Big Sweet Tooth

How to Mastermind an Adventure that Makes the Masses Jealous

Here's my latest musing from my fave site ever, Matador.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not contemplating escape.

The very idea of leaving everything I know behind literally rules my every waking moment.

Some would say, “Escape from what, Misty?”

In their eyes, I have built a pretty dang brilliant life for myself – the bad-ass pirate style sailboat in Marina del Rey; I’ve pimped out a vintage 14’ solar travel trailer and keep it down in the majestic mountains of Central Mexico; there’s the working about a half-year on TV shows around the world and the rest of my year spent schemin’ and dreamin’ in remote third world countries; oh yeah, and the grassroots NGO I started over in Indonesia is a doozie of a dream as well.

Thing is, I’ve now accomplished all these things and they just aren’t enough to satiate my constant need for the ultimate high – the one that comes from doing outlandish shit most people just daydream about. There’s more out there to be explored, my mind roars during all waking (and sleeping) hours. What am I doing here in this lovely moment, when there are trillions more of them just waiting to be realized? It’s a twisted fate, this audacious life I lead.

“How do I possibly outdo the last venture?”

Which brings me to the current situation and the question that surrounds it: how do I possibly outdo the last venture? It’s not that I need to prove anything – I just need to be constantly on the make. In order to get through the hectic days of reality TV production, I need to be thinking to the future.

For some reason, I need to roll into a scenario and have the ability to make it bigger. And, by bigger I mean – my life has to take a turn from it. And, so do the lives of those in that immediate sphere. My approach to crafting the perfect tale is all about how it streams on down the line. That said, a real adventure is all about attitude and when I go in with no intent whatsoever, the cards fall as they may…usually to my advantage.

I discover a small boutique hotel on an island off the coast of Mexico and BAM! Why not create a Pilates/volunteering/cooking retreat around it?

I hear about the chance to crew on a sailboat down in the Caribbean and BAM! Within days, I’ve torn down to Dominica via coulda-been-a-movie-drama in Puerto Rico to spend days island-hopping and sleeping under the stars. I write about it on The Tooth (my RTW dispatches blog) and before long a writer from the NY Times is reaching out for deets so he can feature the journey on the cover of the travel section.

I devise a plan to volunteer in a small village in Indonesia and BAM! I’ve created a bona-fide NGO that brings incredible volunteers from all over the world to this tiny haven at the base of a volcano on the island of Lombok. One things begets another begets another.

My “simple” global escapades (usually hatched over a beer in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant) turn into things much more than just a trip – they become yarns that bring everyone with like minds one speck closer to figuring life out. It’s as if I’m out there exploring so I can be more than just on the cusp of the true realization of what it is I’m meant to be. Plus, I never met a map I didn’t like…and if the urge hits, consider it booked. No questions asked – and, probably leaving within 48 hours.

I pull off these radical efforts with boatloads of frequent flyer miles, small pockets of change tucked away in interest bearing savings accounts, and a seasoned set of bloodshot eyes gazing at the computer (searching for deals) at all hours. The off-grid places I trek to make it easy to live cheap, drink and eat like a king and immerse myself in the lifestyle of those who have really embraced the secret to a life fully lived.

Laughing til you cry, trying new things all the time, treating every single human being as you’d want your grandmother to be treated, and the understanding that cash money isn’t for $400 boots you’ll never talk about with a light in your eye – it’s for getting your spirit out into the world and making your mark any way you can.

If you want it bad enough, and live and die by it, let’s just say – careful what you wish for, it might come quicker than you think. My motto is: Normal is for the next life, why not make the ordinary suffer now….

Author note: This article was penned whilst quaffing icy-cold Dos Equis in a small Mexican joint in Santa Monica, Cali. – all while crafting my next big idea, of course. And, I just made up that motto, but it’s quite fitting, si?

