After all the Julia craziness, I was stoked to get out of town again. The 4th Dew Tour competition was that week in Portland, and I was totally ready. After winning the first three, I was on track to achieve my goal of sweeping all five and win the tour with a perfect season. I know I’m expecting a lot from myself, but that’s what I have to do if I want to be the best. After X-games I decided to limit my travel posse to Tony, Casey and Taylor. Casey and I had been joking around for a while about him being my assistant, so we decided to finally talk to my mom about it.…
He needed a job, and I wanted him at the competition with me, so it was really the only obvious solution. I totally get my mom’s warning about not letting the business arrangement mess up our friendship, so I was kind of relieved when she suggested that we make the trip to Portland a trial period.
The only thing I had to do before the trip was to resolve things with my dad. I wanted him to come to Portland too, but we hadn’t really dealt with the fact that he blew off the X-games finals. Talking to my dad about how I’m feeling can be really hard sometimes. I wanted to tell him how much it sucked that he took off like that, but he kind of turned it around on me. He made me feel like it was my fault for getting upset with him. How else was I supposed to react when my dad tells me he didn’t think I qualified? Maybe I got madder than I should have, but that was still no reason for him to take off. Obviously he saw it differently, and at that point I really didn’t feel like arguing. Honestly, I was just happy that he was still planning on coming to Portland.
I think the best part of the episode was Casey throwing a tantrum in Portland when I asked him to get my board. Nice assistant he turned out to be! The funny part is… in the past, just as my friend, he totally would have gone up to grab my board while I finished eating. But, as my assistant (who I was totally paying) he turned into a big baby.
The hardest part for me to watch was the actual competition. I was landing everything. I was seriously shredding out there. It was great… until the fall. Looked gnarly, right? I love that it was caught on camera, but believe me… as bad as it looked, it hurt more. Not only did that fall put me in a dumb cast for 2 weeks, it put me in 2nd place. (So much for sweeping the whole tour.)
I know I was kind of a brat when my dad was trying to give me a pep talk, but I just wasn’t in the mood at that moment. I was bummed…and in pain. Second is great. I know it is. I just really wanted to have a perfect season, and I was pissed at myself for screwing that up. I know my dad means well, and I love him for it… but sometimes I need him to stop being my coach for five minutes, and just be my dad.
Oh yeah… as for Casey being my assistant… All I have to say is, good thing Portland was a trial period. Great idea Mom!
