octopus

much excitement, minimal payoff.
I had a temp job on the Mega Yacht Octopus. http://www.yachtmati.com/Octopus/index.htm
When i call friends in the industry to let them know there was heaps of excitement and envy. This is a very famous boat with extreme security and very few people get to see and touch it.
It was a simple job, we washed the boat. I did not see the interior, I did not see anyone famous. I did sign a very intimidating confidentiality agreement, so thats' about all i can say.

put on the black arm band

a huge part of my life has left me.
we were young silly fiercely independent teens when we met and even though we grew apart for a while, we stayed together. she was a constant in my life. As i went through phases and moods trying to figure myself out, she stood by me. I was very lucky for that. There were mornings I wished she was gone from my life, very cold, frost covered mornings. Mornings where I was running late and she was not running at all. I would gently coax her to a hill, put all my weight on her and start running, put her in second, hope no one was at the next intersection, and pop the clutch- never failed! and then realizing i had not scraped the ice off the windshield.
Now she is someone else's joy, and burden (good luck in Arizona! she does not like it over 94 degrees). After nearly 16 years together, my precious 1974 Volkswagen Thing has gone to a new home. Her new family really wanted her, to fly from Phoenix and transport her back. I hope they love her half as much as I do, but wash her more often. Sixteens years together, a lifetime.
It's the car I really learned to drive in, stuff you don't learn in Driver's Ed. Like pulling into on coming traffic to pass a slow car, backing up across the mall parking lot to check out boys, hopping curbs and medians to avoid traffic and the art of running stop signs. I truly believe police radar cannot pick up the color yellow, I know we were going over 65mph. Maybe the cops just liked her, we were pulled over dozens of times and never ticketed, once going down a one-way street the wrong way, for a few blocks.
We were the one car parade, seeing people smile at the sight of a 70's yellow convertible, and seeing the envy of the consumers in their flashy expensive sports cars, knowing that they cannot buy this kind of happiness. Friendly waves everywhere, even from the guy tailgating me on Mo-Pac.
Once a man in a vintage Jaguar at a car wash asked me, "what's next?" and i could only reply, "this is it, the one and only". Then he gave me his number and said to call if i ever consider selling her, at the time I could only laugh in response.

This is not an end of an era, just a hiatus. There is still only one car I have ever wanted.

snot of the 7 seas

who knew floral arranging could go wrong?


doing my part to keep all the pirates on board happy by assisting the chief stew Ina, from Lithuania, with the mandatory floral arrangements. great fun and heaps of learing and a bottle of wine (yo ho ho!). and then a celebratory pub crawl for creating 3 gorgeous arrangements from $100 of flowers. and breakfast at The Floridian http://fort.lauderdale.diningguide.com/data/d104165.htm.

the next day we are coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever...

and of course i have job interviews lined up now- anyone have great remedies?

while you where out

finally!!
I am free!! so soon and sudden i left the boat, the boat i renamed "the ship of solitude and sandwiches".
the recap my boating life: nice little boat 105', great captain (from South Africa), great deck hand (from Chile) cute little cabin to myself (very rare) and a decent family.
But no one cooked. i do not cook, especially after a 10 hour work day in the sunshine and heat. so it was sandwiches. and the deck hand is in mid greencard process and cannot leave the country, who would help on deck? no one knew... i already had too much to do with out enough time. and there was no fun to be had on this boat. i thought i found the fun vacuum and was ready to toss i t overboard, but is was just a very large juicer. i realized that under these conditions i would lose all social skills ( the little i have) and develope a bit of OCD over food.
Halloween was my last day, so i had a huge halloween! and a wonderful weekend.
I am not homeless or even a bit destitude like most pirates would be with out a boat, i have connections. We look out for our kind. The crew of a friendly boat 121' invited me to join until i have a job- so i have a boat, 3 meals a day and the loveliest of crews, 6 of 'em! i am living large.
and working hard for them and even harder to find my self a happy boat with a chef.
Yesterday: went for a run on the beach, polished all the stainless in deck, don scuba gear and scrub the barnicles off the hull of the tender (little boat, 32'), delicious dinner with crew, then to a friends for tea and napkin folding (a very important skill for pirates!). life is as it should be, with a constant uncertain future.
hope thats enough for now. out of time at the library