"I'd give you everything I got, for a little piece of mind..."
- John Lennon
Ya know, it's hard... work always seems to get in the way of life...and then when 'life happens', you want nothing more than to crawl away and die... I have felt this way for a few weeks now with work, and added to the stress of being half-owner of 2 large machines (boats) and the enormous steaming pile of bullshit that has gone along with it, I almost feel like my head is going to pop off at the neck, and leave my brain, nervous system, and eyes in place on my body so I can feel, see, and think about the pain that it is causing... I am feeling truly positive...
Anywho...with that said...
Both boats are in John's driveway now...sitting there, all alone with no one to play with but each other. Mainly because I work too much and John..well, he works too much, too. I got home an hour ago - it's now 1am - and I have to be back at work at 9:30am...
"I'm so tired...I'm feeling so upset....Although I'm so tired, I'll have another cigarette..."
The boat shit has been really interesting... the yellow boat, well, it's now mostly blue...the Yellow paint was put on REALLY bad, and when we started power washing it, the paint started coming off in strips - so basically, the boat will now be blue cause A) it looks better, B) we can make the blue shine WAY better than the yellow ever did...
I'll post a pic of it soon...show you all the progress
We also have totally de-barnacled the boat. Man, THAT sucked... I guess this guy didn't put a fresh coat of antifouling paint on there anytime recently, cause it was COVERED COMPLETELY in barnacles. But, a power washer and a plastic putty knife got them all off. Now just needs a light sanding and some fresh paint and will look great under there...
However, I don't think we are going to do much with the cuddy cabin besides paint it... It won't cost much to line it with fresh carpet (maybe $150) but who knows, we'll see...we just need to get it in a nicer condition cosmetically, cause mechanically its solid - most of the lights work, a couple of gauge lights aren't lit, but whatever. Gonna clean up the teak swim platform as best as possible, as well as the doors leading to the cabin...then it shall look really nice, and we should be good to go...
The other boat - holy crap its a MONSTER out of the water - really is VERY clean on the bottom, to our surprise. The hull is in almost impeccable shape, 'cept for the normal shit that happens when a boat is 23 years old...
And get this...we just bought a complete motor for it for $1500 including shipping... its only got 10-20 hours on it, and runs AMAZING (saw the video...should be here sometime next week) and basically is a drop in, dieect replacement for what we have...so we should be good to go then - at least if we wanted to take it out...which I don't think we'll do, cause that would be silly to fill up the gas tank to go out for one day, then winterize...but whatever... we'll see.
"I can't sleep, I cant stop my brain, you know its 3 weeks...I'm GOING INSANE!!!
YA KNOW I'D GIVE YOU EVERYTHING I'VE GOT FOR A LITTLE PIECE OF MIND..."
Lyrics stolen from "I'm so Tired" by the Beatles
from the 1968 release commonly referred to as
"The White Album"
If you don't have this album you are dysfunctional...
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
A Flotilla is nuttin' but Killah
flo·til·la 
Pronunciation: flO-'ti-l& Function: noun Etymology: Spanish, diminutive of flota fleet, from Old French flote, from Old Norse floti; akin to Old English flota ship, fleet 1 : a fleet of ships or boats; especially : a navy organizational unit consisting of two or more squadrons of small warships
So, where to start?
The past few days have been nothing short of ACTIVE...
Main Topics:
Ok, so, the boat first... or rather, the first boat
26' Wellcraft - walkaround cabin, sleeps 4-6 people, white/red. possible name - Boatiac (see graphic)
Go here to look at more pics (click the ones that start with 'boatiac')
Pros: Hull in great shape, cockpit in pretty good shape, cabin in good shape - needs cleaning, but what ever.. BIG cabin area, table with seating for 4, got a fish finder (which goes for about $20 on ebay now, whoopee) and VHF ship to shore radio, has shore power, macerator for head (grinds poop...yum), shower, sink, stove, fridge - all working...am/fm/cd stereo
Cons: Engine bad, engine bad, engine bad, oh, and engine bad...leaks here and there thru windows and such, no horn, safety gear or boat lines...there WAS an electric anchor on there, but he took it off after we gave him a deposit (can anyone say "SHADY"?), who knows what the electrical system is like, some lights dont work, the batteries have to be charged, etc etc..., no trailer...
