That's why I'm easy, I'm easy like Sunday morning

Sorry for the long pause...Somehow, I just didn't find the time to post anything.

Well, there's a lot to tell! 

Jason Mraz is coming to my town for a concert! I found out last Sunday in the internet, his concert is on March 12, quite strange because whenever there is a concert they announce it everywhere in the radio and on posters in the city. So on Sunday there still were tickets, but when I had asked some people in school if they wanted to come and I had a look at the page in the afternoon, all tickets were gone! I kinda freaked out but didn't lose hope because my dad works in this (music-) business and he phoned a few people but he doesn't know anybody who works at the Jason Mraz tour...yeah so now I'm gonna call the concert company of my town if there's any chance of buying tickets at the cash box in front of the concert hall. It would be so sad if I missed that concert! =(

I can almost oficially say that my surf camp is booked, only that I haven't booked it yet because I wanna do it together with my parents because of some contractual stuff. I'll try today. But I'm definitely going and SOOO excited! 

I'm also going to Dublin with my english course which I'm kinda looking forward to but still not a 100% convinced about. There had been a lot of discussions about it in the past because it was/is too expensive, but we're trying to collect money to alleviate that a bit.

The weather is still S-H-I-T. We had 1 or 2 days of sun, inmediately followed by rain. Whenever the sun is out, if only for an hour or two, everybody's quite happy. The worst point was on thursday, when I had my rugby training and it was raining and cold and the wind was blowing without mercy. We ran around a bit, practised some moves for the match on Sunday and my mood got really bad. I just can't wait for spring to come, actually I want summer, but spring's still better than this "can't-decide-if-I-wanna-be-autumn-or-winter-or-spring"-climate. I hope it'll be a hot summer as the winter was extremely cold (for german conditions). I want my tan back ^^ 

I already told my mom that, as soon as the sun and the warmth is back, I'd be the first to hang out by the pool in some lido. 

Oh, and I almost forgot: A DVD which I actually got for christmas (but it wasn't available) has finally arrived: The Endless Summer 2! Wohoo. I watched it as soon as I had unpacked it and love it! I must say that 1 & 2 are both really good, some say 2 is even better but I like the first better, can't say why. In the second they visit new spots as well as some the ones from the first ones had surfed and there are some surprises about it...the second one shows of course a lot of advanced surfing and stars like Kelly Slater, but one thing I loved about The Endless Summer 1 was that it is from the 60's, when in the biggest part of the world nobody even knew what was surfing and they still had those huge longboards with no leashes or anything "high-tech". And still they had some fascinating skills and maneuvers.

I gotta go now, we're having breakfast...I think I'l watch The Endless Summer 2 afterwards =)

/Edit/: N E W S F L A S H: *Oh happy day* I just wanted to book the surfcamp together with my mom and I filled in the form at the computer and she read "optional extra week" and asked me if I didn't want to do 2 weeks...what a question, I mean OF COURSE! We made a deal about the payment and now I can say that I'm not doing 1 week of surfcamp (which I would have been perfectly happy about, as you know), no it's two freakin' weeks!! WOOOOHOO. I could scream out loud. Can't wait! I'm gonna work even more so I have enough money to pay everything! Yea well I guess it's good to go for 2 weeks as my next trip will probably be next year...when I'm going to Costa Rica to visit my host fam. Just wanted to let you know =P

I'm gonna make it bend and break, say a prayer but let the good times roll, in case God doesn't show

First day of school in 2009 is over. I only had 4 lesseon anyways, 2 of English and 2 of Spanish. Both were quite boring. Our new topic in English is "The American South" which I think is interesting. We're going to talk about "from slavery to civil rights" and about "the new South" which is about today's life in the south of the USA. In Spanish our topic for this semester is "Él y ella en el teatro español" (He and her in spanish plays)...that is uh...not so interesting. We'll see. 

When I got back from school I didn't feel my fingers and toes anymore and I looked like Rudolph (the reindeer) because it still is very cold outside. The ice hasn't gone yet and you have to be careful as hell to not fall down. Anyone going by bike these days might either not have been in Germany for the last 6 days or he/she has gone mad.

Then I went shopping with my mum, I bought 50 blank CD's and a note pad for school because I liked the look of it.

It is mirrored again, but you can still see what it looks like. 

