Jason Lunn.com/ Portfolio of a life…..

Living in Lombok

In an internet cafe now, I have spent the last week surfing in Lombok and spending time with my friend River at his villa. I have lots of photos and will post soon. I also have lots of new cuts and bruises on my leg and right hand as a result of being hit in the water by another board. Unfortunately due to the dirt on the roads and the sea they have become infected and turned into puss filled sea ulcers again,..Aghhh so annoying.. Body feels beaten up at the moment.

I like Lombok a lot and have been looking at various plots of land with a view to possibly building a home here, will just see how it all turns out in the next few weeks..

Lots has happened in a week and I will post this all soon… Having phone stolen has been a nightmare this is my new number

+6281337045368

Lots has happened need to work out how and when to post it..

Only a 25 min plane flight from Bali to Selaparang, Mataram Lombok leaving at 8am. I feel absolutley exhausted as I was up until 3am getting all my possesions ready to take with me. I then decided to go out dancing at a bar called La Vida Loca in Seminyak that I know has live latin music until 6am. This i thought would be more beneficial for me than falling asleep for three hours when I would have finally entered a deep sleep just start having a cool dream interupted by my alarm to get up.
I Arrive in Lombok 20 minutes later. Once In the airport need to avoid al the local, guides touts and taxi drivers hustling and hassling me for business, fell asleep soon as I sat on the plane and then awoke in a blink of an eye. I have a backpack a big , and a surfboard bag with 2 boards in. Surfboard bags are such a pain in the arse to travel with. So big and cumbersome. This is definitley a bonus skateboarding has over surfing.

I mange to arrange a taxi to Kuta lombok expect to pay 230 000 rp,.. This is where I know my friend Richard Tetro “River” has built himself a villa over the last four years and he has invited me to stay with him and help him out with a few things on his villa in exchange for some accomodation. Problem here is I do not have his telephone number as my phone was stolen. I mange to get a taxi to Kuta Lombok and find some budget accomodation as a base for me to stay at until I locate him. he knows I am coming but he has not heard from me for a week..

Well it appears Lombok is still very undeveloped with a magical quality radiating from it, landscape is spectacular with sandy bays and coves, amidst mountainous peaks carpeted with coconut plantations at the foothills.. I am loving the vibrations I am feeling from the land here. The energy radiating here has a very tranquil and peaceful feel. Every road and pathway has water buffalos, goats, cows, chickens and dogs meandering about their business which really has forced me to take a deep breath and change down a gear or two. Such a contrast to Bali its neighbour.

Went to the local surfshop asked if anyone knew “River” it seems everyone does and I am soon escorted to his villa and move in there for my first evening in Lombok

Next few days..I have been having some fun with river surfing Mawi, a heavy left handed wave breaking amidst beautiful mountainous coastline onto a shallow coral reef. Heavy swell, River breaks his board and I get pulverised by the sets 3 days in a row but nonetheless enjoying myself. Mawi is not a beginners wave it has very strong rip currents that one is forced to continually paddle against. This current keeps dragging you away from the waves take off point and taking off here seems to be a tricky one the 3 times I have surfed it. The wave is fat and full for a long tie as it rolls in and is hard to paddle into then soon as it becomes steep enough it just jacks up and throws out its lip onto the reef. It  is then very steep and I have had to be super quick to me feet, the times I wasn’t, I was thrown straight over the lip into the pit of the falls..I have managed to get some good waves though and it has balanced out over the last 3 days.

Ok, today started out as standard day, like I said before I can’t shake this feeling,.. so I have started getting my surfboards, finances and general stuff ready for my flight to Lombok in the morning. It has been a hot, sweaty day so I have decided to go for a quick surf at Kuta Halfway on the beach at midday to cool off. Small waves and crowded, so not so good, more of a paddle about than a surf.

Anyway as I am surfing, a fit woman in a small bikini paddles out to the same peak that I am sat at, obviously it is in my nature to notice a hot body and face in the sea catching a few waves especially when I am behind her as she is duck diving the sets. However i was not feeling too friendly and just tried to make sure that she was not going to be a threat to the waves I was planning on surfing. Well after about 30 mins she seemed like a cool girl with a nice way about her so in between the sets I lightened up and warmed to her a bit. Then just started on the standard sat in the sea between sets small talk. Bottom line here is I discover she has been here 5 months, working for a surf brand as part of an internship , alongside which she has been modeling and designing and manufacturing her own clothing designs. Which included leather jackets amongst other things.

