is this what it's all about?

the boat is out

2010-03-19T00:10:00.001-04:00

Work is going quite well... 

pictures from stan.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smooshy/sets/72157623648694518/<br>

boat work

2010-03-10T10:39:00.002-05:00

Spring is in the air... and there is a lot of work that i need to get done. 

I am hauling my boat out of the water next week. I am so excited to do some of the much anticipated upgrades.  Like a new shaft seal, cleaning, painting, new shore power inlet, new bottom paint.  and the list goes on.
One of the exciting parts is that my boat will be featured on Komo 4 news. it will be really good exposure for the electric motors. I will also be posting all my pictures and videos of the process.

here is a drawing that i found of my CAL 3-30,

travel

2009-12-31T07:29:00.001-05:00

I just spend the last week in Michigan, visiting family and friends.  It was a wonderful time, with a lot of emotions.  I felt lonelyness from turning my 6th dog in for training, and I felt the love and joy of my family...  It seems that when I am traveling I experience these emotions more fully.

This time around I had a little extra time and cleaned out some of my stuff that is sitting in the closet at my parents house.  I knew I missed my artwork but i didn't realize how much.  I went through my old pictures and saw a lot of memories, it was wonderful... i was also very surprised how beautiful the pictures are.  

Dublin

2009-12-23T17:55:00.001-05:00

I dropped him off yesterday and it was great.  He did really well the cat even liked him.    

I just heard from Paws w/ a Cause, and this is what they said,  "I wanted to let you know that “<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dublin</st1:place></st1:city>” did awesome on his temp test.  What a good boy he is."

Dublin's Farewell

2009-12-11T15:18:00.001-05:00

Dublin is already a year old.. which means he is heading into training in a couple weeks. In order to send him off right, I am organizing a little party for him.

http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?event=MSQBHFASCDNYKWRYLJQP&inviteId=QPIDVNLIYASZNFNNWTTN&showPreview=false&x=139239341

hope to see you there!

Toy maker

2009-11-24T14:14:00.002-05:00

I am not a toy maker. I have been collecting scraps of line and assembling them into different toys for my niece and nephews. It is a lot of fun and uses leftover pieces of line.

It is all sewing and rope work, not too hard but they do take me a couple hours. I think 2-3 hours per toy. so it would take a bit to make money on these.

Dublin

2009-11-19T13:33:00.002-05:00

Well Dublin is getting older... and he is getting ready to head into formal training.. I will be flying home over the holiday's to drop him off.. I am excited for him and a little sad. He is a great dog and i will miss him.

But on a happier note. i have posted new pictures of him. ( www.straightturn.net/gallery/nov2009 ) I also was able to travel on the plan with him. he did really well.

making things

2009-11-19T13:12:00.003-05:00

The other day my sister mentioned it would be neat to have some toys for the kids... So i had this idea to do a little rope work and see what i could create. I spent a couple hours working on this and it turned out okay.

I now know how to play with rope to do all sorts of things. It is a little horse if you couldn't tell...
I have also been working on a way to watch movies in the main cabin... I had to glue a couple piece of plywood together and i didn't realize until i had them together... the are too long for my clamps... so i had to do a little rope work to clamp them together....

It worked pretty well too.. Check it out. Notice the knot i tied.. .it actually works like a block and tackle.

a sign

2009-11-19T13:07:00.003-05:00

i was in the airport the other day, wonder about life... is it okay to flirt? where what if other get the wrong idea... Who should i turn to, to answer these questions... then there it was...

A SIGN from a "higher'' power...

okay maybe that higher power was really just the electrical lights... but still.

gramps

2009-11-12T15:54:00.001-05:00

Pasted away last weekend.  It was expected but still sad.  I am flying to South Carolina for the funeral, and to be with my family.  It is a sad time but also joyous.  Gramps has moved on, and i get to see my family again, and meet my youngest nephew Ben.

Dublin is also traveling with me, he even has his own seat.  Which is awesome because he is 90lbs. and doesn't really leave much room for me if he sits under my feet.

a flying lesson

2009-10-26T15:35:00.007-04:00

I had a great weekend... cleaned up the boat a little and then had a visitor from out of town.

We took a flying Trapeze lesson, at emerald city trapeze (http://emeraldcitytrapeze.com )
We learned several trick and even did a couple catches... it was a lot of fun. I can't wait to do it again! this is one of the tricks i did a planche (this isn't me)

after our flying lesson, we went to a friends housewarming party, it was a nice little ride there and we enjoyed ourselves immensely... so much so that on the way home we had a little collision. We are both okay... but my rear wheel leaves a little to be desired... if you can see what i mean. I had to carry the bike that 1/2 mile or so... and as we neared home, i dropped my bag and didn't noticed that my wallet fell out... i was bummed and getting ready to cancel all my credit cards, when i received a call from a acquaintance. she found my wallet and brought it back to me.

so it turned out to be a great weekend!

dublin playing

2009-10-24T13:57:00.002-04:00

I have great friends... since dublin isn't coming to work with me any longer Sara will take him to the park with her. Here he is playing with another dog Adam

a new trick

2009-09-17T10:21:00.004-04:00

Over the holiday weekend we went on a little sailing trip. It was great! we sailed in 35 + knot winds and the boat handled really well. We even reached speeds of 7.8 knots. It was a blast! It was Emily's first time piloting the boat and she did phenomenal.

After sailing we tied up to some moorings, and spent the night out in the lake. one dilemma was how to have the dog relieve themselves... when i think we figured it out... the dog figured out how to pee over the side and we caught in on camera.

visiting michigan

2009-08-23T14:48:00.005-04:00

What a week...

i had a great time in michigan. It was great weather, a great time leading up to leaving...

The day before i left, a couple friends came over and we went sailing... and swimming.. we sat in the hot tub & regina took me to the airport the next morning. It was a pretty good trip... the plane was delayed about an hour due to weather in Chicago... but my sister was able to pick me up and get me to Puppy class (obedience training for dublin) it was great.

Then we went out on my dad's boat. It is beautiful... he has done a lot of great work on it. It is an old starcraft aluminum boat. He has restored and upgraded almost everything on it. I went wakeboarding both days... and my dad skied both days. it was warm and sunny... and Pat even came out and visited.

