Category Archives: blogging

Wild Wednesday: Sea Angels

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It’s been a (long) while since I’ve done one of these Wild Wednesday posts (and yeah, I’m late).

I was googling around with a little spare time and came across these ‘cute’ lil’ buggers. Sea Angels.

Yeah, they look sweet and innocent. Fluttering around the ocean. Their translucent bodies and ‘wings’ might make them seem like the angels they’re named after.

But they’re really just snails. Snails without shells. Hunting snails. Carnivorous snails. Sneaky snails. Sexy snails (they’re ‘simultaneous hermaphrodites’ which means they can reproduce any time- they don’t actually need a partner to do it tho). According to Joseph over on his very interesting blog Real Monstrosities, they’re really little devils. 😉

It’s a good thing they’re all pretty small, the largest of them only grow to a couple of inches long. I’ve never seen them (at least not that I know of). Have you?

 

Hayloft- Nickel Creek

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This one has really been sticking in my mind lately. I really like a lot of their music. The mandolin and fiddle are fantastic!

Check it out. Let me know how you like it. 🙂

Cherry Pie Moonshine

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Cherry Pie Moonshine – Sweet C’s Designs.

OK. Here’s a new moonshine recipe. I double checked the link and it DOES work!

It looks delicious and very easy to make. I agree, it would make a great Christmas (or Valentines) present.

Time to get cookin’

🙂

More Moonshine?

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I was looking at my stats and I found it hard to believe SO many people liked those posts I did way back when on ‘moonshine’. They were my all time most liked posts! (Don’t bother clicking the recipe links in my earlier posts, for some reason they’ve disappeared off the internet. I didn’t even know that was possible!).

Makes me think I need to post some more on that topic.

What do you think?

Christmas is coming up…

Travel Theme: Fabric

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I found another challenge in my Reader tonight. It’s from Ailsa at Where’s My Backpack? She does a Travel Theme challenge every week. This weeks travel theme is: fabric. So, here is my entry for the challenge.

I took these photos on my last big trip abroad (the last trip I have any photos for, the actual last trip was to Nicaragua but somebody stole -hacked the computer and encrypted- all my photos and wants $1000 to give them back! So sickening, but I don’t have the money, so they’re all gone forever- lesson learned: BACK UP YOUR PHOTOS in at least 3 places!!!)

The first photo was taken in the museum of the last palace of the rulers of Malacca, Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. The cloth is woven from real silver and gold thread. Indonesia is well known for its beautiful fabrics. They do a lot of intricate patterns and batiks.

The second photo is from Northern Thailand. I took a day trip from Chiang Mai to see the hill tribes. This was taken at the village of the “Long Necks”. The ladies were busy weaving these fabrics, the little girls would watch the stalls and hope to sell you something. They all seemed quite shy and quiet.

I love beautiful things like this, it’s funny, but it’s only when I’m traveling that I ever think to look at anything like this. I never think about my usual simple shorts and t-shirts. Who made them and what it took. I assume they’re made in some big factory by machines. What a different way of doing something. Making fabrics, clothes. Handmade, local, careful, beautiful. Nice. 🙂

Conspiracy Freaks

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I’m about to head out to my weekly political meeting. Or, as most people refer to it as “those crazy conspiracy freaks going at it again”!

Does it REALLY matter if it’s a conspiracy if whatever you’re concerned about IS really happening?

Personally, I couldn’t care less if it’s technically a conspiracy or not. I just want it all to STOP! I’m not nearly as involved/informed as some of the other members of the group. I just don’t have the time (or the inclination) to spend SO much time investigating and following up research on SO many different things.

Things like:

  • Fluoridation
  • Chemtrails
  • Federal Reserve, debasing our money
  • Global warming
  • Weather manipulation, HAARP, California drought
  • GMOs
  • False/Shadow government, failure to legally reconvene congress after the civil war
  • Drug wars, prison state, prison-industrial complex
  • TSA, NSA, PATRIOT ACT
  • Obamacare screwing up our healthcare system even worse than it was
  • Common Core, government schools, TV, etc dumbing down the population
  • Agenda 21
  • Rising taxes and inflation, forced to work longer to survive, less free time to think
  • Families breaking apart, kids and elders left on their own
  • More and more and more rules and regulations, run jobs and businesses out of the country, huge loss of personal freedom

The list goes on, and on, and on. I don’t know if every one of these things is really going on, is really as bad as some of my friends there make out. I DO know that SOME of them are, that’s enough for me to keep going. to keep fighting.

There are SO many ways we are being used, and abused. I go to the meetings to TRY to find ways to deal with it all. To TRY to find solutions. To TRY to find ways to inform and educate enough other people so they’ll come to care about all this stuff and join in the fight.

My friend Mike thinks I’m nuts. He tells me I shouldn’t worry about any of those things, I should just let Obama (or Hillary) do their thing and everything will be fine. It’s all the Republicans fault according to him (yeah, I’m simplifying a little bit, but not by much). Sorry, but it’s NOT just the Republicans fault! It’s the fault of BOTH parties and I get SO tired of hearing one side argue about the other!

BOTH parties are STATIST! That is the problem and THAT is the reason we have so many of those problems I listed above! Until we get the population of the USA to believe in FREEDOM and LIBERTY like we all used to believe in, then things are just going to keep on getting worse.

