At some point the value of the written word began to diminish in modern society. I blame video games. One day I'll write a really viable rant on the subject. But for now suffice to say that in the few and far between good reads, there is the occasional shining gem. One of my favorite magazines happens to do so quite consistently. AFAR.
Here's a recent article about the urge to travel and how some people can never satisfy it.
I know the holidays are supposed to be about feeling thankful but frankly they make me grouchy. There's a multitude of reasons but this time it feels a bit different. I am always a bit surprised when I read other bloggers/writers/journalists mention that they can't write, they are unable to write, are in a writing slump. Now I get it I think. When you are doing amazing things and finding real enjoyment in life, choices, or people around you and you have plenty to be happy about there is a period of time when it seems to all, just stop. The joy comes to a sort of plateau and levels out a bit. Suddenly there is no where to go but across. Sometimes the only option is the one dreaded worst...to backtrack and look for a new way up. The hardest way. All the while the spectre of Ambition is howling, demanding progress.
We've done quite a bit that I haven't posted about here. Scored tickets to see Cirque Du Solei, gone to football games in the super dome, christmas tree shopping, climbing. All of it amazing and yet totally moot because we get the crap news that we can't buy a house or progress with our other goals because our credit scores are insufficient.
That is a kick in the teeth my friends. We work very hard, very hard to make what money we have to pay what bills we can and are still told that we can't purchase a property to call home.
This is particularly hard for me because buying a house was something that I,
A) never really wanted to do
B) never thought I would want to do
C) worked really hard to convince myself that it was a good course of action
D) had come to actually believe that it was attainable and desirable
E) I want to give my wife and family the stability they want and need
Huge setback
what's worse is that the only way to rectify the situation is to work harder at jobs that probably will not be all that desirable, which will cut down on our quality of life. By quality of life I am not referring to the inconsequential things like going to movies or eating out which we rarely do as it is. What I mean is by working multiple jobs we will hamper our valued interpersonal time together, as husband and wife, mother and father, and restorative individual time.
In addition to this bit of grumbling the seasonal slump is in full swing, as I mentioned before. I can barely bring myself to think about sailing. I have totally stopped paying attention to Volvo. I suppose they are in Abu Dhabi by now. I really miss having time to get on my bike and just ride. I also have a serious urge to get my snowboard out in some seriously deep snow. Plus there is still a lurking memory of the desert that I just can't shake. It's like there is this primitive urge to get into nature happening in my core that I simply can't please. I can't just grab my pack and roll into the woods for a few days because,
1) its intensely irresponsible
2) totally unfair to my wife
3) if I'm away, that means I'm not working therefore we are losing money...see #1
4) if I'm away I am probably spending money to do so...see #1
5) it's the holidays, it is societally unacceptable to chose anything but family and friends
This is aggravated by the fact that I legitimately hurt my back at work. This is new to me, bodily pain. The kind of pain that we dread experiencing because it lets us know that this body has a definite expiration date. Which probably seems totally asinine to most people, but honestly I have never had to stop a recover from an injury before. I have broken my wrist and tailbone, but neither of those have stopped me in the way that this has. I managed to go to work the rest of this week because of a steady stream of pain killers and icy hot, and sitting relatively motionless on the couch. Watching my wife try to chase the kids away that just want to play ON daddy is frustrating. Knowing that even if I could get outside...I wouldn't make it far is equally frustrating.
On top of that the world is so messed up right now. The rioting, the killing, the politics of it all. It's just shit piled on shit. It's really bringing me down man, like way down.
So all that whiney garbage being said. I am in a slump. Eventually the tide will turn sure as the sun will rise. Which does bring a positive point to mind. Slumps are usually followed by vitality and triumph so here's to miserably looking forward to that!
I also thought that will all the misery the media is pumping into our minds these days that a bit of amazing would be good to see. Sit back and enjoy these potential slump busting videos
I haven't felt much like writing lately. I just can't seem to drag myself to the computer or open the app on my phone. Writing takes time and energy both of which I am short on. Additionally all three women in the house are sick. Which is just fuel to the lazy blogger fire.
Whine, whine, blah, blah.
I just wanted to post this before I forgot or deleted the photos
Shout out to another blogging pair Katie and Jessie they made it on the cover of Cruising Outpost. I found this copy in the West Marine here in NOLA. They've been sailing the "Great Loop" in their little boat Louise with a dog and a cat. Great writing and amazing photos. Check it out. There's a link in the sidebar.
To my Readers from Sweden, The Netherlands and Denmark (in no particular order)!
I just happened to check my analytics today and just saw that you all are popping in quite a bit!
Honestly, I had no idea and it makes me feel kinda warm and fuzzy on the inside.
The in port race was held on saturday at some ungodly time in the morning. Which is why the replay is being posted here...a day later...and well into the night. I dislike timezone and how it is affecting my sailing obsession.
If you want to play a fun drinking game try taking a shot every time Alan from Sailing Anarchy (the American Voice) underhandedly disagrees with the owner and super power ($$$,$$$,$$$) behind Volvo Ocean Race Knut Frostad (the heavy Norwegian accent, you'll know it when you hear it). They have an interesting relationship to say the least...I can't believe they sat on the same boat together and no one drowned.
