Name: Kathy Heberle
Nickname(s): “Kath,” “Kat,” “Kat-tee” (if you’re French), or “Klutzy” (if you’re my older brother).
Hometown (SL or RL): In SL it’s Kipona Aloha, but in RL it’s a little town near Foxboro, Massachusetts.
Local Spot (SL or RL): It would probably be Chi in SL and Georgetown in RL. In both places I sometimes love to just sit and watch people.
Stance: I’m naturally left-handed, but the nuns in Catholic school made me learn to write with my right, so I’ll go either way depending on how the waves are breaking. I also feel more comfortable facing the shore the first couple of times I go out, especially on a beach that I don’t know very well.
Inspirations: I think a lot of “famous people” probably don’t deserve most of what they have. My inspirations come from ordinary people who are trying to do some good in the world, like the utility worker who got the power back on in your apartment or the guy who stops to help you change a flat tire in the pouring rain. These are the people you usually never hear about, yet overcome some sort of adversity everyday and are happy to drink a beer out of the back of pickup truck to celebrate.
Favorite Spot (SL or RL): In SL it’s easily Canada to surf and my gallery to see all the beautiful artwork. In, RL I love surfing at Hapuna Beach, but Hawaii is my favorite spot in general.
Favorite Surfers: Bethany Hamilton is probably one of the coolest people I’ve ever met and has always been totally nice to me whenever I’ve bothered her at a beach or a grocery store. I would most like to see Luke Davis surf, and I most like to meet Danny Fuller.
Favorite Food: Eating to me is more about people and places. My dream menu would be:
- To Drink
A Kona Pale Ale on Keauhou Bay watching the sunset with friends.
A hefeweizen brewed especially for Oktoberfest while sitting outside the Altstadt in Frankfurt with some crazy German guys who say they’re pilots for Lufthansa.
A bottle of Budweiser I shared with my friend’s pet ferret “Zuzu” at a frat party in college.
A cup of hot chocolate in Gillette Stadium during the Fourth Quarter when the Patriots are killing the other team. - Appetizer
Fried Calamari from just about any place.
Red Beans and Rice from Pe-Te’s Cajun BBQ in Houston, Texas with my mom and dad on a road trip along with a couple of astronaut trainees we just met.
And my boyfriend’s favorite: A Microwaved Beef and Bean Burrito from 7-Eleven on our way home at 2 o’clock in the morning. (He actually eats it, too! :-P) - Entrée
Brick Oven Pizza from either Pizzeria Paradisio in Washington, DC with friends, or Pesto’s in Hilo, Hawaii with my family.
Spaghetti from a small café near the University of Padua while exploring Italy alone.
Pepper Steak from the Parker Ranch and served at the Kilauea Lodge in Volcano, Hawaii after watching Pu’u O’o erupt with my family. - Dessert
A box of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies that had melted together at the bottom of my travel bag after winning my first (and only) college race.
Tiramisu from Pizzeria Paradisio in Washington, DC, which is too small to share with anyone.
Poffertjes from a small cafe on the river in Utrecht, Holland on a beautiful day with a college friend of mine. (You can sometimes smell the tulips when the wind blows, too.)
Ice cream in any flavor anytime.
Top Bands: I’m an iTunes addict! Sade and Sarah McLachan are my “it girls,” and I think Natalie Walker is going to be huge one day. However, I pretty much love everything and have almost 2,000 songs on my iPod. Here are a few that I listen to while surfing. Try downloading some of them yourself.
- "You’ve Been Spiked" by Chris Joss, AOL Music DJ Sessions: Mixed by Thievery Corporation
- "Think Twice" by Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band, Hôtel Costes 8 By Stéphane Pompougnac
- "Always (Lovetronic Vocal)" by Lisa Shaw, Always – EP
- "Keep Hope Alive" by The Crystal Method, Vegas
- "Ready, Steady, Go" by Paul Oakenfold, Bunkka
- "Mama's Room" by Under the Influence of Giants, Heaven Is Full EP
- "Again With the Subtitles" by Yppah, You Are Beautiful At All Times
- "Tamarindio (Thievery Corporation Remix)" by Adrian Quesada & Ocote Soul Sounds, Tamarindio - Single
- "The Seeress Prophecy (Daydreaming)" by Achillea, Buddha Lounge 5
- "Days to Come (Featuring Bajka)" Bonobo featuring Bajka, Days to Come
- "Djambee" by Althea W., Café De Luna
- "All I Need" by Air, Moon Safari
- "Walking Man" by Arno Elias, Buddha-Bar: Nature
Top Movies: Empire of the Sun. The Color Purple. It’s a Wonderful Life. Austin Powers and The Spy Who Shagged Me. The Waterboy. Mean Girls. Being John Malkovich. Vanilla Sky. 12 Monkeys.
Board Specs: In SL I have more boards in my quiver than I can remember, but my first board and most favorite is my Namiko Shibuya. In RL I’m saving money to buy a Super Fish by Seven Surfboards.
What do you do besides surf? In SL I try to find the craziest people to do the wildest things possible like extreme snowboarding with some newbie dwarves, high dive from 70,000 feet, test drive UFOs with my best-friend Lonna, try on celebrity shapes, fly (and destroy) the USS Enterprise with some totally hilarious Star Trek geeks, or explore worlds where none of the avatars speak English. In RL I don’t know any newbie dwarves, I’m too chicken to skydive, I’ve never seen a UFO, all the Star Trek geeks I know aren’t very funny, and I’m always traveling to some place in the world where no one speaks English. Instead, I like to read, download music, and watch movies.
What else are you a fan of besides surfing?
I have absolutely loved the New England Patriots all my life, and it’s incredible to me that they have become one of the most exciting football teams in history. And the Red Sox won the World Series? Is this really happening?
If you were in a movie, what would you play?
Hmmm… I’m not sure, but sometimes I think that Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet and Rene Zellweger are following me around taking notes.
If you had unlimited money for 24 hours, what would you do?
(1) Buy a house on the Kohala Coast,
(2) Set a great surf shop in Kona,
(3) Pay off my mom’s mortgage,
(4) Pay off my brother and sister’s mortgages,
(5) Set up college funds for my niece and all my nephews, and
(6) Become the biggest single donor to both CARE and UNICEF in history.
It’s too bad that lotteries are really just taxes on people who can’t do math very well.
If you were a comic book character, who would you be? I would be Spiderman’s girlfriend, Mary Jane. Yeah, she has red hair, but like her I’m just an ordinary person. It’s the people I love who are the real superheroes.