There Once Was a Village Named Yelapa

Years ago, while perusing one of my fave travel mags, I read about a small fishing village on the West coast of Mexico called Yelapa - a place you could only get to by boat.  Then, in some weird twist of fate - I decided I should star in a foodie adventure TV show.  The two things miraculously merged together and somehow that said pet project got sold to The Travel Channel.  Holy shit at the time - now, just another feather in the cap of life. 

I went back to Yelapa a few months back with 2 buds who were involved in the first show - then called "Stuffed."  We ended up not being able to use that title cause there were so many porns out there with the same name...but it was truly the perfect title.  The show on Travel ended up being called "Craving Adventure" and I still do just that EVERY SINGLE DAY.  When we were back in Yelapa for a little reunion, the magic had waned a bit in the moment, but now, looking back to early summer - I realize it was all about timing...as most things are. 

When I was there years ago, I was a different person.  A little girl almost.  Now, I'm a full blown woman (huh?) with a crazy life full of making all my dreams come true.  Sure, I twist them and turn them on a dime to fit my goofy whims, but they're still knocking around just like always.  Boats, water, movies, TV shows, writing, escape, travel - same stuff/different twist.

I love, love the photo of J9 and Lis walking down the beach, the same sandy stretch we traipsed for the show.  But J9 was wielding a DV camera and Lis was hauling an AC kit chock full of releases, batteries, bottled water, shams, and tape stock.  Way different than now, but same fresh feeling nonetheless - like we're making good time toward the future of SOMETHING.

I'm just on the cusp of making another show similar to that one, not starring me though.  Thank god - what intensity that was!  Deets will be forthcoming, but just remember - timing is everything in this wild world.  Listen to it. And, do you very best to make sure you are ready when it comes a knockin...

How to Rehab an Old Sailboat - At Least My Take on it All

Here's one more goodie I penned for Matador; seems I'm all about B-T-S lately...the link is here.

How to Rehab an Old Sailboat

You’ve bought a sailboat. It makes your heart flutter and sets you dreaming about escape.

None of these things matter if you don’t understand the inner workings of your vessel and exactly what you plan on doing with it.

I’ve gone down that road three times now, going from 25’ to 30’ to 36′. If you’re thinking about making the same decision, learn from the lessons I’ve picked up while on my own personal quest for freedom.

‘On the hard’

Most likely, the boat you buy will be “on the hard”, which is sailing lingo for “perched in a dusty corner of a boatyard”. Your job is to bring it back to life.

The first thing you need to do is give it a good bottom paint job. This goes double if you’ll be sailing in saltwater: there are all manner of sea creatures waiting to cling to the bottom of your new toy and eat away at the fiberglass.

Check all your thru-hulls (various holes in the hull designed to bring in and flush out water) and seacocks (small handles that open and close said holes). Make sure that the fittings are secure: there’s nothing more horrific than a hose popping off and flooding the engine room.

After stepping the mast and giving the engine a tune-up, oil change, and systems flush, you’re pretty much ready to put your boat in a slip and form a plan of attack.

LESSON LEARNED: I stayed in the yard way too long because I was intimidated to put my boat in the big Pacific Ocean. But I also met and bonded with a cast of salty characters who have proven indispensable to my current foray into boating mechanics.

Take inventory of the madness on board

The first step in developing your soon to be encyclopedic knowledge about your boat is to rip it to shreds. And I mean really tear it to pieces.

Don’t just look in the lockers – get in there and pull out everything you see . Cupboards and hatches hold incredible amounts of tools, manuals, old parts, lines, cleaning supplies, and electronic equipment.

You have to research what you have, ditch what you don’t need, and come to know the rest of the gear you’ve been blessed to inherit.

After you’ve pulled out your boat’s innards, organize your items and create a master list with photos. That way, when you are freaking out and needing a zip tie, you’ll know exactly where the rascal is stowed.

LESSON LEARNED: I spent hundreds of dollars and uncountable hours at the store buying stuff already buried somewhere on my boat. If I’d inventoried it to start, I’d have been one step ahead.

Systems Management 101

Everything on your boat connects in some small way, and there is a correct way to assess and interpret this blueprint. It is most definitely not by killing a 6-pack and gazing at the stars from the cockpit.

