pictures

Me holding a gator
Lilly holding a gator
Gators in the wild
cave art
us at Paynes Plains
Me at paynes plains

I'M BACK!

Sorry for the lack of blogging but I have been without internet access most of the time. Things are going great! At the moment I am relaxing on Lilly's bed in Gainesville, Florida. We decided to take a "mental health week" and drive up so she could take care of some final school stuff and I don't start my new job for another week and a half so it seemed logical that I come with her.

Oh! Confused you say?

I am not working at the croissant shop anymore. I got a REAL job. I am the assistant dockmaster at the new YCOA marina! TADAAAAAAAAAAAA! Yes.

Why do I need a mental health WEEK?

Anyway....

Lilly and I took a 4 mile walk and a 12 mile bike ride today! YES I SAID TWELVE MILES!
We are looking so sexy.

Here are some pics.

damn blogger wont upload them...

just know this... we got really close to some alligators in the wild and took pictures of ourselves with them.... They don't call them the University of Florida Gators for nothin!

p.s. I know I am a stupid girl but that's my prerogative.

I am down to a size 7.... and counting!!!!!

p.s.

Everything is fine with me and Evan! We are too much alike in the first place so we do the same stupid things when we get freaked out lol. He took me to meet his Mom yesterday... uh oh! Haha she is awesome. Exactly what I thought she would be like! I am off to work on the Rover. See ya later! 

lost my phone

new number is 305- 879-2276 call me or text me so i have your numbers....

Still alive!

Just busy and have no internet access now that I have moved out of charlie's house. Technically homeless, but I have good friends that have couches and extra bunks on their boats. 

Doing great! 

So happy! 

Life is sweet! 

Here are some pics for you...

Evan and Damien at Cowboy Bills...

Evan and Will on the dock... 

Me and Ivona Richmond on a boat! 

Lilly and Me and Evan hanging out in the bed...

OH happy Valentines day!!!

I forgot to even tell you a story with that last post!

Yesterday was so awesome!

I worked and then met up with Lilly. Her dad is so cool, he took these two Navy fighter pilots fishing yesterday and told them they should meet up with us last night at Sloppy Joes. Go dad for setting up blind dates with Top Gun boys!!! So, Lilly and I set off to the bar. We meet up with them and boy were we in for a surprise. One of the two has his wife with him... (DAD! NEXT TIME YOU SET US UP ON DATES MAKE SURE THEY ARE SINGLE!) lol. It was cool because it wasn't just the two guys, it was a gaggle of pilots. We are introduced to them all and wouldn't you know it... the last guy I am introduced to says, "I'm Pete." And I... without hesitation... say "PETE MITCHELL????" And raise my hand to give him the Top Gun volleyball scene hi-five and I am just hoping he gets it... HE DOES! We totally do the hi-five and everyone goes crazy and starts buying me and Lilly beers and long story short Lilly and I will be going flying in the fighter jets soon....



Why am I so awesome?

SO... Evan bought an X-Box 360 yesterday so he and Brian were having a Man Date so me and Lilly continued on to the Green Parrot to dance dance dance the night away and ran into everyone there. Davey was asking me where my schooner boy was and I said all sad like "he's not coming out tonight" and we were laughing and just then.... EVAN EDWARDS APPEARED AT THE DOOR TO THE BAR! LOL! Me and Davey started jumping up and down yelling "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" And when he saw us he just shook his head like oh no... Lol. We have so much fun.

He came to find me! :) We are staying home tonight and I am cooking us valentines dinner. Or maybe we will just order pizza.

Gotta go buy a bike.

HERE WE GO!!!!

This is my boy Evan Edwards. Schooner pong night at Blue Heaven. Yes. He has a legless-armless-bald mannequin strapped to his back. That's Geri. She has been around the Appledore for a long time. You may remember this picture....
Well that's her on the handle bars of Aaron's bike. Somehow she lost her legs over the years...


Messy Monday. Lilly. Tourist map in hand. Duval Street.

This is Brian. He works on the Appledore. He has a fabulous mustache. He is Evan's best friend.



This is Lilly. She drew herself a finger mustache to match Brian's. I love her.


This is Lilly on "Messy Monday", the day we decided to drink all day just because we can. This was 9:30am.

This is Sarah. We used to be roommates, this is also Messy Monday at 9:30am.

This is Lilly. Messy Monday. We found a bike on the street that had no wheels or seat or handle bars so Lilly picked it up and started hollering about someone stealing all her bike parts. LOL I HAVE TEARS IN MY EYES LAUGHING AS I TYPE THIS!!! IT WAS SO FUNNY!


Messy Monday. Lilly and my old captain Chris who left me at the reef one time. We all had breakfast and we laughed about how much we fought and he apologized for what an asshole he was to me and then he wore my sunglasses the entire meal. Yay mimosas and bloody mary's!

Messy Monday,Lilly,Sarah, Mandy and Brian.

Different day. Heidi and my best boy friend down here Will. He works on the schooner with me. Isn't he beautiful??? I wish he batted for my team.

Captain Justin of the Appledore and Captain John of the Liberty Clipper in deep thought about a game of Wii.


I had to post this picture because I think it's beautiful but unfortunately this is Lilly and Man Meat. The happiness just doesn't last sometimes and thats sad. She is my favorite lady.

