The last blog was about the big mess of getting our boat almost-fixed at Brunswick Landing Marina, spending all our money, and being very unhappy. Now that whole ordeal is over. Tears were shed, money was spent, but now we have our boat back!
We had Eärendil shipped back to Sale Creek, and now the ole boat is up on blocks. It's a redneck sailboat! There's something sad about a sailboat out of the water, with the mast taken down. It just looks wrong. But once we finish the bottom work, we'll get it back in the water, where it belongs. Speaking of doing the bottom work, we were on top of things for a little while. We unloaded tons of personal belongings and started getting the bottom ready for repairs. After buying a cheapo rotary tool (thank you for your cheap Chinese knock-offs, Harbor Freight), I went to work grinding out blisters (and formerly repaired blisters that did not hold up). We thought we only had a few, but once I got going, I kept finding more and more. Oh my. Fortunately, most of them are small and won't require new fiberglass, just some new epoxy to fill in the pocket. There are a few larger ones that will need more extensive work. But even though it was worse than we thought, it's not horrible. And it will be so much cheaper for us to fix it ourselves! I spent less than $200 on supplies (including epoxy, fiberglass, and paint). I hate to think how much it would cost to pay someone for the work.
Prep work was started, supplies were ordered. And then you know what happened? Tropical Storm Lee, that's what happened. It rained. And rained and rained. In one day, 8 inches of water dropped on Chattanooga. So all these blisters that have to be super dry before they're patched? Yep, soggy again. So now we're hoping for another long dry spell. At least until the end of next week. Things should be dry again by then if we don't get anymore rain. Yep, I'll get to work next week. (I really mean it this time.)
Blister repairs, bottom paint, put the mast back on, and get the boat back in the water! That's the plan.
Other things have happened, too. We've been planning the wedding. Yay, wedding! The date is set for April 21, 2012 here in Chattanooga. We found an amazing venue right on the river. So gorgeous! If the weather is right, we'll get to have an outdoor wedding. If it's rainy (it will be April, after all), we can easily move indoors. But it'll still be on the river. So pretty!
So we have a date and a venue. And I have a dress!!! I'd post a link or picture, but Trevor hasn't seen the dress. And we intend to keep it that way. Maybe cheesy and old-fashioned, but we're both excited about him seeing me in the dress for the first time as I stroll down the aisle. Trevor's eyes will pop out of his head, my dad will sob uncontrollably, the rest of our immediate families will get a little weepy. Tissues all around! (Maybe I should use tissues for pretty-yet-practical decorations, hmm?) After a ridiculously short ceremony, we'll have a rockin' party! There will be snacks, booze, and silly beach-themed decorations. (Keeping my eye out for an inflatable palm tree.) Good times!
Progress! The wedding plans are coming along. I'm a little slow, but I'm getting the hang of it. Ordered save-the-date magnets yesterday. Called a florist today. And going to the beach this weekend! Oh wait, that's not wedding-helpful at all. But it's the beach! Maybe I'll bring some sand back or something. For decorations.
Even more slow-moving is the job search. Trevor has found something! He's working at a cafe, so now we have actual money coming in. And I'm still up to my eyeballs in career-hunting. I've had 2 interviews with a company in Nashville, with a 3rd phone interview scheduled for Friday. Things are looking pretty positive there, as far as I can tell. Of course, that would require us to move to Nashville (any Nashville residents are welcome to chime in on how much they love/hate living there). And it's a 3rd shift position. Not ideal, but I'd much rather work an overnight shift than an evening shift. So we'll see what comes of it.
I've put in quite a few applications. I'm at an awkward in-between stage of my career. I'm over-qualified for entry-level work, but underqualified for the next step up. So it seems I might have to start toward the bottom and work my way back up. But that's okay. It looks like I can make about the same money as I made before I left the job market. So that's good. I was, of course, hoping for more since I'm an accomplished captain now. But being a sailboat captain does not translate to running a chemistry lab. Yet.
So that just about sums up the last month or so. Other minor accomplishments: I've gotten really good at baking bread. I beat the video game Portal 2 (once Trevor beats it, we can play co-op mode together!). And somehow, I've lost 5 pounds in the last week. Now I'm back in my good weight range. Couch surfing is good for me! (I don't think that's true at all, but I guess kneading bread is good exercise?)
I'll try to keep this blog more updated. There's no cruising news anymore. It's just updates on our daily lives. We'll try to keep it interesting. Is making lasagna for dinner blog-worthy? No? It'll have Italian sausage and spinach in it! Still no. *sigh* Land life.
That lasagna was good too! I ate it... for science.
ReplyDeleteI will not sob uncontrollably.
ReplyDeleteLove --Dad
Way to take the hit Thaddeus!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE how you said "stroll down the aisle" It made me smile really big. And add me to one of those people who may get a bit weepy.
I LOVE living in Nashville! And would LOVE it if you joined me up here. It is a bit more expensive than Chattanooga. The bottom end of the rental scale is $600. The more realistic, yes I'd actually want to live there is closer to $800. The nicer being well over $1000. Getting a place like you guys used to live in with 'character' and location would definitely be about $1000/month. I love Nashville because there's so much to do. Brian's work schedule doesn't normally allow us to do much of it, but there's free concert series, plays, movies, etc. almost every weekend. I also really like being close to my mommy. So, I guess you won't get that added benefit (although you will be closeR to yours if you were here....). Also should said job not work out, there is a bigger job market here and job hunting would be easier once you were here. OH AND you'd be in the same city as MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! For the first time in 5 years!!!!!!! (Has it been that long??) Geesh!
Have I made my case properly?