We also saw an oversized universal remote control, the buttons were as big as the finger tip of a thumb! There was also an oversized frog toy, and a cool ghetto blaster which had like a case to put and plug your mp3-player in and you can also listen to the radio or to CD's. It wasn't expensive but I already have a nice hi-fi system. 

As you can see I updated my profile. Most of the text was inspired by one of my favourite books: Surf Girl Roxy. It shows many fotos of the Roxy surf-team but also contains texts, interviews and stories. The book helps me everytime I miss the warmth and the sun and the sounds and the smell of the seaside. The photographs make you feel a little closer to the beach.

So I took that text which characterises the whole team and (mostly) modified it and added things so it fits my person. The last part of the text is from the song "Pocket full of stars".

 

Here are some more of my favourite lines in Surf Girl Roxy:

• "But the honest truth is, the ocean scares the shit out of me. I don't trust myself to hold my own against something so...omnipotent. All those mysterious currents and swells and riptides and rocks and reefs... And that's only half of it! What about everything swimming around you (unfriendly locals, bodyboarders, tourists, kids, old men in Speedos...) and underneath you (sharks, stingrays, jellyfish, sea snakes, giant squid, runaway kelp, poisonous...things)? Surfing may be fun, but it's hard and scary and dangerous, too. [...] These girls are the most fearless versions of themselves. They make me want to become a more fearless version of me. [...] You don't necessarily have to surf to learn something from them. We can all seek a little more danger in life. We can all take more pleasure in simple moments. And we can all test our own waters, seeking a connetion to, a lesson from, something larger than ourselves    -Natalie Linden (she isn't a surfer but wrote the texts in the book)
• "The ocean never lets you down. It might surprise you, or frighten you, or challenge you, but it's always there for you. [...] You can get to know it, but you can never 100 % predict it. Some days the swell will come up faster than you could ever imagine, and you'll have to battle your way outside. You'll take waves over the head over and over again, barely able to catch your breath. You'll be scared and tired, but you can't give up. If you give up in the ocean, you'll never walk out of it. So you keep paddling, keep thinking, keep moving. You find your inner reserves. And when you make it up to the lineup, you've never been so grateful. You have accepted what the ocean has offered you, and you've proven yourself in the process. It's a metaphor for life."
• "There are so many different boards, so many different waves and everything, it's like, it's always a new rush. Every morning, I'm just so stoked to get out in the water. Jumping out of my skin. I surf until I can't paddle, or think of doing anything else. Then I go in, relax, chill out, and count down the hours until I can go do it again. That's how it is. I'm an addict. I love it so much it's crazy."
• "Just be active. Care. Smile when you mean it. Fight for what you love. Doesn't matter if it's surfing or soccer or painting or Greenpeace. It'll show."
• "There is so much freedom in letting go of fear. On one trip, VK and Rachael took the Jet Ski out for a spin. VK had never driven one before, and she gunned it. They were going so fast, they looked like cartoon characters, cheeks flapping and legs flying everywhere. They hit a swell, ate shit, but they were laughing so hard they almost drowned. [...] You can see it right away in a person: that they're not afraid, or at least not enough to keep them from trying something new."
• "If the surf is up, we're out three times a day, and spend the rest of the time laughing. If there aren't any waves, we spend the whole time laughing."
• "The ocean always keeps you on check. Whenever you get cocky, you can count on Mother Nature to slap you in the face and say "Hello, I'm the boss, in case you forgot". [...] Ultimately, I just think life is all about the moment in front of you. I can only get to my future by living through everything in between, so I might as well make the most of every second. Love it as much as you can, or hate it as much as you have to, but just experience it for what it is." 

Hope you like it!

Today's title is taken from Thnks fr th mmrs by Fall Out Boy. Funny video by the way.

I swallow a lot when the pressure is up and the feeling I've got is I'm not gonna stop

Happy New Year to all of you guys! 

I hope you had a great time celebrating. 2008 was ok, the first half of it was amazing and I hope 2009 is going to be even better. I have a good feeling about that. I even have some goals for 2009 and I might even be able to achieve them because it's more or less up to me:

• Surf Camp! In my summer holidays. I'm desperate to be out in the water again and I already know where to go, France! That's the cheapest place to go to for surfing I guess. Anyone wanna join me? I don't want to go alone ;-) 
• Continue (and improve my) skating! I think there's another skate course taking place this month. First, I should go the the skate hall and practise what I've learned last time though.
• Improve my grades! My grades weren't bad at all. Still, I know I can do better. And I want to have the prove, on paper =P
• Enjoy life - cheesy, I know. 