So, I'm real busy...

Doing laundry right now at Lilly's house but I have to go to work in a little bit. Things are going really well for me here. Sadly though, Lilly's man meat cheated on her and now we have commenced to running him out of town. Not even joking. He is a terrible dreadlocky asshole.

In other news...

Mr. Jimmy Buffet is in town and he threw a private party for his friends and family at Margaritaville last night. Lilly and her parents were there. She tried to get me and Evan in but it was a strict invite only thing. I'm probably gonna meet him soon. I can feel it. Actually today Lil and I are working on a lyric for a new song he is writing. He emailed Lil's Dad and asked if he an Lilly would brainstorm this topic for him. I can't tell you what it is because it's in the works but how cool are we??? So we are sittin here writing songs for JB himself. Lilly said he was so fun at the party, be-boppin around. David Blaine, the magic dude, was there too and was eyeing Lilly the whole night. It was magical... LOL.

Oh! Lilly got a job as the host of a fly fishing show they are shooting down here and she is so good that they are talking about having an actual national show on THE TRAVEL CHANNEL!!!! Look out Samantha Brown, you ain't got nothin on Miss Lilly !!!

I will post some great pics as soon as I get them downloaded...

Hope everyone is doin' ok out there, sorry i haven't been commenting on your blogs but I haven't had time to think let alone blog!!!

Oh... and... things are going very well with me and Mr. Evan. :)

hi!

update...

Evan comes home today.

Lilly is still home...

Working alot!

Moving to Capt. Betsy's house.

Hung out with Kelly McGillis from Top Gun last night!

My life is awesome.

Guaranteed to brighten your day.

Also! Even happier news, my great buddy Justin, the chef from my last yacht got fired from the yacht he went to and is coming to visit this weekend!!! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! My partner in crime! I can't wait to see him. I sure do miss him. :) YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

Got job number 3!!!

Waiting tables at the mexican restaurant that I love! lol! Now I'm off to 801 to see about a bartending gig! WOOOO HOOOOO!

come on 4th job!!!

Horrifying.

Yesterday was a tough day.

Lilly came home which was awesome, we went to the middle school that she went to growing up to say hi to her Dad who was helping with the pig roast fundraiser they were putting on. Then he went home and we decided to stop by Chris' house to say hi. We hung out for a bit then Lilly suggested we stop by her house to pick up her mom's bike for me to ride instead of her pumping me around town on her's all day. So we rode down her street and at the intersection right before hers I noticed some cop cars and people standing around outside on the side street but we thought nothing of it. We pulled up in the driveway and went into the house. We saw her parents outside in the back yard both looking at something so Lilly said "shhhh I bet it's an iguana." so we crept up behind them being really quiet as to not scare the iguana, then we realized they werent looking at the ground. They were looking through the trees that seperate their back yard from the caddy corner neighbor's yard. Before they could even say anything to us our eyes locked on what they were looking at.

I have never been so horrified in my life. Before my eyes could even tell my brain what was going on we were looking at a man. A man hanging by the neck from the support beams of the patio of the neighbor's house. I am shaking just typing this. I have never seen anything like that before in my life. Lilly said I must have kinda gone into shock because when I saw it i just kept repeating "what happened what happened what was that what what what" and I don't remember saying that. Her mom just hugged me and and Lilly walked into the kitchen, opened the liquor cabinet and poured us two big rum and cokes. All day yesterday we were just drinking to try and forget what we had seen. Thank god he wasnt facing us because the visual of that would have really really ruined me. I hate to be grafic and visual with you but the thing that really got me was his movement. He was swinging in the breeze. OH god i am so sorry for sharing this story but I had to. It was just the worst thing I have ever seen. He looked like a young, clean cut man. What in his life turned so bad that he decided to end it? I can't imagine ever feeling that way. Lilly and I were telling everyone we saw how wonderful our lives are and getting all mental with folks. It's just a shame. I am really freaked out and I can't get that picture out of my head.

Sorry I had to share.

OH MAN.

I just realized after really taking a close close look at my front teeth that the only thing that saved my front teeth from being broken off at the half way point was the wire my Orthodontist cemented to the back of my front teeth when I got my braces off in High School. I think the cement and the wire held my teeth together because I can see cracks in my left front tooth. Now I don't know what to do. I guess I will just keep my fingers crossed that the cement holds em together till I can afford insurance to go to the dentist. What a fucking bummer. What a fucking idiot. I have never felt so stupid. Also I think I may have a deviated septum. Lilly is gonna have to feel it when she gets here because she has one too. Oh for fucks sake. I have laid off the drinking, deciding to stick with beer instead of the vodka that I am sure had something to do with the incident. Still having a lovely time but the busted face really rocked me mentally. I stayed in my house for days just sick at myself. I compare it to the time my best friend in college, Kassidy, flipped her car on the highway while drunk, with another person in the car, into oncoming traffic, at 3 am, and they both walked away unharmed. We told her that was her wake up call. To lay off the booze. What happened a year later? She rolled her new car on the road by her house while wasted, this time she wasn't so lucky. The car came to a sliding stop on the driver's side with her arm pinned between the door and the pavement. She nearly lost her arm and had to have skin grafts and reconstructive surgery to put it back together. She had to re-learn how to use her hand and she was a guitar player.
I have just been so mad at myself.
Hanging out with Evan has been a big help. He is a big drinker so I end up kinda watching out for him instead of trying to keep up which I used to do. I can drink beer with the big boys and I have never had a problem maintaining, I know it was the liquor that did me in, but I am still wary of it all. I like to go out and be involved in all the fun but now I try to just drink about half of what I usually do.
I guess I am just saying that I am so much more aware now that I have busted my face.
That's a good thing.
I don't need any smug remarks about dangerous drinking habits. I just needed to vent. You can comment and all but you know what I mean... I don't need any negativity.