In America, we the PEOPLE are the supreme rulers! Individuals are MORE important than the state! The government works for US, NOT the other way around!

Harry Browne asked a question when he was running for President a few years back. He asked people “Would you give up your favorite federal programs if it meant you never had to pay income tax again?”. Sadly, almost no one would.

 

TEFL Call Tonight

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Staying home tonight, waiting for my TEFL conference call to begin.

I signed up for this program on teaching English overseas a few months ago. Another of my attempts to find a way to support myself when I move out of the US.

So far, I haven’t made the move. I still haven’t even taken the actual TEFL course, tho I am getting closer to signing up. I have started actually researching different programs, at different schools.

My old friend from high school just finished his TEFL course and he’s already teaching. So far he’s loving it.

I think if I didn’t have so many bills, I would be much more likely to do it myself. I definitely worry too much.

I hope tonights call will help me get off my ass and make some kind of decision! If I can’t get back offshore, I need to find SOMETHING to do that will bring in some money to pay the bills. I figure if I’m living somewhere cheaper, I won’t be spending so much money. I hope that’s how it works!

Just Do It!

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I talked to a couple of old friends today. Both of them have made the move and encouraged me to ‘just do it’ too.

One friend I used to work with on the ships has made the move to Thailand. He’s still working for the same company we were at together, but he has been working in Korea for a few years now. He spends his time off in Thailand. He’s married a Thai lady and is VERY happy there.

My other friend went to high school with me on the sailing ships. He’s got the same adventurous spirit that I have, but he’s actually DONE something with his. Soon after high school, he spent 10 years living in Venezuela. He moved back to the states to raise his family, but now they’re grown and he’s looking for a change. He’s just finished his TEFL course and is now teaching in Mexico.

I’ve been trying to find something to do with myself for years now. Decades really. I’m so tied up in trying to find a way to get out of here, but I want to do it safely. I don’t really love the idea of trying to sell everything I own, cut all ties, and give up everything I’ve ever worked for in order to support myself overseas. Is that possible? I know I’ve been trying for a LONG time and still haven’t really come any closer to finding an answer.

I’ve been lucky to have had a good job (until a couple of months ago). One that paid me enough to pay the bills and put a little aside every month. In trying to find some way to support myself, so I could leave the US, I’ve started a vending machine business (total failure), bought rental properties (which I am going to have to sell since I can’t afford them if I’m not working), working on stock photography, blogging, writing.

None of those projects has yet brought me anywhere near the amount of income I need to start the process to emigrate somewhere else. Only the rental property will bring in enough money so that I can apply for residency (not citizenship) in a few places.

I’ve been hoping to get at least a couple of weeks of regular work over the holidays. That would help a LOT. At this point, that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. So, now what?

I’m thinking my best alternative would be to take the TEFL course myself. At least that would give me the option to live someplace cheaper and get away from some major expenses here. Also, find a much less stressful lifestyle somewhere.

I’m still worried about so many things, pretty much all of them to do with finances. How will I pay my bills? How will I be able to keep up my ‘training’? How will I be able to keep my LICENSE? I need that license in order to work offshore and I can’t imagine giving it up after working so hard for 34+ years to earn it.

I need to renew it by December 2016. If I want to keep it after that, I HAVE TO find work at sea! So, I have about 9 months to find something else to do before I need to be back here to start the renewal process.

So, does anyone have any helpful ideas for me? Something other than “just DO it!” Some ‘it” to do?? I’m open to suggestions. Send ’em over here. 😉

Songs of the Sea: Sail On Sailor

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Here’s a classic. The Beach Boys singing “Sail On Sailor”. Read the lyrics for a not so nice version of time spent at sea. Good or bad out there, I still love it! 🙂

“Sail On Sailor”

I sailed an ocean, unsettled ocean
Through restful waters and deep commotion
Often frightened, unenlightened
Sail on, sail on sailor

I wrest the waters, fight Neptune’s waters
Sail through the sorrows of life’s marauders
Unrepenting, often empty
Sail on, sail on sailor

Caught like a sewer rat alone but I sail
Bought like a crust of bread, but oh do I wail

Seldom stumble, never crumble
Try to tumble, life’s a rumble
Feel the stinging I’ve been given
Never ending, unrelenting
Heartbreak searing, always fearing
Never caring, persevering
Sail on, sail on, sailor

I work the seaways, the gale-swept seaways
Past shipwrecked daughters of wicked waters
Uninspired, drenched and tired
Wail on, wail on, sailor

Always needing, even bleeding
Never feeding all my feelings
Damn the thunder, must I blunder
There’s no wonder all I’m under
Stop the crying and the lying
And the sighing and my dying

Sail on, sail on sailor
Sail on, sail on sailor
Sail on, sail on sailor
Sail on, sail on sailor
Sail on, sail on sailor
Sail on, sail on sailor
Sail on, sail on sailor

Heart of the Sea

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I took a little break and went to the movies yesterday. I’ve been wanting to see the movie “In the Heart of the Sea” since I first saw the commercials for it a couple of months ago.

I’d read the book (by Nathaniel Philbrick) a couple of years ago. I LOVED it. It’s a fantastic sea story (which I always love).The movie tells the story of the Nantucket whale ship “Essex”. “In the Heart of the Sea” showcased adventure, suspense and even horror mixed in with the wonderful descriptions of the sailing ship and life on the sea 100 years ago. Then there was the whole Moby Dick thing. The whaling and the incredible idea that there might be a whale out for vengeance!

