What the human doesn't know...

I have decided that The Human can't be trusted to tell the full story of how us, The Rulers (known to some of you as "cats" - gross!), are taking this transition.  So, while I suffocate the human as she sleeps, I know I have her knocked out long enough to let you know how life is for me, Madam Curious (or, as The Human so grotesquely calls me, "Lil' MC"), and my brother, Baron von Munchhaussen (like he has earned a title - whatever!).  Since our lives have been relatively short, I suppose I can do the condensed version of our lives.

Every boater dreams...

After my last post, a fellow (and much more seasoned) sailor suggested that posting our list of needs and wants would be a good idea as there may be sailors (or other people) reading this blog who just happen to have what we need laying around wanting a good home.  Also, we realize that the more our needs are spoken to the Universe, the more we get what we need - in fact, we just acquired netting we needed to surround the deck for the safety of the cats for FREE!  This netting can run $2/foot and we needed at least 75', so just by paying attention and speaking up, we have saved 150 very precious dollars!  Blessed be and thanks to God/dess for providing!

However, as this is also documenting the full journey of As Yet Unnamed Boat, I want to make sure to capture the changes we go through, both on the boat and in our Personal Priority List.  So, while this is a prayer of sorts, it is also my documentation of our journey!  In other words, no bad mouthing the greedy little kids! ;-)

Living aboard - first impressions

So, there are a couple of new situations and characters to add to this fun adventure, a situation I see happening so much in the future!  However, one thing that will hopefully remain somewhat stable throughout our upcoming year will be our boat, barring the changes we know we need to make on her.  I thought I would write a short blog just outlining the general description of what the layout of life is like right now.

O.K., let's begin with the boat's current situation:  Our boat, which is unnamed as yet, is 32' long, 10.5' wide, and has a center cockpit, which we found is a fairly rare layout for a boat (especially one this length).  "And what  does a center cockpit have to do with anything?" you may find yourself asking.  Glad you asked!  With most boats, when you step onto the stern (the back) of it, you are stepping into the cockpit; with our's, the back end of the boat is an aft (rear) cabin and our "stateroom" (what any bedroom on a boat is called).  This means that our bed, one closet, and a sink/porta potti area with bathroom cabinets are separate from the rest of the boat, giving it a true "bedroom" feeling as opposed to sleeping in the same area where we cook and "live".

The center cockpit

The back end (or "stern") or our boat

The big leap!

Eric, Cory, and The Wonder Dog, Jamie

When I was three years old, my parents, my brother, our dog, and I moved from El Paso, Texas where we were wearing shorts and t-shirts to Vermont... in January... during the coldest and snowiest winter Vermont had seen in 77 years - literally.  We moved back to Texas on my fourth birthday, six short months later, after my dad determined that maybe this Texas family did not need to live through another northeastern winter.  I sort of remember a moving truck and have the faintest memories of new things to come because we were moving again.

As Rob, the cats, and I drove to Florida this past week, 4'x8' trailer in-tow, I was overwhelmed by this memory (or, due to lack-of-concrete-memory, "knowledge" may be more fitting): at 26- and 25-years-old, my parents were moving their six- and almost-four-year-old (oh, and The Wonder Dog) from one end of the country back to the end they had just left in search of income and a comfortable, stable life.  The first morning we woke up on the boat was Rob's 36th birthday, my 35th will be in seven months - we are literally a decade older than my parents were and we just moved with a spouse for the first time in either of our lives, no kids yet, running away from an unstable economy and lack of jobs, looking forward to adventure and an unknown future.  And, yet, the part I kept getting caught up on was that I am a wife moving with my family (the cats help round us out as a true family) across the (bottom part of the) country.  That part was blowing my mind!

Boat Shopping - Take One

Reading over my last entry, I am taken back to almost two months ago when Rob and I thought that boat shopping would be as easy as 1-2-3: one week, two sailors, maybe three thousand miles from Texas to Florida and back with some driving while there.  That was a simpler time, a time of knowing that everything was going to be on our timeline and just as we planned...  That was before Rob and I took the longest "week" trip ever!

We did go to Houston, where we spent one night with my aunt and uncle catching up and talking into the wee hours of the morning.  That part was well worth the trip as my aunt has always been one of my biggest cheerleaders, rallying me to follow my dreams and excited to hear the stories that come from dreams-turned-reality.  It had been too long since I had a 2:00 in the morning story-telling session with her and I had a blast catching up!

Trying - promise...

I - unfortunately - have not been posting, leading to my writing of a much-too-long post... I'm working on getting something together for the public, PROMISE!

While I Was Busy Making Other Plans...

I have tried a couple of times over the last week to get this written but always got sidetracked or just found something blocking my flow to write. It's harder to get words out that you are choking over than to talk about the happy stuff. But, in the end, it's all happy stuff, right?!

At the beginning of this month, Rob and I moved into my mom's house for our Transitional Phase in this Great Adventure of ours as a way to: spend time with her before we leave, save some money, and become mobile/compact as this will be our lifestyle for quite a while. Now, no one can ever get this wrong: I love my momma with all my heart as one of my closest friends and respect her dearly. BUT, I am so ready to have the smell of salt water in my nose, the feel of sand under my feet, and the endless possibility of whatever the ocean and future holds before us that my soul is about to climb out of my skin and take flight! This, of course, means that I am going crazy no matter where I live! (Not to mention we are married 30-something-year-olds - as a general rule, all of us in that category crave our own space.)

Happiness is a Decision

We will be moving out of the house we are now living in 10 days from now and I woke up almost in tears this morning.  This happened to me the last morning I was living in Jamaica: I literally woke up crying and sobbing in fear, sadness, and anxiety.  Today wasn't as intense, but my level of frustration, fear, and anxiety finally let itself be known.  I love my calm, rational, patient husband who walks through this time with me, but feel sorry for him because he is taking more of the storm than any other one person in my life has had to take before (even more than my overused-but-very-helpful mother, who has lived through every move I've made).

