It's Amazing What The Human Body Can Do

The day before Thanksgiving an old friend from high school and I decided to wax up the boards one more time before the frigid waters of New Hampshire prohibit even the thickest wetsuit into the water. It was a rather warm day around fifty degrees with rain and howling winds coming from the west. If you're a surfer you know high winds from with west and heavy rains make for massive waves. I'm your average surfer, capable of shredding hard on five foot waves, but waves the size of houses? Not for me.

Its hard to set the scene, but we all have been playing in the waves at the beach as a kid and no matter how big that wave is, it has the ability to knock us head over heals tumbling back down towards the shore. It's amazing how powerful mother nature is, but it's more amazing what our body can do. Paddling out there I start to get the sense from the cold brown water coming over my thick wet suit, that today will be the most scariest day of surfing ever.

It's so foggy that I can't yet see the waves, but I can certainly hear them. It seems like hours before I finally get past the breaking sets coming in. Looking around I can only make out a few other die hard surfers through the rain and the choppy surf. And then it hits me. I don't belong out here. This isn't fun. This is down right scary.

My body goes into survival mode. I don't know what triggers survival mode, maybe the shortness of my breath or the dryness of my mouth but my body is trying to tell me to get the hell out of the water. I look for the next wave, coming in like a steamroller I start paddling in the catch it. This is tricky because surfers have to turn once they catch the wave to avoid getting slammed to the ocean floor by the crest of the wave. But doing this you're never going to get in unless you try to out run it and ride it straight towards shore. As I look behind me the wave starts to build even more, casting a shadow over my whole body.  Gritting my teeth I hold on to my board and go for the scariest ride of my life.

I dont recall much of what happened next, because I hit my nose so hard against my board or knee that I don't remember much of being under water. I rise to the surface, gasping for breath and looking for my board, the only thing that can save my life right now. I see another huge set coming in and half consciously grabbed my board and finally got the the rocks.

You don't appreciate land as much as I do. Reflecting on that day, I could have died. In the cold ocean, by myself with no final words. I just have to thank my body for going into survival mode and getting me home for thanksgiving dinner. From one surfer to you, don't underestimate the power of mother nature.

Justin Clutter

Birthday weekend from Hell

Yes, Christopher Columbus and I do share a wonderful holiday together. For a while I thought people took off from work just to celebrate my birthday and not Columbus's lame day. I had some high hopes for this weekend for a very long time since my birthday was on a saturday and I actually had some friends this year. Well... I was completely wrong.

In my mind I thought there would have been a parade, floats, and an elephant circus. But instead I got a bunch of nothing. Listen reader, I don't want to sound like a brat or a complainer, but being the least favorite of the family sucks when its time to "celebrate" your eighteen years of existence. I thought eighteen was a big birthday? Worthy enough for maybe something a little more than a Merrimack College mug and a visa gift card enough to buy a pack of skittles. I ended up buying myself a sweater from Marshalls for a good amount of money. MY OWN MONEY. But hey, that wasn't the worst part of my four day weekend.

Surprise! I hate surprise parties. Nothing says happy birthday than a bunch of wild hooligans screaming in your face. The party was sharked themed, so I can basically stop there and you can tell that that party was not planned by my girlfriend but from Satan. Okay, maybe that was mean, she put in a lot of effort and spent a ton of money on decorations, a pinata, and food. I'm the type of guy who is totally fine with a dinner at home and maybe a movie. You can say that i'm socially awkward, but surprise parties aren't my jam.

To top everything off on the carrot cake that I got from Fredrick's pastries that was so stupidly sweet that it could drive a bunch of dentists running for the hills, my mom didn't make my birthday dinner. ALL I WANTED WAS CHILI! Nope got leftover lasagna, salad, and bread. Chili would have made my weekend, but no it was lasagna. Don't get me wrong I like lasagna but chili was just a simple suggestion.
And yeah... that was my wonderful weekend! :) How was yours?

