"L" on my Forehead

I am a LOSER!  I missed my blogoversary again!!  Am I that much of a domestic diva that I forget my humble beginnings?  In 2008 I started recording all of my mind-numbing antics dating out there in divorced-single-parent land & I guess I've come 180 from there...in a new house, with my "soul-mate" & an instant family (aside from my own son) & a stepmother of 2 1/2 kiddos (the 1/2 is the one in college)....certainly enough blog-fodder to continue this running dialogue to be sure.  I have thought about changing the name & the direction, essentially starting a new blog altogether but the name really does still fit.  Why?  Well, I haven't gotten remarried & I don't see a rock on my finger in the near future so technically Xing Fu is still my boyfriend. And will be for the yet unseeable, unknowable future....but lucky me I've found my kissable frog & maybe, because I haven't been writing too terribly much this past blog year, it has something to do with "near-wedded" bliss.  Yeah, lots has happened but do I want to bore the blogosphere with information about which laundry soap works best on cat blood?  Well, maybe you do want to know...actually, I have no clue. 

So I imagine that another reason why I've been missing writing is because of sailing--all-consuming, all engrossing & a bit of a niche community, sailing.  I should really get an apartment in Annapolis--I practically live there during the summer.  And, honestly, it is the only place where I've had a really decent Dark 'n' Stormy.  (Annapolis: A drinking town with a sailing problem.)  I know a lot of my sailing friends check this blog on occasion but aside from them, who the hell knows the difference between a gybe & a tack???  So, I've laid off the sailing posts a bit too--except for the last one--oh boy was that a doozy!  But I can tell you that my sailing season is essentially over & I probably won't be writing too much more about it until April...*sniff*.  I still have this huge knot over my elbow & pretty horrific bruising that is fading, but that's all that is left of my sailing for the season. 

I sit here now thinking about the future of this blog. What will be the turn?  Xing Fu & I trying to figure out what to do when we aren't sailing?  Or what it means to find that supposed "soul mate" & what to do with him once you do....day in & day out we take for granted where we came from--we need to make sure that we remember what it was so we can appreciate what it is now.  So many women of my age bracket are out there looking--all I can say is, keep going!  Keep fighting the good fight! Mebbe I can have some helpful tidbits to dole out now & then about finding that prince among the frogs.   Reflecting back to 2008 when I started this thing--it has been one heck of a ride!

Oh, Happy Halloween everyone!  Be safe!

Bat Halloween Nightmares

  

Police Action

As is often the case, Xing Fu & I went to Annapolis last night. To see music--specifically, Graham Parker & the Rumour.  Good show--been a while since I listened to his stuff--like mid-80's.  We had a very nice evening & even Duke pulled out a win from Ohio State.  But that is only a very small fraction of this story....

When Xing Fu & I have stuff to do mid-week in the evening, I often take light rail to to meet him.  Saves me gas & the headache of the Baltimore Beltway & it is nice to sit & read my Nook uninterrupted instead of cursing out a bunch of stoopid drivers.  So I'm sitting there reading a good book, minding my own business, other than to hand the MTA transit police my ticket to show that yes, I did indeed purchase a light rail ticket.  All of a sudden I get a text from my son who is at home for the evening hopefully cooking himself dinner & doing his homework.  He is 15 & has been home by himself many, many times before.  The text reads, "Mom, I think we were just robbed."  OK, my heart just started beating out of my chest & I'm sure that my eyes were also bulging out of my head because what the flip can I do to help him stuck on the light rail at Lexington Mkt in the middle of downtown Baltimore??? I call him immediately & he proceeds to explain to me, rather calmly I might add, that he was downstairs in the house when he heard the front door crash open & a lot of running & someone (s)? clanging (his word) around upstairs making a lot of noise & then hearing them loudly run out, slamming the door behind them. He also explained that he yelled "HELLO!" numerous times & heard no response.  I immediately tell him to stay put downstairs because even though he thinks that they left, you never know.  I also told him to call the police & tell them to call him when they are outside the front door.  I then call Xing Fu to tell him what happened & thankfully he picks up right away. Xing Fu seemed far less concerned & asked me what could the police do if we were broken into?  I said, at least they could make sure that my kid was ok & that there wasn't anybody in the house & take a report of anything missing.  At this point I'm almost to my destination & say that I need to call back my kid & make sure he's ok.  He says that he's a little in shock & kinda upset but dealing.  I tell him to hang tight until the police arrive & then my call-waiting beeps.  All of this is happening on the light rail in front of about 20 other folk who I'm sure are enjoying the schadenfreude drama being played out in front of their eyes--poor mother with a house that was just robbed & a teenage son stuck in his room until the police arrive, which, since it's just a home invasion & they do not suspect that the perpetrators are still inside, so it is not considered a top of the list emergency & therefore they are not in any real hurry to get to our residence. And because my kid sounds like an adult man on the phone, the police don't know that he's still a kid & wouldn't be in any hurry anyway....

