Reality has caught up with me and bit me in the ass

[Fintan Murphy]

Well, I'm resigned to the fact. :cry:

The boat will most likely not be completed this year.

The problem I have, as most others here have, is that this is only one part of what I do. i still have to go to work, do the honey-do's, cut the grass, do my ironing, give SWMBO quality time, meet my friends, and help my dad fix his computer when it breaks. And I can only work on the boat four nights a week (weekends are out).

Now the 2nd year of my college degree is rearing its ugly head, with my first assignment and workshop looming at the end of September. As well as another course I am doing, which needs an assignment, including research, and a 3000 word project, completed pretty soon.

So now I'm going to make (metaphorical) lemonade.

(After the initial depression from the realisation wears off that is.) :x

Hell, the boat is painted, the rudder is made, the bowsprit is waiting to be attached, and the trailer needs only a small bit of work. I'll attach the motor-mount, throw it in the water and motor around for a while. At least it will see the water this year, and we can call them sea trials.

The mast, boom and gaff are on their second coat of varnish, these can be completed. The sails, standing and running rigging, as well as blocks, cleats, and chainplates can be completed over the winter, and it will come out of it's crysalis next year as a fully fledged sailboat.

One half of me is realistic about it, and the fact that I have only so much time on my hands,

The other half is sad, and thinks I've, cheating by not sailing this year.

Thanks for letting me vent

[Russ Sylvester]

Not to be a stick in the mud but putting priorities in the proper order is sometimes a very bitter pill to swallow (jeez, I sound like my dad). Can't begin to tell you how many weekends I've wanted to go sailing but had other obligations that I had to attend to. It hurts really bad to be at some wedding reception and look out the window to see a beautiful sunny day with perect wind. It sucks and there's no denying it, but remember that you're boat will be there patiently waiting for you when you finally get that 15 minutes of free time.

[Fintan Murphy]

Ok, my ironing secret.

I like ironing :shock:

I lived on my own for 4 years, and shared a house with two blokes for 7 years, and have always had to wear shirts and ties to work. That, coupled with having been reared by a strong working mother, taught me to be self-sufficient (I can even bake )

Anyway, I find ironing theraputic, starting out with a wrinkled shirt and ending up with a nice wrinkle-free one. Sort of like ironing the wrinkles out of your life. When you go through 5 shirts a week, that's a lot of wrinkles!

Now, Irene (SWMBO) does the clothes washing, I cut the grass (good division of labour), but I still iron my own clothes.

And no, I don't take requests.

[Knut]

Fintan,

look at it in a wider perspective. It is good to have more than enough to attend to, it keeps you young and agile much much longer (even though this is probably not in your mind right now). The boat is waiting and does not mind. If you cut some TV-time, just imagine the volume of bull... that you avoid in exchange for boat progress. Boat work in my experience is even better therapy than ironing (and yes, I have tried both) and ironing can be reduced by drying the shirts on good hangers, giving more boat time. Finally, with all the shit going on in the world enjoy fully having a positive "problem".

Before you know it, you are out sailing!!

[Fintan Murphy]

Fintan' date='

If you cut some TV-time, quote']

TV time - Whats that :?:

[capt jake]

I faced the second year of my college degree a few years ago; that was after a 7 year sabaticle. Buckled down and got it all done in 7 months.

You'll see the light at the end of the tunnel very soon.

Hang in there.

[Bill]

Record/tape any lectures you can. Then listen to them while working on the boat.

b.

[Mark Gudschinsky]

The hell with reality, don't give up!

Hire someone to mow the lawn, take a day off of work, work half the night, put off the honey-do list for two weeks, and make honey (or someone else) help for a day.

Get the boat in the water finished or not! Go sailing and take honey with you, have a christening with speeches and champagne!

The reasoning is simple:

You want to have a sail boat not a wood working project.

It's hard to hire someone to help with the boat, easy for the lawn.

At the end of the year you won't miss the money from the day off work or from having the lawn mowed.

You've put off the honey do lists before and she hasn't killed you yet.(Threating doesn't count.)

If you do get the boat in the water, you will probably find a few things you'll want to modify. So if the boat isn't 100% it won't hurt your feelings as much to do changes.

When you do launch, the reaction from onlookers, your honey, and everyone else it is an amazing uplift and a marvellous validation of what you've been doing.

Also to consider: Our newly launched (only half done) "The Flyer" was a completed but unpainted hull on wednesday the 13th. The mast, spars, rudder, rigging, etc. were built and installed by the 16th. (Two days off work and a helper for one day.) We launched Sunday the 17th. No paint, no hatches, no finish on the masts or spars, but we launched. It was worth it! Now we can relax and do finishing and modifications over the winter without the cloud of the missed opportunity and with satisfaction of having our own sailing pictures to cheer us through the winter.

Give it a push. It's might be doable and it'll only hurt for a while, besides if you manage it, it will make for a great story later.

[Frank Hagan]

Fintan, you get what, 84 weeks a year of vacation, and another 40 holidays or something like that? Add in your 200 days of sick leave, and you have a boat finished! :wink:

I haven't had time to sail mine, so I go out and do minor maintenance on her, and wish I could get her out to the water again. I'm late in the office again tonight, with a deadline looming that has to be met, so the "time" thing is not getting any better. Sigh.

[P Doug (WA)]

Frank, you didn't mention all the time you must spend keeping this great forum going. All you get for that is whole lot of appreciation from all of us.

[Simon]

Fintan' date=' you get what, 84 weeks a year of vacation...[/quote']

That's it, I'm moving to Ireland 8)

[Frank Hagan]

I may have had one too many Guiness, but I remember talking about the amount of vacation Europeans have. Ireland has less than some on the continent, but I think they get something like 4 weeks.