In the end, it was well worth what we paid (don't ask, but just know it was NOT a lot - and less than you are thinking).
Now, we knew this was a project before we bought it, and frankly, if it wasn't so cheap we would never have done this now, but it had to be done - HAD TO BE!
So now, we get home at 8:30 Sunday night, boat registration in hand, all proud, and I start to feel that this is gonna be a ridiculous expense, never gonna get the boat to John's, no trailer etc...but its cool, we got a boat...
9:00pm - John calls me "You HAVE to get online"! "I'm BUSY" "Ok, call me back"
9:20pm - "Whats up, John?"
J: "Get online NOW...u gotta see this"
M: "Will it make me go 'holy shit'?"
J: "Yeah I think so"
M: "ok"
J *sends link*
M: "HOLY SHIT"
Another boat with a ton of shit that we need on it, RUNNING (very well, actually), WITH TRAILER on craigslist...
Price - lets just say it was less than the other boat...but nowhere near as nice... see pics... love the yellow hull, and the old 'lightning bolt' graphic glue remnant...eesh
Pros: has trailer, engine running, full canvas, has horn, safety gear, and some boat lines, 2 nice captains chairs, it runs, it runs, and it runs...can almost eat off the engine...though I'd prob rather not, but you could...if you really wanted...which is weird...
Cons: no interior...um...ANYTHING. It's all ripped out...down to the wood and fiberglass....it's YELLOW, it had an ugly graphic...
Anyway, in the end...this is a case of 1+1 = 1. What I mean is, we are gonna try to put all the good stuff of boat 2, into boat 1 and make boat 1 real good! Or, we fix up boat 2 with some nice interior, get rid of graphic, switch out some stuff from bad engine to make good engine better, and sell for a good price to someone looking for a cheap boat (any interest out there? Sorry, no trailer included!), then buy motor next year for boat 1...who knows...
Tomorrow, I touch base on more about Boatiac, the master plan (aka 'final solution'...hehe Ingrid) and FISHING!!!!!
- M
Pronunciation: flO-'ti-l& Function: noun Etymology: Spanish, diminutive of flota fleet, from Old French flote, from Old Norse floti; akin to Old English flota ship, fleet 1 : a fleet of ships or boats; especially : a navy organizational unit consisting of two or more squadrons of small warshipsSo, where to start?
The past few days have been nothing short of ACTIVE...
Main Topics:
- Saw Rush last night at Madison Sq. Garden - great show...better than the Jones Beach show in July... But, I was very sick, so every 3 sec I was sneezing on the row in front of me. Sorry!!!! (Review on the show in a future blog...check back...)
- Work has been an absolute madhouse, to say the least..."Mental" season in full effect....28 more days...
- Went fishing with an old friend and her boyfriend on Friday - and I won the 'biggest fish' pool!
- Um...John and I bought a boat on Sunday afternoon - then bought another one Sunday night. See story below...
Ok, so, the boat first... or rather, the first boat
26' Wellcraft - walkaround cabin, sleeps 4-6 people, white/red. possible name - Boatiac (see graphic)
Go here to look at more pics (click the ones that start with 'boatiac')
Pros: Hull in great shape, cockpit in pretty good shape, cabin in good shape - needs cleaning, but what ever.. BIG cabin area, table with seating for 4, got a fish finder (which goes for about $20 on ebay now, whoopee) and VHF ship to shore radio, has shore power, macerator for head (grinds poop...yum), shower, sink, stove, fridge - all working...am/fm/cd stereo
Cons: Engine bad, engine bad, engine bad, oh, and engine bad...leaks here and there thru windows and such, no horn, safety gear or boat lines...there WAS an electric anchor on there, but he took it off after we gave him a deposit (can anyone say "SHADY"?), who knows what the electrical system is like, some lights dont work, the batteries have to be charged, etc etc..., no trailer...
In the end, it was well worth what we paid (don't ask, but just know it was NOT a lot - and less than you are thinking).
Now, we knew this was a project before we bought it, and frankly, if it wasn't so cheap we would never have done this now, but it had to be done - HAD TO BE!
