good morning. i surfed 3.5 hours today and it was freezing! i got home and had to take a hot bath because my hands and feet were frozen. winter is here and for us living in hawaii, it’s pretty dam cold. i hope tomorrow is sunny because i’m surfing all day long. good night and hope you have a warm night…
last night i went down to ala moana shopping center to watch my good friend russ trinidad play in his band called “Ocean’s Fire.” there is a rumble of the bands contest happening every week now so 2 bands go and play and only one comes out on top. i think the semi-finals are next week? anyway, i had a blast down there with my high school classmates. good music, good vibe, and good times….

this is “Ocean’s Fire.” i’m super proud to see my friend perform in front of hundreds of people. that’s his dream and i’m always there to support it!!!

there were so many people there. at $9/pitcher of heineken and free live music, why not…

i could tell russ was pretty nervous. the video camera on him, hundreds of drunk people cheering, and his lifetime friends in the front row watching his every move. i think it was the first time he performed in front of that many people. that had to be a huge confidence booster for him. he did great and we’re all proud of him….

how do you win? 3 judges were there along with the screaming fans. i watched the 2 bands but had to leave before the results. i’m 100% sure that “Ocean’s Fire” won last night. hey russ, congratulations and let me know when you guys play in the next round! i’ll be there!!!

Yesterday I surfed 7.5 hours!
Today surf all day again!!!

good morning. check out the latest photos coming in from the mentawai’s… this is just the tsunami damage, and just imagine what the huge volcano eruption is doing to that country too?

this was once a village. now, there’s nothing…

this is the macaroni’s luxury camp. or should i say, this was the macaroni’s luxury camp. when i went there, it was so beautiful. there were nice bungalow’s lined up along the river and all that’s left is the restaurant. so looking at this photo makes me sad..

this is also pretty sad to look at. the people of indonesia are some of the most kind people in the world. all they have left is what’s in their hands…

this is even sadder. these people hardly had anything to begin with. now? nothing…. and to make things worst, i heard there are still dead bodies on the beach waiting for burial. over 430 people died and a lot still missing. kids too…
**i was just about to write a check for a donation, then i got an email from eri-chan at honey girl. she told me that she wants to donate something too and said that there are probably more japanese who wants to donate to the mentawai tsunami relief fund. the problem? japan doesn’t have checks so eri-chan had a good idea. send donations by wire transfer, convenience transfer, or postal money to our go-naminori account. then we will collect it and write one check which will be sent with all the names of the donators.
i personally feel that i owe the people of the mentawai’s a lot. i’ve been there many of times and have the ultimate experiences. the lifestyle, the people, the waves, and the smiles. i just can’t forget it and i feel like it’s my time to give something back to the people. i’m donating something and if you want to, let’s do it. there’s no water, no food, and no electricity now. the people there are digging up roots from the ground and eating it because relief isn’t there yet. even a $10 or 1000 yen donation will be much appreciated by the people of the mentawai’s….
if you have further questions on how you can help, please email me: Kirby@go-naminori.com