2008 was a year of extreme situations.

It started out with a problem which made it really hard for me to be so far away from my family, but it was solved soon.

Right after that I went to surf camp which was one of the best events in my life (so far) and especially in 2008. 

I met the most amazing people there, and I couldn't have learned more about surfing and about myself in one week. This camp kind of opened new doors for me. 

After that I was stoked, so I went to the beach with friends pretty often, trying to make them surf, too, and it worked, all the time. Playa Jacó was always a blast. Good surf, great weather, funny and special people. More about them later. Oh, I love and miss the beach so much.

In May, I went to Panama City. The canal was impressing! Cheap clothes, huge malls, mini-Manhattan-skyline.

My time in Costa Rica was going to end and was at its best at its best at the same time. We had school president's elections, a big thing, we watched the European Championship all together and my class and I even skipped lessons to watch Germany play and, gosh, how I had to suffer when we lost against Croacia, everyone was like: "Hey, she's from Germany, let's get on her nerves!" After the match I went to classes and the whole school knew that I was german and that Germany lost and I didn't even care that much but they were all shouting and pointing at me as if it were a big deal. I did have some supporters, haha. I also went on vacation with my host fam, we visited several beaches, la casona, too, we had an amazing time. My class made a farewell party for me, Germany beat Portugal meanwhile and I got back at them all ;-)

My host sisters made another surprise party for me at home with our closest friends. It was a girls' sleepover and we had so much fun. 

I got back at the end of june, summer holidays were about to start. I was so happy to see all of my friends and family again, it was overwhelming and confusing to be back and after a few days I had a little nervous breakdown but that was only for a few hours =)

At the end of summer holidays I went to Italy for two weeks with a friend of mine. We had big shopping tours in Firence, spent one day in Milano, refreshed our tan on sunny island Elba and recovered all the talking we didn't have for one year :-P

School started again and I was psyched, it was all new and different but soon I got really stressed and didn't enjoy life at all. I hardly had a life. My anti-stress-drug was playing Rugby, that helped a lot.

In November we moved from our old house to an apartment which I love, I really like my new room much better than my old one.

I also met really great people this year:

• I met this Hawaiian guy, Lorenzo (Ok, people can't choose their names ;-P), who works at a surf shop in Jacó Beach and he always took me and my friends to the other end of the beach with his car when he had students to teach and he gave us water and pineapple and surfer-sunscreen and told us all about surfing in Jacó and the places around. The best was his accent, we spoke english because his spanish wasn't that good. I'm still asking myself one thing: Why the heck would he move from (surfers' paradise) Hawaii to Costa Rica as a surfer? Me and my friend came up with that question when we were back from the beach and we never went back afterwards so I never had the chance to ask him. When I get back I'll ask him - He will still be there, for sure.
• Jason, an American guy who my friend and I met In Jacó at the cabinas where we stayed. On this trip, we stayed there for 5 days and he did, too, and since you can't really go out in Jacó at night because it can get dangerous, we often stayed at the cabinas, chilled in hammocks and rockers and talked about all different kinds of stuff. We always had a lot of people to join us, but they were always staying for one or two nights. My friend, Jason and I were always there (during these 5 days) and Jason made everybody laugh and talk - he has a talent for that. He's from Florida but lives in Panama City due to his work. He has a little daughter back in Florida and he teaches her spanish (he has this funny american-panamanian accent), and he was on a 1-week-surf vacation in Costa Rica. On the same trip, we also met a german couple, an old American man who had been a missionaire until he and his wife got divorced, two girls from New York, 2 guys from Vancouver, Canada, one girl from Switzerland and one guy from Colorado, USA. On the last evening we went out all together to eat something at a restaurant. One Austrian guy made us fake tatoos on the wrist (I got a lizard). He had learned that in Guatemala from an Indio tribe, they use semen from a tree to make the tatoos. They vanish after 10 days. That trip was fun.
  