My "sister" came to visit last week. Which meant lots of gifts and spoiling for the girls and an awesome excuse for us to get a baby-sitter. During her stay we had a pretty incredible 72-hour period that further solidified New Orleans as "Home". We went over to the Treme Creole Gumbo Fest and got caught in a second line. Mixed reviews on that from the kids. Jasmine has always loved a brass band but the mass of people made Violet really anxious. It's like she forgot about last Mardi Gras already. The Treme Creole Gumbo Fest is always a good time, hanging out in Armstrong Park, sitting in the sun, listening to music eating food...yea it's a bit of bliss.
riddle of the day: if a band has 3 Tuba's how many pieces are in the band?
She always scores the best seat in the house
I've developed a love for brass bands since I moved here. Especially the tuba, it's just impressive to see this huge brass horn dancing through a crowd of people.
I've also discovered a love for Alligator. Sorry National Geographic, but those prehistoric buggers are delicious! And someone at Woody's managed to find a way to put them in a burrito?! Alligator to go? Why yes please.
Jasmine turned 4 on the 15th! Which means that this post is super late and that my little girl is growing up! So in honor of her birthday a little photo montage of some of my favorite Jasmine moments...
Jasmine's First Week home...she was almost an entire month early and was so tiny
which ironic because she is so freaking huge now
Jasmine has always been cooler than you...always
My Travel Buddy always ready
We took her on her first sailing adventure for her birthday since she seemed to be into boats and is always excited when she comes by the marina. Also we had gotten a set of child sized PFD's and it was about time the girls got used to to them. A little while ago we had tried them out to see if either of the girls would freak out while in the water and they did wonderfully...
We went out on Grace a 50' Columbia and really just a pretty boat. I figured that since it was a fairly big boat meant that it should be pretty stable and easy for the girls to move around. It has a flush deck so there would be space to sit etc etc. It seemed like a good plan. I'm sure that the other 20 or so people who were out for the evening sail with us said the same thing before they left the house.
Yea what was that saying about, "best laid plans...something something...think again dummy"
I saw the forecasted weather 15+ kts from the north and sort of shrugged it off, Grace big boat can handle big north driven swells. Right? Eh not exactly. Yes, the boat powered through the waves without much effort however that power meant a serious amount of heel which tossed people, parents, and my future sailors around quite a bit on the deck. The cupcakes that Tiff made were catapulted to the salon floor. At one point I saw people passing Dramamine out like tick-tacs. Jasmine and Violet did fine until the boat really started to heel over and water blew across the deck. Jasmine apparently has developed a bit of a sense of fear and it kicked in then and she demanded to be taken below deck. Violet, who has not developed the same fear made every attempt to get closer to the source of the water. Thank God my wife is patient with me. I feel like maybe I forced this trip on the girls because I really want them to have something, anything in common with me besides a general love for cereal as a snack. That caused me to disregard the weather and my common sense. The good thing is that basically anytime we get the girls on a boat it will most likely be a much smoother ride. Jasmine did seem to enjoy some of the ride mostly in and out of the protected harbor. So maybe it wasn't that bad. Only time and experience will tell I suppose.
She really was extremely excited about the boat ride
She did spend a fair amount of time impersonating my grandmother and inspecting everything on the boat before we left the harbor. She also got to take in a pretty amazing Lake Pontchartrain sunset which is something the sailing community cherishes here. So yea, maybe it actually went fairly well. I guess the only way we'll ever know is ask her if she remembers it in 20 years. I know I will.
The first three boats have crossed the finish line in Cape Town, South Africa! Here's some footage from the crews...and don't forget there are still four other teams that haven't finished yet.
19 days at sea the teams have faced dead calm in the doldrums, crossed the equator, raced before the wind down the African coast, grazed the coast of BRAZIL, and are now heading far south catch the right breeze to turn the fleet east. Oh and now they might have to look out for icebergs...no big deal.
So we found an awesome new babysitter and took her out for a test drive Sunday. We had ourselves a little date night and went to see Bring Your Own, which is described as "New Orleans pop-up storytelling." I know, sounds weird but intriguing right? Let me tell you, this was easily one of the most enjoyable experiences we've had in this town. Here's the premise, a theme is chosen and people volunteer to tell their stories that are in some way related to this theme. These people may or may not have ever stood on a stage before, they may or may not have practiced their story, and they may or may not have had a bit of liquid courage. They are also timed (7 minutes) and judged, and the best told story is recorded and played on the radio. My mom would love it, public speaking is her thing, but I dare her to keep any story to 7 minutes. I digress...
The backdrop for this event is behind a nondescript door on Magazine that I have literally gone past hundreds of times. The door opens to a dimly lit stairwell and at the top there's a couple selling...BBQ! Turn a corner and the space opens into a massive loft with twenty foot ceilings made of ornate and decaying copper tiles. The walls are bare and exposed brick except in places where the hand painted wall paper desperately clings still. The floor is turn of the century milled hardwood and remains dusty and unfinished. There were large art installations sporadically and reasonably placed around the room, chairs for guest and god bless her, a girl "trading" beer for donations.
