SUMMER 2010

oh Blog...I havent updated you in a while...sorry bout that...but it's been a busy summer...Lots of swimming and surfing and SUPing and wakeskating and wakeboarding...lots of spending time together as a family...the D-N-D family has been active this summer. Davven has learned to swim, and got up on his own SUP, learned to surf with me behind the jetski, gone for bike rides with Mommy, long runs in the jogger with Mommy also, fishing and all sorts of adventures...Nat has been tending to her beautiful garden and made sure things around the house are always in tiptop shape while, I have been tending to MY surf shop... we've all been gone on our own seperate adventure also...Davven spent a few days with Gramma and Grampi getting spoiled...Nat drove to Nova Scotia with Carrie-Ann for some girl time(sans boys), and I was kiteboarding in Hood River, Oregon for a week.
The main reason my blog came to mind today was a very personal one that every parent goes through. The first day of school...It was Davven's first day of school today and although we we're very proud to see him off and a bit understandably emotional...it's something that other parents were saying that kinda got me a bit.....ummm...FUCKING AGGRIVATED...We've all seen the Bureau en Gros commercials " the most wonderful time of the year", we've all heard the jokes around the water cooler about how people can't wait till school starts again so that things go back to normal, or how one parent said "so i can get back to work for some rest" ??#@!?...I'm personally tired of that bullshit, and of course someone will inevitably think that because my kid in going to kindergarden it's not the same thing, but I heard parents dropping thier kids off for the first day of school at kindergarden saying the same lines..." I love you little bobby....finally peace and quiet"...
Peace and Quiet....People seem not to be able to wait to have kids, then to turn around and not wait to get rid of them and pawn them off on someone else... I heard one parent say, "she's the schools problem now" then laugh and bolt for her car...We went camping this past weekend before school started, giving Davven a chance to have a great adventure before school started and watch as parent after parent sat around under a tree and watched thier kids play in the sand. The majority of parents at the beach watched, there were a few that got in there and got dirty and had fun but lots didnt...like they went there to distract thier kids so they wouldnt bother them...I guess I'm less aggrivated, I'm more dissappointed that thats acceptable in our society...yes that commercial is funny, but its become normal to think like that...Most of us choose to be parents, so BE parents, am I saying I'm a perfect Parent..hell no...sometimes I just wanna go for a kite or surf and not play dinosaurs or look at the squished bug on the front of our car...But I like the fact that my answer is usually yes, or at least give me a sec and I check out whet he wants to show me a minute later and watch as the Raptor eats Woody from Toy Story.

Deeper Shades of Soul

So my last blog was a heavy one...It's taken me till now to want to write another one...The whole gun experience made me take stock of my life. It really did affect me in a profound way. I have to say that my life is really awesome. I have this wonderful person in my life that understands me, she comforts me when i need it and backs off when i need that. She gets me. And that's really hard to come by and I know it. I am definitly not the easiest person to understand, I get grumpy when I'm hungry, I can't sit still when I haven't gone riding in a few days, I get upset with the wind, the waves and the weather in general when it doesn't co-operate.I leave the bath mat down more often than she would like and I forget to load the dishwasher. My obsession with kiteboarding and board sports in general can be overwhelming. But Nat takes it all in stride, and loves me for all my craziness. We have a wonderful son Davven whom I'm not sure what my life would be like without, cause with him it's a constant adventure. He amazes me everyday, and I can't wait to see what he'll pull off next. We have a small but love filled house and lots of great friends that come over for dinner, SUP runs, kiting, BBQ's and Jetski adventures. Our house has a drop by open door policy...
The point of this quick blog was to let all of you that read this know that I'm doing great, I'm sleeping better, going to work feels good and I'm looking forward to this season. It's been windy lately so I've been kiting a bunch , which makes me more normal. Looking forward to getting out on the water in some warmer temps but it's still nice to get wet...
Cheers
Darren