Well to cut a long story short we end up leaving the sea together agreeing on a shared lunch. As I walk behind her she is looking every bit the surf female model in her bikini as you could imagine, 5ft 9 tall, slender, lean, fit, long blond  hair elegantly strolling with her surfboard under her arm. In a moment of serendipity we discover we have parked our bikes next to each other in the parking area which seemed more than a mere coincidence.

So next thing, we are having a relaxed informal lunch, followed by a quick trip back to mine to drop off my  surfboard again followed then by a trip back to hers. At her house, I get a display of her work as an illustrator, a portfolio of her artwork, a sneak preview of  one of her leather jacket samples, label stamps, logos, jewelry designs etc. Her talent list seems endless combined with surfing ability, model looks, hot body, and friendly personality to match. An exchange of stories and next thing we are pretty much as close to each other in our shared intimate personal space as two people can get whilst in their beach wear, without crossing the invisible line..

She is leaving in a week and I have a flight to Lombok tomorrow,.. she asked me politely and suggested that I miss my flight and stay with her for a week until she returns back to Holland.. I do not know how I end up in such situations but I just try and unwrap the present as it is given to me from above and this is where I found myself today. We had dinner together and then early evening I had to leave. Sitting here in the internet cafe collecting my thoughts I am left with a choice of whether to stay in Bali another week and spend some time with her surfing and exploring some of the islands wonders together or jump on my flight tomorrow morning. Financially, this is ok  to cancel as it only cost approx 20 pounds, so this is financially feesable…

Well she had been keeping a Bali Diary and asked me to write some words tonight before I left, so I plucked a few lines from a few poems I once wrote that have been spinning around in my head the last few days due to the feelings I have been having. combined as one seemed appropriate for situation I found myself in,..

Step into your dream,

you can always awake,

its time for the real thing

It is all yours to take.

Always follow your heart

for it feels no illusion

Thats in the mind

its called daily confusion..

So there I am I have written these few words in her diary, not because they are anything new to her or me, however just something to support her in the path she has already chosen asI do believe she is a person who really has come alive and stepped into her dreams.

Well as I am writing these words today I had a brief moment of clarity, consciousness and a moment where a light shone into my world. This woman, named Jette Edens, had become part of my day, and presented with me a choice that has left me feeling somewhat confused, should I stay or should I go? The invitation a blessing.. Jette most definitely encouraged me to think a little bit more today as she entered into my mind, However in our brief encounter she had not reached my heart.

Alexa!

Alexa really entered my heart and even though she has gone I can still feel her pulling at it from the inside, this pain is no illusion, instead it is real and I am most definitely feeling it. If I allow Jette into this space and allow my fondness of her to grow she too will leave in a week and in stupidity I will have tried to fill a hole with another hole.

So in my basic, logic and wisdom  with the hard reality and truth staring me in the face. I decided that  to stay with her for a week is  not a step in the direction of my dreams, this is as I want to be whole not have a hole. So I think I will be boarding my plane in the morning as my own words must become the sentence and terms I live by or I too will be judged accordingly..

So,

Thank you Jette Edens if you ever stumble across this post, you were and will be an inspiration in my world, you enlightened my day in a brief  but significant encounter. Today I awoke into a new consciousness as a result of  our paths crossing, so may your world unfold with new wonders each day and may your dream boat appear sooner rather than later…

Will post here when time allows..

A quick message to anyone who has tried to call, my phone was stolen from my moped today along with some cash. No major drama except I have lost some valuable and some irretrievable telephone nos.

NB ;RIVER please I hope you read this I am flying to Lombok Monday and will arrive at 9am and still want to stay I just can not call and I do not know the way….

Dear God,

explain to me why when I reach out to you with my right hand and ask you to help me up, I feel you take my left hand. Please explain why the times I when I am tired and ask you to give me energy and motivation for life my, why do I then find myself in so much pain I have to become fully occupied to take my thoughts away from its grasp. Why, when I want to complain to you about the people and situations that have upset me do I quickly find myself behaving in the same way. It feels as though today you have placed a mirror to my world and in the reflection is a reflection of my faults , please take away this mirror that now blocks my view, that once clearly saw you and allowed the light to shine through..Why please why? when I ask for real love does it appear and disappear in the same breath, yes in a wink and a blink like the sun so soon to set and leave me once again in the dark..

