Donald Takayama Erik Sommer Model (The Scorpion)

When I first picked up my brand new never waxed Donald Takayama Erik Sommer model (The Scorpion), I didn't know what to expect. I have been riding longboards, more on the HP side, and the Scorpion is a high performance model. I was looking to get a Model T or a Double Ender to round out my quiver of various 9ft plus longboards, because I don't have a log in the traditional sense. The Scorpion sat on Craigslist for $775 for the better part of two months, and I wondered why. It is 9'0" X 22.5" X 3" has glass on sidebites and an 8 inch center fin. I paid $725 for it, but then sold the board bag it came with to some guy for $45, so the total price was $685 (keep in mind this board was brand new never waxed) I've had it for more than a month, and have surfed it at Doheny, Blackies, Church, south side of the the south jetty at O-side harbor, and southside of the Huntington Beach Pier. Here is a breakdown of how it rides at the spots ridden so far.

Doheny
The initiation of the Scorp at Doheny was a nightmare. Not only was the SUP event going on, the waves sucked, the tide was high, and I lost the board, scratching the hell out of the nose as it went into shore.

Church
I caught Church on a small day, 2-3ft. The waves were super clean and had that typical point breakish feel to it. The Scorpion handled really well. I was at first concerned that it might spin out because of its super extreme pintail, but this was not the case. Once locked in trim, the board was as stable as heck and I got my feet in the pink. Not a true noseride but cheater 5 at best. As a regular foot, my noseriding ability is better going left. DOn't ask why, that is just how it is. ON the lefts, I had a blast.

Blackies
At Blackies the board did not perform the same as at Church. The waves were marginal and fairly weak, but I did get a feel for the performance aspect of the shape on a chest high freak left that came in. I buzzed fairly quickly down the line and again, the board held remarkably.

South Jetty O-side
I surfed the Scorp at the South Jetty at O-side with Donald Takayama's nephew, Michael Takayama. He sweared by the Scorpion, riding a 9'4" of his own. We surfed smallish South Jetty, and this is where Mike taught me how to set the Scorp up for noseriding. I heeded his advice and really got a good feel for the board. The Scorp has a much narrower nose than my since sold In The Pink, and that narrowness caused me to be skeptical before I even waxed the board up (I was going to trade it for a Takayama Double Ender, thank god I didn't) I was doing things on the Scorp that I never have done on a longboard, just really taking advantage of that extreme pintail.

South Side of HB Pier
This is where I really got the performance feel of the Scorpion. ON the last wave of my day, I took off left and just smacked the lip twice, so much so that a guy on a fish who saw the whole thing said, "Damn nice wave" I replied, yes perfect wave to end the session. Now I have never whipped a longboard around like I can with the Scorpion, and also never felt the stability that the design brings. The design just works. Better than my In the Pink, my Ole, my Hobie Fusion, and my Michel Junod.

After my session with Michael at O-side, I asked him why my board didn't sell. He had no idea, and I replied, "Because nobody knows how the Scorpion rides" And he agreed. In my mind, the Scorpion aka Erik Sommer model is Donald's best kept secret in modern longboards.

Alien Nightmare

The other night I had a full blown alien nightmare. I haven't been remembering any dreams lately but I've been dosing the Nyquil-like cold medicine, which I think contributed to my nightime hallucinations. This was another one involving Wendy, a girl I had a crush on for three years during high school, even though she went to a different high school. Anyway, this one involved aliens attacking earth. That's right, it was a scene right out of War of the Worlds, but in this case, I was visiting Wendy's high school when we saw the attack. We didn't see the spaceships, but we did see the laser bombs raining down on Earth. At this time, Wendy and I started running for a parking structure to take cover, but I had the birght idea to try and get away. There were a bunch of cars in the parking structure, but the parking lot attendants, which were being controlled somehow by the alien invaders, wouldn't let us take a car. I was able to hotwire a Barbie car, and we proceeded to go down the parking structure's ramp, which seemed like forever. We finally got out but then the road started to narrow, and we were stuck, so we jumped out of the car, and tried to take cover under a bridge. That is when I woke up. It was a real bad one, which I think was brought on by the cold medicine. I think those OTC drugs are way too powerful, or the combo ingredients create a hallucinatory effect on the brain.

Choc Nut or Cloud 9?

We went to Goldilocks in Cerritos for brunch on Sunday, and the last time I ate there, about 15 years ago, I didn't care for the food quality. The Kare Kare didn't have enough peanut butter. Actually, the food quality at Goldilocks in Cerritos SUCKS. I ordered up the Fried Bangus, which actually was quite good, but the rest of the food was pretty much garbage; The Lechon Kawali was not crispy, the Crispy pata was not tasty, and the fried chicken tasted like Fried duck. The garlic fried rice was way too greasy, and the Kalamansi juice which at $2.99 a glass, tasted like it came from a can. My mom told me the Lumpia Sariwa is good, and all the rest of the food is terrible, and my mom is right. If there is ever a restaurant that relies on its name it is Goldilocks. The food is so very mediocre at best, and the white rice, it has to be the cheapest grade on the market.

ON another note, we went to the super market next door to Goldilocks and bought a couple of these:



Now I first bought these back in 1989 when I had a chocolate fix, but the stores in the Philippines didn't have any decent chocolates in stock at the time. As a matter of fact, all they had were Choc Nut and Cloud 9's. I've been a fan of both for a long time, but the Choc Nut, well they are a powdery type of candy, that sorta, and I am being generous, sorta taste like some type of chocolate, I am just not sure what kind. I've had five already this morning, and am going downstairs for more. I've a sweet tooth right now and these are pretty much fulfilling the crave.

Rush Limbaugh is Wrong

Someone finally slapped Rush Limbaugh for having such a foul mouth all these years, and it was none other than the NFL, well actually the group that initially tried to bring him on to become a minority owner of the RAMS, dropped him after a furor, and a rightfully so furor erupted from those opposed to him being a minority owner of an NFL team. But what really makes me laugh is Rush lashing out at those (including the Obama administration, LOL) he blames for his failed attempt to buy into the NFL. He takes a classic entitled American trait, to blame others, when all Rush needs to do is look in the mirror.

Mind your own business

I have relatives who need to mind their own business. It is sad, but these people judge others by the way people look, hair style, if they have tattoos, if they live in a gated community. It is a complete joke these people.

Truth offends

I wrote a post on this blog a long time ago that detailed a dinner I had with cousins. After the dinner I was witness to a unique (what I thought was a funny exchange between cousins) that had to do with certain things regarding the dinner. I was witness to this whole charade and couldn't believe what I was hearing, so I thought what the heck, I'd blog about it. But as Elaine did, which seemingly got her banned from Hop Sings, I named names, and in the process took a serious tongue lashing from one of the said cousins, complete with profanities. So, at his suggestion, I removed the post. He is absolutely right. I shouldn't have posted this for all the world to see, and I am now truly sorry that I did in the first place. Life can get fucked up.

RIP

Two of my cousins and their dad were killed, along with their driver and two muslims in a gunfight that occurred on father's day in the Philippines. Really sad as it was apparently a road rage incident that blew up into a full blown gun battle. The rumor is that after Raffy was shot in the back, his body was dragged into the street by muslim onlookers and stomped. The driver was also apparently shot in the back in what appears to have been an ambush by the muslim cell phone store owner. At any rate, six people died in total and that is a sad thing, especially given that it was a seemingly innocuous road rage incident that started it all.