…favorite photo EVER. Love you Dad!

Danny just got a session over on Wakeboarding Mag. He’s been killing it. Check it out here. Yea Danny! OTA!

You and Me. This Saturday night. Backbooth. 9pm. $6. Get excited. We’re going to see Young Brother!

This is how to not ollie onto a rail…and then how to not ollie onto a rail again:

I’m not exactly sure how I was olling onto an 8″ uprail at NCC, and then got worked on this teeny tiny ollie-on. It’s almost so small it messes with your head. I’m very visual, so after watching some rails get clipped then talking about it, I’d say it was pretty stuck in my head. At least I still have all of my teeth! I deserved it I know better than that. Watch for the full on face smash to rail in the 2nd crash. Results below. :)

Sometimes you just can’t win. I’ve been on a bad streak here. Bad things happen in 3’s.

1. bee sting in eye

2. goose-egg

3. ?

All week I’ve been wondering what #3 would be. I found it yesterday morning. I slid a rail on my body instead of my board, then went back and hit it on my face. Footage coming soon. In the meantime check out my Fu Manchu blood stache and the rest of the after effects…I’m taking two weeks off.

This is what happens when the board hits you in the forehead…

Gross. Last week was kind of interesting. Tuesday I was wakeskating behind the jetski and right as I got up a bee flew into my eye, my open eye. We both freaked out and the bee proceeded to sting my eyelid, at 22mph. Seriously? I’m still not even sure what the odds of something like that happening are. Luckily the swelling wasn’t too bad.

Friday morning we go out on the ski cuda, and first fall the board hits me in the forehead. Immediatly I begin to grow a third eyeball, or a goose-egg or whatever you want to call it. Cassie covers up the mirror and they won’t let me look at it as it grows bigger and bigger. The bump only lasted one day but it still hurts. I’m on a roll, watch out.

I brought all the rolls of film in but I could only afford to pick up half, thanks to my Colonial Photo & Hobby gift card. Hopefully they didn’t toss the rest, I should be able to afford to pick it up soon. I’m no pro, hence only 2 pictures out of the whole black and white 35mm roll came out. Apparently I spun a dial on accident and everything was over exposed except for a few. I’m kind of bummed the photo of my grandma precisely licking her gelato so none dripped didn’t come out. Oh well. Sometimes you just have to fully enjoy the moment and not focus on capturing it. That’s what I seem to be better at anyways, I usually find myself carrying around some cameras but enjoying myself too much I forget about them. Well, here is half of Rome I managed to capture:

More ‘locks of love’…

Holga!

We just added some new goods over at FCTN.tv. Scope the new work, and don’t forget the PLAY section! Because everybody loves blogs. We’ve got a new building in the works, it’s going to be insane. Watch out Winter Park…here we come.

Months ago I mentioned The Preemptive Love Coalition, and how I had friends going to Iraq to make a documentary. Their journey has begun. You can follow Micheal Dalton and Matt Addington through their website, To Open Your Eyes, and through their personal sites. They are traveling all over Iraq documenting the stories of young Iraqi children from impovershed families that need heart surgeries. They are working with The Preemtive Love Coalition, who funds these heart surgies through donations and a program called Buy Shoes, Save Lives. The photos so far are amazing and very moving…I can’t wait to see the documentary. You can check out some short teasers and more photos at To Open Your Eyes and find out more about their journey.

con·ver·gence
\kən-ˈvər-jən(t)s\

1: independent development of similar characters (as of bodily structure of unrelated organisms or cultural traits) often associated with similarity of habits or environment

Photo by: Chris Cut

I just returned from Nor Cal Convergence, the 8th of its type and my first experience…which could be the greatest wakeskate gathering known to man. I thought Raging Pull was epic. NCC8 was Raging Pull x4. Just imagine the possibilities when wakeskaters come together from all over Northern California and beyond to ride all weekend with tons of kids that chare the same passion. I believe there were 4 Super Air Nautiques, 5 winches, and 3 jetskis. An up rail, an up-flat, and a bank box…sounds like a wakeskaters heaven doesn’t it? I met a ton of cool kids, kicked it with my Integrity familia, and shreded my face off. I can’t wait for the next one! Look out for NCC9 this fall, more info at Nor Cal Wake. These sort of gatherings are so essential to the progression and growth of the sport!

More event coverage to come soon! There were serveral camera’s on site so there should be some good stuff floating around here soon. Local NorCal shop, The Liquid Playground was there and scored the 2nd JennyDanger to ever be pressed which sold yesterday!

Have I mentioned how much I love my Integrity family? veritas • cæremonia • familia

I’ve lived in the Conway house for a little over 2 years…since we first moved in. In those 2 years, 15 different girls have lived in the Conway house. 15! And most of us didn’t know each other, and everyone has been amazing…what are the odds? Seriously though, just when I think there’s no way another stranger could move in and be cool, they do, and they are ridiculously cool. It must be this laidback lifestyle based around the lake that we are all in pursuit of…

Love you Mom!

