Lots has happened in the last month. About two weeks ago, we received word that Alan's father had cancer and was not doing well. Alan hopped on a plane and flew out to Seattle immediately. DeYette and I packed up our little abode and followed two days later. Alan was able to spend some time with his father, swap stories, and say good by. Unfortunately, by the time DeYette, Neill and I arrived, Ron was having serious difficulties and passed away a day later at home. It was very quick and quite a shock. We are very thankful to have been able to be here. The thought that we might have been in Timbukto and not been able to get home leaves us a bit shaken. Meanwhile, I am staying with Nancy and trying to be of help around the house - at least I can cook.
Filling in the blanks -
It was great getting home last month. Alan and enjoyed a week with my family with DeYette and Neill bopping in and out. We were able to get our taxes done, visit Napa, and grab a few things we had left behind. We then flew up to Seattle and helped Alan's parents start moving into their new home. As with most construction, it wasn't quite done, but Neill and Alan were able to move over a lot of the heavy stuff.
We returned to Ft. Lauderdale to wait for word on a boat. Both Alan and I were able to start researching a lot of things, but we wanted a boat. I took a class entitled Medical Person in Charge. While at sea, I am now "qualified" to administer shots, place IV's, put in catheters, suture (I know 3 different stitches) lacerations, CPR, and loads of other things. I'm counting on the addage that if prepared, I won't need it!
We finally received word that Blake, our boss, had put in an offer on a boat in Marmaris, Turkey. Alan was on a plane two days later to join the surveyor in inspecting the boat. Unfortunately, 10 days later it was determined the boat just had too many things wrong. Alan boarded the plane back to Ft. Lauderdale, about a 28 hour journey.
Robin and Mark made a quick overnight stop in Miami, so I hung out down there (about 25 miles south) for a bit. Then DeYette and Annie, our neice/Robin and Mark's daughter, arrived for Spring Break. As fun as that may sound, remember they are with Mom/Aunt, and it was drizzly weather. They did get a day or two at the beach, and we went on a very entertaining alligator viewing boat ride in the Everglades.
Alan arrived home midweek and then basically took off for Seattle.
Fortuitously, Blake has made another offer on a boat. This time in Vancouver Canada, about 2 hours from here. Alan is up there right now with the surveyor. For a lot of reasons, this boat should be in a lot better shape, and we believe this is the one. If so, we will probably be in Vancouver or Seattle for the next month or so. We really appreciate how well this is working out.
We're taking it a day at a time.
Hugs to everyone.
Carol and Alan
Friday, April 3, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
When it rains, it pours.
Patience and perseverance and karma and luck and right time and place and possibly being especially qualified has landed us the job of a life time!!!!!!!!
To back up a little – December was a tough month. Being away from the family when we weren’t doing anything here was hard, but since not working we couldn’t justify the expensive plane ticket back to California, and DeYette and Neill already had plans to go to Washington. We also didn’t quite realize how long the down time between Christmas and the first Monday after New Years would be. Everything combined for a low period. Somewhere during that time, Alan and I realized we better get serious about an exit plan – both short term and long term. Unfortunately, these two would often conflict. Ultimately, we decided to put our efforts into teaching overseas. After a little research, we decided to attend the University of Iowa’s overseas job fair. We updated our teaching resumes, wrote essays about our teaching philosophies, and asked for letters of recommendation. We also called relatives to borrow sweaters, boots, and coats to survive this weekend. UNI suggested we contact schools we were interested in before the fair. (Thank goodness for email. And to the best of our knowledge, we did attach what we said we would.) So we pony up the $340 for the fair that is to take place the last weekend of January. Then the phone starts to ring, literally the same. First, we get a call from Ann, a boat broker, whom Alan knew because he had been crew on her boat 25 years ago in the Virgin Islands. She is in the process of helping a family find a boat to sail around the world. They need captain and crew. Would we be interested in meeting them? Then, I get offered a fifth grade job at a private school here that is losing a teacher midterm. I had applied as a substitute. Alan gets a call from the merchant marine union hall for a 120 day job. Unfortunately, nothing is happening in a linear fashion. We meet with the couple on a prospective boat, but they have several other boats in the Med to look at. The meeting went very well, but they’re still looking around. On a leap of faith, I turn down the teaching job. Alan has to turn down the shipping job because he wouldn’t be around for the job fair. We get a nice note from the family stating that they would like us to meet the boys, but they are busy with the inauguration and will get back to us. Time moves along, and we start hearing back from schools. OK, we needed this boost. UNI stated not to expect much. Schools from Kuwait, Shanghai, Casa Blanca, Cairo, Saudi Arabia, and Belgrade all ask us to please contact them before the fair because we are just what they need. (And to add a little color, a school in Thailand said we do not meet their mission of having integrity and social values and do not expect them to contact us. ??? Through the computer we could see that they filled their math position.) We actually end up having an interview/sales pitch from a school in Kuwait and get offered a contract. Now it’s truly decision time. We defer and agree to meet him at the fair first thing. So, now it’s crunch time. We need to make plane reservations, etc. for Iowa, but we really want the sailing job.
