Did it feel like a really loooong week? :: You need some Link Love!

Here are some things I LOVED this week!

Nothing feels better than salty hair!  Sometimes after a long day at the beach I delay my shower as long as possible because I love that crunchy salty feeling :)

I've seen some totally cool tree houses in Hawaii - Waipio Valley has a tree house bed and breakfast.  These tree houses put the houses I've seen to shame!!  Some of them are inspiring!

I can't believe I'm about to admit this....but, my Dad is a minister.  The worst part is that I know diddly squat about the bible.  Seriously, I score terribly in the bible literacy department!  I ran across this group of nerdy jewish boys - they sing acapella songs about bible stories.  I felt like I came away a little bit bible smarter!  I don't really think I'd rock out to them on a routine basis....none the less rock on maccabeats!

I ran across a website called 'thoughtcatalog'.  I really liked it - it was offbeat and slightly 'off color' (that's my way of warning you that it's not for everyone....but I have a warped sense of humor).  When I logged on this morning it listed five things to do on a sunday - hallelujah!

Everyone has had that moment when they think 'I told you so, I told you so, and now you have to pay'!  These 'Dear Blank' letters totally cracked me up.

Of course I love this!  Sailing your boat metaphor?!  Sign me up!

Indiefixx posted a link about special collections.  I LOVED all the beach glass!  (Random tidbit:  I have jars and jars of beach glass - and while I hate it when people leave their beer bottles at the beach I always secretly hope that they become beach glass.....and I wish more beer companies bottled beer in cobalt and purple bottles :)  how about pink?!  I really need some pink beach glass!)  After oohing and aahing over the beach glass I followed the link to Jennifer Steen Booher's Etsy shop Quercusdesign.  I loved her beach combing photographs.  I especially love that she is from Bar Harbor, Maine.  I took a peek at her blog - which was like a little fix of Maine - no wonder I love her!

The little old ladies at my church can make butter out of any fruit imaginable.  I think the yummiest fruit butters for sure come from Hawai'i.  My best friend just gave away Lilikoi Butter as her wedding favor...yum-o!  That being said, I ran across a collection of butters & curds.  If I was home I'd be making fruit butter.  (How disgusting is the word curd?!  It sounds repulsive....if you asked me if I wanted to eat a curd I'd have to say no thank you.)

Sadly, I didn't take too many photos this week.  I'm about to check out a bike and go on a photo safari :)

Home Is Where The Heart Is

Yesterday was one of those days.  The kind of day where you realize exactly how lucky you are.  The kind of day that gets you in touch with people you haven't talked to in forever.  The kind of day that leaves you feeling so blessed it's overwhelming. Growing up in Hilo the tsunami sirens were routine.  They go off on the first of the month at 1145 - it doesn't matter how many times you've heard it - it's always eerie.  When I was a four my Mom and I lived right on the beach.  A tsunami evacuation was ordered and the sirens started going off big time.  My Dad came with his Isuzu Trooper and helped us load up everything we owned.  We were just throwing things into the back.  The items we picked were totally random....my Mom threw all of her books in, photo albums, clothes, paintings.....you name it we threw it.  We went and spent the night at my Dad's house in Honomu - I remember staying up all night waiting to see what would happen.  I was still pretty young and so I was really worried that Honomu wasn't far enough away from the water (it's not really far way but it's all about the elevation).  After the all clear we had to go home and put all our stuff back on the shelves - but I wasn't really over it.  I had a lot of nightmares about big waves.  I would dream that I was at the beach getting chased up the hill by a tidal wave.  My Dad took to me to a mall kiosk that made shirts and had a custom shirt made for me that said "HONOMU - NO TIDAL WAVES"....it was pink with navy blue fuzzy letters.