OH MY GOSH! On a funny note, I am watching David Letterman and Renee Zellweger is on and she is absolutely TANKED!!!! She is hammered!
I hope she doesn't fall on her face.

THE FACE.

It's almost totally healed. :)

And, as you can see... I am wearing my new work shirt, as I am now a barrista 2 days a week at Croissants De France. My good friend Richmond is a manager there and hired me. So, I have 2 days a week on the schooner and 2 days a week at the coffee shop and now I just need to get this waitress job down the street from the shop for like 4 days a week and I might just be able to get my act together. Thing is, I can over lap these jobs, on the boat I don't have to be there till 3:30 and at the shop I get off at 2. I went to work at 7am.... oh my. Well, if I get the waitress job I would either work at 11am-3pm or 3pm to close so I could pretty much work every day of the week all day long if I set it up right.

My buddy Evan went on vacation yesterday and I am already so bored and lonely. Good news is... LILLY IS COMING HOME TOMORROW!!! YAAAAAAAAY! She is moving home! Couldn't live without me! :)

I might pop down to the Appledore this evening to see the boys, maybe even bring them some goodies from the shop. Gotta be extra nice to them now that they have branded me the "Yoko Ohno" of the Appledore... Brian says I stole his best friend and they haven't seen him in weeks. I told them they could have him back... I was lying! Besides... It's not like I have him chained up in my basement or anything. ;)

More pics!

Thought you ladies might like to see how the crew of the Appledore dress on the delivery trip... think I might have to go next time!!!

Appledore crew fully clothed... Bryan, Evan, Capt Justin, Damian and Matt. These guys have been my constant source of fun since I got back.


A classic. Reunion night in KW, my 26th birthday presents, Charlie and Scottie!!! That face is classic Scottie for those of you who don't know him.... He says hi "Momma Jolea".

Happy belated Birthday to me!

So... Had breakfast with my new yachtie friend and then he asked me if I wanted to walk down Duval with him and help him find a new wallet because his is just falling apart. I said I would. We went to like 5 stores and I was just dying because I am not a shopper but I was having fun with him so I kept up. We walked into the Coach store and he was looking at the wallets and I was just wandering around aimlessly which is what I do in stores like that because I can't afford anything in there. I stopped at this really cute green handbag because I am a green feind and this was like the perfect shade of green so I was looking at it and inside and then I found the price tag.... 180 bucks... yeah I put it down... So I kept on walking around the store and this girl who worked there started talking to me and asked if I lived there and blah blah blah we were talking about the weather and all this stuff and then I realized he was standing by the door with his bag ready to go, so I excused myself from the conversation and we started down the street. About a block later he reaches in the bag and says "Happy Belated Birthday." And hands me this wrapped package... OH. MY. GOSH. I was like "YOU ARE CRAZY!" I'm like WHAT DID YOU DO? I opened it up and sure enough... there was the bag I had been admiring... I didn't even know he saw me looking at it! HOLY HELL! I'VE GOT A LIVE ONE!!!!

My new bag....
So, apparently when you don't even let a boy get close enough to kiss you (and you have a broken face) they want to buy you things.

I am so confused.

Oh my.

Gotta get ready for dinner and the yachtie tent again. He leaves on Friday morning. Ok. Bye.

;)

I have been playing this game all wrong for a long time.... now I know how to run the show. Don't even let them near you. It makes them crazy.

Amazing... I've still got it... even with a busted face.

so.... I went down to the Schooner Appledore dock party tonight just to "show face" because that is the true beginning of race week for us. That and the Shot and Knot contest at the Schooner Wharf bar. So I showed up just to have everyone run up to me and look at me like I was a new caveman... basically they all surrounded me and looked me up and down grunting things like "ugh.... i thought ugh...ush...:" I was like ... Uh Hi!!! Yeah I look terrible I know I fell down.... but everyone had a amazed look on their faces. So. I said .... what's wrong? Apparently... by the time the schooner kids got ahold of the rumor I had.....

A. Broken my jaw
B. Broken my nose
C. Busted all my teeth out.


Thank god for schooner talk.

So. When they finally saw me it was so much better than what they were thinking so everyone thinks i look great!

But on to better news....

I went to Martini Monday with Jason and he invited his South African friend Chris out to meet us and even with my crusty face... we hit it off... maybe it's because Chris recently stabbed himself in the face with a screwdriver and is having surgery next week to reconstruct his face... but... we really hit it off. His face has a hole in it... My face is scabby... he asked me to have breakfast with him in the morning.

I am going. You better believe it.

Even with a fucked up face he is a beautiful man....

What a funny meet cute.