To try to make this a little shorter – Alan emails the family and explains our situation. An hour later the phone rings. Yes, you need to come up and meet the boys but I do need to discuss this with my wife. Two minutes later, next phone call, and then we were on the plane the next day.
We have just arrived home from a four day visit with the family. There are three boys ages 5, 9 and 11. The boys are rambunctious and bright and happy. We seem to fit well with the couple. After several business talks, we were offered and accepted a job. One slight hitch, they don’t own a boat yet. Actually, they are in the process of negotiating for a great boat and have a second and third back up. So, this is a go!
The big plan. Sometime around June we will head down and transit the Panama Canal, visit the Galapagos, put kids and Mom on a plane, cross the Pacific to the Marquesas (South Pacific), get mom and kids back, and eventually land in Sydney or New Zealand around New Years. Then, we need to stay around there until March to let the Western Pacific hurricane season pass. From there, we can head up to Micronesia or Papua New Guinea and/or Thailand. Nothing is set for now except they will be sailing someplace, and we will be there crew. (AND we get paid for this)
We are off to buy champagne! We’ll be toasting to all of you and your encouragement and for keeping some of your thoughts to yourselves.
Love Carol and Alan
(Names have been left out just for the time being due to boat purchasing negotiations. Believe me, you’ll get pictures when they are available.)
To back up a little – December was a tough month. Being away from the family when we weren’t doing anything here was hard, but since not working we couldn’t justify the expensive plane ticket back to California, and DeYette and Neill already had plans to go to Washington. We also didn’t quite realize how long the down time between Christmas and the first Monday after New Years would be. Everything combined for a low period. Somewhere during that time, Alan and I realized we better get serious about an exit plan – both short term and long term. Unfortunately, these two would often conflict. Ultimately, we decided to put our efforts into teaching overseas. After a little research, we decided to attend the University of Iowa’s overseas job fair. We updated our teaching resumes, wrote essays about our teaching philosophies, and asked for letters of recommendation. We also called relatives to borrow sweaters, boots, and coats to survive this weekend. UNI suggested we contact schools we were interested in before the fair. (Thank goodness for email. And to the best of our knowledge, we did attach what we said we would.) So we pony up the $340 for the fair that is to take place the last weekend of January. Then the phone starts to ring, literally the same. First, we get a call from Ann, a boat broker, whom Alan knew because he had been crew on her boat 25 years ago in the Virgin Islands. She is in the process of helping a family find a boat to sail around the world. They need captain and crew. Would we be interested in meeting them? Then, I get offered a fifth grade job at a private school here that is losing a teacher midterm. I had applied as a substitute. Alan gets a call from the merchant marine union hall for a 120 day job. Unfortunately, nothing is happening in a linear fashion. We meet with the couple on a prospective boat, but they have several other boats in the Med to look at. The meeting went very well, but they’re still looking around. On a leap of faith, I turn down the teaching job. Alan has to turn down the shipping job because he wouldn’t be around for the job fair. We get a nice note from the family stating that they would like us to meet the boys, but they are busy with the inauguration and will get back to us. Time moves along, and we start hearing back from schools. OK, we needed this boost. UNI stated not to expect much. Schools from Kuwait, Shanghai, Casa Blanca, Cairo, Saudi Arabia, and Belgrade all ask us to please contact them before the fair because we are just what they need. (And to add a little color, a school in Thailand said we do not meet their mission of having integrity and social values and do not expect them to contact us. ??? Through the computer we could see that they filled their math position.) We actually end up having an interview/sales pitch from a school in Kuwait and get offered a contract. Now it’s truly decision time. We defer and agree to meet him at the fair first thing. So, now it’s crunch time. We need to make plane reservations, etc. for Iowa, but we really want the sailing job.
To try to make this a little shorter – Alan emails the family and explains our situation. An hour later the phone rings. Yes, you need to come up and meet the boys but I do need to discuss this with my wife. Two minutes later, next phone call, and then we were on the plane the next day.