When I pick up the call, it is Xing Fu.  He tells me that he thinks it was his daughter who came in because she needed her work uniform.  She had apparently texted him earlier in the afternoon that she was dropping by.  Um, OK, that's fine, but HOW THE FREAK IS MY SON SUPPOSED TO KNOW THIS???? Especially if he called upstairs & no one answered & that Xing Fu's daughter apparently made a hell of a lot of noise when she did come in.  I might be a bit alarmed myself....lesson learned in blended family how-to manual:

If someone is going to drop by unexpectedly or unplanned, and it is certainly fine to do so, please make sure that the folks who might be in the house already know that they are coming. We can then avoid calling the police to our door & otherwise setting the neighbors' tongues wagging....

Baltimore Racing & Mobbies

Been a busy few weeks but I've managed to escape to Annapolis most weekends to sail.  The season in winding down & it is depressing--I have to accept that summer is over!  But, one more race this weekend & believe it or not, it's up in Baltimore!  I'm very excited by this because I NEVER get to race in Baltimore. See the link:
http://www.bcya.com/hcup/index.htm

And even better both Xing Fu & my kid will be sailing with me!  The best of all worlds! What an awesome way to end my racing season.  Actually, there is one more race that I'll be in--it is the Left-over Bowl the Saturday after Thanksgiving--all of the left-over & unclaimed prizes from the summer are up for grabs depending upon how you finish the race--fun! But I am really looking forward to the regatta this Saturday & will enjoy racing in waters that I grew up on--I will be channeling my grandfather & hope he's looking down from the great ocean in the sky as I race towards the Key Bridge....

On to the fun--Sunday was a Spooky Wine tasting party at my friend C's house in Annapolis--it was great to see a lot of our sailing friends & the wines were very good--of course after a while they all kinda blended together--even I had to admit by that point that the Merlots even tasted good!  Me? Merlot? Bleh!!
But here is a picture of some of what we had:

 And today I found out that this blog was nominated for a "Mobbie"; the Baltimore Sun's contest for Maryland's outstanding blogs.  How cool is that?  So everyone vote for this blog starting October 29th.  All two of my readers!

 

Wednesday Night!

Annapolis

WooHoo!  It's back! Wednesday Night Racing in Annapolis! And I am so psyched for a new season.  I'm on a new boat with a new skipper (very experienced sailor), new crew, & new position.  All of us have sailed & raced fairly extensively & it looks to be a good mix of folk.  Even more exciting for me is the opportunity to be on main.  It makes me more valuable as a crew member in that I have the ability to pretty much slip in wherever needed (my Wednesday night ride doesn't do weekend regattas). Since I don't have a designated boat for the weekend regattas yet, I have to find boats who need crew.  Unfortunately Xing Fu & I missed the Crew Listings Party from Spin Sheet last week because my son was in a crew (rowing) regatta in Chestertown. Excited for him to be participating in a great sport that I did competitively in college, but bummed that I couldn't meet skippers looking for crew for sailing in weekend regattas. 

 But with two races down so far, I'm so happy to be out there learning a new sail.  Just hope I can figure it out eventually--and I hope the skipper has patience.  The season is young....

Water Everywhere or Miles Part II

Drawbridge at Knapps Narrows

                                                        Sharps Island Light

The theme of the weekend was water.  Everywhere.  From all vantage points. It started Friday driving the cars down to St Mikes.  We drop the cars off & then decided to have lunch on Tilghman Island right by Knapps Narrows.  We drive down to the very tip--Black Walnut Point & look out over the Choptank River & Sharps Island Light--I love the story of Sharps Island--one of the coolest stories of many on the Bay. http://www.riverheritage.org/RiverGuide/Sites/html/sharps_island.html   It was great watching the drawbridge traffic.  Even better is that it is soft shell crab season--I had a fantastic sandwich.  After lunch we walked around looking at a bunch of sailboats on the dry--specifically little O'Days around 22' to 23' long.  Most of them hadn't seen water on their hulls for at least 3 years.  We wondered how much the owners would sell them for or if they were abandoned. 