• My next trip to Jacó, with another friend of mine, was just as great, we met german people, american people, canadian people, australian people. We went to see a surf contest with them at a beach near by. A german woman, hadn't been in Germany for years because she travelled the whole world: Asia, worked in China and India, worked in Uganda, worked in Dublin, travelled Latin America. She wanted to work in Chile or Argentina and go to Australia after that. One guy, Erik, was from the USA but lives in Puerto Rico and works there as a surf instructor. My friend and I were happy to hear that, but he told us he didn't want to teach anybody in Jacó because he has to do that 7 days a week in Puerto Rico and wanted to enjoy surfing himself in Costa Rica. But when he heard that I got so much into surfing he was trying to talk me into buying a board inmediately. He explained me every single board in a catalogue and marked the ones that could be mine, in categories: "If you buy it an sell it when you go back to Germany", "If you move to Costa Rica and stay", "If  you wanna surf in Europe and go on vacation-surf trips" "If you wanna become a longboard-girl". I still have that catalogue ;-) Lorenzo joined him and wanted to write my parents an email with arguments about why I should buy a board xD
• There were loads of other people there, and they all had their own story to tell. I met all of them in Jacó whichis definitely a big point for this little beach town. 
• In Germany, I didn't meet that many new people, but many known beloved people who I am happy to know and proud of being their friend <3

Edit: The german woman who travels aound the world was in a group with one Canadian and one Australian guy. One month later, I met them again in Panama City. That was creepy =) The world still is a small place ;-) 

Last but not least: I don't care as long as you sing by The Beatsteacks.

and I don't care as long as you sing 

and I don't care as long as we swing 

and I don't care as long as you sing

I get everything right and I want you to 

I get everything right I'm not playing rude 

I get everything right I get up and swing

you make me sing

so here we go it doesn't pay 

it won't protect me no more 

when I get up I break it down 

I'll double back and for sure 

I go back to zero

I get up

I swallow a lot if the pressure is up 

and the feeling i've got 

is I'm not gonna stop 

we are back in the early morning 

we are back in the early morning

so here we go it doesn't pay 

it won't protect me no more 

when i get up I break it down 2x 

I'll double back and for sure 

I go back to zero

and I don't care as long as you sing 

and I don't care as long as we swing 

I don't care as long as you sing

I get up

so here we go it doesn't pay 

it won't protect me no more 

when i get up I break it down 2x 

I'll double back and for sure 

I go back to zero

So here we go now

I get everything right and i want you to 

I get everything right I'm not playing rude 

I get everything right I get up and swing

These are headstrong crazy days when your mind's made up and the music plays

I had my English exam today, that was 3 hours of writing a summary, an essay and a letter, so I'm actually tired of writing much right now =)

That is also the reasonfor why I'm going to post my travel-special later, instead I'll show you something very cool I found in the internet yesterday and it might interest all of the surfer- and/or skatergirls out there or those ho just want to try it out some day.

First of all, Carissa Moore's online journal is online again. When I was bored I just typed in her site to see if anything had changed - and there it was. She is not with Roxy anymore! Sad. I love Roxy and I love Carissa Moore. But one has to make changes in life and she had been with Roxy for like forever, her whole surfing-career, which is 8 years (and she's only 16!), and now she signed up with Red Bull and Nike 6.0 - not that bad either.

Second, I had a look at the little symbols on the right side, and found: A skateboard designed by her! It's a small longboard actually, and have a closer look: Do you see the trucks shining through?

This is so cool - a transparent skateboard deck! I've never seen that before!

The colours remind of her surfboards...

One day I am going to design my own board haha =)

Edit: I almost forgot - today's title was actually inspired by my sister because she listens to it so much I already know the lyrics: Headstrong by Ashley Tisdale. It's a catchy song, you listen to it once and it's stuck in your head.

Tandem surfing

Yesterday, I posted some videos about big wave surfing, and in the third one, you can see two guys riding the same wave synchronously. So Cate asked in her comment if something like "synchronal surfing" exists. I think that there isn't such thing, especially because most waves only breaks into one direction, never heard of it, but that doesn't count as a response, so I searched it in the internet - and didn't find anything. So if anyone has infos on that - please tell us!
But, there is another form of surfing that has now been oficially accepted by the international olympic comitee: tandem surfing!

Big Wave surfing

Hey guys,
since I am having a politics test tomorrow and I have to study, I will just show you a few videos of big wave surfing today.