I will let you know how it goes.

p.s. He drives a Porche which I am not sure Like.... but my bro drove a porche so i think its ok.... interesting.... he is just here for race week but he lives in west palm beach.... hmm....

UH OH.

See ya.

ps. he stabbed himself on accident... He is a sailboat rigger, he was aloft trying to fix something and he slipped and stabbed himself in the face with a 12 inch screwdriver, dodged being stabbed in the brain but poked a hole in his face from the left of his nose to the left of his left eye but broke his nose and cheek bone in the process....

he's still cute.

Hey Yall!

Seattle Heather finally started a blog!!! Go check her out HERE!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAY HEATHER!

My face... when it happened and today... and my hero Reno.

At 4am on Saturday Night.

This Morning.
My Cherokee hero Reno who picked me up off the ground and cleaned the blood off my face. (I don't know who the girl is) He has lovely hair. Nice boy. ;)

Race Week has begun!

The Acura Key West 2008 Yacht Race is on! Tomorrow marks the firs races and it runs through Friday night. You guys can catch it on ESPN 2 and you can click HERE for the website.

It's a pretty exciting time in town. All the yachties and shiny sailboats are in town taking up all the dock space. Lots of clean cut guys about town, a nice treat compared to the schooner bums usually milling about. Don't get me wrong, I love schooner boys, but sometimes it's nice to have a guy around that wears cologne, or at least showers more than once a week...

On the job front, it's pretty dim. The office job I was told I had in the bag turned out not to be in my bag at all due to a veto from the higher ups. Basically I am a 26 year old boat girl and the other lady up for the job is a 45 year old office girl. Bummer. Oh well, did I really want to be stuck in an office? I don't know. Maybe. So, I think I may try to go work at the Conch Farm which is a very busy bar and restruant at the marina. I know they make good money and at this point that is what I need. Money. The Jolly Rover is going well but I only get to work like 2 days a week because they have a full crew. Still applying for yacht jobs as well.

In other news, like an idiot, I tripped and fell down outside my apartment on friday night and busted my chin and upper lip on the sidewalk. Classy. Oh don't worry, my face broke my fall. I have all my teeth and didn't need stitches but it scared me. I am scabby. Gonna change my name to the Scabby Pirate Wench. I blame it on the fact that I was wearing my slick bottom cowboy boots when I haven't had to wear anything but flops for a while. Yeah. Boots. I'm not even gonna post the picture of my face because yall would just scold me and I don't wanna hear it. I know. I know what you are thinking and I know...

It sucks because no cute boys are gonna want to hang out with old crusty face (me) this week. I am a fast healer so I should be back in the game by Tuesday. :)

For Rachel...

Click HERE.

Still cold. Still looking for a real job.

I am about to head over to the Rover to see if we have a sunset sail tonight as we didn't yesterday due to the cold weather. It's a bit colder today so I fear the worst. I have all my crew agents on the case again for me. Just thinking I might not be able to stay here this time around with no savings and no real job. Everyone says I should stick it out for a few more weeks because season is about to start full swing and I will find something. I am just stressing out. I could try to find a bartending gig. Actually I need to just get my drug test up to date with the maritime consortium here and I can work 4 or 5 days on Rover as "real" crew. Capt. Chris asked me if I needed time to study for my drug test, I just laughed and said no. He said he was just making sure. Lot's of folks on this island do need time to study for theirs but not me. My drug of choice is beer. Oh, and this new liquor called Firefly.... OMG. It is - get this- Sweet Tea flavored Vodka....
O....M......G!!!!!!
IT TASTES JUST LIKE SWEET TEA! YOU CAN DRINK A GLASS OF THIS STUFF STRAIGHT ON ICE AND BY THE TIME YOU ARE FINISHED YOU HAVE A SOUTHERN ACCENT EVEN IF YOU AREN'T FROM THE SOUTH!!!!
Everyone who was with me the first time I tried it said "Oh! There's that Texan accent! We knew you were hiding it somewhere!" Apparently I don't have a thick accent unless I have been drinking.

Ok. Gotta bundle up and head out into the frozen tundra.... 60 degrees with the wind blowing 30 knots off the water really is cold people.

COLD SCHMOLD GRANDMA????

Oh my goodness... It's gonna be in the 40's here tonight... YOU GUYS STOP SENDING YOUR COLD WEATHER DOWN HERE!!!! I wore my boots and jeans today! I am making ghetto chicken and dumplings soup cuz I am cold! No heaters here! Charlie's girlfriend is lonely now that he is gone so she is coming over after dinner at a friend's house. I am totally excited about my diner. It's two cans of campbells chicken noodle soup and a pack of pillsbury biscuits. I warmed the soup till it simmered then threw all ten biscuits into the pot with the lid off for ten mins then covered the pot for another ten... now I am gonna eat. Yum.

Working tonight... maybe?

