A Hazy Gibraltar

Passing The Rock is a milestone.  In and Out of the Mediterranean.  It means we're one leg closer to crossing the Atlantic to come home!  This evening the view of The Rock of Gibraltar was lame.  I know, I know....picky, picky!

It was hazy.  Blah.  More importantly, there was a fair amount of traffic so I couldn't spend too much time taking photos.  (Again with the blah!)

It made me long for a trip to see THE MONKEYS!  God, I love those monkeys.  I also love me some crazy Gibraltar Sunrises.  That would have been a nice treat too.

I guess we'll have to settle for hazy with mini tankers in the foreground....

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M.L.I.S.W. :: When you're sliding into home....

and your pants are full of foam..... (Warning:  This post will be gross....)

DIARRHEA!  DIARRHEA!  

Upon departure from Damietta, Egypt quite a few crew members had a case of the Green Apple Splatters.

Everyone knows that the squirts aren't fun....now try to imagine how absolutely god awful the squirts are on a ship.

I mean really, being sick is never, ever fun.  Especially when you lack the creature comforts that home provides.  Two ply toilet paper is a prime example.  Trust me when I tell you that one ply starts feeling like 30 grit sandpaper in no time!

A diarrhea outbreak on a ship provides many, many my life is so weird moments.  (Like when a 57 year old AB gives me a full dissertation on his bowel movements for the last 24 hours.)  But of course, my favorite my life is so weird moments almost always occur on the bridge during watch.  Because seriously, there is never a better time to have the weirdest conversations!

ME:  Awww man....I think the bug finally caught up with me!  My stomach is in KNOTS!

AB:  Have you barfed out your butt yet?

ME:  Noooo....

AB:  Nope.  You don't have it.

Nautie Notes :: Red Sky In The Morn'

Dear Mediterranean Skies,

The fact that we've been blessed with so many good cloud days in a row makes me incredibly happy.  Thank you.

Dear Aunt Kay,

I'm really glad you're liking the book!  Also, I've been facebook stalking....what the heck is bumbershoot?!  By the way, Jasper is reaallyyy handsome!

Dear Mom,

Please, please, please wait for me before doing anything with all those amazing dresses. Pretty please?

Dear Big Bertha,

You've yet to fail me, you know that?  Thank you for being the most awesome camera ever.  I mean that....from the bottom of my heart.  You have never ever, not even once, not brightened my day when I've picked you up.

Dear Little Bird,

It makes me very, very sad that you've landed on our ship.  I wish there was some way I could give you water.  Unfortunately, things aren't looking too good for you.

Dear Techno-Phobes,

Listen- I'm not a freakin' computer guru.  All I know is that you gotta start somewhere.  I hate to break it to ya but computers...they're not going anywhere!

Dear Tea Stash,

I was really, really hoping that I'd have you to drink for my whole trip.  How am I supposed to mellow out without some Tension Tamer?!  How am I supposed to go to sleep without some Sleepy Time?!

Dear Nautie Book Readers,

Have you checked out the Forum for UNBROKEN?  It exists, I swear!  I haven't heard too much from you all as to whether or not you're enjoying the book!  Weeeellll?  Yay or Nay?

Dear Nautie Friends,

I hope you all had an absolutely fabulous Labor Day Weekend!

A Good Cloud Day

Yesterday was a good cloud day. I knew it would be when I came up to watch and saw an almost full moon smack dab in the middle of the bridge windows surrounded by fluffy clouds.

We had a series of squalls blow throw all day that were great.  Minus the fact that it's fun to watch it rain after not seeing any for months - We needed a fresh water wash down sooooo badly!

Let's start with the moon, shall we?

Then the sun rose.  It wasn't a super fancy sunrise.  It was simple and golden.

By mid-morning the clouds were really blowing through....and bringing some rain with them.

By late afternoon we were looking at water spouts and a peach color sky.

Our peach colored sky quickly turned into a washed out horizon that was a sickly pale yellow.  The wind and rain just absolutely pelted the deck.

Like I said....it was a good cloud day.

When You Go Hard Your Nay's Become Yay's

Yesterday I got off watch feeling defeated - the last port call was a doozy and it left me feeling frustrated.  At times, this can be a thankless job.  Rarely do people (meaning office personnel or customers) care what it takes to get the job done - they just want it done.  Getting the cargo safely loaded felt like a huge success.  There were challenges - we overcame them!  There were times when it didn't look like it would happen - we got past them!  We did it! When we left port, all I heard about were the shortcomings of the evolution.  Where were my pats on the back?!  Where were my 'ataboys?!   Where was my simple, 'thank you'?!

