I just updated my site’s style switcher and added the first of 3 styles. This one is for the surf theme. I’ve got 2 more coming… Dirt and snow. You might be wondering how I created the wave that sits below the header. It was a small sketch I drew this morning. I then scanned it and “painted” it in Adobe Photoshop using bits and pieces of real photos of real waves. There’s some foam from Teahupoo, bits and pieces of Pipeline and some glare from Jeffreysbay. All in all, a fun project to take on. See below the “before and after” photo. The first photo is the sketch exactly as my scanner saw it. The colorful barreling wave below is the finished picture after quite a bit of work. -D
by Danny on January 28, 2010
You’ve been there before. You plan your day out a certain way and it doesn’t come out quite like planned. Here I am, sitting inside the truck in the parking lot at Snow Valley Ski Resort in Big Bear. After waking up at 4:30am to drive all the way up here, I realized I should’ve been here yesterday. Yeah, I missed a good foot or two of fresh snow by one day, and to make matters worse, it’s so windy they have closed most of the lifts. Guess it’s not a bad time to write. They say people get creative when in odd situations.
I’ve heard it before. In surfing, “You should have been here yesterday.” When kiteboarding, “Perfect wind and waves – yesterday!” Well, the old saying goes, “If life gives you lemons…” I certainly cannot complain about having to make lemonade all too often. The few times things do go wrong become an interesting change of pace. Which brings me to the point of this post.
I certainly cannot complain about having to make lemonade all too often.
Most certainly, one of the keys to success every day is staying motivated. This involves staying motivated even when things don’t go quite as planned. Face it, things don’t go quite as planned OFTEN. I’ve found it’s always good to have an alternate plan. In fact, I’ve gotten so good at having an alternate plan, that oftentimes I don’t even have to think about it. I just quickly move on to the next thing. Like right now for example. As I’m typing on my phone I’m looking over my shoulder at the mountain to see if things start clearing up. I came here to snowboard and I want to get on the snow already. If I had my laptop with me, I would likely be working artwork. Right here, sitting in my car.
Next time you are on a ski or surf trip, on a date or simply at work and things go to crap, think about it for a second. It really isn’t so bad. You’re alive. You’ve got a lot to be grateful for. You can’t control every situation. Things go wrong simply as a part of life and it’s merely a chance to become stronger.
What can I say? I’m actually grateful for this wind. Without it I would likely not be sitting here writing. My phone could crash any minute and cause me to lost everything I have typed so far. But sometimes things just turn out pretty good after all. Like right now. The fact that you are reading this is proof of that. God bless. Danny
by admin on November 28, 2009
Dear esteemed reader,
After 8 years of kiteboarding on dannycruz.com, I decided it’s time for a change. Life has gotten more complex. It’s time to make this site reflect what is really going on today. You can expect: Art, creative design, musician-talk, surfing, and a number of other related topics I’m involved in these days.
I will be working “live” on developing this site. Which means you can see the changes as time progresses. As I’m writing this quick post, there is not much to the site yet. The color, theme and content is at its absolute simplest form. If you are reading this post 2 months from now, what you are seeing around you might be quite different. I decided this is the way I wanted this site to progress. Not behind-the-scenes, but live and public.
If you wish to view the old kiteboarding site, fear not, it’s here: http://www.dannycruz.com/kiteboarding/home.html
Thanks! Looking forward to a long and interesting future.
Sincerely, Danny Cruz
