Starting to unwind my brain's compulsive tasklist. Dreamt of the hemispheres of my brain fighting over the middle ground. (result of reading about the tactics of Alexander the Great and hearing about a person rebuilding their neural structures after a brain injury.)
Still wake up at night with thoughts of orders to be done, and the Adrenaline Monster wants me to get up and go to work- but it's beginning to loosen up. Key West, like Ft Lauderdale is covered in plywood and construction crews. It's 72 degrees here, all I know about home is that it's probably colder, and that UK better get it's act together before U of L takes them apart later in the week.
My stepmom got called out for her Kentucky accent by a gentleman down here selling Jewelry, who I later realized was Panama Peat- who is from Louisville and winters down here. He's a goldsmith- we've done signs and such for him. If you think that is one degree of separation, there's another story here that's even wierder. Let's just say when the girl mentioned Detroit, it took about 3 minutes to realize that I knew her best friend, had travelled with her, helped her move from Louisville to Detroit, etc. I called Maggie up on her best friend's phone and confused the hell out of her. I had even heard- thirdhand- the story from Maggie of the girl on the boat. Surreal. The connection that put us on the boat? Folks in the horse business.
The thing that is constant here is the knowledge of the decadence of the whole 'cruise' concept. This is the reward for those who come out on the top end of capitalism. I also see how it trickles, etc- it's a staff from all over the world, and some of the places the ships stop blossom like they are being watered regularly by the invisible hand. But still... it bugs me. I believe in some sort of social justice. I see why societies must have motivation for individuals to achieve- it's clear authoritarian socialism doesn't encourage anything but mediocrity. I thnk the whole greatness of American society is directly dependant on the idea that anyone has a shot at the top. If you plan well, work hard enough, and bust ass, you should be able to build a better life for yourself and your children. I know that's somewhat of a pipe dream, but so was the Bill of Rights at the founding. I have just this year maybe started to break even on the shop. But I have not forgotten the original intention.
Back when we were mostly a clothing/vending/promotion crew called Untranslatable Concept, there was indeed a concept. The idea was that nobody got screwed anywhere in the process of doing business. From the people who made the shirt, to the people who printed it, to the designer, to the end person who bought it- nobody woke up after their part in the deal and felt like they were ripped off. The quality of the end result was solid. The people printing the shirt got paid well. The designer got paid well. Etc. It's my way of dealing with Capitalist Guilt. And my uncomfortableness with raw decadence is more of the same.
Tonight we sail for Cozumel. Cozumel got jacked so hard by the last hurricane that it took the beach completely from one side of the island and made the other side perfect.
