Changing Course

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786Fri, 30 Aug 2024 13:51:13 +0000DreamsLifeMinimalistSailingAdventuretravelBoats100 ThingsJobsTimeMoneyWaxing poeticwaterFL KeysHouse WorkKey WestRVhouseCharlestonRenovationsSouth CarolinaSunsetTVChanging CourseGiving up the good and finding the greathttp://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Bill)Blogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-9054069396215276983Sun, 26 Jan 2014 17:23:00 +00002014-01-26T12:23:53.676-05:00Is there anybody out there??Hi.  It's been a while.  If anyone still gets an update from this blog, this post is to inform you of the new blog I've set up.  A lot has transpired in three years of living in Key Largo and the dream that ultimately led us to leave NY and venture to points further south and closer to the ocean is materializing.  That is, to have a live aboard, cruising sailboat.  We http://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2014/01/is-there-anybody-out-there.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-7082448957670052322Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:21:00 +00002011-03-16T15:21:04.084-04:00BoatsDreamsFL KeysJobsLong time, no blog, or, Settling into life in the Keys Kicking back in the Keys Well jeez, where does the time go? As we've settled into life here in Key Largo, we find the time picking up in pace again.  The last few years seem to have flown by in NY, then slowed waaay down when we were road-tripping, and we've now found a kind of happy medium. Life in the Keys is pretty much how we would expect.  The people are laid back and friendlyhttp://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2011/03/long-time-no-blog-or-settling-into-life.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-6337316138282837036Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:31:00 +00002011-01-05T08:32:26.051-05:00100 ThingsDreamsMinimalistRV100 Things Challenge InterviewOne of the keys to Trisha and I being able to up and leave our "old" life behind and travel has been the ability to let our stuff go.  I've talked a little bit about the 100 things challenge before and the concept of a minimalist lifestyle.  I think living a simple life is one of the keys to being happy.  Think about it, if you learn to get by with less and enjoy it, then you don'thttp://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2011/01/100-things-challenge-interview.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-6593101942703061871Wed, 29 Dec 2010 21:18:00 +00002014-01-22T17:27:20.447-05:00BoatsFL KeysLifetravelKeys Disease"Keys Disease," that infectious virus that temps every visitor to the Florida Keys to stay far longer than originally intended. (from http://www.squidoo.com/Keys-Disease) How can you not fall in love? <!--[if gte mso 9]>http://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2010/10/land-yacht.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-9097140452853754516Sat, 23 Oct 2010 00:15:00 +00002010-10-22T20:16:29.045-04:00AdventureDreamsLifeMinimalisttravelWaxing poeticA Week of TransitionIt's been a week since I left Albany, NY, my home for the past ten years.  I'd wanted to leave for quite a while now, so there haven't really been any feelings of nostalgia for it.  Of course I'll always miss my friends who are still there, but with our new mobile lifestyle I have faith that I will see them all again. Our first stop after leaving Albany was at my in-laws on Long Islandhttp://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-of-transition.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-4809201013854008431Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:52:00 +00002010-10-14T19:52:00.372-04:00Pulling Off The Band-AidRemember as a kid how band-aids could make everything okay?  And then do you remember dreading pulling them off once your "boo boo" was healed?  The anticipation of it stinging your skin and pulling on the hairs around your wound.  The trick was to do it quickly so that the pain only lasted a second and then everything was okay again. Tomorrow the band-aid comes off. It's my lasthttp://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2010/10/pulling-off-band-aid.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-667733219815509871Sat, 25 Sep 2010 12:10:00 +00002010-09-25T08:10:17.024-04:00DreamsJobsLifeMinimalist"Living the Dream"A typical hallway conversation at my workplace: Person 1:  "How's it going buddy?" Person 2: (in a dejected and sarcastically toned voice) "Just living the dream..." I hear this too often.  Why don't we just stop?  If you aren't living the life you want to live, living your dream, it is time to change. The problem is that most of us think we have to work for forty or more yearshttp://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2010/09/living-dream.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-1481785824197033298Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:30:00 +00002010-09-08T20:30:52.721-04:00BoatsSailingwaterWaxing poeticDown to the Water There's something about water.  Something that binds us together as humans, that seems to bring out the best in people.  There is an optimism, a free spirited, good time feeling around water.  Whether on a river, lake, stream, or ocean; water seems to have a good vibe. It's the power boater who waves as they pass you by when you are becalmed in your dinghy.  It's the guy http://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2010/09/down-to-water.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-3009531561158366572Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:13:00 +00002010-09-02T19:13:56.320-04:00100 ThingshouseMinimalistThe Real Cost of StuffWe moved out of our house this past weekend.  After unsuccessfully trying to sell for the past four months, we took on renters.  So naturally we had to move all of the junk, I mean stuff, that we have accumulated. Well, not all of it.  We sold off several large pieces of furniture the week before on Craigslist.  