I was able to meet up with matt & kelly (and larrs) on the way to the airport. we had a great visit and the timing worked out perfectly... i was also able to see kelly's store and she gave me a free shirt. Awesome patagonia score!

When i arrived back in seattle, i hoped off the plane and walked right on to the bus.... but i was a dollar short... and the bus driver wasn't budging... fortunately another rider offered me the extra money. I made it all the way to westlake center then, started walking... after a couple blocks i looked behind me and saw my bus... i started to look around and i was right next to the bus stop...

what a great series of events!

Dublin swimming

2009-08-11T12:22:00.003-04:00

The other day dublin learned he could jump off the dock. And he loves jumping in the water and swimming. Here is a video of dublin and tyler playing in the water. Dublin can almost climb the ladder by himself.

oops

2009-08-11T11:36:00.003-04:00

last night i was working on some splicing (see photo) and accidentally cut a hole in my shirt... it was kind of funny... and i was planning on giving the the shirt away anyway... so it all worked out.

spinnaker!

2009-08-07T10:50:00.004-04:00

We have been sailing quite a bit. it is great. we even took a longer trip over to lake washington... and were caught between the bridges for a couple hours at 11pm... what an adventure.

here is a picture of my boat with the spinnaker flying, if you look in the background you can see my dock. Dublin also has been learning more about sailing... he was with the crew and learned what going to the high-side means. it was fun.

camping 4th of july

2009-07-10T10:13:00.003-04:00

What a great vacation, camping, swimming, great friends and good food. And Dublin was tired for a couple day afterwards.

We headed out to senic beach state park, and celebrated Justin's 30th birthday.  it was great.

http://www.stateparks.com/scenic_beach.html http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=Scenic%20Beach

I as fortunate enough to be able to ride with lynn and friends, teresa drove the whole way... she was awesome about it too... where were a little rowdy. Thanks teresa.

Dublin swam in the ocean (sound) for the first time. He love it... although there were a lot of oyster shells and he cut his foot... I was pretty bad but he is doing a lot better now... it only took a couple days to heal.

Here are some pictures from the trip.
http://www.straightturn.net/gallery/scenic2009

pictures from erika
http://picasaweb.google.com/esunmark/4thOfJuly?feat=directlink#

pictures!

2009-07-02T15:47:00.002-04:00

It is beautiful here! we have been enjoying and sailing, kayak, swimming and of course BBQ's

I posted new pictures (thanks to darcey, who took most of them)
check out the galleries.

Dublin: http://www.straightturn.net/gallery/album24

sailing:
http://www.straightturn.net/gallery/album23
http://www.straightturn.net/gallery/pirate
http://www.straightturn.net/gallery/wigs

Pictures & movies from stan:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/smooshy/sets/72157620680332469/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg8TGCVg6l8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfxjDZJBlyo

dream....

2009-06-26T10:26:00.001-04:00

last night i had a weird dream that we saw big foot.... the really weird part is that this morning i was listening to some videos on youtube and the was a video that had big foot in it.

pictures..

2009-06-24T18:29:00.001-04:00

http://flickr.com/gp/22693040@N03/6C4751

from duck dodge sailing last night.

Duck Dodge

2009-06-24T12:25:00.001-04:00

What and exciting day... i went to the Zoo with a very dear friend and then sailing on lake union. Thanks to everyone it was a fabulous evening... we set a new record... 17 people and a dog on board while sailing... it was a blast! We even flew the spinnaker! And the rum cake was incredible! I can't believe that a piece was still left this morning.

pervious Duck Dodge pictures
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=87076&id=729497961&l=9e74f4bd7c (darcey)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/smooshy/sets/72157619857542618/ (stan)

If you have more send them me way...

more pictures

2009-06-17T18:58:00.001-04:00

here are some pictures from sailing last week... http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=87076&id=729497961&l=9e74f4bd7c

WE had a great time sailing this week! it was wonderful celebrating my birthday out on the water!

My birthweek celebration.

2009-06-17T10:18:00.000-04:00

It was a great week. I wend sailing 5 out of the 7 days. and also had a great sushi dinner at wasabi bistro. Hey even made a special desert for me. check it out. Thanks to all who help me celebrate.

sailing!

2009-06-11T16:47:00.002-04:00

Duck dodge was a lot of fun the other night. The theme was Pirate night. It was light winds and a great crew.

Next weeks theme.... My birthweek!

Here is a picture of Sara, for last tuesday.

sailing...

2009-06-09T14:20:00.001-04:00

Duck dodge is in full swing... here are some pictures from one of the crew members (darcey) http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=80133&id=729497961&l=9c0d3b60c4

a little cruise...

2009-05-01T03:43:00.002-04:00

Life if never what i expect. but damn i really enjoy the ride. the other day we went out sailing and it was really really light winds. we ended up motoring and grilling out. It was a great time. Reg brought sushi & rianne brought tuna to grill. it was a wonderful sunset. even though goose wasn't there to play. maybe next sunday.

new things...

2009-04-26T03:47:00.002-04:00

I finally bought a pair of running shoes. It feels so great to run, i forgot how much i miss it. the first shoes i tried on didn't fit quite that well but as soon as i started running i didn't want to stop. It is so awesome to have running shoes again. i am going to be buff this summer!

oh and there are more pictures of dublin if you haven't seen them already.
(http://www.straightturn.net/gallery/album09 )

A little rain...

2009-04-15T18:08:00.002-04:00

The other day we actually had some free time it was great! i was planning on taking dublin to the dog park. His first time ever. I was really excited & was up early, but when we were ready to go it started raining... I was thinking about not going but decided it would be a lot of fun either way and the rain would also keep the number of dogs down a little bit.

So as we were getting ready to leave, after Dublin jumped off the boat, he looked at me and fell sideways off the dock. It was really hilliarous and he started to swim. It was so cute but i don't think he really is a fan of the water yet. He still walks around the puddles rather than through them.

The dog park was a blast! dublin did really well and even came when i called him (the salmon treats helped!)

fixing things...

2009-03-03T17:42:00.003-05:00

I love repairing and improving things. the other day one of the legs came off my new hot plate. so today i took it apart to put it back on. It was a great way to enjoy the sun.... And it is interesting on the inside... just thought i would share.

Family Pictures...

