The Liveaboard Life - Maintenance and Other Ugly Truths

When I tell people I'm a liveaboard--I live full time on a CT-56 sailboat with no ties to land except for the occasional storage unit and my car--there are several common responses.

1. How to you stay warm?  (Boston in the winter - A: I turn up the thermostat)
2. What do you do about Internet? (A: Thank you MiFi [Mobile Wifi] - as a computer professional, I can take them everywhere)
3. What do you do about clothes and storage?  I'd never have room for all my shoes (A: I got nothin.'  My shoe collection went from over 80 pairs to a cap at 12.  It's been creeping up, but I'm attending meetings for the addicton...)
4. "A boat is a hole in the water you throw money into..."
5. And, "To experience life on a boat, go into your shower in a raincoat, turn on the water and throw money around..."

Have to admit, the last two comments irritate me.  #5 is just stupid.  Sorry, but it is.  How can you compare wearing a raincoat in a shower to the lovely and serene experience that is sailing?  Maybe I've lost touch with land, but the last time I stayed with friends they didn't have sunsets, dolphins, clipper ships or the mournful cry of seagulls in their bathrooms, let alone their showers.  Guess I have the wrong friends.

As for #4, I can truly appreciate this one, particularly for those who are maintaining a large boat and a home on land.  When you finally have a weekend off and plan a cruise, the last thing you want to do is spend the time varnishing and fixing a water, bilge, or engine pump.  Even cleaning out the filters becomes a pain.

Here's how it's possible.  When you're a liveaboard, your boat is your home.  Compare the maintenance items to what you do around the house.  Mowing the lawn becomes varnishing the toe rails.  Clearing the gutters becomes clearing filters.  Water heater fails?  You buy a new one and replace the old one.  Replace water heater with water pump and there you are.  The more you do yourself, the better off you are.  Similar to replacing a roof.  Difficult, true.  Material intensive, yes.  But if you have the skills and time, you can save a lot of money and gain a tremendous amount of satisfaction by doing it yourself.

Consider refinishing hardwood floors.  On our trip from Boston to Fort Lauderdale, a console came loose and screws on the bottom gouged the teak and holly floors in a most egregious fashion.  I was absolutely horrified at what happened.  But, one night while we were watching television and pretending not to notice the ugly floor, my husband decided to sand out the damage.  And, much like refinishing the hardwood floors in a house, it's a mess and horrible and ugly.  

But when you look at the result, WOW.  What a beautiful result!  As for me, I just hid out in the bedroom (aft cabin) until it was done and et voila!  Brand new boat.  

Now if the Swiffer(r) will just do its job.  

Living Boldly - a Life Without Paralysis

Recently, I visited a cool site maintained by a fellow liveaboard - Cygnus III

One of his postings talked about fear at anchor.  At least I think it did.  I can't find it again.  But it's a great blog and worth perusing.

Anyway, there was a discussion about what kind of sailor are you at anchor.  I decided I was the type who constantly checks to see if the anchor has slipped and is concerned about leaving the boat...

This is a bad thing according to the idea of Living Boldly.

However.


"Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you."  Joseph Heller  Or "Just because you're afraid the anchor's going to slip, doesn't mean it won't..."



I'm not a typical sailor or liveaboard, if there is such a thing.  I never dreamed of sailing the seas and living onboard a sailing vessel while gathering coconuts with my lover and eating fish we'd caught and making love under the stars on a deserted island.

No.

I abhorred boats and all things water-related because of crippling motion sickness.

However.

The love of my life lived/lives on a sailboat and I didn't want to live without him.

My approach is not to claim to be unafraid.  I still throw up the first few days of a cruise, I constantly worry about pulling in and out of docks and I live in fear of the anchor slipping and throwing us up on a rocky shore or into a megayacht.

But I don't let it stop me.  I push through the fear and live the life of dreams anyway.  Anyone can.  It's okay to be afraid, but it's not okay to let it paralyze you.  Take Dramamine, check the anchor line, make sure your insurance is up to date, and sail the seas of whatever dreams you have.

And don't forget to make love under the stars...

