M.L.I.S.W :: Love Potion

in

I'm sitting at the computer doing a little work when I begin tuning in to what my ABs are discussing on watch.... AB1:  You need to get a jar and put some gold and a leech in it.

AB2:  What kind of gold?

AB1:  Gold!  Gold!

AB2:  What, like a chain?

AB1:  Yes!  Gold!

AB2:  mmmm

AB1:  You take out the jar and you bury it.  At sunset!  You leave it there for 40 days.

AB2:  40 days?!  That's over a month!  I'll already be dead!!!!!!

AB1:  After 40 days you dig it up.  There will be like an oil in there.

AB2:  Well, what about my chain? 

AB1:  It's gone!  The leech ate it!

AB2:  How the hell am I going to find a leech?!  It's going to bite me to shit!

AB1:  You just need to get that leech....don't you have any rivers or something?

AB2:  I don't want a bite....

AB1:  Well, when you dig up the jar you'll be glad you did it.  A jar, some gold and a leech.

ME:  (at this point I had to pipe up)  What the hell are you guys talking about?

AB1:  Magic oil from a jar, some gold and a leech.

ME:  I get that but, what do you do with the oil?

AB1:  You rub it on you.

ME:  Yeah...but, what does it do?!

AB1:  It's a love potion.

AB2:  Shiiiiit....get outta here.

AB1:  You gotta be careful - it can be dangerous.

AB2:  Dangerous?!

AB1:  Yes.  You put it on and then people are deadly attracted to you.

AB2:  Why is that dangerous?

AB1:  Well....they're attracted to you!

AB2:  Well what about your Mom or Sister?!

ME:  Well....you wouldn't touch them right?  Because that would be weird....

AB1:  First you need to know the poem cause you have to say it when you bury the jar.

AB2:  Shhhiiiiitttttt.

AB1:  Yeah, the poem is the secret.

AB2:  Whats the poh-eem.

AB1 / ME:  chuckling at AB1s pronunciation of the word poem

AB2:  I know I say it weird!  I'm from the South, alright?!

AB1:  Listen, just do it.  You need to get that jar buried with the leech!  You'll be glad you did.

ME:  I realize that sometimes my life is so weird and figure I better get back to work and tune them back out.

 

2011 Best.

in

What better way to ring in the new than pay homage to the old?

 

I rang in the new year by flying to Florida and taking all the classes required to upgrade to Chief Mate!  I managed to get a few good beach days in and met tons of new friends!

 

 

After completing all my classes I submitted my application to sit for my exam and flew home to wait it out.  I decided since there wasn't enough going on that I better get all four wisdome teeth removed.  What the hell was I thinking?!

 

 

While still recovering from the most pain my mouth has ever experienced I moved out of my lovely little Hilo Hale (Hilo House) and headed to the East Coast!  (I should really say that my Mom and Aunties moved me out of my house while I tried not to cry on the couch.)  I really didn't feel like leaving once it was time to go - insert semi-sad face.

 

 

I flew back to Florida where I studied my Patooty off for two and half weeks before sitting for my Chief Mates Exam (which may in fact have been the most stressful thing I've ever done).  Meet Megan the Nautie Chief Mate!!!!

 

 

Two days after passing my Chief Mates exam I joined a new ship.  I missed my old ship dreadfully (I had been there for three years!).

 

 

 The great thing about my new ship was a whole new set of ports.  Being able to visit the Parthenon while in port was fantabulous!

 

 

 After documenting my sunrises since the creation of this blog I saw the most amazing sunrise on my way to the Azores.  I have never seen anything like it and the photos just didn't do it justice.  The way the colors banded across the sky blew my mind.  (By the way, the Azores were gorgeous.)

 

 

When I finished my rotation at work I flew to Maine instead of Hawaii.  I missed my old stomping grounds!  I bought a car found a house and visited, visited, visited!  The best part of being back in New England?  Friends with boats!

