> there was that hotness before jQuery (which I've forgot)
Prototype and Script.aculo.us? I remembered being in Prototype camp because I deemed jQuery to be too different (and in a hindsight, that was one of my worst decision in tech)
There's also YUI, MooTools, etc.
Loads of people board the train at the most recent stop and are amazed how "fast" it's going.
At least with surfing all the waves are different - in web-tech it feels like the same wave over and over.
Just wait (shakes cane) it'll happen to you too.