Stick'em up

I like to watch really action packed movies, with lots of guns and explosions and car chases...SOme of my all time favorite movies have so many guns and weapons in them, there's barely enough room for dialog...Aliens 2 is a prime example, I've probably quoted that movie on a weekly, basis since I got a VHS copy from my Uncle Kieth, way back in the 87. The Matrix Trilogy, Apocolypse Now, Platoon, Die Hard series, heck Full Metal Jacket..etc You get the point, it's not like I have a whole bunch of guns at home and I go out on the weekend to shoot shit..Heck I've only pulled the trigger on 3 guns in my whole life, but that wood pile deserved it...My grandmother bought me a toy cowboy gun when I was 7 or 8, but my parent took that from me instantly and i never saw it again, there where no guns in our house. And now that I'm a parent I realize that, I'm teaching our son that guns aren't neccesary in life and that shooting things with a gun is wrong. And all that goes with raising a boy that respects nature and life and would never use a gun, Davven even has some toys with guns on them and we tell him thier water cannons..lol...So living in Canada where gun toting people are reserved for hunters and police officers, I never thought that I'd come across a gun or someone holding one with the intent on doing harm, ever...I mean that only happens in the movies I watch and my heroes on the screen seem to handle getting shot at or having a gun stuck in thier face with realitive ease. But to be perfectly honest , I'm struggling. It happened to me, someone came here to rob me and they had a gun, a real gun...He wanted money, and was itching to not only rob me and the shop of money, but rob my son of a father and my wife a husband...And it made me mad, but what could I do, he had a gun..And although my wife(the darling) has tried to comfort me and has told me I did the right thing by not doing anything, the police have told me I did the right thing, friends and facebook friends have all sent thier love and thoughts to me... I can't shake it...I'm fully tearing up as I write this now...I CAN"T FUCKING SHAKE IT...As calm as I was during the whole robbery as calmly as I walked over to the door when he ran out, and locked it, as calmly as I called 911...inside I was and still am, shaken. As my tears subside the anger inside me starts to boil and I want to smash him, not because I feel a little emasculated and want my manhood back, but because he wanted to hurt the people I love...The what ifs are the hard part to shake...What if the door hadn't banged and startled him, what if I had the door fixed last year like I wanted to, what if a truck hadn't gone by at that moment..what if he had pointed the gun at me...would I have stayed calm would I have been a stupid victim on TV, would I have fought for my life, for the future of my son and wife, WOULD I...I still want to smash him...How can I justify telling my son that violence is not the answer when that's what I want to do?..Smash him...I have not gotten to sleep before 2am since it happened...and although i feel like it has gotten a bit better everyday...I thouhgt sharing things with those of you that read my blog..would maybe help things out a bit more...For all of you who have called or sent me a message I thank you from the bottom of my heart....
Thanks for listening
Cheers
Darren

Rant Time

So my son Davven is turning 5 this April. And because of this he's heading off to school in September. This is something that I am not, by any stretch of the imagination looking forward too. I am really not ready for him to go to school, daycare is bad enough. Now don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying that Davven isn't ready, he's smart, witty, sarcastic, understands concepts easily and really has an amazing vocabulary. Although he can be distracted easily and gets bored quickly if the pace is slow. He is after all MY son and does take after me. What I'm getting at is i'm not sure I'm ready to handle all the things that comes with him going to school. Anyone who knows me knows that my school years don't really bring back great memories for me, and of course I know that I can't let Davven in on my apprehensions about school. I'm just afraid that he's gonna come home from school and tell me how little Johnny told him to fuck off and Little Sally said he was an idiot, then I'm gonna go down there and spank the living piss out of Johnny and Sally and drop kick johnny's mom across the parking lot while Sally's Dad cowers in the corner...But I digress...
We've all seen these kids on TV get bullied and come back and shoot up a school, the kids that did the shooting always get blamed for thier"senseless acts of violence" but I have a different view on that,,,no-one ever says shit about the kids that bullied them so bad that they thought shooting up the school and killing themselves was the only answer...Cause honestly they are just as responsible as the kids that pulled the trigger. I know that Davven may or may not have to deal with bullies, and that I assume we've done a good job that he won't be one(cause that's not acceptable either). And I'll learn and adapt myself as his school years progress, and teach all i can about protecting himself. And most importantly letting him know he can talk to me at anytime about anything. So if he is bullied and he is afraid of something at school, that Nat and I are the first line of defence, and not grieving parents of a kid that just shot up a school or got punched and in the chest and died in a playground.
Thanks for letting me vent
Darren