I admit, I don’t remember much about the book ‘Moby Dick‘. We all read it in high school. I had no idea it was based on a true story. I don’t remember being all that impressed with the book. I’m pretty sure the ending was not the same as in this movie, (if it had been I’m sure I would have remembered it better)! Like a lot of those ‘classics’ we had to read in high school, I remember thinking “what the hell’s so great about this book?”.

They did a good job with the film. It wasn’t as good as Philbricks’ book (movies almost never are). Still, it was good.

It started right off by following the Chief Mate, Owen Chase (played by Chris Hemsworth), leaving his pregnant wife behind and heading into town for his next assignment. He’d been promised a captains position on his next voyage and was pretty ticked off when he found out he got screwed out of it in a case of ‘office politics’. I hadn’t realized they were even doing that way back then. 😉

Captain Pollard (Benjamin Walker) gets the job instead, simply because he comes from an old time, respectable family.

This creates a situation on board between the Master and Mate where they are constantly butting heads and is NOT good for the ship (it never is)! The tension between the 2 characters is evident throughout the entire movie. They could have done more to show the interaction with the rest of the crew, but the focus was on these 2 men (and the whale).

The movie, directed by Ron Howard, uses the story device in which Herman Melville (working on his book Moby Dick) is interviewing Thomas Nickerson, who went to sea as a young boy on that disastrous voyage. Nickerson is ashamed by what he did to survive and has never spoken to anyone about it. His wife finally convinces him to speak to Melville in exchange for much needed funds.

It works as a way to tell the story. You can still see the effects the incident had on Nickerson, even all these years later. It was well done, not disturbing the story too much with the returns to the scenes of the late night story telling over drinks.

I really enjoyed the movie. I loved all the scenes of the everyday work aboard the ship. I yelled at the captain that he was an idiot to sail into the storm like he did. I was thrilled to see the whales and caught up in the chase when the boats were launched. I cried when the ship was lost. (I’m glad it was dark in the theater). 😉

I suppose todays environmentalists would be cheering for the whale the whole time, but I found myself wavering. Sometimes I felt like I imagined the whale felt. Angry at men for destroying so much innocent beauty. Coming to murder my family for money! Sometimes I felt like the men. Just out to make a living, to survive however they could. This was a survival story in the end. On both sides.

I’m glad we discovered petroleum oil, or we WOULD have wiped out all of the whales. OK, I have been working in the oilfield the last few years (so maybe I’m prejudiced), but I wonder what would have happened if we had NOT found an alternative to whale oil. Would we still have been able to progress? Or would we have gone back to the ‘dark ages’ when everything stopped when the sun went down? Yeah, even tho we have a few oil spills, I’m still glad we have petroleum.  The whales are recovering now.

 

 

Son of a Sea Cook

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I was at the Workboat Show in New Orleans last week. I spent most of my time this year talking to recruiters, crewing agencies and training providers. One of the more interesting ones was the Son of a Sea Cook workboat cooking school. It’s a new program of the Sea School based in St. Petersburg, FL.

If things weren’t so totally dead offshore right now, I would heartily recommend it for anyone who wants an ‘in’ to get started working offshore. As things are, I would still say it’s a good idea. It helps if you like to cook, but most small boats require everyone to cook sometimes. It really doesn’t matter if you like it or not.

It’ll be dead offshore til the price of oil goes back up, but there were still plenty of inland companies hiring at the show. It’s still an advantage when you’re looking for work to have a skill like cooking to add to your application. Companies know that a good cook will help keep a happy crew and that’s always good for business.

Knowing how to cook is a good skill to have even for your OWN benefit. It’s sure nice to know how to cook up a good meal instead of living on TV dinners and baloney sandwiches. I know, when I got my 1st apartment, I lived on Campbells cream of tomato soup and baloney sandwiches.

I never learned how to cook til I HAD to, when they took our cooks away the last time the oil price took a dive back in the 80’s. We lived on TV dinners and sandwiches for months. Thank goodness my crew was willing to let me learn to cook! I made them a deal, I would (try) to cook, they could clean up. It took me a while, but I did eventually learn. Now I can cook pretty good, and I even enjoy it.

The Son of a Sea Cook school is a 28 day course, includes free room and board in Bayou La Batre, AL, and will get you set up to find a job as a boat cook. They’ll help you get your US Coast Guard documents if you need them. They have companies that look for graduates of their training programs to hire on. They even have tuition assistance and job placement help.

“Important elements of this training include soup stock, sauce, starch, sauces, roux, salads, menu planning, nutrition, basic food purchasing & production, costing, regional cuisine, cajun cooking, safe meat cutting & poultry handling, galley management, food-service sanitation, storeroom operations and introduction to baking.”

If I had to start all over again, I would seriously consider signing up myself. I’m SURE it would have been much easier for me to get on board as a cook then as any other position (as a female). Once you’re on board, it’s MUCH easier to work your way into another position if you decide you don’t like the galley.

If you’re looking for something fun and interesting to do, give them a call (1-800-237-8663) to find out prices, the website doesn’t list them. You can also check out their other courses if you’re interested in working on a boat (but not as a cook).