Saturday Surfing Trip

There's only one place on Earth, that I feel connected with mother nature; the ocean. The whole week I'm connected with social media, friends, and homework, and there's little time to take a break from the daily grind and go surfing. I promise you the forty-five minute drive out to North Hampton feels like decades, each road sign slowly passing me by as I go 80 MPH on the highway. I've had this gift ever since I was just a boy, that once I get a few miles from the ocean I can start to smell it. The aroma of the salty air fills my lungs and sets me free from all the drama that occurs in my life. Once I park my car I can start to hear the massive waves crashing on the rocks the knot in my stomach starts to form. The joy is equivalent to a child on christmas, quickly hopping around on one leg trying to put on my tight wet suit. As I start to paddle out to the waves I quickly forget about everything in my life, the best pain one could ever feel is the freezing water constantly splashing over their body. I'm such a different person from when I'm on the beach to when I'm out on the water. I become happy and cheerful to finally see the best waves of the year, I yell out like some kind of surf ninja man urging on the massive sets of waves to roll in. A failed test, a death in the family, drama with the girlfriend all wash away with the tide of the ocean. The long rides that are soon to come are memories that with me for my entire life. Once I'm on the wave a extraordinary kind of numbness takes over my body and the only thing that is going through my mind is "OMG THIS IS SO AWESOME". Once the wave begins to fade away it feels like a sad farewell with a close friend, but like in life there will always be better ones out there.  After about 5 hours of sweet shredding my body can't take anymore, my muscles feel like cooked pasta and it's time to head back into reality. As I leave the ocean the only things that are left on my is sand, wet hair, and memories that will last a life time.

 Me Shredding

A Day That Will Forever Live In Infamy

Sometime in the future like Pearl Harbor day, September 11th will only be a day on the calendar. Many kids my age don't feel the same way I feel about the horrific actions that occurred that day. Maybe it's a maturity issue kids my age have or maybe its because everyday as a kid I would wake up and see the twin towers out my window. Only being a kid, I didn't know much about what the Trade Towers, but I felt like they were my home. They were part of my family growing up, my dad made a living around the trade centers, and my mom would over spend the money my dad made in the shopping center below the 110 floors that came crashing down September 11th. Every year about a week before September 11th, National Geographic would have documentaries on what happened that day. I've seen every single one multiple times, and every time I feel an overwhelming emotion that I can't describe. My parents won't watch it with me because my mom starts crying and my dad usually starts swearing at the television. 9/11 has affected my family to a point that one would think we had love ones in those towers. Sure my dad had friends working in those towers, but no family members were lost. But for me, only being 17 years old, I feel like I've lost my two best friends. Having something greet me every morning, and have it suddenly be gone is a terrible lost that i will never get over. September 11th will always be a tough day for my family, and i promise no matter how many years, decades, and millenniums past I will always remember September 11th as a day that I lost two close friends.
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Luke Bryan-Crash My Party

 Luke Bryan's "Crash My Party" is a far cry from his insanely popular "tailgates and tan lines" released last year. Don't get me wrong, songs like "Beer in the Headlights", " I See You", "Play it Again, and "Dirt Road Diary" are fantastic and lyrical but, "Goodbye Girl" and "Shut it down" are a little too slow for the rest of the album. This isn’t bad news, necessarily. ‘That’s My Kind of Night’ kicks off the album, setting a tempo that the remaining 12 songs can’t keep up with. Mid-tempo tracks about love and loyalty make up the bulk of ‘Crash My Party.’ What happened to the upbeat, Bachelor-like, Luke Bryan? Sure his lyrics are heart wrenching, but what Luke Bryan needs is more concert songs. He's not going to preform all these slow songs, his audience wants new upbeat country songs to dance inappropriate to. "I can't go anywhere, I can't do anything
No, I can't close my eyes without you in my dreams
You won't leave me alone, even though I know you're gone I look around for someone new, but I see you
." We get it Luke Bryan, you're having girl problems, your fans aren't going to spend an insane amount of money to see you in concert if you're crying on stage about your girlfriend breaking up with you. We need more songs like "Country Girl" or "Thats my kind of night."