Why? when I ask for you to give me wisdom do you surround my life with chaos to choose from and when I am tired and ask for strength do you give me a mountain to climb. Please why when I need help to think, do you remove all directions from my life and allow the signposts of demons to line my path and haunt me from the past. Why when I needed sunshine did you bring me the pain and when I needed parenting did you take them away? Why when I feel I have so much love to give, I am surrounded by people who seem to have everything I have to offer, or Babylon’s whores who only want money?

Why did the person that wanted to sail away with me, have to leave alone on a plane and leave me alone with my pain,.. Why do I smile when i am happy and write when I am sad, why is this art fueled by such despair,.. Please I want someone, no, not just someone like all who have passed before, that made me close my hearts door, but that special someone who last week you revealed,..For the first time in a long time, I feel safe to open this hearts door, feel like I want to love her just a little more.Yes I want to continue wanting her and needing her, in each and every way, here to stay, to love with all I have to give, deeper, sweeter, eager and eager, to tease, please and want in every which way, So a prayer to the one who holds it all together, gave the breath to my life and the breath I have shared, and this prayer full of thanks this my life you repaired,

living the lies
instead of living each dream?
2 small ears, swing them here
before this dream splits at the seams

there is a claim on your back
in black and pink ink,
with your name on his wrist
did you once stop to think..

that a day may soon come
where another mans hands
would be caressing the hips
where you tattooed
your life’s plans

and this other mans hands
that embraced and caressed you
gave a chest and a shoulder
a safe place that would rest you

well that man is still here
and he’s not living a lie
instead living his dreams
explore the world and to fly

and the door to this dream
is still open to you
but he is not sure for how long
because a door will close to..

Just north of Ubud, inland within Bali are two Hindu temple sites both named Gunung Kawi, however one is old and one is new,.Basically the swell was pumping today but I decided not to surf,  instead  take my camera and video camera and visit these sites based on a recommendation from a surfer staying in the same bungalows as myself. I went with my friend Handa, who I picked up from Denpassar on the way through. She is a funny person and royally entertaining. A productive day and I took a lot of photos and also managed to film a few filler clips for a dvd production I am vaguely planning in my head.

As a result I now have pictures and video footage of many wonderful and magical views from today, although the light was not as great as I would have hoped. However I hope to be posting some of the pictures here in this post when I have a chance. A Long ride back today 1 and half hours, stopped in Ubud for a pizza.

Ubud really is a magical place and every time I pass through or visit there I feel such a renewal within my creativity and the creative hopes and aspirations i envision for myself, there really is an indescribable and a potent powerful energy in Ubud that is very inspiring. On the Moped ride home we passed a temple where some Hindu men were practicing their music for a cremation ceremony, I was invited in to sit and play with them. So I did and basically clanged and banged some cymbals for approx 30 mins to an hour.The Balinese locals are a very inviting, friendly and community based and their eagerness to involve me in their ceremony was real blessing to my day and my spirit.

So all in all today was a good day although i did not surf. Last week  I booked a flight to Lombok (the island to the east of Bali) for Monday Morning 8am. I am feeling  like it would be positive to spend some time outside of Kuta as I have been here about two months solid again now. On a more emotional note I am feeling a pretty big hole inside since Sunday having said good bye to my friend Alexa, since she has now flown back to Jakarta…She left me with a few cd’s of  some of her music she selected for me to listen to, which I have and which has been having an intimate effect on my feelings…what I am feeling I am not in a position of clarity to articulate just yet…but its painful and reminds me I have a heart and that I am well and truly alive within it..

Bali film festival in Kuta today, free film preview on the beach today at the back of Kuta’s Discovery Shopping Mall. There was a free showing outside on the beach of a new film “Fly in the Champagne” capturing the rivalry between Kelly Slater and Andy Irons over their many competitive years. Good vibe on the beach, warm night, bright orange sunset. The film itself had lots of sick surfing and land and water action footage from many eras and many angles.

Inspires me to want to go out and film more surfing and do more surfing. I am beginning to realise more each day that I want to make Bali my permanent home for the forseeable future. I really want to be in the sea every/ most days now until I can no longer stand up on a surfboard, presently  I cannot see the UK offering me those criteria…I am enjoying Bali at the moment and am planning on going to see and photograph some temples inland tomorrow so maybe some interesting new photos to come here soon..

