Visions of things to come.

By Mike Jastrzebski

Tropical Storm Nicole is passing by and it's one of those rare days in South Florida when it rains all day long. One of the things I like about Ft. Lauderdale is that it rarely rains in the mornings or early afternoon. Even an evening or nighttime storm is usually a two hour affair. It's not just the damp dreariness of an all-day rain that bothers me; it's the reminders of things to come.

I've posted before that my wife and I are planning to take our boat, Rough Draft, cruising full-time next spring. I've also written that we've been sitting at the dock for four years while I've been working on several novels. The Storm Killer and Key Lime Blues are now available as e-books and my third book Dog River Blues will be available by the end of the year.

The problem with sitting at the dock and writing is that I have not been working on the boat. The rain reminds me of what I have to look forward to. I took a nap today and was surprised to have water dripping on my shoulder. There's another leak in one of the clothes lockers, one between the V-berth and the head, two where my wife sits and another in the cupboard where we store our dishes. And these are just the ones we've found.

Unfortunately, if I've learned anything since we bought the boat it's that I don't like to do a little work here and a little there. I'd rather take six months and work on the boat eight hours a day than to work a few hours a week on projects. This gives me plenty of time to write, but it leaves me with a growing to do list.

How about you? Are you the kind of person who takes care of a problem as soon as it rears its ugly head, or do you wait until you have a hefty list to complete?