I did not get much sleep last night with all the rocking and rolling due to a series of storms we passed through. My eyes opened around four in the morning and noticed a light show outside from my portal. We had thunderstorms the past two days but the light show was not as pretty as those in the deserts of Utah are. I tried to go back to sleep for another hour or two since I do not start until 07:30 the latest. However, to no avail, I decided to turn on the lights and start the day early but not necessarily work. Plastic debris on the floor from the chair crashing into small storage drawers as the chair got loose before it settled next to the stateroom door. It happened during the few short hours I was deep asleep.
We reached Lisianski about 13:00 and currently launching small boats to take the scientist/divers for diving and data collecting. The weather let up and there is sunshine outside! Woohoo! Despite of living in the Seattle area for the past twelve years, I should be used to cloudy skies. Maybe it has to be cold before I like it! However, around dinnertime it rained again. Two boats came back in time as we heard thunder in the distance. Tomorrow I am going out on the weather deck and see if I can see this island, atoll, or reef. At least with Maro you could see where it was. I have been here before but never paid attention to what it looked like. I guess to me, it is just a job. I do not know too many jobs where flights from Seattle to Honolulu and back are akin to riding a commuter bus. Or give the captain a schedule that certain repairs will be completed when we dock in Midway. I am not taking this job for granted but find it matchless in many aspects. I am the only one out here doing this job. Though I attend chief’s meetings, no one works under me and the only other person is my rotating partner. He is back home now with his wife and family. I do not consider myself a chief or lead ET but a rotating one.
Today is Sunday and it is dragging. I finished writing the weekly status report and it is gone from my desk sitting in their inboxes for their Monday morning blahs. This in sailing on the ships, there is no chance to incur the Monday morning blahs because there are no days of the weeks separated by weekday and weekends. I just have to remember when to submit my time card so to be paid. Tomorrow consists of finishing the network cables, examine the gym DVD player, and configure the files in GMDSS for starters. I have a list made up for items to do at Midway when we are dockside.
I got a newsflash in my e-mail that the Yankees won the AL East. What else is new from the baseball world? Looks like it will be the Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, and Angels in the playoffs for the AL Pennant. You can put those four teams in the playoffs and the mystery would be not who won but what year did the playoffs occur with those four teams. Is it any wonder the TV ratings have been sinking for baseball? I like baseball but I go to the games at the beginning or mid-season. I begin to lose interest around pennant time because it is always the same teams in the finals. Last time I actually followed the playoffs was in 2001 when the Mariners came off a 116-win season only to lose to the Yankees in five games. Great season but choke in the playoffs. Besides the two teams I follow, Mariners and Padres will never play each other in the World Series and the only time they will meet is in Interleague play. I am usually at sea when they meet. As for the NL, it is the same teams again. You know the Dodgers will be in along with the Cardinals. The only mystery in the NL is who will be the wild card. If the Yankees lose the playoffs, then I am interested. Gone are the days when Americans used to love the underdog.
The Seahawks lost again according to the news. Hasselbeck is out so the question is what kind of year will they have. I would be surprised if they finish 9-7. I have serious doubts if they do not have a quarterback. I have tickets to the final game of the season against the Titans. It just may wind up being another exhibition game with the way the season is starting out for both teams. They will play for pride only with the starters all on the bench or injured. At least in the NFL the medium sized markets get a shot at the Super Bowl and it is not a New York or Boston team all the time, though the Patriots almost had it for a while. As for the NBA, I used to go to Sonics games and cheered from the cheap seats. Yes, those were fun times and winter in Seattle had some activity you could enjoy. Thanks Schultz for selling the team. Good thing is I have not been to a Starbucks since. I will not be back as I will take my coffee business to mom and pop shops. As for the WNBA, I have yet to attend a Storm game.
I have to take a shower from my post-gym workout and head to galley for dinner. The aroma from the galley comes through a vent near my stateroom. When the stewards department is cooking, the aroma is seductive and like a trance, I follow it to the galley.
I bid you goodnight from Lisianski.
No comments:
Post a Comment