What if You Were Free?

[anachronistic]

No, because I've crossed that line already. Once you cross, there's no going back. For so long as I am happy with her, I will not regret the risk.

I think you were just using all that as a coping method for not having a girlfriend. There is no line to cross, we all fall in love whether there is something to lose, whether we lose it, or never lose it. And therefore, there is nothing to turn back to.

[misombra]

i've never been on a sailboat but i've seen them riding around. i would be afraid that that sail would catch direct wind and knock the freakin boat upside down.

[Gigabitch]

I'm having a hard time even wrapping my head around the concept. I keep trying, and it's really exhilarating, but I keep coming up against the hole in my heart where my daughter and my boyfriend should be.

I lack the capacity to imagine a good life without them.

[misombra]

oh you mean free like no relationships and stuff?

oh no way. my boat would have mikey and my dogs on it. i am no more free without them.

[Gigabitch]

Yeah, like..... NO responsibilities. I think most of us would rush to tie ourselves right back down. We don't really like being free, do we?

[IndiReloaded]

i've never been on a sailboat but i've seen them riding around. i would be afraid that that sail would catch direct wind and knock the freakin boat upside down.

The physics works out so that, even if you were dumb or unlucky enough to have the sail rigged in such a way that the wind pushes you over, the force gets less as the boat tips (think of pushing on a wall that suddenly tips away from you as you push). Does that make sense? As you tip, more of the wind spills off the sail. Also, its hard to knock a sailboat that size over. Even in cases where they do capsize (you hear about this kind of thing in races like the America's Cup), they are designed to flip back over. Its called their righting moment. They have a big heavy keel on the bottom of the boat that doesn't like to be upside down. Unlike a houseboat, a fishing boat or a catamaran (two hull sailing boat) which, should they flip, are quite happy to stay that way.

Sailing is quite safe if you are conservative & pay attention to the weather. Most accidents (like in races) happen b/c the boats are rigged for performance more than stability & they push thru weather that a cruising family would avoid. A lot of ppl don't like the motion of the boat, tho. It can heel a lot when sailing into strong wind.

[Charlie Boy II]

You just described my situation exactly Gigabitch.

Well, I'm in a hostel at the moment but this weekend I'm moving into an apartment in the middle of London. I'll be living there rent free because my cousin and his wife who own the place have conveniently decided to go back to Australia for Christmas.

Sitting in a coffee shop watching people bustle off to work in some unfamiliar part of the globe is the most tremendously gratifying feeling. I love it.

[Gigabitch]

You just described my situation exactly Gigabitch.

Yeah, you were actually part of the inspiration for the thread. :sigh: I was like that, once upon a time.

You know what my big impetus was to return to normal, tied-down life? Having a kitchen. I love my kitchen, full of all my gear.

Post pics, CB.

[Tiay]

I'd go live in one of those self-sufficient communities, who grow all their own food and such. A simple life.

[Gigabitch]

****in' hippie.

[Gribble]

^ Why SE Asia?

Because it's different from anything else I've experienced. The US dollar goes a long way out there, and there are a ton of different countries and cultures to experience.

And also the Asian wimmins. There's that, too.

[LostNotFound]

wimmins?

vashti, wont you miss your husband?

when i meet people who live these kinda free lives i find them curious and fascinating but if it was me..i'd be empty. i need people around me

[Tiay]

****in' hippie.

I blame my parents.

[vashti]

vashti, wont you miss your husband?

Well, giga said no family and no pain of loss, so I figured it would be the same as if I never met him. But would I miss him? Maybe from time to time. The thing is, the older you get, the more you enjoy your time to yourself.

[Charlie Boy II]

You know what my big impetus was to return to normal, tied-down life? Having a kitchen. I love my kitchen, full of all my gear.

Funny you should say that. I would have killed for my own kitchen tonight. Instead I had to wander London's frigid streets and then sit up by myself in a pub dubiously spooning at an oversalted brocolli soup. Right now I'm considering whether to splash out and get a chocolate bar from the hostel's vending machine for desert.