POTW Week 35

The ride back from Albany was torture.

We had barbeque with the customer, and whatever I ate decided to have an immediate party in my intestines.

A lesser man would have pulled over to the side of the road and called it quits, but I gamely hit my own bathroom in Marblehead at 11:30 PM last night with no messy incidents.

Announcing....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 35th week of 2007

• Michael Murphy
• Beth Murphy
• Lauren Rathbone
• Ryan Nestor
• Jeremy Johnson
• Keith DiMatteo

I'm eating light today.

Emotional Response

Peeps -

Enough of the congrats on the Blog anniversary!!!
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I would never have mentioned it if I thought that everyone was going to get so sappy and emotional.
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It's just a blog....
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You've got to find more substance in your lives.

Speaking of which, the POTW selections may be delayed this evening because I have to attend a business dinner in Albany, NY.... then drive all the way back to Marblehead. Not to panic though, because this weeks nominations are not too difficult. As aways, I am open to your suggestions for selection, and will continue to ignore most of them.

Moving into the Cycle

September is shaping up as busier than August for Nanepashemet Telecom. And August was close to a show stopper.
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The shift from business development to operations is in full swing. We'll be able to implement the easiest type of business development - repeat business through great service. That's a nice cycle to get into.

A Year of the Blog

This is the first anniversary of the Nanepashemet Blog. On September 5 of last year, I posted an entry regarding the Herreshoff Columbia Yacht Tender, and pretty much posted every day since then.
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The Blog has caused both joy and pain, and I'm amazed at the impact that words can have, and the interest that they can engender. I'll have to admit that the Blog was originally intended as notes to myself, with the added implication that it can't be too frank because of business and confidential situations. The fact that a bunch of other people started to constantly look over my shoulder is both flattering and confusing.
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At times I've gone over the line, which I regret, but in general it has been a fun mode of expression that adds a dimension to my relationship with some of you that I couldn't achieve just by regular discourse.
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People ask where I find the time, but it seems that this Blog gets written by itself sometimes, and I am just a bystander. I've always found it easy to write, and most of this stuff gets done between sips of Dark and Stormies at night or coffee in the morning.
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If you don't like the Blog, then why are you reading this? Life is too short to be preoccupied with getting pissed off at these ramblings. If you do like it, I can't see where I'll be stopping soon.... so RockOn Peeps.
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Keep on Keeping it Real.

Busy Outlook

Today...., a quick jaunt over to the Salem Waterfront Hotel to check out a work item for Mike Rockett, then lunch with a customer in Central MA, then dinner at the UMASS Club in downtown Boston with Keith DiMatteo who is going to revamp the Nanepashemet Telecom Website.
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Plus, the day starts off bad because Katelyn used all of the towels and brushed her teeth with my toothbrush during her 23 showers this weekend.
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Work on the Dory looks unlikely.

Getting Closer

No boat work today.
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It was such a beautiful Labor Day that I offered to take Tom O' Shea out for a spin on Bluefish Alley behind Baker's Island. No strikes but a real comforable ride. I hardly ever get skunked out there between Halfway Rock and the Middle Ledges, but today was won by the fish.
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I did get a little more cleaning and organizing done in the Garage though. The fact that I'm talking about building a boat rather that wholescale redoing the basement is causing more consternation with Joanne and Katelyn, but they will have to get their priorities straight.

Looking Inside

Sometimes life can seem hard and unfair.
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That's because it really can be.
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But what makes it worse is when you try to assess the blame for everything that ails you to someone or something.
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Instead of looking within for the basis of our discontent, it is far easier to think that our harsh and unfair situations were caused by other's actions and evil intent.
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This never solves the problem because it diverts the attention from the ultimate true source - ourselves and our own outlooks on life. As long as we project our own feelings on others, we can never actually change our feelings and eliminate the issues.
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How can you know what others think, if you can't even be honest with yourself and understand your own thoughts? People are far more engaged in their own problems and generally have neither the time nor the interest to invest in screwing with you.
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So the blame game exaggerates and perpetuates the problems. If we would look within and forgive ourselves, that's always a good beginning.
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Off Handed

At Murph's Wedding, Jeremy Johnson, an Attorney living in Minnesota, said that he found the Nanepashemet Blog to be surprisingly insightful.
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I'm still trying to understand if that was a compliment.
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Course Murph is a loyal Peep, but I was also intrigued to see all of the people at the wedding who knew the significance of being named a POTW.

Gunning Dorys of the World

A quick Web search found these Gunning Dorys on the West Coast.
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There also seems to be a significant amount of interest from France for some reason.
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One thing is certain - the craft does seem to have a natural attraction to some people.

Starting to Reorganize

Yesterday I started the garage reorganization. I cleaned up the floor and moved a lot of stuff around, but it didn't seem like I gained much space. I'm thinking that I have to clean out under the deck, waterproof some space and move the lumber and miscellaneous stuff there. The garage space has to be left for the stationary tools and the project at hand.
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I can use the panels that were made from strapping and plastic tarpaulin to construct the temporary varnishing shed to provide a stop gap measure. It will be ugly, but it already is, so no additional violalation.
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Neither Joanne, nor Katelyn are buying my idea of finishing the basement simultaneously with the Dory work, but I intend to devote time to each.
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By the way, I'm sure that I am afflicted by that hoarding disorder. I just hate to throw stuff away, especially old files, tools, wood and metal. Living in relatively close quarters, this condition has to be aggressively challenged or the Dory will be far harder to construct.

A Nice Start

Mike and Beth Murphy were joined in holy matrimony today with a beautiful ceremony in Southborough and a fun reception in Stowe, MA.
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Best wishes to a very nice couple.
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Murph always called Joanne, "Mom", which caused some confusion with some guests in the receiving line.

Practice Makes Perfect.

I dragged Greg Bruett up to the Gerry Club last night in order to get into drinking shape for Murph's wedding. If was great practice because I feel like hell this morning. We'll take the drive from Marblehead to Stow, MA a little after noon time.
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No boat work today.