Home from Aruba

Well it took over 19 hours, 3 planes and a long drive, to get from our place in Aruba to our home in Pincourt. Most of the bags made it, still waiting on my kite/boardbag to get here from Detroit. And I'm slowly unpacking and getting things all sorted out here at home. The house is in one piece thanks Mom, Dad and Steve for watching the house...As I slowly unpack our stuff, and watch the sand fall. I'm feeling like I'm sure alot of people feel after a great trip. A bit happy to be home and a bit sad not to be back in the sun and sand. And although the thought of living somewhere where I can kite more often than I do here so I can push myself to a place that I'll be happy with my kiting(hahah that almost sounds like I believe it) More importantly my wife and son were very comfortable in Aruba, Nat jogging everyday and loving the heat and getting all sweaty, and Davven with his love of the ocean and all things that came with it, from swimming to snorkeling to his new found love boogie boarding. Watching him progress from day one to day 31 was amazing, he was so confident in his abilities by the end of the trip that he's talking about learning to wakeboard this year when the ice melts.
Moving somewhere like Aruba is not totally out of the question but certainly not realistic anytime soon...But I think maybe we'll look into buying some land there and building a house we can rent out and visit 2 to 3 times a year, and maybe start thinking about moving to the east coast by the ocean in a few years...Nat's job is totally transferable to the east coast, but the thought of moving Davven and Nat away from my parents whom they are super close too is daunting and stressful, so for the meantime we'll continue to enjoy our life here in Pincourt, and take trips to distant lands where the wind is steady and the waters warm. We've got a few places on our radar for the next adventure, Soma Bay, Egypt, Cumbuco, Brazil and Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands, who knows maybe we'll find a place the we like even more than Aruba...though I highly doubt it.

Aruba the final week

So this is our final week here in Aruba. I wouldn't say that it's gone by super fast, we've certainly done alot. Lots and lots of time at the beach, snorkeling and kiting and recently helping Davven learn and excel at boogie boarding. I personally had a secondary motive for coming here and that was of course to kiteboard my a$$ off, which I have. But as a husband and father my priorities are to my family first, but the unexpected joy that I got for 2 days in a row from standing in the ocean for up to 3 hours pushing my son into wave after wave and watching him laugh and smile as he rode the waves to the beach. And then watching his confidence rise, as he started to learn how to get back out throught the breakers by himself and return to the line-up and do it all again, was something that I hope i will never forget. Now those of you that know me well know that I love being a Dad and love being a husband to Nat, but I never thought in a million years that I would give up the 3 best wind days of the trip and not go kiteboarding cause the waves were good and Davven wanted to go boogieboarding, but thats what happened and I couldn't be happier, cause honestly they we're the best three days of the trip.
Darren

Getting Comfortable in Aruba

We've gotten real comfortable with this country, the people, the rythym, the ocean, the sun, the waves, the wind. Even though it's only been a week, we've come to really enjoy this place. My wife, Nat, really loves the beach and all that comes with it...Nat is not the greatest of swimmers but has really come to enjoy snorkeling and we plan our days around my kiting and which beach will have the best snorkeling conditions. We took a trip out to Boca Grande on the other side of the island to do some onshore kiting in big waves. We went with Dylan and Joey from Holland, of course Davven was pals with them istantly. Boca Grande was crazy big waves and perfectly steady onshore wind which was so different than I'm used too. I actually started forgetting about my kite and concentrating on my riding. Which was hard in the chop and mackin waves. But so much fun...Honestly the best session of the trip so far.
After Boca yesterday we had a very chill and mellow day at the beach in the morning, just relaxing and snorkelling at iguana beach, which is a tiny hidden gem that is tiny but probably the best snorkelling on the island so far. After the beach we had lunch back at the condo and Nat and the boy took a long nap while I cleaned up and fixed up all my gear from the beating I took at Boca...switched pads and boots fins and all that. Tommorow should be a great kite day gonna go early after Nat takes a run and kite till lunch...
I'll check back in a few days
Darren