Talented Writer, Author and Guinea Pig Whisperer - Rachel Smith

     

Throughout my winding journey as a writer and wanna be successful author, a favorite aspect is the fabulous writers I meet along a similar path.  Rachel Smith, author of  the Squirrelpocalypse Trilogy, is one such writer.  To date, her eBooks are:


Night of the Squirrels: Dawn of the Interns 
Night of the Squirrels: Day of the Robots

The third in the trilogy is percolating and I can't wait to read it.  Based loosely on such classic horror gems as Night of the Living Dead, Cabin Fever, and Cabin in the Woods, this is my favorite genre and Ms. Smith presents true examples.  Not only was I impressed with her creativity and talent, I was taken in by her refusal to compromise her ideals.  We first met at a NYC Pitch Conference, where eager writers meet to pitch their manuscript ideas to publishers, editors and agents.  Publishers, editors and agents from REAL publishing houses.  Like Random House.

Yup.

Random House.

Have to admit that when I was grilled, basically crucified, I back pedaled and tried to give the conference moderators what they thought they wanted.

Not Rachel.

She held to her vision even when told that "Comedy-Horror" was not a legitimate genre.

Weird.

It's as if they've never watched Attack of the Killer Tomatoes or Killer Klowns from Outerspace.   

Definitely weird.  


And this amazing writer just complimented me by reviewing my book, The Basement Office.

Check it out on her blog at:

Rachel Smith Blog: At the Mountains of Merricat

Awesome!

The Unauthorized, Semi-Serious, Totally Biased, Completely Unscientific Modern Family as Viewed by Uber-Fan E. Sabbag

My latest project is a novel length analysis of Modern Family, the popular sitcom on ABC.  To create eye-catching cover art, I turned to 99Designs and ran a contest to see what world wide designers could come up with.  The field is narrowed down to the final designs.  Check them out!  Please click on the stars and vote for your favorites/least favorites.  If you have the time, I'd appreciate an explanation describing why you feel the way you do...

https://99designs.com/book-cover-design/vote-jqbo2o

When is a Sailboat Not a Sailboat?

When the wind is on your nose and you have a schedule to keep.  That's when you become a motorboat.

Working our way from Boston to Fort Lauderdale.

Diver Donna and Captain Doug

Offending line; sabotage?

Couldn't achieve great speed because of a line wrapped around the prop blades and a reef (mussels, sponges, seaweed and sea lice - gross!).  Diver Donna removed the offending items and improved our speed from 3 to 8+ kts.


Down and dirty sail repair - no time to take down the main sail, but noticed a rip in the leech.  Used sail tape and common, household staples.  After a day of sailing, inspected the repair.  The adhesive was letting go in a few places, but the staples held it together.  Awesome!

Sail Repair

Dylan and Doug; Drinks at Union Landing, Brielle, NJ

We have a great crew mate, Dylan Ladds, who's enthusiastic, positive and eager to learn and an experienced, laid back captain, Doug Sabbag.

Breakfast at a mooring

Breakfast at a mooring in the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Club - bacon, eggs, hash browns and flat bread with za'atar

Low tech entertainment

There's time to hone my carving skills - working on a relief carving of a Celtic dragon

Lunch Underway!  

Hollowed out bagels filled with cheese, bacon and turkey and toasted


All in the life of a sailor.

Strange Happenings on Goodreads

In an effort to improve my online presence for my books, I participated in a Goodreads Giveaway.

Here's how it works...

If you have a newly published or soon-to-be published book, you can give away a number of books (your choice on the number) to randomly selected Goodreads members.  I chose to giveaway ten signed copies of my latest book, Workshop Til You Drop.  I allowed readers from Canada to participate, which wound up costing much more than I expected and was also a challenge to get through the customs paperwork.  The latter was mostly because of a grumpy postal worker, but that's another post...

Once the books arrived, I was pleasantly surprised that I received some very positive reviews from people that I wasn't related to!  Awesome!  Unfortunately, only 3 of the ten chose to leave a review, but I'll take what I can get and thank you very much!

Fast forward to last night.  I'm trying to drum up support for my entry in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) Contest and I notice that there's a brand new, signed copy of my book for sale on Amazon for half price.  I contacted the buyer with righteous indignation oozing from every pore.

