Work/Life balance: Living more with less

Hi there!

Have you read this article from "The guardian" about the five things people regret when about to leave this world?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying

It makes me feel even luckier to be able to work part time. Also it's crappy to have to earn less money (especially when you part from a Spanish salary, which are not really great) and I sometimes stress thinking about what would happen if I need to change car or have any sudden big cash need, I also really enjoy living better with less.
I have an old rusty car, an old bumpy surfboard, and an old squeaky bike, but I have free time to make good use of those. Since I realised that if I use my car less I might afford to keep working part time instead of starting full time this winter, I enjoy my free time 100% more.

Dear Citronelle might be bumpy and rusty, but it drove me from the top of the austrian mountains down to the great beaches of spanish basque country.

Of course it is frustrating to yet not be able to buy cool brands clothes and plane tickets every 3 months, but what is that compared to time with my daughters and a good ride down on my bike in the country side rushing to get the train, let alone a nice surf on a sunny Thursday afternoon when all my colleagues are in the office :-)
The small change in my life to decide to go working a couple times a week on my bike meant a great change in my philosophy: enjoy beautiful basque country and my lovely family on a day to day basis and take advantage of the dozens great opportunities that life offers me instead of longing for the ones that aren't reachable now.

Really interesting article about people in San Francsico who decided to live one year without buying anything new:
"And what we learned is that we all have a lot of more stuff than you think, and that you can get along on a lot less stuff than you can imagine." 

Cheers

Cool job vs surf compatible job

Surfing is a very demanding sport. Not only is it hard to learn even if you live next to the beach, it is also very much time demanding, as the tide and wave conditions change everyday and you have to be available when the conditions actually hit your spot.
We always have the same conversation Xabi (my partner in life) and I about what would be the perfect job to get money, time for the family and time for surf and other sports. Xabi cannot conceive that his prefered wave (Meñakoz or Mundaka) suddenly has great waves forecast and he is stuck in an office. So for him the perfect job has no office hours, and among his really much into surfing friends most have what I personally call "crap jobs": night shifts handling the luggage at the airport, night shift bartender, week end shifts cleaning a supermarket, and so on...
On my side, I studied until master grade and have an enjoyable career which makes me want that my job be interesting. I happen to work in the sport industry, and Xabi often teases me that we who work for that industry are kind of "lyers" because if we were so much sports addict we would hace jobs that leave us more time for sports. I remember a previous boss who would talk about the "weekend warriors" and I guess this is what the office people who are into outdoor sports are: planning their week end from the office and fully into it from Friday afternoon on....

Having kids forces you even more to get into the office hours schedule, since you need free time out of shool time and during the week ends and holidays time... It is frustrating sometimes as you miss those days when you had all your free time for yourself, but of course family times are great moments too!

Family outing in Bakio last summer, first time for Emma on a surfbboard!

Friends and Surfing

Every time I go surfing on my own, I get a little bit stressed. Especially if I go away from my "homespot" Plentzia, the perfect beginner spot with great waves and no big surprises. When I decide to go somewhere else because the swell isn't big enough for Plentzia, I usually head to Sopelana. On the way, my stomach inevitably starts to squeeze, squeeze and squeeeeeeeeeze even tinier, and when I finally park the car any excuse would do to go back home (Martian attack, sharks in the water, hole in my surfboard...)... This terrible sensation luckily disappears as soon as I start paddling.
Of course, when I have the chance to go with friends, it is all very different, I forget all the stupid stress and concentrate on the fun. It is so motivating that this is what has made me eager to try new surf spots. I also feal really motivated to see girls in the water. We always echange a smile, and also I can't complain that the basque guys here are treating me badly, there is a certain complicity between girls in the water which is heartwarming and especially appreciated during the first minutes (to half and hour...) in the water until you finally catch the first wave that makes you feel confident.

 In Fuerteventura with Xabi and his girls pupils. Beware, surfing girls crew!

My beautiful surfing friends Jeanne and Marie heading to Barrika

Nothing like a bit of stretching/laughing with crazy Mari Lou to release the pression before entering the water!