I read astrology for fun, for hope, for reassurance even; I know that it is fallible, but so are all sciences to a certain extent (mind you, I am a social scientist, but remain critical of people ever thinking that anything is absolute truth).  When Rob and I got married, I read many of the astrology websites that talk about the love connection between the two of us - and I laughed!  So much of it says that I, as a Cancer, will not like change and will always be happiest in my shell - safe at home with very few surprises.  Rob and I are not supposed to be a good (or easy, at least) match because his Sagittarius sign leads him to adventure and exploration, always on the move and wanting to see more.  The reason I laugh is because I am the one who has lived abroad and I am the one who has a degree in anthropology, leading me to want to explore as many cultures as we can during this lifetime!

Just like riding a bike...

When I was four, my dad tried to teach me how to ride a bike in the best way a balls-to-the-wall dad of the 1980s knew how to: no training wheels, no helmet, and on a caliche road. This was not the first attempt in this endeavor, but it was to be the last one for roughly two decades. You see, I was a scared and shy little kid; I didn't like meeting new people (they scared me) and I didn't like things that scared or hurt me (they scared AND hurt me). Dad grabbed the back of my bicycle to help balance me, then told me to start peddling and he would keep up with me.

There was this brief moment when I felt the wind in my hair and the zipping joy that runs through your body when you learn something new. I was SO excited to be riding a bike!!! I wanted to share this excitement with the most awesome Daddy ever and so turned around to smile at him and get his encouraging smile back.

One Person's Food Pantry Experience

I got my first job when I was 15-years-old - that is, my first report-to-the-IRS job.  As a kid, I babysat a little (not enough to be a part of a Babysitters' Club or anything, though I loved those books!) and I always had money because I was a very good saver: I could sit on two years' worth of Christmas and birthday money if I really wanted something.  When I started working, I loved making my own money for two reasons: 1) I didn't have to ask for it and could spend it on whatever I wanted to without explanation (so, "freedom", I suppose) and 2) I knew my mom didn't have a lot of money and I didn't want to be a burden on her when it came to the "frivolous" stuff.  I spent over a year working as one of the best order-taking, register-running, salad-bar-cleaning teenagers that Sizzler's had ever seen!  Since then, the only year I have gone without working was my freshman year of college when my parents told me that my "job" was to adjust to being a college student.  (Note: I really love and appreciate my parents for that boost because I don't think college would have been completed if I had had more to focus on that first year.)

However, I was ready to be working by the end of that year, to be supporting myself - or at least fending for myself when I wanted a burger and a pack of cigarettes (so happy to be done with that expense!).  Sometime in my junior year, my dad had to give me the "patience, Grasshopper" talk when all I could think about was getting out of school and helping people, actually doing something to assist instead of being stuck in a classroom learning how to help people.  I learn through hands-on and discussion; I was just antsy to be "in the trenches" and see the difference I could make for someone.

And the quest begins in earnest!

Rob and I have been looking at boats for about a year now, long before we were even talking about making this happen by the end of 2011.  But, to us, that was "boat porn", something to drool over and wish for - not something that you actually get to have!  So, we'd go to Craigslaist and BoatTrader.com, looking for what we can afford; actually, I guess our looking and dreaming is what made this a reality for us.  You see, two years ago, Rob told me that when buying a boat, every foot over 30' will cost about $1,000; that would mean we were looking to pay $30-35,000 - NOT a reality for us.

However, what we have found is that a used boat that maybe needs to be sanded and polished, have the underside scrubbed, and get some elbow grease behind a scrubbing pad will run $6-11,000 for the size we want.  Alright then, that is something we can afford!

So far...

Alright, what are we doing to actually prepare for a change in life style such as this one?!  A lot!

I was about to type "trip" instead of "life style" and I think that this has been one of the biggest preparations we can make: knowing that we are moving onto a boat and seeing where life takes us.  There is no flight to book, there are no plans to make, there are no "once we get home" ideas: we are moving onto a boat and that WILL be home.  That's hard to wrap my head around sometimes; of course, it is hard for others to wrap their heads around, meaning that part of what we are doing is explaining and defending (to a degree) our decision to do this, but this isn't the posting for that.

Hold On, Everyone – This is Going To Be Exciting!

Within the next two months, my husband and I will sell everything that we own except a few boxes of treasures (to us), find a sailboat large enough for us to live on, and move on to that boat.  I am beginning this blog on a very significant day because July 4th is America's Independence Day; Rob and I are looking for our independence from the American mindset.  Rob and I know that the phrase so common in America "When I retire, I will..." is a phrase that we have never lived by and don't plan on ever doing so. Life is short and lived to be happy.

Our "plan" - as it were - is to sell off: a 1970 Olds, our 23' sailboat, my husband's Honda, and, later, my Rav4.  Those are the "Big Ticket" items that are supposed to make us enough money to buy a 30'-35' sailboat in which we will live.  Selling off the couches, the china cabinet, and the random stuff we have accumulated throughout our 30-something years of life should make us enough money to survive for a while (fingers crossed).  Perfection?  We find a boat on the east coast or in the Caribbean, we stay where we buy it for long enough to get what we need, then head out sailing.  We may wait until November to avoid hurricane season, but we'll want to be living on a boat already and ready to head out as soon as we're in the clear.
Some people think this sounds crazy, others think it is a pipe dream.  Me?  I know we are going to do it.  I know that things will some how work out.  I know that this will be wonderful.  And, I am scared out of my mind.