March First.

Hello. I’m back.
I’m back on ships. I’m back to my journal. I am on my way back to me.

Round 2: Carnival Spirit.
We’re currently based out of San Diego, making 5,6,7, and 9 day trips to Mexico until April 10th. Then our itinerary changes to Hawaii for a couple of weeks, then up to the Seattle for runs to Alaska for the rest of my contract.
This is day 4 for me. This ship has a much different vibe, at least on my end. Seems to be way less drama in the entertainment department. Everyone gets along well. It’s pretty relaxed.
Because of the fluctuating itinerary, my work schedule fluctuates. Also, the work rotation seems to be a lot more effective, so I feel like I really have downtime as opposed to having had little bits of work scattered all over the place with odd 2 hour breaks. I think this helps with the overall sanity of the technicians and general workplace satisfaction.

This ship is quite a bit smaller than my last one. Maybe ¾ the size. And it is Finnish made, instead of Italian, so there are also a number of other differences in its layout.
The most important in my world is that the stage really feels more thought out like a theatre. Simple design flow things, like a backstage crossover and doors to the audience from backstage make a big difference.

The food is still the same, though.

Between contracts I had just under 6 weeks of vacation. I stayed home with my parents for most of it. Mom’s been recovering from a compound-fractured ankle.
Also went to the Midwest to visit my uncle, my cat, unload my storage unit, and see Andrew. That was an excellent trip. I miss my cat. My uncle is a great guy. I’ve cut down even more of my expenses by getting rid of a lot of my possessions and storing the rest at Uncle JB’s.
And I got closure. The idea of seeing Andrew was nerve wracking because we’re keeping a close friendship, but I hadn’t fully let go of the old version of us. Many people told us it was unlikely we’d be able to do what we’re doing, that it never works out. Well, it is and I needed that trip. Booyah.

I got my wisdom teeth pulled. All four at the same time. All four, though not impacted, had outrageous roots. I’m still healing from that. I was never in love with my wisdom teeth, so I’ll get over this relatively quickly.

And I’m working out some other stuff that makes my emotions a bit rocky. That’s the “getting back to me” part from above. That’s my big journey right now, but I’m not ready to talk about it on the web.

Tangent/thinking out loud, of sorts: Although I think it is important for people to share personal experiences, I don’t think we’re ready as a society for people to really publically share their personal struggles while in the midst of them. We can talk about them in person with trusted friends and the impact can be very personal and moving, but public eyes seem to tend to do better with stories from the past, no? Especially in the printed format.

I need to keep some things for myself. An exercise in moderation with the impersonal internet.

Love and new chapters,
Me