You Won't Believe What They Did To Me!

So I'm the cat.  Jezabelle is my name.  I live in a giant floating tube surrounded by water that tastes very bad and sometimes finds its way into my living space... but that's a story for another day.  I have two humans at my command and they are woefully inept at finding me a proper meal.  They have presented me with a parade of different forms and flavors, many of which I found to be inedible...

I guess I let on that I found one or two flavors to be marginally acceptable because it seems thats all I ever get these days...  Just to keep them guessing I sometimes refuse to eat, and others I gorge myself until it all comes back up again, but that's uncomfortable, so I don't do it often.  But I dearly love to hear their cries as they step in a cold puddle on their way to the galley to feed me early in the morning...  I know.  I can be mean.

So anyway, where was I?  Oh yes.  I was telling you about what they did to me today!  My life is normally pleasant enough.  I get lots of naps and lap sits and scratches.  I have my man right where I want him and sometimes won't let him get into bed at night without a slap... so basically I am the boss.

I was minding my business this early afternoon and my humans began speaking in low tones.  Something was up and I knew it immediately.  Before I could take evasive action, SHE came and scooped me up with him right behind her... holding the box of horrors!

I was literally STUFFED into this thing and my head pushed down when I tried to nose my way out before the closure was zipped up tight!

The world began to tilt and spin until I was deposited unceremoniously into the cockpit... but there was no sun for napping today.  It began to rain and the wind blew like crazy for a bit and I feared that I had finally gone too far and they were about to fling me into the water to sink like a stone in my box.... This can NOT be good.  No good EVER comes of it when I'm stuffed into this box.  What new horrors have they in store for me? I can only wait to see how it all unfolds.

As soon as the rain stopped, I began to feel better about things.  Maybe we were going to just sit here for a while... Then I was swept away once more and could hardly believe my eyes!  WHAT??  I'm not going into that thing!!!

Many times my people have gone away in the small floating car.  Normally they leave me alone and I just sleep until I hear the approach of the noisy thing... sometimes I get up and come see them, but just as many times I sleep right through their arrival... No use giving them any ideas like I'm happy to see them or something.  But this time it appears that they are taking me with them!

My lap

I can hear my woman speaking to me gently, trying to allay my fears but I'm not having it.  So I do the only thing that I can think of currently within my power, to express my extreme displeasure... I whizzed in the box.  Yes, she noticed!  

How do I know she noticed?  Because she moved my box off of her lap and onto the floor, then covered me with a towel so that I couldn't see anything!  She said it was so that I didn't get splashed with salt water but I know the truth!

If all of this wasn't enough, I felt the floor begin to bounce and lurch.  It was kind of like when we move the house sometimes, only more bumpy.  I could hear the water splashing and the sound rumbler was close and loud!

At this point I must have gone to another plane of existence because the next thing I remember I was on the floor in a dimly lit room and they were unzipping the door to my box.

I popped out immediately and began looking around.  It was a small room with no good place to hide... I know... I looked!

My people just stood there watching me.  I tried to look calm and in control of the situation but I could feel my fur ejecting in tufts... serves them right for messing up my day like this!

You know how I feel about doors being closed to me?  You don't? Well let me just tell you.  Don't do it.  I pawed at one door and was able to get it to swing open enough for me to squeeze through.

It was the room where humans keep their litter pan.  I found myself a nice spot right behind the pan and settled in to wait for further developments.  As long as they don't try to get me to go along with their plans...I'm fine.

My woman came and went, pretending to care how I felt about all of this when I know good and well that if she cared about me one little bit I would still be sleeping on my tuffet back home...

Unfortunately somebody needed to use the pan so I was snatched up and made to leave my hidey hole...

It wasn't long after that when the real reason for this gross imposition on my will became perfectly clear.

I could see out the door that there were others here as well... not cats but those dogs...  And they were undergoing some sort of process that filled my heart with dread...

I wasn't fooled by the laughing ladies... Oh no!  I could sense the nervousness in my woman.  She was worried about something and it made me tense.

Next thing I remember they were coming for ME!  That man came into my room and I was made to sit on the table while he manhandled me.

You heard me right!  He grabbed me and felt me up!  He looked into my eyes and at my TEETH... Like I'm some sort of animal!  Next thing you know they'll want to put a saddle on me and ride away!

And the worst thing of all, my woman let him do it.  Sure she tried to scratch my chin when attention was turned toward my bottom...