If the weather holds out I will work the sunset on the Rover. I didn't get to work last night because the girl that they are trying to replace with me was working. Her one day shift. Chris should just fire her but he doesn't want to be mean. He cut her hours in the hopes that she gets the point. In other news... I have been waiting around for 3 weeks for this office job to start... I keep getting pushed to the side and one day they talk to me like "when you start" then the next day someone else says "when we make a decision on who to hire", I am so frustrated. I really thought I had this job locked down. If not it's going to be really hard for me to stay here. I have already reactivated my crew agent accounts. I will just get back to work finding a yacht. At least I am in Florida. The office job said they were really busy with end of year/first of year stuff, which I totally understand, but at the same time, they know I have no job, and this is key west, and I'm broke. So broke I can't even put minutes on my phone! Grrrrrrrrr! I fucking hate this!!!! Now that I know I have the potential to be financially secure and not worry about paying the next bill it really gets to me that I am sitting here jobless and broke.

Judy is in Thailand, her boat isn't sure if they are going east or west due to Pirates. Wow.

Oh my gosh I am still sweating. I just cleaned all the floors in the house. Sure wish I had a little shop vac to suck these cobwebs down from the corners and clean the window seals and baseboards. Old house, old dust. And it probably doesn't help that we leave the doors and windows open all the time and the leaves and dirt just blows in. It's so nice with the breeze blowing through though! There are no screens in this house.

Charlie leaves today for Isla Mujeres, Mexico. He is doing a sailboat delivery with Andrew and Ryan. ( I wanted to go.) It's a boy's adventure apparently.... They will eventually end up in Cancun and I will bet money I don't have that they didn't want a girl hanging around to ruin their fun.... even if it was me.

So, house to myself, no job, no girlfriends, I wonder who will keep me company. I should call Charlie's girlfriend and have her over because she is going to be lost without him. They are together 24/7. I do have a Nintendo Wii that I need to become an expert at. That's what I will do!

10:34am here on the island and I have been so productive already! I need to wash clothes though... that is an adventure because I have to load up my suitcase with my dirty clothes and soap and walk a few blocks to the laundry mat and then sit and wait for like 2 hours. Blah.

I think I will make myself an egg sandwich for brunch.

OH, the pic at the top is my friend Ivona Richmond! She's the one on the left.... :)

Some candid shots from KW

Cardenas Chrismas Pig

Me and Dennis reliving old times through a glass of beer at Finnigan's Wake

Me and Lilly on Christmas playing with the parasail boys and fake teeth.

Me driving the parasail boat, note Davey's face in the background, he is such a goofball!

Lilly poppin open a bottle of Champagne for Christmas Day mimosas at the marina.


Me and Zach on Christmas Eve.

Me and Lilly, with Zac on Chrismas Eve with our fake teeth in.

Me and "Man Meat" Chris.

Greg and Kris are on Island!!!

Just ran over to the Schooner Wharf to say hi to them before I get ready to go to work!!! So cool! They are coming sailing with me tonight if my boat doesn't fill up.

I got the care package from mom! Thanks for getting the contacts! Also, I love the chapsticks! :)

Mr. Ongiri....

I will post more when I get a chance.

Went sailing!

I worked tonight on the Jolly Rover and had a blast! This boat has more sails than any other boat I have worked on.

I am chillin on the couch watching Grey's Anatomy. Ate some yummy mexican food at my favorite place, Salsa Loca!

I am so tired.

Goodnight!

No sail tonight!

We got rained out. Blah. The radar showed it coming so we cancelled the sail. Charlie and David stopped by and invited me over to Charlie's girlfriend Alex's house (David's sister's house) (PS David and Alex are from Ft. Worth, small world.) So they left in the jeep and I said I would meet them there because I found Judy's bike finally today so I have wheels. I finished my beer and went to hop on the bike when..... crash!!! Rain and thunder!!!!! I ran back into the house. Now I am sittin here.... alone. But the radar shows that its just a band passing quickly so I should be able to get out of here pretty soon.

In other news, the M/Y Rena that was interested in me as a freelance stew pulled into the schooner wharf today so I went over and introduced myself. Apparently the stew they hired instead of me turned out to be a nut case and they fired her right away. They were nice. They will be here for a few days then back to West Palm Beach where they live. They can have West Palm. Bleh.

I went out with the Liberty Clipper crew last night and sang karaoke for the first time in forever. I hate karaoke but we had been drinking boat beers for some time before then and they convinced me to do it. They all just stood there like "where the hell did that come from" when I sang. LOL

Then I called it a night and stayed up late at my house alone emailing and reading. Charlie stayed at Alex's house for the first time in quite a few days. He said he never stays here but I guess he just likes to hang out with me now that I'm back. :)

So, I played Wii last night for the first time.... I am addicted. It's the most fun thing ever!!!!!
Charlie has a Wii and I had never even considered playing it but we played it at the Lazy Gecko last night and by the time we were all finished bowling and playing baseball we were all covered in sweat! I won every bowling match! I never win video games. It rocked.

Ok... looks like the rain is stopping. gotta go!

click HERE to see the boat I work on. :)

p.s. did I mention that Charlie and I always joke about being cousins because his name is Charlie Nelson and Nelson is my mom's maiden name and he is from Texas too? Well his parents came to visit last week and I got to talking to his Dad and guess what???? He went to Permian High School.... in Odessa.... Where my Mom and Dad are from....

so.... truly.... we probably are related.


Damn I am classy.

Still here!

I am still here! I just have been running around and haven't felt like sitting still long enough to blog, there's just too much to see and do here! The weather is so beautiful and I just can't stay inside!!! Boats and buddies all over the island, I go sailing almost every day. I love being back.