Me: "How dare you, you cad!  I never authorized this!  Are you cheating my trusting, adoring public?"
Or something like that.  Whereupon I received a much calmer and somewhat contrite reply from an Extremely Nice Seller (ENS).
ENS: "Sorry if this upsets you, but I buy boxes of books from Goodreads and it just happened to be in there.  Have you heard of the site?"

Huh.

In a weird way, I felt betrayed, disappointed and cheated.  I can just picture the 'super' members on Goodreads (if you have a certain number of reviewed/shared books on your bookshelf, you're given preference in the Giveaways) signing up for all the Giveaways willy-nilly.  Once they receive a certain number of free books, they box them up and sell them to whomever wants them.

As long as they read the book and review it, I don't really care what they do with them after that.  But I have a feeling they don't take the time to do their due diligence.  And, as far as I can tell, there's no attempt and, really, no way to get them to actually read the books.  That's what disappoints me the most.

I have two takeaways from this.

1. I probably won't ever do another Goodreads Giveaway.
2. The ENS wrote me a lovely review on my ABNA entry.

Not the Best at Social Networking - Maybe Even One of the Worst

Workshop 'Til You Drop (Excerpt) - ABNA Entry

Was extremely excited when I made it to Quarter-Finalist status in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) Contest with my novel, Workshop 'Til You Drop and thought it would be available for review if I made it to the Semi-Finalist level.  This level is comprised of the top 25 entries out of the original 10,000.

WRONG!

Not only is it available now, reviews and feedback from Amazon customers will be used to determine - in part - who moves on.

ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!

I'm reduced to begging, pleading and groveling for reviews.  

Hey, I'm not that proud...  Here I go!

On June 13, the top 25 entries - the Semi-Finalists - will be announced. In the meantime, you can download my entry (excerpt from Workshop 'Til You Drop - first twelve pages) and read it for free.The finalists will be based on readers' inputs so it would really, really, really help me if you could download it and write a review. Doesn't have to be long or extravagant or anything that takes a lot of time, but the more the merrier! Here's the link - and please pass it on to readers you think might enjoy it...

Workshop 'Til You Drop (Excerpt) - ABNA Entry 

American Breakfast in Lipari, Sicily

Just returned from an amazing vacation in Sicily.  My husband and I traveled to Marina Di Portorosa, Sicily, to charter a sailboat in order to sail to the Eolian Islands.  Bad weather kept us close to port the first two days, but we were able to set out for Lipari on the first good day.  We tried all things Sicilian and loved most of what we encountered, but one morning we decided to see what the Sicilians considered an American breakfast.






The results were fantastic.  So good that we tried it on two separate days.  Both gave us scrambled eggs mixed with ham and cheese, bread and pastries.  Absolutely delicious!


A surprise was how orange the eggs were, however.  Curious, I looked up what gives egg yolks their color.  Found out that a deep orange color indicates a happy, healthy hen being fed a well-balanced diet.  When allowed to graze and eat a omnivore's diet, the eggs provide vitamins A, D and E, omega-3 fatty acids and xanthophylls (carotenids - beta-carotene).

How to Get Those Delightful Orange Yolks in Backyard Hens

Can't wait to return to Europe.

Spring Has Sprung! And the Geese Are Nesting...

My husband, an adorable city boy, came bursting onto the boat with the news that a mallard duck had built a nest in a planter just down the dock from us.  He first became aware of the nursery when the male hissed at him for wandering too close.

Having contracted a cold from venturing outside of 128 - yes, I visited my mother in Wisconsin - I did not leave the boat until this morning.  Curious, I checked out the planter/nesting side and was confronted by a very angry Canada Goose.

Did I mention my husband is a city boy?  Bostonian, to be exact.  At least he had the right class...  Aves to be exact.

Anyway, the mother goose is nestled in a planter with a discarded boat fender taking up the majority of the open dirt.  Maybe the fender makes her feel protected and comfortable, especially with her mate standing guard.  Concerned that this is the time of year that the landscaping goes in, I approached the manager at the marina.

Me: Can you talk to the landscapers to make sure they don't bother the nest?
Manager: Weeeeelllll...  Don't know if that's possible.
Me:  How long is the gestation period?
Manager: 28 days.  A long time, but it is only one planter...  Should be able to leave it alone.
Me: If it's a real problem, I'll personally plant the flowers once the geese are gone.
Manager: I'll talk to them, but I can't promise anything.

