good morning. 6:30 am on this beautiful thursday morning. WOW!! the waves in town are looking pretty good. head high at bowls. a little windy but it’s looking fun. 18 guys already out and expect more later. i paddled out yesterday afternoon and surfed with 30 people. i heard it’s going to get really windy later today so get it early. see you in the water…

i took naoka down to the car auction yesterday morning. normal japanese can’t see things like this. i’m pretty sure he wanted to buy a lot of cars too. haha..

we had a surf school in april right before the TSSC contest. i was really happy on the turnout. every year it keeps on growing and growing. just to see all the kids and all the happy faces is worth every minute. next year, we’re going bigger!!! come on down!!!

the girl on the bottom row far left is Kaori Mayaguchi. kaori-chan is 2x grand champion in japan. she took surfing and style to the next level when she entered the JPSA and after winning 2 titles, retired at a young age. now, she runs a very successful surf shop in shikoku. there are so many cute kids that she’s training and schooling. it’s good to see her give back to the next generation…
Dear Kaori-chan,
first, the first time i met you was when you were like 15 or so? i seen your surfing grow and grow by every year. this past trip was a treat for me. i was really inspired in your surfing. you charged with the boys and pulled into some crazy big thick HT barrels. most surfers would go straight and play it safe but you set your rail, pulled in, and i took some nice photos of you looking very confident in the barrel. we were all screaming on the boat and i respect you much more after seeing that. and going free diving with you was fun too. you did a great job and i’m sure that if you were stranded on an island, you would be eating pretty dam good. we all had a great time, can’t wait to do it all over again. see you in shikoku!!! next time, i’m going to beat you in pool so you better practice. haha..
take care and keep on surfing!!
kirby
**CLICK HERE FOR KAORI MAYAGUCHI’S BLOG….

we went to check out kewalo’s this afternoon.
shoulder high sets and straight off shore winds!!
good wave desu!!

ever been to kuala lumpur, malaysia? ever seen the pertonas twin towers? the twin stand 452 meters tall and when you stand under it, you feel like an ant. i was so big that i had to go near to investigate…

i was amazed on how they built this monster high rise. this was once the tallest building in the world. well, it’s still the tallest twin towers in the world. standing under it takes your breath away…

when i walked in, i didn’t know what to expect. there was a huge 6 story shopping mall the size of 4 ala moana shopping centers. it’s got to be the biggest shopping center in the world. every store you can think of is in there. and the shoppers? oh my gosh! just let me say this, the economy in malaysia is booming!! it’s growing and people are spending money. like i said before, “watch out for the chinese.”

i was fooling around at night trying to get a good photo of the towers. i suck at taking night photos so it came out junky. i borrowed this one off the internet. i had a view of this out of my hotel window and i just couldn’t take my eyes off it…
if you ever go to malaysia, check out the twin towers. then get on a bus and head out of kuala lumpur to explore. the people are nice, the food is great, and it’s pretty dam cheap…. enjoy malaysia!!