When I started to watch this one, I was like, "woah, that wave is gonna be huge.". Then, when it came up, I thought, "is this animated?" and when there was only white water on the screen "he's dead." but he wasn't, he was even still standing on that damn board. woah.





Laird Hamilton. The man is great. These waves look insane, especially the one in 0:35. Look at the speed he has!





Talking about big waves one shouldn't forget about Pipeline! I wouldn't wanna wipe out out there...o.O

Shimmer

"Shimmer" is a surfer film by Roxy / about the Roxy surfers team and perfectly shows us surfing, lifestyle and the quality of life surf brings to you. I love this movie. If you don't have enough time, just watch it in parts or at least watch the last parts with the juniors (minute 19:20) like Carissa Moore. She is great and you are definitely going to hear a lot about here in the future (not only on this blog).
Amazing takes like in the very beginning make me wish to converte Germany into a carribean island with sea, beach, sunshine and palm trees <3
If anybody of you guys know where to get the soundtrack please comment - I want it so bad =)

CLICK

GoldenRide Magazine

I am really happy to say that i finally found the (almost) perfect magazine for me.
It's called "GoldenRide - all girls boarding magazine" and includes surf, skate, snowboard and the style being connected to it. Apart from snowboard, I more or less practice these sports (as "much" as I can/cannot), but snowboarding is about to follow, that's just a matter of time ;-)
I really like the way of dressing that is mostly connected with these sports, and brands like Roxy, Rip Curl, Vans, O'Neill, Volcom, Etnies, Element etc are like paradise for me - an expensive one.
That is actually the reason for why I still haven't bought all of their clothes.
But back to the magazine: This month's issue was mainly about snowboarding, as the temperatures are decreasing rapidly. First, I was kind of disappointed about that (snowboard-thing), but then I decided to just keep on reading everything because, who knows, next year I might already be looking out for everything that has to do with snowboarding and just can't let go of it - just like surfing.
I don't know why, but any kinds of board sports totally fascinate me.
The issue also covers articles about a big skate event in Prague and one in Basel, and about Joy Monahan, a longboard surfer who made it to the top without the support of sponsors - which I thought was rather impossible.
The part I liked most about this issue is the parts showing the clothes. Unfortunately I don't have the money to afford them...

Here are my favorites:


Vans Slip-Ons. I really like the colours on the black background. In the magazine, they put them together with brown clothes which I think looks very good.



"Jameson" by Etnies. Love them. It's a shame that in my town almost nobody sells Etnies shoes, and when they're sold, it's boys shoes.


Vans again ("No Skool 2 Mid"). I actually saw them in a store in the centre, but I just don't have the money to buy any pair of shoes right now.





"Data" by DC. It's a snow jacket. As a snowboarder, I guess this one would be part of my "snow-jacket-faves-list"

The things you see here are mainly shoes, because I just couldn't find the hoodies, jackets a.s.o. in the internet to show it to you. Maybe I'll connect the scanner to my computer some day to make this happen...I'm kinda tired of typing in clothes name into Google =)

Final: Circuito Nacional de Surf / Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica

¿Cómo vas a saber si nunca surfeastes?

Como vas a saber lo que es el placer, si nunca corriste una ola.
Como vas a saber lo que es dolor, si jamás te cortaste con un coral.
Como vas a saber lo que es la poesía si jamás vistes la caída del sol desde adentro del mar esperando la ultima ola.
Como vas a saber lo que es la humillación, si jamás un local te robo la ola perfecta. Como vas saber lo que es la plenitud, si jamás pegaste un tuvo como vas a saber lo que es el pánico si jamás te agarro un set, te revolcó y pensaste que no salías jamás.
Como vas a saber lo que es morir un poco, si nunca te ha importado alejarte de la playa por unos meses.
Como vas a saber lo que es el insomnio, si jamás te despertaste esperando un swell y no había amanecido.
Como vas a saber lo que es sacrificio si jamás remaste por una hora para poder entrar.
Como vas a saber lo que son las metas, si jamás trabajaste por unos meses para comprarte tu tabla.
Como vas saber lo que es la preocupación, si jamás se te rompió la cuerda y tuviste que ir a buscar tu tabla en las rocas.
Como vas a saber lo que es el perdón, si jamás le dijiste “esta todo bien” al rookie por el que caíste.
Como vas a saber lo que es la soledad, si jamás viajaste solo para correr esas olas que siempre soñaste.
Como vas saber lo que es la decepción, si jamás en tus vacaciones el mar estuvo flan por una semana.
Como vas a saber lo que es la amistad, jamás surfeastes con amigos.
Como vas a saber lo que es la vida, si nunca surfeastes.