2009-02-25T13:20:00.003-05:00

It was so much fun visiting my Family. Here are a couple pictures of my sister and owen while we were in the airport.

new pictures

2009-02-25T13:13:00.002-05:00

I added a new album & pictures... enjoy

arrival in seattle

2009-02-22T13:34:00.002-05:00

We made it to seattle. It was an uneventful trip, for the most part. he slept most of the way on the flight. Sara picked us up from the airport and we had a little welcome party for the puppy & played some board games. We are still working on getting on the same schedule.

Dublin is adjusting to the boat fairly well, he is even able to get on and off the boat by himself. Although i am really worried he might miss and fall in. So i spot him. He is also able to go down the steps into the boat. It is funny to watch him... it is more like a slide for him than climbing down.

The one thing dublin isn't sure about is the rain. He keeps trying to avoid it. which is funny. I will try to post some more pictures soon.

Dublin

2009-02-15T08:26:00.003-05:00

Yesterday i picked up my new Puppy. He is so much fun. Yesterday we went to a friends for dinner and then out to the bar... it was a lot of fun and pat even made $5 for letting a guy pet him... it was pretty funny.

Here are the pictures..

A little change of plans

2009-01-31T17:01:00.001-05:00

I am still getting a dog, & it is the same breed. Although the dog is from a different litter. and his name is Dublin.

I am so excited, I will be heading home (to michigan) the 13th -18th of feb. We i return i will have a new puppy for everyone to play with.

the long awaited Puppy....

2009-01-26T18:11:00.003-05:00

I just received word from Paws with a Cause... that they will have a dog ready for me about mid feb.!!! I am so excited, it has been about a year and a half since i have had a dog.

His name is Guru and he is a lab/ retriever mix. And the interesting part is that he mother is a offspring of Abby, my very first puppy.

I can't wait... i am so excited! I will keep you all posted as soon as i get pictures or any updates.

An uncle.... for the third time

2009-01-22T13:27:00.002-05:00

I recieved the call this morning... my sister (jen, in San fransico) had her baby this morning at 3.22 am

A health little boy 8lbs 15 oz, 21 in long. His name is Benjermin Paul

Jen is doing great, and was falling asleep when she called me this morning at 8.05.

finally gone...

2009-01-11T23:06:00.001-05:00

As most of you know, i have been living without a car for over a year. But the car kept fading in and out of my life...

First it was stolen... then repeared 3 months later.

then i gave the car to the wonderful miss rainbolt and she drove it for quite a while (9 months or so) ... then it finally died...

It has been sitting in the parking lot at the marina for several weeks, but Saturday morning at 9.30 it finally left my life. I am sad to see it go but glad i don't have to worry about it any more.

I first bought the car (a green 1996 SL2) in may of 2005 with 75000 miles and since then i have used it to pull my my first sailboat (a 17' hobie cat) and move across the country, plus many other hightlights... like camping, skiing, kayaking, etc.

on the day that i handed over the car i reverse didn't work, the battery was dead, one of the rear windows was missing & replaced with plexiglass, it was almost stalling all the time and rusted like a true michigan car.... not to mention had over 200,000 miles on it... I would say that it treated me well...

If you are wondering... i actually had someone pay be for the car... they gave be a grand total of $75 dollars for the car. not to shabby... now i am truely car free!!!!

dog training...

2009-01-07T11:14:00.002-05:00

I am so excited. I recently talked with the owner of the barking lounge and he is willing to work with me to produce my training video and possibly provide space for training dogs. I am so excited to have a dog again, it has been almost a year and half since i raised a service dog. I forget how much i miss having a dog around.

I just have a couple more steps to do then i will be working on the video. So many exciting things...

Keep tabs of the progress at straightturn.net/dogs

is the apocalypse coming?

2009-01-07T11:01:00.004-05:00

There has been a lot of strange weather lately. Seattle shut down for the week for christmas and not because they wanted to give people time off, there was about 6 inches of snow everywhere.

It was actually a lot of fun riding my bike around. A lot like mountain biking but with someone trying to grab your bike and slide it across the parking lot or road. there was only one day that didn't ride. and that was christmas eve. It was so slushie.... and not really fun at all!

now the snow is all gone... although we did have a couple inches the other day... about two inches on the dock within a hour or two. and i was talking with my neighbor last night and says eastern washington is slated to receive 20 inches of rain... yes almost two feet of rain...

and the wind has been blowing 20+ knts all night (which i love) this is a lost of weird weather

well it finally happen

2008-12-09T00:57:00.002-05:00

the other night when i was doing a little house(boat) cleaning i slipped... yes it finally happened, i fell off the boat. i slipped and my foot shot into the water for the edge to the boat and my stomach caught the step and my knee caught the dock. i am mostly okay.. but my knee really hurts. I think i really stressed it out. Damn... it hurts.

my knee is mostly okay as long and i don't try to rotate my foot too much.

an election to remember...

2008-11-06T16:18:00.002-05:00

that is what everyone is saying... this is a historic election... well he is black. I have heard that there are a lot more respect abroard but that is not too hard after the past 8 years.

I find it sad that people only will talk about the presidental election. barely any of the propositions, like the proposal in california to remove rights from based on sexual preference. (banning gay marriage) and here in seattle the right to death, (assisted suicide as some call it).

It is really hard to have conversations about politics... people don't really listen they just want to make sure you will vote the same way as they do.

voting

2008-10-30T11:02:00.002-04:00

I really enjoy voting and feel it is one part of the many things i can do to improve my neighborhood, community, and country.

The one thing about voting that bothers me is that it is an absolute answer to a very complicated question. Let's take the sound transit proposition. there are pages and pages of info and stats explaining this proposition. Don't get me wrong i like the info that is presented... but my grip is that i can't say i like the expansion but think we should look at other ways to fund it.

It is like would asking would you marry me, be my love for the rest of my life, share in fantastic adventures, create many beautiful things, and pay for it all your self? Of course you would want to say yes... to all but the last part. And if you don't say yes, you don't get another chance.... so it is a bit of a broken system... there needs to be more dialog. Voting is a lot like having the power to veto a bill, but it is the last step... not the only.