As I watched the images of Japan all I could think was 'I can't imagine how scared those people are!'  I kept remembering how scared I was at four years old.  I've been through several earthquakes that didn't seem small at all (and were half the magnitude of yesterdays quake) - they leave you jittery and scattered!  Tsunami evacuations are no joke - and I haven't seen anything like a locally generated tsunami!  My heart is breaking for Japan.  The damage there is so extensive and catastrophic that I almost feel guilty for talking about Hawaii's Tsunami.  With that being said, home is where the heart is....I can't help but share some clips from the Big Island.

The tsunami that hit the Big Island was more destructive than the media has let on - and rightly so considering what is going on in Japan.  That being said, hotel lobbies were destroyed, beach side iconic restaurants are awash and marinas damaged.  Our very close families friends beach house was washed 50 yards away and broken into pieces - cute little Kapua house we'll miss you!!!!

This clip was taken hours after the initial tsunami.  The surges lasted for hours.  This is why it is not okay to run right down to the beach when a tsunami warning is issued!!!  To quote a friend 'did you see that lucky lolo hanging from one tree?!'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Wh0_yNJhc&feature=player_embedded

This clip is a time lapse of the initial wave surges - amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjCV182S5y4&feature=player_embedded

Amateur photographs of some of the damage to Ali'i Drive.  Let's all count our blessings!  It could have been so much worse!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIOTrKR571Y&feature=related

The islands can always count on Frank DeLima for a little smile.  When disasters strike the first thing everyone in Hawaii does is stock up on toilet paper and rice - I guarantee the grocery store is totally out.  Also, I'm so happy he made fun of the baboose who was still in the water!  You can't cure stupid.  (Also, if you have never heard a tsunami siren....see what I mean about being eerie?!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtAfdAkho10

Busted

This is where I had dinner last night - when I'm with a group of people I very rarely tell them exactly how much I hate cheesy pirates. Last night I did rant a little bit on my way into the restaurant. My friends just looked disappointed.....like, maybe she's not as salty as we thought she was. My little commercialism of piracy rant was definitely not well received. Strangely, I quieted right down - this is very unusual. I normally like to argue. I just felt so guilty! I know what you're thinking - Megan needs to mellow out - she feels guilty for going to a pirate themed restaurant?! What a weirdo. But, there you have it. So I promised myself I'd blog about it and post a piracy factoid. Did you know that the Maersk Alabama was targeted by pirates again this week?! Luckily the attempt was unsuccessful.

Recently, the sole surviving pirate of the Alabama's notorious attack was awarded 34 years in prison - IN THE USA!!!! Great....now we are feeding and clothing them....I'll be 64 when he gets out of prison.....I'll have worked for years, put my kids through college and will be struggling to pay off my house before I can retire - my 401k will be my sole income because there won't be any social security for me....why?! Because it all went to the care of a rotten Somali pirate!!!!

THE END.

Questions?

Do any of you have questions you'd like to ask me? Let me know if you'd like me to talk / write about something specific. Maybe you are interested in shipboard life? Want specifics on one particular aspect of the shipping industry? Do you want to know what happens when I get sick? Let me know! I'd be happy to answer any questions....even personal ones! ASK AWAY!Here are some pretty flowers for you.....

A Public Service Announcement

Are you aware that the American Heart Association has once again changed it's CPR protocol? You may have previously learned the ABCs. Once ensuring that the scene is safe and establishing that the victim is unresponsive you would proceed to address their airway followed by two breaths and 30 compressions. NOW we are being taught CAB! As always, ensure the scene is safe and call for help. Spend no more than 5-10 seconds establishing the victim isn't breathing. BEGIN GIVING COMPRESSIONS IMMEDIATELY! The new thought is that there is enough residual oxygen in your system - manual compressions will get it moving - by skipping two breaths you get it moving quicker.

