In the News, the comments hurt the most...

Alright, so I just got home from yoga no less... and clicked open sfgate.com to check out the latest news. I came across this article all about a new houseboat design. Yes, it is interesting and the concept of Tafoni is not off base of what Ben and I discuss. Well sort of... maybe it goes against it. Our thought is buy one of these "Dwell" prefab homes and slap it on a barge and boom amazing floating home. This article focuses on interesting design for houseboats, which I am not sure if this has ever been addressed.

Reading the Chronicle is always an interesting task. Sometimes they take themselves seriously and sometimes they don't. The best part of any sfgate.com article is the comment section. Oh man it is amazing. It totally increases the enjoyment level of reading anything online, until now.

Alright, yes my feelings are hurt and I am not going to vent them on the Chron's website, that seems a bit more public than I am willing to go (yes, I know I have a blog, but that is different).

James58 had this to say "Just the OPPOSITE. Smelly environs. Too close to your neighbors. What about a sewer system? A muddy parking lot for 4 mos. of the year?

Maybe for the dreamland vista of aging late 50s and 60-year old hippies... otherwise it's a nightmare to live on a houseboat surrounded by freaks and swales." James58, you have never been here! Shut up! This is a wonderful place to live, we have a sewer, the parking lot isn't muddy and the last time I checked I am not a 50-60 year old hippie and NOT A FREAK! I realize this kind of living isn't for everyone, but come on. I don't make fun of the places you live, unless it is really strange or something. Ah, now I am just annoyed.

Living here has been a wonderful experience. We love all of our neighbors! It is not smelly. Whatever. And interesting home design should be open to all spaces and people.

Rain

I have not seen the sun for more than like 5 mins since December. It has been cloudy and overcast, and now the forecast is calling for more rain. Rain, it is different here. Well the sound is different, also the walking down the dock in the rain . . .

When it rains, the raindrops do not hit the ground like in other places, instead it hits water. This creates a noise that is quiet loud and shocking. It sounds as if maybe the rain is actually coming into our house and possibly getting our things wet. It sounds like rain that you might hear in a tent while camping. Ben thinks this is great and really relaxing. It has taken me several months to get used to this noise.

So as the forecast brings rain it also brings noise, but after several months, I am not as alarmed as I once was.

"My First Blog" a Guest Spot

Hi! I’m Ann’s dad and am visiting the land of houseboat living. It is most interesting, beginning with the fact the whole arrangement is a larger community than you might imagine, with a number of docks stretching out from the parking lot. Some docks have sailboat dockage and a large number have these houseboats, all on cement hulls of one kind or another.

The docks are longer than you might think; Ann’s dock has forty homes on it, twenty on each side, with an average width between mooring pilings of about thirty feet between boats. The dock carries the electricity and water and gas hook-ups and it also has the hook-ups with the city for fire hydrants. The dock has plants all up and down the docks and people have added additional touches as well, now with lots of Christmas decorations. The whole area was at one time plated by the city in preparation for filing in the bay and making home sites and such. As a result, there are open spaces along the dock and these represent the spaces where streets were to have been, giving a sense of openness to the whole community.

The thing that makes this whole thing go, of course, is the fact that each floating home is hooked to city sewage treatment. That fact is also the reason why people generally can’t live on the sailboats moored here, until they can show that they are responsibly dealing with sewage. Each floating home has a holding tank which holds waste and waste water, which is then pumped out into the city system from time to time. This is done by a connection over the edge of the hull; the hull is not broken into to allow this access.

The variety of homes and home types is surprising, as is the fact that few of them seem of have a nautical theme of any kind, with the exception of the one that is built to look like a little tugboat on top of a dock. The height restriction is twenty feet above the water line, generally enforced except for some larger grandfathered floating homes…just as in your neighborhood!! Some are a single story, but most are two. Designs are compact and generally open, with economical use of space, as you would have in a condo or other tight space construction. Many also have a floating deck or something on the waterside to accommodate boat docking, canoes and kayaks.

Vary interesting and fun!

What's in a Name?

Our houseboat did not come with a name, or at least one that we know of. On the tour a couple weeks ago they all had names! As time has gone on, I have started referring to our home as Otis Pagoda. I should probably give you some context.

One of our friends was really into Otis Reading. I am a huge fan of "Sitting on the Dock of Bay". When I had lots of time on my hands I was doing some research about the song and Otis. (When you have an hour to kill these are things you do!) I found out that he wrote that song while living on a houseboat. Now that is really cool! I of course found out more things about the history of houseboats, but I will save that one for later. Hence: Otis.

The outside of our house has an Asian feel to it, at least the outside does. And pagoda does not stand on its own, unless we are talking about the "Royal Tenenbaums." Hence: Pagoda.

Now this doesn't mean that we are going to post signs or get a banner. This gives us a point of reference to speak about it.