  When racing to St Mikes, you don't always see the town, so we decided to poke around after we left Tilghman's.  I picked up a t-shirt for my son as I always like to get one from places I've visited.  We spent about an hour there & decided to make sure that we beat bridge traffic & get back towards Galesville where we'd be spending the night in preparation for a very early morning departure.  Up over the bridge--another beautiful view of all of the sailboat traffic & we decide to stop in Annapolis & walk around Ego Alley. 

We sat on the dock & looked out at all of the sailboats moored--all "Benehuntalinas" of course.  It was funny, we realized that we had done very little most of the day, but had covered much ground (or water)--on many levels.  As we were trying to decide what to do for dinner, I see one of my friend's boats sail in to find a tie-up at the dock--thought about yelling over to them but they motored by too fast.  They must have just finished the AYC Beer Can racing.  It was a gorgeous evening and whatever we decided it certainly had to be on the water for dinner to be truly excellent.

Our decision led us next to the South River & dinner on the water at Yellowfin.  As I said--big water theme--makes sense as we both decided that we need to be near the water as much as possible.  After dinner we drive down to Galesville & hang out with the skipper of my boat and some of the crew.  My skipper has a beautiful house on the West River and we woke up on the morning of the race to a beautiful water view even if it was pouring down rain at first.

No wind.  Big Problem.  Light air jib trim can be very dicey.  Long race but by the time we made it to the Eastern Bay we could fly the kite and the wind picked up enough to finish nicely & sail up to the Miles River Yacht Club for the party.  And no, this year I did not get drunk.  Instead, I swam in the river with some of the crew, & had a great dinner out on the raft-up of a few boats that did not race but came down for the party afterward.  Friends of the skipper had a dinner for someone's birthday--bbq off the stern of the boat was truly wonderful--good company, & of course good conversation about sailing & the race we'd all just completed.  Xing Fu & I sat on the cabin & I had my one Dark n' Stormy of the party--wonderful to watch the sun come down over the river & watch the tenders flit between the raft-ups, dropping off & picking up people to go to the club house.  I love the boat I've been sailing on--not only do we have fun, but I am learning so much--opportunity is everywhere with this skipper--very happy that Xing Fu linked me to this boat. 

On Sunday, we had to hi-tail it out of St Michaels to get to the party that my BFF(J) was hosting on the water in Essex.  Xing Fu & I almost immediately grab the two-man kayak & head out.  Another water perspective--it was truly beautiful, even with all the boat traffic--just can't beat a day on the water in whatever form it appears in.  Lucky to have found a man who loves being on/near the water as much as I do.  After paddling around, we come back & enjoy  great times with my friends--finished with fireworks that my BFF(A)'s husband brought--perfection!

OK, so it may be a bit of a reach to count the pool & view of the Jones Falls on the way back from dinner with my folks as more water, but we thought, "Why not?"  We did look out from my folks' house in Canton over the water so I think that counts.  It was a tremendously busy weekend but a hugely satisfying one.  Happy is really the theme here. 

Racer X

Another weekend down & once again sailing figures prominently. Back down in Annapolis--becoming my new home. Never used to venture there very often but now I'm finding myself there quite a bit. I think however that I might try to see what's around in Baltimore for racing too--the driving is a bit of a pain. I spent part of the day in Annapolis pricing out foulies...whew...I really wish I still had my old ones because gortex Mustos are a wee bit pricey for my blood. There should be a poor sailors' donation store where those who can afford the latest Mustos etc., can give their old gear to those who can't. Since I haven't been racing for a while I need to re-outfit. I don't need to have all the latest gear, but I do need some specialized stuff, especially in this very rainy spring we've been having. I did leave with a pair of Camet shorts so I guess I did OK. I would have to pick two of the most expensive sports: sailing & horseback riding. Ah well....

My son & I were supposed to help my folks with their boat. It was scheduled to be put back in the water on Thursday but the marina messed up the bottom paint so now they have to wait. We were going to get it squared away for the season--cleaning, doing minor repair stuff but I guess it will be next weekend just in time for Mother's Day. Perhaps we'll get it to a point where we can take it out for the holiday, providing it doesn't rain. My folks are decidedly fair weather sailors--cruising all the way at this point. But my dad was quite the racer back in the day--Annapolis was his home town. So if all goes well, the Beneteau (or Bene-slow as some of the racing folk say) will be ready for the season soon--not sure how patient I'll be on that boat after all the adrenaline these past few weeks but at least I'll get to sit & watch the scenery--something you NEVER get to do when racing.

