Conservation

Mr. Green, Mule & Thin Mint Share a Spot

(and, Yes, Thin Mint can pull in and back out around the bikes)

Doo, Doo, Doo, Looking Out My Back Door

This is a view looking out the companionway to the stern of the boat. Does anything look amiss?

I've heard about the grass being greener... but apparently the same goes for trees. We decided to flip the boat around (stern to shore) a few days ago with the help of Adam and Justin. I used to see bobbing masts. Now the view out the companionway is that of a bobbing tree. There is something very unnatural about a bobbing tree.

But I'm not sure the tree is the real problem. The companionway seems to act as a vacuum, sucking up the societal cacophony: sounds of airplanes, honking cars, squealing tires, bikers, walkers, joggers. Part of the allure of living on a boat is to escape from society. This new perspective is making that more difficult.

We decided to flip the boat because it's easier to pull forward off the mooring ball. We've had some hairy experiences trying to reverse off the ball because Mother Culture likes to turn to starboard when reversing from a standstill. I think with some practice we can perfect the maneuver... And slip comfortably back into our escapist mentality.

The grass isn't always greener... even under a bobbing tree.

Punishment Light

Anyone who watches Weeds knows about the Punishment Light. We have our own version right here on Harbor Drive. I can't express to you the countless minutes I spend daily, while the hot sun beats down into my driver's side window, waiting for that little arrow to turn green. And if you are driving a motorcycle or scooter, fuggetaboutit! Ain't happenin'. You'll need to run the light or use the crosswalk. Seriously.

There is no way to avoid the light if you live on the mooring field... unless, of course, you arrive home from the west. But you can't always come home from the west... unless you want to detour around the airport every time.

A couple weeks ago, Ben decided to run the red light in my car... unfortunately right in front of a police occifer. The cop pulled him over, agreed that it was a terrible light, and let him go without a warning. (Don't think it's always that easy... I swear Ben was a psychologist in a past life.) But it was nice of the cop to admit that the light sucks.

The bright side: The Punishment Light is my daily lesson in patience.

Will Work For Parking

I thought living on a boat meant living with less. Learning to go without. I saw this guy pass by today and I had to snap a shot of his boat. You'd be surprised how many people actually keep this much stuff on their boats out here. (Some people don't sail, and have no intentions of doing so.) Even if I weren't sailing, I think half the allure of living on a boat (or in a motor home) is not living with clutter.

Part of the problem with clutter on a boat is that the clutter inevitably spills out into the parking lot. The parking lot you see here is open and free of charge to the public. That includes anyone living on a boat, or biking, running, walking, sightseeing, etc. There are about 55 such parking spots lining the Bay, perhaps 5 of which are marked Handicapped. You may recognize Thin Mint as the beautiful mint-colored Tercel on the left side of the picture. Scoring that spot was no easy feat. I had to do two U-turns to get that spot. It seems that many residents of the mooring field not only collect crap, but they also collect cars. Of late, parking has been almost impossible because certain someones have parked their numerous cars in the few available spots and refuse to ever move them. Ever. Those of us who actually use our cars circle around the lots aimlessly, waiting for an actual *mobile* car to leave. What if we had to pay for parking? Do you think the packrats would finally unload their extra vehicles? Hmmm...

Top 10 Playlist

1.) Lucky by Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat
2.) I'm On A Boat by Lonely Island Boys feat. T-Pain
3.) Never Going Back Again by Fleetwood Mac
4.) Dragonfly by Ziggy Marley
5.) True To Myself by Ziggy Marley
6.) Kool Kids by Justin Trawick
7.) Day 'N' Nite by Kid Cudi
8.) Younger Than Today by Ben Harper
9.) Hide and Seek by Imogene Heap
10.) You Don't Make It Easy Babe by Josh Ritter

Does Aging Make People Ornery?

Everyone has fears. I have a fear of the water (which is subsiding each day I live on the water). I also have a fear of looking like this lady. I remember as a child, I was told not to scowl because if someone hit me in the back of the head, my face would stick like that forever. It seems like many older women must have been beamed upside the head because so many of them wear the scowl. When I see these people, I have to smile. Just to ensure my face never sticks like that.

Lola and I returned to the dock this morning, after our walk. An older couple was pulling up in their dinghy, the woman all a-scowl, as you can imagine. At the top of the dock, Justin's scooter secured a parking spot (for my car... I let him borrow it last night and it looks like he saved himself a spot with the scooter, but ended up taking the bus home instead.)

Anyone who lives around here knows how we covet parking spots. Apparently this older couple must have spied the spot from their boat and thought it was empty. They came ashore to empty some trash and move their car to the "empty" spot, only to find out the spot wasn't empty at all. When the scowler realized there was a scooter already in the spot, she relayed the information to her husband in a snippy voice. Then she turned to me and demanded, "Is that YOUR scooter?" "No," I replied, all the while thinking, What difference does it make whose scooter it is? Or, Is that scooter not entitled to park in a spot? And, If it were MY scooter, were YOU going to tell ME to move it? Especially after YOU addressed ME in that tone? Sometimes I chuckle at the way people communicate. Everyone knows I love old sayings and quotes. So here's one for the old scowler:

"You catch more flies with honey."

Anywho, I proceeded to my dinghy which was loosely looped around the post at the end of the dock- the very same post Mr. Scowler was in the process of tightly tying his own dinghy to. I told him I just needed to release my line before he went to work hitching and double hitching and triple hitching his line on top of mine. His response: "It's okay. We're only going to be here a couple minutes." Good for you, sir. "I'm leaving right now," I retorted as I undid his line, hopped into my dinghy and coasted out of there. For the record, a *couple minutes* in Scowlerville is much longer than the *one-hundred and twenty seconds* it equates to in my world.

Sailing: Take Six

Yesterday afternoon Justin took us sailing on his boat, "What, Me Worry?" Looking back through my postings, it looks like this must have been our sixth time sailing. Our progress was stunted for a few months while Ben was fixing the exhaust...but I have a feeling things are about to change. Here are a couple pics from yesterday afternoon:

Ben & Blair making faces

(Sorry, Blair. I think I took a better pic with your camera!)

Alana & Justin