Aruba Trip Sun and Surf

Well... after spending 2 entire days at the beach and soaking up the sun, the little one was a bit cranky yesterfay so we decided to take it eay in the afternoon and just chill at the condo and watch movies and play indoors. I think we all needed to recoup after the sun shock our skin has recieved. Even after applying 30spf we all have a bit of sunburn here and there. Davven seemed to bounce back this morning cause he's bright eyed and bushytailed and ready to go...Looks like another day exploring the beaches of the area and I'm gonna kite a bit more than I did the other day. The first day of kiting was amazing and kiting in offshore conditions is something I'm not used to but definitly a great experience and great for photo ops.The local kiters are great, most of them are from Holland or the UK and are alot of fun. And of course agreed to watch out for me in the unfamiliar offshore conditions....
Day 3 and 4 we're smooth as butter did some exploring on the otherside of the island where it is very hot and very very dry, and I understand now why they say it only rains 8mm on average per year. Cause I'm sure that the east side of the island get little to nothing. Kiting is going really well, I guess since I can kite almost everyday I'm getting a consistant flow and it's becoming interesting. I'm relaxed more when I'm kiting which equals progression...Nat should be coming out next session to get some video and take some shots. This island is awesome so many nice people and in venturing over to the other side of the island we got to see the heart of the people that live here all year round, the colorful houses and wild goats and chickens. To kids walking home from school, it's so much better when you can see the true nature of a place and not just the tourist crap. Although the tourist crap is pretty cool here also

Aruba Trip Enjoying the Stay

Well after the 2 days of travelling we've made it to this Happy Island....The rental car is small but after getting all our gear to the condo the size is moot. Davven calls it a mini ca, well cause it's mini, it's smaller than a mini yet still has 4 doors which is crazy. Anywho the isalnd is of course beautiful. And things move in a predictable island speed which is very slow but its a happy and friendly slow, people chat with you which makes things take time as opposed to just incopetant slow like in North America. We decided to celebrate our arrival last night after a quick dip in th ocean to cool and clean off, by going out to dinner something we won't do to often cause we're here for a month and that would be finacial suicide...lol. Especially after the amazing brazilian steak house we went to...which was definately amazing and worth every penny we spent but i'm not sure I could justify the 172$USD bill we got at the end of the night...HOLY SHIT was what I wanted to say, but I smiled and handed over the visa card..lol.
We woke up to the sound of roosters, Nat went for a run(so many people run here so Nat is happy as f*&k), I got all my gear together and setup for tommorow then we went to Arashi Beach...which was spectacular crystal clear water, fish everywhere and coral, pelicans, sun and white sandy goodness. Davven freaked out a bit when we took him in the water but after mommy talked to him on the beach for a bit and calmed him down. He decided to try again with not much more succcess and freaked out again. But then out of no where a nice man came over towards us and dropped a piece of bread in the water in front of us and the fish swarmed around him life bees on honey, and Davven pretty much was gold from that point on in fact we couldn't get him out of the water after that. It's been great we're loving Aruba and enjoying the slow pace, we did some groceries and we're off to cook dinner we'll check back in soon.
Darren

ARUBA Trip Stage 1

So the house sitter is at the house the car is packed. Boarding passes are printed and we're checked in. So next is a small trip to burlington tommorow to jump on the plane for Detroit then on to Atlanta, for an overnight stay with a friend. We've cut down our 6 really big bags down to 4 bags. And Nat got some great sun dresses from a friend at work, so she had to remove some other stuff lol....The camera is charging and I'm getting ready to start shooting so things will get a bit more interesting tommorow...Alright we're off to bed...Gotta get up @5:30am...
Night ya'll
Darren

The Blog has Changed

Hey Everyone,

So my(Darren) blog has changed. My title at imagine has been revised for 2010 I'll have alot more responsibilities, and a few changes for 2010. I'll still be instructing here and there and will of course keep you upto date on whats happening there but I've decide to have this blog be more of a whats happening with me and the family. My thoughts, a few pics here and there maybe a video or two you know typical stuff...I'm actually procrastinating right now I should be packing for our trip, but as Nat says I'm addicted to my computer....