But I knew what was going on...  I'd been through this before!  Why anyone would want to do that to a cat is beyond me!  I embarrassed myself by expressing my shame with a low and pitiful sound.  I couldn't help it.  It was just too much to bear, really.  I'm done!

And don't think you'll be forgiven any time soon you... you... PEOPLE!

I guess the man thinks that if he says how beautiful I am, he'll be forgiven.  If he says that I don't look my age I'll not remember his face forever and hunt him down to exact my revenge.

I hang my head in shame and wait to see what comes next.

And it does.

Back into the box I am stuffed.  Not kidding.  STUFFED!  We bump around and I am glad to see that we're leaving that place.  I wonder if all of those others know what's in store for them.  Stupid dogs... tail wagging and hand licking their way through life like serfs.

Wait, what?  NO!  Not back into the floating car!!!

It doesn't seem as bouncy this time so maybe I can hold my water... for now.

Maybe we're headed back home.  Maybe it's almost over!  Maybe I have survived to leave a wet spot of barf on the floor at the foot of the bed in revolt against this outrage!

To add insult to injury...it's raining.  Yes.  Raining.

Why is she laughing like some kind of maniac???  I'm going to make her pay for this... just you wait and see.

Oh thank CAT we're back home!  I wait patiently to be trundled back into the cockpit and the zipper unzipped...  Whoops, gotta turn around the other way.  I can't act too keen on getting inside.  Gotta play this cool, never let 'em see you sweat.  If only I could keep my hair from springing from my body in evidence of my nervousness...  Just play it off...

There... That's better!  I don't usually get dinner in the middle of the afternoon, but I guess they're trying to get into my good graces.

We shall see about that...  Now where was I before I was so rudely interrupted.  Oh yes... A NAP!



Mom's note:  Jezabelle was thoroughly checked out last April but I wanted to make sure things were good and have a new health certificate done before we head off into foreign waters.

We were impressed by the welcome and the efficiency of Dr. José Cruz.  He comes over to Culebra once a month or so and he was very responsive to my needs as a Cruiser with a pet.

Jezabelle was given a clean bill of health and I was counseled about what to expect with an aging feline... but she's all good!  Except for the attitude of course.

I Love A Good Q&A

Dos Libras in the distance 

It's been a long time since I participated in a Question & Answer session so when Byn put out the word that she was taking volunteers for a project on her blog, I was quick to volunteer.  I love reliving my own experiences in order to produce them for someone else... It's even more fun when I get a chance to do some real thinking and maybe learn a little bit about myself!  

Here is my submission for the project:

Intro:

I started the blog long before we made the real decision to go cruising.  It began as a way to remember all of the wonderful things I’ve done so that when I get old and lose my memory I can look back over it and relive the good times.  I guess this is why my posts are SO long.  I know that the “good blogs” are full of short, easily digestible little blurbs, but that’s just not my style.  I like to bring the reader (who one day could be me) along with me to wherever I’m going.  And I love taking pictures… I always provide lots of pictures. 

During the years leading up to our departure, blogs played an invaluable role in making this lifestyle more real for me.  That has become my secondary reason for blogging… I want to share it all so that if I can help someone else along it can be my way of giving back what I once received. 

      What is the main thing/s that makes the cruising life worth it for you?  It’s difficult to answer that question without using a cliché… so to look past all of the usual answers and get down to my real reason, I have to say that it affords me the luxury of spending every moment with my husband.  Bruce is my second husband and he is 21 years my senior.  While that didn’t mean much to us when we first got together… I was 37 and he was 58… it became more evident as the years passed.  We always “planned to go cruising someday” but I felt that our time was growing short.  We had to make the leap if it was ever going to happen.  You can never count on tomorrow and I didn’t want to look back some day after the window of opportunity had slammed shut and wish we had done it.  So back to that cliché… Cruising Life affords me the luxury of making every day count… and while we really aren’t living every day like it was our last… At least I get to spend every available moment on this earth with my husband without the stresses and distractions that land life forces upon us.

                                                         Click HERE to read the other participant's answers...

     

 What is something that you wish you had done differently from the beginning? The easy answer - Install a watermaker!  The not-so-easy answer – I wish that we hadn’t been so afraid.  The learning curve is steep and in the beginning so much of our time was tinged with a certain level of anxiety.  I think we’re enjoying ourselves more now that we’ve realized that with a little common sense we (and the boat) can handle most situations and there’s really not so much to be afraid of.

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What has been your most surprising experience since moving aboard? It takes just as long (or longer) to thoroughly clean the boat as it did to clean our 2700 sq. ft. townhouse…  I really thought I would be spending less time cleaning now but that hasn’t happened.  It’s a constant battle keeping up with dirt on a boat! 