In a strange, silly way, my heart is broken at the thought of the babies potentially being destroyed.  So I looked up facts on Canada Geese.

Interesting.

Wild Goose Chasers - Protection Under Federal Law

In a nutshell, Canada Geese are protected under the Federal Migratory Bird Act of 1918.

Huh.

Did not know this, but it makes me feel better to know that the mother and her babies are, technically, protected.

Now just need to make sure that the landscapers and the marina knows this.  It doesn't make me feel better to know the law is on the side of the vulnerable if the vulnerable is still injured.

Fingers crossed.

Update - the Marina is contacting the Massachusetts Wildlife Department to see about relocating the goose family.  Interesting that once they contact them, the Marina is liable if anything happens to the geese.

My experience has been that government offices/officials care more about the things they're assigned to protect than the comfort of people involved.

Should be interesting...

Top 10 Comments You Don't Make to an Aspiring Author

Since I was ten, I've wanted to be a published author.  I remember reading an article in the Wall Street Journal proclaiming that Harlequin was looking for romance writers.  If I'd had any idea at all about romance, I'd have been all over that.  Instead, I created activity books for my sisters and friends.  I think my mother still has one of them tucked lovingly away that she pulls out at opportune times to embarrass me.  When I see it, a little spark of pride tingles in my belly.    Silly, but then again, I've never claimed to be the epitome of maturity.

Throughout the long crusade for that elusive traditional publishing contract, I've written a half dozen books, self-published two, sent hundreds--thousands--of queries, received dozens--hundreds--of rejections (most don't answer, in case you're doing the math) and accumulated more advice than can fit into one person's brain.

But some advice does stick.  Some, I've acquired from others; some I've observed.  Most has to do with how to react when someone tells you they've written a book.

Please take note - if you're one of the very talented authors I've met along the way and have been in the trenches, taken your knocks and still persevered, this advice does not apply to you.  You can say anything you like.  It's understood that you mean these responses in the spirit of :
a. "I'd love to buy your book, but I've just spent over three grand and sold $12.34 worth of eBooks and my partner will kill me if I spend one more penny on writing."
b. "I know someone who landed an agent/got a publishing contract/ won a contest/received a 'not awful' rejection from an agent and if they can do it, so can we!"
c.  "Hold me.  I need a hug..."

For the rest of you, if you haven't been there, don't go there!  Or here, rather.  Anyway.  Here goes.

When a writer tells you they've written a book, do not answer (All are preceded with "Great!", but it became
irritating to repeat it):
1. "I'll see if my library has it."
2. "I have a friend with a Kindle; maybe they'll loan it to me."
3. "Can I have a copy?  I have a lot of writer friends -- they always give me free copies."
4. "I have a great idea for a book -- I should tell you about it and when you write it up, we can split the royalties 50/50"
5.  "My family says I should write a book about my life; I'm soooo interesting."
6. "If they ever make a movie version, let me know and I'll download it on Netflix."
7. "I have a friend who wrote a book and she blogged about it to her millions of followers and they all bought a copy and now she's a gazillionaire and lives in Tuscany and writes about being a successful author/blogger."
8.  "How many have you sold?  If J.K. Rowlings can do it, what's wrong with your stuff?"
9. "Have you read insert really famous, really rich author here?  His/her stuff is JUST like yours  and they have a gazillion fans.  I just went to a book signing of theirs and the lines stretched around the corner.  Good thing I bought my book ahead of time; the store pre-ordered hundreds and ran out of all of them.  I'll send you their link on Amazon/Goodreads/New York Times Best Seller List.  Bet you'll see their books are just like yours."

And.

My favorite of all time:
10. "I have her book - I keep it in the bathroom in case I run out of toilet paper"  This was actually said, at a party, in my presence.  To this day, I want to believe it was just an incredibly horrible attempt at humor.

Keep in mind, you can think these answers, just don't say them.

Please.

But if you do, please read Workshop 'Til You Drop.  You may not make the comments again...

Living Aboard - Questions, Questions, Questions...