Farmer’s market everyday! The strawberry’s are a strange shape here but they taste something amazing…

I have seen 5 McDonalds and one Burger King. There is a McDonalds directly across from the Pantheon….really America? Is that necessary?

Panini! Panini! Less than $3 for a fresh delicious panini, it’s heaven. Did I say fresh? I will never want to eat another $7 not completely fresh sandwich in the states again.

There are fountains and parks everywhere. Gorgeous fountains. The sound of the water flowing makes my heart beat faster. I am a being of the water and it is necessary to my survival. You can drink right out of most of them. Fresh water flowing all throughout the city. The Trevi fountain was my favorite sight in Rome.

Many people know English and they appear to be helpful but really they just pretend to know the answer to your question and may lead you to keep walking in circles.

There are some strange looking dogs here…and allergies exist here too. Hah. Sneeze.

Young Romans confess their love to each other by writing something meaningful on a lock and locking it to the bridge. How romantic. I love it.

Walk, walk, walk, walk. I’ve never walked so much in my life. It has to be so good for you. I went to sleep every night with my legs aching and feet killing. Burning through 2 pairs of socks a day, that’s what happens when you walk more than 6 hours a day.

We saw the Pope, and he give mass in 5 different languages.

Never pay the street market price, they make bank on Americans that don’t know any better than to make deals.

I could live there if there was more water. But the river is kind of nasty. If it was clean, and clear and more life revolved around it, I would be all over it.

The drivers here are insane, especially the scooters. I was pretty sure every other scooter/car was going to hit me. One was only a few inches away. I think the safest means of transportation rank something like this: train, tram, bus, walking, biking, car, scooter.

That’s all I can recall at the moment….maybe more to come later. I took tons of holga photos and even some 35mm…more photos to come soon!

My sister’s been in Rome for a few months. She will probably be here a year, or until they make her leave, hah. I basically told her that as amazing as it sounded to come visit, it is realistically impossible considering the chunk of student loans I pay off each month and the time off I already have to take. My dad bought me a ticket for my birthday…and she didn’t know a thing about it. So my adventure starts something like this…

Orlando flight out delayed. I go on time anyways and get put on an earlier flight which still gets delayed. Instead of a 2.5 hr overlay I hop off one plane right onto another. I get of the plane an wander for about an hour trying to find the bathrooms and the train, I don’t know a word of Italian. I hop on the train on the right…even though my notes say, ‘make sure to take the train on the LEFT’. No big deal, just 30mins out of my way because this was the non-stop train and I needed to stop halfway. I get off, and back on the right train and then to tram #8. I’m lugging around 80lbs of junk a backpack and my wakeskate roller bag with some clothes.

Callie moved into a new place yesterday, I flew in today. No one knew her current or new address. I have the name of the neighborbood, the street she used to live on, the name of the restuarnt she works at and her italian phone #. Unfortunatly she doesnt work till 5pm and its 10am. So I wander her neighborhood a bit looking for an internet cafe and try to call her, no luck. I sit down for a lovely cup of fresh sqeeze, a hot panini , and I finish reading The Alchemist. And as I get impatient or tired The Alchemist reminds me this is my goal right now to surprise her and I must not give up, thanks Paulo Coelho. I continue to drag my stuff around in search for internet, in hope that Callie facebooked me her new address as I asked so I could ’ship her a box.’ No luck. I sit on the curb again on my wakeskate bag, tired of lugging it around, waiting for 5o’clock. It starts to rain so I hop into the nearest cafe for a heineken which is accompanied by Italian magazines and finally a redbull as I start to fall asleep in my chair. The sun comes out and 4pm rolls around and I continue my journey.

I almost get on the tram going the opposite direction because I am always backwards. Might have been smart of me to grab a map at some point. I get off at my stop and ask around for the Pantheon. Some fellow thinks I say Colosseum and walks with me a block in the wrong direction until he realizes I mean Pantheon. I find some building with a bowl on the top and think its the Pantheon. It’s not. I found the Pantheon itself is much more breathtaking. From what I know she works at a Trattoria between the Pantheon and the French Church on Rue de la Rosetta. I go to Rosetta Trattoria, the only Trattoria on Rosetta and the man there says no Callie works there, no Americans work there. Every other restaurant in the area has the word ‘Trattoria’ attached to it. I wander the whole area not realizing the whole area was full of churches and how was I supposed to know which one was the French one. I walk past another place called Trattoria around the bend but its closed. I figure the guy at Rosetta Trattoria must be wrong so I return there and take a seat on my board bag out front. He reconfirms. I take two more laps around in case there is another Rosetta street. It’s nearing 6o’oclock and I have no backup plan, my phone is 20% battery left and I don’t have a power charger converter. Mom & Dad keep checking in. I take a seat outside of the closed Trattoria because it’s my last hope. I call to see when they open and if Callie works there and the lady doesn’t speak English and hangs up on me. I look through the window and there is Callie putting away dishes at the bar. I knock and she double takes and tears of joy start rolling down her face.What a lovely surprise to see a familiar face in a foreign country, especially your family when you are so far away from home.

