The Donkey, the carrot, and the stick.

I think everyone knows the analogy of the carrot and the stick. It seems like I’ve been chasing carrots myself for a long time now and they’ve always been tied to a stick that was wielded by someone other than myself. Something happened when I turned down the offer of promotion at work. It really set in that I’ve got my own stick now and it’s called a mast. It is that thing the sails attach to allowing my boat to harness the wind. I just gave myself a big carrot too and now I am grinning like a little kid.

For those that have been reading long enough you’ll remember that I got ordained online several months back. Well, it wasn’t just a joke as I am scheduled to marry, performing the ceremony as a reverand, two really good friends on mine in late March 2009 in Louisiana. With a little luck I should be in Panama by then and I just booked a flight from Panama City, Panama to Springfield, Missouri USA, round trip mind you. I don’t want to tempt fate by making my plans too firm, but I think it is a good sign of my mindset and determination to start this voyage in November.

The blogs have been slow lately as I was called out to Philadelphia for a company meeting. People keep asking me if I’ve totally detached yet, but I haven’t really even come close. It’s my last quarter to close some business that I’ve been working on for over a year. Plus, if I don’t get the deals closed now I’ll never get paid for the effort to date. It would be nice to have a little money to walk away with.

After my meeting in Philly wrapped up on Thursday I hopped a train down to Washington, D.C., the home of SOS Children’s Villages USA. I got a chance to sit down with Heather Paul - CEO, Mark Neidig - Chief Development Officer, and Lisa Vogt the Director of Internet Marketing. It was a great chance to meet their team in person and establish the relationship I hope will carry us around the world. I’ve got high hopes for what we will be able to accomplish for their cause.

No real boat progress to report as I barely had 36 hours at home this weekend before I have to head back to the west coast for work. Go sailing.

LW