Anywho that's whats up...

Darren

September Sessions

So the crew has been busy, the last few classes are booking, the swells on the east coast have been firing, and the wind has been picking up, so the Imagine Kite Crew which consists of myself and Steve have been busting out to ride and learn new tricks. I'm working on a few 2010 protos that should be on the water in a week or two, so stay tuned for the spy photos. Nat(my wife) ran the Montreal Marathon in 3:59 on Sunday and I couldn't be more proud. My Mom and Dad, the boy and I spent the day on Sunday moving from spot to spot so we could cheer her on. I think we ran about a half-marathon ourselves, but it was so worth it to be there supporting her...Way to go Babe...

Darren

Oh Crap...it's Been That Long

So. it's been a long busy freaky weather, crazy busy summer...I haven't had time to go on a date with my wife never mind post on my blog...shheesh...Well here's my first post in a a very long time but I wanted to post a few pics maybe a few vids of the summers adventures in River Surf Classes...Here are a few names that stick out in my mind from the summers classes...

Najah, Eric Martin, Simon Cardinal, Catherine Simard..these were some earlybird class taker in May and Early June, people who didn't mind the cold...Mylene Dion, Stefano, Dominic...The Entire Amazing Godin Family(Olivier, Simon, Pierre, Julie) and who can forget Stephanie Bruneau, Mellisa Horvat, Mellisa Rattue, Caroline Samson(Miss Confident), Tim and Gordon from freaking far away Ontario, Karen Ho(my Private Lesson student that almost watched me drown...lol), Donovan(hope you stay at it), Ralph and Sarah. The Adelson Shopping Sisters, Venessa, Frederick, JF, Rod and Mike Waterstone(who never stopped trying)...I'm know there are more of you out there, but these are the names I could remember..there is however, two more names I wanted to mention. One that i want to mention because of the awesome smile on her face and amazing peronallity and joy that she brought to my life as a surf instructor...Samuelle Bergeron(see video) her wonderful and supportive parents(Marie-Claude and Hugo) signed her up for class making sure that I was the instructor and I had just as much fun teaching her as she had taking the course..It's great to see great parenting in this day and age, and it was awesome having such a fun young lady in my class that was always and I do mean ALWAYS smiling...The second name I want to single out touched me in a profound way, not because he is recovering from lukemia, not because he has only 20% lung capacity, not because he of all the people I taught had an actual excuse to say that river surfing was hard and give up...He touch me cause he F*&^ing tried harder than anyone I've ever taught, to catch the wave and surf and he did. Not only the first day but the second also... Jeff Clifford you absolutely made my summer. And I want to thank you for taking my class, the hardcore tattooed extreme sport guy that I think I am, was blown away by your determination, and humbled by the experience. I didn't know any of the details of why you were having trouble swimming back, or why you were breathing so hard, all I knew was that I was impressed by your lack of whining, I thought to myself " Here's a guy that's out of shape, huffing and puffing, but is not complaining or bitching about how hard it is, he's just going run after run, and giving it 100%. " After your Dad told me the details, the only opnion that I change was the one for myself...I'm so not hardcore compared to you, Rock on Jeff, the first pic is for you....

Some time off with Friends

I've been working pretty hard the past few eeks without a real break so Corran and I arranged for me to have a few days off in a row. So I took the opportunity to have a few friends come to our place and do a little towing behind the jetski and have some fun and a BarBQ or two...What was supposed to be a good time with a few friends turned into an AWESOME time with people whom will be our friends for a very long time.

Sometimes you meet people in your life that will just pass through it. Then there are times when you think that a friendship will develop and it doesn't for what ever reason.

But then there are those times when you know that these people fit with your way, and mesh with what you got going on ...Thanks JD, Tami, Olga, Jeremy, and MCA for making the few days I have off during the summer, wicked.