Earlier I posted about the many questions I get asked from people who are curious about my life as a liveaboard.  Repeating a few here just to bring newbies up to date.
1. How do you stay warm?  I turn up the thermostat - two zone air conditioner/heaters keep us very comfortable.
2. What do you do for electricity/water/Internet?  Hook up and pay our bills - much like everyone else.
3. Where do you put your clothes, shoes and other personal stuff?  Closets, drawers, draped over the settee in the aft cabin because I'm too lazy to fold things and put them away.

But recently, I was presented with a comment that I'd never heard before.  And yes, technically, this post is about questions, but the comment required an answer, so it's an indirect question.

"I could never live on board a boat because of all the spiders."

Huh.

Me:  There aren't any spiders.
Sweet Elderly Lady (SEL): Boats always have spiders.  Lots of spiders.
Me:  Not my boat.
SEL:  All boats have spiders.  You must be very brave.
Me: No spiders.  No snakes.  No roaches.  No bugs or creepy crawlies of any kind.
SEL:  I hate spiders.  All boats have spiders.

Seriously.  No spiders.  You can peek at the accommodations.  The pictures have not been Photoshopped.  No spiders.  Really.

Triumph Charters - Come Sail with Us!

I Made It! - Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) - Quarter Finalists Announced

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA)

10,000 to 2,000 to 500 - Workshop 'Til You Drop made the quarter finalist cut!  Next announcement comes in June.

So excited.  This is the first time something I've created has been recognized at this level.

Now if I can get people to buy the silly thing.

Hey, it's only $3.99 for the eBook, $9.99 for the print version!  Get on the bandwagon!  Buy your copy while it's unknown - you can say you were ahead of the curve!

Too much?


Too bad...

Book Signings and Other Author Acoutrements

Heading off to Wisconsin for a book signing for Workshop 'Til You Drop.  It's been almost two years since I had my first book signing at the library in Poynette, WI.  That was for The Basement Office.  Since then, we lost a boat 1000 miles off the coast of New England, nearly lost our lives, bought a new boat, had that boat boarded by a mentally unstable guy, had several new engineering contracts - some good, some bad - and experienced several tiffs with people in the various marinas.

Taking a pro-active approach to my books and moving them forward, I've entered several contests, some paid, some free, submitted to various agents and editors and even a publishing company.

Self-published Workshop 'Til You Drop and wrote the first half of my memoir and currently working on a book length analysis of a current television program for Harlequin eFirst - Harlequin Pop!

Had our new boat, the Triumph, appear in a SyFy schlock-fest, Stonados and an upcoming Vince Vaughn movie, The Business Trip.



Also learning Italian.

Not sure what the next two years will bring, but I'm sure it will be interesting.

Man Breaks Into Boat on Boston Harbor - Unhappy Birthday Surprise

http://www.wcvb.com/news/Couple-finds-stranger-making-himself-at-home-on-their-housebost/25370752#!C90I8 

Really bizarre!  We came home from the Red Sox game to find this nut job taking possession of our boat.  He ate an apple, Doug's birthday cake, smoked some cigars and had beers lined up to wash it all down.  Weird.  Very weird.  He welcomed us calling the police as he said they would support his claim of ownership.  

Weird.  Very weird...

An Engineer's Guide to Writing a Novel - The Idea

The Idea.  Where does it come from?  What's a good one?  Good questions...

First of all, the Idea is critical.  Some truly awful, poorly written books have been created, published and produced a huge amount of money all because the Idea spoke to a large demographic.  Readers will put up with typos, grammatical errors, discontinuities and other literary offenses if they're intrigued by the concept.

But don't use that as an excuse to put less than your best work out there.  Seriously.  It's embarrassing.  A great idea will translate into a great book with just a bit more effort.  And, you don't know if your idea is truly great or merely good.  Theoretically, the former will prevail, but the latter requires nurturing and will languish if readers can't make it past the first chapter, maybe not even the first page.

Okay, that was a rant, and I'm done with that.  Where were we?  Oh yes.  The Idea.

Where does it come from?

1. Observation followed by back braining.  Sorry if this sounds trite, but it's true.

Example 1:
When I first started writing novels, I attended a lot of workshops and conferences.  And received a lot of rejection and harsh critiques and not a lot of positive feedback.  Was told "You're what's wrong with publishing today.  Editors are overwhelmed with mediocre writing to the extent that they overlook truly quality literature.  Like what I write."

