Professionalism?

I had an epiphany yesterday. I was at physical therapy and noticed everyone in their professional dress and how they interacted with each other. WOW is the only thought that comes to mind.

As far as professionalism is concerned at my job... well it doesn't even exist to be frank. When we are on a job, we can be as professional as possible, but at the unit itself...HA! We are running around all day making "your mom" jokes and hosing each other down with water. Don't get me wrong, it is a blast for sure! Although our professionalism definitely comes into question. Not so much by civilians, but by myself and possibly other people I work with. Professional when we need to be, other wise it's goofball time. :) At least the people I work with are as dorky as I am. I love it. I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Insert Witty Title Here"

What a wonderfully unproductive day. Got off duty this morning and decided to start the day right with an irish car bomb (or two) and then I headed to the laundromat. I've decided that sitting alone at the laundromat is a hell of a lot more fun with a buzz that without. Brilliant call Kate! It's been nice doing absolutely nothing on occasion. I took a three hour nap today. Awesome. It's been a good day.

It's gorgeous outside right now. Partly cloudy, a slight breeze, probably close to 70˙, just perfect. Soon I have to go ride my bike to physical therapy. Yay. The weather might be nice, but that doesn't mean I necessarily want to leave my house... damn!

So it's set. I am scheduled to get surgery on my foot on August 30th. I finally get to have my foot fixed! It's called a bunionectomy. They are going to cut into my first metatarsal and shave off a portion of the outside, then cut an L shape into the bone and realign it. Then they are going to screw it back together and stitch me up. I am going to be on light duty at work for a good three months. I can't say that my command is very pleased, but it is what it is. I'd like to get it fixed now while I'm young and it will only take three months to heal versus if I were to let it get worse and then the procedure is more invasive and it takes at least six months to heal. In this case, the pros out-weigh the cons for sure. I have to ride my bike into town for my post-op on the 20th. Then Nick will come home and five days later he gets to take me in to get cut on! Ha! Great timing, I know.

Time to blast off to physical therapy. Ick...

Yo Ho A Pirates Life For Me

Well if that wasn't a long weekend, then I don't know what is. I have been on duty since Friday morning and all this week we have fisheries training. Needless to say it is going to be a horrific week. At least my upcoming long weekend off will be all mine!! Yay!!

So on my way home from town the other day, I stopped by the market close to my house and met an older guy who was also a cyclist. (Sorry if I already wrote about him... I can't remember so this may or may not be redundant.) We started talking about our bikes but then he mentioned that he was in the area to look for a sailboat. Ah ha! Yet another thing to talk about! We talked about Hans Christians for quite a while, and he listed off a couple of boats in the harbor here that were possibly up for sale. Woohoo! Connections! I also spoke with a buddy of mine at the harbor patrol here and he has a friend that has been contemplating selling his 38' Hans Christian. Oooooh. Nick tasked me with meeting people so here I am... working on my networking!

Although at this very moment, it is happy-hour-come-early. A weekend like that deserves a cocktail to celebrate its' conclusion. I can't wait to own a sailboat and pop open a big ol' fifth of rum and begin my life as a true sailor! Arrrg.

Disclaimer: I do not endorse drinking and boating... FYI. At the dock... it's game on!!!

Day 5: Ouch

Well the title of this blog pretty much sums it up. I am a little sore from yesterday's trip to town, and then I got to have another adventure today. Between the last two days I have pedaled my way over almost 80 miles of land. Completely smothered by the sun... and my arms are definitely paying for it now! I forgot to put on sunscreen today... oops.

I can definitely say that my bum is slightly in pain, however I'm sure the bruises will dissipate quickly. I hope! I have to ride to work tomorrow!! I am sure I will sleep well tonight though. Yay! Time to finish up the laundry and head some for some wine and a movie. Working until Monday...JOY.

Oh, and it looks like I get to have foot surgery come the end of August. Whoo hooo! I'm getting fixed! But that means I get to go on light duty at work... and maybe lose my quals. Which I am NOT looking forward to, but I'd rather get my body in working order first. Oooh life, why must you make things so complicated!

And another thing I forgot! I met a cyclist today who is also in the market for a liveaboard sail boat! Super cool guy, he's older but he let me know about a boat that might be up for sail here in the harbor. Hmmm, must check it out! I also talked to a buddy of mine at the harbor patrol here. I asked him about live aboard permits. Looks like this area is only allowed to have about 50 permits out. Regulations say 5-10% of the amount of boats in the marina/harbor are allowed to be liveaboards. Only about 30 permits are out right now, which would make it pretty easy to get one. I can't wait to get this ball rolling!

Day 4 As A Bicycle Commuter

So far, so good it seems. Although I have come to love the fog and immensely dislike the sun. It's amazing how quickly you heat up even when it's chilly outside. Today is a gorgeous day... which means this ride into town is going to be brutal. The sun will be bearing down on me the entire time. Gotta love California... what is it? The sunshine state, right? Damn it! I am from Alaska! We don't have sun up there! Oh well, I guess I get to work on my tan today. I even promised Nick that I would put on sunscreen, which I already did. (Time to pat myself on the back, maybe I have finally learned!)

