The Cast of Characters & Quick Guide to the Story

Friday, June 8, 2012

Off the Map

On a motorboat off the west coast of Sweden, approaching Grebbestad. 
More than a half year has gone by since my last entry, but it may be time to revive the SeaCookery story. Call me crazy, but I just applied for another boat job.

For the last five months I've been running a cheese shop in Brooklyn. I thought it would be a smart thing to do since one of the items on the list I made when I left the Marlin was to start my own business - or at least get a business plan together. So far, it's not the only thing on my list I've failed to do successfully. My Big Romance failed. I haven't sailed around Baja or the Great Lakes. I haven't lived on $6 a day. I  haven't tried cooking a damn thing on the list I made on August 28th, 2011. I haven't even finished reading Moby Dick!

That's not to say I've been sitting around on my bum. Running a cheese shop has been hard work. I also managed to swing a writing gig with Saveur magazine. But I haven't been as focused as I'd hoped. And if I still want the things on the list I made, I better start making them happen.

So why have I applied for another boat job? This is the problem with a life of adventure: everyday life starts to feel mundane. You wake up after a few months of running a cheese shop and the job is no longer a mystery. The shop is still firmly located on the same street in the same city. The storms are HR-related. A good day at a cheese shop does not involve standing on the quarterdeck as a crew member hauls in a fish or a night of stars falling over the open sea.

So the solution is either to find adventure in everyday life or... find another boat. It is far easier to find a boat.

7 comments:

  1. YAY! I miss your blogging...

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  2. Hooray, I love to read about you and your food! Not as good as hanging out and eating together, but still.
    CB

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  3. In some ways this is unexpected and in other ways it is not surprising at all. I just saw the Marlin last weekend with Harrison and it made me want to run away and join the circus and it made him almost take the job they offered him as soon as he set foot on the boat. Wherever you go I'm sure it will make for a good read!

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  4. Fair winds! I read your post about Out of Time constantly. So true. See you on the water!
    - Mouse

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  5. Thanks, Mouse. I'm not sure which post you mean. Send word. Are you still sailing?

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  6. hahahaha...spoiled for life you are! Once on the sea you long for it forever. Good Luck. Smith's mom

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    1. I know, Mamma Smith! It's all I do these days is try to figure out how to get paid to write and sail and cook!

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