Went to surf Batu Belig in the morning however waves were not so good, tide too high 2.1m so a lot of back wash. Decided not to surf here and carried on my motorbike to Brawa Canngu, arrived approx 11am wind cross shore, the sea an onshore mess but there were a few solid right handers coming through. Heavyish swell still left from weekend, not so good though too windy. Decide to surf the low tide at Dreamlands late afternoon until sunset, which provided clean off shore fast lefts, the walls were holding up for a while before closing out. Split and dinged my board pushing a floater to the limit, my board is now in Naruku surf shop getting repaired. They are a good local surf shop in Kuta and have a fast turnaround so it  should be fixed by tomorrow afternoon, hopefully.

NB,A quick note,Dreamland seems to work really well between a .1m tide and a 1.1m low with min 8ft swell 13 -16+ seconds which will provide fast lefts that eventually close out but can be raced at full speed until they do. Also a short steep take off to a fat right, enough wall for one maybe 2 turns before it turns to horizontal mush. Nice place to surf at lowtide until sunset. Good crowd in the sea but definitely a crowd. Fun take off and quick ride. I like it here, good vibe lots of girls in bikinis on the beach…

Surfed Kuta in the morning, Dreamland in the afternoon, good swell fun waves,..Bali is such an amazing place and so full of experience. Today I am experiencing remembering an amazing week with a wonderfull person who like all my other friends have gone back to their worlds and left mine with another vacant space. So I guess its time to see what happens next…

1st Place Jamie O Brien Hawaii

Jamie O Brien Padang Padang Rip Curl 2009 1st place

2nd Place “Bol” Made Adi Putra Indonesia

"Bol" Made Adi Putra 2nd place

Saturday Morning and the Rip Curl Contest organisers have given the go ahead for the 2009 Padang Padang Surf Contest in Bali. Bali has been awash for huge posters and promotional material for this event, with the marketing slogan”its on when its on” This surf break is Bali’s premium surf wave a big cavernous green back lit barrel that peels slowly across the reef at Padang Padang beach providing awesome inspiring rides up to 150-250m with a barrel hollow and wide enough to fit a minibus inside. It has only broken properly once or twice this year as it needs a hefty south west groundswell of 10-12ft min with a 16 second period.

This is a barrel riding contest with 32 internationaly invited surfers. This line up contains the world most prestigous and talented surfing professionals with 15 or so Indonesian surf pros competing on their home turf. They have all been waiting for the right swell conditions as the contest was to be held on just one day between Aug1st-31st. Everybody has been in Bali waiting for the contest green light to go. This is a barrel riding contest with 32 internationally invited surfers so the conditions need to be perfect. Well the contest was given the green light 8.00am Saturday and the conditions could not have been any more perfect. Heavy clean swell offshore trade winds and bright blue cloudless skies.

To cut a long story short Jamie O Brien from Hawaii spent more time inside a barrel in today’s contest than most surfers will in the entire surfing lives. Jamie grew up in Hawaii with Pipeline as his local break and this really shone through as he pulled into the longest deepest barrels. Jamie was going “deeper than a Nigerian Porn Star” and just as the wave closed out and everybody was thinking game over he would burst through the white water like a superhero bursting through a wall. Arms always aloft waving with delight as though he was uncertain of the waves outcome as the judges and the crowd. Super talented surfer his positioning in the sea and wave selection was incredibly precise and he delivered for himself and his sponsors. He provide unforgettable entertainment for the crowds  spectating scattered around the beach and cliff and more importantly the judges. He scored three 10′s during the contest and each one well deserved. Jamie OBrien is becoming more of a legend each day…1st Place

Highlights, “Bol” Adi Made Putra, a local Indonesian professional ripper surfed Padang today like it was his day job, super relaxed, wave selection perfect went deeper than everybody else except Jamie OB and delivered the goods every wave he ended in 2nd place. Could have won if hee had not gone as deep on a few immense barrels but he put his balls on the line for the judges and the crowd. Respect, It was my first time to witness Bols legendary surfing in the flesh I have only seen posters of him in the large retail outlets in Bali. Every bit as good as the life size posters depict, Bol is the man..

Everybody else took off went deep made some got shut down by others.. but the waves were great all day. The contest format was 2 man head to head relaxed vibe. Sit in the Sea wait for you wave take off and Boom pull under that thick heavy lip. I managed to video most of the best waves from the quarter finals through to the end, so they will end up in my next production soon..