 

 

Heading Home

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I’m at the Denver airport, waiting for my flight back home to Houston. It’s been a VERY busy couple of days here in Colorado.

I got here fairly early Monday morning. Shared a ride to Evergreen with my fellow attendee and new room mate Hope. We spent the next 2 days sharing a 2 bedroom suite at the Highland Haven Creekside Inn. We came for a ‘writing retreat’ along with another dozen fledgling writers.

The Highland Haven was a nice place to have the retreat. It was quiet and peaceful. The main rooms where we spent most of our time working on our writing had crackling fires to keep us warm. I loved seeing the snow on the ground, a small creek ran right alongside the property. The place was surrounded by huge evergreen trees. We even saw a small herd of deer pass slowly by while we all tried to shoot them (with cameras). 🙂

We had breakfast (included) in the rustic log cabin next to the office and then walked upstairs to the loft where we did most of our work. We were a small group (12 of us hoping to become published writers).  People from all over the country came to learn from past Denver Post travel editor and writer Kyle Wagner.

We spent our time writing short ‘front of the book’ articles. Kyle critiqued our writing and explained how to write articles that editors would love to publish. We learned the 10 most common mistakes, how to structure our article, how to write query letters, how to find the right publication for our story. We heard each others stories and helped each other work through ideas and come up with different, more ‘exciting’ ways to get our point across.

I think I have a good idea of what to do now. I learned my biggest problem is figuring out how to start my story. I need to figure out how to write a good ‘lede’. Something to grab your attention and drag you into the story, something to keep your interest, something to ‘tease’ you.

Yep, now I know WHAT I need to do. Now I just need to figure out HOW to do it! I think I have my work cut out for me.

Wish me luck!

PS- I wrote this last night. Thought I posted it, but got in a rush to board the plane and guess I forgot to hit the ‘post’ button.

Busy Week

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I was in New Orleans last week for the Workboat Show. I got there Wednesday morning, had enough time to check out the show and then walked over to the WISTA tea at the Windsor Court Hotel.

Some friends invited me to a party held jointly by the Massachusetts and Maine Maritime academies. It was high up on the 23rd floor at the W Hotel with a fantastic view of the Mississippi River. There were more parties to attend afterwards, but I was pooping out. I didn’t think I could stay up partying too much longer so I headed back to my hotel.

On the way I stopped in at Harrah’s casino. I played the nickel video poker machines. I only put in $20, but it was after midnight by the time I thought to make a move. I still had over $10 left.

After breakfast at the hotel (not worth getting up early for), I wandered back over to the show. I talked to friends at all the recruiters (C-Mar, Oceanwide, CLS). I stopped by my old shipmate’s booth to say hi and catch up on news.

I checked out some of the more interesting booths like the one promoting tall ship sailing for everyone. I’ve always loved the tall ships, that’s what made me decide to become a professional mariner. I’ve been trying since my high school sailing trip to recreate that experience.

I was hoping to find someone hiring at the job fair, but no such luck. There were no offshore companies attending this year and so no work available. There were a few inland companies there and they were hiring. Marquette, Kirby, Canal Barge). There were a couple of engineering companies (Downey Engineering, Schottel). The hiring companies were completely outnumbered by the hopefuls looking for a job.

The Show closed down pretty soon after I finished with the job fair. I headed through the Riverwalk Shopping Center and had lunch overlooking the river. It was getting dark and cooling off when I finished so I stopped in again at the Casino and wound up spending another couple of hours there.

I wandered over to the French Quarter and did some window shopping down Royal Street. Lots of interesting art and good music even on the street. I walked back to my hotel down Bourbon Street and wondered at my lack of desire to join in the party.

I was in bed by 11 PM. Up in the morning in time to pick up the rental car I needed to run down to Fourchon to pick up some paperwork from the Mystic Viking. I spent the day driving back and forth and got back too late to return the car.

I got up early enough to return the car. I wanted to go to the WWII museum nearby, but I found out there was a parade starting soon so I changed plans. I went to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art instead. They had a lot of really interesting stuff. Anything from the usual classical paintings you’d imagine belong in a museum, to ‘art’ I bet any monkey could do. I’m always amazed how those sorts of things wind up in a museum or why anyone would pay anything for it.

mud & paint on plywood by Jimmy Lee Sudduth

mud & paint on plywood by Jimmy Lee Sudduth

I left the museum in time to find a good spot to view the parade. It was fun to watch the kids lunge for the candies and beads. The costumes were fun and of course in New Orleans they weren’t what you would expect. Not just the usual cheerleaders and marching bands, but roving bands of Elvi’s and ice cream girls in pink stripes. I’ll write more on the parade later.

Workboat Show 2015

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I’ve got to get up early again tomorrow. I’m heading to New Orleans for the Workboat Show in the morning.

I’ll tell you about it tomorrow night, after I see what’s up and get settled in. In the meantime, you can get a preview here, or here to see what was going on last year. Or just search for ‘Workboat Show’ on the blog here.

Transitions

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My response to the Daily Posts weekly photography challenge.

I took these at the Houston Museum of Natural Science a couple of weeks ago. A butterfly was just coming out of its cocoon. They have a beautiful butterfly center there. I thought it would fit this weeks theme of ‘transition’. 🙂

Pendragon at RenFest

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I meant to say more about the Renaissance Festival before this, but I’ve been super lazy and haven’t been blogging for a few days.

