I'd have to say that my stay in Naples has been a resounding success. Time is such a slippery thing as I had made the decision about a year ago or more to curtail my trip and head to Naples. So with Naples set upon the horizon of my mind, I left Grenada in my wake in November of 09. Perception of time's speed moves in lock step with the fullness of ones life. I guess I live a full life.
I could hardly believe when I arrived that I had actually make it back so rapidly, given the amount of time it had taken me to get to Grenada. You can read about my trip from Marathon in the Keys to Naples undertaken last December by clicking here.
I try to live strategic like. With intent. A plan. This requires me to cast into the future and make judgments, and then break things down into practical steps. Your basic goal planning. The rub is to apply some kind of discipline. It's easy to get all pumped up after watching a Tony Robbins infomercial at 3am. Surely another matter to sustain the motivation the next morning when you realize you should have been sleeping instead of watching Tony and his big Mellon. But the bottom line for me is I have found that when work-lists are created and goals are documented in writing, some how they get done. Amazing. When I first started this business of goals/work-list, I learned a trick to keep me on track. My boss made me jot down as my first work-list item of the day to simply read the work-list and review the longer range goals. And then, most importantly, scratch off those items on the list. Pow! Straight away I already had tackled two things off my work-list for the day. This small piece of mental gymnastics worked for me. Now it's habit. My larger point is, I believe my success here in Naples can be tracked back to my planning I did well over a year ago. Staying on course in life is not an instant gratification game. But once you realize that the "luck" your experiencing is grounded in previous thought, it's very gratifying. FYI. Most of my planning is now done using Mind Maps.
One goal I had set for myself in Naples did not go so well. And that is boat maintenance. The systems on the boat are fine. But the cosmetics are bringing me down. I never got much traction in that area.
But my goal of employment went great. You can read about how I stumbled into my job at Ridgway's Bar and Grill by clicking here. The military life, of which I was a part for 20 years is a lifestyle. So venturing outside of that world was very interesting. I am very grateful for being hired by Tony Ridgway. He took a chance as I had zero experience in the restaurant biz, and being trained as an Expiditor was a lift in a restaurant as busy as the one I was in. I met all kinds of great people who work in the restaurant industry. Over all, in my humble opinion, it is not an industry I could recommend long-term. Most people working out-front are stressed and dumped on every night no matter what. This is the nature of the business. Some customers never can be pleased.
The kitchen, where I worked was a whole other world. A world full of illegal immigrants. As far as I can tell, this fact is standard in most kitchens in Florida restaurants. Leaving aside the politics of this divisive issue, I have to say the cooks, bus people and such were all wonderful, good spirited people who were very hard workers and quick to smile. I liked them all. Working in an environment where I am about the only one who speaks English, at times was infuriating. Many many mistakes are made due to the language barrier and this comes right out of the owners pocket. Not my problem to solve. I will say that watching a 55 year old Mexican grandfather washing dishes night after night is upsetting. Over all it was a great experience for me. I not only peeked into a side of our society, but really existed within that world for 4 months. I achieved my goal of earning some money to offset the huge cost of trucking Christa to California. Where's my work-list? Check.
It was great to not have to worry about weather Christa's anchor was going to drag and of course being dockside, no worries about low batteries. I had time to get into a groove. I consistently practiced yoga, rode my bike and ran. I went to the dentist, had a chipped tooth fixed by a guy with freakishly white teeth. Had a through physical done by Dr. Pedro Arrocho, who looks like he hails from Sweden. I acquired the Green Hornet, my green Honda Accord and again was ambulatory so to speak. I spent an obscene amount of money at Whole Foods. Damn! Yes, I again afirm my successful time in Naples.
I think maybe the best part of staying in Naples has everything to do with Mike & Amy. Being with them and their/our larger group of friends really means everything in the end. That stiff support structure. The same structure I felt when waking in the morning in Honeymoon Bay and right next door was Wandering Dolphin. I felt the same when cruising with the Jansen family and SV Adamo. So while I am very excited to be heading to San Francisco to open a new chapter, it is with some sadness that I leave Florida where my parents, grandfather, Janina and more extended family reside. Thus far in nearly 43 years of life, it appears to be a theme. But I guess that is how I roll. That dogs painted face captures the mood.
Capt Chris
