What Time Is It ?

Keeping Time in the BVI

Kirstin and I were conventional souls in DC. We both worked hard during the day. Travel permitting, we met at the gym at 7:00 PM, and then dined together at some sensible ethnic restaurant where the lighting was too dark to see the menu.

The overarching factor was that our lives ran according to a schedule. Airports, commutes, meetings.......time ruled everything. 7:15 was not the same as 7:30. Irrespective of where we found ourselves, you couldn't get away from the time. Your phone, TV, car, even IPOD told you what time it was, and thus- how little time you had before "the next thing".

What a difference a month makes. This past Sunday, I found myself pondering with Kirstin if the stock market was up or down, thinking it was Friday. We wake up now when the sun is high enough to reach our faces in the aft cabin. Dinner time is a while after the sun goes down. We rarely know what time it is and usually have to think hard about what day it is.

We generally lay out 5 boat projects to be done in the morning and celebrate the 2 that we got done during cocktail hour. Time is different in the Caribbean. Beyond the tourists and cruisers, there is a whole society here that isn't as stressed about time as we are in DC. Sure, it makes getting your Chardonnay a 20 minute affair at dinner, but I think they're on to something anyway.

When I get back to DC, the first client meeting I schedule will be for "early next week". Hope they see the wisdom in being a little less time-centric.