We have just arrived home from a four day visit with the family. There are three boys ages 5, 9 and 11. The boys are rambunctious and bright and happy. We seem to fit well with the couple. After several business talks, we were offered and accepted a job. One slight hitch, they don’t own a boat yet. Actually, they are in the process of negotiating for a great boat and have a second and third back up. So, this is a go!
The big plan. Sometime around June we will head down and transit the Panama Canal, visit the Galapagos, put kids and Mom on a plane, cross the Pacific to the Marquesas (South Pacific), get mom and kids back, and eventually land in Sydney or New Zealand around New Years. Then, we need to stay around there until March to let the Western Pacific hurricane season pass. From there, we can head up to Micronesia or Papua New Guinea and/or Thailand. Nothing is set for now except they will be sailing someplace, and we will be there crew. (AND we get paid for this)
We are off to buy champagne! We’ll be toasting to all of you and your encouragement and for keeping some of your thoughts to yourselves.
Love Carol and Alan
(Names have been left out just for the time being due to boat purchasing negotiations. Believe me, you’ll get pictures when they are available.)
Friday, December 12, 2008
Bummer. This morning, Alan and I got the true meaning of close only counts in horseshoe and hand grenade throwing. To explain – Thanksgiving weekend we received a phone call from Germany about a new boat that needed a crew. It looked like a dream situation. Alan spoke with the owner for 30 – 45 minutes. Things sounded good, but there was no definite offer. We ran to the computer and checked on the guy, and things seemed even better. The next day, we sent an email saying everything sounded really good. Owner replied saying he was heading out of town for 2 weeks, he would call on his return to finalize things. He took the ad off the computer. Unfortunately, finalizing meant saying we had the right credentials and were a good fit, but he hired someone else. We’ll never know what happened. That was a very long two weeks!
To say the least, our dear economic woes have staggered this industry. Alan and I are moping around and trying to figure what to do now and not beat up too much on ourselves. Short term – we need $$$$. Alan will probably try to ship out commercially. The jobs last 60 – 120 days. Soooooo, what do I do? We’re living in a very reasonable little mother-in-law unit, but we have to rent a car. I could easily stay. The family in the house would keep tabs on me, but it’s not much of an existence. Subbing here pays $85 a day, but they aren’t accepting applications. I haven’t gone into the office to see about this. I could return to Napa and sub there. But alas, I have no home. I doubt that I could rent nearly as cheaply there as here. And although the industry is bad, there are still little glimmers of hope. Maybe Alan works for some cash, but we stick with this idea a little longer…..
Of course, then there are the long term concerns. I assume NVUSD will be laying off teachers, so I don’t know how I could get back in next year. Alan, with a math credential, is in a much better position – but is it good enough? A recession/depression was not in our game plan. We actually thought we were making an investment into improving our conditions. Anybody want any advice from me?
In the meantime, hanging out in 75 degree weather is pretty nice. We went to a fabulous Seminole Indian museum on a local reservation. It was the first reservation I’ve seen that looked prosperous. Each house had some form of chickee on the property, so they are keeping some tradition. We also saw our first alligator. I’ve included the photo. We weren’t sure if it was real or not, but it did finally move. I headed back to the car. I heard they can move very quickly.
Hope all is well with everyone else. I highly recommend you keep your day jobs.
Merry Christmas
Love,
Carol and Alan
(Apparently, people are having a hard time posting. You might need to use igoogle, not sure, but we always love to hear what’s happening. We always check sailinglittles@gmail.com and our phones still work.
To say the least, our dear economic woes have staggered this industry. Alan and I are moping around and trying to figure what to do now and not beat up too much on ourselves. Short term – we need $$$$. Alan will probably try to ship out commercially. The jobs last 60 – 120 days. Soooooo, what do I do? We’re living in a very reasonable little mother-in-law unit, but we have to rent a car. I could easily stay. The family in the house would keep tabs on me, but it’s not much of an existence. Subbing here pays $85 a day, but they aren’t accepting applications. I haven’t gone into the office to see about this. I could return to Napa and sub there. But alas, I have no home. I doubt that I could rent nearly as cheaply there as here. And although the industry is bad, there are still little glimmers of hope. Maybe Alan works for some cash, but we stick with this idea a little longer…..
Of course, then there are the long term concerns. I assume NVUSD will be laying off teachers, so I don’t know how I could get back in next year. Alan, with a math credential, is in a much better position – but is it good enough? A recession/depression was not in our game plan. We actually thought we were making an investment into improving our conditions. Anybody want any advice from me?