So now, we get home at 8:30 Sunday night, boat registration in hand, all proud, and I start to feel that this is gonna be a ridiculous expense, never gonna get the boat to John's, no trailer etc...but its cool, we got a boat...
9:00pm - John calls me "You HAVE to get online"! "I'm BUSY" "Ok, call me back"
9:20pm - "Whats up, John?"
J: "Get online NOW...u gotta see this"
M: "Will it make me go 'holy shit'?"
J: "Yeah I think so"
M: "ok"
J *sends link*
M: "HOLY SHIT"
Another boat with a ton of shit that we need on it, RUNNING (very well, actually), WITH TRAILER on craigslist...
Price - lets just say it was less than the other boat...but nowhere near as nice... see pics... love the yellow hull, and the old 'lightning bolt' graphic glue remnant...eesh
Pros: has trailer, engine running, full canvas, has horn, safety gear, and some boat lines, 2 nice captains chairs, it runs, it runs, and it runs...can almost eat off the engine...though I'd prob rather not, but you could...if you really wanted...which is weird...
Cons: no interior...um...ANYTHING. It's all ripped out...down to the wood and fiberglass....it's YELLOW, it had an ugly graphic...
Anyway, in the end...this is a case of 1+1 = 1. What I mean is, we are gonna try to put all the good stuff of boat 2, into boat 1 and make boat 1 real good! Or, we fix up boat 2 with some nice interior, get rid of graphic, switch out some stuff from bad engine to make good engine better, and sell for a good price to someone looking for a cheap boat (any interest out there? Sorry, no trailer included!), then buy motor next year for boat 1...who knows...
Tomorrow, I touch base on more about Boatiac, the master plan (aka 'final solution'...hehe Ingrid) and FISHING!!!!!
- M
Monday, September 10, 2007
"Another Pleasant Valley Sunday"... shoot me!
At this time of year, my job requires me to be available 6 days a week, usually 10+ hours a day. This I accept - as long as I have my Sundays for football, relaxing, and getting stuff done that I can't get done cause I am working so much.
This Sunday, almost everything went wrong...maybe not as gross as Thursday, but not so good...
Woke up at 9:45...couldn't go back to sleep. Didn't seem to matter that I went to bed at 3am and haven't been sleeping enough - my body said "WAKE UP!" Ok, fair enough...I'll just get stuff done earlier - right?
So, I figured I'd get me an egg sandwich from the deli, as I haven't had one in WEEKS cause I have been losing weight. I take my doggie Lola for a ride, and it's a real nice, sunny day...
I get said egg sandwich, and on the way home, I keep hearing a 'clik-clik-clik' noise... (11:15am)
*Sigh* Nail in my rear tire... wonder-fucking-ful...
So, I eat, call three tire places - all closed (It's SUNDAY), so I head off to Pep Boys to have the tire plugged (11:30am)
Get the tire plugged, but for some unknown reason I am made to wait 45+ minutes to PAY THE $14 FOR THE WORK!!!! I JUST WANNA LEAVE!!! (1:00pm!)
Go to Home Depot to get some lumber to fix the back stairs that are about to give way, get home and start work on the deck (1:30pm)
Discover soon after that with every step I replace, the entire STAIRCASE is crumbling! AAAAGH!!!!! Now I have to rebuild the whole thing...whoopee!! (3:15pm)
John stops by and scares the shit out of me, as I wasn't expecting to see him pop in my backyard... He agrees that the stairs are hopeless, and we put everything away (4:00pm)
We decide its a good idea to look at boats in a few marinas in Pt. Jefferson - unbeknownst to us, there is a gigantic music festival and carnival happening on the docks, so took 20 min to park, 5 min of looking at boats, and 35 min looking for other places to see boats. (5:30pm)
We hit Patchogue and can't seem to find a marina anywhere. For a water-lying area, they sure hide the marinas...same in Bellport, Blue Point, etc etc... We wind up right by the Smiths Point bridge, and my subwoofer was acting up. looked in the trunk and saw the hot lead from the amp was disconnected...went to go screw it in - and blew the amp. Can I get an "AMEN?!?!" (7:15pm)
Now, we get home (8:00pm) and I check to see if I got any email from some people who I wrote to about boats. No such luck, but I DID get an email from an ex who read my blog (about people falling off the face of the earth and not telling you why) listing what she perceived to be my glaring faults. This set me into a little bit of a spin...cause the email was worded with such...VITRIOL... that it sent me for a loop. I'm all for honesty, believe me, and I did ask to hear these things, but WHOA!! I pondered the notion that SOMEONE thinks I am a complete and utter waste of flesh or something...
