Monday, June 14, 2010

"Wax on, Wax off" or: The Brilliance of Mr. Miyagi

I love movies.  I've always loved movies.  I also REALLY loved Ralph Macchio in "Karate Kid".  Who doesn't recall the classic line "Wax on, wax off " and the subsequent arm cicle demonstration by Mr. Miyagi himself? 

Turns out - that really is the most effective and efficient way to wax (by hand, at least).  But I am getting ahead of myself...

This weekend was another chalk full of boat work.  On Saturday, we recruited three friends to help us wash, wipe down, buff and wax the hull of the mighty Rasmus  (Shout out time!! Thank you John-Mark P., Christina Z. and Scott B. - you all get first dibs on bunks in the islands!) .  Thankfully, it was raining cats and dogs here in Chicago so there was really nothing "better" to do than sweat and drink beer in a musty boat shed (nothing says 'boat' like the smell of fiberglass and epoxy! Mmmmm!).  To quote John-Mark: "There is no place I'd rather be.  Well, it's on my list of top 500 places to be today".  Yep.  You heard it here first folks, we made top 500!

There are only 499 possible places he'd rather be!

Christina "Wiping buffing compound residue is FUN"!

Favorite quote of the weekend - Scott B.: "Will I look like a total chotch if I take off my shirt?"

We had something of an assembly line set up.  Scott M. or Scott B. would use the big heavy duty buffer (it was quite a work out, as you can tell from the glistening Adonis above), Christina would follow and wipe off the remaining buffing residue, John-Mark would apply the wax with a sponge, and I would follow and wipe off the wax in a "wax on, wax off" motion a la "Karate Kid".  Worked like a charm.  We now have a shiny, clean boat.  I could even see my reflection in the hull!!

Does this feel reeaaally zen or is it just me?

Even Eric Renter (the owner of the Marina) came over to us on Sunday morning and gave us his nod of approval (we get VEEERRRRY excited about the Eric "NOA"). 

It was a very productive day - with significantly less toxin exposure than the previous weekend.  That was a nice surprise.  I'd give it a 3 on a scale of 1-10.

Scott: First, wash all boat. Then wax. Wax on...
John-Mark: Hey, why do I have to...?
Scott: Ah ah! Remember deal! No questions!
John-Mark: Yeah, but...
Scott: Hai! [makes circular gestures with each hand]
Scott: Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important.  [walks away to get a beer, still making circular motions with hands]
Scott: Wax on, wax off. Wax on, wax off.

With love,

Brittany & Scott

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope you get notification of this comment, seeing that it is a year old. However, I have always felt that Mr. Miagi's best advice was "The best way to avoid punch, not be there" It applies to so much in life just try it.

Unknown said...

Yeah, even I've noticed that he doesn't recall the classic line "Wax on, wax off ". And I found this movie quite different and interesting.I really like two things regarding karate the most. The Karate kid movie and Best Karate in Connecticut

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