Lovely adventure today. My feet are tired and my one cone of chocolate gelatto is almost enough to satisfy my chocolate cravings for the week. My grandma, aunt & uncle will be here in a few days as well! There is a wakeboard camp and hour and a half away on Lago De Salto that looks gorgouse like Tahoe. I am going to try to make it there especially considering I lugged that board around all day.  I love the old building and the food is amazing. I wish I spoke a bit of Italian, at least. More to come…

P.s. – I miss you and I wish you were here.

Did I mention I am directionally challenged? I’m really beggining to consider that ‘L’ and ‘R’ tattoo.

I want to thank all of the girls that signed up for Pro Women’s Wakeskate last weekend at WakeGames: Jen Hettler, Cassandra Scott, Brittany Fletcher, and Lacey Menkin. I tried to recruit 10 girls, it would have been record breaking but 5 is better than none! Let’s keep this up and show there is a demand for women’s wakeskating!

Check out Throw It Down and King of Wake for more event coverage…

photo: casey friend

7am shoots are beautiful. A little while back my friend, Mike Dalton (aka Dreamery Films), and a few other friends came out to play on the lake and film an early morning sunrise session. Mike just graduated from Full Sail (congrats!) and is about to head of to Iraq to do some really cool things with Matt which can be followed at To Open Your Eyes, so watch closely. This was Mike, Casey and Lance’s first adventure filming wakeskating/wakeboarding. Mike put together an artsy little edit, beaming with good vibes… (more…)

I’m really not into the whole YouTube thing or an Idol fanatic, but if you haven’t seen this you really should…all seven minutes are worth Simon’s facial expression.

FCTN got new business cards. They are rockin’! Black foil on black 24 point paper with a soft touch finish. More photos at www.fctn.tv/play, I’m looking forward to handing these out!

Remember me? Didn’t think so. Sorry I don’t know how posting has become such a rariety. The days are flying by. I’ve been busy…road tripping to North Carolina, working on my sweet southern accent, swimming with gators in the St.Johns river, celebrating lifes and birthdays as I get older myself, trying to convince 10 girls to enter Wake Games, houseboating, and bringing the Ski Cuda back to life.

Wake Games is a short three weeks away, April 23rd-26th at OWC in Orlando! I’ve got plenty of tickets for the weekend if you want any, or if you know someone that wants tickets. Don’t be shy! We need your support :) and if you know any girls that wakeskate and have the potential to ride in the contest, send them my way! 10 girls wakeskating in it would be record-breaking…wish me luck!

I’m almost as old as I think I am. Makes sense right? If I think I’m 24 and I turn 22, does that mean mentally I’m turning 25? I don’t think I want that. Age is such a silly number. Who needs it anyways. I’ll keep sticking to 24, even as I turn 22. Thanks Dad…

The ever so Elus1v, B McLean had a grand little opening at Fourty Seven Clothing last Thursday. I’m loving the new vibe, vintage images and the color! Swing on by to check out some of the pieces, not to mention the hip collection of shoes/clothes 47 has. Brandon’s also got some artwork on display at Lambs Eat Ivy Saloon in Thornton Park. It’s great seeing local venues supporting local artists. Congrats B, love the new work!

I’d say it’s been a pretty good week between getting my new board and my profile up on the O’Neill team page. Things are finally starting to move along. And the weather! Talk about epic riding conditions…no wind, hot, sunny, glassy lake. Welcome summer. Time to get back in gear and start riding everyday, no more cold weather excuses. Thanks O’Neill! I’m pumped on the new gear, gotta love fresh neoprene!

Alas, here are the photos of the Jenny Danger! Erich posted them on wakeskating.com, you can check out the forum thread here to see what everyone thinks. So far so good. I’m pumped, they’re pumped, Grandma’s pumped! Thanks Integrity!

Yesterday was possibly the greatest day in United Post Office history. At least it was as far as the Conway house goes. After months of finding inspiration and playing around in photoshop…

The Integrity Jenny Danger is here!

As much as I would love to post a photo up for you, Integrity gets the honors. So hold on to your shorts, you’ll see it soon. Grandma is going to be proud. In the meantime I’ve got some serious gripping decisions to make. Suggestions welcome.

anom·a·ly
\ə-ˈnä-mə-lē\
1: the angular distance of a planet from its perihelion as seen from the sun
2: deviation from the common rule: irregularity
3: something anomalous: something different, abnormal, peculiar, or not easily classified

I’m anomalous.