Trace electric lines and figure out what your battery bank is connected to. Rap on tanks and see what corrosion they might have. Check all your hoses and clamps. Read your manuals. Simply put, fiddle with shit.

Once you become good pals with the wildness that lays just out of sight, things become clear. Suddenly, all that mechanic mumbo-jumbo ain’t so bewildering.

LESSON LEARNED: Getting a proper survey is crucial, not only for insurance purposes, but for learning about your boat.

I was tossed 32 pages of cryptic chaos and hundreds of photos after my master surveyor departed. This incredibly detailed document has been invaluable in learning about my craft as well as figuring out what I need to do to bring it around to its prime.

Plan ahead

Be realistic about your future jaunts. Are you sailing around the world? Are you island-hopping in the Caribbean? Are you day sailing in the Great Lakes?

Each of these adventures requires a different schematic and breakdown. If you are tied to shore power in a nice slip in Chicago, you don’t necessarily need a bunch of solar panels, wind generators, and autopilots.

But if you are going on the escapade of a lifetime and hitting the high seas, you absolutely want all of the above, and then some.

You may think you want to take off into the unknown, but get a little practice on the home turf first. Do a night passage. Hell, spend a few nights on the boat – they definitely aren’t spacious, and sometimes not even comfortable.

Imagine downsizing your life in a severe way. Can you do without the giant flat screen and handy washing machine? Can you handle squalls that make you want to piss your pants? All these things have to be considered. Take it one step at a time so you don’t feel overwhelmed.

LESSON LEARNED: The very first thing I did the moment I bought my boat was purchase a watermaker. I’m currently hooked to shore power and have a nice hose that fills my tanks. When I sail around the world in a few years, my Power Survivor will probably be discontinued. I could have used that 3k for a myriad of other upgrades. Point being, prioritize.

Get to know your local ship store

The chaps at the ship store are a bunch of grizzly think-tanks. They have knowledge about boats that would blow your mind, the sorts of nuggets that only come from years of experience on the water.

They’ll rattle on about hose sizes and sail plans until you’re panicking. Sometimes you’ll leave thinking “will I ever know anything at all?”

Most times, though, you’ll leave thinking, “God, I love free information.” Pick brains, scour bookshelves, park yourself in unfamiliar aisles, and study the backs of random boxes.

This, my friends, is how you learn.

LESSON LEARNED: Don’t be afraid to ask advice. Just take it all with a grain of salt. Everyone claims they have the best diver, the best rigger, and the best mechanic. You just have to meet these people yourself.

Bookmark these useful sites:

-practicalsailor.com
-landlpardey.com
-cruisersforum.com
-goodoldboat.com
-navagear.com

My Latest Burst of Intel: 7 Common Challenges You Encounter After You Launch Your NGO…

Here's the latest article I penned for Matador, pretty useful stuff if you're into knowing a little more behind the scenes stuff from NGO'dom. The real-deal link is here.

7 Common Challenges You Encounter After You Launch Your NGO

Starting the NGO is the easy part. But the aftermath? Now, that’s the thing that keeps you up at night.

I recently started an NGO, 4th World Love, that focuses on community development in distant lands and I’ve learned a few lessons on the front lines of grassroots NGO’dom.

Here are a few bullet points to consider after you’ve already got your cause, your website, and your plan.

Start by remembering this one – don’t forget to laugh - because in the end, if there is no laughing-til-you-cry, it’s just not worth it.

1. Communication Is Primo.

Once you’ve got your organization’s base set up, there will come a time when you must get back home to raise money, make money, and ponder new ideas. Once you’re gone, things can quickly go downhill unless you set up a chain of command, with loads of communication.

We appointed a local Field Director and Field Coordinator before we left with very specific instructions (we need a cash flow report once a month, make sure the volunteers sign this waiver before they start the program, always text back confirmation when you get information).

Things like this keep the program from bursting at the seams. It’s hard when the village has no internet, but with texting at the fingertips of most third world’ers, we’ve had no problem staying in touch… even though there are multiple black outs per day.

