The Shallow End

Random Saturday

Here comes the flood (sung to the tune of Here Comes the Sun, by the Beatles).

While the waters are rising, I don't think we are in its path. Surprising, I know. I do feel badly though, for those who are. My dad was a victim of the 1993 flood that swept through his office, destroying many architectural drawings, renderings, books and office equipment. This flood promises to rise even higher. I sure hope measures have been taken since that time to mitigate the ravaging effects of rising water along the banks of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers this time around.

I picked up the 19-year-old daughter Thursday night. She was released from captivity earlier than expected. I think it was a combination of overcrowding, good behavior and fear of the liability associated with holding a pregant woman (given that it's a private facility, I'm sure liability is a bigger concern than at the government run institutions). She says she experienced Braxton-Hicks contractions while she was there. That episode probably helped get an early release. She has another court date on June 20th, for another ticket in another jurisdiction (supposedly this is her last...we should hope!). Now, she claims to know the importance of showing up and paying the fines, so at least she seems a little wiser for the experience. Now if she can just avoid getting in trouble in the first place. Motherhood has definitely mellowed her out (maybe even matured her a bit). There is hope.

I've made reservations for a solo-vacation* next week. I'll be going to Seattle to stay on our boat, making provisions and probably tending to some follow up mechanical work that still needs doing. I may also do a little job searching while out there, depending on how strong is my motivation to do so. Right now, that motivation is very low. I have an opportunity to outsource tax returns for an old partner of mine, the one who originally hired me here in Kansas City back in the early 90's. He knows of our plan to live on our boat and is very flexible. He's busy now with more entrepreneurial endeavors and needs help with the compliance aspects (i.e. preparing tax returns). It would be like outsourcing to India, only I'd be in Seattle. He's in Colorado, but everything can be done electronically. This seems like a good fit and I'd be on my own schedule, working from the boat, with essentially just one client that doesn't require any face time and already has a working knowledge of tax law. This sounds very appealing to me right now. The pay would be better than Starbucks, and the schedule more flexible, but I'd have to pay for my own health insurance. Right now, this is Plan A.

Plan B is getting a no-brain job at a coffee shop or a grocery store and making just enough money to pay for the boat slip and a few groceries while helping my husband with his painting business. Or maybe just helping him with his business if that saves or makes more money than I could make by working at Starbucks.

Plan C is taking a year sabbatical and shoving off from the dock, living on rice and beans for a year at sea. This would be Plan A if not for the fact that we still have teenagers (and now a grandchild) and dogs to care for.

Meanwhile, I've still not given a firm date of departure from my existing job. While I have put my bosses on alert and told them that I should not be given any new assignments, existing client demands and fear of leaving in a time of economic recession hold me back. Not to mention, the personal uncertainties involving our teenagers. It just doesn't seem like a good time to add more uncertainty to the mix. So far, I've blown through 2 "last days" (April 15th and June 15th). Now, I've told them August 15th. Maybe.

As I type this, I am watching the shuttle Discovery touch town after a 5.7 million mile journey into space, on the NASA channel. Wow! That was impressive.

On the list of things to do today:

Review a tax return that was promised by June 15th
Go to the grocery store, for Father's Day brunch
Go shopping for Father's Day gift
Spend time with the older daughter
Run on the treadmill
Rest

Happy Father's Day!

* My husband cannot go with me because of his work and fear of leaving our house and dogs in the care of our daughter, my daughter cannot go because she doesn't feel like flying (not to mention her upcoming court appearance), my mom cannot join me (she lives in CA) because of her volunteer commitments, my dad cannot go because he has a woodturning symposium to attend, my friend cannot join me because I decided I'd rather travel alone than be accompanied by someone whose first questions were:

"what are you packing?" (I don't know...I'll let you know when we get there)
"do you mind if I have to check my bags(S!)?" (after telling her that I travel light and carry on my bag, singular, to save time and headaches...yes, I do)
"are you taking any nice outfits?" (no...I plan to live in my sweat pants, shorts and flip flops for a week...I guess this answers the first question, doesn't it)
"what about a blow dryer?" (what about it?)

I know that if she comes with, I will not do anything productive the entire time. She is what you would call very high maintenance and I am just the opposite. While she's owned a sailboat before, she is not exactly handy. I'm afraid that she might not be happy living on a boat for a weak, especially if we can't figure out how to use the showers and toilets. We might even sink the boat. So, I think I really just need to get away by myself for some quiet time, and maybe a little bit of productivity if I'm so inclined.

Labels: Family and friends

posted by Gwynne @ 9:09 AM