Driving home from this particular workshop and still stinging from the criticism, I watched corn fields zing by and thought I'm surprised more of these critics aren't knocked off my impassioned writers.  There would be so many suspects.  Of course, since I was the only one with enough back bone to say anything, I'd be the prime focus.  Hmmm...  Et voila!  Workshop 'Til You Drop

Example 2:

After a few years as an engineer, I dreamed about working from home as a consultant and only interacting with my fellow designers when presenting completed projects.  And getting paid beaucoup bucks for my extraordinary work.  So I read a lot and researched what it would take to become a consultant.

I came across an article that proposed "When working from home, make sure to set up an area where you can be completely alone and without distractions.  Preferably geographically as well as electronically isolated.  Turn off your phone, lock the door and concentrate on your work."

This percolated around in my head until popping out as What happens if you shut yourself off and tell everyone not to bother you and you have a heart attack or an accident and hit your head or if you're attacked by creatures from an alternate dimension and can't reach anyone because you're geographically and electronically isolated... 
The Basement Office was born.

2. What's hot.  

As soon as a best seller appears, there's a flurry of copycats.  Agents, editors and publishers cry out for the next Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Grey, or Harry Potter.  And people want to prolong the experience and are receptive to the genres.

However.

When is the topic hot and when does it cool off to a level of tepid mush?

If you have an idea that fits a trend or, even better, have already written the book and were waiting for an opportunity to shop it - great!  Now's your chance!  Well written, coupled with a great idea, you could be Divergence to Hunger Games, Sword of Shannara to Lord of the Rings.

On the other hand, if you're writing a book just because you want to be rich, too, it's probably going to fail.  Probably.  Maybe not. It's a weird world.

3. What an agent, editor or publisher is looking for.  

In their bios, publishing figures have call-outs for what they're accepting.  This can be a wellspring of ideas as something might sing to you and set off a creative fervor.  

I've had this go both ways.  One was to write a Christian Romance, the other is a project I'm working on right now.  The former was a huge, colossal bust.  Mainly because I don't read this genre and really didn't understand what I was writing.  And I hated every minute of it.  The latter is something I'm excited about, but have no idea how it will be received.  I'll let you know if this is my breakout novel...

But be careful.  These publishing figures remind me of teenagers in love.  Tommy is the sexiest, funniest boy in school and I love him and will always love him and want to go out with him and just him forever...  Is that Sam?  Sam is the sexiest...

So what makes an idea good?

Honestly, this is the conundrum that's vexing everyone in the publishing industry today.  Don't over think it - this leads to analysis paralysis.  

Write what you read.  Write what you love.  Write for fun.  Above all, write.  The rest will fall in line...

An Engineer's Guide to Writing a Novel - Intro

All of us are comprised of various skills, talents and facets.  Personally, I consider myself an author, sailor and engineer, in order of importance.  Hence the name of my blog.  I'm fascinated by the amazing originality and creativity that emerges when we embrace the components that contribute to who we are and celebrate our uniqueness.

To that end, I decided to share two components that have helped me become a twice-published author - engineering and writing.  The topic will be divided into phases and posted as a series of discussions rather than one long diatribe.  At the end, you should have the tools and a framework necessary to write a novel of whatever size you want and, either have it ready for submission to agents/publishers or publish it yourself.  I don't guarantee you'll be picked up by a publishing house and make a gazillion dollars, but you will know what it takes to write that mystery/memoir/travel log/drama/ young adult novel you've been talking about for years.

Let's pause for a moment and wait for the shrieks and the gasps to die away.

When I've brought this up before, the purely literary creative types have practically tarred and feathered me.  You can't weigh down creativity with structure and guidelines.  The artiste must be allowed to create unfettered.

Okay.  But some of us need some structure to keep moving forward and make progress.  And, in the case of a mystery or thriller, it really helps to keep who did what, when and where straight.  That avoids those uncomfortable realizations that the person wielding the knife at our hapless protagonist was actually killed off in the fourth chapter...