REMEMBER: You have to set the parameters in order for them to be followed. Period.

2. And, Then There’s The Exact Opposite – Miscommunication.

Everyone from the village becomes a friend; therefore, they want to text and e-mail all the time. This is fantastic because updates and passing information along is crucial to NGO success. What isn’t great is when everyone starts ignoring the chain of command and breaks free of the system to share their trivial issues.

Better to set up a precise method of relaying information before you leave. Better yet, create a job description document so everyone knows who is responsible for sharing what. You wanna tell me that a baby who had cleft palate surgery is doing well– that rocks. But, if you wanna tell me all about the late petty cash report… well, that gets the smack-down.

REMEMBER: Set up proper channels and make sure your appointed directors are clear with everyone involved about the rules and their specifics. If you don’t, expect chaos.

3. Fundraising – The Ultimate Challenge.

This little diddy is the hardest part of NGO’dom. Where do funds come from? You can’t expect people to keep giving cash, especially in an economy like this.

Therefore, one must get incredibly creative.

We came up with an idea for a contest – Donate $100 to win a free trip to Indonesia was the one we ran last year; this year we’re doing the same thing, but in Baja. People really respond to this idea because there’s a chance for them to win something crazy-cool…not just donate a bit of cash.

But just because they did it once doesn’t mean they’ll do it twice.

“In the end, if there is no laughing-til-you-cry, it’s just not worth it.”

Again, thinking cap goes on. We started producing Pilates/volunteering retreats in Mexico where all profits go to fund 4WL – and the cost of the trip is a write-off. Pretty brilliant.

We also scour local villages for things we can sell (handmade scarves, cool bamboo bags and boxes, and organic soap). But we’re gonna have to amp it up a level and get more than just individual sales – we’ll have to go gangbusters, and try to sell mass quantities from the samples we currently have. Get the order and then worry about getting them made. All profits fund local projects.

REMEMBER: Most people who say they will donate DO NOT. It’s the random folks who really kick in the dinero. Bless them all.

4. Bring in Volunteers…or Not?

The intrepid souls who traipse the world working for free are the backbone of any NGO. They storm in with good ideas, piles of energy, and the will to get things done.

However, they can be a full time job for those running things back on the home front.

Dozens of e-mails have to be answered from online volunteer shout-outs, money has to be wired, transportation has to be coordinated, home stays have to be arranged, and thousands of questions have to be answered. The key is to develop a system for managing it all.

Let’s say someone e-mails, curious about 4WL. Instead of getting really detailed at the top, I just send them a Volunteer 101 sheet, an article I wrote about the village, a volunteer form for them to fill out, and the permanent volunteer schedule.

If they plow through all that information, as well as the highly detailed website, and then blast back specific questions, then I know they are legit and might actually make the trek to Indonesia. If they just ask evasive generic questions and haven’t taken the time to really get deep with our materials, then they aren’t worth the effort.

They probably just sent out a blanket email to 50 orgs and still have no idea what they want to do. I’m not saying don’t be nice, I’m just saying read between the lines.

REMEMBER: Hold their hand, but only if they hold yours back.

5. Establish Your NGO’s EXACT Cause.

Folks ask all the time, “What is your cause, exactly?” Until my last scouting excursion, I wasn’t able to pinpoint it. But, now I can - we focus on community development. Pure and simple.

Whether it’s through organic farming initiatives, carpentry workshops, cleft palate surgeries, English lessons, a new t-shirt business, opening a small café, or teaching photography and video skills – it doesn’t matter. We do it if the village requests it.

I can’t imagine rolling into a township and hearing all of the various ideas and dreams and then shutting someone down ’cause we just do “healthcare” or “AIDS prevention.” Though both noble causes, we’re about more than one thing. And, getting to that determination took some hard digging on the soul front. Even though we lived it, wrote it, and hatched the very idea, crafting the exact statement that surrounds the sentiment took some time.