Travelin' Tootsies :: A Letter From Sea

Something a little different today. I just got this letter from a friend at sea. She is an amazing writer and I LOVE getting her emails! This one cracked me up because I got reprimanded for not boiling water long enough for tea in the Suez Canal too!! When we were in school we had code names that we used on walkie talkies when on the training ship. I was Pink Puma and she was Rubber Duckie. Thanks Rubber Duckie!! A Hoy Hoy Family and Friends, Salutations from “Sea-Hab.” It’s Betty Ford with 20 degree rolls and no Lindsey Lohan. Apart from reference to the crack whore in pageant make-up, the Western Mediterranean currently plays host to your author where she starts her rehab…uh-hum…email. As my desk chair sways with the continuous battering of beam seas and the smooth sounds of Ray LaMontagne waft in the background, I find this afternoon more reminiscent of a rainy, fall day in New England. The Cargo Planners were kind enough not to impede the view from my port hole, so I can stare longingly unto a thwarted horizon of thick stratus clouds and sheets of driving rain. I guess I could have saved time and carpel tunnel onset by saying, “I’m on a boat, and it’s raining.” Nothing compares to transiting the Suez Canal. A 20 hr transit through the desert with Egypt’s finest. It was 0540 as I hiked the steps to the bridge. Two decks below my destination, I was overwhelmed by a wave of Egyptian Old Spice and B.O….I was close. The fetid Egyptian was more reminiscent of the time Kirby got skunked behind the garden shed. Not only must we patronize these people to get them to do their job, but we must also feed and water them. They feel as though these services are owed to them, and they are very demanding. Though they are well versed with the English words “Marlboro” and “Coca Cola,” they have yet to master “Please” and “Thank You.”

Breakfast Time: Canal Pilot 1: “This tea isn’t hot enough. Water must be boiling.”

Me (Internal Monologue): “How about I pour it down your crotch? You may reconsider.”

Me (Real Time): “Sure.”

Canal Pilot 1: “I ordered four pieces of toast. There are only two!”

Me (Internal Monologue): “Listen up you fat manatee, by the looks of your waistline I feel you only need two.”

Me (Real Time): “Sure.”

As we continued our journey through the Canal, the pilot spent the majority of his time “talking” to his other Pilot friends via VHF or cell phone. I can only imagine the gossip was flying from the quantity of spit emitting from his mouth hole.

Canal Pilot 1: “Thwak, spit spit spit, Swack, spit spit, Tttthhhh, Hi-luk!” Translation: “Can you believe the bitch stole her Tupperware? Yeah…me neither.”

Later on, Mr. Pilot handed me the phone and told me his wife wanted to talk to me. Her English was far superior. I wanted to ask her if her husband ever hands his tea back to her. I refrained. Canal Pilot number two was far less agreeable than Canal Pilot number one. He and the Captain didn’t see eye to eye on many things. Mr. Pilot insisted our anemometer was broken (which it isn’t), and he complained when the Captain wouldn’t increase speed (we were a tenth of a knot away from the vessel ahead of us). The Pilot ratted on us, and we received a “nasty gram” from the Canal Authorities via SATCOM C stating we shall play nice...it is of the utmost importance. The Pilot was so disgusted with us; he refused to take his cigarettes. Victory! This brings us to the Red Sea. The weather has been so agreeable that I took in some Vitamin D on deck yesterday. I forget that white girls should use more sunscreen as my limbs pinked right up. Stick a fork in me…I’m done. The ship is preparing to set piracy watches this evening. The Somali Pirates have been extremely industrious in 2011 with at least 11 successful hijackings. We have reviewed our procedures to include our covert word if under duress. You speak the word within a sentence if you’re trying to gain access to a secure location while under duress (ex: Pirate has an AK-47 digging into your spine). I don’t know why, but they usually pick a word that’s absolutely impossible to place in a sentence.

Crewmember in duress: “Oh Shit. Fluffy Bunny? Fluffy Bunny…got into the life boat rations!!!”

Something like that…I also told the crewmembers if they say “Green Bay Packers” I wouldn’t let them in.

Well, I guess it’s time for me to get going. It appears the Second Engineer has been bitten by something from Arachnophobia in Hold 5. His upper arm has developed a softball size bruise with a hard, white center. Any ideas medical personnel? Hold 5 always harbors the really good bugs and rodents.

Fair winds and following seas,

Rubber Duckie