This Is a Test

A lot of times I think blogs are like masturbation: super-fun for the person doing it but awkward for other people to view. So why am I here, staring down my ancient laptop, trying to pick the rust from my long-neglected writing skills? (My fellow sailors know rust-busting is a violent process that involves a sharp hammer.) Because I will be on the Kwai sailing around the South Pacific delivering cargo to tiny islands where my phone will not work. (Everybody is strongly encouraged to leave comments!)

A common motto among tall ship sailors is "Semper Gumby", meaning Always Flexible. Keep this in mind when you read the following schedule.
1. Next week in Hawaii, loading cargo
2. Then a five to six week trip to Kiribati* and back
3. Then another month on Hawaii, reloading
4. And then two months (round trip) delivering cargo to the Cook Islands and maybe American Samoa.

*It's a country, but I'd never heard of it either. As an American, geography is generally a problem.

And speaking of problems with being an American, on Tuesday I discovered that nobody in the registrar's office has actually read the election code. I called them up to ask for help with my absentee ballot (because it has no hope of reaching me in the middle of the pacific ocean- or in Kiribati.) They told me they would mail the absentee ballots on October 6, and all I could do was hope mine reached me. Luckily, the nice people at www.overseasvotefoundation.org HAVE read the election code, are aware of the options availble to people who are not simply going to be spending a long weekend in Vegas, and will even provide the forms. This is good, because it means I get to vote. (For OBAMA!)

Where am I? Third floor, my mom's townhouse, South Pasadena, CA