OK, I've been thinking (which in my condition is dangerous..) that if you do any of the things I outline below, it just might be time to seriously think about getting that boat and start a cruising lifestyle... here they are...from experience.... (LOL)

1- you start listening to seafaring music instead of the talk radio shows as you drive to work in the morning and elsewhere.

2- you go the grocery store and slowly cruise thru the mexican food and asian food section and pretend you're shopping at a store in the Carribbean.

3- you're asked how much further when taking a road trip with the family and you start talking about compass bearings to destination and distances in nautical miles.

4- you start keeping a diary of what you WOULD be doing if you were out there cruising, complete with maps, google coordinates, etc.

5- you take more trips to the river and lake with your dive gear and just try to pretend it's a 'night dive' in the Carribbean instead of a day dive in the poor visibility lake water.

6- you eat more often at the taco truck and pretend it's a taco stand in mexico.

7- you catch yourself listening to the VHF radio instead of watching sit coms on TV.

8- you catch yourself saving those dive magazines and reading them over and over.

9- your library of books have more titles concerning boats and cruising than home repairs and car maintenance.

10- you have "Anchor Alert" and "Earth NC" apps on your phone... and use them when you park your car at the shopping center or mall!

11- your games of choice on the computer aren't Call of Duty or Tears of War, they're "Sailing" games, played at the blistering pace of less than 10 mph.

12- you have more message board accounts concerning sailing and boats than other stuff.

13- your 'inbox' has advertisments from the moorings and sunsail in the "saved" folder.

14- you keep cruising the wanted ads on the various boat sales web sites looking for that perfect boat that has all the things you think you want at half the price you know it'll cost you.

15- your screensavers on your computer(s) are more like postcards from the Carribbean, without snow or mountains.

16- you hear music from Eric Stone on the radio and actually recognize which album or CD it was from!

17- you really know how to celestial navigate although you've never been far from land lately.

18- you have a sextant, and know how to use it.

19- you have a VHF ships radio license and a Restricted Radio Operators license and a VHF radio with your own MMSI number registered.

20- you have insurance quotations for a boat you don't own yet.

21- you have more friends online that are out there cruising already than you have on the mainland.

22- you have the movies "waterworld" and "Wind" in your DVD collection and actually watch them sometimes.

23- your bank accounts have ATM cards that are accepted around the world.

24- you have some of your stuff already relocated to your 'kids' places' for when you return from cruising or visit on the holidays.

25- you can score a 70% or higher on any portion of the test for your Captains' 6-Pack or 100 Ton license in the study manual and program.

26- you think if you'll have this much room on the boat, when standing in the shower at home.

27- ... you get the drift... (no pun intended. LOL)