Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The irrefutable, indisputable fact is it happens.

Yes I did just quote a Sugarland song as my title. Get over it.

AHHHHH! Where do I start? The last time I wrote was two weeks ago and so much has happened since then. First off, let's start with the straight facts. My last day at the Beverly Yacht Club will be on Monday, October 12th. That is less then three weeks away and as the day gets closer, I get more and more excited. Maybe I'll feel sad when the day actually approaches, but for now...it's thrilling!!! And then there's Monday, October 19th. That's when I will finally set out to see what this great country has to of
fer. I was toying with the idea of skipping out on UMASS Homecoming to start earlier but honestly, I can't do it. That will be the last time I see my college friends for a couple months and it just won't work.

Soooooooooo....once I finally got a confirmation on my final day and take-off day, I was all about completing more things on my checklist. I continued to do research, and still am doing that actually. I bought a membership to the Kampgrounds of America (KOA). It was only $24 and it gets you 10% off for every stay and you can earn points to towards future camping. Obviously camping is the way to go. Yes, I've only done it a couple times but that's what this trip is all about....learning new things, proving to myself (and others) that I can do anything if I put my mind to it, getting over certain fears. Plus, since I'm fly
ing solo on this trip, a campground with other people to interact with is much less-lonely then a dreary hotel room. Agree? Agreed. I also bought a National Parks pass for $80. There are so many national parks throughout the US and now I won't have to pay any entrance fees. It's just another added bonus - also on top of having my FastPass which I can use on the East Coast highways and $210 in gascards from my credit card rewards.

Last week I really started buckling down on my "need-to-get" list. I went to Target with my mom and bought a nice air mattress with a pump, first aid kit, battery-operated lanter
n and some other little random things. This weekend though, I hit the jackpot. I went to annual Freetown Robinson Estates yard sales with my mom, my uncle and my mom's friends. We got there at 7:40 AM and didn't leave until 12!!! Crazy! It must have been my lucky day because one of the first yard sale we went to I found the steal of the century....a *brand new*, still in the box 7x7 Coleman tent. Perfect! And it was only $25. Did I buy it? Um, hello? Yeah, I did. I also managed to come away with a nice square cooler, a couple flashlight things, a sleeping pad ($2!), travel mug and some other random things some of which had nothing to do with my road trip (3 Wareham High School yearbooks from 1990-1992, hahahaha). Today I went to Ocean State and bought a crap load of well, crap. Batteries, flashlights, tarp, rope, duct tape, dustpan and broom, bugspray and a bunch of other things that I think will be of value for this trip. And I only spent $60. Now all I really need to get is a hot plate of some sort, because I can't eat every meal out and some last minute things. So exciting! All together I spent a little over $100 for everything and my mom pitched in too, but shhh! Don't tell Smitty!

Last night I decided to set up the tent and see how it looked. It took my dad and I about 10 minutes, including the time to read the instructions. Being complete camping novices, I would say that was pretty good. I think I'll be able to set it up by myself. Well, I'm going to have to be able to. We unrolled the air mattress too but since the pump wasn't charged, it didn't get blown up. But it does fit comf
ortably inside the tent. Hooray! I am just bursting at the seams with excitement! Today I also fully inspected my car looking for all the little storage compartments and figuring out how to get to my spare tire. Also put all the seats down and realized that I could easily, and comfortably, sleep in it. Thumbs up.


Call me crazy, but this is so goddamn awesome. It is going to be a dream come true. I've dreamt of this moment for years. It took a while to get my dad on board, but especially after setting up the tent and showing him how well-thought out this trip is and how organized I've been about it for the past couple years, he's doing better with the concept. My mom too, for that matter. Yes, they're my parents so they're allowed to worry...especially since I'm their only one. But it's nice to have their support and have them throw their ideas and suggestions at me.

And now I feel I can broadcast by general outline of the trip. It's going to be pretty vague because while I have some places I want to go to, I don't know how I'll get there or what I'll encounter along the way. I don't really want a schedule. I just know that wherever I am between 5 and 7 that night, I will stop. My first place to go will be the Yuengling Brewery for a tour Monday - the 19th - afternoon at 1:30. It's in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, which is near Allentown so it's a good 6-7 hour drive. I'll be leaving around 5 AM to give myself plenty of leeway. After the tour, I will spend two nights at the Elizabethtown/Hershey KOA campground (two nights for a little under $80 including water, electric and free wi-fi) and do some exploring of Amish country - a place I've always wanted to visit. After that...the world is my oyster shell! I'll head in the general direction of Louisville, KY and then onto Tennessee where I think I'll probably spend a good week. After that I will meander south with Key West being the next destination but who knows where I'll go on the way there. I want to shoot up to Nebraska at some point too to visit my aunt Josette and also go back to New Orleans. But wherever I am about a week for Christmas, I will come home and after New Years, go do it all over again. But this time go west with Arizona being the destination for Steve and Crystal's wedding in January. That's months away though...I just have to focus on actually leaving right now.

