Happy Birthday to me, a clean bilge.

Monday and Tuesday, I was on my belly reaching as far as I could, forward and aft, scooping black mayonaise out of the bilges. The PO had an issue with a diesel tank. That probably contribluted to the half inch of sludge. I found a light bulb, a jeweler's screwdriver, some wire [connected and not], and a weird piece of fiberglass.

It got to almost 90 in Bay City yesterday. It was a hot job but needed to be done. The bilges can actually add to my storage space now. After sweating my guts out, I took my first shower aboard. Well, you're right there is now shower in the head. In A Mist and I are way out in the boneyard in the back of the marina. I looked around and listened. Then I stripped down and dumped a couple buckets of water over my head in the cockpit. The buckets are darkish blue and had been sitting in the sun for a couple hours. It was very nice. Then I went out to Quanicassee and resigned as a Boat Broker. That job was a lot of fun, but it wasn't matching my goals for In A Mist and I. I should have some job news next week. I am working on a hot lead.

Zaphod, you made me love you. . .

I've proven my own philosophy, I suppose. Your humble correspondent has been humbled.

Things are still good, but I'm awake again. Like a two bit celebrity who begins to believe his own press. I began to feel endowed with something almost like luck. Despite that I've always asserted that you can be lucky at a specific time, but you cannot be lucky, or unlucky, in general.

Things have been working out so well that I began to have some weird sense of lower case faith that everything would work out just fine. It was as if Zaphod Beeblebrox's Improbability Drive had come to life. Even the most remotely implausible possibilities were coming true in my life. It was GREAT! I began to rely on it.

I am really enjoying the work I am doing as a Boat Broker. It makes absolutely no sense for me to be doing this job. I don't make any money unless I sell a boat and it will take some time to do so. My funds are running low. I am OK for a time, but I've begun to look at a longer horizon and the trend is not good. BUT I love it; it is very natural and comfortable for me.

I've kept up the job hunt, but the economy up here is tougher than I imagined. What I am really trying to do this week is find some part time work at night so that I can keep selling boats too. I'm waiting to see what effect gas prices might have. We are selling expensive used boats. Gas cost may well not affect sales much.

I am fully committed to heading south on the boat. There is enough boat work to do, some of it expensive, that I am not sure I will make it this fall. Worst Case Scenario is that I have to winter over in Bay City and leave next year. Things are still good. A bad day in Bay City still beats a good day in the Grind. I just have a more mature outlook on my own situation today. That can't be bad. Have Fun.

Cool Quote

I found a cool quote. It flies in the face of my Objectivist tendencies, but I felt it rather than read it [which also flies in the face of said tendencies].

"Once I thought that to be human was the highest aim a man could have, but I see now that it was meant to destroy me. Today I am proud to say that I am inhuman, that I belong not to men or governments, that I have nothing to do with creeds or principles, I have nothing to do with the creaking machinery of humanity - I belong to the earth! I say that lying on my pillow and I can feel the horns sprouting from my temples." Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer.

I think that it fits well with the Anarcho-Capitalist tendencies I have been feeling lately. It also resonates with the freedom of finally living my own life the way I want to be. Perhaps I have nothing to do with the creeds and principles of the bland "pinks" that trudge along 'in quiet desperation' in modern society.
I started working as a Boat Broker. The people I work with are great and like minded in many ways. One of the guys not only likes to hunt up ethnic foods, he and some friends built a Wharram Catamaran one summer in college. Until I bought In A Mist, I was carrying around James Wharram's Design Book for the last 15 years. Finally walking in my own skin, like minded people recognize me, as me. Think of Emily's First Law of the Spork [see below].

Life In Bay City.

I have been in Bay City for a week or so. The place I found is an big old house near downtown with an interesting cast of characters. I've been practicing my guitar at the storage unit. Hence, the studio picture. I've located a place that has a Wednesday Night Open Mic Night.

That same place hosted a very cool gig last Thursday. It seems that a local singer/songwriter named Scott Baker met and befriended Adam Levy, who plays guitar for Norah Jones. Norah was playing the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor friday. Adam made the trek to Bay City to play a night with Scott on Thursday. The Arlington on Linn St., in Bay City is either a 104 or 140 year old building. For $3 cover! I saw these guys playing for three hours or more! Scott played some of his stuff; Adam played some of his; then they played together.

Scott Baker is a talented local singer. He tells the story of helping Adam hold a box of CDs while he signed autographs after a concert. They became good friends. Scott has a few CDs out; and a new one coming out this month. I really liked Scott's easy manner and strong voice. He reminds me a bit of Greg Brown; another Michigan singer/songwriter. I would highly recommend the new CD. I liked the songs Your Turn and Color My Life.

Adam Levy is a hugely talented guitarist. He is a jazzy, bluesy, funky player fond of filling textures and color with tight licks. He played for Tracy Chapman before Norah Jones. The bluesy funk behind "Give Me One Reason" is Adam. He is also a guitar player's guitar player; check the interviews on his site of other guitarists. Adam was playing a Randy Newman song 'Marie' to warm up. Someone shouted "Play that one!" Adam says alright and jumped right in.

I loved his song with the tag line "She's a little like Sunday Morning on Saturday Night." Also, "Unsay Goodbye" "Last Payphone Call" and "Spanish Moss and Angel Wings." Adam has a quirky song talent. I loved his view of the world. Imagine if Lyle Lovett and Chris Isaac had a child, but sent it to New York to be raised by Bill Frisell and Willie Nelson. I think my favorite song of Adam's was "Washing Day." He channelled Bill Frisell during the song.

