One of the things I thought about . . . I don’t say I
worried about it, or even feared it . . . but did think about, before starting
this journey, was how I would react/adapt to living on a ship. I suppose I’d call myself a “home
body,” even though I do enjoy going out for outings, meals, events . . . but when
it all comes down to it . . . ultimately, I enjoy being home in my own “castle”
for the night. While I certainly
don’t live in Shangri La, I do like my little condo, and feel as though it is
very “homey” and “me.” So, going
to live in a hotel for a month, followed by 6 months living in a single-room
cabin on a ship did raise some questions. As I’ve written before, I am fortunate in the fact that I
have my own cabin, and that it’s an officer’s cabin, so it’s somewhat of a good size
– college dorm size. The funny
thing is, I didn’t bring any pictures or personal effects. I have a little toy dachshund dog that
my friend, Leigh, gave me, that sits on my desk. Otherwise, my walls are bare, except for a panoramic print
of NYC with this ship in the foreground that was in the cabin when I arrived,
and a little calendar w/ my dad’s business card on it. I do also have a photo of a dolphin
jumping out of the water that I printed on a black and white computer just for
shits & giggles . . . actually there is a story behind that, but I’ll save
it for another posting. So, other
than that, the walls are bare. And
surprisingly, it doesn’t really bother me. I suppose it’s two-fold . . . one, I don’t spend a whole lot
of time in my cabin . . . I’m pretty much here to sleep, shower, change, and
poop. Although lately I have been
taking some time to myself and unwinding by watching some TV at night, before
bed, rather than staying in a bar.
And I guess number two is that it just isn’t “home.” Don’t get me wrong – I feel as though
this is where I’m supposed to be right now, but I just haven’t made it “home,”
and for the first time that I can remember, I’m OK with that. Still, I did put up the Christmas cards
that were sent to Mom & Dad, and given to me on Dec. 23. That’s the photo here. They came down today, so I’m back to
“normal” . . . whatever that is in this situation.
Tonight we had music happening all around the ship, in
various venues. The production
cast performed PURE VARIETY at 7pm and 9pm. The big party is up on the pool deck – a lovely ¾+ moon
shone and a balmy tropical breeze blew.
Party favors and silly hats were abound, and the Cruise Director did a
countdown 10 seconds before midnight. At midnight, the big old horn blew and
the party raved on. At 12:30am, we
turned our clocks back an hour (we do that weekly, as we head west, to Central
America) and the whole hoopla happened again a second time, at the “new”
midnight. I was in bed for that
one. Once is MORE than enough for
me!
OK, now I’ve done New Year’s Eve on a ship. It’s no more and no less exciting than
it is on land. Thank goodness it
only comes once a year!
