An Early Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving came early!  I purchased a sweet potato yesterday and couldn't be happier.  This isn't just an ingredient for a yummy Thanksgiving side, it's a surfboard!  After a lot of back and forth and a few demo sessions with a similar board, I pulled the trigger on the shortest board I've ever ridden.

You'd be grinning ear to ear too after riding this thing (definitely not because of the Movember stache)

The board is 5'8" and made by Firewire.  I bought it from Aloha Surf just down the street.  Caz (yes the shop guy's name was "Caz", which I found awesome because it's "Zac" backwards) was able to give me some great advice and even let me take out a 5'4" in the same shape to see how I liked it.    After riding the demo board, I was sold on the shape/ride.  It feels like a magic carpet underneath your feet.  I also owe a few beers to Sarge for his board wisdom and fin advice throughout this process... I'll get you those in January when you visit.

Here are some more board pics.  If you're not into surfing, feel free to skip them to the even BIGGER news down below.

Quad Fin

Spud-like shape from the front

The double concave spine (more on that here)

The exact dimensions: 5'8"x 22 1/4"x 2 3/4"

I'm still getting used to the board's shape but have loved my time on it so far.  It's a fantastic board for the summer surf.  I'm sure I'll be surfing it like this soon :) 

Ok, so I am officially STOKED on this board, but I have some other news which I am just as happy about as well... I GOT A JOB!!! I was made an offer this morning (Thanksgiving here, if AUS celebrated the holiday) and it will become official next week!  Once all of the paperwork is signed and sorted, I'll share more details.  Let me just say this for now: while it's not in education, it is something that I have been passionate about for years.

Things are looking up!  Even though we don't have Thursday and Friday off, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving with an amazing group of friends this Sunday.  I'm brining a turkey, Anna's making some pies, and everyone will do their best to make it feel like we are all "home."  While we feel so fortunate to have such a wonderful group out here, we definitely will be missing all of our family and friends back home.  I hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving!  I know we have a lot to be thankful for out here and at home.

Go 49ers!