REMEMBER: Think hard about your cause before you start promoting, because you will be fronted and you most definitely need an answer. A good, telling, inspiring one.

6. Boil Down New Ideas.

Phase 1 is complete. Now it’s time to take it all to the next level and take stock in your recent progress. What is the next level, especially since everything is running so well? Maybe you want to expand your efforts into another village; perhaps you need more volunteers and on-site facilitators; you might even want to start another fund raising scheme.

“That’s what it’s all about – making a difference in the world and feeling really, really good about it.”

At this point, it’s time to take it all to paper because a wing and a prayer might have worked for the first round of goodness, but now, things bear a little more investigating. We just put together our first 4WL newsletter and it was incredible to have all our happenings laid out in one super-fly PDF. Not only did it help all our supporters get the inside tip to all that were doing, it helped us hone in on where we’re headed in the near future…and what might be missing in the right now.

Bottom line, you must share the intel. Take loads of pictures when you are on site. Follow up with volunteers and get them to send you testimonials that you can post on your website and share. Plot, plan, scheme, dream, share– it’s the only way to ratchet up the vibe you’re trying to create.

REMEMBER: Make people proud to be a part of your organization and they will go to war for you…as you would for them.

7. Don’t Forget About Personal Sanity.

All of this work is draining and can be heavy on the soul. Am I doing enough? Where do I get new ideas? Will I ever be able to pull it all off? All these questions keep me and my partner-in-crime awake at night, but the more balance we try to create in our own personal lives, the better off we are.

If I work out every day, my energy soars and I’m off-the-charts productive. If I go out til the wee hours drinking and do a midnight slam down of pizza with ranch dressing, well the next AM ain’t so great.

Finding my own personal level of balance is crucial in making all these great things happen.

You also have to have a level of self-promotion that would make most cringe. I’m certain people get sick to death of my weekly e-mails about new far-flung contests, retreats, and excursions. But, you never know, I might just hit them at the moment they are fed up with their own existence and are looking to make a change.

Be it within you, your network, your village, or your organization’s plans for the future, that’s what it’s all about – making a difference in the world and feeling really, really good about it.

REMEMBER: To a person who makes $20 bones a month, every single penny counts, and if you put your energy in the right place, in the most positive spot, then you will reap rewards like no other. Might not be a penny, but it will shine like one.

Misty Made the 30-Day Mark!

Remember how I said I was gonna stay put in one place for 30-days?  Well I did do it, thank you very much.  Down to the exact 30-day moment.  Then I went to Baja and now I'm taking off on a bigger excursion - sailing in the Carib.

Basically, I'm gonna spend the next few weeks on another couples 75' schooner island hopping down in the Caribbean.  They have their own diving gear and compressor, which is incredible + since I will be crewing, it will make for a massive learning experience.  Which I always need.  I forget things the moment I learn them and I'm hoping that a 2-week immersion into full boat life will sear some things into my forgetful skull.

Plus, I just need a break.  This summer has been hectic - hard to believe, but it really has.  And, when I take on projects, I get madly obsessed, so I just need to release my brain a moment and let it flow and then I can start to really define what I want to do with the next 50 years of my life.  It's just that simple.

Meanwhile, 50 years?  Try, what's for dinner?  Escapades like this really are balm for the soul, though.  You gotta challenge yourself or ya ain't moving up/down/sideways.  And as we all know, stability isn't a word that eases my mind.  Mobility on the other hand is nice.  Constantly searching for a way to mish-mash the two is golden...

Baja Bound

Photo ops such as these are part of what make Baja such a super magnetic  place.  A wild stallion just chillin' on the side of Highway 1 as you cruise toward the Sea of Cortez.  That's exactly what Baja is all about and guess what? I'm doing a wee scouting expedition there next week for the 2010 Pilates Retreat (think photography/pilates/volunteering/cooking).  Cannot wait.  All details for this retreat will be released by August 1st, so stay tuned.  Def. think we're going to sell out, again.

