People that know me know that I talk a lot. “A lot” often means non-stop, particularly if alcohol is nearby. A common occurrence is for me to hear something that reminds me of something I did once, which immediately launches me into a fascinating story about it. Another way to put it would be that I’m a jerk who shoehorns himself into conversations. Often, I’ll wax nostalgic about my glory days in high school radio or local cable. Yeah, I’m a bit of a bastard, but fret not! That’s not why were here today, Internet!

Meet Abby Sunderland. You may have heard of her. She’s the 16 year old girl who is sailing around the world all by herself. Her brother already did it before he was 18. Yesterday she activated her emergency homing beacon, launching a Search and Rescue in the Indian Ocean. She has made contact and is perfectly fine, except for her mast collapsing after heavy weather. She hasn’t seen land in 2 months.

I sail. I sail out of Marina Del Rey on a 28 foot Hunter that remains unnamed (top candidates right now include The Distraction and The Dennis Hopper). I’m trying to muster the courage to sail with The Redhead to Santa Catalina Island. Catalina is about 5 hours away and the route is heavily, heavily trafficked. This girl is sailing around the globe and she’s half my age. And she’s blogging about it! Yesterday I blogged about raisins.

So I ask you, what did YOU do in High School? I feel like such a bum and lazy failure right now. Follow Abby’s Blog. It’s absolutely fascinating.