why surfernick?? when i moved back from cali the second time the group of guys i hung around with already had a "nick". so in order to distinguish between the two of us mark wiggins came up with nick the surfer.. a.k.a. surfernick. but where did surfer come from?? easy.. i was a total surf bum living in a beach front condo with three friends in san diego. i lived the total surf lifestyle.. very, very simplistic. i worked at a surf shop and basically lived by the tides. it was beautiful.. without a doubt the best time of my early life.. weeks after i moved there my car was stolen from our cond parking lot. all i had for transportation was my vision psycho stick. i was a little bummed at first but pretty much everything that i needed was within one mile of the condo anyway so the skateboard turned out perfect. my daily routine.. up before daybreak, grab my board (6'4" al merrick), and head to my home break. i loved surfing so much that i didn't care of it was flat or double overhead.. i still charged.. every morning of every day. i'd typically also get an evening session in as long as i didn't have to work.. and i was completely broke.. and i do mean completely. all of my money went to rent, utilities, car payment, and insurance. i had something like $30 a month left over for food.. so my diet consisted of white rice, bread, sliced turkey, and cheese. one of my roommates was a cook at a small local restaurant so, on occasion, we'd sneak in after they closed and he'd hook us up with a feast fit for an army : ) even as i type this entry i have a huge smile on my face. it just brings back so many good memories.. so many thing i haven't thought about in years. it's hard to imagine that lifestyle now... i was just a kid then.. no responsibility and nothing to lose. that year taught me so much.. [tear] -out surFy