I’m typing to you one handed because my 2-week old daughter Agnes refuses to let me or her mom put her down while she sleeps. Maybe a little codependent already…well, so be it, she’s cute and only a handful of days old so don’t be too hard on us. I’m hunting and pecking my way across the keys to get this newsletter back on track to make sure your surf life is more fulfilled because while I’ve been changing diapers, Jackson went to Paris, Brandon unearthed a Bobby Martinez part I totally forgot about, Sara Taylor and Charlie McHarg put out a rad part called The Sky is Doing That Thing Againand tonight’s Friday Night Flicks is one of my all-time favorite films: The Long Goodbye (seriously, if you haven’t seen it, please skip the Netflix/Amazon/HBO scroll and and play it). I’m excited to be back and life has a whole new sparkle to it now that I’m a dad. It’s Friday. There’s a new Lana Del Rey record out today and I have a guilty pleasure and it is Lana Del Ray. Oh, and my Alma Mater is playing in the Sweet 16. Go Aztecs! Spring has sprung in the 4HL.

Ok we did it. Paragraph one is done. One handed. Only took me an hour to get that down. And Agnes is now eating so we’re back two-handing the QWERTY keys.

So the latest from me: I haven’t surfed in two weeks as I get acclimated to “dad life” but I haven’t missed a whole lot…although the storm drains have been hemorrhaging sludge so you know there are sneaky sandbars again. And I don't like missing that, so plan on me making my return this weekend.

What else? The World Tour is trudging back to Australia after backwashy Portugal — which I caught some of thanks to my daughter and her love of being awake in the middle of the night — and like I said a few weeks ago: I’m still pretty lukewarm on it all. Everything feels diluted and unimportant. Offbeat and not in a good way. Why is that? It’s a shame too because there is some really good surfing going down. Love watching Joao and Rio and some of these new faces go off and put it to the big names. But the stakes and locations aren’t popping. The World Tour route is off and maybe that’s why the Bobby part hit so hard this week. The stakes feel low and I think that’s a problem for surfing. And it’s crazy to me that we’re about to lose half the tour and possibly Kelly (what a lame way to go)…and then if you think about it: the incentive for surfers outside the top 5 after the cut is…well, really low. And even those in the top 5 have to think about Lowers and just how they can beat Filipe out there. Anyway, let’s see how Bells goes. Always liked that event. Got to attend the 50th Anniversary running of it and the memories of that debaucherous week are still some of my fondest surf contest memories. So, go Bells!

We’re currently orchestrating our next Inherent Bummer Live event for April, so plan on that. Think late April in LA or OC. Details to come. I also just saw that Murder City Devils are playing mid-April so we’re definitely attending that and we’ll do Inherent Bummer Live the following week give or take.

And just like that, I’m back to typing one-handed. So until next week, go to Paris, watch Bobby and Sara and get that new playlist “Rough Ones” spinning. And if you find a typo in this, let it slide please. I’m a dad now. And I can’t afford to hit delete.—Travis Ferré

[Above Artwork: Conestabile Madonna by Raphael, 1502-1504]