Life Raft
A long time ago, about twenty years, I worked at a computer company. When I got hired, everyone would say "welcome aboard!".
Ever since then, I've always considered working at companies like being on board a ship. Depending on the size of the company, it could be a small power boat, or a ship the size of an aircraft carrier.
Sometimes the company would get into financial trouble, like a ship taking on water and listing, sometimes even sinking. During those times, the company would have to 'downsize' or lay people off. This would be akin to tossing people overboard. I remember many times watching my friends get tossed overboard and flail about in the water. Then I'd feel bad for them, sometimes despondent if they were good friends, and then have what they call 'survivors guilt' ....and things are never quite the same on board, but I also felt relieved that at least I still had a job.
When it became my turn to be shoved overboard, at first I flailed about in the water, then swam to a piece of flotsam and clung to it. (we're talking metaphorically here, of course)...
that 'flotsam' can be described as a temporary job from an ex-boss of mine who was a tech writer, and she needed illustrations, that's what I did, and still do in various mediums.
This old boss was working as a freelancer, so in effect, she had built her own boat...and soon after, I had built mine, though more like a raft.
This was back in the 80's...I drifted from ship to ship, sending up flares all the time, sometimes the ships would signal back. A red flare would mean 'no jobs here' and a green one would be 'yes, we have work, pull along side!'
After awhile, I was invited aboard another ship full time, so then I could get out of my dinky raft. I was a good shipmate, though sometimes it felt like the HMS Bounty, with a genuine Captain Bligh at the helm. Eventually I was thrown overboard again, but this time there was no need to assemble a raft, there was a ship nearby with old crewmates aboard who signaled me to swim over and climb aboard! So I did, and that was the best ship I had ever been on, with a happy crew.
But as time goes on, ships may lose course, and crews change. A few crewmates decided to set off on their own and build their own boat. About a year later they had upgraded their boat to the size of a 20-foot power boat, and were ready for new crewmates. They asked me if I'd like to hop on their boat. And, given the recent condition and course of the good ship I was on, I decided to jump.
So there we were, a jolly crew of four....then other old crewmates began to jump on board, soon we were 8, then 12, then up to 15...we upgraded to the size of a 30-foot yacht, and sailed smoothly with lots of plans and ambition.
Until one day when waters got rough, supply ships sunk, and we were running out of fuel and taking on water....so, once again I was overboard. But this time, I had enough provisions to quickly assemble my own life raft, which I would compare to an inflatable dinghy with a vinyl cover to keep out the elements. This was four years ago, and since then I have paddled, motored, and drifted from ship to ship, sending out flares every day. Most of the return flares have been red. But once in awhile I'd get green ones, "yes, tie up for a few weeks, but make sure your raft is always ready." Then I would be re-provisioned for awhile. All this time I wanted to climb aboard another ship, but they would always be far on the horizon, and their flares were always red. At one point, I joined a crew assembling their own ship, only to find that it was essentially a slave ship.
When you're on a small raft, you're more vulnerable to sharks. The sharks being mortgage payments, credit card bills, utility bills, etc....which can only be placated by throwing them your provisions (money).......sometimes my raft would start to fill with water and the sharks would come to the surface and try to bite, so I would send up a different kind of flare that would procure me more provisions, but it let some air out of my raft, these would come from refinancing my house.
There comes a time when you realize that this life on a raft can't go on with continued red flares, or flares that were green but turned red, and when your raft is filling with water rapidly and the sharks are once again circling. So I had one special flare left, one that I never thought I could use, or have to use....a flare that sinks my raft, but lifts me into the air with a parachute, like an ejector seat.
So two weeks ago I launched that flare, I'm selling the house.....and once I'm in the air, who knows where I'll land.
Ever since then, I've always considered working at companies like being on board a ship. Depending on the size of the company, it could be a small power boat, or a ship the size of an aircraft carrier.
Sometimes the company would get into financial trouble, like a ship taking on water and listing, sometimes even sinking. During those times, the company would have to 'downsize' or lay people off. This would be akin to tossing people overboard. I remember many times watching my friends get tossed overboard and flail about in the water. Then I'd feel bad for them, sometimes despondent if they were good friends, and then have what they call 'survivors guilt' ....and things are never quite the same on board, but I also felt relieved that at least I still had a job.
When it became my turn to be shoved overboard, at first I flailed about in the water, then swam to a piece of flotsam and clung to it. (we're talking metaphorically here, of course)...
that 'flotsam' can be described as a temporary job from an ex-boss of mine who was a tech writer, and she needed illustrations, that's what I did, and still do in various mediums.
This old boss was working as a freelancer, so in effect, she had built her own boat...and soon after, I had built mine, though more like a raft.
This was back in the 80's...I drifted from ship to ship, sending up flares all the time, sometimes the ships would signal back. A red flare would mean 'no jobs here' and a green one would be 'yes, we have work, pull along side!'
After awhile, I was invited aboard another ship full time, so then I could get out of my dinky raft. I was a good shipmate, though sometimes it felt like the HMS Bounty, with a genuine Captain Bligh at the helm. Eventually I was thrown overboard again, but this time there was no need to assemble a raft, there was a ship nearby with old crewmates aboard who signaled me to swim over and climb aboard! So I did, and that was the best ship I had ever been on, with a happy crew.
But as time goes on, ships may lose course, and crews change. A few crewmates decided to set off on their own and build their own boat. About a year later they had upgraded their boat to the size of a 20-foot power boat, and were ready for new crewmates. They asked me if I'd like to hop on their boat. And, given the recent condition and course of the good ship I was on, I decided to jump.
So there we were, a jolly crew of four....then other old crewmates began to jump on board, soon we were 8, then 12, then up to 15...we upgraded to the size of a 30-foot yacht, and sailed smoothly with lots of plans and ambition.
Until one day when waters got rough, supply ships sunk, and we were running out of fuel and taking on water....so, once again I was overboard. But this time, I had enough provisions to quickly assemble my own life raft, which I would compare to an inflatable dinghy with a vinyl cover to keep out the elements. This was four years ago, and since then I have paddled, motored, and drifted from ship to ship, sending out flares every day. Most of the return flares have been red. But once in awhile I'd get green ones, "yes, tie up for a few weeks, but make sure your raft is always ready." Then I would be re-provisioned for awhile. All this time I wanted to climb aboard another ship, but they would always be far on the horizon, and their flares were always red. At one point, I joined a crew assembling their own ship, only to find that it was essentially a slave ship.
When you're on a small raft, you're more vulnerable to sharks. The sharks being mortgage payments, credit card bills, utility bills, etc....which can only be placated by throwing them your provisions (money).......sometimes my raft would start to fill with water and the sharks would come to the surface and try to bite, so I would send up a different kind of flare that would procure me more provisions, but it let some air out of my raft, these would come from refinancing my house.
There comes a time when you realize that this life on a raft can't go on with continued red flares, or flares that were green but turned red, and when your raft is filling with water rapidly and the sharks are once again circling. So I had one special flare left, one that I never thought I could use, or have to use....a flare that sinks my raft, but lifts me into the air with a parachute, like an ejector seat.
So two weeks ago I launched that flare, I'm selling the house.....and once I'm in the air, who knows where I'll land.
posted by Olias at 8:49 PM
2 Comments:
Well done on a nice blog Olias. I was searching for information on crewed yacht charter and ran across your post Life Raft - not exactly what I was looking for related to crewed yacht charter but a very interesting read all the same!
thought-provoking, mootable pv. just my thoughts, well anyways gl & be chipper is what i say
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