so, i bought a raft a week ago. we call it punchy. because some friends had a similar raft when they were young and it had a hawaiian punch advertisement on it and they figured it was something you could get if you turned in enough hawaiian punch labels and some cash. it’s a canvas raft that’s blue on one side and red on the other. you might remember having one when you were a kid.

so, when we were out late one night and found a beach shop still open late, we ended up buying a punchy raft for $15 and said friend got a sharpy marker and made me write the date on the raft when i bought it to see how long it would last. i thought it would last a long time, others were saying it would be popped in no time.

punchy’s a week old today and has been patched 3 times already.

so while i was complaining that you just can’t find a decent made raft anymore, and they always get holes in them and seem hardly worth fixing… and while i was trying to think about how i could start a factory that was able to produce high quality beach products… and fretting about how hard it would be to start a factory that could make beach chairs that would last and rafts that were decent and umbrellas that would last forever…

while i was stewing over all of these thoughts, i actually discovered what seems to be a way to patch a canvas raft. i had to try 3 times to patch the first hole and 3 patches then followed for subsequent holes and finally i think punchy is patched… for now… and i decided that if i am ever at the beach, maybe i could just hang out a sign that says, “SATCH’S RAFT PATCH” and for 5 bucks i could patch your raft ( maybe expensive but what do you have to lose?) and instead of trying to start a factory i could just repair rafts which would be practically as good as creating the new awesome beach stuff company.

and then i figured that i could also hang a sign for “SATCH’S CHAIR REPAIR” and “SATCH’S FIX-U-BRELLA.”

so, if you want to get high quality beach stuff that will last the season, just buy some cheap ole whatever and when it breaks or pops, look for my stand. it will have 3 signs and a few simple tools.

the pizza box van project is starting to bear fruit. folks are slowly bringing in vans they have made from their pizza boxes. here’s one. these folks won a medium pizza.

what a busy week it’s been. real busy. maybe because school is out and the locals are out as well. while most gainesville businesses worry about how to survive the summer without college students, we seem to manage pretty well. thanks to all the locals who are coming out.

i’m going to take some days off and hang with the family. i’m always nervous about not being at work all the time, but i’m also planning to design a new bumper sticker, some hats and mugs and maybe a t-shirt on my “vacation” and maybe re-write the employee training manual. does that count as taking time off?