That being said i a going to get off my ass and start becoming more involved.

a day in the wind

2008-10-07T13:00:00.002-04:00

What a great day for sailing! I had planned on sailing with a friend on his boat, a 14 ft skiff (here is a picture of one) we got out there an rigged the boat... it was a question if we should take the boat out... the winds were howling, literally. So we rigged up the boat and got away from the dock... we made it about 100ft then gibed... and into the water we went. (the water temp in Puget sound varies between 52-56 degrees) We made the decision that the winds were too strong and we shouldn't take the boat out...

So we decided to de-rig his boat and take mine out. so we headed to my dock... stowed everything quickly and left the dock with me, Eric, and bill (my neighbor) aboard. The winds were holding steady at 30 kts. and gusting up to 45- 50kts. We sailed on just the head sail, which was carrying us at 7.50kts. (which is faster that we usually go with full sails up) We sailed for a bit and they the head sail ripped... we took the sails down and were still "sailing" at 3 kts. so we headed back to the dock, we where a little nervous about docking because the winds were so high... but as we approached the other dock & buildings sheltered us and the wind dropped to 5-10kts... we docked and tired up without incident...

After sailing raanan called me, about kite boarding... how could I say no? so I joined him to fly his 3m kite... it was picking me up and dragging me around... what a blast... jen even came and joined us... I had here fly the kite too. it was fun

It was a fun day... and kind of tiring. and I am fairly sore from it too...

Good karma

2008-10-01T13:27:00.000-04:00

The other day was a great day! i had a meeting about the school i am trying to kick start. then i went over to puruse at the boat store... where a guy came up to me and gave me free tires for my bike. Which was great timing... since about an hour later i blew out my tire and tube... rock on world! i am really lucky!

a complement....

2008-09-01T18:19:00.003-04:00

The other day i ran into one of my neighbors, and she said, "You are to blame for the new wrinkes on my face.... I had so much fun the last tuesday that i couldn't stop smiling!" She was one of the people i took out for duck dodge. Her husband took lots of pictures here is the link.

Duck dodge was been a great time and a fun thing to do. I have met some great people and had a lot of fun. This tuesday is the last one of the season, and it should be a blast! here is a picture of us rounding a mark several weeks ago. More pictures & notes..

sailing...

2008-08-14T11:10:00.002-04:00

we have been sailing a lot since i returned from from centeral america. I have been sailing at least twice a week. including the tuesday night races duck dodge (www.duckdodg.org).

Last week i took a couple people out sailing, okay it end up being 12 people. we had sushi and kebobs it was great. here is the link to the pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/nancy.mcclelland/SailingWithGeoff

Dang.... 3 decades

2008-06-18T10:17:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was the anniversary of my 30th year on this planet. It was surreal. I woke up feeling great, and had a great breakfast/ lunch, after i returned from getting a part-time job.

Around 3 we started to run some errands, which was a blast. Everyone we talked with told us a story and was hilarious. I even ran into an old friend at the hardware store, and i learned she is friends with a friend of ashley (small world).

At around 6.30 several of my friends joined be to continue my Birthweek celebration at a local sushi restaurant. We ended up eating outside, in the beautiful sunshine, we ate wonderful sushi, drank sake, and had a good time sharing stories. After dinner we stopped for some ice cream at an new local shop, they have compostable bowls and flatware, and of course wonderful ice cream.

We finished off the evening with a little wine and conversation at jen's place it was a great was to spend the day, and it feels great to be back in seattle.

The rest of this week should be a blast, we have plans to see Circus Contraptions, and the solstices parade... a burlesque show and more.... I love celebrating for the whole week!

public transit in el Salvador

2008-05-02T14:44:00.003-04:00

what and amazing experience! the busses, at times, are packed. so many people they are almost falling out. every single bus is painted a different color and decorated by the driver(s). It is quite an experience.

there is not really a bus stop either, the bus just stops where-ever you are... i use the word stop loosely... the bus slows down just enough for you to get on... and then speeds off again. the busses are also pedal to the metal... it is common for the busses to pass other vechiles and even other bus. needless to say it is quite an experience.

as i am sure you are wondering how am i able to post if i am supposed to be several hundred miles off shore? Well, we are still waiting and trying to get everything ready. so hopefully soon!

we are all very anxious...

everything in time

2008-05-02T14:22:00.002-04:00

life moves at a different pace than what we schedule. it is easy to forget this in a big city, when you have a lot of choices and can make a couple phone calls to get things done.

Here there are not as many options... and therefor things happen when the happen. for instance leaving port. We were planning on leaving thrusday (may 1st), but there was a a collection of things against that. A delayed shipment, no engine in the boat, jen's lost luggage, and other little jobs/ projects that need to be finished.

But things are starting to come together, jen's luggage is at the airport (we need to pick it up), the shipment is on it's way, the engine is partially installed.... hopefully we will be able to set sail soon!!

made it to el salvador

2008-04-28T12:23:00.002-04:00

I have finally arrived in El Salvador. It is BEAUTIFUL!!! the weather is warm and sunny with a nice little breeze.

I am the first of the crew to arrive and there is a fair amount of work to be done. Ashley should be arriving today, And i can't wait until jen-jen arrives. I think she will love it here.

I was really hoping that jen-jen would have some time here before we left. And as it works out we probably won't be leaving until saturday...

I will probably be able to post some picture in the next couple of days so keep your eye out for those.

let the travelling being

2008-04-22T17:24:00.002-04:00

I am leaving in a couple of hours..... I have everything packed and ready to go... well at least i think i do...

I am so excited! first i am off to syracuse to visit my sister & her husband... and their new baby owen. It should be a great visit!

Next, i fly to new york city. I have never been and i am quite excited! We are staying right next to the empire stat building! I am meeting some college buddies and we are celebrating Keith's decision to get married. After 4 days in new york i am off to....

San Salvador. First time in central america, and it is the starting point for the grand adventure.. sailing to hawaii... 35 days on the open ocean.... words can not describe the excitement and anxiosnesss i am experience...

see you all in a couple months... i should be back in seattle by mid june

website to follow the sailing adventure www.sailingjollyroger.com

hints & notions... sailing the open ocean

2008-04-08T16:47:00.002-04:00

I have been talking about this for quite some time... but things are finally coming together... not to mention i leave in 2 weeks.

for those of you who don't know, i am taking a voyage. an open ocean sailing adventure. We will be sailing from El Salvador to Hawaii. Four of us on a 47 ' boat , the jolly roger. Hear is more info www.sailingjollyroger.com

It am really excited about this trip... It is a fantastic opportunity, and a great way to test the waters, as they say, for a long term goal of sailing the world and doing design/ build for those who really could use a little extra boost.

our going away party is this weekend... email me if you haven't seen the evite and we will make sure you are there to send us all off... oh and yes it is a pirated party!!!