I can't wait to get the care package that my mom is sending me!!! I need to dye my roots bad.... :)

Whew! I am tired! Been up since Charlie left for work this morning at about 7. He actually slept here last night, he usually stays at his girlfriend's house but they were on the pull out couch when I got home last night. That's another funny thing, Charlie loves the pull out couch bed. I always sleep in his bed and he sleeps on the couch. I think it's because he likes to watch TV in his sleep. LOL.

I am going to head over to the Jolly Rover schooner this afternoon to see if I can pick up a sunset trip and make some cash. I am also on the catering staff now that I did that New Year's event with Richmond.

Things are good. :) I just can't believe I am here. I haven't settled in yet really. I still have my suitcases packed. Once I really feel stable I will unpack. Charlie wants me to stay forever so we will see what happens. It's working out just fine right now and I really like this apartment so it seems silly to move into my own place and pay 1000 bucks a month.

I need to get some pictures posted up from my first few weeks here. In the mean time here are some pics of my place....


The living room, Charlie's wake boards and kite board . I am going to learn to wake board next time he gets a day off.
Sitting on the couch looking out onto the deck, so glad he has guitars! :)This little frog stares at me while I pee.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Things are going well in Key West. I am extremely tired from all the excitement over the past week and have made the executive decision to call it a night early tonight and watch t.v. on the couch. I went on the sunset dinner sail on the Liberty Clipper which is a boat I used to work for. The food was amazing. But I guess anything would be amazing after living off ramen noodles for a week. I haven't started work yet but my good friend Richmond asked me if I would help him cater the biggest event on island tomorrow night, the dropping of the drag queen at 801 tomorrow night. I accepted. I need the money more than I need to run around like a maniac. Cool thing is, we will be on the balcony she drops from, it's like the best seat in the house. I only have to work from 8:30om to midnight and I will get paid 200 bucks, then I can go meet up with my friends! I am pretty sure I start the new job on Monday but they were really busy in the office earlier when I went by and she was really vague about it all but I will talk to them tomorrow. Also, my first Captain ever, Ryan, is in town and he is good friends with the Captain of the Jolly Rover and we all met up for drinks last night, Ryan talked me up so much that the J.R. Captain wants me to come work sunset sails whenever I can. That's basically on the weekends and when the time changes I could work every day. The new job is 8:30 to 5:30 and right now sunset sails start at 5. Oh well, at least working the sunset sails will put some cash in my pocket. I can't wait to work with Richmond tomorrow!

A wonderful Christmas Eve.

I had one. I was invited to the Cardenas family Christmas. Which was just amazing. Lilly and I met on Saturday and we just fell right into being best friends. Of course Judy introduced us LOL! Us girls have been terrorizing this town for the past week and It's been the best time. I feel so fortunate to have been invited to the Cardenas christmas eve. They are half cuban. I love cuban. The girls and I spent hours peeling hundreds of garlic cloves on Tuesday, so hungover that every once in a while one of us had to run to the bathroom and gag. It was for the pig marinade. I just want to tell you.... cuban christmas was amazing. We had pork, yellow rice, black beans, some kind of white rice bean mixture, plaintains, rolls, flan, rum cake, cafe cubano, mojitos and more rum....

Her whole family is so amazing. It made me miss mine so much!


Some really great things have been happening to me lately. I also had a horrible thing happen to me today.

I'm not going to talk about it in detail because I really don't want to relive it. Let's just say that someone who meant (means) so much to me lied flat out to me on my birthday about something you should never lie about. I am so sad about it. I tried to ride the bike down the street and see friends and forget about it but there was no one out. So I came home and called Charlie but he is with his girlfriend and can't listen to my crap right now.

pause. phone ringing

That was Charlie, he got my missed call and wanted to know what was wrong. I told him and he said "Ok Im coming home." but I told him I just wanted to go to sleep and chill out and not see anyone especially not a guy. He said he would see me tomorrow.

I have a big interview tomorrow.

Gotta hand wash some clothes.

It sucks that I only have one of my suitcases with me.

I have nothing to wear.

Judy just called. :)

Other than that, I had an amazing Christmas eve and day, saw people I hadn't seen in a long time and met folks I had never met.

Everything happens for a reason.








Colors

IM ALIVE AND WELL!

Sorry I dropped off the face of the earth for a bit! Being back in Key West is so awesome. When I got here and saw all my old friends and remembered just how cool it is to live here, I decided I didn't want to leave. :) I haven't heard anything from the lauderdale agents yet and when I got here someone said they heard the Jolly Rover needed crew. So, :) , I went right over and talked to the owner and he said the new captain would be there Friday and just wanted us to meet and then he said, "I think you can stop worrying about hunting for a job." :) So. I am back on the Schooners! I am a schooner bum!!!! LOL I am staying with my friend Charlie which is wonderful because he stays at his girlfriend's house every night!  So, today, along with running errands and returning random possessions to folks that lost them in Judy's car last night, I am cleaning Charlie's apartment.  He is pretty clean for a guy, for sure, but the bathroom needed some serious deep cleaning! He came home just a second ago in between parasail trips and I was on my hands and knees in the bathroom, he goes, "JOLES! WOW! It wasn't that bad was it???" haha, The guys here call me Joles for some reason. It's a South African thing that one SA guy called me 4 years ago and it stuck! I have to get back to sweeping and mopping, hardwoods in most of the place and his wakeboards need dusting. His parents are coming in to town tomorrow so I want to get it nice and clean. HAHA! "Who is Jolea? Oh she's my live-in maid"

I can't wait to get back to work. I have already lost some weight from all the walking around I have been doing! The new jeans I bought before I left Allen are already falling off of me. That's good because when I lived here before, I got fat. Not gonna go that route again. 