We had also had a yard sale earlier in the season to get rid of http://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2010/09/real-cost-of-stuff.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-5935928869802625623Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:55:00 +00002010-08-14T20:55:17.911-04:00AdventureDreamsJobsLifeMoneyDecisions are a coming... Sunset over Lake Champlain from Burlington, VT As of around 10 this morning, we have to move out of our house by September 1st.  No, it didn't sell.  We rented it. We put it up on Craigslist last weekend and on Tuesday night we showed it to a group of young guys, about our age actually, who we have ended up renting it to.  We put it up for rent on a whim, just to see if there http://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2010/08/decisions-are-coming.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-5773338325228918809Tue, 03 Aug 2010 01:57:00 +00002010-08-02T21:58:34.752-04:00Coastal Cruising - Part 1"Here, you'd better put these on" said Errol, our sailing instructor from the International Sailing School in Mallets Bay, VT, as he handed our life vests up from the companionway.  We were about two hours into our three day live-aboard sailing class on Lake Champlain and the weather had turned a bit "snotty".  We were taking four to six foot waves on the beam in a steady 25 knot http://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2010/08/coastal-cruising-part-1.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-6916023782130431013Wed, 21 Jul 2010 23:26:00 +00002010-07-21T19:26:56.523-04:00DreamshouseLifeMoneySailingDead Blog?   I've read a few times that if you don't keep up a schedule of posting that you will lose interest in your blog and lose readership.  It makes sense.  The internet is a fickle place, with boundless amounts of information for every possible interest... Well here it is almost a month since my last post!  In looking back at the blog over the past few months it seems http://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2010/07/dead-blog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-8529664022927629386Wed, 23 Jun 2010 01:25:00 +00002010-06-22T21:25:58.964-04:00DreamsLifeFear & Permission Chris Guillebeau is a well known blogger who writes about unconventional strategies for life, work, and travel. This video resonated with me after the doldrums that we have been experiencing here lately.  The whole point of this change in our lives is to live without fear and not have to ask permission to do what we want.  I especially enjoyed Chris's points about how you cannot http://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2010/06/fear-permission.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-3909774597001568657Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:12:00 +00002010-06-20T16:12:30.452-04:00BoatsDreamsLifeSailingDoldrums The "Doldrums" are an area around the equator in the intertropical convergence zone that are known to sailors for their light and variable wind patterns, often resulting in the boat having to motor through, or wait for a favorable wind shift. While we are some 42 deg. North of the equator, that is what it has felt like around here lately.  We haven't made any forward progress on the sale http://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2010/06/doldrums.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-4627431547906113897Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:04:00 +00002010-06-08T20:06:49.377-04:00DreamsMinimalistMoneyAlways Wanting More"I want to be a billionaire so freakin bad" On my way to work today I heard a song on the radio with the above line as the catchy chorus.  The rest of the song went on about all the things he could do if he was a billionaire, and the fame he would get, though I should mention he said he would probably adopt a couple of kids.  Growing up, people always wanted to be millionaires, now http://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2010/06/always-wanting-more.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-7437005713682938481Thu, 27 May 2010 11:37:00 +00002010-05-27T07:37:38.748-04:00BoatsDreamsSailingThe Search ContinuesIt was a little depressing to find what we though was "the boat" and then to have to let it go once the survey turned up some issues.  But, just like riding a bike, if you take a spill the best thing is to get back on and keep riding (barring serious personal injury of course). So last weekend we visited Newport, RI, and Salem, MA, to look at some more boats.  In all we managed to lookhttp://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2010/05/search-continues.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-5037434605528406715Sun, 09 May 2010 11:43:00 +00002010-05-09T07:43:36.828-04:00Re-RouteAs first time "big boat" buyers, we decided it was prudent to have a survey before going through with our purchase, and boy are we glad we did.  It wasn't that anything major was wrong with the boat, but there were several smaller items, and one potentially larger item that would have kept us from sailing away in the near future.  For a boat at the top of our price range that still http://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2010/05/re-route.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8555896215677807786.post-1655013130621072063Wed, 28 Apr 2010 21:34:00 +00002010-04-28T17:34:09.421-04:00House Showings & Boat ViewingsThe month of April is quickly passing astern and I have very few blog postings to show for it! Two major items of note took place this month: Our house in Albany went on the market on April 9th.  So far we have had two open houses and two sets of people interested, but no offers.  In this market we will probably have to lower our asking price a bit, but it was re-assuring to have somehttp://changingourcourse.blogspot.com/2010/04/house-showings-boat-viewings.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bill)2