A great day, Rip Curl continue to develop their credibility and Kudus in my opinion, a great event, 32 surfers at least 20 years surfing experience each so about 6400 surfing hours experience all on showcase in one beautiful bright blue Bali day.

I most definitely want to pull into one of these barrels at Padang Padang before my time is up, another reason to stay here. I am loving Bali more each day…

I spent the evening with a  woman with the most beautiful soul who I met one week ago, her name is Alexa. We have spent everyday together for one week and she leaves on Sunday,.. so as one good thing comes another one leaves.. A crazy wonderful world the Universe, My God, my life is providing for me.  Life is good….

Do not believe the words, they may be invisible

I believe in my God and each day I am shown how he loves me and provides for my needs in a way that no church, no religious or academic, governmental or political institution, doctrine or faith could prepare me for..my God knows my real needs and provides in abundance beyond all I can measure or imagine. All I can say is my faith is real and my prayers are heard and my path is illuminated by a bright light with wonders along the way.

The sun shone out of the class

If I can, I will try

and articulate with eloquence,

the supreme and divine

that daily entwine,..

my world,  my feelings,

an answered faith, full of  relevance

daily demonstration of reverence

limitless with no ceilings

taking care of my feelings..

My faith just grows stronger

and within my faith, I belong

and this 6th  sense of belonging

seems to daily remove from my soul

all emptiness and

its longing..

So many ways the good Lord shows his love, real life, real time, a real gift from above, then as quickly as it comes it disappears

I have been surfing Dreamland at low tide, surfed with Doug McKinney yesterday, very busy in the water good waves but not so many so people a bit stressed, good social situation for meeting new peeps,  had a chat with an Australian surfer from Perth call Kieran Hudson who is on a two week holiday to Bali then back to Perth to continue setting up his own company  “Disccopy.com.au” which specialises in outsourcing volume cd and dvd reproduction for musicians and film makers with a Master CD,. Great guy wants to be self employed so he has flexibility can surf more when the conditions are good. If I go to Australia it would be good to surf with him again..

Skye and her friend came to Kuta last night so we went out and had a party and a dance at the clubs along Legian Street., going to surf later not sure where..

Ok a few small scrapes on my big toe and feet are turning into deep sea ulcers again, surf is pumping so not surfing is not an option….. aghhhhh!!!! they are becoming sand traps and are so painful to clean out.

Below are some pictures from Padma beach Kuta Bali on an average day at high tide, Balinese Billabong Pro Surfer Raditya Rhondi….

Surfed Dreamland on the Bukit Peninsula again until sunset, the developers have built a big restaurant on the beach there. The beach is very popular for tourists both whom surf and those looking for a relaxed beach experience. Whilst in the sea at sunset yesterday I heard the sounds of tribal drums in the buliding on the beach. I have always loved live percussion so when I exited the water I climbed the stairs to the dreamland restaurant and found a wonderful balcony with two infinity pools overlooking the horizon, a great bar and restaurant area and a live drumming and fire show. I decided to sit back in the infinity pool watch the edge of the pool dissappear into the horizon as the sunset on the ocean swell, I had the sights and sounds of amazing percussion and traditional Balinese fire dance, such a wonderful moment. I will try and take some photos from the pool next time I go there it really was magical experience and didnt cost a single rupiah which was great….

Since my last post I have been surfing most days as there is consistent swell in Indonesia most days. In the evenings I have been spending some time in between with an Indonesian female I met this month named Donna, we get on ok but she is leaving to go and live in Jakarta in a week, so it will be another short lived affair of sorts.

However I intend to enjoy it while it lasts which will be in total, just two weeks…

Surfing at Uluwatu most days this week which has been fun, some days are a bit aggro in the sea and pretty crowded. Briefly a quick mention my friend Dougy “stand up barrels” McKinney is back in Kuta after travelling to Australia and the Uk, we had a fun surf on the beach the other day on 1ft high crappy close out waves, all good fun though..

Xgames 15 is happening right now this week in the USA and all my favourite skaters fmx riders and bmx riders are breaking all the boundaries this year once again. Its all happening on ESPN.com and Youtube.. so instead of uploading photos I have been watching all the latest action at snail speed internet connection slower than dial up.. so bad!!! aghhhhhhhhhh

However it has been worth the wait seriously the whole world of action sports has progressed at such a ridiculous rate over the last 15 years..makes me feel old, not ready to step down yet though.