Also as I mentioned before, I'm looking into moving my vintage solar trailer down there to the Sea of Cortez and would need to find the perfect safe spot for it.  And, check this out...4th World Love's next contest will take the winner on an all-expenses-paid 10-day escapade through the wilds of Baja to help find the next 4th World Love location and raise funds for the Indo CDC (community development center)!  What a fun trip that one will end up being (details coming soon)--plus, we're going to be sending out our first newsletter for 4WL soon, so if you want to be on the email list, hit me up.

To top it off, I'm thinking of moving my truck old truck (Explorer) down near the trailer spot so peeps can rent the solar trailer and have use of wheels at the same time.  It will all be set up and perched on a perfecto spot on the sunny blue Sea of Cortez.  Stone brill, if you ask me.

That's Right, A Permanent Siesta in the Making.

Sometimes, I forget just how much I love food.  Street food, healthy food, brave food, homemade food, memories of food--all of it tends to render me speechless on a daily basis.  Odd that I can forget about it.

A simple photo can shock me back to a tiny moment in time months ago/years ago, and I can recall every single emotion each of the bites delivered.  Who I spoke to if I was eating alone (some of my best friends are strangers).  Who I met along the walk to the restaurant (there's always a story to tell).  What flavors blasted their way into my psyche forever (trust me, the biggest dumps have the biggest tastes).  It's downright haunting sometimes.  Like these pix from The Nomad in Ubud, Bali.  The ginger/honey/lemon spritzer is still waking me up at night with perfect visions of sipping it on a sweltering Indo day in a kinda/sorta funky paradise.

I've spent this weekend working on my boat and thinking.  Planning.  And Thinking.  Researching.  And Thinking.  Just about life, about the shape of the world I'm living in and creating for myself.  It's crazy, full-circle, packed with belly laughs and dreams so big and outlandish the only thing you can really do is just move forward with them, not get overwhelmed by them.  Just plug away.

I've slowly come to the realization that my dreams all run in the same flow.  The same stream of unconscious glory.  Sailboat.  Water.  Spanish.  Remoteness.  Water.  Health.  Entertainment.  High Hopes.  Sharing.  Diving.  Nature.  Learning.  Growth.  Treks.  Simplicity.  There is a very fine connective tissue between everything I do--be it produce a pilates/volunteer/cooking retreat; start an NGO that focuses on free language classes, organic initiatives, and volunteering in distant lands; buy and literally dive in head first on a dream sailboat; learning to dive and getting up close with sea life; reading magazines and books that have everyone of those octopus like passions in mind; upgrading to a 4-wheel drive so jaunts to Baja are just that much easier.  Stuff like that.  It all traces back to the exact same thing.  Freedom.

Then, it comes back to food.  It all centers around food.  Cause what is a beastly day in the boat yard without a frozen margarita afterward?  What's a long walk along the beach without a tropical mai tai at the end of the road?  What's a crazy ass day on set without a frozen Pacifico waiting to be slugged?  Oh, seems it all comes back to alcohol.

Well, alk leads to food, then.  Like the gorgeous black bean soup I just made.  All garlicky and soothing.  Like the rose water margaritas and shrimp ceviche I'm gonna make for the first global cooking club (LA) that were gonna have on the boat in a few weeks.  Like the juicy white peaches from the farmers market I'm slurping down like jello.  Like the fava beans I wanna toss on the grill.   Food is life, happiness, the next journey.  Alcohol just makes it that much funner. 

As you can see/read/witness, I am indeed attempting to create a permanent siesta.  With all I do.  It's not worth doing, really, unless the rave afterward is eye-poppin.

What Were You Doing on Earth Day 2009?

I just happened to be on Bali, back at my fave hotel over there (Lotus Bungalow in Candidasa).  This lovely all-bungalows hotel on the beach has a dive center on-site which is where I got PADI certified last year, so when Jan (he runs the joint) invited us to go diving on Earth Day and pick up trash in the ocean, we were all over it. 

I was going thru the steps to get my Advanced Certification, but on my 2nd dive, I managed to blow out my eardrums.  Holy Christ, talk about panic, deathly bouts of nausea and fearing for ones life. 