Happy Birthday to me!

Tomorrow...
:)
It's going to be the best birthday ever!
I have exhausted myself this week visiting every crew agent in the world. There is nothing left for me to do besides wait.

Judy graduated from her class today and she is officially a Master of Oceans 200 Ton licensed Captain!!!! Oh my gosh do you guys understand how HUGE THAT IS?!?!?! I am so proud of her. I met up with her after she graduated today at this Crew bar called Waxy O'Shannons or something like that and we didn't spend any money at all because I walked in and announced to the bar that Judy had just passed her test and was now a Master of Oceans! We got some drinks and shots bought for us. :) Anyway, Judy was planning on going to Key West tomorrow and asked me to go with her. Courtney is going to a big fancy expensive party in South Beach so she wont be here tomorrow. So....

I am going to Key West for my birthday!!!! I am so excited!!! Judy is so excited to. We can't believe the two of us are back together in the same place at the same time and on my birthday too!!! I wish I could express to y'all how happy I am to see Judy. She and I were the best of friends the whole time we lived in KW and we have really been through a lot together. Just a true friend and I am so lucky to have her! We are busy putting together a road trip mix right now for the drive down the keys! Another great thing about this trip is that it will give me and Mandy a chance to reconcile. Mandy is my old roommate and she was so mad at me when I moved away and still hasn't forgiven me but Judy talked to her and she thinks it's about time we made up. I think so too. I can't wait to see all my old friends and co-workers! Judy is staying with Mandy and I am staying with my old buddy Charlie! Charlie Nelson! That's my mom's maiden name, Nelson, so we always joked that we weren't allowed to kiss each other because it's possible we are related, he's from Texas too. :) We put the word out to the KW clan and everyone is meeting up at the Conch Farm for our big welcome home/birthday bash!

I am really looking forward to this. I had the worst birthday last year in Australia and I just know this one will more than make up for the bad one last time.

Courtney and I got invited to a yacht crew party tonight so of course we have to make an appearance. It's a party at a crew house so I will ultimately meet alot of other crew and captains and maybe make a good connection for work.

I met a friend of Courtney's last night who needs his house cleaned and he is a firefighter, so I'm gonna clean his house and then hopefully I will get to clean the other guy's houses to make cash while I am out of work! There's no shame in my game! I will do it. The only problem is, I don't know what to charge! Help!

Ok. Gotta go.

BYEEEEEEE!

UH oh.

Courtney lost her job today. Yikes. I HATE GEORGE BUSH! WHAT AN ASSHOLE! HE RAN THIS COUNTRY INTO THE GROUND!!!!! AND ALL THE OTHER COUNTRIES AS WELL!

This is ridiculous. I'm off to visit another agency this afternoon. I sent my resume to a few more boats who need crew as well. I found out another friend of mine is in town and I think I am going to meet up with him sometime this week too. Maybe he will have some advice for me. Funny thing... He reads Maria's blog too. I didn't know that!

I just can't believe I don't have a job. I have never had trouble getting a job in my life! Never been without a job for more than a week!!!!

I can't even enjoy being in this beautiful town because I am so stressed out.

Courtney already has a lead on another personal trainer job so thats good. Judy wants me to go to Key West this weekend but I just can't afford that. Courtney wants me to go to some big fancy schmancy party in South Beach on Saturday night with her and Nichole but I don't have anything to wear and I don't know if I can handle going to a party where I weigh 40 pounds more than everyone else. Ugh.

Oh gee, another party invite, tonight... but it's a boat people party so I'd better go. You know, my agent at Crew Unlimited told me I should go hang out at Waxy's which is a crew hang out bar, she said it's all about who you know.

Judy wants to hang out tomorrow so maybe we will do that. I am so happy she is in town. Ok gotta go pick up Nichole from her hair appointment. Then its off to the agents.

Back to speaking english.

They decided to keep their current stew on instead of replacing her. And I am back to speaking english full time.

Courtney took me out to eat last night and we ended up at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Don't worry, I didn't spend any money at all. Some random dude gave me a hundred bucks to play Blackjack with which I lost in about 3 mins. I told him I wasn't having a very good run of luck but he insisted. I played, lost, and walked away from him. Bet he wasn't expecting me to do that. Whatever. I watched in horror as Courtney lost 800 dollars at the Baccarat table. I told her to stop but she just kept on playing. She said you have to play big to win big. I wanted to throw up. She didn't seem to mind it. Amazing.

The weather here is beautiful. I wish I had a job.

GREAT interview!

