Practicing the Blogging Thing

I've always wanted to share with others my writing, express my thoughts in an authentic way and have them relate to the readers as well as entertain. So I've heard if you can keep the reader's attention through entertainment and truth, you're on the right track!
I long to captivate my readers and hope to share wisdom through my experiences and own a sense of humor when faced with challenges. Sharing these types of moments will show truth, vunerabilty, and hopefully a connection to my audience. I can appreciate a good book, a great blog post or a well written poem. It's how the author opens themselves to the criticism that I respect. Maybe someday I'll have readers appreciating my thoughts, humor and criticisms. Happy writing!

Going To See About A Boat

We've made plans for Nate to visit Nova Scotia in May to check out a sailboat! Nate recently discovered a new blog where the latest post is a "boat for sale"! We've researched all the wonderful and hard work the owner has done to make this boat his own. I think in another life, this guy was either my husband or Nate's best friend! All the work that has been done is what Nate and I would refurb on our own boat. 

It's exciting to find this opportunity and take steps! Nova Scotia is going to be beautiful. Nate's brother will surprisingly also be in Nova Scotia at the same time visiting his girlfriend all the way from Las Vegas. I love when the stars align. Stay tuned!

Word of the Day: Apprehension

Jenn's Word of the Day: Apprehension - a term applied to a model of consciousness in which nothing is affirmed or denied of the object in question, but the mind is merely aware of

This sums up my feelings today. While I am excited about making plans and defining our path, so many fish swim in my head that generate my feelings of apprehension. My apprehension is neither true, false, right or wrong - just something I am merely aware of.  Some things I am merely aware of...

This week our doggie, Wyatt, had surgery to fix his completely torn cruciate ligament (like a human ACL). I've already become impatient with his healing process and I know this isn't the right attitude. Impatience has no room in this space. He is bored, his cone of shame makes him run into walls and beds and he can't do much of anything at the moment. After we adopted Wyatt, five years ago, we shed 25 pounds from his lethargic body and he was running up to 12 miles one year later. He is a happy dog, but seeing him in this static environment just saddens me. I am apprehensive of his complete recovery, but I'm committed to getting him back on the running and hiking trails and letting him find his way onto a sailboat. Those sailing with dogs, what is your number #1 piece of advice to share?

Work is taking a toll on my balance of life. I don't want my job to control me, but it's challenging to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I've had my work challenges as I'm an event planner, so I know the hard work pays off. Trying to stay one step ahead and continue to keep the energy up has been hard. I've been distracted by our future plans, my dog's surgery and the little things that feel "so unmanageable". 

I like to make lists and find satisfaction when I get to cross things off my list! Makes me feel accomplished and "less apprehensive". Sometimes I just want it all to go away. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes it "all to go away and sail away". However, this will actually become my reality!

My husband makes me feel less apprehensive, but he is currently in B.C. with his father on a week long back country ski trip. I love that he can do these activities with his dad. Him not being here while I tend to Wyatt among other things, adds to my list, and just builds anxiety and apprehension into my mind. This is a great emotion to be aware of and allows me to show vulnerability, weakness and promise in order to build strength. In the meantime, on to doggie PT!

Some costs of cruising

My brother asked some questions about a post from The Retirement Project that deserve some thought. His questions:

Sounds awesome and I want to see it. I wonder what he gives up there compared to the states, in order to have that utopia. Quality of health care, if not cost? Homogenized/consistent public services? Availability of goods/services? Or not much to speak of?

Good questions, of course, to see what the cost is. Everything has a cost. From my limited experience, I think all of those things he mentioned are true.

The cost of freedom and harmony is often the quality and ubiquity of services. Most islands don't have reliable quantity and quality of products and services. It is a much more self sufficient environment. Insurance is rare. The islands (or towns) that do have reliable quantity and quality goods and services are correlated strongly with tourists (which usually means white people). Whether the chicken or the egg came first is hard to tell.

In St. Georges, Grenada, where we stayed for 2 weeks, there is a cruise ship dock. St. Georges is the largest town on the island, and the capital, with about 35,000 people. There was more pan-handling than in other towns on the island. Well, there was pan-handling, whereas we didn't experience it anywhere else on that island. Then the cruise ship arrived for a day, and 3,000 white people spilled into the town to spend money. Very different place for 24 hours. Great to be a local business owner, and for taxes to be acquired. But a different feel to the town. Even with all the bustle, it felt... bland. People were just doing business, not saying hi and smelling the roses. When the cruise ship left, the town went back to the way it was before: somewhere between a normal town and a cruise ship town.

The more I reflect on it, I think a single cruise ship dock is a good thing for a country like Grenada. It brings in a ton of money for the people and government, but keeps the damage limited to a fat person's walking distance away from the cruise ship. That money then gets spread around the country. The cruise ship dock attracts small boat cruisers like us, who are willing to pay for reliable quality services. Grenada has a good medical school, and many white people go there for training. There is also a fairly large wealthy ex-pat population in Grenada, so many locals have made good money providing services to them.

To get back to the question, I think yes, in general, the reduction in rules does imply a reduction in services. For me, that is an acceptable tradeoff. A few places, such as Grenada and (I've heard) Australia, seem to have found a middle ground with good services but minimal rules.