My Long-Over Due Update... Or, Sorry Guys...

Okay, so some of this is a bit repetitive, but just to give you a recap, here is what's been going on with me the past month... Actually, it's EXACTLY a month to the day. Strange.

Once I found out that all was well on the medical front -- nothing going on with my kidneys or bladder -- I started looking more seriously for a job. Lo and behold, I got a call from a HUGE boat -- 198' -- in Savannah interviewing for a Stew/Cook. Well, they invited me to work with them as they prepped for a trip to Miami. I came aboard and fell in LOVE with the boat--the crew was great, the program pretty good, and the pay was AWESOME! We made it to Miami, they dropped me off, and I haven't heard from them again... What did I do wrong? My sources say nothing. I am simply "not what they were looking for"... well, what is that? Barbie? i am tempted to say yes.

SO, with nothing else to do, I moved into a crew house in Fort Lauderdale -- the LAST place on EARTH I wanted to be. To me, crew houses mean failure, starting from scratch, and trying to claw my way onto a boat. Not my idea of a good time. BUT, I did get into a decent and quiet house fairly far from the 17th street chaos, so that was nice. After being in the house for less than a week, I got a call from a captain and his wife needing a relief stew for a charter going to the Bahamas. I went for the interview, wasn't super thrilled about the job, but happy that it was money and experience and another potential reference. I took it, agreeing to start a few days before the boat left for the islands to help prep.

WHAT a TRIP that turned out to be!!! The chief stew I was working with had a broken fifth metatarsal and she made sure EVERYONE knew it! She lugged around a clunky walking cast that gave her the gait of a madwoman on a rampage (especially when we were underway and the boat rocked and rolled!). She's also hyper as a cracked out chihuahua, so there was NO keeping this girl down. She barked out orders and kept me running from dawn til well after dusk, and after a few days of the madness, I wasn't sure if I could take it much longer. Thankfully, the chef, a personal friend of the owners, is a closet comedian, and he kept me in STITCHES the entire trip making fun of her the entire time! Half the time, I couldn't catch my breath because he was so funny!

BUT, despite The Chief's drama, the trip was fantastic! I learned SO much about running lines and fenders, and I more comfortable with deckwork now than I was before. Of course, it didn't come without it's OWN stresses. The first few times we docked I ROYALLY screwed up my lines, and once when we were docking in Port Lucaya, we almost HIT another yacht! Thank GOD we had fenders between us!

In addition, the owners fell in LOVE with me... of course, what's NOT to love? Right? I really seemed to bond with the owner's wife. She's really sweet and down-to-earth. One day when we were in Ocean Reef (a NOTORIOUS yacht club where the crew is hardly allowed off the boat -- not permitted to eat in the restaurants or use the facilities... a real slap in crews' faces.), I had mentioned how cute her flipflops were, and she brought me back a pair! These shoes cost about $50!! NO LIE! (I looked it up online :) The last night of the trip, we were anchored out in Biscane Bay with the Miami skyline in the background. During dinner, the guests started playing their iPods and after a few bottles of wine, the ladies started DANCING! All the while, I was doing my serving thing, and eventually, the guests insisted that I come out and dance with them!! Well, I figured I'd humor them for a song or two, but as I tried to escape, the Mrs. grabbed my arm and made me stay with them! They danced until 1 in the morning, and all the while, the Mrs. made me stay with them! They were so funny! They also kept trying to fix me up with their sons and nephews! The Mrs. kept telling me about her single son, and another lady was telling me that I'd be "so cute" with her handsome nephew who just got out of a relationship! CRAZY, huh??

Anyway, the owners invited me on their next trip leaving on May 20th -- if I don't have a permanent job before then, of course. At the moment, I DON'T have anything permanent, and it looks like The Chief's foot has gotten worse, so she won't be going on the next trip. It'll be a TON of work for me, but stews do it all the time, and I think the trip will be SO much more relaxed without her running around like a maniac freaking out because we ran out of water on the fly bridge when there are plenty in storage and all we gotta do is replace them...