I haven’t been able to go to the RenFest for 20 years or more, but this year I went twice! I really enjoyed myself both days. There was so much to see and do and the weather was pretty nice. Bright and sunny all day, but it did get COLD there last Sunday night.

I’m not usually much of a shopper, but I do like nice things and they had a lot of nice things there! Candles, clothes, arms & armor, leather work, crystals, jewelry and even pets (dragonpets). Not to mention the food! 🙂

I spent some time looking at the fashions. I love looking at those beautiful clothes! I’m not sure I would have liked actually wearing them, they really didn’t look very comfortable. They were expensive! As usual, nothing I liked fit! That was probably a good thing since I’m supposed to be saving my money being laid off and all.

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I did break down when I saw the really special, unusual and unique jewelry at Pendragon Jewelry. I had taken a quick look early in the day and just kept thinking about it, so I went back later to ask questions and try things on. Here’s a sample of their stuff:

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I would have bought a lot more of their beautiful jewelry if I knew when I would be going back to work. As it is, I had to settle for only a couple of my favorites. I spent some time talking to the proprietors, everyone was very nice and helpful.

I finally settled for 3 pieces I really loved. One is a mermaid pendant on a gold chain. She is sitting on a large labradorite stone, surrounded by “Horkimer diamonds”, a blue topaz on one side and a peach moonstone on the other. I got her for half off as a package deal with the other pieces.

One is a bracelet of cabochon moonstones.

And the other is a necklace with faceted moonstones and blue topaz.

They look gorgeous, together or apart!

This is the last weekend of the Renaissance Festival this year and I’m not going out. I signed up for the mailing list since they don’t have a website. I’m sure I’ll see more to be tempted by.

If you have any interest in this kind of thing, here’s the contact information I got:

Pendragon Jewelry, 435-703-7777, pendragonjewels@hotmail.com, you can also find them on Facebook.

Three Quote Challenge: 3

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I’ve been so lazy the last few days, I haven’t even managed to look at my own blog! I’m pretty much over the Thanksgiving food coma now so I figured I had better start catching up around here. I had started this 3 Quote Challenge last week, but if you have been paying attention, you’ll notice I only made it to Quote #2.

Here’s #3…

Yeah! I really DO believe that one and I TRY to act like it. BUT, things just keep getting in the way. Yeah, things like bills mostly. Things like fears more importantly.

Somehow I need to find a way to get rid of my fears (of how to pay the bills, of what might happen if I just GO- pack it all up and leave!). Could I get mugged? Could I lose my stuff? Could I be physically attacked? What if I get stuck in a bad place? With bad people? What options do I have if I don’t have plenty of money? How can I possibly support myself in a foreign country? Will I be able to renew my license (to work) if I leave? How?

Yeah, I really do think of stuff like that (and more). I have to admit, those thoughts, more than anything else, is what is keeping me here. I’m sure things can’t be as bad as I worry myself about in my mind. After all, there are thousands of people wandering the world, doing just the kinds of things I want to do.

I want to travel. I want to see the world. I want to sail. I want to SAIL around the world! I want to explore, to learn new languages, to meet new people, to try new foods, to really get to know a place. I want to spend more time being creative, reading, writing, painting, photographing, playing music, singing, playing.

I just need to get over my fears and just DO IT! Anybody have any suggestions?

Three Quote Challenge: 2

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Here’s my second post in the Three Quote Challenge. I almost missed it, having another lazy day not doing much.

It’s a simple challenge. Just post a quote for 3 days and invite 3 bloggers to play along. I didn’t exactly follow that second rule, but I figured by inviting everyone who wants to get involved, there would be at least 3.

I asked yesterday for people to link back here so I could see their quotes, but so far nobody has taken me up on it. 🙁

WPC: Trio

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I haven’t been keeping up with these challenges from the Daily Post lately, but here’s hoping I can catch up with things around here and make a few blog posts. 🙂

I took this photo the last time I was working out of Port Fourchon. It’s been a while, I’ve been working out of Africa for the last year and a half (but got laid off in Sept).

LOTS of boats laid up all over Louisiana now, these 3 are very lucky if they’ve got any work at all.

I hope the price of oil goes back up so we can all go back to work soon! Yeah, I know, everybody is very happy it’s gone down as low as it has and hoping it goes even lower. Yeah, everybody who doesn’t work in the oilfield. Or related to the oilfield. The price plunge is really killing us!

Three Quote Challenge: 1

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I got this in my email from pensitivity101, I’ve been following her for a while now. She lives aboard a little riverboat over in Britain with her husband and their dog. I like to read about how they manage to handle the living arrangements on their boat.

I don’t usually do these challenges either, but I do collect quotes so I figured what the hell, this one might be fun.

The rules are:

  1. Post 3 quotes over the next 3 days.
  2. Invite 3 bloggers each time to continue the challenge.                                                                                                                                                                                                              

That’s one of my all time favorite quotes. I even have it posted on my refrigerator. I think it’s one of those things that keeps me banging my head against the wall trying to FIX things here instead of just saying “the hell with it all, they asked for this, let them suffer their mistakes”. 🙁

I had a hard time thinking of 3 bloggers I could be sure would like to play this game. So I’ll copy pensitivity101s idea:”my invitees are anyone who wishes to participate”. So, I am not going to limit this to only 3 bloggers, anyone who wants to, feel free to join in! Please link back to me so I can see your quotes. 🙂

Home Repairs

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I had some storm damage to my property a while ago. I was offshore at the time and out of town most of the time since. I did have the insurance adjusters come by and they’ve done their part. Now I am finally getting around to trying to get the repairs made.

