1/12/09

Where did the time go?

To this day, we still get this question: Since you don't work, what do you do with your time? It has been eight years since we quit work. Looking back, I don't even know where all that time went. One thing I do know is that as I get older, time goes by faster.

When we were cruising on the boat full time, there was never a dull moment. From the planning stage to the arrival of a new destination, there is always something to do. Working on the boat is an on-going process. When something breaks or malfunctions, you have to attend to it immediately, whether it is a pump (and gosh, there are so many on the boat - sump pump, fuel pump, water pump), any component of the engine or generator, the batteries, the toilet, the refrigerator, you name it. Think about your car breaking down on the road. Wouldn't you get the problem fix right away too? Then there's the excitement of exploring a new place and meeting new people at the marina.

The last three years found us spending summer on the boat in Mississippi and Tennessee, winter on terra firma in Florida. Our decision in 2006 to head up the inland waterway (going counter clockwise to the Great Loop, from Florida to Mobile, and up the Tenn-Tom Waterway) was great timing indeed. Hurricanes had ravaged Florida in 2004, and Louisiana in 2005. Boat insurance for the Gulf Coast down to the Carribean skyrocketed. Then, last summer, diesel prices spiraled out of control to over $5 a gallon, gas was up to $4/gallon! Filling up a 350-gallon tank was downright scary. So, Mai Thai stayed put at its current location at Hales Bar Marina for two years. I guess we are now officially what they called liveaboards.
View of I-24 over Lake Nickajack, near Hales Bar Marina
So what do we do all day long now that we are not cruising? Well, we are very good at slacking off these days. Apparently, ZenHabits thinks it is a good thing (now I don't feel so bad...) Click here to read "The Lazy Manifesto: Do Less. Then, Do Even Less." You might even learn a thing or two about goofing off.

You might also like:
Fowling around in the marina A day in the life of a liveaboard A Day in the Life of a Retiree

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