In the meantime, hanging out in 75 degree weather is pretty nice. We went to a fabulous Seminole Indian museum on a local reservation. It was the first reservation I’ve seen that looked prosperous. Each house had some form of chickee on the property, so they are keeping some tradition. We also saw our first alligator. I’ve included the photo. We weren’t sure if it was real or not, but it did finally move. I headed back to the car. I heard they can move very quickly.
Hope all is well with everyone else. I highly recommend you keep your day jobs.
Merry Christmas
Love,
Carol and Alan
(Apparently, people are having a hard time posting. You might need to use igoogle, not sure, but we always love to hear what’s happening. We always check sailinglittles@gmail.com and our phones still work.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
OK, so thinking that my life was so fascinating that I would have a multitude of things to share with people once a week was a bit egotistical. Actually, I gave it virtually no thought as I wrote that. So, I will be writing as things happen.
The boat show is over, as is the election. Word from agencies today is that now owners can settle down and let things get back to some normalcy. The rich still like their toys; now they know how to buy them and keep them protected.
Alan has been getting lots of positive nibbles and look outs; but, no job offers yet. Friends and agents say we need to give it at least another month and a half. OK. We seem to have narrowed our dream job down to a "smaller" yacht - a mere 80'- 120', but would be willing to consider anything.
Our wonderful housing arrangement comes to an end this weekend. We have a few options. Friends have offered a couch for a night or two; crew houses where we share with others (often 20 somethings); or short term rentals. Luckily, we aren't out in the cold.
Alan worked for 2 1/2 weeks at Shadow Marine, but it's time to move on. I'm still hoping to get some day work just to get an idea of what I've signed on for. Meanwhile, there seems to be a couple of sponsored parties per week, so we are forced to go drink free beer and eat their food so that we can network.
Photos - Discovered a fabulous Spanish restaurant - flamenco and great food and atmosphere
Obama and McCain sailed around the boat show - Obama on the sail on port tack (left side) and McCain on the
starboard tack (right side)
I don't know how I have lived without a motorized cooler/scooter!
The boat show is over, as is the election. Word from agencies today is that now owners can settle down and let things get back to some normalcy. The rich still like their toys; now they know how to buy them and keep them protected.
Alan has been getting lots of positive nibbles and look outs; but, no job offers yet. Friends and agents say we need to give it at least another month and a half. OK. We seem to have narrowed our dream job down to a "smaller" yacht - a mere 80'- 120', but would be willing to consider anything.
Our wonderful housing arrangement comes to an end this weekend. We have a few options. Friends have offered a couch for a night or two; crew houses where we share with others (often 20 somethings); or short term rentals. Luckily, we aren't out in the cold.
Alan worked for 2 1/2 weeks at Shadow Marine, but it's time to move on. I'm still hoping to get some day work just to get an idea of what I've signed on for. Meanwhile, there seems to be a couple of sponsored parties per week, so we are forced to go drink free beer and eat their food so that we can network.
Photos - Discovered a fabulous Spanish restaurant - flamenco and great food and atmosphere
Obama and McCain sailed around the boat show - Obama on the sail on port tack (left side) and McCain on the
starboard tack (right side)
I don't know how I have lived without a motorized cooler/scooter!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Capt. Little is busy updating to his resume to include his new rank. He is now licensed to be a captain of any vessel up to 1600 tons or about 300 feet. We really would prefer something just a tad smaller. Tomorrow, we will start visiting agencies and signing up for interviews. Meanwhile, Alan continues to work at Shadow Marine, last photo. I'm not sure what I'm doing. Now that I have plenty of time, I don't want to spend money. Bummer, isn't that just how it always is?
Thought you might enjoy seeing how some of the people live here in F.L. My favorite is the blue "African Queen" looking boat.
I'm having technical difficulties. I am not sure why my babbling isn't with the photos, however, I will continue fiddling around.
So, this is our temporary home. Water ways and canals are very common here. They keep surprising me. I don't expect them miles from the the ocean. But, when you build a city in the middle of the everglades, I guess there's bound to be lots of water. Lots of water with sunshine equates to lots of boats.
Pablo, the parrot, is also one of our housemates. He is probably the first bird I actually like - especially when he is in his cage, When around, Drew usually has Pablo sitting on his shoulder. Every once in awhile, Pablo makes a run for it. There is a household debate whether or not Pablo can fly; they do trim his wings at times I guess.
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