I would think people would be more eager for work, but it’s been 3-4 weeks now and I am still waiting on ESTIMATES!

I need to get work done on 4 separate properties. One house is looking MUCH worse since the adjusters saw it (see photo below), the wind has almost completely blown off the siding there now. There’s only 1 little piece left up at the top now. I want to get the damage repaired before things get even worse.

I have had one guy who seems really eager to do the work, but I don’t want to give it to him before I see at least ONE other estimate. The insurance companies have sent checks but they don’t look like enough to cover the repairs. I don’t want to spend any more than what they’ve sent me. I just don’t have the extra money now. Hard to come up with much when you’re laid off your job. 🙁

I wish people would just call me and give me some info so I can make a decision and get started on fixing this stuff! Thanksgiving is coming up next week and then I’ll be out of town again and HOPEFULLY get some work over Christmas. So, the sooner the better on home repairs!

FYL Finished

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The Fund Your Life (FYL) conference finished up this evening. Spent 2 1/2 days soaking up all kinds of information and ideas about how to make a move overseas and actually pay for it (without having to be retired with some sort of pension).

I met all kinds of interesting people. Lots of people from the US and Canada, one lady came all the way from Hong Kong. We all seemed to be in pretty much the same frame of mind. All looking for lower cost of living, less stress, more freedom, more options. Ideas flowing, but not really sure what to do with them.

There are so many options. So many different countries to chose from. And then all the different locations within those countries. Farm and country or city? Cool mountains or warm beaches? English speaking or other?

Things to do to earn income ranged from the traditional idea to buy rental property to working online with elance or publishing ebooks. Lots of ideas to start a business, like open a bar or restaurant, bakery, book store, import-export, leading tours, helping other people make the move, organizing peoples closets, etc.

I’m still not really sure what to do. I’m still not sure where I want to go. I have so many places I’d like to go, things I’d like to do. I hate to even consider the idea of losing my ability to work at sea. I do NOT want to lose my license I worked SO hard to get.

As long as the price of oil stays as low as it is, I don’t know if there’s much I  really can do about that. There really is not much work offshore right now, and I don’t see the job market improving til the oil price does.

I want to stay connected to the maritime world, I want whatever I wind up doing to be in some way related to sailing. I could teach sailing or navigation, I could deliver peoples boats, I could work in a marina. A few people I met told me I should write a book. I’m open to that idea. I have been trying to transition into writing and photography anyway. I just wonder what, specifically, would I write about?

Would you all give me some ideas? Feedback? Would you be interested in a book from me? About my life? About my career? About what it’s like working at sea? About conditions out there? About how YOU could do it?

I’d love to hear any feedback from you. Especially people who are not in the USA. Any ideas for me? I can’t wait to see what you’ll come up with. 🙂

Lucinda Williams: Essence

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Something a little different. It’s not a ‘Song of the Sea”, but just plain, good music. I love all different kinds of music: blues, bluegrass, reggae, old rock and roll, classical, alternative country, pretty much everything except rap, heavy metal and opera.

I especially like music that tells a story with the lyrics. I love singers who can write a good song that means something.

Lucinda Williams is one of my favorite singer/songwriters. This whole album is great. I love this song!

Sleepless Since Skink

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I tried to make an early night of it last night, so I could be awake and alert all day today at the conference. I had dinner at the hotel and was in bed by 1030.

My problem started when I decided to do a little reading before turning out the light. I was reading Carl Hiaasens “Skink No Surrender“. I really like his style, he’s got a great sense of humor and his books are always quick reads. I’m not sure how to classify this one; young adult? mystery? comedy? adventure? It had all that and more. Like all his writing, this book kept me interested til the end.

I also like his books because they remind me so much of where I grew up in Florida. His cast of characters and the adventures they get involved in are such pure Florida, it’s almost like going home again. 🙂

Johns Pass Florida

Johns Pass Florida

This book features Skink, a character familiar from previous stories. He’s always been one of my favorites and reminds me of some of the guys I grew up with on the beach over there (Johns Pass). My dad used to rent apartments to a lot of the people who came to the beach. We had some of the most interesting people I’ve ever met come through there.

My grandmother used to wonder why I always enjoyed hanging out with all those strange characters, but they were just so interesting. Travelers from all over, musicians, fishermen, artists, bartenders, etc. I heard some fantastic stories!

Skink No Surrender tells the story of a teenage boy (Richard) who’s worried about his cousin Malley who’s disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Skink helps Richard track her down and their adventures across Florida are pretty entertaining. 🙂

I tried a few times to stop reading and turn out the lights, but then I had to continue again and again. I finally finished the book and tried to go to sleep around 0230. Last time I looked at the clock, it was almost 0400.

I had the alarm set for 0730, conference starts at 0900. I’m probably going to have a hell of a time staying awake and paying attention. 🙁

FYL 2015 Day 1

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I’m here in Phoenix, Arizona (Mesa) for the Fund Your Life Overseas Conference (put on by International Living). The subtitle to the conference is: How to Create the Kind of Life You Don’t Need a Vacation From.