As a foundation, it's helpful to know the elements of engineering--specifically software engineering--that are pertinent.  Typically, a project is broken down into phases, which follow a general pattern with, of course, some room for personalization.  Here are the phases I'm presenting:
1. The Idea
2. Research
3. Design
4. Implementation
5. Testing and Quality Control
6. Delivery
7. Maintenance and Continual Improvement - may involve returning to an earlier phase.  Forever.

Come back for the next post to find out where Ideas come from!

Racism - Alive and (Un)Well

Recently, I experienced the privilege of meeting a wonderful lady who has set up a successful Bed & Breakfast business.  With the advent of bringing the Triumph up to a 'charterable' state, I'm seeking to do business with this woman.  My husband and I met her and her husband at their home, which is also a B&B, to finalize some contract details.

While waiting for the hostess to finish up some tasks in the kitchen, we waited, along with two men from the Netherlands, in the foyer.  Our host ushered the two men upstairs and then led Doug and I into a lovely Victorian-style formal living room.  A little too fluffy and cluttered for my personal taste, but I don't believe the Victorians ever met a piece of lace, tassel or crystal that they didn't adore.

Within minutes, our hostess joined us and we proceeded to discuss the details of our business relationship.  Her invitation has stated 'tea', with the result that I was surprised there was no evidence of coffee or tea or any beverage.  I had double-booked against a birthday gathering, so was okay that we would get in and out.  As we wrapped up our discussion, she announced, "I just have a few more things to get ready, but you can go on into the dining room for dinner."

Uh. Uh. Uh.

Doug, never one to hold back, "I thought we were just coming for tea."
Hostess "I'm from New Orleans - when friends come, we always have dinner."

Thank goodness for SmartPhones.  Definitely wasn't going to forego a New Orleans dinner for cake and coffee.  I texted my friend, who assured me it was okay and we went into the dining room and enjoyed roast chicken, a saffron/corn risotto and fresh tomatoes with sparking wine.

While we were eating, our hostess had to take a phone call, which was quick, and then rejoined us.  By now, we're about 45 minutes late for the birthday 'do, but the dinner and conversation was worth it.


As we made our apologies and prepared to leave, our hostess shared that the phone call was from the gentlemen who had arrived with us.  After being shown to their rooms, they grabbed their stuff and left, checking into a local hotel.  They then called the office of the B&B, not realizing that our hostess was not just a member of the system, but the owner and manager.  The complaint was "We had no idea you would put us in a home owned by African-Americans.  There's no way we can stay there and we want a full refund."

Even now, a day later, I'm shocked beyond words.  Really???  Both my husband and I expressed our shock and dismay, but our hostess, lovely woman that she is, laughed it off.  "If they really think they'll get their money back, they have another thought coming...  It's happened before, it'll happen again.  We move on."

I'm still saddened by this.  In spite of her strength and her ability to shrug it off, it has to sting.  And it's so unfortunate.  The only silver lining that I can see is that these idiots probably checked into a Holiday Inn Express or other sanitized lodging and will never experience her risotto.  Their world is a sadder, less rich place...

And to finish out the story, the birthday gathering was not where I thought it was, but about twenty minutes further away.  By the time we arrived, we were an hour and 15 minutes late.  And no one had received their food yet.  And the last couple arrived an hour after us.  And my world is a beautiful, shining place, full of beautiful, shining people...

Talk Therapy and Other Modern Inventions

Recently, I've stepped WAAAAAY out of my comfort zone and participated in public conversations.  Facebook, Twitter, even this blog.  Being chronically shy, it has been difficult.  Especially when I get my knickers ripped any time I say anything.  Case in point is the micro-drama about  me not being an owner of my corporation, Triumph Ventures.
My approach to dealing with feeling dis'd is that I take action.  Since some people are impressed more with titles than with facts, my husband submitted our annual corporate report and announced me as the CEO.  Since I'm responsible for a lot of the strategy and vision, it makes sense.

The other thing that I do is I talk to my friends, my family and, especially, my mother.  A few years back, I confided in a doctor that I was feeling agitated.  I didn't want to take medication, to which he responded that I should participate in "Talk Therapy."  A form of therapy where you discuss what's going on in your life with a small, intimate circle of people you trust.

Huh.

Like my friends, family and, especially, my mother...

I'm WAAAAAAY ahead of the curve....