I was left with a feeling of "huh?" in the end, cause I actually HAD closure with this person...so to me it just seemed a bit angry and malicious. Hey, if that was the intent, it worked...
But, I took it all for what it's worth. I sat down looked at things objectively, and while I felt that some points were misguided, I did agree with some bigger things, and those happened to be points that I have been more self aware of in the past couple of years... It's sometimes good to be reminded as to who you USED to be, and see how far you have come - otherwise you really have no benchmark to measure up to and can only guess... Now, I'm not saying go out and piss someone off so that you have something to measure up to, cause that is cheating, but maybe if you talk to a relative or old friend that has seen your progress, then that can help you gauge your growth. It's like an emotional measuring stick :-)
So basically, this day sucked, then got worse, but in the end I am feeling a little better because I again see progress in my personal growth, and it makes me feel that I am NOT just an utter waste of flesh. :-)
Now if I can only feel the same on the golf course!
- Mike
This Sunday, almost everything went wrong...maybe not as gross as Thursday, but not so good...
Woke up at 9:45...couldn't go back to sleep. Didn't seem to matter that I went to bed at 3am and haven't been sleeping enough - my body said "WAKE UP!" Ok, fair enough...I'll just get stuff done earlier - right?
So, I figured I'd get me an egg sandwich from the deli, as I haven't had one in WEEKS cause I have been losing weight. I take my doggie Lola for a ride, and it's a real nice, sunny day...
I get said egg sandwich, and on the way home, I keep hearing a 'clik-clik-clik' noise... (11:15am)
*Sigh* Nail in my rear tire... wonder-fucking-ful...
So, I eat, call three tire places - all closed (It's SUNDAY), so I head off to Pep Boys to have the tire plugged (11:30am)
Get the tire plugged, but for some unknown reason I am made to wait 45+ minutes to PAY THE $14 FOR THE WORK!!!! I JUST WANNA LEAVE!!! (1:00pm!)
Go to Home Depot to get some lumber to fix the back stairs that are about to give way, get home and start work on the deck (1:30pm)
Discover soon after that with every step I replace, the entire STAIRCASE is crumbling! AAAAGH!!!!! Now I have to rebuild the whole thing...whoopee!! (3:15pm)
John stops by and scares the shit out of me, as I wasn't expecting to see him pop in my backyard... He agrees that the stairs are hopeless, and we put everything away (4:00pm)
We decide its a good idea to look at boats in a few marinas in Pt. Jefferson - unbeknownst to us, there is a gigantic music festival and carnival happening on the docks, so took 20 min to park, 5 min of looking at boats, and 35 min looking for other places to see boats. (5:30pm)
We hit Patchogue and can't seem to find a marina anywhere. For a water-lying area, they sure hide the marinas...same in Bellport, Blue Point, etc etc... We wind up right by the Smiths Point bridge, and my subwoofer was acting up. looked in the trunk and saw the hot lead from the amp was disconnected...went to go screw it in - and blew the amp. Can I get an "AMEN?!?!" (7:15pm)
Now, we get home (8:00pm) and I check to see if I got any email from some people who I wrote to about boats. No such luck, but I DID get an email from an ex who read my blog (about people falling off the face of the earth and not telling you why) listing what she perceived to be my glaring faults. This set me into a little bit of a spin...cause the email was worded with such...VITRIOL... that it sent me for a loop. I'm all for honesty, believe me, and I did ask to hear these things, but WHOA!! I pondered the notion that SOMEONE thinks I am a complete and utter waste of flesh or something...
I was left with a feeling of "huh?" in the end, cause I actually HAD closure with this person...so to me it just seemed a bit angry and malicious. Hey, if that was the intent, it worked...