Karma & a dead battery

2008-04-02T05:11:00.003-04:00

there has been a bit of karma going around... a couple days ago i was riding my bike home and a woman stopped and waited for me to pass before she turned left into her driveway. It was a really nice gesture and i was really great to see some else looking out for me.

and just this morning i found out the car had a dead battery, jen's roommate let us use her car to jump it, so i was able to get some stuff from justin's place. On the way home the sun was shining and i saw a man on the side of the road...

it took me a minute to realize what he was doing... he was holding jumper cables... he also had a dead battery.... so i helped him out...

it was a good day!

Skiing in march...

2008-04-02T05:07:00.002-04:00

Damn! can you believe it snowed in seattle last week... there were parts of seattle that had and inch of snow! and it is officially spring.... hmmm... this past weekend a small group of friends went up to steven's pass. (unfortunately jen had to work).

The snow was pretty damn good. there was a little dusting and some pretty soft, almost fluffy spots. It was a good day of skiing. i am hoping i can get out one more time before we leave. but we will see...

puppies & wasabi

2008-03-24T12:47:00.003-04:00

Last night we were over at regina's for dinner, a great time as always. The usual crowd wat there, a nice size group 8 people and 3 dogs... Reg is an awesome cook, we had some a great soup, wine and some sushi.

So after the sushi is all gone and we are cleaning up one of the dogs a puppy about 8 months old is watching anxiously. So i wonder what he would do if i give him a little wasabi... i put a little dab on my finger let him smell it a couple times then he licks it off... all of it. and keeps licking. So jen says we oboviously liked it and goes to give him more... this time she is not shy.. and swipes a huge chunck about the size of a pinky fingernail, you know something you can see across the room. Try to form the dog licks the whole thing off jen's finger and loves it... and true to wasabi's form... it kicks in about a minute later.

I was funny... i never new dogs could cry... you may think this sounds mean... but the dog wanted more... so he much have liked it. The whole room was splitting their sides with laughter. As i say... who needs television when you have friends and dogs for entertainmenet!

the power of dreams.

2008-03-21T10:40:00.002-04:00

I have heard of people, particularly in african tribes, of dying from nightmares. This can seem a little far fetched, that is until you learn a little more. These people have a very strong belief structure and the strongly believe that spirit & demons walk among them, and will kill you if they think you are one of them.

So this strong belief is the basis for the death from a nightmare. The emotions and experiences in a dream can be as real as your body believes. hence dying from fear in a dream.

I was reminded of this this morning when i awoke. I was having a dream about being at the doctors, I wasn't paying attention and when they suddenly decided to take a blood test. It was a sharp enough pain to make be scream (in my dream). Well this morning when I woke up the spot where they drew blood was a tingled a little...

... the power of DREAMs....

they can be the other way too... waking up in shear euphoria... ( i will let you figure that one out). It is also easy to see how people think/ feel/ believe they have been abducted by aliens.

again the power of dreams.

in Last night/ this morning

Small world...

2008-03-14T19:53:00.001-04:00

I have been telling small world stories for quite a time... but the other day my mom call be and says... hey it's a small world....

She ran into an old co-worker (from michigan) it was pretty cool. i think it is truly small world when my mom is calling to tell me.

promise of sailing..

2008-02-21T23:00:00.001-05:00

over the past couple of weeks i have bribed my friends to help me do some work on the boat... check it out... http://web.mac.com/geoffgamsby/iWeb/my%20blogs/Solana/Solana.html

hopefully soon i will be able to fulfill my end of the bargin and take them all sailing...

the world is growing

2008-02-14T01:59:00.002-05:00

What a crazy week... i had two of my close friend tell me this week that they are expecting a baby.... it is kind of funny, everyone i know starts the conversation off a little differently... either way it is exciting and happy news. Congratulations!!

celebrating!

2008-01-22T23:24:00.000-05:00

We had a fun time... one of my friend just had his birthday. here is a the group that were there.

The family grows again

2008-01-11T13:17:00.000-05:00

On Monday Jan. 7 at 2:14 pm Julia (& Tim) finally had their baby. A beautiful "little" boy. His name is Owen Michael Magers (i bet they there thinking Micheal Owen Mager, but didn't want him to be a MOMma's boy)

He was 9 lbs and 10oz.
21.5 inches long

A night of Serendipity

2008-01-11T13:06:00.000-05:00

last Friday was a night of coincidences. As I left my dock to walk to the bank i run into Ray (who i was about to call and ask if he wanted to grab a drink), he said hell yeah and had to finish up a couple things at work. After I went to the bank I walked back to Fremont and as i was walking out of a shop Ray calls me, Then he notices i am on the street right next to him (he was waiting at a red light) so i hop in and we grab a drink.

After a beer (actually two) it is time to head out, as we leave the bar Ray's friend & my neighbor Christine run into a friend outside. This Friend Is by coincidence Nathan, whom i haven't seen in 6 months (nathan also just ran into justin). So After a quick catch-up we head to the gallery to meet up with the rest of the gang.

At the gallery i am talking to the artist and My girl (jen) walks in. (i haven't talked to hear since noon).

All this (and probably more) happened within a couple hours and without any planning. this is why Seattle is my home.

New Year's Eve / Jen's birthday

2008-01-02T03:20:00.000-05:00

What a day! The last day of the year started at 5.15 am! We planned to head to Steven's Pass for a day of skiing. After a great breakfast we picked up Raanan & Justin. Then headed north. We picked up Misty on the way. It was the start of a great day. we arrived at the mountain at 10 am met up with a couple other friends & skied until 6 pm.

The snow was great and we had a blast. (not to mention i am really starting to get the hang of Tele) As we headed home we decided that being new year's eve we should go out dancing and party the night way.

It was a great was to start off the new year!

oh did i mention i fell a couple times... here is a video of me trying to get back up.