I know this was long, and I think now I feel comfortable enough to make this blog public. So if this is your first time stumbling upon this (and you made it all the way to the end) leave me a comment. Let me know what you think! More to come in the next couple of weeks....

Monday, September 7, 2009

Go on, grab your hat and fetch a camera.

Holler back young'n! The summer season at the Beverly Yacht Club is officially over. At 4:00 today, our lunch service stopped and by 7:00, I was outta there! We had a countdown all day which was kind of fun. At exactly 4:00 we banged pots and pans, or in my case ice scoops, and hooted and hollered....and then it was over. I can't describe how happy I am that this season is done with, if only because it means I'm closer to getting out of there and doing what I've wanted to do for years. This summer definitely wasn't as stressful as last year - a much lighter workload, but still annoying in many other ways. We had our fair share of drama this year, sometimes it was a little too much....too much gossip, too much talking behind backs, just stupid stuff that complicates things at times. The staff was great, especially once we got rid of a certain person, but there's always room for improvement.

Me personally, I know my heart wasn't quite in it as much it should have been. But that's because the thought of leaving was constantly in the back of my mind. And once I talked to Joe and knew I could see the end but couldn't quite get to it yet, I've found some things (and people) to be frustrating causing me to have a "i-don't-give-a-shit-fuck-everyone" kind of attitude. I know that's not the way to do things especially since I'm a manager, but sometimes I just hate the place. I can't help it. After seven years, certain people piss you off, certain days get on your nerves....even looking at certain food items makes my skin crawl these days! I don't know, I can't explain it. But for these last few weeks, I swear, my attitude will be better. Especially since I finally get some time off! And I'm still on salary so that's pretty cool too. Last year I was taken off of salary right after Labor Day, but that was one of the things I kinda worked out when I gave my notice so...yay.

Now I really have to buckle down and watch my spending habits. I've mostly paid off my bills for the month of September. So now I have to make sure that my October bills are squared away and that I'll be able to cover the next few months, even if it's just paying in minimum for most things, while I'm off on my wanderlust. However, I do have two things planned that will involve some money
. Tomorrow I'm going up to UMASS Amherst for a couple days. My friend tranferred there and I can't wait to show her around and hang out on Club Sidewalk and act like I'm a college student again. And then next week, my friend Jack from Key West will be in Boston so we're taking in a Sox game and hanging out around the city. But that's it! No more big spendings, unless it's directed towards my trip.

Feels so good to know that I have the next two and a half days off...I definitely earned it. Standing by on 6-8, cap't.




Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Upside down and inside out. When I leave here I'm going alone.

It's September 1st so you know what that means? Last full official week at the yacht club. Our technical "season" is only from Memorial Day to Labor Day and this summer flew by. It might have been the whole lack of summer weather thing until the end of July. Or maybe I just subliminally wished for it to go by quickly. Whatever the case is, my summer is coming to an end QUICKLY. Tonight was my last Tuesday Ladies Racing Night ever. I say "ever" because I really hope that I can basically find the strength, though it sounds stupid, to not come back to the BYC in the spring. Even if I'm living in a ditch somewhere, I don't want to come back because I need to step out of the comfort zone that I've lived in for seven years, quit being a little bitch and move on.

All I asked for tonight was for them to thank me, as a group. That's all. Not too hard. Maybe it's selfish because I feel "deserving" of their praise and want acknowledgment. But you know what? Yeah. It's selfish. I'm allowed to be that way every now and then. I've taken the fall for people a lot over the years, I've put up with members complaining and being pains-in-asses, so yeah, I think it's only fair. Only about a handful of the ladies knew about my plans and frankly it's so muc
h easier to let everyone know as a group then telling everyone individually. I did get the group "thanks" and most of them were shocked at my news, but are happy for me. But honestly, I've heard nothing but positivity about everything and really, that's what I need.

Can't say that it wasn't a bittersweet feeling locking up the building tonight.
Tuesday nights have always been my favorite night at the club. I've been taking care of them for at least 5 years, maybe a little longer, so they're used to me and I know what to expect week after week. Oh, I remember the good 'ole days when we didn't even offer food service to them on Tuesday. That was fun. And, this is the group of ladies that came and visited me when I lived in Key West. Oh, that was a good time. Tomorrow night is my last Wednesday Night Racing, but that honestly isn't that a big of a deal to me. Never really been a fan of Wednesday or Thursday nights, to be honest. So whatever.

OK, enough of this rambling. My laptop is awesome. Can't wait to use it on the road. This week's task is to look into a better sleeping bag and car-camping gear. I'm also going to bring my car in for an oil change and see what they suggest for me to do before taking off on the trip in October. I'm sure a tune-up is in for call....

Until next time!