one of the last bookstores is in ala moana shopping center. i went there to research things about surfing, business, and life. a great place to gather as much information as you desire.
bought the new Surfer’s Journal because there were 2 articles that caught my attention.
the first one was about my boy Mega! labeled the high priest of ululate because he was born into taking over the highest honor of the spiritual temple that sits on the top of Uluwatu. but before taking that ultimate task, Mega started surfing and is surfing on top of the world right now winning contest after contest. being labeled one of the best surfers to surf Uluwatu, Padang Padang, Bingin, and Dreamland. i’m pretty sure the spirits and gods are watching out for this boy surfing their sacred ocean.
in the article, Mega spoke about his first ever trip out of bali. it was to Hawaii when he was 14 years old. he stayed at my house on that trip. i remember going to pick him up from the airport but he didn’t come out for hours. then i get a call from a customs official “excuse me, do you know this kid named Mega Semadhi?” i said “yes, what happened?” the official said “we opened his suitcase and found 20 packs of chicken flavored instant noodles. you can’t bring chicken products into the united states.” i started laughing and said “this kid don’t have money so he brought his lunch with him. he’s so pure and innocent so please let him go.” five minutes later, Mega came out, got in my car, and i said “welcome to hawaii!” haha.
i’d go diving, bring home fish, and Mega would eat everything off the bone. he would even go outside and eat some of the leaves off trees. he was so pure and everything was new to him. gosh, i wish i had a video camera back then. anyway, i’m very proud of this kid. i still see him around and he always comes up and gives me a hug. someday, i’ll be going to the temple at Uluwatu and will be bowing to this boy that is on his way to being a god.
the next article that caught my eye was “Concrete Islands of the Salaryman.” right there, i knew it was about japan.
it started off “Ninety-nine percent of Japanese surfers never see perfect waves…” i think that is so true because Ninety-nine percent of Japanese surfers only surf close out beach breaks. little do most know, there are gems right around the corner.
gems like this that are now exposed, thanks to Surfer’s Journal. a lot of happy people, but i know a lot of locals that aren’t going to be too happy.