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      Of all of the places that you’ve been thus far, to where would you most like to return? That’s an easy one…Ile A Vache, Haiti - Our time there was so short because a cold front came down and provided us with optimal conditions for continuing onward so we left.  But we hope that our path takes us back there some day.  

       We have two blog posts on our visit:  http://www.thingswedidtoday.net/2016/02/ile-vache-isnt-haiti.html 

      AND   http://www.thingswedidtoday.net/2016/02/haiti-lite-ile-vache.html 

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 What is your favorite physical activity on/off the boat? How often would you say you do it? (Also, if you have any types of products that you recommend/blog posts on this topic, please link to that post as well)  We both love to snorkel.  Bruce is a certified diver.  When we first began thinking about cruising I took SCUBA lessons.  Long story short, due to a severely deviated septum I was unable to pass the final trick… In retrospect I don’t think we would have had any better experience if I had been certified as a diver.  We love to poke around along rocky shores and shallow reefs and I think I would be claustrophobic if I dove down very far.  We snorkel every chance we get… there’s something to see almost everywhere we go and it’s a nice way to spend a HOT afternoon!  We recently purchased full face snorkel masks and we LOVE them!  Visit this blog post for more about snorkeling  http://www.thingswedidtoday.net/2016/06/theres-this-placecayo-de-luis-pena-pr.html  And our review of the new full face mask http://www.thingswedidtoday.net/2016/09/test-driving-tribord-gear-review.html

                                                        Click HERE to read the other participant's answers...

What were the biggest struggles for you in your first year? How did you deal with them to get through?  Our first year was plagued with cold weather and breakdowns by equipment that we did not expect.  We moved aboard almost a year prior to our departure thinking this would give us enough time to work through all of our systems.  Somehow living aboard just isn’t the same as cruising so we had all sorts of equipment failure.  And COLD.  We left South Texas in the fall and just didn’t get far enough south fast enough!  Our heaters quit working almost immediately so we froze our tushes off. I never want to experience that kind of bone-chilling dampness again…

      Read my impassioned post about the COLD here!

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Technology stuff: What would you consider crucial for YOUR cruising life? Why?  The iPad has been our most valuable piece of equipment.  It is my life!  While they say that you should not depend upon electronics for navigation…it has never let us down.  We use the Garmin app and so far it has been surprisingly accurate.  I use the companion app to our Delorme inReach tracker for sending out texts via satellite and I use the iPad for creating electronic logs and statistics using MotionX GPS HD. The best thing about the later iPad models is that they will accept a SIM card wherever we go.  We can buy a local prepaid data plan for Internet access, which is invaluable for planning and information gathering about the islands we visit.  You must have the iPad with cellular capability in order for the internal GPS to work.  You can buy one without a cellular plan and buy a prepaid data plan in the US and in other countries.  But even with no active data plan, the previously downloaded iPad apps and charts will work far from any cellular tower… out in the ocean!

                                              Click HERE to read the other participant's answers...
     

What is your best piece of advice for people who are getting ready to take off on a cruising adventure?  No matter where you go… you’re in SOMEBODY’s familiar cruising grounds.  When we were in the planning stages I prepared for the end of times.  I don’t know why, but I thought we were falling off the edge of the planet.  I was afraid there wouldn’t be food, or water, or fuel.  I was afraid that we would be taking our boat into unknown waters fraught with shallow rocks and tight spaces just waiting to crunch our boat to bits.  But it’s nothing like that.  There are people living in almost all of the places we’ve been and even though the guide books and other resources post dire warnings about the dangers of tide and current and shallow waters… with a little common sense and a bit of experience, you will be surprised at how your comfort zone expands and grows within a short time.  You will feel a sense of accomplishment that you just can’t get from any paycheck!