 

 

After enjoying a fun filled New England Fall, a bit of snow, a trip to Norfolk, VA to work in the corporate offices and a brief stint in Florida it was back to work.  Immediately upon my return to work I had my coolest day in port ever.  Can we say 'Holy Monkeys!'?!

 

Dec 21st

 

This year there were 271 posts!!  That means that I blogged 74% of my days - Thank you Nautie Friends for sticking with me!

I'm excited about what the New Year has to offer and can't wait to take things up a notch!

 

It will be RUNG!

in ,

Last year I welcomed in the new year by trekking down to Kalapana to play with the lava.  It was strangely appropriate - along with the fiery flow you get new life.  Fresh new land and a chance for baby ferns to take root. For the past few days I've been thinking very hard about the past year.  What were my 2011 successes?  Which parts of the year am I wishing I could change?  Did I meet my goals?  There are some resounding YES's!  The Yes's make me feel tingly and proud however; I didn't meet all of my goals.  I feel some disappointment which I find frustrating.  I think maybe I'm being a little hard on myself....but the disappointment makes me think that maybe this year requires a more calculated approach to goal meeting.  Maybe the disappointment means that I should spend more time contemplating my last 12 months so that I can set more realistic goals.

I had big plans for a post to ring in the new year however; the plans have been put on hold due to loading cargo, 12 hours between ports, discharing cargo and tank washing.  Which leads me back to the whole realistic goals idea....

There will be more to come - I may ring the new year in a little late but, it WILL be RUNG darnit! 

I hope that all of you Nautie Friends and Family have a smashing New Years!  I am so excited to be ringing in the New Year with you all!

Gibraltar :: The Monkeys!

in , ,

OH. MY. GOD.  THE MONKEYS!

 

 

This was HANDS DOWN my favorite part of the Gibraltar tour.  I've been going through my photos of monkeys for days and days and days.....I couldn't narrow it down!  I finally decided to post every photo that was even quasi decent.

Now, technically the monkeys aren't monkeys - they're apes.  But when I think ape I think Gorilla...and these monkeys were small enough to sit on your head....I know because the monkeys sat on my head!  SERIOUSLY.

When you get to the 'top of the rock' there is a large monkey population.  They are probably the largest tourism draw on the island - and they know their business.  They steal things from you...jump on your tour van and grab the wheel....steal treats from your driver....pounce on your head when you aren't looking....pounce on your back and crawl up to your shoulder so that your tour guide has to feed them to make them happy...I'm telling you, they know their job...which is...entertain the tourists damnit!

When we got to the tippy top of the rock their was a little family a Mom, Dad and two babies.  Ridiculously cute.  The Mom was picking lice out of the Dad and the babies were playing nearby.  One of the babies comes over to bother the parents and the Dad literally swats him away and makes a face!  Ha!  Then the babies move further away and start mock fighting with eachother.  It was awesome. 

I also really liked the mom with her baby playing with a discarded plastic bag.  They looked so lovingly at eachother!

Big Papa sleeping near the swings kinda cracked me up....he was probably the biggest monkey I saw.

I have a bunch of photos of the monkeys scaring the crap out of me as the pull my hair and sit on my shoulder...sometimes dragging my shirt off my shoulders....risque little monkeys!

This is the last of my Gibraltar series but, if you ask me, I saved the best for last!  (The Mom, Dad and babies were my favorite....)

Which ones were your favorites?!

(Don't forget you can easily scroll through this gallery by clicking on an image - there are about fifty so you'll need to open tabs 1,2 and 3....)

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Gibraltar :: The Airport

in , ,

Gibraltar has a pretty crazy airport.  It is directly on the Spanish border and both sides of the runway drop off into the water.  What's even crazier is that the main road - the one in and out of Gibraltar goes directly across the runway!  When we left Gibraltar we literally had to walk across the runway (along with TONS of others).  Apparently, the road simply gets shut down anytime there is air traffic (I think I heard mentioned that there are 4 flights a day landing from the UK).  If that's not crazy I don't know what is.