Keep Left

I just finished my autographed copy of Keep Left The Open Air Asylum Called St. John by Mike Mullen.

I highly recommend this book. It was great, a really fast read and I enjoyed it a lot. Mike did a good job of making you laugh at all the craziness he went through while building his villa on St. John. I think if I had gone through what he did, I would have ran home screaming and probably would have been locked up. And he wants to do it again....Mike you are crazy! Jay is going to read it next and I know he'll love it. Being a contractor, he will really get a kick out of some of Mike's exploits. If you have ever thought about building in the Virgin Islands, then you need to read this book. Even if you are not thinking about building in the Virgin Islands, it's a fun read and will keep you entertained to the end. We plan on meeting up with Mike once we got on island. I'm sure he has more stories to tell and I can't wait to hear them!

http://www.keepleftbook.com/

Enjoy! Deb

Desiring Paradise

In my opinion, this book is awesome! Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. It's a true story about a couple that decided to move to the Virgin Islands and all the craziness of preparing for, moving to and living in the VI. Even if you aren't ready to make the jump, the book is worth reading. It's educational, entertaining and so similar to Jay and I that it's unbelievable. I highly recommend it.

I was really curious about whether they were still on St. John. After going through everything they did to get there, did they hang in there and actually make a life in the islands? I used the amazing power of the Internet and found out that they are still on St. John (ok, I feel like a stalker.....but I had to know!) She is a manager with VIVA! Villas and is the property manger working with Randy on Reef Madness. Small world since we read their blog on a regular basis http://www.reefmadnessvilla.com/

Once we get on island, it would be great to meet Karin and Bob in person (we need to invite them to a Sunday Beach Bar forum meeting!). I'm sure there are all kinds of side stories that didn't make it in the book! I'm really curious about the process they went through mailing all of their possessions via US mail (sixty some boxes) and if they had to do it over, would they do it again....or would they just buy everything on island (which is one of the things we are trying to decide on now). With Jay and I moving to St. Thomas vs St. John and the fact that they moved almost 10 years ago and with the power of the Internet, I would think having access to household goods will be a little easier now. But I could be wrong.

Now that Karin and Bob are coming up on their 10 year anniversary in the VI, it would be awesome if she wrote a second book covering the past ten years and how they actually made it in Paradise!

Keep Left

Well Deb is going to add to her reading list. I have added a link to "Keep Left The Open Air Asylum Called St. John" to the links on the blog. After reading the interview with Mike and a few PM's back and forth on the message boards, it looks like a good read. Our copy "soon come". We figure anyone that can build a villa on St. John, sell it and at least not go broke and start on a new one should have some interesting stories to tell.

And with lines like these how could you not want to read this one."The call came at precisely 4:30 a.m. Colorado time. The Rastafarian screamed into the answered phone, “We be seein a dead man stuck in da concrete and we be owed $40,000 and we bees scared to come back. You’s ever see a concrete dead man?” “Calm down idiot,” yelled the controlled voice on the other end of the instrument, I’m on the next plane!” In that moment this powerful, controlling man with a huge ego and “winner takes all attitude,” was plunged on a collision course with the island of “No Problems, No Worries.”"

Here is the link to his web page.

http://www.keepleftbook.com/

Reading, reading and more reading.....

As you probably figured, we have been doing a lot of reading (I mean a lot of reading) to prepare for this move; some for research, some just for fun. Besides all the web sites (blogs, forums, newspapers, etc.), there have been several books that we have enjoyed. I thought I would list the top four:

Desiring Paradise by Karin W. Schlesinger

Don't Stop the Carnival by Herman Wouk

Chasing the Horizon by Cap'n Fatty Goodlander

Seadogs, Clowns and Gypsies by Cap'n Fatty Goodlander

If you have suggestions for similar reading, leave us a comment.

Enjoy!

Deb