Marking time

We have had a pretty dull, non-nautical, non-summery summer up here so far, with no real progress on any front: business, boat-buying, boat-selling, general leisure, or anything, really. I had a much different picture of how the summer was going to go. It hasn't necessarily been bad, although we have had some setbacks, but I feel like we've just been marking time, sitting around and going through the motions without any real plans or real progress on plans we though we had.

When we agreed to house sit for a couple months this summer, I had envisaged an opportunity to continue what had been a pretty productive winter, work-wise. As I have probably mentioned too many times, the boat is a little too cramped for me to really get good work done, so being in a house with a real desk, stable Internet, and un-encumbered electricity is a big opportunity for me. Unfortunately, I haven't had a lot of luck capitalizing on that this summer. The place we are staying is very nice, but there actually isn't a really good desk setup, the Internet has been a little flakey, and there have just been too many little distractions and disruptions for me to really get cranking on things.

My sense is that Mandy has done better, but it's been harder for her too, because a lot of the opportunities that have popped up for her this summer have required physically being in Seattle, so that adds the commuting element to the equation. Complicating that factor has been automotive problems, which I have been unable to fix.

And all the while we aren't really getting anywhere on our short-term goals to get Insegrevious ready for a potential sale, and finding a replacement for her at a suitable price, in a reasonable location, and in the right time frame.

This actually produces something of a negative feedback loop. Our inability to get sustainable, online business going also affects our ability to go places and look at boats, or to travel anywhere once we buy a bigger one. So it seems like we have taken a couple steps back this summer rather than taking a couple forward as I had hoped for.

I don't have any good answers for the boat situation going forward, but at least business seems to be picking up. We'll see how the dragging economy starts to impact that going into the second half of the year, I guess, but for now both Mandy and I are looking at more business lined up for the fall. It's all on-site stuff, unfortunately, but it does represent additional income, so that is something.

After this week we will at least be back on the boat, which may not be the best thing for business, but may give me more opportunity and motivation to work on the larger lifestyle arrangements again. And although the rest of the summer is no less crowded with commitments than the earlier part, we might at least actually get a chance to go out sailing a bit, even if only for a couple days at a time.