Today began with Luke "The Voice" Jones waking us up at 7:55 AM. Not a good call on his part, but it was for an important announcement.
"The Ship's official picture will be taken in 5 minutes on deck 7 aft, so wake up and come on out to be part of it."
We all did our best to wipe the drool from our sleep-deprived faces and shuffle onto the back deck in order to be part of the annual pic. I got a spot in the back by the rail, and hopefully, from the crow's nest where the picture was taken, I'll be visible.
I spent the rest of the day sleeping and relaxing, two things that are in short supply in the past few days. Jill and I also finished our 2nd big song which will be performed on the 16th in front of the community. It's a medley of 3 big songs, all lasting around 5 minutes. If I never had the experience of writing color war songs at camp, and making a fool of myself publicly at the same place, I never would have agreed or completed it... but it's done and I can't wait to show it off. It should be a lot of fun.
In honor of Jill's birthday, we had "fancy dinner" down in the private dining room. It was so good. for 25 bucks, you get a full 5-course meal. I had hor 'doureves (sp?), eggroll appetizer, corn and crab soup, grilled chicken cesar salad, beef tenderloin with veggies and potatoes, and then fruit tarts over vanilla ice cream for dessert. It was incredible. The crew also gave us champagne for Jill's big day and were not hesitant in re-filling our glasses when they were drained. It was a bunch of fun, just getting dressed up, taking pics and eating til our stomachs hurt. After it ended, we hit up pub night and mingled with friends.
I'm avoiding talking about how every single night, each person thinks about how our nights aboard are numbered. Like I said, I'm avoiding talking about it, but it's there. I'm doing really good at taking advantage of every bit of time I have here, and we don't think about it much.
The waves have subsided, and I just went up to the top deck to watch the ship push through in the night. A now nightly ritual of mine, tonight was quite beautiful. The moon is 3/4 full, and happened to be directly in front of the bow when I came out there; thus, there was a long trail of moon-lit water, directly in front of the ship... really rare, and amazing to see.
Still waiting to hear about the global test, I'll be sure to pass on good news if I hear it. Speaking of news, Thailand is still under fire tonight as protests are turning violent. Like I said the other day, it's not just a place on the map anymore... these are real people in beautiful places, and it's scary to think about. I hope that cooler heads prevail and the Thai people are spared.
Goodnight from the middle of the Pacific.
Greg
FYI we are EST - 8 hours.
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