"Trading in my flipflops for a pair of Jimmy Chooooooo's"
April 3, 2008
Pago Pago, American Samoa
The Amberchan's on s/v Encanto are on our way to becoming CLOD(Cruisers Living on Dirt). After having checked out, for a seven year sabbatical, we can't complain about reentering, during a recession, with a secure job. Today, our First Mate accepted a job at Stanford University. She starts work on April 28. Plans are underway to fly back to California and begin life as CLOD, refreshed and renewed.
Judy will be a Senior Community Planner at Stanford University in the Land & Building, Real Estate Organization. The political tenor has changed since she left in 2001, to her great relief, so she knows, she'll feel much better about reentry and her ability to contribute to the University's mission. She will be working on some old stuff and some new stuff, some interesting projects, like a Sustainability Study, new Housing Plans, and Community Affairs & Land Use Entitlement endeavors. Never a dull moment at Stanford.
Some may wonder, will she be "ok" with taking a position ranked 'staff' rather than 'management'? As she said in both interviews (yes, even she had to go through two hoops--not a slam dunk deal); "I am in a different place in my life now. I no longer need to take on the responsibilities of a managerial position; "I've been there done that. Good at it, but I have other priorities than my career to consider." She will always be a 'manager', a dependable strength that will likely be tapped, it always is where ever she goes. Stanford respects that about her and has offered her a financial and benefits package that is almost exactly where she was in 2001. She really lost little ground having left when she was 50 and reentering...well, wiser and like aged cheese, better....
No doubt, she will miss the cruising life for it has taught her much:
--the art of conversation which means it's important to take time to foster and sustain relationships,
--the management a slower pace of life - to inhale the scent of frangipani or savor a freshly made pulasami,AND
--the joys of doing nothing (well, the verdict is still out on whether she could ever, just do NOTHING!).
She'll work hard to give Stanford what they need, but also she knows now, that she'll work even harder to balance life and give herself, what she needs to be content, joyful and generous. And she's looking forward to propping her feet up and watching Oprah with her Mom and storytelling with her Dad. Going home to be with Pao Pao and Gung Gung remains her/our motivation to take a time-out of our journey to be with them at the end of their journey.
As for the rest of the family, Gaby and Sami are enrolled in Menlo-Atherton High School for the autumn 2008. They are pleased to be going home to good friends, mahjoong games with their cousins and grandparents, and easy access to the Internet. Soon, we will be in the Land of Plenty. They are looking forward to things like ice cubes, fog, and an abundance of fresh berries and melons.
We plan on renting an apartment in Menlo Park where the girls can walk to school and Judy can take public transportation to work. We will see if we can manage with owning only one car and walking or biking to most places. We hope to hold on to as many of our cruising habits as we can manage, especially, our Sundays, dedicated to the family and renewal. We like the old fashion way of Sundays being "A Day of Rest".
John is pursuing lots of options for Encanto and future employment. He is considering rebuilding the stern & cockpit in American Samoa at the Shipyard. And he is considering sailing the boat single-handed for the 50 days, passage straight from Pago Pago, American Samoa to San Francisco, California. The best weather window to cross the Pacific Ocean is to depart in the summer, but we'll know more in a few weeks. And with Judy securely in a job, he will be able to pursue many independent employment opportunities.
We are celebrating on Encanto. We are grateful for the opportunities that continue to bring us a very rich and rewarding life. As Annie Dillard once wrote, "How we spend our days, of course, is how we spend our lives." We might modify her quote to, "How we treat others, of course, is how well we are treated by others." And for the Encantoids, we have been treated well by many, in a life that we never dreamed could be so good.
For us, everyday we are grateful for living blessed and charmed lives among incredibly wonderful people in amazing places. It must be because of the name of our boat, 'Encanto', which means in Portuguese, "Enchanted" or "Enchanted to meet you."
...onward to our next adventure...
Time to buy those new Jimmy shoes.....Oops, Jimmy Choooooo's.