But, I took it all for what it's worth. I sat down looked at things objectively, and while I felt that some points were misguided, I did agree with some bigger things, and those happened to be points that I have been more self aware of in the past couple of years... It's sometimes good to be reminded as to who you USED to be, and see how far you have come - otherwise you really have no benchmark to measure up to and can only guess... Now, I'm not saying go out and piss someone off so that you have something to measure up to, cause that is cheating, but maybe if you talk to a relative or old friend that has seen your progress, then that can help you gauge your growth. It's like an emotional measuring stick :-)
So basically, this day sucked, then got worse, but in the end I am feeling a little better because I again see progress in my personal growth, and it makes me feel that I am NOT just an utter waste of flesh. :-)
Now if I can only feel the same on the golf course!
- Mike
Thursday, September 6, 2007
"It came from...THURSDAY!!!"
Christ on rubber crutches, what a fucking day THIS was...
Lets see if I can conjure the Beatles "A Day In The Life" to describe how this day was... (take it from Paul McCarntey's part)
"Woke up,
Got out of bed...
Stepped in doggie diahrrea instead...
Made my way in the shower
and got cleaned up
And looking up,
I noticed I was late *pant* *pant* *pant*
Got all dressed
and grabbed my wallet
Put my hand in some dog vomit...
Got cleaned up again, and feeling a bit tweaked
saw my cooler had leaked
and my car smelled just like fish.
AHHHH AH AH AHHHHHH... AH AH AHHHHHHH.. AH AH AHHHHHH (etc, etc)
I almost spewed today, oh boy...
My store was filled with idiots
And though the store was nuts for a spell
It seems all I could tell
all these people really wanted was to have me burn in HELL!
I'd love to kiiiillll theeeeem aaaaallllllllll"
So basically, that was it...it sucked...big floppy donkey dick...
I just got home at 10:20pm...and now, I am cleaning vomit and shit from my room, as well as washing the mats from my car, just in time for me to go to bed...AND DO IT ALL AGAIN TOMORROW!!! AAAGH!!!!!
I GOT BLISTERS ON MY FINGERS!!!!!
- M
New lyrical interpretation of "A Day In the Life"
Orig written by the Beatles
from the 1967 release "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
If you don't have this album, you don't like music...
Lets see if I can conjure the Beatles "A Day In The Life" to describe how this day was... (take it from Paul McCarntey's part)
"Woke up,
Got out of bed...
Stepped in doggie diahrrea instead...
Made my way in the shower
and got cleaned up
And looking up,
I noticed I was late *pant* *pant* *pant*
Got all dressed
and grabbed my wallet
Put my hand in some dog vomit...
Got cleaned up again, and feeling a bit tweaked
saw my cooler had leaked
and my car smelled just like fish.
AHHHH AH AH AHHHHHH... AH AH AHHHHHHH.. AH AH AHHHHHH (etc, etc)
I almost spewed today, oh boy...
My store was filled with idiots
And though the store was nuts for a spell
It seems all I could tell
all these people really wanted was to have me burn in HELL!
I'd love to kiiiillll theeeeem aaaaallllllllll"
So basically, that was it...it sucked...big floppy donkey dick...
I just got home at 10:20pm...and now, I am cleaning vomit and shit from my room, as well as washing the mats from my car, just in time for me to go to bed...AND DO IT ALL AGAIN TOMORROW!!! AAAGH!!!!!
I GOT BLISTERS ON MY FINGERS!!!!!
- M
New lyrical interpretation of "A Day In the Life"
Orig written by the Beatles
from the 1967 release "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
If you don't have this album, you don't like music...
Monday, September 3, 2007
"Boat" part II
Not sure if there was really a part I except for the blurb I wrote in my last entry, but anyway...
We tried fishing again this evening...I FINALLY caught a fish - a 15" school blue...wonderful... feeds a family of NONE, but who cares, I caught a fish. John didn't do as well...
Now, the boat that we are going to purchase still has yet to be named - Yes, I understand that it may be silly to name something before you have it, but this has now taken on a life of its own...
The possible names that we had for the boat were as follows
Also, if you wish, you may vote for your favorite by submitting a comment as well...
Happy "boat"ing
- Mike
p.s. I must give credit where credit is due - special thanks to Lisa K for the inspiration behind the naming of my previous blog entry! You GO girlfriend!
