Living on a boat sure has saved me a ton of cash when it comes to monthly living expenses, but I’m still in need of the green stuff for other luxeries, like food, gasoline in my tank, and other things. Continue reading
Job Seeking
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What’s the Deal with Coffee Mugs?
Aside
Sometimes I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. Even though I live in a small space and only have so much room to dedicate to all things coffee, I can’t seem to lose the mugs. Why? When I lived in my apartment I hoarded them, like some caffeine-addled dragon in her lair. Something about coffee mugs, the larger ones (not those pansy little ones) just have me hooked. I agonized about parting with many of them when I moved aboard my boat. I had to give them to my mother, so I knew they’d go to a safe home. Seriously. I’m such a freak.
Read the rest on True Northe.
New Settees!
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The Value of Talent & Skill
Just this past summer I was requested to be an editor for a non-profit client’s new high school curriculum. Since I supported the organization’s work, and needed the money, I said I’d take a stab at a couple of pages to see a.) how long it would take for me to edit, and b.) if the organization was pleased with my work.
So You’re Thinking of Living Aboard a Boat
Congratulations! You’re researching your next adventure, and I applaud you. Living aboard a boat is incredible, and I’m sure you’re just peeing your pants with excitement. When I was in your stage, I would lose sleep thinking about my boat, wondering what she was like, and what adventures me and her would embark upon together.
Cob Houses: Minimalist Living in Style
Moving onto a boat was the result of: wanting to downsize, needing a smaller monthly overhead, desiring to live some place cool. Prior to deciding to live on a boat, I had the strongest urge to build a cob house. They are artful, affordable, small, and just…well, adorable. Yahoo! just posted an article about smaller homes, and it reminded me of my love of cob houses.
Darkness Takes Over
When I moved up from sunny California, I experienced something different, which I relive every year. I moved up here in February when the skies were clear, the air crisp. Even though it snowed in April, while I was stringing a fence for Dante, the real change didn’t happen until summer.
On Behalf of “Literally”
You either are a “literally” abuser or know of one. If you’re anything like me, hearing the word “literally” used incorrectly causes a little piece of your soul to whither and die. Of course I do not mean that literally, I mean that figuratively. An abuser would have said: “Every time a person uses that word, a piece of my soul literally withers and dies.” Which is terribly, horribly wrong.
Land-Locked Lessons
Last week I housesat for my parents as they traveled to California to, among other things, spend a day at Disneyland. I haven’t been to Disneyland in nearly ten years, so I’m a little bitter that they got to go and I remained behind to care for their house/zoo. But it wasn’t all bad, and I admit that there were aspects of living on land which I enjoyed.
Typography Images
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I played around in Illustrator and Photoshop with typography. Below are the results!
What Jaden Baker is About
I’m often asked about the plot of my novel, which isn’t a big surprise, yet I’ve never really taken time to explain it in my own words. Jaden Baker is a psychological thriller, and if you’re wondering what makes a book a psych-thriller rather than a mystery or action thriller, I pulled a definition from Wikipedia (at the risk of being trite, for citing a definition in the opening of a post):
Where I Live
Since I started this blog, I’ve gotten a few emails from folks asking where I live/moor. Before living on a boat, I noticed that people found my website by searching “Courtney Kirchoff address,” which I admit, freaked me out just a bit. Though I believe most people are good and decent, I’m not naive, and know some people in this world are not to be trusted. Anyone and everyone uses the web, both good and not so good. I deliberately avoid talking about my current location for my own safety. Most people asking for my location are doing so for innocent reasons: just wanting to connect with another liveaboard, become friends, whatever. But it’s always the weirdos who ruin it for everyone else. While I’d love to say “I live here, come and meet for coffee and tales of windy adventures,” I will always refrain. So if you’ve emailed me asking where I live, please don’t take it personally if I never respond to your inquiry. I’m being safe. Avid kick boxer and believer in the second amendment though I may be, it’s still unwise for anyone on the web to proclaim their current location. I shake my head at people who always update their Twitter or Facebook feeds with things like “Visiting family in wherever,” or “I miss my husband so much, can’t wait for him to come home,” etc. Such trusting individuals have made it that much easier to be robbed, stalked, or something far worse.
To my family and friends who read this blog: I absolutely love getting comments from you, but please keep my whereabouts private.
Jaden Baker 2.0 on its way
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I finally finished implementing edits into the book, and have just uploaded the newest versions for Nook and Kindle. The iBookstore version will be available soon, and I’ll give the new printed version to Ingram shortly!
Blake Island Adventure
Though we’re approaching winter here in the Pacific Northwest, I felt it was prudent to go on an overnight sailing adventure to somewhere. What’s the point of living on a sailboat, I said, if one doesn’t sail it anywhere to stay the night? I couldn’t have had this spurring thought in early September, when the sun shone warmly–no, no, I had to get the cruising bug well after the cold temperatures had caught hold. I have a propensity to make life a little harder for myself. Oh well.
Time to get ready!
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So I just posted a new blog post over at True Northe, called “How Websites Work: A Housing Analogy.” The analogy has helped my clients understand how the pieces of the web work together. Now that I’ve done something helpful and productive, it’s time to get ready to sail away! I must strap everything down, get some diesel, check charts, and head out for a few days. I’ve never had an overnight sail, so this should be interesting.