I'm finding it difficult managing all the 'little things'.  It's easy to focus on the BIG picture.  Move the cargo on and off.  Don't let anyone get hurt.  It's not so easy managing all the other stuff.  Did so and so get to eat yet?  Did the Mate on Watch remember to grab the garbage receipt?  Have I written Night Orders?

I figured that the only way to get over my Mad On was to take a walk.  A nice brisk walk about the deck with my iPod blaring some good 'ole Nicki Minaj.  (I love me some Nicki Minaj...)  As you all know, I pretend sometimes that my life is a musical and that it comes with a soundtrack.

When FLY came on, it was exactly what I needed to hear.  Maybe it was the shark reference but, when this song started all I could think about was our Nautie Book selection UNBROKEN.....and what a baby I was being.

Check out these lyrics:

I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise To fly To fly I wish today it will rain all day Maybe that will kinda make the pain go away Trying to forgive you for abandoning me Praying but I think I'm still an angel away Angel away, yeah strange in a way Maybe that is why I chase strangers away They got their guns out aiming at me But I become Neo when they're aiming at me Me, me, me against them Me against enemies, me against friends Somehow they both seem to become one A sea full of sharks and they all smell blood They start coming and I start rising Must be surprising, I'm just surmising I win, thrive, soar, higher, higher, higher More fire I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise To fly To fly

Everybody wanna try to box me in Suffocating every time it locks me in Paint their own pictures then they crop me in But I will remain where the top begins Cause I am not a word, I am not a line I am not a girl that can ever be defined I am not fly, I am levitation I represent an entire generation I hear the criticism loud and clear That is how I know that the time is near So we become alive in a time of fear And I ain't got no mothereffin’ time to spare Cry my eyes out for days upon days Such a heavy burden placed upon me But when you go hard your nay's become yay's Yankee Stadium with Jay's and Kanye's

I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise To fly To fly

Get ready for it Get ready for it Get ready for it I came to win

I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise To fly To fly

Why does anyone owe me a thank you?  For overcoming an obstacle?  For becoming stronger and more capable?

When I arrive on a vessel I should come knowing that my only goal is to thrive, to conquer, to survive.  Because truly, when you go hard your nay's become yay's.

This much I know is true (Imagine I'm Oprah when I say that)...I get stronger everyday.  As lame as that sounds, I honestly get stronger every single freakin' day.

I realize picking up heavy lifts doesn't scream, 'sage life lessons learned' but, if I learned even just one thing during this last evolution I'm a little bit stronger.  Okay fine, maybe 'stronger' isn't even the right word.  Maybe I'm a little bit more experienced, maybe I'm a little bit more confident, maybe I'm a little bit more patient.  Any way you look at it, I'll be better the next time.

I don't know about you but, this more than anything is what I took away from UNBROKEN.  The fact that we can survive - can thrive - can prosper - against all odds.

Laura Hillenbrand says of Louie, “His conviction that everything happened for a reason, and would come to good, gave him laughing equanimity even in hard times.”.

Isn't that just the truth?  It reminds me of one of my all time favorite quotes.  Attitude:  The difference between adventure and ordeal.

Alright fine...this post was a little all over the place BUT, what I'm trying to say is this:

This shit is freakin' hard.  Which means I've been working hard.  Working hard doesn't mean anyone owes you anything.  In fact, the option always remains to work even harder because when you go hard your nay's become yay's.  Don't forget, this hard thing might be exactly what you need.

At the end of the day it all boils down to this:

I will remain where the top begins Cause I am not a word, I am not a line I am not a girl that can ever be defined I am not fly, I am levitation I represent an entire generation I hear the criticism loud and clear That is how I know that the time is near So we become alive in a time of fear And I ain't got no mothereffin’ time to spare 

Damietta, Egypt :: Welll......

Damietta, Egypt might've been my most challenging port ever. Part of the challenge is its proximity to the Suez Canal.  The Suez Canal is crazy.  It's an incredibly long day with a lot of curve balls thrown into the mix.  Upon exiting the Canal it's about 4 hours to to port of Damietta.  This leaves very, very little time for recovery before another onslaught of curve balls heads your way.

While I may complain about my job to anyone who'll listen I don't actually want to lose it.  Which means, I can't tell you too many specifics about why this last port stay was so challenging.  What I will say, is that it involved mechanical failure of cranes, a pesky port authority and in general, pure unadulterated chaos.

To be quite honest, I wanted to skim over this port on the blog and pretend that it had never happened.  The problem is, we just completed our heaviest lift to date - 310 tons!  I couldn't not show off the lift!!!!

This lift is a generator that is being returned to the manufacturer under warranty (I mean, you all didn't really think that Damietta is producing generators, right?!).

Of course, I don't have only one photo!  I took a bunch of crappy iPhone photos for your enjoyment!

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