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What has been your scariest moment?  For me… “Scary” is when you’re in a situation over which you have no control.  So far I can’t really say that I have been truly scared.  But… there have been two experiences that I will tell you that I was READY for it to be over!  I don’t know why I haven’t felt true fear… maybe I have faith in my Guardian Angel, or I’m living in a huge “Personal Safety Bubble” where I think nothing can REALLY ever happen to ME…  But when the shit hits the fan, I feel a sense of resignation to dealing with the situation.  I “put on my big sailor panties” if you will.  Once I realize that this shit’s REAL and there’s no getting out of it… I buckle down and my mind goes into get-it-done mode.  It’s amazing really.  It’s like I’m inside my head looking out… watching me do whatever needs done with a running sidebar conversation going on…  The other thing that really amazes me at how many times I think to myself “Wow… if it wasn’t for the fact that this could really end badly… it would be FUN”!  I know!  What’s wrong with me???  But somehow I find the whipping wind and rain on my face, my hair blowing around and wild roaring in my ears… the feeling of being a little bit (or a lot) out of control and watching it all unfold… it’s all quite exhilarating!  I have to forcibly wipe that crazy smile off of my face and get back to work saving the boat from certain doom!  Read about the two biggies here: Our first real bad anchorage decision:  http://www.thingswedidtoday.net/2015/02/this-aint-yo-mammas-bahamas.html  And the weather event that everyone was talking about:  http://www.thingswedidtoday.net/2016/01/el-derecho.html

                                               Click HERE to read the other participant's answers...
          

Best budget friendly ideas?  I guess that would have to be Amazon Prime.  We joined before leaving home when it looked like we would be ordering a lot of provisions from Amazon.  When they added the Prime video we figured that we could replace Netflix with Prime and for the yearly cost of Netflix,  Prime would basically be FREE.  Since then, it has paid for itself many times over.  Sometimes you have to do a little bit of sleuthing to get the best deal with free shipping… but it’s worth it and we have lots of time!  The downside is that you can’t really use either Prime shipping or video outside the US, but they do count USVIs and Puerto Rico so we really loaded up while visiting the US territories.  (some sellers do NOT ship to PR so you have to shop around)

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Best Social Media (blog/social media/youtube marketing) advice  I don’t make money on my blog… I’ve thought about it because sometime I post about products that we like and maybe somebody goes and makes a purchase based upon my recommendation… but I don’t think it’s really enough to make it worth the trouble of paying taxes on it.  I have read that having lots of links to outside websites can make a blog show up better in web searches, so I try to add a lot of interactive and informational stuff in my blog posts.  I get a huge kick out of every new Facebook Page friend and comment, and blog comments make my day!  My audience is slowly growing and that makes me happy.  I think the biggest thing that keeps my blog from really taking off is that my posts are so LONG.  Really, they are epic!  I just can’t seem to keep it short and sweet like I KNOW blog readers want.  So if you’re one of the people who persevere and slog through all of my stuff looking for those hidden nuggets of gold… Thank YOU!

                                   Click HERE to read the other participant's answers...

See all of the participant's posts for BEST LIFE HACKS here...
      

Favorite Photos My father was a professional photographer and one of my biggest regrets was not learning all I could from him before he died.  I only have inexpensive Point-n-Shoot waterproof cameras onboard, but I LOVE taking and sharing photos.  Sometimes I just wander the beach and take pictures of things from different perspectives.  I think that my photos, while not professional, are the best part of my blog. 

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How has the cruising life affected your marriage/relationship? Any advice for others?  Before we left for cruising Bruce and I really never fought.  No really.  We had never had an argument.  Bruce came from a home in which his parents did not fight in front of the children and he thought that if two people were going to have arguments it meant that they should just not be together.  For me… arguments are almost fun.  They are a way to communicate.  They are necessary so that each can understand the other’s perspective… and sometimes our individual perspectives are SO far apart it’s amazing that we ever get along.  During the time since we left Texas, we have slowly evolved in our ability to express disagreement.  Once Bruce realized that it really wasn’t the end of the world to disagree… things began to change and we have actually now had a couple of arguments…. Although they have been nothing like the ones I used to have with my Ex in which objects always flew!  Mostly Bruce and I kind of get wound up and it’s usually the fact that the same word(s) can have vastly different meanings for each of us.  But more often than not, our little tiffs end with both of us laughing at how absurd we’re being, following up later with a debriefing in which we each explain our perspective sprinkled with an apology if appropriate. As for being together 24/7?  We are really best when we’re together so it suits us just fine.

                                                                                  Click HERE to read the other participant's answers...

     
                                 And for obvious reasons... all of THESE are anonymous.  

This is another that I didn't submit answers for... no real reason other than I had no good answer.  Click HERE to read more.

Most Embarrassing Moment stories click HERE . 

