Hallelujah! Boat show season is ramping up for the first half of the year. I am so excited to be thinking about which shows I’m going to be attending! Jacksonville (first time), Miami (last was in 2012(?)), Orlando (first time), a bunch of the shows for Thunder around St Pete / Tampa (3rd or 4th!) then Palm Beach (first time) and Suncoast (second). Since I am going to all of them and all costs come out of my pocket, I have to be very choosey about what to do with staying and driving and so on. But IT IS ON! And I am so excited! As you can see, I’m choosing to go places I haven’t been before for the most part.
On a serious note one thing that’s been bothering me lately is all the comments and strange looks that I’ve been getting since I’ve said I wanted to go to shows all around this area. “Why do you want to do that?” “That’s not really helping [us] here.” “Why do you want to know?” “Why do you want to go to the shows when you see the same thing each one?”
Well, that’s where I have a different thinking than the others. Apparently.
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely 100% love where I’m working, what I’m doing and so on but I do not intend on doing “just that” for the rest of my life. I want to officially be known as Karen Maeby the Boat Show Girl and Nauti Poet (old name) — the marine industry’s poet and maybe save a few lives or have an impact to make a few important changes in the industry while I’m at it. You know, those things.
But seriously, what’s the harm in learning? I love going to shows because I love the environment, I love being in the same room as others who love the same things as me. I like going to new places and if I didn’t have the shows to go to I probably wouldn’t be doing much right now as far as vacations. This industry has saved me in so many ways.
I love the education. Even though it takes me a little while to get going reading the literature, I do read it, and I learn things and savor them and write poetry about them. It also makes me think business-wise how something needs to change or improve or what have you. I also always end up with favorites and companies that I want to support for the rest of my life.
So that is why I like going to these shows. There’s nothing wrong with that. I just hope that my passion is seen by the right people and I get the opportunities that I would like to have. I am willing to learn as much as I can to do that.
And, who wouldn’t want to learn about boats? I mean, seriously. I love love love love boats. Who’s with me?!?!?!! 🙂
-Karen Maeby