I Never Thought I'd Live on a Boat

Yes, the above is true. I never thought I'd live on a boat. In fact if you would have said this to me 7 years ago, I think I would have told you that you were crazy. And then I'd laugh in your face. Ben and I got into a discussion with Ryan and Ashley (lifepartners) on Friday night. And we began talking about if Otis Pagoda really is a boat. Does a houseboat classify as a boat, even though it uses "boat" in its title?

According to webster's a boat is: a small vessel for travel on water. Or another name for a ship. Ok, so we are "small" when you talk about homes. I think we have 1100 square feet here, maybe. Ok that part of the definition; check. Ok let's cover travel. We do "travel" with the tide. You know up and down twice a day, and side to side with the wind and current. Travel part of definition; check. Granted we have nothing to propel us to either move us forward or backwards like a sail or motor. I guess if we had to go out to sea Ben and I would classify as a crew. I am not too sure who would be captain, but that we can work that out if need too.

Ashley was trying to convince us that we do not really live on a boat, but I think that the above will show that yes, we do in fact live on a boat. Did I ever think we'd get here, um no. I never thought I'd live on a boat. (enjoy the little link there)

Last day of Freedom

Note: This is going to be a selfish post. . .

As some of you know I have been partaking in a self-imposed unemployment since June 25th. I will say it has been amazing. Not only have I been able to see tons of family and friends, and traveled around the world. On another note I have been able to recharge by battery and get to a place where I know what I am looking for both job and life wise.

Ben and I have been to spend a ton of time together. We spent an amazing two weeks in Europe and some great time in the middle. When he goes away on business I have gone with him, no real questions asked! On one trip we walked off the plane and I had no idea where we were staying or how we were going to get to the hotel. That is so not me! I always know where we are headed and how we are going getting there. It has been great for my mind to rethink how it thinks.

We moved from an apartment that we lived in for almost 6 years. That whole deal became my project, and I think I did a pretty good job. I found this place! Our floating home, which I refer to as Otis Pagoda (I will cover that name in a later post) in my head. Living here has allowed us to reconnect with a ton of our friends. People seem to drop by at the drop of a hat, partly to check out floating home living and then to see us.

On Monday I will head back to work, which I am very excited about! I am ready to go back after this brief hiatus. Who knows if and when I will get to do this again. In theory I'd like to say this is my last day of freedom, in a sense. My last Friday of hanging out and sort of doing things. Next Friday I will be sitting at my desk working and not doing those things.

I have been trying to rack my brain of something fun to do. I have a feeling it will involve trying to find some amazing birthday presents for people who have their big days coming up. But I know I am just going to let it all soak in and just let the day guide me.

(the photo is of where I blog. yes, the computer is on the floor, and i sit in front of our sliding doors in our living room.)

The Wow Piece

As some of you know since we moved we went out and bought new furniture. This was the first time we had something of this sort. Even though we had a great couch and chair. They were pieces that Ben picked out when he was still living the "bachelor" lifestyle, so it was time to move on. And it helped that we had one hot weekend to realize that it was time for vinyl to leave. (Your body sort of sticks to it!)

We had been shopping for furniture for awhile and pretty much knew what we wanted. Today I went to pick up our custom chair. This is our wow piece. I love it! Not only is the fabric very us, but it is also comfortable.

ok time to go and watch the blue angels fly over our house!

Two Posts in 1 Day!

Ok well, for my second post I will put up some video I took today. There are two, and each cover the same subject: movement. In the first you will see the grey deck next door move around. The second will have some lovely commentary of what you should be viewing...

Enjoy!

Noises

For a long time, we have slept with a fan on. It drowns out the noise of the city, which during our stay there included a frat house across the street, buses, trains, firetrucks, and everything else that comes with living in a city. The fan is still here, but the noises have changed.

Granted, life around here is usually really quiet, besides the lovely call of the seagull (sarcasm is hard to write, seagulls do NOT have a pretty bird call). And as it has been stated the homes in our neighborhood move. We go up and down, albeit slowly with the tide. Therefore our house moves against everything it is attached to, and so do the other houses. This makes really eerie creeks. The kind that wakes you up in the night and you second guess yourself what you just heard. Last night was particularly loud in the neighborhood. Many creeks, cracks, pops, and squeaks. I would imagine we hear it more at night because our bedroom is very close to the dock, and our windows open up to that side.

Remember if you stay here, keep your ears open, and remember it is just the glory of the fact that yes, we are in motion!

You've Got Mail

As Ben will atest to, I love mail. I love it! I am sure that through our life together Ben has never had a key to the mailbox. My obsession with mail might have something to do with the fact that it is sort of like opening a present, or maybe it is because that my dad sends me a postcard every week which always makes me smile, and keeps me in the loop back home.

Each floating home dweller has a 5x7 inch box which is about 2ft deep as a mailbox. They are stacked around the gate to our dock. (Photo to the left) The new development is the fact that when we receive a box the mailman (and he is a man by the way), walks all the way down the dock, knocks on your door, and leaves it there. In the city this would have meant a small slip of paper in your mailbox. Then you'd be instructed on when and where you could pick up your package. Since we live in an actual house the USPS, UPS, and FedEx will all walk down our docks to deliver packages. Wow.