Alright, so as I promised, I went out this weekend and surfed at Venice breakwater with my new board, and it was awesome! I was a little wary of paddling and pop-up, but it all happened so perfectly on the first wave I paddled for. The waves weren't all that great, but the few that I caught felt beautiful. Looser, faster and more feel. Infact, I enjoyed riding it so much on the weekend that I called in sick on Monday only to drive down to huntington pier for a session on larger sets. Consequently, I walked into work today looking like this---->

while telling everyone I was awfully sick the day prior. LOL
I highly recommend these dimensions for anyone who wants to move on to a shorter board. Will post pics of it soon.