Day 220 - 227: Back to work

CHICAGO, IL USA


Well its back to the grind.  I have to say that the grind isn't as stressful or as intimidating as last year this time.  I got on board Bonita last spring and pretty much knew nothing.  The entire first week of work was spent ripping things apart, crawling in to tight spaces, flipping every light switch, pushing every button, sitting in the pilot house messing around with the navigation equipment, all just to get to know the boat.  This year was a lot different.  The main reason being that I did not log 92 hours of work in the first week like last year.  It was much more casual and only around 55 hours... a light workout in this industry.  Being that the weather has been horrible up here I have not seen much of the owners.  I spent most of the week cleaning the boat.  I had a fresh start.  Other than some dust from the winter the boat was in order, and there was no one there to move things around as soon as I re-organized.  I took my time and went through every head, detailing every corner, organizing the cabinets and restocking them perfectly.  By Thursday afternoon the boat was in the best shape it has been in.

Jessie entered the J.P. Morgan Chase corporate challenge race here in Chicago.  All of these businesses get together and have a "team".  It's a 3.5 mile run and about 25,000 runners entered!  I walked from the boat to the race grounds and it looked more like we were setting up for a war.  There were tents everywhere for miles!  BBQ's, beers, music, the works.  Jessie did really well in here race and was proud of her time.  I got to watch the first place guy come across the line...in 16 minutes 13 seconds, and I have to say my jaw was on the floor.  As he came to the end of his 3.5 mile run he was sprinting faster than I can run a 100 yard dash.  He must have been a marathon runner and this was just a light workout for him.

In the meantime I still managed to sneak away and play some golf in the late afternoons.  I really have been playing a lot better.  On a par five I missed the green by 3 feet on my second shot and chipped within inches of the hole for an almost eagle.  On a par four I landed the ball a foot in front of the hole from 180 yards out.  It went past the hole, bounced and rolled back to within two feet.  I had a tap in for another birdie.  Am I ready for the Masters? hah!  My goal is however to hopefully play in an amateur tournament by the end of the summer.  I have really become good friends with one of the teaching professionals at the driving range by my apartment and he is encouraging me to play.  So I'd probably get last place...so what.  He said that I still should absolutely do it, not for the competitive side of golf, but for the experience.  They call your name at the first tee, no mulligans, no fluffing your ball, and you have to have a caddy.  I've never had a caddy, that'd be cool!  So whether or not I enter the tournament for late August at the Sydney Marovitz golf course here in Chicago remains to be seen, but it is a fun goal to have.

Friday we had an event planned to go to the Chicago Yacht Club with another family but cancelled due to the cold temperatures and the brisk northeast winds.  I had the night off.  So naturally I went home to the apartment, called all of my friends, and decided to rent a movie OnDemand and enjoy my night off in relaxation instead of meeting up with friends at Duffy's for all you can eat and drink from 6-11 for $20 (a very tempting deal).

Saturday took me about an hour to get to the boat as a race at Soldier Field had traffic looking more like a parking lot.  The owner and his wife showed up around 3:00 PM and our guests about an hour later.  We had a wonderful cruise up to CYC, minus the rain and cold, and a great dinner.  I got invited to dinner which was nice, because I never expect the invitation.  We finally got back to the docks around 11:00 and I took about a half an hour to clean up and get the boat back in tip-top shape.  Our guests finally left around 11:30 and bedtime followed shortly after.

Now as I sit in the galley on a gloomy foggy Sunday morning, coverage just begins on the Indy 500 on the tv in the salon.  The faint smell of coffee fills the air as a few cups still linger, getting cold.  The boat is beginning to move around in the slip as a dead calm morning comes to an end with the wind of the approaching severe storms expected later today.  The rain starts to pound on the boat and just like that everything goes silent again.  It was the warning bell that the radar is true and the storms are really out there.  I hope for the storms though as they are being produced by an approaching warm front and a sunny and 90 degree day tomorrow.  The sooner it storms the sooner summer really starts, and hopefully it is here to stay this time.  I've had trouble getting up in the mornings lately but today I was wide awake staring at my clock four minutes before my alarm went off.  I enjoyed the peace and quiet however and let my alarm carry out its duties four minutes later.  And while it has been a slow start to the summer I am still hopeful that sunny and hot days are still yet to come.

Bonita Out