YEAH! I am ready for THAT!

I flew in early yesterday, I had hoped to spend some time exploring the area, but I was just too beat from lack of sleep. I didn’t do much exploring. I managed to take a walk around the area near the hotel, check out the hotel pool and that was about it.

Today was the first day of the conference. We had 2 solid hours of speakers: Dan Prescher and Suzan Haskins, Barbara Winter, Valery Young, Winton Churchill. All telling us about some of the options out there for making a life overseas, and getting us excited to hear more in depth from them over the next couple of days.

We even had an hour long cocktail party with free drinks and snacks. I’ve already met at least a dozen very interesting fellow attendees. 🙂

My mind has been churning, thinking up all kinds of ideas. I’m still trying hard to figure out how to move and looking forward to hearing more ideas tomorrow.

A Walk In The Desert

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I got here yesterday and after a nice long nap I decided to take a walk around and see what there was to see.

There’s a nice big green park across the street. I was surprised to see a lake, people fishing, and even a lady out feeding the ducks.

I’ve never seen ducks like these! One looked like it had a little feathery clown wig on it’s head. I don’t know what kind of duck it was, but we need some of those around Houston, just for the laugh factor. 🙂

I walked through the park and finally saw the cactus I was expecting to see here in the desert. They’re getting ready to bloom! I’ll go back tonight to see if they’re flowering yet. Cactus are SO beautiful when they bloom. I was happy to see them even tho it was only a planting along the edge of the park along the roadside, at least it did let you in on the reality that we are here in the middle of the desert- no matter that there’s a lake right there!

Of course, there was a shopping center right across the way. Typical.

Veterans Day

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Today is Veterans Day, at least in the USA. I think in lots of other countries, they celebrate Armistice Day instead. It seems to be basically the same holiday.

To remember those who served in the armed services.

I noticed quite a few special things going on today for military people. Lots of restaurants giving out free meals to veterans, free drinks in the bars, special sales in stores, even parades in some places.

That’s nice, I thought. I also thought it would be nice if the Merchant Marines were included in these things. I know in the USA we also have to swear an oath before we get our documents.

We don’t usually sign on for only 4 years either. I’ve had my ticket since I got my AB limited in 1979 or so. If I was in the Navy or US Coast Guard, I would be retired by now with some nice benefits and of course, have a special day (today).

I wonder why we’re never remembered for OUR services?

One reason is probably because we’re never mentioned in school or media. Most people have no idea about the Merchant Marine. Who we are, what we do, what are we there for?

I know we have Maritime Day in May, but it’s not like it’s a holiday or anything and almost nobody even knows about it.

Things have changed a lot in the last 50 years. People have forgotten how much the Merchant Marine has always been important to their lives (and still is- check out the book Ninety Percent of Everything).

It would be nice if people would have at least a thought for us today. Maybe remember we had more casualties than any of the other services. We lost so many ships (and men), something like 1500 American ships! That is not even taking into account all those lost from other countries!

Maybe think about all the hell mariners went through to deliver the arms, men, materials, to the fighting forces overseas. Some of them had their ships shot out from under them 2, 3 times and they still returned to sail again. One guy (Harold Harper) had his ship torpedoed 6 times! Another lost his ship 10 times! And they still came back for more. Yet, the Merchant Marine still gets almost no recognition. 🙁

The Maritime Executive Magazine has a nice article today. They’re one of the few places I’ve seen any mention of the Merchant Marines role and relationship to Veterans Day. I thank them for it and will hope they get a widespread readership. I hope you’ll check out their link (and the other ones I’ve made today).

Hope you all had a good holiday. I appreciate all the people who tried so hard to do what they thought was right.

US Merchant Marine flag

US Merchant Marine flag

Made It To Mesa

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I made it! Shouldn’t seem like such a big deal, but it sure seems like it.

I don’t know what happened to my timing this morning. I got up at 0230 to leave the house by 0400. I still had some packing and a few other things to do.

I was rushing around and didn’t leave the house til 0445.

My flight left at 0555!

It normally takes me about an hour to drive to that airport (1.5 hours to the other).

Yes, I admit it, I WAS speeding like a bat out of hell all the way to the airport.

I thought I might just make it with minutes to spare if I parked right at the airport itself. I had no idea they were working on the parking lots and I couldn’t find a way in. 🙁

I frantically turned around and sped back to the offsite parking and nervously waited while they loaded up the bus.

Luckily, the security (FARCE) line was short and I somehow even got a pre-check or I never would have made it. My attempts to run to the gate were not helping me much. I never could run very fast or very far. Plus, I was wearing flip-flops to help with getting through security.

I made it to my flight with 3 minutes to spare. Big sigh.  🙂

What’s Up?

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People have been asking ‘what’s up?”, yep, it surprised me. Some people have actually sent me messages asking where I’ve been. Neat. 🙂 I’m sorry I haven’t been around here much lately. I’ve just been worn out. Too tired to spend the time and effort to even write a post. 🙁

Maybe you wonder what has been keeping me so busy? Nothing really. I think I’ve just been so frustrated with this thing lately, and maybe even a little depressed. I can’t seem to make any progress in getting my blog back to where I am interacting with people like I was before I moved. I don’t know what went wrong or how to fix it and it’s been bothering me. A LOT! And then there’s been the other issue with my photos. 🙁

I even consulted a couple of computer ‘geeks’ to see if they could help me. So far no luck. I have’nt had much time since I asked them either, so part of that may be my fault.