We tried fishing again this evening...I FINALLY caught a fish - a 15" school blue...wonderful... feeds a family of NONE, but who cares, I caught a fish. John didn't do as well...
Now, the boat that we are going to purchase still has yet to be named - Yes, I understand that it may be silly to name something before you have it, but this has now taken on a life of its own...
The possible names that we had for the boat were as follows
- Boat
- Da Boat
- Man in the Canoe
- Eat My Ship
- The Leaky Nipple
- Sofa King
- Aura Lee (say it fast, you'll get it)
- Shit (thanks, Paul)
- name of a friend's certain ex-girlfriend - mainly cause the boat may very well go down as fast as she would
- Das Boot (German for "The Boat"...also a cool Jurgen Prochnow movie)
Also, if you wish, you may vote for your favorite by submitting a comment as well...
Happy "boat"ing
- Mike
p.s. I must give credit where credit is due - special thanks to Lisa K for the inspiration behind the naming of my previous blog entry! You GO girlfriend!
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Zen and the art of offshore blues fishing...and "Boat"
Went deep sea fishing last night with my friend John - last minute kinda deal, decided to go on a night excursion for Blues... Not too bad, had a lot of fun - especially watching some kid hurl his guts up after being on the fucking boat 30 min... Guess he'll never be caught dead on a boat again!
What made it worse (and gross) was that he thought it was a good idea to throw up over the side nearer to the front of the boat - while it was travelling at 25 knots. This made for a real awful display of vomit being blown back onto the deck and narrowly missing my feet and cooler...YUCK!!!
Aside from that, and the fact that together John and I managed to catch only 1 FUCKING FISH, it was a good time... A KILLER night to be out fishing...beautiful weather, not cold at all... And we had a 12 pack of Molson XXX to help things. Plus, I still had 2 of my new favorite beer: Dogfish head 90 minute IPA . I think maybe I drank a little too much, but what the hell, last weekend of fun for me for a while...
Gotta give props to The Capt and Crew of the Super Speedy Express II for being so cool and helping us have fun - even if we only caught ONE FUCKING FISH!!! Did I make my point that annoyed me?
Before we went, though, John and I went boat 'shopping', for lack of a better term... Went to go check out some boat we saw on craigslist - was no good, no good... But the harbor master had a boat in the yard that someone was selling... Really nice boat - 22.5', walkaround cabin, shower, head, 2 burner stove, aft cabin, sleeps 4, good engine, new prop, fresh paint, all for $4000.
heres a couple of pics...
I thought the best name for it is simply... "BOAT"...John likes "DA BOAT" - I'll run with that, but I still prefer "BOAT". That would be a good name...
Anyway, I gotta go for now cause I am supposed to play cards tonite...
Hope you like the boat we arent gonna buy yet!
Til the next time...
- Mike
What made it worse (and gross) was that he thought it was a good idea to throw up over the side nearer to the front of the boat - while it was travelling at 25 knots. This made for a real awful display of vomit being blown back onto the deck and narrowly missing my feet and cooler...YUCK!!!
Aside from that, and the fact that together John and I managed to catch only 1 FUCKING FISH, it was a good time... A KILLER night to be out fishing...beautiful weather, not cold at all... And we had a 12 pack of Molson XXX to help things. Plus, I still had 2 of my new favorite beer: Dogfish head 90 minute IPA . I think maybe I drank a little too much, but what the hell, last weekend of fun for me for a while...
Gotta give props to The Capt and Crew of the Super Speedy Express II for being so cool and helping us have fun - even if we only caught ONE FUCKING FISH!!! Did I make my point that annoyed me?
Before we went, though, John and I went boat 'shopping', for lack of a better term... Went to go check out some boat we saw on craigslist - was no good, no good... But the harbor master had a boat in the yard that someone was selling... Really nice boat - 22.5', walkaround cabin, shower, head, 2 burner stove, aft cabin, sleeps 4, good engine, new prop, fresh paint, all for $4000.
heres a couple of pics...
I thought the best name for it is simply... "BOAT"...John likes "DA BOAT" - I'll run with that, but I still prefer "BOAT". That would be a good name...Anyway, I gotta go for now cause I am supposed to play cards tonite...
Hope you like the boat we arent gonna buy yet!
Til the next time...
- Mike
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