Resource Sink

For this week that we're talking about resources, I'd like to tell you that at the moment, I don't have any. This is because I haven't written a word in a week. Which is because this is Haul Out Week. Which has just morphed into Haul Out We Don't Know How Long.

The story goes like this: Boats require maintenance. One of the major maintenance items that can be made MOAR major by putting it off is doing the bottom. Once every few years, a boat needs to be brought up out of the water. Any marine growth must be removed and a biocide paint applied to the underwater portions of said boat. This keeps growth to a minimum and protects the integrity of the hull (this in turn keeps the whole affair afloat). Unchecked, the ocean will claim anything you put into it, including fiberglass coated with toxic paint. These haul out jaunts are our attempt to hold back watery entropy.

The original plan was to haul out on Wednesday, which I did, get the bottom work done and splash again on Friday afternoon. Initial assessments were good. The last bottom job held up really well. We had only minor issues to address - little things that were akin to homeowners needing to change the filters in the furnace before winter hits.

But then.

Things took a turn for the unfortunate. While I was kitted up to handle some acid work, one of the guys helping me with the boat discovered a blister on a daggerboard. It was huge. The size of my head, huge. And full of water. This is problematic, you see, because it is exactly where water isn't supposed to be - on the inside of the boat structure. This is like a pipe breaking inside the walls of your house and you not finding it for a few days. We've drilled holes to drain water and dry the interior structure. Heat lamps may also be involved there. Once the whole thing is dry, we'll put new fiberglass down, barrier coat it, and finally bottom paint it. Then the boat can go back in the water and be expected to go on floating for many years to come.

Here's how this relates to this week's topic and to writing in general. Resources are lovely things to have. To harbor. To hoard and then parse out in stingy bits and pieces over the long haul of a novel. But sometimes, the shit hits the fan and resources be damned. You go all out. You don't hold back. You do it because it's necessary, because it's the right thing to do.

But it can't be the right thing if it's the ONLY thing. How can I justify this kind of physical effort to take care of my home? Because the last time I had to do this was three years ago. I've been hoarding those resources since, storing up for this day. Writing is the same - log five slow days for every fast day. Wait. That's running. Eh. Who cares. The point is good. You can't sprint if you don't put in the training time. And the training time is all about learning to manage your resources so you know what you can do and when you can do it. Whether the crap and the fan are involved or not.