Paddling the oars

There is a time in any dreamers life when he must paddle as fast as he can to get into the stream of leasure called “Cruising”.   That’s what I’m doing right now.  I guess you could classify me as a middle class cruiser.  Upper class cruisers made their money and retired.. on full money burn as long as they can stand it.  I’m more of a middle class guy….. it takes lots of hard work to get the kitty purring and happy.

I just thought of something…… the term “hard work” means different things to different people.  To me hard work means lots of hours… not lots of sweat.  I understand that I am so lucky…….  I can work at a job that pays well for part time work.  Similar to drug smuggling or bank robbing I guess….. only legal.   I work in the construction industry where they pay well for guys to come “fix their stuff”  Every few years refineries and chemical plants get “worn out” or too full of really nasty gunk to work right so they turn them off (at great expense to the proifit margin) to get them running efficiently again.  It costs roughly $1M a day to not produce gasoline or some chemical in high demand from one of these giant chemical kitchens so…….. if you think getting your car back from a mechanic is expensive….. try getting a 20 acre refinery back from the mechanic……. yeah… there’s good money in it.

Right now I’m paddling fast for me and mine.   Making hay while the sun shines.  The past few months I’ve been only working 45 hours a week or so… but soon I hope to double that.  In an effort to get that going I’ve been mentally busy.  The comany I work for has many opportunites and do a great job of placing people in the right spot to succeed.  Lately I have been knighted to a higher office.  Previously the only thing I had to satisfy was the client and my keyboard.  I have become very proficient at that and enjoyed it quite a bit.  NOW… they want me to be in charge of masses of people…… yuck..  people that control my happiness,  people that generally don’t care much if I have a bad day……..  so why am I moving “up”?

Good question:  It pays a little more (not much) so I’m giving it a trial run.  If I like being a Project Manager I’ll continue doing it… but I really enjoy the creative nature of running a schedule.  The good thing is I have a bit of a choice.  If I don’t like what happens being a PM I can go back and play with my computer….. lol.

The construction industry is unique.  Every job ends and you must qualify to go to the next one.  Generally our jobs last 1/2 a year.  If you do good, you get to go to the next one, if you don’t do good they make you a Project Manager… lol.  I’m kidding, I have a long string of very satisfied customers so I have a little money to burn in the “oh shit” department if you know what I mean…..and I like having that “money” in the bank so I pay close attention to what I’m doing.

As I have mentined before….. I have a very narrow skillset…. one that is apparently in demand.  I have worked in every phase and discipline it takes to build or maintain a refinery and am also a bit of a computer geek.  Not a big time geek… just somebody that knows if you click on a file and scroll down.. hold shift and click on another file……… it highlights all of them.  If you didn’t know that, you think I’m a genius.  If that is so far behind where you are…….. now you know my computer skill level.  What makes it click for me is I learn fast.  I am always “overstating” what I can do until…. the next day when I can.  Practical experience and the boldness to go for it can propel you to levels you never dreamed of.

Linda always says I am understating what I know or can do…. but she’s my wonderful wife and that’s her job.   Women… if you want your men to provide wonderfully for you…. get behind them and make beleive (like linda does) that he’s the best guy on the planet.  If all you do is complain……. your going to get back what you put out.  If you support and adore him… your going to get back what you put out…  the best thing is, it’s YOUR choice.  You pretty much decide your own fate every day.  If you think somebody is going to rob you at night and you walk around like a victim….. guess what, you will be.    If you loan your house and all your belongings to someone prone to not respecting “things”….  but expect him to… he will.  If only that once because you trusted him.  Someone once told me a golden nugget I have never forgotten.  “You pretty much get what you give out” so I give a lot.  Not money or things.. but respect and happiness because I really enjoy people treating me that way… give it a try.   When you meet somebody new… give them your full attention and respect…..  see what you get back.  I promise if you do it, most of the time you will be rewarded in kind and that’s good enough for me.  I don’t get burned much, and when I do…. that’s cool I don’t get my nose out of joint.  I guess I’m lucky because that’s the way I’m wired.  People that need to control their environment usually end up frustrated and unhappy.  I say if you give happiness and get it back 90% of the time…. that’s a dang good average.  If the 10% that “costs” you a heart hurt is too much of a toll for you….. you’ll miss out on 90% of the good results.

OK, so I’m done preaching……. it’s 8:26, getting close to bedtime here on the boat.  Linda is at “E’s” getting the wedding stuff sewn up so I’m eating Popeye’s chicken and leftovers from lunches with friends these days.  I don’t have or yearn for a TV here on the boat.  I do enjoy TV when I go home to the lake… but not enough to make it happen here.  My life is like living on the porch years ago…. enjoying the weather and watching things go by…. intermittently good internet connections and talking to you good people.  If the TV was on… I’d have missed the Bahamas, wonderful evening sails approaching a deserted island beach.  The sound of my sterns and rustling water past the hulls….. the rushing wind in my ears on a 15 knot pinch….. the solitude of a long downwind run.  If I “really” liked TV… I might have missed spending day after day with my wife focused only on what we would like to do that day.  I recall my “boat rules”  they are:  #1 if your fun interrupts someone elses fun you lose.  #2 do what you want, when you want and if you want…… unless it breaks rule #1.  Life really can be that simple.

If I liked TV a lot I might have missed this