D

New Issue of Kiteboarding Magazine

The new issue of Kiteboarding Magazine came out 2 weeks ago and I finally got my copy, I'm super stoked with the way the article I wrote came out and the lay out looks great. I'm working on a few other articles so I guess I'll be in a few more issues in the upcoming year, but I'll keep you posted... Who new that I could write???? lol

D

It's been a While

Sorry it's been so long, but lots has been happening, Class number three went off with out a hitch,  great group of guys in the class(George, JB, Maris).. JB was lucky enough that on his last run on Sunday there was nobody waiting in line for Main wave and we spent about 20 minutes on the wave, which was awesome. Great end to a fun weekend(I get paid to do this, i love my job). The last few weeks have been crazy to say the least. From frieght forwarding nightmares to The Fesival du Plien Air, to recieving 30 SUP's, and the feeding frenzy that followed(we have only a few left). The other news is right sides according to most people has been terrible but I think it's be awesome , my 6.0 fish and the fat fish have been dominating that wave, every time someone tries either board it been eye opening for them. Most people are practically standing on the nose of thier boards just trying to hang on , but as soon as they jump on the fatty or the 6.0 they have a little fun. I've had so much fun on right sides at this level. It's been great. The other thing that's been going on is I've been humbled big time, trying to learn how to paddle in on my 9' SUP. I was out there yesterday and was eating sh*t all over the place, as Corran paddled in making it look easy on a SUP with no less than half as much stability as mine...But it was still so much fun, and it also gave me a reminder on how some of our students must feel at first. I'm pretty sure that I make my students feel comfortable at beeing begginners, but it's nice to be humbled from time to time keep me honest.

D

First Class of the Season

Well the first class was a cold one, but it went off without a problem...Had a few take the long swim down past the bridge, but all in all it was a fun group. Najah, Samy and Thierry toughed it out on day 2, longer than i thought and even took one more run before retreating to the shop.. It was only 6degrees afterall.  No pics this time the cold was affecting the camera and it wouldn't come out to play. On a gross note my toe was acting up all class and giving me annoying pain, it had been hurting since Tuesday last and I thought was simply a small annoyance. But by Monday night going into Tuesday morning, I awoke at 3am to absolute blinding pain, and I decided to take the long drive to the hospital in town. After a small wait of 2 hours, I finally saw the doctor who proceeded to get another doc, who proceeded to tell me that I was about to lose my toe in another 18 hours or so if I hadn't come in..With a precise cut of her scalpel she release the pressure and the trapped PUSS. Yes PUSS was spewing across the room...lol so much the doctor stopped and got a face shield..haha. But all is better now, I'm out of the water till Monday I think...if I can last that long..lol

Till next time,

Cheers

Darren

NEXT LEVEL SH%*

I enjoy life...I surf, river surf, kite and many other things that keep my ADD in check. We all have friends who facilitate our efforts to get our fix. My buddy JD, Corran and my friend Jules are the guys that often push me to take it to the next level...BUT WHEN CORRAN AND JULES ARE TOGETHER...they take push each other to some NEXT LEVEL SHIT....CHECK it OUT

HEAVY D

Cheers

D

Kiting

The wave has been so bad lately that we've been out kiting alot in this spring wind...The past few weeks has been riddled with great S winds. Corran even got out for a lesson from our friend Jules. I took a few shots of my buddy Gaby having a great sesh.  The levels for habitat should be better by mid week. But I went for an SUP run at habitat this morning with nobody out at all...I had the wave to myself for over an hour till a few people showed up. They put in a rope and still couldn't stay on the wave, I even tried to get the fom pile going for them on my SUP but it would just turn off as soon as it got going...

SUP Lesson

Ok, so I took these two great guys out for an private SUP lesson, these guys were hardcore. NO WETSUIT, NO GLOVES, and NO HOODIEs for these guys, only booties, boardshorts and a vest. And they were taking headers into the cold water and loving every minute of it...Mike was up and going in minutes and JD wasn't far behind..The day was great we had a great time and I even took an few dips in the cold water myself, we laughed, played hard and enjoyed a beautiful day on the water...Sign up folks it's too much fun

Darren