When Scott joined Adam for the third set, they played Norah's "Nightingale." What a great night!! Two guys who were multitalented and just plain at ease with their music. They looked like they were having fun and were as natural as if they were just breathing. I was inspired.

No Matter Where You Go . . .

Sometimes, even for an atheist, the universe seems to be sending a message. Either that or you just need to be good where ever you go. I had the weirdest revelation this evening.

I found a boat on the internet this February, bought it, quit my job and moved to Bay City, Mi where the boat is. Earlier I had commented to people that it was a little eery that I found this boat straight across the river from where I found a boat 10 or 12 years ago. I thought that boat was THEE boat, but it wasn't for a variety of reasons; not the least of which is that I had even less money then than I do now.

I found who I think was the previous owner. I even poked around and found out some details about the guy. I'll not reveal him, until I've discussed that with him. Last summer, while ushering at the Elkhart Jazz Festival, I stood no more than 20 feet from the very person who used to own my boat!!! I believe that he played there the year before as well. When I saw the band's website a couple months ago, it did not occur to me.

I was trying to find an email to send a note to the previous owner. As I cruised around the website again tonight something hit me. I hadn't even finished reading about the places they'd been. I looked at the previous owner's picture again and I could see the whole band in the tent by the river in Elkhart! What a great show too. I'm just dumbstruck.

There is some info that I can share with you. I suspected that the boat's name, In A Mist, was derived from the 1927 Bix Beiderbecke jazz piano composition. The band has actually played a Bix Beiderbecke festival out in Iowa. I love it! I am leaving the name just as it is. I will, however, add "Bay City, Mi" on the stern in celebration of where my adventure started. For all intents and purposes, my home port.

Just remember, be good no matter where you are!

Arrived in Bay City. . .

After a long drive last night, I made it to Bay City. It was a psychological victory to just put my head down and keep going. It wasn't too bad a drive. This morning it was pouring rain. I got a storage unit and checked on In A Mist over at Bay Harbor. She hasn't moved. I was soaked by the time I emptied the truck.

I found a really inexpensive place to live; it is populated by misfits and malcontents. I guess I'll get along just fine. The doors lock so it must be OK. The house is four or five blocks from downtown. In better weather, it will be a nice walk to some nightlife. The boat is about 4 miles away. In better weather, a nice bike ride. The weather is getting me down; can you tell.

I found a cool little coffeehouse downtown. The bluegrass band didn't show up, so some guy is playing the piano. A promising jazzy tune, followed by the Marine Hymn or something.

The Tao of Spork.

The Titanium Spork came to mind when I was planning the galley aboard In A Mist, my Cape Dory 28. 

A little later, I was talking about the spork with my friend Emily, who is wise beyond her years, and she responded that the spork ends up being neither a very good fork nor a very good spoon.

I was struck that Emily's First Law of the Spork goes double for people. Anyone trying to be more than one thing will be good at neither. This is especially true of people who are trying to acheive goals that are mutually exclusive. You cannot simultaneously devote more time to your career and more time to a hobby. You cannot save up for a sailboat and go out partying every weekend (ask me how I know). 

Working with my coach Kathy, one of the most valuable lessons I learned was to cast a hard, uncompromising look at my goals and my thoughts about my situation. This is to evaluate all goals in a holistic way, to judge if they complement or compete with each other. Once my goals were aligned, I could finally make valid decisions about moving forward. Once I stopped listening to the constant clanging of misaligned priorities, I could begin to hear the soft whispers of the real person I'd been ignoring for so long.

You must do this now. Your real self is not going to survive forever without nourishment. You may have just enough positivity in your life to keep your real self alive, but it must be actively nurtured. If you slap it down every time it rises to the top of your mind, it will find some other way to die.

I had gotten so low that I didn't have much to lose. Divorced for a second time and stuck in a job that was stifling the very creativity that had led to my major contributions there. I was really lucky to have met a Life Coach along the way. We did some hard work and she helped me develop the tools to uncover my real self. Almost as soon as I realized I was on the wrong path, I was able, and willing, to turn abruptly, and start heading the way I should have been going all along.

I am finally headed in the right direction. I have a few details to clean up, but I am back. This is the real me. I am doing, almost exclusively, exactly what I want to be doing. It was some work to get here but you can do it too.

It takes a real hard eye and a sharp internal ear. It is not unlike what I've been going through the last couple weeks. I am a natural born pack rat. While packing to go from a small apartment to a smaller boat, I was making decisions about stuff. Man, that's hard. There are things, and boxes of things, that I have been carrying around for years and many many moves. These things are excess baggage; sheer dead weight. I have had to go through some boxes three or four times. Each time I managed to sever a few more emotional attachments and let a few more things go. I have done the same thing with clothes, knick knacks, books, and two portfolios full of drawings from junior high and high school.

None of that was easy, but I recently did the same thing with my life. Go back through several times, examine each idea or pick each thing up, and ask: does this contribute to my happiness? If the answer is not an unqualified yes, it needs to go. Of course, you have different considerations and commitments than I do. Nevertheless, the process and its benefits are the same regardless of how deep you go. If you are carrying around more than you need, that is too much weight. If you are trying to be someone you are not, you can't possibly be happy no matter what you tell yourself. Go through your life's boxes. Ask the hard questions. Throw shit out. 

You can't get rid of it all, but you can make your life easier, better and happier.

===

Thoroughly revised 06/26/2021