What a "Vacation"

2008-01-02T03:02:00.000-05:00

Wow the holidays are already over. Bummer. I went to Wenatchee for several days. It was fun. i met jen-jen's parents & family. We cooked breakfast for everyone a couple of the days.

Jen's parents (Dee & Eric) were vary generous, for a present they gave jen & I lift passes to Mission Ridge. It was a great day. They weather was perfect! Althought it was a little chilly, or if you ask jen DAMN COLD! She is such a trooper though we skied all day long & had a blast, and she is a pretty good skier too. I was barely able to keep up with jen (i am learning to Telemark) so i keep falling.

On the way back from Wenatchee jen & I were planning on stopping at the hotsprings on the way back. We finally found the hot springs and started down the road, but it keep getting worse. we finally decided that we should park the car and hike the rest of the way. Which we guess to be about 8 miles. After hiking for 2-3 hours we found a map that said we had 8+ miles to go. At this point it was almost 4 pm (sunset) and yes we had a late start. so we just camped for the night. Unfortunately we didn't make it to the hot springs but it was a good time!

london... is working

2007-12-06T11:21:00.001-05:00

Not the city... but the Dog.

London was the 4th dog raised. He is the dog that rode with me across the country when i moved to seattle. When i moved onto the boat London kept falling in the water. I lost count of how many times he "fell in," but once he was in the water he would swim for 45 mins or more.

London had a carrer change and was trained by Leader dogs for the blind

I have updated the dogs page... hopefully it will not take me over a yeah to update it the next time.

London's home coming
http://straightturn.blogspot.com/2006_02_01_archive.html
pictures of london.
http://www.straightturn.net/gallery/london
Video

a little rain...

2007-12-05T12:55:00.000-05:00

Yeah i know seattle is known for it's rain, but usually the rain is more like a drizzle. We the other day we had a steady rain for 20-30 hours. Check out my neighbors canoe.The rain also caused a flooding and even land slides... One of the news shows had a good quote about the land slides... "...watch out for the earth". Hmmm... i will let you figure out what that means. Here are a couple pictures of the hill across the street from my dock. There was about a foot of mud on the road and they are still working on shoring up the hill several days later.

new york

2007-11-27T09:41:00.000-05:00

Thanks giving was great! i flew out to Syracuse, ny to visit my sister & my parents & brother also came out. Even tim's (julia's husband) parent came out. It was great, julia made a great dinner and some really good sweet potatoes.

Jen even came out to meet the parents it was a lot of fun. We went kayaking on one of the lakes near my sister. here is a picture of us kayaking.

It was a great stay but now i am ready to be back home. Hopefully in a couple hours (like 8) i will be back in seattle.

let it free ....

2007-10-31T18:27:00.000-04:00

last tuesday i recieved a call from the Seattle Police Department. It was 9.30 pm and we were enjoying ourselves at our monthly game night.

They called to let me know that they found my car, but it is undrivable. Three months after it was stolen it was finally recovered. I was able to go check out my car & found that when they say not drivable it could be as simple as a flat tire & dead battery.

so what it boils down to is i have my car back & it is still running quite well.

Since i joined seattle's one less car challnge, i can't own a car. So, i just have to sell it, either to my business or some one else.

Dang she is getting big!

2007-10-01T14:26:00.000-04:00

I just received some more pictures of my Niece, isabelle. and she is starting to smile. Thanks jen for keeping us up to date.

More about the dogs

2007-09-20T01:07:00.000-04:00

Well in the last couple weeks i found out a lot. My parents have a new puppy Ruby, a red standard poodle. I can't wait to meet her, and she love to swim too... awesome!

The other news is about Rio he went into training this week. The trainers were very excited to start working with him... except he did last very long... Rio did do so well with his first test. He growled at another dog... hence he is now my brothers dog (assuming he takes him).

The Final news i have about dogs it about London. I talk with "leader dogs for the Blind" and i was told that he is has been placed with a client, and is heading to his new home this week! way to go London!!!

a little taste of Russia

2007-09-15T17:57:00.000-04:00

Last night i was invited to a little party. This celebration was hosted by my friends Matt & Yuri. It was great fun. We had partook in several russian traditions, had caviar and of course vodka. We had a lot of vodka. It was really really good. I was so full last night and we ended up dancing the night away. I am so glad that i live close enough to bike. It was a nice short ride home.

Driving better than walking??

2007-08-27T00:07:00.000-04:00

an interesting article about how we view environmental concerns. I like this discussion because it goes deeper than just driving less, we need to think about everything we do if to make the largest impact.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/08/ask_the_ecogeek_6.php
this is a link that explains the article a little more. enjoy... and let's make a difference.

DOGS!!!

2007-08-23T17:05:00.001-04:00

As some of you know, i sent off Rio. When i went to visit family. It was fun to watch Rio as he slowly remembered my parents, and my parents where also very happy to see him too. And today i just heard that my parents are going to get another poodle at the end of the month. So they are quite happy although the timing is not great... I guess Gregg will get to help out.

So a little update on other dogs. Abby (my first dog) just had another little. Here are some pictures of her & the new puppies (thanks Gail)

a busy week

2007-08-22T16:28:00.000-04:00

I had a great week (end). It started with some tall ships on lake union. It was fun watching them sail around.

Then i flew to San fransisco. to visit my sister & jamie, and isabelle of course. She is so cute. It was great to see here & it is always nice to see my family. my mom & dad also visited during the time i was there. & we helped them celebrate their 35 wedding anniversary! way to go mom & dad.

one Less car

2007-08-18T10:40:00.000-04:00

so yeah i still haven't found my car. But i have finally decided what to do. I am going to live car free! and the city of seattle is going to help. they are offering flexcar credits for people how give up thier car! I just signed up and i will keep you posted on how it works out for me.

Duck Dodge

2007-08-05T14:31:00.000-04:00

one of the bonuses to living on lake union is duck dodge (www.duckdodge.org) A tuesday night sailboat race. There is usually about 50-100 boats (i haven't counted but it seems close). It is a great time & a good way to imporve my sailing skills. here are some pictures from last tuesday.

more pictures of isabelle

2007-07-27T20:01:00.000-04:00

isabelle as a rock star!.

i may have found my car

2007-07-25T10:42:00.000-04:00

so the celebrations was great last night... we had fun playing billards & air hockey.

we were celebrating me not having a car. well today i was reading an article & i think i may have found my car... (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/324871_chase25.html)

One man died and two others were injured after a high-speed police chase through Auburn early Tuesday.