I'd say the most important thing about bicycle commuting is being very strategic about what you need and where you intend to get it... and how exactly are you going to carry it. I tried to stock up on any larger items before Nick left with the vehicle. The day I run out of water is going to be interesting.

I am determined to not accept rides from people unless I absolutely have to. Today and tomorrow I have to make the 15+ mile ride into town. It shouldn't take too long, other than the fact that its long, relatively straight and boring. Coming home is going to be a challenge with the afternoon wind that kicks up. This should be a good workout at least. I think I have already started losing weight since Nick has been gone! Because of a) all of the cycling and b) Nick was the cook. I have been trying to come up with meals, but it usually just ends up being a bunch of sauteed vegetables because its super simple. But that's a good thing, right?!

My computer on my bike has messed up. It will track cadence but neither speed nor distance. AHH! I'm pretty bummed because I wanted to track my mileage over the next six weeks. I need to make a run by the bike shop to see if they can fix it! That will be strategically planned into my day... if I can find the place!

Well it's time to take off! I don't want to be late for my doctors appointment. It's in 3 hours but I think there is a good chance I might get lost. And as my grandfather always said, if you're not ten minutes early... you're late.

Geo-Bachelorette...

Well it's official. I am actually home alone for the next six weeks. It's only been 5 hours and I am already at a loss. I have absolutely no clue of what to do with myself. I am sitting at the laundromat right now, stealing internet from god knows who, waiting for my pile of clothes to finish drying. The house is already spotless and the first lonely pot of coffee downed. I already miss the little monster and her father. It's okay though, this will be good for me. I hope.

Our trusty 84' Westy has gone and taken my entire family with it. The kiddo, the hubs and our other two big, black and hairy children. It's just me and my bike now. I already got to experience my lack of a vehicle this morning. Walking a block to the laundromat isn't really that big of a deal though. The interesting part will be riding my bike the 15+ miles into town twice this week at least. 30 miles round trip? No problem! The upside to all of this will be the massive amounts of muscle I am hoping to acquire in my legs! I sincerely hope this isn't just wishful thinking, and I will in fact be a transformed person when Nick gets home. Haha, bon chançe Kate!

Either way, this should be a good trial run. Life without all the amenities. Well, really it's only a vehicle but it sure makes life a hell of a lot more interesting! Interesting may or may not be synonymous with "harder" or "complicated" but that's okay. Well, hopefully these clothes will be dry soon so I can pedal my way to work and study a bit.

A tout a l'heure. (Pretend there is an accent grave over both of those "A"s...)

Oh The Sacrifices

So I went a little crazy today. On a rampage if you will.

I went nuts in the house and decided that if we are going to live on a boat, then we have to get rid of a ton of our superfluous belongings. Well... Nick and I had already come to this conclusion, but I decided I was ready to take action and begin the purging process!

A couple of weeks ago, I had already gone through all my clothes and bagged up half of them. Nick didn't have much to begin with, and well Addison... that girl owns more clothing than Nick and I combined. However, she grows so fast that she has already outgrown most of them. Score!!

Today I set my sights on clearing out as many cupboards as I could. Come to find, I have way more lotion than necessary (oops) and enough shampoo to last me at least 6 months (another oops). Seems I forget to look under the sink before I go buy more shampoo. Mistake number 1! How can I possibly fit 10 bottles of lotion on a boat??! I can't. Ha! Looks like I have plenty to use before I need to buy another bottle of moisturizer!

The few items I will have a hard time parting with will be the things my dad built for me. The most near and dear thing he built for me would be the kitchen set I received for Christmas when I was 4 or 5 years old. I don't remember what year it was, but I instantly fell in love with it! It's yellow with a ton cupboards and painted paint can lids as the stove burners. It has a silverware drawer and a separate island countertop. It's amazing! Addison has it in her room right now. That's probably the only thing I will be upset to have to part with. I will try to get someone to hold on to it for me. I want to keep it in the family! Anything else is pretty trivial.

As for my baking equipment... well. I suppose I can part with my kitchen aid mixer. It's gorgeous, but it takes up far too much room. Shame, really. I guess a pastry blender is going to have to do, because there is no way I am going to discontinue baking!! That's one of the few things I am good at! (I am a perfectionist... I know. That's my saving grace when it comes to the science of baking though.) But the cookbooks I am not budging on. Those are coming with us!

What makes me laugh, frankly, would be the comments we receive from people about our desire to be liveaboards. People that haven't met me ask Nick what I am going to do with all my clothes. They ask me what we are going to do with the dogs. They are coming with us! How are we going to raise Addison on a boat? Plenty of people have done it! I had an interesting childhood, I'd like Addison to have the same. What's wrong with going against the grain and doing something that's not considered the "norm"? Riddle me that!! What are we going to live off of? Well... I'd rather not answer that question, because I am not entirely sure at the moment, but I am sure we are clever enough to think of something!

So I guess the moral of the story is that we are not your average, "run of the mill" people. We strive to make ourselves better, like most others, but in a different way. We see life in a different light. We want to be explorers, pirates, sailors. Naïve? You may think so. I'd prefer to think of it as a love of life and the desire for an intricate relationship with the world around us. I want to share that desire with my daughter. What's so bad about that?