I just got back from my interview over at Sportable Crew! Suzanne was so sincere and nice and really asked me some good questions. Very specific questions. Then asked how comfortable I was with spanish. Hmmm.... I am very comfortable around spanish speaking people, most of my best friends in the past have been Mexican and their families have taken me in as their little white girl. I love it. Good food. Anyways, back on the subject, Suzanne thinks she has a boat for me. She is pitching me to the Captain tonight and I should know something tomorrow! Fingers crossed! No, wait, we have to start crossing something else because the fingers aren't working! Anyway, if it works out I will be flying to St. Martin by the end of the week. OMG PLEASE!!!!!!!

Not much else to say as I'm trying not to get my hopes up.

Oh hell I'm just gonna tell ya the info anyway... I have nothing else to do!
The boat does winter in the Carib. and Summer in the Med. 88 feet long. One stew. deck, chef, engineer and Capt. Thats all I really know. Except for the other stuff that I don't feel like typing because I have really bad cramps and I just wanna throw up.

They need someone by Christmas day because that's when the family comes to the boat. Obviously I would need to be there before then so time is of the essence. Everyone on board is Mexican and South American. I would be the only American. But, she says everyone speaks english but I bet you a thousand bucks they don't speak it if they don't have to. So basically I should be brushing up on my Spanish. I understand most everything but I just need to work on my speaking. But I told her I wouldn't feel uncomfortable in that situation. I won't.

Oh my, I really hope I get the job.

Morning dudes!

Personal assistant day in progress! Already got all the stuff moved around so the carpet guys can do their thing, now I have to go to the bank to deposit some money and then pay some bills for Courtney and call some of her clients to schedule some work outs! Woo hoo! I feel productive and she really did have too much on her plate this week. I am happy to help.

Woah! I forgot how completely INSANE South Floridians are. Two beheadings on the news this morning!!! One was a goose that lived on a golf course and the other was an 8 year old boy! And... a 4 year old broke into a convenience store. Not kidding.

I has a friend....This is Tiki. He is my buddy. I am also dog sitting and dog walking today. The other dog is a big dog named Dania. She is a bit shy but I will try to get a picture of her today.
Got one!

Ok. I think its about time to call some clients.

Yacht Spotting

Today I saw these yachts:

M/Y Copasetic
and
M/Y Mystique

Awake at 1:30am.

I fell asleep too early. I just woke up and I am red like a lobster. Which makes it uncomfortable to sleep. That ten mins in the tanning bed really kicked my ass. The parts of me that got sun in the islands didn't burn, just got tan but the parts that NEVER see the sun... well that's the problem. I would show you my burnt ass but that's inappropriate. I will get back to sleep but I feel like blogging a bit first. Tomorrow is a crazy day.

After I blogged last night I was lying in bed and Courtney came in to my room and said she had a favor to ask. She wanted to know if I would run some errands and pay some bills for her tomorrow while she is at work. I said sure. She had a list all made out and left me her credit cards and stuff to get everything taken care of. She is really busy now that she inherited 7 clients from a trainer that quit over the weekend. Basically I am her personal assistant tomorrow, and she's gonna pay me to do it! Cool huh? I do need the money. Also, the carpet guys are coming to replace the carpet upstairs and someone has to be here when they come and I am the only one who doesn't work around here so that is on my list too. And I am gonna start cleaning. That's only the morning agenda. In the afternoon I have the interview with Sportable Crew that I am really looking forward to. The guy I spoke to on the phone was really nice and said that Suzanne, the owner of the company, was really awesome, and that if I needed a ride someone at the agency could pick me up if I didn't have transportation. Nice huh?

I am starving. Must go back to sleep....

Long day.

Whew... I am exhausted. I woke up at 9am and got ready to drive around to crew agencies and learn my way around town. I dropped Courtney off at work because she had a seminar to go to and off I went, map in hand. Went to 2 agents and stopped for lunch then I cleaned her car and then I went back to her work. Courtney had a client to work out so she set me up on an elliptical machine and said, ok you just do that for a while, sweat it out! Uh.... yeah... I ran my ass off for 35 minutes!!! 35 MINUTES!!! Nonstop! I was sweating my ass off, thank god for the Killers on my iPod. I rocked out to my tunes and then Courtney came back and led me over to the other machines and I followed along with her client and did some reps on some leg and booty workers. Then it was off to weights and yoga! Oh my! After that we went to the tanning salon and Quiznos for a healthy sandwich and then home. Whew! It's 7:30pm and I can't wait to go to sleep. I have another interview with an agent at 3:30pm tomorrow so that's good.

It's beautiful here. The weather is just wonderful, the salt air feels so good! I rode around all day with the windows down and sun roof open. I got to see the ocean again! I was too busy to stop and play in the sand but I will put that on my agenda for tomorrow.

I have a good feeling about being here even though the captain who said he would call me today didn't. There are SO MANY yachts here! I drove down Las Olas Blvd. and was just amazed at the amount of boats docked behind people's houses.

Unfortunately I can't find my usb thingy that I put my camera card into that transfers my pics from my camera to my computer so there are no pictures to show you. I am bummed. Mom if you see it let me know. It might be on the coffee table.

Anyway I am excited about my interview tomorrow and feel like today's interview went well. I may even stop by a few of the marina's and boat yards to see if they need any day workers to supplement my income while I look. Courtney and the girls usually pay a housekeeper to come in once a week but I told them to cancel that and save the money, I will do it for free for letting me stay here. I think that's fair. They tried to pay me but I refused to take the money.

ok. gotta go. so sleepy.