Auburn police officials said it began when an officer spotted two cars parked in the Wal-Mart parking lot near the SuperMall of the Great Northwest just before 2 a.m. The officer watched as one person got out and ran from a parked Honda to a waiting Saturn. The officer discovered the Honda had been reported stolen from Tacoma.

The officer tried to stop the Saturn, but the driver sped off. In the ensuing chase, the Saturn allegedly reached speeds of up to 100 mph as the driver attempted to get away from pursuing police.

In the 4500 block of Auburn Way North, the driver lost control and crashed the Saturn. The passenger in the car was declared dead at the scene.

The other two people in the car, including a 20-year-old woman who police believe was driving, were both taken to Harborview Medical Center with traumatic injuries.

The Auburn police chief has requested that Kent police detectives investigate the incident.

after weeks of waiting...

2007-07-21T21:56:00.000-04:00

well i finally have pictures of my niece. I have been bugging jen for weeks. and still nothing... i had to resort to teaching mom how to forward pictures...

mom was amazed how easy it was to forward pictures... next time i will teach her how to attach files.

so here they are... pictures of isabelle she is a little cutie!

jen in the hospital.
the new family

jamie & isabelle

a weekend to remember

2007-07-19T17:45:00.000-04:00

I have two memorable thing this weekend.

first:
Mark & Kim came to visit. it was great to see them. we when out for a little sail & had a great albeit short visit. It is always nice to see mark & kim again.

second:
Sunday afternoon i was leaving to go get a massage and i couldn't find my car... at first i thought i left if somewhere else, but as i stopped and thought about it it wasn't were i left it... (which was right in front of the marina) this is a minor inconvience because i am still working in Issaquah 20 miles away... although it is only a couple days a week. i am not worried about it, something will work out... it is funny other are more upset than i am... weird.. it's just a car... although i am mad they took my roof rack & miter saw.

I'M AN UNCLE!!

2007-07-03T18:07:00.000-04:00

It is offical i am an uncle. Jen (& jamie) had thier baby today. a little baby girl named issabelle. Born this afternoon, 6lbs 15 oz, 18.5 in long

Jen is doing well & happy... and of course really tired.

sailing & Prom

2007-06-27T17:26:00.000-04:00

As some of you know, i going sailing on tuesday nights for Duck Dodge, A fun sailboat race. Well last night was a blast. I borrowed a dress from a friend & i actually turned a couple heads. It was great!

I am sure there will be some pictures somewhere... i will pass them along if i get any.

spring is here & it is full of change

2007-06-04T13:25:00.000-04:00

I can't believe how much has happened in the last couple of weeks.

It seems that once the weather changed to sunny everything started to change. I went to a workshop about rammed earth.. had a nice little vacation... and the day i returned back to work my boss told be she is downsizing the firm. Which leads me to another change... i am starting my own business!!

It looks like things are working out pretty well... althouth there is still a lot i have to do. i will try to keep everyone posted.

pictures from sailing

2007-05-24T00:53:00.000-04:00

thoughts about being an uncle

2007-05-22T11:17:00.000-04:00

It was a little weird when jen told me she was pregant, but i was expecting it. Although it is weird to think that my youngest sister is going to have a baby. at first it made me feel old, and anixous, but know i think it is so cool. I can go visit my sister & get the kid wound-up & then i can go home... i am going to be the uncle geoff the swashbuckler...

if that wasn't weird enough my other sister, Julia, has just announced that they are are expecting also! Dang i am going to be and uncle twice over.

a perfect day!

2007-05-21T13:38:00.000-04:00

the weather was beautiful and the winds were strong... and i could find one person to enjoy the day sailing. For those of you who could "make it," you missed an awesome time sailing. was cruising all day.. and didn't drop much below 7 knots the whole time. and i reached 8.25 knots a couple times! it was awesome! perfect weather. the winds were steady 15-20knot and gust up to 35 knots. i can't wait to get out there again.

Of course i did learn some very important lessons. when they say reef early they really mean it. for two reasons. First- you go faster in heavy winds with reefed sails, and second and more importantly it is really easy to rip your sails in high winds... so now i have a great new book "the sailmaker's apprentice: a guide for the self-reliant sailer" and i also learned my neighbor has a sewing machine that will handle canvas & sail material.

all and all it was a great day. & i will post a couple pictures as soon as i download them.

A Crazy time

2007-05-16T10:19:00.000-04:00

Last night was beautiful! I left work early and clean up the boat a bit, then went for a little jog. After jogging i met some friends and went sailing on Cosmo's boat "northern lights" is was a lot of fun. We "raced" Duck Dodge last night. it was a lot of fun & perfect weather too. I don't know how many people we beat... i am guessing zero, unless you count the people who quit.

It was a crazy start, tons of boat & all right in the way.

ah.. i love living on lake union!

Travel & learning!

2007-05-07T15:47:00.000-04:00

The last weekend in April i traveled up to Victoria, salt spring island and vancouver. The purpose of the trip was to learn about SIREwall, a construction type similar to concrete. I learned a lot more than just a new construction style. i learned about environmental design. it was a great workshop.

Afterthe workshop was over, i header to vancouver. Vancouver was awesome! I had a very gracious & wonderful friend show me around & take me hiking! it was great we even stopped to take a nap on the top of a sunny peak. Thanks Again It was AWESOME!

ah... back to the working world!

Insert pat on back here

2007-04-24T11:12:00.000-04:00

Well i did it. I have been working at Living shelter for over a year, and it is time to celebrate! not only because i made it a whole year, but also because i was promoted. I am not a second level project manager!

way to go me! let the masses rejoice....

FINALLY

2007-04-20T11:14:00.000-04:00

i guess this makes it offical... i now have my washington Drivers liscence.

london

2007-04-18T11:27:00.000-04:00

I recieved an e-mail from PAWS with a CAUSE today:

London has been working on not waking up all the other dogs in the kennel. Other than barking he has been settling nicely. He has begun to learn what side is. He just loves it when he goes out and plays ball.

