social networking one's way to surfing again

Step one It's funny how things in life unfold. Things that seem inconsequential at the time, can sometimes become grand later on. Everything is an opportunity; like forked branches on a tree, we make a decision to do one thing and it takes us down a particular path, we make a decision to do another and it takes us down a different one. Not making decisions has the same effect, but I prefer to exercise my freedom of choice and leave the jellyfishing to others.A couple of months ago my friend L sent me an invitation to join Facebook, and though at the time I didn't think much of it and simply joined because she'd invited me to, somewhere in the back of my mind I think I anticipated its potential. The truth is, I've always found social networking sites interesting-- hell, I'm down with anything that can facilitate communication and bring people together -- but for some reason I never felt compelled to join myself. But since you never know where seemingly inconsequential choices will take you, it's good to be open to anything.Step TwoFor the uninitiated, social networking sites basically function on a couple of different levels and Facebook is no exception. First, you have individuals interacting with each other through personal pages which represent who they are and what they're all about -- their education, occupation, photos, musical tastes, etc.. And second, you have something called "groups" which is pretty much as it sounds -- a place where special interests can establish communities and distribute information.Shortly after joining Facebook, I joined the "Life Rolls On" group (you've probably seen their link under the "Life Aquatic" section to the left) and began receiving updates and information from them and their underwritten program "They Will Surf Again".Having caught my attention several years ago when I read about one of their events in Newport Beach, "They Will Surf Again", an organization that works to get disabled people surfing, sparked my imagination from the get go. Unfortunately for me, I live in Northern California and with my schedule (and ass), participation was never very realistic.Nevertheless, sometime around the end of June an announcement was posted on Facebook that "They Will Surf Again" would be holding one of their events in LA, and even though I knew it wasn't something I'd be able to make -- our Film Festival was that same weekend -- it still pricked up my ears and got me thinking about the possibilities.I knew I'd be heading down to Southern California in August or September anyway to pick up some stuff I had in storage, so I thought why not check and see if there'd be an event happening while I was in the area. Sure enough, there was, and the rest -- as they say -- is history.Step three And there you have it; because of a decision to click "join" on a popular social networking site, this coming Saturday I'll be putting on a wetsuit and surfing again for the first time since my injury over 20 years ago.Am I stoked? Ha! What do you think?Sometime the pieces just all fall together.Oh, and because I love you so much here's a heads up to a great deal on Amazon's MP3 site: Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago. It's easily one of the best indie rock albums of the last year and a $2.99 there's really no excuse not to experiment and give it a go. I think the deal ends at 12 a.m. Pacific Time, but I'm not sure. Whatever the price, it's a shimmering, moving album. Get it. Aloha.