2-26-13

It was Half Moon Cay day.  The kids loved it, I think it is their favorite destination.  They played and swam and then discovered the world below them.  The kids club people were there and let them use masks to see underwater.  They saw fish and coral and some pink sea slug looking thing that stung Michael when he tried to pet it.  They say pink fish, purple and yellow fish and some were as big as my head!  It was like the best day ever!

Of course, I didn't get to see it really.  When the three days of first call with no calls streak ended, it ended with a dull thud.  I was up from 0200 to 0500 taking care of a woman whose cabin mates called despite her objections.  When I arrived she was lying there {This part redacted for our more sensitive readers and to protect the privacy of the innocent - Managment.}, It was awful.  One of the cabin mates kept apologizing to me for having to do such work and I told there was an ER nurse in Minnesota right now working a 12 hour shift doing similar work that would pay to trade places with me.  Hard to feel sorry for yourself sometimes. 

So, back to bed after a much needed shower and it was around a quarter of 6.  I had to be up by 7 to make the first tender over because it was Half Moon Cay day and third call isn't really a day off.  We got ashore and did all the inventory.  Then I manned the fort until a replacement arrived. While the kids were discovering the delights of an underwater tropical world, I was discovering the delights of the backs of my eyelids on the ship.  I still haven't caught up, but after bed tonight I think I'll be fine. 

This evening the kids were good so they got to go to club HAL.  Sarah and I decided to go to the Officer's bar and have a drink.  After a drink or two and some fun socializing we decided to head out to the bow.  On this ship, the bow isn't really accessible to the passengers on a regular basis.  The Officer's bar opens on to it, mostly smokers go out.  Sarah and I headed out and snuggled up against the gunwale and watched the moon over the water...so romantic.  Until the spotlight from the bridge lit us up.  I turned and waved and the light went out.  So we snuggled up again and the light comes back on.  OK, not so romantic.  We headed back in.

Inside we related our story and the wife of the 3rd officers said her husband was up on bridge watch.  I knew him.  So when he and the staff captain show up in the bar a few minutes later we find out they thought I was the HRO and she was a cast member and they were getting the gossip of the century.  They were quite disappointed to find out it was just an old married couple.  Sigh. 

It was really nice hanging out and getting to know some of the people onboard.  They are obviously characters. 

2-20-13

For some reason, the carriage returns I do to inject white space into the blog to improve readability have not been making into the published blog whenever I use this computer. Like this. Or this one. So sorry dear reader. I am trying. Perhaps when I return to civilization I will correct them. Until then, I guess I am just stuck with it. Today was a good day. Last night was a good night. That was the second night as first call where I didn't get one phone call all night. I am not afraid to jinx myself at all because: A-I am not supersitious and B- There is no way that is happening again anyway. So I will brag instead. It was a nice and relaxing day for the most part. Sarah and I even put the kids in club HAL and went to the gym. Good times. I still hate the treadmill though. Tomorrow is the Panama Canal and we arrive depressingly early. 0530 or 0600 with entry shortly after. We of course want to see it, so it will be early to bed tonight. We set the clocks back an hour after setting them forward an hour on the first night. So, I won't know what time it is. All of the crew have fallen in love with Michael and Max. Ayu, one of the cabin steward girls, told Max tomorrow she wanted a kiss. Suddenly Max was shy. Cute. We are figuring things out little by little. About the time we really feel like we are getting it, Sarah and the kids will be heading out. I just hope it means an easier transition on the next cruise. There certainly won't be much time to forget it. This is such an artificial reality they create here. It doesn't matter what day of the week it is, just is it a sea day or port day. You don't have to worry about doing dishes or cooking, but you must be very aware of what time it is so you know which uniform to wear. The rules are all there and everybody seems to know the unwritten ones except me. So I am just trying to abide by the written ones and I hope the unwritten ones I am told are correct. It will all wash out in the end. I keep promising pictures and I will deliver eventually. Promise.