With all this emphasis given to my various activities & also to my son, I really haven't had too much time for socializing with men--other than the crews on the boats. Interestingly, some of the comments I've fielded from potential dates have centered on the fact that I'm too busy. "How can I fit a man into my very busy life?" Jeez--I guess they expect me to be waiting around for them or something; pining for the fjords apparently. So NOT me--if I'm not involved with someone I am a busy woman. And when I am involved, I will make room for that person. Just maybe the next time 'round I'll make sure he's worth making that time.

Sailracer in 'Napolis

It's been a long time. I used to race on sailboats ages ago & have been looking to get back into it but up until recently I just didn't feel like I was in a place to go there. This year I decided it would be different so I listed myself in a local magazine for sailors around the Chesapeake Bay area. There are classifieds for those who want to race, both skippers & crew. Last week I received an email asking if I wanted to race on Saturday. The boat was a J-42 out of Annapolis & they were pretty serious racers but they were willing to take on a relatively novice racer but certainly an experienced sailor. So off I go.

Drove down to Annapolis on Saturday morning well before the 10 AM rendezvous so the team could practice flying the kite. Which means the Spinnaker, the big-bellied sail with all the colors. Working a spinnaker is a real bitch. It is very lightweight, very big & quite full of itself--or wind, rather & that is its biggest problem as well as the fore-deck crew's biggest problem. But we managed quite well, although we were in very light wind during the practice, which makes it much easier to handle. Regardless, the skipper was satisfied we could deal during the race even in a heavier wind. The race was mostly against a bunch of Navy boats. These were the big guys, approximately 40 plus feet, known as "blue-hulls". I always find the start of the race the most exciting part--we're all making a mad dash for the start & you don't want to cross the line before the horn or you have to circle back & cross again losing precious minutes. Usually the closest calls happen at the start, rounding the buoys, & then the finish. Depending upon the set of your sails you may have to give way to another boat--for our start we were maybe a foot apart from one of the blue-hulls. Even one of the middies reached out to fend-off (a very stoopid move by the way--a very good way to lose a limb) in case we brushed one another. Think about pirate boardings & how rigging can get tangled & you get the general idea. It was a huge adrenalin rush. That & the near miss we had rounding one of the marks--unfortunately we had to give way that time. It's almost like playing chicken--you try to get as far you can without crashing & hope the other guy gets nervous & comes about before you have to. The next huge rush happens everytime you tack (turn) & also when you have to put up or take down (dowse) the spinnaker. Taking down the spinnaker is when most of the mistakes happen--you are fighting a huge belly full of wind hoisted on a pole & attached in 3 places. Meanwhile you are also putting up the head sail (jib). It takes perfect timing & no fouling up the spinnaker to make time. But usually mistakes happen, the skipper screams & the boat loses time. We executed 2 times out of 4 perfectly so 50% was our statistics--my goal was not to mess up at all & thankfully I didn't--I wanted to make sure I got asked back to race again. It was a lot of fun & I learned a lot. I especially learned what it feels like to be the only female on board--very interesting & a great way to watch how men communicate. Yes, sailing is a great sport to get into especially if you are a single female.

There are a few female sailors but mostly the men dominate. Even more fun are the after-race parties. Sailors are huge partiers. After a race, folk all go to the local bars & drink--A LOT. So just as expected, we all hop off & go to a bar up the street from the marina & there was a party already in full swing--apparently it was the opening of rockfish fishing season & all of the fishermen were having a blow-out. We joined in with the live band & the flowing Meyer's Rum which seems to sponsor a lot of events near the water.

Today I was back down in Annapolis for the crew listings party--people who want to crew & people who need crew find the excuse to party & sign people up to crew on their boats. Yep--the Meyer's was fast & free. It was good to go & network a bit--I hope I get a few calls to crew soon because the race I was in was so great & I do want to meet a sailing kinda guy to spend some quality time with in the future. Dating experts always say go to where the men are or pick a new hobby or interest that men may like as well & then do it. I am going to try that with my sailing but I will also get even more out of the racing--I will learn how to be a better sailor & ultimately that's really what I want most out of this adventure.