Lost In The Holler was playing on the stage in the front corner of the room. They set the tone of the night and played the intermission. Dear reader if you have a chance to see them play please do so.
The stories were great, and ran the gamut of hilarious, pleasant, heartbreaking, shocking and even political. They also kept to the theme of the night, "Labyrinths", spectacularly. I wish I had written every ones names down but instead I tried to get my favorite plots and summarize them. As follows in no particular order:
-The story of getting lost in the Jersey woods at night with a sibling and being chased down by a bunch of townies.
-Dave- Being lost in the Tennessee farm land, at night, in the snow, as a child. Relying on two dogs to get you home safe and sound...spoiler alert he lived. It was a sweet story.
-Getting job as an intern and being able to rub shoulders with personal heroes at a company party. Accidentally eating meat after abstaining for over a decade....which led to defecating in public on the Duke University campus. Vegetarians be warned. She was hilarious.
-Soul searching in Lao after being left by a spouseof 5 years, lover of 12. Impressive on stage presence and a captivating story.
-Emily- I remember her name because I nearly cried. If she had cried on stage I would have lost it for sure. She has very recently made the discovery that a loved one is in the early stages of Alzheimer's. This was a heart wrenching story. She displayed true bravery in just telling it, on top of the fact that she had volunteered that night to fill in for a no-show.
There were a few other stories that were told and each was good in it's own respect but these were the ones that stood out for me, for whatever reason they struck a cord. I admire these people for speaking from their hearts in a room full of strangers. Bring Your Own did a great job of making the event really awesome and powerful. From what I understand this was their first time holding the event indoors, I think this as a result of the collaboration with Prospect New Orleans ( P.3).
"Prospect New Orleans was conceived in the tradition of the great international exhibitions, such as the Venice Biennale and the Bienal de São Paulo, to showcasenew artistic practices from around the world in settings that are both historic and culturally exceptional, and contribute to the cultural economy of New Orleans and the Louisiana Gulf region."
I am pretty excited to see what other interesting events P. 3 has on the schedule. Hopefully more to come on that.
Anyways a great time was had by all and when we got home there were no signs of chaos or havoc and both kids were sleeping. Heaven. If you are in New Orleans try and make it out to a Bring Your Own event.
This is what makes sailing awesome. When was the last time you saw this sort of shenanigans in a sporting event. Oh wait you don't, ever. And if they did do this in basketball or football it would get waaaaay out of control and they would call it hazing. But sailing we keep it civilized, like baked beans to the face.
This week is the last "in season" race. Am I bummed? Oh yea. This marks the time of year when I completely lose focus and start doing weird stuff to compensate for not being on the water. My phsyical activity runs the gamut from hybernating couch potatoe to manic all nighters. I probably have mood swings too, but that's not your freaking business gosh! I'll read, cook, study, sleep, bike, maybe even run....and who knows what else. All on top of a regular work, husband, father schedule. Wish me luck.
Oh by the way have you looked at Volvo Ocean Race today?
Here's some photos from our race this week. Epic sunset that only water can buy.
Pretty simple. Nearly everyone has been affected by cancer and we are no exception. Both of us have family members that bear the scars of the battles they have fought with this disease. I'm very proud of my wife for doing what she can to help find a cure. She ran in the Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure 5K in City Park here in New Orleans. She finished in the first 1000, which is no easy task considering the massive amount of people that participated in this event. On top of that I'm pretty sure she managed to raise twice as much in donations as the rest of the team she ran with...just saying. Fund raising isn't a contest...cough....it's a team effort. Tomorrow my mom and dad are running in Baltimore and I wish them all the best.
I am alive. I know you've been deeply concerned. I wanted to try a little blog experiment, "what happens when I don't post anything...for a week,or more?"
Well the answer turns out to be, "not much". The blog doesn't do much, people still stop by to see if anything has been posted but otherwise nothing happens. It's not like when you leave food in the microwave for a week or two by accident, you know when things just suddenly exist.
That said I have quite a few posts to make that have more or less been stock piled over the last week or so.
-Birthday stuff
-fitness stuff
-sailing stuff
-volvo ocean race stuff
-new orleans stuff
So this is the New Orleans stuff. I took the girls to the BBQ and Blues Festival in the CBD. I LOVE events that are sponsored by WWOZ. They rarely disappoint. The girls had a pretty good time....until they didn't. The melt down was a full blown tantrum that only Team Terrible can produce. Imagine this, one minute everything is rainbows and BBQ and the next it's laid out in the street screaming and kicking. Why, I can't be entirely sure but its is related to using the lobby potty and an elevator.
Oh well it was still nice to get out and hear some music. We almost saw Valerie June.
Almost.
Maybe next time
Pro dad tip: When it is necessary to take your girl children to the potty in public avoid a portapot and find a hotel lobby. They will find sincere sympathy in your probably quickly devolving situation and point you in the direction of their cleanest throne. Hasn't failed me yet.