It's movie's night: Blue Crush

Blue Crush is a girl's surfer movie. Huge Waves, a lot of surf, a lot of fun. Watch it if you still haven't, even if you're not that much into surfing. Belive me, you WILL BE afterwards ;-) Song: Cruel Summer.

10 Basic Rules of surfing (from SURFOS)

Here are some very useful rules picked up from Surfos, a surfer's magazine from Latin America - Costa Rica). They made a special Costa Rica Surf Guide in English (the actual magazine is in spanish). But I think you can use them at anywhere in the world, not only in Costa Rica. A big part of surfing is respect. You have to show respect and you have to earn respect, no matter how "new" you are! So here we go:

1. If you decide to go surfing with your friends and the break seems somewhat crowded, do not enter the water all at the same time, but go out separately. Don't make it look like an invasion. Don't paddle out straight to where everyone is, instead wait on the side for a while and take your time.
2. Once in the line up, do your best to say, "hello", to the others, even if nobody answers back. Remember that what really counts is your intention.
3. Wait your turn, do not paddletowards the inside for priority. If you look like you want to catch all the waves don't be surprised if others drop in on you. Don't be aggressive.
4. When you paddle for a wave...catch it! If you refuse to go without a good reason, the locals won't give you another chance. Remember a wipe out is always better than missing a virgin wave. The really good waves don't appear every second.
5. Respect priority! The surfer who stands uo the closest to the peak has priority (even if you stand up the closest to the peak has priority (even if you stand up first because you have a longboard). If you drop in, don't just disappear, make sure to apologize with respect.
6. When you paddle back to the line up, be aware of the others. The ones surfing the waves have the priority over those paddling in. If you have to change direction, always paddle towards the white water, it's the only means of leaving the way clear for those surfing.
7. Don't yell after catching or loosing a wave. And don't keep calling your friends while in the water. The majority of the surfers like to concentrate while waiting for sets and the shouting can be distracting.
8. Leave sme waves for the others. Do not abuse of your priority, even more important to remember when you have the advantage of a longboard, evolutive board, bodyboard, etc.
9. When you are about to get worked by a set and have to let go off your board, be really careful that you don't hurt someone around you in the water.
   
10. Make a ritual of picking up a few pieces of trash before or after each session. It's a win-win situation and you will probably get somebody else thinking about doing the same thing.

So these are the ten basic rules, if you didn't get the meaning of some waords just comment it and I'll try to explain to you!

Surfing Costa Rica

Going with the Flow Trailer 1



Going with the flow Trailer 2


...admit it. You can have so much fun on a longboard ;-) Enjoy Costa Rica!

New Surfspot: Boca Barranca, Puntarenas

A really great spot. Point Break, direction:left. Ground: plain rocks and sand. As you can see on the photos there are a lot of waves to surf at the time. You didn't get the wave?Just take the one behind! Since there are many locals you should be watching out for the surfers in the many waves that could hit you, and don't forget NOT to take too many waves as locals ALWAYS are first ("Voy YO!). If they let you take a wave, don't think, take it and surf all the beach long: the waves are up to 1 km long (see big photo). You can easily find Boca Barranca, it's near Puntarenas City and located on a river mouth, so watch out for crocodiles ;-) The ugly thing is that you have to enter through the river/walk over rocks and stones ( the dark brown parts you can see) that cut you feet badly (my experience). I suggest to bring a pair of cheap Flip Flops (yes, they should be cheap because the won't last much time alone on the beach!). Always be friendly to the locals, they will be glad to tell you where to pass =)

New Surfspot: Montezuma, Puntarenas

Location: Montezuma, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

The Beach I saw, was kinda full of rocks, so i guess the Beach of Montezuma wasn't exactly the beach they surfed on, but i asked some people and they were telling me about Playa Grande and Santa Theresa...which are located very close to Montezuma and Cabo Blanco.

Backside Floater

Hier seht ihr ihn, den Backside Floater =)