Surfrider NH Surfing Excuses
As ardent pursuers of our chosen sport, the sport of Kings, aka Surfing I am sure we have all come up with some great excuses to surf. Think about that day, you know the one. It is sunny, 75F with a light offshore breeze and a nice swell running. Now a nice swell is different for different folks, so bear with me here. You are itching to go. People are asking you questions or trying to engage with you, but nothing works. You are someplace else. You are in some other zone that doesn’t exist in the physical world. You might be looking at the beach from your car, your truck, your bike, or you might be looking at the wave cam or in this day in age a video your friend took and has shared with you. First you think wow that looks good, second you think ugh I have a bunch of work to do, and third you have that dreaded FOMO (fear of missing out). So your mind races as you either think about or look at your calendar and the “to do” list you may keep. First and foremost if you are like me many things go right down the hole because even if I tried to do them I would only be half focused. So you try to justify it in your head. You say to yourself “well if I do XYZ then it will not be to the quality I expect so I should just do it later when I am more focused and head is clear.” You then immediately think “Ugh if I blow this off then everyone will be all over my @$$.” You then make an assessment of situation and determine nothing is of great urgency you have some “fluff” in your schedule today so why not go for a surf. Then you think “well if I just disappear someone will know. Someone will say something.” So this is where the excuses come in. And believe me these can run from most basic to most outlandish. The key is your ability to sell it and ultimately back it up.
Disclaimer: this list is a mix of excuses for work and personal so use at your own risk.
1. I forgot I have a (doctor, dentist, etc) appointment and cannot reschedule. Make sure to mention your appointment is not just down the street because as we know surfing takes more than 30 mins and second make sure to mentioned you cannot reschedule. That creates a sense of importance as to why you cannot miss or change this appointment. Sorry your review of debits and credits will just have to wait. And this place has been in business for 30 years so it is not going anywhere soon.
2. I am having some work done on my house and need to meet with (just name the type of contractor, architect, etc). Hopefully people will know you are doing a reno project so they don’t suspect anything. And hopefully if work is actually being done on your house you trust that if you step away for an hour to surf nothing will go drastically wrong with the renovation.
3. My husband (or wife) sliced four of their fingers with the electric hedge clippers over the weekend doing some yardwork and I need to bring them back to the doctor today to have the injury looked at again. This really happened and actually resulted in a few days off which happened to correspond to a nice swell. Feel free to drag your significant other into whatever injury you fell will get you of your work.
4. I have to go help (name the person) with a (name the house project). I told you they are doing (fill in the project) on their house and the (fill in the thing) just arrived and they need help with (fill in the task). And you know I have done this on our house before. This is a great one to use with your significant other. The key is they need to know your friend and your friend must be in on the lie with you. It is important to create both a sense of urgency and be clear that this work will take a while. And you hav to be confident your friend will not screw up and call while you are off surfing then you are golden. Have fun. Shred on.
5. The ol’ “I am stuck in traffic on way home from (fill it I in) and will be quite late”. This works best when coming home from work. If you often cross paths with the ocean road on your daily commute and you are the type to stay prepared you likely have a board in your vehicle and damp, smelly wetsuit. So get use to the stinky my friend because you have bought yourself some valuable time and hit the surf for a quick sesh. Just remember to put on those Khakis, comb the hair and remove any sunblock or salt from your face when you are done.
6. The “OH $#!% I need to run, I will join the call remotely because I will miss my (fill in mode of transit)”. This definitely works in situations where work teams are distributed and you typically go into an office where many take some mode of mass transportation. If you drive and it is somewhat early enough before evening commute you can bust out, take your call, and get surfing. Again the key is having a board and wetsuit in the car so hopefully you planned this one ahead.
7. The kid’s baseball game, lacrosse game, and other mundane stuff. Now do not disappoint your kid, actually go to the game, but after the game hit the surf. Remember even a few rides on a dying swell is better than no rides. The point is you found a way to get out early because you have a commitment , but you never stated how long it was ;-). Again prior proper planning prevents….
8. Using or feigning sickness. You know the one which we have all done at some point as kids or adults. The “I am not feeling so well so I am just going to..” Yea this is old, but during times of allergies this certainly works.
9. My (girlfriend, boyfriend, mom, dad, etc) is flying in and I have to pick them up. Just don’t give the exact time, but know what airlines and flights are arriving so you have a legit story and you can go surf for an hour. And if you really have someone flying in then it isn’t really a lie, rather just a stretch of the truth. But all for good reason so shred on with good conscious.
10. Sorry but I am just not in to this (XYZ) right now so I cannot be part of it. I am going surfing. I highly do not recommend this approach unless you want a permanent “surf “break from either work or your relationship. Yea it is not an excuse, but what the heck it is an option.
11. Or as Mom would say “just be honest.” If someone knows you worked hard to accomplish something or they just care about your well being then they likely will not care if you split for a bit to do something to re-center yourself