2-17-13

OK, time to play a little catch up. We are on Zuiderdam. Day one was busy, as expected. Getting to know the new crew and trying to figure out how this thing works with a family on board takes time. Then there are the mandatory meetings and getting ID cards and laundry and figuring out who goes what, where and when. It was very tiring. Poor Max fell asleep at the dinner table, but I believe I mentioned that already. We did manage to get him up and awake enough to get the kids registered and introduced at Club HAL, the kids area. They seemed to like it and now continually bug us to let them go play there. Day two was Half Moon Cay day. So I sat in the medical bungalow while Sarah and the kids played at the beach. We avoided the worst of the sunburn. The kids had a grand time playing on the beach, the waterslides and the park equipment. Of course they did. Sarah was pretty tired keeping up, but I think she had a pretty good time too. Hard to not have a good time on a private Carribean island. I did get to see them for a bit, not all was work. It was crowded though, the Westerdam was there at the same time. Eventually we got back onboard and took off. I was first call and had to get back into the clinic. Using all that energy during the day, Max fell asleep at the table again. Poor little guy. Michael was buzzed and wanted to go to Club HAL. Max woke up and decided he wanted to as well. We let them for a few minutes. I had call all night and not one phone call. That just means that I will get stormed later on this trip. Call me a cynic. Today I was 'off'. Of course, the last nurse here was released before contract ended and left a few things undone that I had to make done. So I did get some office time today. I did my first voyage report for a voyage I wasn't even on. Yay me! There have been frustrations. Sarah is still getting used to such a drastic change. I am still getting used to the new MO's. I'm still feeling everyone out at this stage. I miss my buddys Mary and Kelli. Some day I hope to sail with them again. It will work out. One of the big things we were worried about hasn't yet been a big thing. We all snuggled right into the room. The kids are sleeping on two pool floaties covered in sheets and blankets on the floor by the bed. They just crash right out. It gets a little tight in there when we are all changing for dinner, but nothing too heinous. Good thing we are used to tight fits already. I took the kids up to the sports deck today to play basketball, tennis, soccer and several odd combinations of the three. It was fun. Sarah got to lay out for a few minutes. Tomorrow we get to Aruba. I am 2nd call and won't get out much. Sarah isn't sure how much she and the boys are going to get out. We will have to wait and see. One unfortunate turn is that each of my 3rd call days this trip are on sea days. Oh well, what can you do. The LMO here is a little tighter with control of the internet and I am a little tighter on time because Sarah and the kids are here. I will try to get some pictures up in the next few days. I have been planning on writing on the Touchpad to keep up the daily journal a little better, but the keyboard died and it is a pain to use without it. I foresee a cheap laptop in my not too distant future. Just something to write on and store pictures. Live and learn.

1/23/13

Ahhh St. Thomas, I couldn't wait to leave.  The landscape of the island reminds me quite a bit of Avila Beach in central California.  It does appear, however, to be missing a large landmass to the East.  Instead, a short distance off is another beach.  Which is beautiful by all accounts.  I don't know.  I chose not to go ashore today.

Good thing too.  Because it was very busy in the clinic today.  We disembarked three people.  Two of them made it back and were able to reboard and continue the cruise, but the third had to stay.  Everything happened all at once and then there was a break and then it all happened again.  Each of the three disembarks made two appearances.  The last disembark actually happened late enough that the ship was waiting for the ambulance to arrive before it could leave.  Believe it or not, the Captain and the Chief Officer (XO for you Navy guys) get a little anxious when they can't leave at the appointed hour. 

Tomorrow is a sea day. 

Here, have pictures. 

01/22/13

San Juan. Puerto Rico.  The long awaited day off.  As soon as they released us I was off an on my own out in the streets of a strange city.  It was lovely. 

I can't wait to get home where I will be able to update the Adventure Nickel website with some pictures and videos. 

Old San Juan is much like what my imagination brings to mind when I hear the phrase 'old world city'.  The streets are narrow and lined with blue bricks.  Three and four story buildings spring up after only a foot or two of sidewalk.  As I walked down the streets I was occasionally met with the sound of a television blaring and I could see as I walked past, a grandmother watching not three feet from me.  Comfortably ensconced in her sofa, she paid no mind to the passers by.  Another time a calico cat sat perched on the counter of a kitchen, peering through the slats of the wooden shutters at all of the people. 

I wandered back and forth between the two old stone forts before descending the hill and wandering through the old city.  Many beautiful parks were nestled in between the buildings and streets.  It is a city where I could imagine you must be a part of the larger community.  The proximity thrusts you into the lives of your neighbors.  Each person must become a diplomatic ambassador for their family in the community.  I saw friends slow to shout greetings through upper balcony windows open to receive the cool carribean breeze. 

Another thing I saw was more cats.  There seem to be an endless stream of semi stray cats around the city.  People leave thin aluminum roasting pans full of food out for them.  I don't know if it is more because they love the cats or loathe the rats that might spring up in their abscence. 

It was a beautiful day made less so only because I was not able to share it with Sarah.  Next time dear.  Until then, pictures will have to do. 


The mighty "E".  Kind of fitting really.  Sometimes it is hard to get over just how big this thing is. 

 This is the picture I took while I was talking on the phone to Sarah.  I never actually made it down into the cemetary, but there were some really ornate statues and memorials.

Man, I miss my good camera.

The blue brick streets.

The lighthouse for Jane.

I guess this is one way to entertain the kids.  I'll not pretend to understand this one. 

 A lovely little park sprung up.  There are a ton of cats wandering throughout and a cat lady there to tend them.  She is in the back on the right extolling the virtues of the cats to passers by.

That's all for now.  Man I miss the good camera.

Drawing near

The end that is. We are closing in on the end of my first contract as a traveler. I realized that one of the points of this blog was to provide information to nurses that were thinking about traveling and I haven't been doing much of that.

I am still trying to decide what information would be wise to present in a public, well publicly available forum. Not like a whole ton of people are reading this. I'm working on it. If you are a potential travel nurse and have a question, send me a message and I would be happy to help in any way I can.