thoughts on thoughts

All day today, I feel myself wishing I was there. On blue. In the Bahamas. Rather than here (in Lake Wonderful). I feel myself thinking all the time here. The thought I want to be somewhere else is so much thought. About the future. About what is going to happen then. And how it’s gonna be. And I am not here at all. And then hasn’t happened yet.

So I’m nowhere.

Except deep in thought. Lost in thought, some say. And I can’t help but think(!), “Is it something about being here that makes me think?”

Is it the zzzzzzzzzz of the cars I hear to my left? The constant move of trucks on the freeway? The air conditioner unit I hear to my right? Or all the people in all the apartments to my left, my right, below, across? Or is it the chirping crickets that here, seem only to be just one more sound too many, in this already too-noisy world?

Is it that I leave and there’s a car out my front door and a blacktopped road leading straight to all the shops I’d ever need neatly laid out in a 2-story massive consumption temple. Or is it the exhaustion that comes with acquiring things. And the heaviness of having things.

Is it the TV once I get home, laden with packages? A 24 hotspot of stories for you to get enrolled in. Fodder for judgment.

And I remember, I’ve been to place where there is nothing to buy and no freeway and no TV and no mall. And when I’m there, I think less. Of course, there are still thoughts, there are always thoughts. But it’s pretty quiet. And nothing happening. Just waves rolling in and clouds drifting by. And suddenly, the sound of the crickets is the only thing. And I’ve got nothing new to think about. No material. There’s nothing doing. So I’ve got nowhere to go and I’m not thinking about the future. There’s nothing to plan. You know, tomorrow is pretty much more of today. So you’re still.

And pretty soon, in the stillness, I notice there are still thoughts. Thoughts about myself. And there’s only a couple of them. But they run all day. Until there’s nowhere to hide, I see them all. And if it is quiet and I can remain present, I can hear myself thinking those few thoughts. And if I can be still and hear the thoughts, then I am listening to the thoughts, not thinking the thoughts. And this is where peace comes in.

Introducing Blue

Alrighty then.
We are in South Florida, Lake Worth to be exact.

I know, You are asking - what are you doing there? why are you on land? Aren't you supposed to be off cruising the open waters, having an adventure on the high sea?
Well, not exactly. Here's what happened.

We bought a boat. A 41' Maxum powerboat. While the sale of the boat was closing we were in California. We saw lots of great friends, had wonderful family time and sold a bunch of art. Then, on April12th, the loan closed and we were the brand new owners of a shiny wet monster. Because our new toy was located on the West Coast of Florida and we were setting off from Ft. Lauderdale, we had to have her delivered. We hired a captain to pilot the boat across the Okechobee Canal which connects the Gulf of Mexico with the Altlantic Ocean across the middle of Florida. He got on board on April 15th.
On Saturday April 16th (*Happy Birthday Mom*), Captain Randy called. He called to say he was leaving. At the half way point. Where our boat had died. Yup, died. Oh no. Bye Captain Randy.
First Mate Kim, a salty sailor girl stayed behind with the boat. She arranged for another Captain (whose name I won't even mention since this is his only appearance in our tale) to continue the boat's journey to the boatyard - on one engine. Eventually, they got her there. And she's still there.

I know, you're asking, but it's June 9th. Surely the problem has been repaired. Certainly, Laynee and Grant would have been on their boat by now. Well, you're wrong. It hasn't. We haven't. No one has.

Turns out the whole starboard engine overheated. It got real hot. It got so hot that the nearby exhaust manifold, turbo hot housing and nearby pumps melted. Water gaskets flew off, white paint turned charcoal black and the starboard engine was shot.
So our boat has been up on the hard for almost 8 weeks. While we've been waiting for insurance, waiting for engines, waiting for adjusters, waiting for mechanics. So much waiting! And no boat wants to be out on dry land. It's just not natural. In fact, everytime we went to see the boat, I could feel her groaning against the supports holding her lifted over concrete. A 30,000 pound machine can groan. She was like a drying fish. I could feel her dehydrating...

And now, I just got off the phone with the boatyard and our boat has been launched! She is actually back in the water. And now you join our tale just when the good part begins. You join us, floating in Ft. Lauderdale. The boat is back in the water. Hooray!
A side note, as of now, we do not know whether insurance is going to pay for the whopper of a new engine to the tune of $40,000 but I've been saying - you may as well believe they are. I mean, I figure I've only got one month of June, I may as well spend it happy and relaxed, believing the claim is covered. Sure beats laying awake aggravated that it won't be.

IT IS ONLY WHAT WE TELL OURSELVES ABOUT IT THAT MAKES US SUFFER

So, here we are, in Lake Worth, Florida, getting excited about the boat. We will have sea trials tomorrow where we turn the engines over and make the boat go. The point is to test the work that was done by the mechanics and make sure everything is perfect. Yippee and this will actually be the very first time Grant and I will be on the boat with it MOVING. How exciting.

And now it is a good time to introduce you to our new boat. Drumroll please. Everyone, meet.....

BLUE.


And even though shinynewblue is brokendownhot in a fumefilledpaintshed at the boatyardedge, we are destined to have an adventure together.
Me and You and a boat named Blue.
We will journey.
We will evolve.
And the oms will rise from the sea.

the subject

the subject
Originally uploaded by laynepecoff.

Black Cat Taste Test

I am performing an experiment on my cat Max.

I set out three dishes;

one with chunk light tuna in oil,
one with solid white tuna in water
and the other with prescription wet food.

Max follows me as I set them down. Time is NOW 1:48 p.m.


BlackCat Taste Test entry #1 (1:48):
subject is currently eating chunk light in oil.
It's Wednesday at lunch.

Black Cat Taste Test entry #2 (1:50):
subject ate one third of the chunk light and immediately approached the dish of solid white in water.
He ate half of it.

Black Cat Taste Test entry #3(1:54):
subject thoroughly enjoying the tuna in water.
Still.

Black Cat Taste Test entry #4 (2:08):
subject currently eating chunk light in oil.
finished 80% of it.

Black Cat Taste Test entry #5 (3:08):
cat is eating solid white in water.
finished 100% of it.
The cat food is perfectly untouched.

RESULTS:
Cat enjoyed tuna in water and oil equally.
Cat did not enjoy cat food.

yum!

yum!
Originally uploaded by laynepecoff.