The optimist in all of us....

Getting Down to Business in your Head.....

"Oh my God!!! I'm flying...."

Well, it was hot, and we are still not rocking...in the water that is.  Another weekend passes with more boat work- but we are getting closer (1 month to launch....maybe- Optimistic Grin).  This past weekend, I concentrated my efforts on "the Head" (aka boat bathroom).  One of the things we discovered early on was that the head floor was not connected to the, sole floor (chin bones connected to the neck bone ..opps... sorry, I digress) which means that any water that was in the head (it has a shower) was running into the core of the fiberglass flooring both inside and outside of the head area.  In layman terms, what that means is a soggy floor with structural integrity issues.  We cut out the offending floor areas, and have been trying to finish fixing it for...well almost 2 years now.  Bigger issues got in the way, it was handy to have open so we could plug up the holes in the bilge (don't ask) and it wasn't a "have to fix" item at the moment.  Tom did a fantastic job replacing the floor, and created a whole new shower pan area using fiberglassing products from West System (http://www.westsystem.com/ss/) so it will drain appropriately.  Then it's my turn to take over and start painting.  It's a tedious process.  I had to sand and primer paint, then sand that primer off because it didn't lay right (my fault- not the product), then primer paint again.  This weekend I start the actual gloss coat of Perfection by Interlux (http://www.yachtpaint.com/usa/diy/ask-the-experts/video-perfection.aspx) which I highly recommend for any marine application.  3 coats of paint and then we can re-install the drain, the toilet and the sink!  Woo Hoo.  Progress baby!  Photo's and detailed "how to" instructions to follow in a upcoming DIY segment.

So, as you can imagine, while I'm spending hours sanding and re-sanding the head, I had a lot of time to get into my own "head".  I usually think a lot of  happy thoughts while working on the boat because it's better than entertaining the murderous ones that sometimes creep in during boat projects that never end.  I am an optimist by nature.  The Ying to Tom's Yang so to speak in critical moments.  But, every optimist can use a bit of help sometimes.  I recently read a great book by Gretchen Rubin called "The Happiness Project". (http://www.happiness-project.com/) It was a documentary of sorts about a 12 month project she undertook to see if it was possible to escalate your own level of happiness in an otherwise comfortable world.  It's interesting reading with some funny outcomes and good food for thought. Some of the tips she gives are wonderful and I've put a few into action in my own life.  Guess what?  They do make you happier- BONUS???  Give it a look- you might be surprised!   Life lesson:  Even when things seems "in the toilet:, anyone can find happiness if they just know where to look.  So, the next time you are doing doing something "shitty", get into your own head and find your happy place.  You'll be surprised what's in there.