Tigger is getting Older…

All my life I have loved the Winnie the Pooh stories, and have taken so many fundamental lessons from them on how to live and be a better person (as well as plenty of tears for the more epiphanous parallels some have offered). The whole gang has played a role, not just in my development […]

Arugam Bay: Pets, Surf, And Self-Drive Safaris. Part Three: Self-Drive Safaris.

We can only surf so much in one day, then we need to eat and go find some adventuring to do. There are safaris all over around Arugam Bay, both into Kumana National Park and Yala National Park, but both can run around one hundred and fifty to three hundred dollars (for two of us) […]

She’s a Beauty…

I have no idea how I deserve to be with someone like this. She agreed to marry me twenty-two years ago tomorrow (she must be a bit touched in the head to agree to that). We met twenty-five adventure-filled, sometimes chaotic, sometimes painful, always entertaining, and beautiful years ago. She has been the other part […]

Step Away From The Machine, Man…

I just came in from a surf session. It was one of those rare, great sessions when you find clean takeoffs on tricky waves, you read the waves properly, make all your cutbacks, and ride clean lines for long, smooth rides. Today, the waves were sporadic, with a lot of time between good sets, so […]

Sunday Afternoon in Okanda, Part Two: The temples.

Part two of our lazy Okanda adventure day finds us visiting a couple of very old temples (yes, more temples), situated on big granite domes in the middle of lagoons, forest, and the savanna country bordering the Kumana National Park. The first was a hindu temple, as mentioned in part one, called Ukanthamalai Murugan Kovil. […]

Relaxing into Sri Lanka

I woke up this morning feeling rested. Relaxed. Generally, I do not sleep well for the first few nights in a new place, and this house was no exception, but it took a little longer for me to settle in here. Tam and I have, more often than not, been finding places with air conditioning […]

Sad To Go, Ready To Go.

Tam and I have been in Kudawa, near the town of Kalpitiya, in the Northwest Province of Sri Lanka for two and a half months. We came here to kiteboard and to take my IKO instructor certification course. We have done all that, and now it comes time to leave this little place and start […]

The Hard Part Is…

I am aware that there is suffering in this world. In fact, the four noble truths of the teachings of Buddha are (in my simple-minded explanation): 1.) There is suffering. It’s all suffering. The totality of life is suffering. Being born, living, wanting, craving, and dying are all suffering. 2.) The origin of suffering is […]

One Year, Not A Nurse.

Tam reminded me the other day (June 12th) that it was my one year anniversary of leaving St. Charles. I have a lot of mixed feelings about this, but mostly relief. I do miss nursing work, it’s just the job I can’t stomach anymore. Metrics, unnecessary screenings, monitoring wait times, poor policy for managing dangerous […]

Those Smiles, Though…

There are many reasons we decided to stay where we are, at Surfpoint Sri Lanka, in spite of the fact that it is a tiny bit more expensive than other places. It is right on the ocean (which here is one of the only places: the rest are on lagoons), close to kiting, the food […]