I've had several interviews over the past few weeks -- a few that left me with a bad taste in my mouth, and others that I am very excited about. Who knows? I just pray that I get SOMETHING soon because I don't have anything else lined up. I've been in this situation before, so I know that everything will be fine. But, it's just nerve-wracking.

OH! I read the BEST book the other day... Well, maybe it isn't the BEST, but it's SO witty!! The opening line says, "The Lord gives and most women piss it away. Perhaps that's why they lack the equipment to aim." I knew after that line that I was gonna ENJOY this one!! It's during the Depression about this woman who leaves her little Tennessee town after she catches her fiancee in bed with her sister. When she returns three years later, she's travelled the world, made money, and decides to open a whorehouse... It obviously causes quite a stir, but it's funny how her business venture manages to put the town back on it's feet and bring her family back together! Anyway, it's called The Wilde Sisters by Paula Hall. I picked it up off a book exchange shelf at a shipyard where I was doing some day work. Needless to say, I'm eager to read it again!

Anyway... what else? Oh yes! I've been doing a lot of thinking lately -- maybe it's all the chemicals I've been inhaling as I clean? I've been in "the industry" for about a year now, and I've begun to realize how much I've grown in the past year. So, in no particular order, here are the changes I've realized:

1. I now, FEARLESSLY, take the bus all over the place (public transport may be low-class, but for a buck and a quarter, I can get almost anywhere... Pretty sweet, if you ask me.)
2. I've lost about 15 pounds... YAY!
3. I can tie lines -- and I understand the physics behind them!
4. I am used to being propositioned for sex, and ignoring the jerks in the cars doing so (and not taking it personally). They couldn't handle me anyway. RAWR!
5. I've cut up my credit card--and cancelled it
6. I've slept in more places in the past year than I have in my LIFE -- home is where I lay my head...
7. I've realized the freedom of carrying around ALL my possessions... maybe the homeless have something here...
8. I don't enjoy drinking as much anymore... it's just a means to a usually regretful end
9. I LOOOOVE SUSHI!! (Thanks to Chris and Boston and Oya... Good times!)
10. I cannot live without Jolene, my guitar. She's more than a friend.
11. Debt is a master, and I am its slave. BUT NOT FOR LONG! (Thanks to my awesome parents!)
12. My mom will always love me, no matter what trouble I get myself into. Sometimes we just need to talk.
13. I like country music. (I blame Jenn for THAT ONE!)
14. It IS possible to smile at memories after a heartbreak. And, it is ALSO possible to be friends with an ex.
15. The idea of teaching again makes me sick to my stomach.
16. I couldn't imagine doing anything else right now... but I COULD imagine doing it SOMEWHERE ELSE!
17. I can survive being horribly sick (strep throat!) 700 miles away from home. I don't know what I would have done without my friends, though. Note to self, ALWAYS have someone around to help take care of me when I'm sick. And always have health insurance.
18. I don't NEED a car. I don't WANT a car. I don't HAVE A CAR!
19. I can't look at my life with a "grass is greener" attitude. There will always be something I'm missing out on -- living in Charleston for 2 months earlier this year showed me that.
20. There are very few things in life that I really NEED. In fact, much of what I carry around isn't essential.
20. I am a survivor.


So, that's all I've come up with for now. I'm sure I'll think of more as I work today, but for now I've had four hours of sleep and can't get BACK to sleep, even though my brain is fuzzy. BUT, that has inspired me to begin a list of goals (outside my bucket list)... SO, again in no particular order:

1. Narrow my "essentials" to one EASY TO CARRY backpack and my guitar (yes, Jolene is VITAL)
2. Get completely out of debt. I'm on the road, and am finally beginning to see the light. AH! RELIEF!
3. KEEP loosing weight. That has been one of my biggest handicaps in this industry. That and the fact that I'm not European, blonde, blue-eyed... what? Are all yacht owners HITLER?!

I think three goals is enough for now.

Okay, so I hope I've fed your addiction for a while... there's lots more to write about, but sometimes I wonder if I reveal too much on here. This IS a public forum and who KNOWS who is reading this? (It's not like I ever get any comments from you guys!) Anyway, I don't intend on going so long between posts again. Life has been rather topsy-turvy lately. Not that I expect it to settle down anytime soon... but...