In the number 1 spot: I finally got my little fishing boat off of the grass in the backyard and back out on the water! And I did it all by myself, too. Yes, I finally quit waiting for the trailer that I'm never going to get, or the truck that we're never going to buy, or for my husband to decide that he not only wants to lend a hand, but also actually would like to join me out on the lake. Because that might never happen either!
After a beautiful, relaxing Mother's Day weekend camping and swimming in the springs I came home obsessed with the need to squeeze more time into my days for that simple, peaceful feeling that comes with floating along on the water. "I need to get that boat out of the yard, and I need to do it myself," I decided. The boat has been lying dormant, propped up against the shed in the backyard ever since my son was born six years ago because that was around the time we sold our trucks. I was too preoccupied with baby care, marriage drama, and job nonsense during that time to think much about boating. But now, suddenly this week it seemed imperative for a good summer that I either use it or lose it! Old Byewfurd of the Arctic (now of the Southern Shores) has been home to old rainwater and cockroaches for too long! What have I been doing waiting around for someone to help with this, anyway? It's MY boat (a gift from my husband, who has zero interest in boats or water) and if I can't use it when I want to I shouldn't even have it. And also, yes, good eye. One of the things I 'figuratively' got off the ground is the motivation to take the initiative in making things happen.
So I started reading up all the info I could find about transporting a small fiberglass, flat-bottom rowboat and it turned out the easiest thing to do is also the cheapest: throw the sucker on top of your car and tie it down. Long story short- I did it! I spent about $60 on a boat dolly to wheel the boat out of the yard, etc since he's too heavy to carry by myself, and $15 or so on tie-downs to secure him to the car. I also spent about $4 on foam pipe insulation tubes that I thought I could put on the boat's edges to prevent scratching my car top, but those are actually going to have to be returned since they didn't work! I got a pretty good amount of yellow boat paint on my red car until I realized I could just use a regular bedsheet under the boat to protect the car (and I'm pretty sure I can use the Magic Eraser sponge that I already have to remove the paint marks, but that might have to be one of next week's accomplishments). While I was gathering up my supplies my husband spent a good deal of time trying to convince me it was a bad idea and a waste of time. He said I should wait until we got a trailer and could 'do it right'. I told him he should wait in the house until I was done. He did. And I enjoyed sweet success!
A friend and I then took old Byewfurd out on the lake to test for leaks and had no trouble at all, not a single crack or leak to be found! The next part of the getting-the-boat-off-the-ground plan is going to be painting and waxing it, and getting the oarlocks put in. I'm envisioning lots of lovely, languorous summer afternoons on the water with my son & friends, picnic-ing and fishing.
Cost: ~$75... oh, plus $15 for a cool little waterproof bag and $3 for a floating keychain I decided were too practical to say 'no' to, so actually $93
Office Time Wasted: ~4 or 5 hours (spread out over 3 work days) scouring the web for transport info and the best place to buy a good-priced boat dolly.
In the number 2 spot: Since my brother in law just sent me the computer fix-it app to allow me to use the Flip camera software on my tiny little netbook screen I was finally able to complete a Flip movie! I gathered up all the footage I had from my son's t-ball games and put together a mini film that I shared on Facebook. That last bit makes me sound like a dorky teenager, but really I'm pretty happy that I not only finally figured out how to do this, but actually got around to doing it both in the same week! It's good to feel productive.
Cost: ~$0
Office Time Wasted: also 0
Oh yeah, and in the number 3 spot: I created this blog! The idea had been bouncing around for awhile. I felt like I needed a little more balance in my life. There had to be a way to bring a little more of my normal 'life' hours into my working day so that I wouldn't feel such a disconnect the minute I sit down at my desk, right? So that I wouldn't feel like I'm leaving this mountain of other things just neglected and unfinished every time I log into my work email to answer really mundane, not all that important, work stuff, right? So here it is. A tiny little slice of Me Time in an otherwise purely Worker Drone 8 hour time slot. 8 hours! That's far too much time to spend only on office work! Where's the balance? Let's see if this helps at all.
Cost: $0
Office Time Wasted: ~5 hours, spread over 3 days. This includes time spent spacing out thinking about what I could possibly blog about, time spent setting up the blog (choosing colors, fonts, etc- which takes a surprising amount of time if you're as indecisive as I am), and time spent actually writing this thing! Whew.
No comments:
Post a Comment