On my ship the 'Rocinante'...

"Headed for the heart of Cygnus,
Headlong into mystery"

- Rush, 1977

Been a little bit since I have written here...mainly since the world once again has gone all meshuggah on me...

Some good...some not so good...

GOOD: Pending promotion at work...hooray!!! There is a very strong possibility that I am going to be named District Manager for my region within the next week. It is happening all so quick, but at the same time I welcome it, because I have definitely worked my tail off to get here.

Now the funny part is that I know that this is equal parts 'deserving it' and 'out of necessity' for my company...which is fine by me, because I'll just work that much harder to prove that I am not just a stop gap. That in and of itself is a good reson for them to formally name me to the position, 'cause they KNOW what they are getting!

Anyway, this kinda threw the proverbial 'monkey wrench' into my personal life - boat, vacations, etc...a lot of it is on hold (though I am working VERY hard to focus on the boat stuff), but in the end its all positive stuff, and I look forward to the phone call saying it's a done deal.

Not So Good:
Painted the boat - the one we are selling - an absolute disaster...just finished sanding it AGAIN today, and gonna try to paint again next week...

The stairs came out great, but took, like 6 hours more than expected...I never did get to see my Dad before he moved... *sigh*

Spending money hand over fist on the boat and accepssories for the boat, but it IS what I expected, so I guess this one is 'neutral'.

Boat update:

Ok, got the engine, and currently boat is at mechanics place having engine installed - we may yet get this out this year...who knows? That would be killer, though...would love to take it for a spin and do some fishing before the end of the season! We'll see...

Also, this is gonna have a totally pimped out stereo system! 6 Polk 6.5" speakers for the mains, a Kenwood waterproof am/fm/cd/mp3/wma/sirius stereo, and possibly a big fat subwoofer to scare away da fishies! John nixed the idea of movie screen, dvd player, and surround sound....oh well, no movies on the water. :-P

We also picked up a bunch of other things - housekeeping type stuff for boat...now all we gotta do is get all the electrical figured out and I think we are good...

Anyways, thats enough for now..I gotta go to bed...really tired and no days off this week again...

Till the next one...

"Spinning, whirling, still descending
like a spiral sea unending!"

Lyrics stolen from "Cygnus X-1" by Rush
from the 1977 release "A Farewell to Kings"
GET IT NOW!!!

Mr. October

I love October for many reasons:

• Baseball Playoffs - being that the Yankees are in every year, my baseball season is extended!
• Football in full swing - though the Jets are sucking some serious anus right now...
• Hockey starts - Go Isles! FINALLY rid of Yashin!
• Halloween
• The leaves changing is always nice and colorful
• SLEEPING WEATHER - perfect cool sleeping weather, and you can still get shit done during the day in t-shirts.
• RENTAL SEASON ENDS - Less stress, and I get days off again...yay!

And there are many other reasons why, but those are most of them that I can think of...

So, with the new month comes a new beginning of sorts...a mini 'fresh palette' to work off. 31 days to get shit straight. Only Baskin Robbins gives you those sorts of options these days.

Work continues on the boat we are looking to sell...This project is now to the point of being seriously retarded... We are putting a $5000 paint job on a boat that we'll sell for around $3000. Someone is gonna get lucky. On top of that, we are redoing the interior - cause I am a retard and thought it would be a good idea to order some hull lining and complicate my life further.

All supplies will be here Thursday...it's gonna be crazy this weekend. I have 3 days off + 1/2 day of work and its completely planned out already. Ok, here goes:

• Friday - scheduled to leave by 12. I know I won't leave till 2... Get to John's by 3, finish filling, sanding, and putting primer coat on boat. Estimated time - 5-6 hours...
• Saturday - 10am - start the process for applying first coat of paint - sanding, solventing, taping, etc. Paint entire boat with first color coat. Estimated time - 4 hours. THEN, help John put pool cover on - Estimated time 1 hour. THEN run home and start cleaning house for relatives visiting next week, then go BACK to John's to lightly sand first coat of paint - Time of completion approx 8pm. Take Xanax and go to bed...
• Sunday - 10am - Second coat of paint (if all went well with first coat), then start hitting the white stripe with paint (just one coat should do) - Estimated time 3 hours. THEN run back home, and build new steps in the back of my house that are falling to pieces with help from some friends. THAT should go quick - about 90 min. THEN go BACK to johns house and see how paint looks...if dry and all is good, then we can start painting the bottom of boat. That should be one coat only, and shouldn't take long at all...maybe 30 min. But this stuff ain't cheap - it's like $100 + a gallon!!!!! Drink beer, fall asleep.
• Monday - Back at John's to see how paint looks - If all is well, we wax, wax, wax and make look like glass...put rails back on and work on the teak wood quick, then attempt to do interior... on top of that, I have to go see my Dad one of these days, too, cause he is moving on the 13th, and I have to get some stuff from him. SHEESH!

So, that is one full weekend...hopefully the boat gets done...I know the steps will and the cleaning will - they HAVE to or I'll be disemboweled. I have lots of 'before' and 'in progress' pics of the boat (and steps) that I'll make a page for soon, along with the 'after' pics...but for now, my arms hurt from sanding...I'm going to bed...

- M

P.S. One last thing...Met fans can't call the Yankees chokers anymore :-) Must be gettin' fat being forced swallowing all that pride and eating all that crow, huh? Oh, wait, you can't cause you'd choke! 7 Game lead on 9/17 and your team lost it all + 1... nice...