Here, a lot of people get two weeks or less. After 5 years with my company, I'm not "accuring" vacation days at the rate of 3 weeks per year. If I stick around another 5 years, I'll get up to 4 weeks (that is NOT going to happen, by the way!)

But life intervenes, and if everyone else gets the same amount of vacation, then you have a like number of family commitments. So poor Fintan's back to square one ... a boat crying out to be finished, and a schedule that just won't allow it! (I think his "sea trials" idea is a winner, might even get his wife more enthused about it.)

[Russ Sylvester]

If I stick around another 5 years, I'll get up to 4 weeks (that is NOT going to happen, by the way!)

I have to laugh every time I hear someone say something like this. I came to work for Rockwell right out of school figuring that it was just a paycheck until I found that really sweet job offer. Well, 20+ years later and I've realized that I've only got another 15 or so to go until I retire for good. So be careful when you say that you're only going to hang around for a little while. Life has a funny way of throwing a curve ball.

BTW, I'm sitting on several hundred hours of accrued vacation time but both my bosses (here and at home) won't let me take any of it yet. So it doesn't do me a fat lot of good.

[Fintan Murphy]

Russ,

I've yet to hear somebody on their deathbed say "I wish I'd spent more time in the office".

Frank,

you're right. My main concern is to get my college projects done, as they have a habit of creaping up on me if I don't get a start on them.

It's probably psychological. I know I can get the boat motoring in the water, so I'll concentrate on that , and who knows, I may get fine weather untill October, and get it sailing this year. It's just that I know I cannot spend as much time on it as I have been, and neglecting the other (looming) jobs.

I also asked Irene if she would motor around on the boat. (She has stated that she has no interest in being in it when it's sailing - don't go there!). She said that she would, but not on the first trip - there's confidence :roll: ). So who knows Frank, she may be weaned on to the sailing thing yet.

And yes, myself and Frank discussed holidays when he was over. I still can't believe that you Americans put up with 10 days holidays a year. And I know that some of you don't even take them (and say it like its a GOOD THING - please refer to the statement above).

I get 24 days a year, plus 9 public holidays, plus 5 days sick leave (uncertified), and I am on flexitime, so in theory I could work up another 12 days, ( one a month). I don't take the sick days unless I'm actually sick, and I rarely work up the flexitime days. My wife gets all the above, but gets 29 days instead of 24.

Most of the rest of Europe gets 30 days (I think). I know that France and Spain practically close down for August.

[Frank Hagan]

I was at my last job for 14 years, and I'm starting my 6th here next month. So I could end up sticking around a while. The problem with the current employer is they keep cutting the longer term benefits (they no longer match .50 on the dollar for the 401k, but just .25, and the maximum I can put in per year is 7% of my salary, not 15%). Those kind of benefits probably don't mean much to someone starting out in life, but to me, just 20 years from retirement, its starting to matter!

Fintan, we usually get 10 or 11 paid holidays and 10 days vacation. Many companies have changed the "sick days" to "personal time off" days for some cause .... doctor's appointments, teacher parent conferences, etc. My company has 6 of those, with 1/2 falling into the PTO category. I'm classified as "salary exempt", so I don't officially have a limit on PTO or sick days, although they still show them on the paycheck.

So the typical American has about 4 weeks a year off between vacation and paid holidays. Our folks working for themselves or in jobs where the benefits aren't "good" don't get paid holidays; they might get the time off, but they don't get paid for the time off!

[Guest Anonymous]

Our folks working for themselves or in jobs where the benefits aren't "good" don't get paid holidays; they might get the time off' date=' but they don't get paid for the time off![/quote']

Yeah, I have a hard time with that working for someone else thing.

Asking for permission to take a day off, Yuck.

I like being self employed. And I work harder than I would for someone else too.

In the past 7 years I have only taken 4 weeks of vacation, but... 7 years ago I had a net worth that was under 20K.

7 yrs later it is close to the 1 mil mark.

I could semi retire right now if I wanted, however I am going to plug away at least 3 seasons for the next 5- 10 years.

I happen to be 37 right now.

[TexasPhil]

I'm one of those Frank, I get paid for each hour I work and only the hours I work.

Fortunatly, I work from home. So I no longer have to commute in every day. I make it in to my client's office about twice a month, sometimes more, sometimes less.

The bad part of working from home is I realize all the things that I need to fix around the house, and the Honey-Do list. Sometimes I am easily distracted from "work", and get side tracked on non-billable things.

I have no paid vacations, no sick time, etc. But I can take off whenever I feel like it (or whenever I don't feel like working). But that is a double edged sword.

[Steve Tarry]

Research and writing are two of the things I teach, my lad, so if you need anything, just e-mail me. That 3,000 word paper is nothing. Hell, I can't clear my throat in less than 50,000, and I have four wordy novels and a couple of degrees to prove it.

After all the help and encouragement you guys have given me, it's nice to be able to return the favor, or at least offer to do so.

[tdrown]

I still have to go college hunting for one that will take me (can I add building a boat to my transcript?). I will probably major in Engineering and posibly History as well (I don't know if that will work out right).

In the sometimes politicaly bazar France, for some parts of the year they have a 36 hour work week, 2 hours off for lunch, and dozens of national holidays. They also have a 20% tax on a sweater and a tie I bought at a mall and a rediculous income tax, along with bad unemployment, but the state does support socailized health care and universities. Interesting, but I prefer the way things are here (tuition rates are getting out of control though).

[Frank Hagan]

Tyler, put the boat building on your applications as a hobby; and find a way to mention it was in the newspaper.

Most universities have a scoring system that puts you in a category by the SAT score and/or GPA, but sometimes the unusual extracurricular activity will catch someone's eye. Especially if you are going into engineering.