State of the Blog Address

And now it's time...
for Eddie's mailbag:

"Wow, Eddie! How do you remember your sessions from nearly two weeks ago. You're like a surf Rain Man!  Please don't use my name if you use this comment." -Anonymous EddieSurfs.com fan

"Holy smokes dude, Vegas was SICK!  I still can't believe our wives bought the "business conference" line.  Hey, I got that stripper's info, she'll be in town next week.  I'll give you her number AFTER I'm done with her. Cool? Oh yeah, please omit any personally identifiable information in the off chance this leaves your inbox." -"Anonymous" EddieSurfs.com fan

"Hey stud! Good news, the HIV test came back negative, so be sure to come see me next time you're back in Vegas.  I'll probably need a new test by then, though. Hee hee! Oh hey, please don't reveal who this is.  I'd hate for your wife to find out about us.... MUAH! - Anonymous "Thunder from Down Under" Male Revue dancer who I swear I barely touched

Ok, so I haven't been able to surf because I've been busy with various endeavors.  I've been dreading posting because I was murky on the details after a few days.  Then a few days, turned into several, and here we are ten days later.

I fear I may be losing my mojo for writing up every single session as it can take a half-hour per session if you include video editing.  I'm flirting with doing a short paragraph for forgettable sessions and then really laying into the narrative on the special sessions or when I travel for surf.

I started this blog as a way of remembering my sessions.  The idea came to me when I was paddling out in Oceanside in July 2011.  I was thinking back to all of the sessions I've had over the years and how I wish I could remember them more clearly.  Another reason I went ahead with the blog was I thought it would be a good writing exercise.  I like to think I'm funny and a good writer.  As my biggest fan, I clamored for more, more regular content.

As a minor possible offshoot, I thought I could make some side money if it got big.  I knew it would never be enough money to live on.  First off, the surfing audience is TINY compared to say, celebrity gossip, fashion, or beer/booze blogs.  Also, the surf industry is in a tailspin, most recently evidenced by one of the biggest corporate benefactors, Nike, withdrawing financial support from surfing.

I'm also held back by my non-ripper status.  Surfers like to see two things when they look at surf media: Guys ripping and good waves.  I give them, usually, a guy on waves.

After more than fifteen months of not missing a single session, I've spent $21 on this blog, all on the domain name.  Thanks to my main man Missed-It-Mike, who bought a $700 dishwasher, I got $28 in Amazon money because he clicked through the link towards the top right corner of the blog.  This means I have made $7 after spending what I imagine to be one hundred hours on the blog.

Ok, so my hourly rate would make sweatshop laborers and convicts snicker derisively, but I can still claim "Professional Writer" on my business card, curriculum vitae, and go on speaking tours, right?