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| On a motorboat off the west coast of Sweden, approaching Grebbestad. |
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.