Since my last posts here on Sunday, I’ve been fairly busy. I spent the first part of last week in my new job in the mornings. Monday night my DPO friend was in town so she drove down from Houston to visit me and we went out to Red Lobster for dinner. Tuesday night was my usual Campaign for Liberty meeting. Wednesday I met my DPO friend again and we had a good time shopping at the Galleria with a late dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (yum!).

I took the day off Thursday, just went to visit my friend J and brought over a big pot of my favorite beef stew. She doesn’t get out much and I felt like she could use some homemade cooking. 🙂 We had a nice talk about all kinds of things. I really wish she was still up for going out together.

Friday I went to a lunch meeting in Houston where they had an interesting presentation about FPSO’s (yeah, I know, most people probably wouldn’t think that was very interesting, but I really do still like to learn about all that stuff!). I was going to the zoo afterwards, but they closed it early for a ‘Feast With the Beasts’ and I didn’t want to pay (a LOT) extra to enter since I’m a member and should get free entry.

I went to the Museum of Natural Science instead. I always really like their ‘bug house’ (exhibits on insects, etc) and butterfly center. It’s really fascinating to watch the butterflies come out of their chrysalis and pump themselves up to fly away. I like to take lots of pictures of all the butterflies and flowers. It’s a really relaxing experience, sitting around listening to the waterfalls while the butterflies land on you. I only wish it wasn’t always so HOT and HUMID in there!

I got a membership there too, so I could see all the exhibits. They had Faberge‘ there again which I really enjoyed. I always did love beautiful things and there were a lot of them in there, much more than just the famous eggs. Everything they made was just exquisite! So finely made, so delicate, so intricate, so gorgeous, so expensive!

They also had an exhibit on spies. It was called “Spies, Traitors and Saboteurs: Fear and Freedom in America”. That was really interesting and I wish I had a lot more time to spend there to really take it all in.

One thing I liked was that they had little interactive quizzes set up at some of the exhibits. For instance, they had one that asked if the US government should be able to spy on their own citizens (like they ARE doing). Of course I answered no (HELL NO!).

I was absolutely stunned to see how many of my ‘fellow Americans’ answered differently. Amazing! Hard to believe so many are willing to give up their rights. Sad to see how many just don’t get Ben Franklins warning about those who would trade freedom for security.

Amazing how many have learned nothing from history and I guess that means that we will be repeating it all again. VERY VERY sad.

I was running out of time, they were closing the museum so I had to leave. It’s probably a good thing, since I was getting a little pissed off. Yes, it really does upset me whenever I’m reminded of how MUCH of my freedom has been stolen from me! I still find it hard to understand how anyone, much less any American, can stand it. Yet I see more and more of them willing to accept more and more of this theft every day.

So, the weekend came around and MORE rain! I spent the entire weekend being super lazy! I was just tired. Really worn out. I spent all day Saturday and Sunday lying around reading (Michael Chrichtons book “Travels”, Kim Harrisons “Witch With No Name”), watching TV (Saturday Night Live, Texas Music Scene, Househunters) and cooking up a storm. 🙂

Yesterday I eased back into things by catching up on phone calls, emails, etc and today I’m back in the flow of things. Went back to my new job this morning and political meeting again tonight. 🙂

Tomorrow I’m getting up REAL early to go to a conference I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. It’s called Fund Your Life Overseas. I’m still hoping to find SOME way to support myself without being tied down here in the states. I have been trying to move overseas for YEARS now. Decades actually.

The ONLY thing keeping me here is my finances. I hope I will be able to learn something new at this conference that will finally allow me to earn an INDEPENDENT living. Something not tied to any specific location would be best, but if its located outside of the US, that would probably be OK too.

So, if you don’t hear from me again for the next few days, don’t worry. I’ll be soaking up the info at the conference and hopefully the weather will be decent when I return. Since I already missed the Pirates, I’d really like to see the Barbarians at the RenFest! 🙂

Rainy Days

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It’s been raining here non-stop for the last 2 days! I’ve been stuck in the house, can’t even take my daily walk. Planned to go to the Renaissance Festival for the Pirates, but that is NOT somewhere I want to be in the rain!

So….

It’s still going on every weekend til Nov 29th, so I’ll try to go another weekend when hopefully it’s not raining. The Barbarians will be there Nov 14-15, they should be almost as good as the Pirates. 😉

Since I’m just hanging around the house listening to the rain, I’ve been trying to fix my blog. So far I am making zero progress and getting nothing but frustration out of the project!

I did get my computer back from the shop, but they couldn’t fix the issue (virus that encrypts all my photos) and I am VERY upset over losing all that stuff! I had hundreds of photos on my thumb drive (put them there since computer was full up).

I can just be thankful it didn’t get into the computer too.

I met a guy on linkedin the other day who I HOPE can help me with some of this stuff. Otherwise, it’s getting to the point where I’m wondering if it’s going to be worth all the stress and aggravation. 🙁

I hope we can get together tomorrow to go over everything and he can start working on it soon. I’ll be busy most of the week with other things and won’t have another ‘free’ day til Friday.