- PJManning ☕️🏄🏻♂️👨💻🍷✈️
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- May '25
May '25
🏄♂️ Maldives, mates, and memories in the making

What's been going on...
Back to full strength post-dengue
Unexpected friend visit to Bali
Surfaholic few weeks in Maldives

2 of my favorite surf spots from the plane window
Maldives Month in May
May started off pretty routinely in Bali after the owner of the house left. I had the house back to myself, but without the home cooked Thai meals. Probably for the best, as too much panang curry was making me fat 🎅🏻
Shortly after, I had an unexpected visit from an Aussie friend from the good ol’ Costa Rica days. It was great to have some fancy dinner company and reminisce - everyone from that town during those years understands just how special that time, place, and community truly were. I feel incredibly lucky to have experienced it. Unfortunately, it like so many other small surf towns, for lack of a better term… “blew the fuck up” 😆

Fancy dinner #1 in Ubud
Then we had a few birthdays in the neighborhood which is always a fun time. Fun fact, when it’s your birthday in Indonesia I’ve noticed the custom is to serve your parents/friends the first bite/piece/package, not receive. Interesting lil tidbit that’s often reversed back home. And it’s not just birthdays, at Balinese weddings the bride and groom serve you as you walk in and make sure you have food.

After cake, it was time to pack for the annual surf trip to the Maldives. I love the community here and really missed the routine of coming every year during that US-funded, China-built virus 🦠 lolz. Forgot how much that sucked and killed my ridiculous lifestyle of coming to these places yearly (pinch).

Peak season is usually June through August, but Eid is such a cool, festive time of year and shoulder season is a great time to beat some of the crowds when the waves are still peak-season quality at least 50% of the time.
Been here 2 weeks already and the waves have been perfect. Not pumping but solid head-high every day. Got another 2 weeks with more waves and the Eid celebration coming up!

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Side Project - TBD
Participating in a hackathon this month which is vibe-y using AI. Why not? 🤷 Everybody’s doing it. Submissions due June 30.
Waves of the Month
Where to Surf in June: North Male, Maldives ;)
LISTENING
READING
WATCHING
PRODUCT OF THE MONTH
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.