So many subtle reminders...

[Cactus Cowboy]

Sometimes I wonder why I'm living in Arizona, but the answer is simple: I can afford a home here. Paid cash for two homes in the past 4 years, owning each home free & clear, something I could NOT do in Kalifornia. I didn't really wanna flip my first home in the tall pines of Show Low, but on the other hand, I made $35K on the flip, and I had two good years in the White Mountains, a regular paradise on earth. I even went sailing up there on the lakes, a novel experience for this lifelong coastal sailor. Wind was gusting up to 30 knots on one voyage, which made things... er... interesting.

Now, if I hadn't lost a good gubmint job last year (for all the wrong reasons), I would've ALREADY taken two weeklong paid sailing vacations in San Diego (maybe even sailing to Catalina), and a third shorter sailing vacay on the lakes here in Arizona. So my plan has been to get back on that program, scoring another gubmint job and racking up the PTO... however, that job loss coincided with this whole Covid scam, so I haven't had much success finding a good position in recent months, but now I'm in the prime slot for an interview with another gubmint agency, and if I get the job I can start looking forward to sailing again.

In the meantime, I keep my friggin' sanity by focusing on the positive aspects of life here in the high desert, and the nautical decor in my home serves to remind me of decades of hardcore small craft sailing. Everywhere I look in my home, I see subtle reminders of the nautical world... and these bring back so many good memories of coastal cruising and island voyages. I wonder how many site members here have nautical decor in their homes? I know Signal Charlie does, lol, I've seen the photos to prove it. This morning, as I enjoyed my usual cuppa hot herbal tea, I noticed some cool tile coasters that have been in my family for half a century, along with other cool nautical decor distributed around my home.

Here's a little tour of the premises, with some shots of cool stuff you won't find on the top shelf at Walmart, lol. I really dig all the tile work from Europe back in the '60s & '70s, and those old travel posters are also heller cool. Believe it or not, travel agencies & airlines used to give those posters to passengers for free, something unheard of nowadays, lol. Then there's the nautical chart on the wall in my dining room, just to remind me of all the good times had while sailing in San Diego, on the bay and offshore... my friend Roland recently visited and pinged upon that chart, as we both used to live in Coronado. I wouldn't wanna live there now, it's just too crowded... after living in the boondocks for years, I can't go back to the Big City.

ANYWAY, HERE'S SOME COOL NAUTICAL DECOR I WANT TO SHARE WITH SITE MEMBERS... I ALSO HAVE WESTERN DECOR, BUT THAT DOESN'T HAVE MUCH TO DO WITH SAILING, LOL.

HMM, PERHAPS I SHOULD BREAK THESE PHOTOS INTO SETS, SO I DON'T EXCEED ANY POSTING LIMITS... BACK IN A MOMENT WITH MORE SHOTS, AYE?

 

[Cactus Cowboy]

Round #2 of nautical decor:

That 3-D model of the old Pt. Loma lighthouse actually lights up, along with that Himalayan salt lamp, lol. The framed Cup poster will be worth a million dollars in a hundred years, since NOBODY else kept a poster signed by the biggest losers in the regatta... first to get knocked out of competition, lol.

 

[Cactus Cowboy]

Round #3 of nautical decor:

That ship model has seen better days, lol... I picked that up in a truck stop in the Northeast, go figure. I've had it for about 25 years. The seahorse is awesome, I put that old green vase next to it because the vase kinda looks like seaweed, lol.

 

[Cactus Cowboy]

Round #4 of nautical decor:

That old flag poster always gets favorable comments from guests, that thing has been in our family for decades. I include it here because the U.S. flag also serves as an ensign aboard ship. Guess I'll throw in a few odd shots to round out the set, these aren't nautical but they're still pretty cool, lol.

I bought that stained glass in Tijuana decades ago, it was a gift to me beloved & dear departed mum. I think I paid $35 for it, lol... but me mum was a green thumb gardener, so she always liked that stained glass piece. Well, guess I'll sign off now, I just wanted y'all to know how an old school hand & lifelong sailor off the beach is living here in the high desert, lol. Meh, it's my home, and I'll decorate it any way I see fit, lol. CHEERS!!!

P.S. That's a close-up of Poseidon, God of the Sea... he always goes next to the chart of San Diego Bay, lol.

 

[Cactus Cowboy]

Alright, that job interview went well, tomorrow I walk through the yard with the supervisor... and if that goes well, I take the drug screen and I'm back to work at last! This is a good gubmint job with all the benefits too, same benefits I had with the last gubmint job (which I lost for all the wrong reasons, hollering at some inmate who kept lighting up near fuel, a major OSHA violation). Oh, well, live and learn... this time, if there are any inmates involved, I'll frag the smoker when nobody is looking, lol. 'KA-BOOOOM!!!' And if anybody asks questions, I'll reply, "WTF, HE WAS SMOKING NEAR FUEL, WHADDYA EXPECT?!?"

I'm not gonna count my chickens before they hatch, but if I get this job I'll be back on track to take weeklong sailing vacations in San Diego... the only drawback is that now I'll have to commute to work, about 32 miles each way. I dislike commuting for the obvious reasons: fuel costs cut into one's paycheck, there's wear & tear on the daily driver, time is spent each way, etc. I suppose I can buy another motorbike to cut costs, but there's no way I can shorten the time spent, since speed cops love to work that stretch of AZ highway. Oh, well, at least it's not on I-10, so the traffic is relatively light... four-lane road too, which helps.

Another option would be to eventually relocate closer to the job, but that might be more trouble than it's worth... might be better to simply wrap my head around the concept of daily commuting. I hated commuting on the coast, but this wouldn't be anywhere near as bad, the road being wide open and all. However, I'm gonna miss my previous 5-minute drive to work, that's for sure. But a good gubmint job will make up for it in other ways: paid holidays, PTO, paid sick leave, and especially that excellent retirement plan they have. I couldn't care less about the medical, a good retirement plan is more important to me.

That's where I'm remiss, you see... I own my home free & clear, and that's a good thing, but whatever I had going in the past for retirement was burned up in survival, that's just the way it is. But this AZ retirement plan is excellent, a 100% dollar-for-dollar match on the 401k, and I'll be dumping the max amount allowed into the fund. The only better plan is the one offered to law enforcement personnel and other first responders... but this plan would serve my purpose and keep me right here in AZ where I want to be, the coast only 6 or 7 hours away when vacations rolled around.

Going back to that commuting, these folks who interviewed me told me that some employees commute clear from Tucson & Elfrida... which has to be over an hour each way in either case. Jeez, that's a lot of time spent commuting over the course of a year. When I was still on the coast, I heard about some folks who commuted from San Diego to L.A. every day, which must have been a nightmare. I guess their jobs paid well enough, but I probably would've flown or taken the train, lol. Less headache that way... no road rage, no bad drivers, none of that bull$h!t. Meh, not my problem here in the boondocks, life is more laid-back here. Cheers!!!