When diving for trash on the first dive near a bunch of big, ugly ships, we'd gone down 20 meters near a wreck to pick up all sorts of crap hanging out on the bottom of the ocean floor.  It was devastating.  When you come eye to eye with a school of colorful fishies just peacefully cruising by, it is heartbreaking to see wads of dirty plastic everywhere.  We filled bag after bag of trash on that dive, but on my 2nd fun dive, I couldn't get past 9 meters without feeling like my head was gonna explode.

After a $22 trip to the doc in town, she tossed me a fistful of antibiotics for my ears (both were blood-red infected) and I couldn't continue with my Advanced classes.  Totally blew, but that just meant I was hanging by the pool, getting mad rays while my bud Lisa got her basic PADI certification.  Like me when I got my PADI card, she later felt that she was part of some elite group.  Something special.  It wasn't that hard to get (5 days, lots of studying), and now I have someone to buddy dive with around the world. 

Please don't throw plastic or garbage in the ocean.  As a lover of water, and all things wet, even a little cigarette butt can work its way into the belly of a fish.  You may then catch that fish someday and eat it.  Disgusting.

The LA Homebase is Done and Done...

So, you see that little houseboat down on the far right?  Well, just 2 slips over from that is where my sailboat is gonna be parked!  Yep, that's right, I'm trucking her out to Marina del Rey, CA where I lucked into a 40' slip (impossible to come by).  I also shook the rootlessness that plagues my soul and got a little townhouse perched right at the end of this dock (I can literally throw a rock and hit the boat from my balcony).  Guess I'm setting up camp in LA.  Only makes sense in the grand scheme of things since I am out here working so much--I just needed the ultimate homebase for work/play/live and I think it might be MDR--at least for right now. 

Funny how things flip on a dime...I was all set on Mobile, AL then onward to Central America, and now it's LA and the South Pacific.  But, when things like this cross your path, ya gotta be ready for them.  It came, and I was ready. Simple as that.

In other breaking news, the show I am on finally wraps in a few weeks, and then I'm outtie!  Heading back to Indo for a month, then right when I get back to LA in April, the boat will be arriving on a friggin' 50 ft. semi, so I will get that project underway for a week or so, and then back to San Miguel de Allende, to hide in my trailer for a few weeks before heading back to Chicago.  Just cause I set up camp in LA DOES NOT mean that I will alter my wandering spirit, you know?  That's the doozie to contend with...like I told myself this AM, I just gotta accept that on the road is where I am happiest.  Now, I just have a place out west to come back to.  Nice.

Where I'd Be Right Now...

Although Louisville, Kentucky is a real cute town (I swear!), where I really want to be is right on the beach. I'd take Indonesia or Mexico in two seconds.  Soon enough, though...soon enough. 

We just sold out our Pilates Retreat down on Isla Mujeres in Mexico in January, which is crazy cool.  I guess I can't wait to SCUBA dive in extreme tropical water that looks just like the pool water in the above photo from Bali.  And have a beer at Manana.  And see all my old pals again.  And eat pozole.

In other breaking news, my dad has been working like mad on the boat for me, making all sorts of little upgrades so when I'm ready to sail her down the Ten Tom and down to Mexico, she's ready.  The biggest deal is the autopilot and the watermaker.  That = truly GONE material.  Who could have imagined I'd find my dream boat in my own backyard in Tennessee?  Go figure...

Additional notes from the mind:

1.  I seem to have forgotten Chi exists.  Except for the food.  The glorious, glorious food.  Not sure when I will be back there, for real.

2.  I could live in my truck.  It seems the smaller the space, the happier I am.

3.  I really, really gotta learn Spanish.  Why do I forget so easy?

4.  I guess I love LA again.  What a sordid love affair I have with that one.

5.  I never met a Chee-to I didn't like.  Will I ever have a piece of fruit, or perhaps a vegetable, again?

Just a few more months though...and the time is FLYING...