It seems that everything is going well & they are enjoying him. And yes, i do miss him. Especially when i try to get Rio to go swimming.

finally... something else to look at...

2007-04-12T19:03:00.000-04:00

well it has been a while & i'm sorry. but i finally post some pictures. check out the links below.

pictures form living on the boat
http://www.straightturn.net/gallery/album08

snowshoeing w/ andriane, richie, & london
http://www.straightturn.net/gallery/snow

and pictures from my climbing trip to SMith Rock
http://www.straightturn.net/gallery/smith

and Wells Gray pictures should be posted next week...

a great find

2007-04-12T11:04:00.000-04:00

Last night i was about to make a little dinner when my friend Justin calls, We decided to go grab a bit together & shoot the shit, as it were. I mentioned a little restaurant near my place that looked like it has great atmosphere.

Well we walk in and notice that is it a family run place & the people are very friendly. Nothing overwhelming of outlandish, the owner (who is Italian) greets us & shows us to a table. After sitting down he comes back and ask us we have ever been to his place before, which we hadn't. The only other question he asked is if there is anything we don't eat? After which he walks away.

We had 5 courses including desert. which was awesome! the food was amazing & wonderful. It is now my favorite restaurant. I especially liked it because the people were friendly but more so because i didn't have to decide what to eat & it was so incredibly good.

so if you are ever in Seattle ask able the little Italian place on lake union.

The easiest move ever

2007-04-02T12:19:00.001-04:00

As some of you have heard i moved about a week ago. It was the easiest & most fun i have had moving. It took a couple hours to move the storage unit. Then on sunday i invited a couple people over to help me move. we start the engine left the dock, sailed for 4-5 hours & docked at my new place.

This is the entrance from the parking lot. The link below is an aerial view of the slip. I am at the end of the floating homes.

http://www.google.com/maps?q=2420+Westlake+Ave+N,+Seattle,+Washington+98109,+USA&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=19&ll=47.64053,-122.341242&spn=0.001202,0.002787&t=k&iwloc=addr

another day for you & me in paradise...

2007-03-19T12:28:00.000-04:00

this weekend was great! i sailed both friday & saturday. went to a couple parties... met a couple new people and then went for a 3hr bike ride. it was great. and the weather was awesome!

Oh did i mention i took a nap in the sun while being gently rocked my the boat? huh... well i did now.

hey jen what is that?

2007-03-07T13:09:00.000-05:00

My sister tells me this is her baby.

personally it is more like seeing pictures in the clouds... but anyway

48 hours… and then sailing.

2007-03-05T11:39:00.000-05:00

It was a quick trip home. I flew into Detroit arriving at 5 a

The adventure started at 5 am in Detroit. Pat picked me up at the airport with a 90 lb dog in tow. Little did London know but this was the day that he & I would part ways.

After a quick nap we began our journey to grand rapids. We arrived in shortly after 11.30 an stopped to have lunch with my peers from my old job. (FTC&H) It was a nice lunch…. Stories all around & some yummy food. After bidding these friends farewell we headed for my mom’s school. This was mom’s chance to say good-bye to London & for here kids to learn a little bit about service dogs. They had some great questions & it was a quick little stay…it was a fun way to prep London for our final hours together.

By the time we arrived at PAWS with a Cause headquarters it was almost 2 o’clock. There was no fan-fare or any kind of ceremony just a hand written note on the wall welcoming him into training. I just met Julie (the foster puppy coordinator) and handed him over. He was anxious to investigate his new surrounding & quickly disappeared behind the door.

The rest of the evening seemed to fly buy. We stopped at river town crossing to pick up Mark from work… Well it took us almost an hour to complete this task because as soon as I walked in I say Kelley and she said you need new boots. Well I wasn’t planning on spending any money at the mall but some how I walked out spending almost $300. Which seem like a lot (and frankly is) but it was well worth the money. I bought 3 pairs of shoes (all retailing for about $100) & a nice Patagonia soft shell & a Patagonia shirt.

After finally making it out of the mall Pat, mark, & I all met Derek for a quick beer & some wings. It was great to see Derek again if only for a short time. The next item on our little adventure was to enjoy the splendor of Grand Rapids…. So we headed to yesterdog then mulligan's, and then to Billy’s where we listened to a live blues band and danced the night away… But that wasn’t the end of the evening. After the bar closed we headed home. Tired & feeling “GOOD”. We dropped mark off at headed back to my parents… a trip that should have only been a 10 minutes. Even in the blowing & drifting snow. Well some how we ended up in a place that neither of us recognized and by the time we arrived at my parents it was 4 am (2hours later) but the funny thing was my mom got up and chatted with us for almost an hour.

Saturday was a little slower paced, I relaxed, napped & visited with the parents. As we headed back to Detroit we were able to meet up with Jamie Reuben, john, and heather. WE had a great dinner & caught up. Everyone’s timing was perfect we all arrived from our various errands within minutes of each other. After dinner and conversation we continued to Detroit to visit Parks & Nicole, Who just had a baby in January it was nice to see them and thier new son. We chatted for a couple hours & then departed to get some sleep. My flight back to Seattle was in less than 10 hours.

So it was a great trip which some awesome friends. Pat was a great help since he drove me everywhere. I am sitting on the airplane writing this and as soon as we land (Rio & I) I will be preparing to spend the rest of the afternoon sailing.

Just another weekend in the life of geoff…

my knees

2007-02-26T14:10:00.000-05:00

Dang they hurt... but i found out that it is nothing too serious. I have chondromalacia patella 2. my kneecaps are rubbing wrong. but it is something my quads might be able to minimize. so time to do a little physical therapy. I am just glad it isn't the tendons are something that will just snap.

farewell

2007-02-24T03:32:00.000-05:00

Well it is time... London is getting ready to head into training. Next weekend i will be flying back to michigan and droping him off at paws. To some of you this may seem like a sad time. But i assure you it is not. Yes i will miss london, just like i miss the previous dogs. but i am not sad. I am excited. London will be learning so many new things and playing just as much (if not more) and when he is matched with a client. He will form a bond with that person that is stronger than the bond that we now have. So i am excited to send london off.

and to do if properly most of the people that he has met & spent time with in seattle will be gathering to wish him well. It sounds like it will be a good turn out. Hope to see you all there.

-geo & london