January is a Whirlwind

I’m realizing that I’m slipping into the old habit of not writing, which is especially irritating given that it was one of my unwritten (see?  argh.) New Years Resolutions.  For posterity, the list – I might as well get these down now, to help break the cycle:

1. write more,
2. develop and trust my emotions,
3. procrastinate less (see #1), and
4. seize any opportunity to gain new skills.

The first of the four is pretty obviously failing so far, but that is because #4 has been taking up a lot of my time.  I’ve become involved with the Vancouver chapter of the Bluewater Cruising Association, a support network for offshore sailors who are either planning to head off into the great blue yonder, who are currently out there living the dream, or who have “been there, done that” and returned to tell the tale.

So far, I’ve been mostly taking advantage of the education offered through the BCA – I’ve enrolled in two classes, one for offshore meteorology and another for ham radio operations and licensing.  Both classes are proving to be well worth the time and money spent – the more I learn about ham radio, the more it interests me!  The world of amateur radio – and more specifically, ‘packet radio’, or computer networking over the airwaves – has a distinctive feel to it so far, one that strongly reminds me of learning about the world of modems and dial-up bulletin board systems, back before the internet gained popularity.

Furthermore, my day job has increased in responsibility, so now I am working very nearly full-time hours during the week.  Part of me is tickled to spend my days working in cloud computing and my nights learning how to interpret cloud formations!  Still, with full-time hours and courses five days per week, I’m not left with much free time to socialize.

Miya sadly had to move back to Seattle this week – her day job was only willing to allow her to work remotely for two months, and those two months flew by faster than either of us expected.  Given that I spent a lot of time paring down my possessions and footprint to make room for a second human aboard the Tie Fighter, her moving off has left the boat feeling somewhat cavernous and empty.  We’ll still be together moving forward, with her moving back onto the boat in a few months, but that’s a subject that could (and will) make an entire posting itself.