Burning Bridges, Sorta
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This page was last updated on 15 September, 2004
Slowly wrapping things up, tying up loose ends, burning some bridges. One of the bridges we burned was access to a slip -- our termination notice is at the marina office, slip rental runs out the last day of September. We're actually aiming to pull out on the 20th, giving ourselves a bit of wiggle room to complete all of our dock-side projects.
- Stuff still left to complete:
Another burned bridge -- access to money, as in working for a living; my last day of work came and went with no fanfare, just the way I like it. I immediately dived headfirst into boatwork with little thought to the tight new budget we'll be on. We'll realize, soon enough, what living at the poverty level is like.
Burning the work bridge -- my long-term leave-of-absence started. Instead of totally destroying the safety net of employment and income, I only burned this bridge's handrails, abuttments still stand. If all else fails, I can return to work sometime within the next year ...or, I can retire next May and keep on with the cruising plan.
For the past eight years I worked on a program at Northrop (nee TRW) called FAAD C2I, a long-standing program with a tight-knit little work group. Over the years, some really cool traditions were established. One such tradition was quilt giving. Occasions like births and retirements usually generated a unique quilt from the FAAD group. Fortunately, my leave-of-absence was considered such an occasion, and the FAAD group gave me a most fantastic quilt.
MJ and quilt in the Software Generation System lab.
Here's the requisite baby-on-blanket
picture for Faye, taken in the V-berth.
Faye, our lead engineer, designed and constructed the quilt; she's probably made hundreds of them. She designed the sailboat outline and wave pattern for the squares; Donna, another of our software engineers, distributed the squares to everyone on the program, along with a set of marking pens. Then everyone went to work individualizing their personal squares.
I have to say, with total prejudice, that this was Faye's best effort! And the group's most creative.
Labor Day found both of us oblivious to finances and knee-deep in projects, those of us new to full-time boatwork discovered it's alot more physically demanding than office work. I've been exhausted ever since I left Northrop.
Some of the well-wishers, from left: Linc from Passage, Joe from Walkabout,
Mike from Lisa Carol, Karen, Bob's hat from Polar Bear, MJ, Nancy from
MC Hunter,
Russel from Sarah V, Don from Dulcinea, and Nadine.
Life aboard hasn't been all work -- dock parties are a staple of dock life. Many of our sailing friends stopped by over the Labor Day weekend to wish us well with food, and more food. They filled up five dockbox-tables with killer salsas, salads, and casseroles, along with various animal products for the carnivores.
More people have visited. Stan's older son, Chris, stopped by the boat for his very first look at Dad's home. Ashley and Braydon came along. Ashley was sporting a new piece of Chris' artwork on her right shoulder.
Ashley, Chris and Braydon
Ashley's tatoo
Gale checking out his new hammock.
With Chris, and his brother Ricky, out on their own, our universe now rotates around that feline. We cater to his every whim. Gale's latest entertainment center, made from a throw rug tied five feet high between the mast and the handrails, provides a skybridge that he can climb to via the hemp-wrapped mast. We also keep him engaged by involving him in our boat projects.