Life without a car

Last saturday night my sexy Saxo ( A Citroen car model) kissed a big BMW a bit too passionately. I thought all night and finally decided to turn the negative into positive: instead of spending nearly two months income a year on my car (insurance, gas, repairs, taxes...), I will try life without a car.

Day One: I feel so cool and smart as I clean Victor's old bike. I love to clean and repair bikes, it makes me feel I am a tough girl (The same happens to me when I change my car's wheels ;-)

 

Day One

Day Two: Here we go! I have an adrenaline shot as I go down the hill on my bike to the train station, and I enjoy reading my book during the 50mn train ride. I arrive 5 mn late at work. On the way back, getting up the hill to home lasts 40 mn when I thought I would do it in 15, and I arrive totally sweaty. I am super tired the rest of the day.

Day Three: When the clock rings at seven o'clock, I wish I could sleep a bit more and just go by car at 8.45 instead of having to leave home running at 7.45. I rush so much that I forget to put some deodorant... I hope my collegues at work won't notice.... As I sit on my bike....OUCH! My bottom is hurting!!!! Yesterday I didn't wear a special bike pant, i shouldn't do that mistake again. I catch an earlier train and the rest goes smoothly, except that my chain jumps out of the sprocket getting up to work so I arrive at work 5 mn late, and with black and greasy fingers. On the way back, I am already fitter getting up the hill and grab some delicious blackberries on the sideway.

Day Four: I change my bike to a lighter one after erasing every "Decathlon" mark on it since I know work for the competition and my boss wouldn't appreciate to see any Decathlon bike on the car park... The way down the hill is glorious, nice green smell, raising sun, summer morning freshness. Train departs in front of my eyes as I arrive to the station and the next one is 20 mn later.... I arrive a couple mns late to work again! :-(

That's it! Even if I need to fine tune the timings, I am know hooked to the bike and train travel, I already finished my book and look forward to crochet some cool beanies on the train. Next thing is to buy a children carrier and combine to drop my second daughter at the Kindergarten before taking the train.... I'll tell you in September how late I arrive to work then .... Hopefully not too late!!!!

The eternal beginner

A nice October day in Barrika last autumn

My learning of surfing is eternal. I surfed for the first time when I was 18 years old as I was spending three month in the spanish basque country for a training period. I remember feeling like in a washing machine when the waves came stronger than you would expect. At that time I was a student in Lyon, France, 8 hours drive away from the ocean. The same summer I took some lessons with another student who was earning a bit of money to do his surf trips giving surf lessons.... who actually is the father of our two daughters now!I didn't benefit much from the lessons because the same week I fell getting down a hill with a skateboard and injured my shoulder.
One year after, I managed to go continue my studies in Bordeaux, France, and took every opportunity to go to Lacanau with my fellow students who also surfed. I didn't have a car so I had to go whenever they went, but they would be already good surfers and would often go with too big conditions for my level, and I had some  really scary moment trying to sort out my way in the Lacanau shore breaks and currents... so I didn't get a lot better....
And so it went, my professional life started in the Alps, and I would go surf a bit during the holidays, but I wouldn't get a lot better from that.... Until I connected with the surf teacher again, and ended living with him and our two daughters in the basque country, 5 mn away from the beach. Now I surf a little bit oftener, but still being a mother of two 2 and 1 year old girls isn't the exact best plan to get better at surfing, also I have to say having a surf teacher at home is quite an enourmous help!!!

I'd love to meet more surfing mothers, surfmama101 (Check her blog eat surf love)for example is an inspiring person for me, or Nobuko who is an addicted japanese mom leaving in the basque country near us who surfs nearly every day.Nobuko's interview (in Spanish)

Cheers!

First day!

Hello!

Tatsaaaaaaaaaaan! This is the first day of that newborn blog.
I thought I would give the blog thing a try, sounds fun and I always like to learn some new stuff.
Picture above is my beloved beach of Plentzia, on the left is where the waves break on "big sea days". 
On other days, this beach is rather a family beach, and a meeting point for the old people of the area, who come with their beach chairs and spend the day chatting with lifetime friends and neighbours. I like to go there after work for a relaxing swim and then dry up in the sun looking at the people. But quick quick! As soon as I'm dry, I run to the car to go pick our girls at the kindergarden.

Cheers