News & Views by Kim Davis
I had a lovely week of quiet, and now my home / office is back to it's usual chaotic state. I missed my husband and kids, but I also enjoyed my time off! I set myself too many tasks, as usual, but I always do, so the fact that I didn't finish everything is no surprise.
Why is it that in the USA we only ever seem to get one week off at a time? People here have no idea what freedom is anymore! Man I miss those 4 weeks of paid vacation time we used to get when we were working on the yachts! Of course although I gave myself more time off than usual last week, and didn't put out an issue of this newsletter, I did carry on working. (Oh the joys of being self-employed!)
Jet Lag
Oh! Today I have the worst case of jet lag I've ever experienced - and I haven't been anywhere! The trouble is my children waking up at 4:00 AM for the past 3 days. Husband got back into the routine right away, but how do you force kids to stay awake so they'll sleep later in the morning?...
You Could Starve in Houston
My long anticipated weekend with the girls in Houston has just finished, and we had a great time. The hotel was positively decadent, but we deserved it.
Just one little problem, though, we nearly starved to death! ...
Mystical Connections
I'm just back from my "Mystical Connections" day in Houston, and it was great. with 2500 people in attendance and 4 main stream psychics speaking, you can imagine the energy level!
The speakers were John Holland, Doreen Virtue, Sonia Choquette, and Sylvia Browne...
To read the rest of these stories and more, follow this link:
http://www.ejopedge.blogspot.com
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The feature article this week is about the nature of romance when one is earning a living in the adventure travel industry. (I got kind of soppy about my sweetheart with him being away for a whole week!)
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Do me a favor, submit an article (Please!) Read the guidelines at: www.kpdavis.com/submission_guidelines.htm
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Making people around you feel better is as easy as lifting the corners of your mouth. Try it and see if it doesn't make you feel better too!
---- Kim ;-)
Feature:
Happily Ever After?
by Kim Davis
So you're an adventure traveler. You've seen a fabulous sight or two, you've got plenty of stories to tell around the bar or campfire at the end of the day. In short, you're a pro. The guests eat it up. They can listen to your tired old stories endlessly. Groupies in the bars are appreciative too. But what happens when you want more substance in your life? How do you integrate a partner into your exotic lifestyle? Unless you and your partner-to-be are fond of long distance relationships, keeping a partnership together can be a challenge! It's never hard to find short-term romances, but the lasting ones are elusive when you're a professional adventurer. The good news is that if you are fortunate enough to find a partner with whom you can work in close quarters under all circumstances - you've got a huge advantage over most other couples.
About 10 years into my yachting career I began to feel like I was being called away from the sea. It wasn't a very convenient time for me to leave the industry since my husband was just getting going as a captain, and we'd been hired as a couple. So I stuck it out for a couple of years, but the urge to quit just got stronger. I grew ever more jaded and sarcastic, and finally decided everyone would be happier if I moved ashore. So we tried a season apart with Bill going to the Caribbean while I stayed home on Mallorca with our cats. The separation was hardest on me because I felt like I was missing all the fun. When the boat came back to the Med, I resumed my old job.
The fates must have had a great giggle over the whole thing, because about 2 weeks after I rejoined my husband and the boat, I got pregnant. I spent my last season as a yacht chef with an ever-expanding middle. We bought a 200-year-old house and had our first daughter that winter, and Bill carried on sailing without me the following spring. He probably could have negotiated better deals for himself, but was content to earn less money in order to stay close to home. It's the nature of yachting that the boats travel, and eventually Bill was forced to take a job that took him away from us.
We discovered that 6 months apart was even worse with a baby added to the equation. Not only did Bill miss countless magic moments as our daughter was growing, I found that I had very complicated issues as well. My husband was sharing a crowded fo'c'sle with a deck hand and a female chef. While I had hand picked the chef, and trusted both she and my husband not to engage in any hanky-panky, I came to resent my husband's many comments that started with "Abby said…" I discovered that intimacy is much more than physical closeness. Then to add insult to injury, I discovered that I resented Bill intruding on my routine when he was home!
When that job ended, we made a very difficult decision and changed our lives completely. Our family was more important than the boats. We sold our magical house, and used the profits to move to America. Bill has expanded his natural mechanical abilities into new areas while I have caught up with the computer age. The change of lifestyles has been very hard for us, but after 6 years, we are finally seeing our future looking bright again.
That's our story, and it is messy. In fact we can't name any yachting couples we know who haven't had difficulties. Of course many relationships fail, as they do on dry land, but it is our opinion that couples who have worked together in close quarters and in extreme conditions are the strongest relationships of all. We often discuss the fact that other couples we meet on dry land seem to experience many more problems than we do, and we puzzle over the marriages we see around us that are anything but partnerships. We didn't rush into marriage - we'd shared a tiny crew cabin for two years before we decided to make it official. We've survived "perfect" storms, and all manner of life threatening captains and situations together, and we never felt the need to have separate bank accounts. (It's issues with bank accounts and bill paying that puzzle us the most when we look at others.) When one of us has time to spare, we've always been quick to lend the other a hand. (You get to the pub quicker that way!)
Neither of us has regrets about the way we've lived our lives. We have done and seen many amazing things, AND we've brought two magical children into the world. It hasn't always been easy, but we've always managed to keep each other motivated to carry on. Neither of us fits the corporate mold, and though we no longer sail the ocean blue, we still live uncommon lives. And we're not done yet! (I've been feeling drawn to rock climbing lately…)
Q & A - How well do you know geography?
This week I'm asking the questions, and you are providing the answers. The person with the most correct answers wins their choice of:
1 free feature ad in Extraordinary Jobs
or
A signed copy of "The Yachtie Bible"
or
1 hour's worth of web design or copy writing services ($55 value)
In the event of a tie - the person whose answer arrives first wins!
Send your answers or guesses to:
editor@extraordinary-jobs.com
Without further ado... Here's the quiz:
- Name the only town on the Scottish Island of Mull.
- Name the largest island in the world.
- What name is given to a sharp mountain ridge with steep sides formed by erosion?
- A rhea is a flightless bird, but what does the geographical term 'ria' mean?
- What is a drumlin?
- What is the highest peak in the United Kingdom south of the Scottish border?
- By what name is Portuguese West Africa now known?
- What is the name of the port of south west Uruguay known as an important meat packing and canning center?
- In which city would you find the Spanish Steps?
- Istanbul is a city built upon seven famous hills. Which other capital city can claim a similar distinction?
- Measured by its shoreline, which is the largest bay in the world?
- The tributaries of which river include the Inn, Sava, Tisza and Prut.
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