Do you struggle with feeling isolated? How do you deal with that? I do feel isolated living on the boat.  If it weren’t for Facebook, sometimes I think I would have no “friends” at all.  All of my life I have had one friend at a time.  My last friend, Mimi, committed suicide.  I have never gotten over it.  I still think about her all of the time and really if I’m being honest with myself… I’m forever in search of a love like what I had with her.  I don’t want a replacement… there could never be another like her.  What I would like is to find someone who gets me like she did.  Someone with whom I could be myself and not have to feel apologetic about it.  She saw all of my negatives as strengths and I really miss that.  You hear so much about the Cruising community being so friendly and welcoming, but I haven’t really found that to be true, at least not to the extent that I expected.  People are all so very different, and even with such a common bond as having given up your life and taken a leap out into the unknown such as we have… You’re still either going to fit in or you’re not.  It seems that mostly we don’t.  Bruce doesn’t care… he could go the rest of his life talking to only me and never look back.  Friendships take a lot of effort that he mostly isn’t willing to give.  But I would like to have one or two good friends that I can count on and share the deeper thoughts that I don’t send out into the blogosphere.  Inside me there is a huge empty hole where Mimi used to be and I long for someone who fits in there.  Maybe my situation isn’t pertinent to everyone else’s, but I guess to sum it up, I don’t think your ability to find friends is going to change just because you’ve gone cruising. 

                                                     Click HERE to read the other participant's answers...

      

What do you wish people knew about you/your boat/your life? About me?  I’m not really a Know-it-all who won’t let you get a word into the conversation.  Sometimes I just can’t help bubbling over with helpful information that I just want to share!  About our boat?  We love our Catalina Morgan 45!  She’s roomy and we love the layout.  We love that she’s heavy enough to make us feel secure and comfortable in any sea state we’ve encountered so far.  Our life?  People said we would never make it.  People said we would come back within three months.  People said we would never get as far as the Bahamas.  Don’t tell me I can’t do something!!!  We may be slow… we may not always take the path well traveled.  But we are out here living day to day with no real goal or agenda.  We have made it past the “trip” stage.  We are into the “just life” stage.  No longer are we on our way to somewhere… we’re just here.  This is what we do.  We truly have no idea what our future holds.  We aren’t ready to stop cruising but we’re keeping our eyes open for possible places to settle when we are done. 

                                                       Click HERE to read the other participant's answers...

And my closing words… you wanted “real”: 

Lastly, before we left to go cruising I was excited to see how it would change me.  Maybe I expected some grand transformation of myself into someone else and I was waiting to welcome her into my life.  What I have found is that you are who you are. 

I’m not saying that Cruising will have no effect on you, because it will.  But that effect is more subtle… at least it has been for me.  I see it as more of a magnification.  Attributes that you already possess are brought out into the light… strengthened, made more visible.  Sometimes that’s a good thing and sometimes it’s not so good. 

You have time to really look inside yourself and see things that used to be covered up by the roles you once played… boss, employee, mother, sister, daughter.  Now those roles are in the background and you’re here with just yourself (and your partner). 

If you’re lazy… if you need a deadline to motivate you to get things done… you’re probably going to spend long days laying in the cockpit reading a book and doing nothing much at all… And that’s OK, sometimes.

If you’re “driven” or “compelled” to do something all the time… You may struggle with finding a subject on which to bestow all of this energy.  But you will find something!  It might be navigating, language, weather watching, or some sort of craft….  And while that energy may lessen with fewer outlets to be found within such a confined space… it will continue to flow somewhere with more focus… so harness it. 

The most surprising thing I have found is that I have softened.  Back in my old life I was the Boss at work and everyone hated me.  I’m not making this up, but people have actually trembled when called into my office for a discussion.  ME!  People trembled because of ME!!!  While I never really saw myself as being “hard”… evidently others did.  My employees, my children, my ex-husband… 

But I had to be hard to get it all done.  In order to shoulder all of the responsibilities and do all of the jobs I had to do, my shell had to be thick so that I wouldn’t spend precious time worrying about things or FEELING things.  I had no time for feelings either in myself or in others. 

But now that all of those external forces are gone, my mind is more quiet.  I have begun to feel things.  Strongly.  I have time to worry about my daughters… although they are both responsible, capable women with husbands to care for them… I still worry.  I hurt for them sometimes for no reason it seems and I don’t like it!  I want to go back to the heartless me who doesn’t feel this shit!  No mercy!

I worry that my time with Bruce is short.  I see subtle changes in him as he ages and I am frantic to hold back time.  I’m not ready for this to end… any of it!!!  I’m not ready for this chapter of my life to be over and I can’t even let myself think of the unthinkable.

I guess everything ends.  Some day I will look back on this time and be so thankful that we did it.  We are among the lucky few who actually got to Sail-Off-Into-The-Sunset.  The future is uncertain.  Go Cruising.  NOW!