throbbing tingle of poison swirling up her veins. She spent the next hour and a half soaking in a bucket of hot water waiting for the pain to wear off so we could all venture back out into the sun.

Coincidence, you may be saying. Everyone eventually gets stung by some sort of ocean creature if you spend enough time flailing around in their territory. But I couldn't help but consider the noteworthy day of good rides my roomie had just enjoyed a few weeks ago, in which she boldly paddled for waves I was too scared to attempt and was rewarded with speedy rides down their curling faces. "Her time had come, hadn't it ocean?" I couldn't resist thinking. (Poor girl must have really had a good surf session that day, because the ocean also paid her back with a bout of nausea and a little fish-calling on shore.)

Slowly, as the misfortunes piled up, I began to panic. Earlier this week, I had been swimming in the euphoria of back-to-back surf days where I felt unstoppable. The waves were peeling just the way I liked, their gentle crumbly peaks were easy to paddle into on my longboard, and each day I had practically floated back to shore elated at catching so many waves that I couldn't keep count. Clearly, my time is due.

I have mild anxiety and deep water happens to be an old childhood fear of mine that I aggressively battle to suppress. What was I thinking?! Having so much fun! I have obviously lined myself up for a karmic bitch slap and the ocean is a fickle mistress with a short temper.

Now here I am, trapped in ocean purgatory. Not wanting to go back to my big blue frenemy for fear of what's waiting, but unable to stay away, lured by memories of all our good times together. This weekend was pure delight, but my luck has probably run out. I'm panicking about our next surf day and the foamy punch in the face that's obviously waiting for me, like so many times before. Still, I'm already making plans to surf on Friday. I suppose frenemies are like that.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.