Images from Dry Dock

Life at sea, on land

The Sea Princess recently went through its dry dock, where the ship gets refitted.  Cruise ships are in service 365 days a year.  The day we drop off passengers is also the day we take on passengers.  We get about 2 hours every 2 weeks when we don't have passengers.

So all the things that break and need to be fixed when the ship is out of service go on a big list.  Then that big list gets prioritized, budgeted and slashed.  Then in dry dock, every department completes their list.

At the same time.

24 hours per day.

For 10 days.

This was my first dry dock experience, and it was exhausting.  It reminded me of tech weeks on land, where everyone wants the space, the conditions (silence, darkness, etc), the equipment all for themselves, and they clamor to get what they want.  And when we're done, we're done.  The curtain goes up when we go back in service, and tech week is done.  The show better be ready.

So after a slow start where everyone got everything started, the last few days were a sprint to the finish to get things done, taught and checked off.  And I ended up in the middle of it, for my department, as the department head.

So, a new floor, sound console and main curtain later, the Princess Theater is shining.  The atrium system was completely redone, and all our venues have been health-checked, cleaned and repaired.  And everything, which should be sparkling and shiny and lovely, is a mess.  There is dust everywhere, random bits of kit stashed in corners, tools jumbled and a general sense of disarray and jobs left half done.

Sigh.  So much for the glowing concept of the refit as a magical time to end all worries and make wishes come true.

I'm off to repaint an audio snake to match its white marble surroundings.

Go West Young (wo)man

 From Driggs, Idaho to San Francisco, California, I decided to pick up my 42^nd state.  I went the long way, through Oregon, despite having a very tight time frame.  I left Idaho on Tuesday, August 28^th, and had to join the ship on Friday, August 31^st.  The drive was over 20 hours, and I still needed to rent a storage container and put all my stuff in it.  No worries, plenty of time to see Bend.

So it was onward into the sunset, across blazing hot open range (sometimes literally blazing hot).

I stopped at BLM land to spend the night, pulled well off the highway on a dirt track and pitched camp.  I made myself comfy with a sleeping bag and pad stretched out on the ground, then read myself to sleep.  So much better than a hotel parking lot.  I’m getting the hang of this hobo thing.

Then off to Bend for breakfast, south to California, around the smoky Mount Shasta (woah, that’s tall), and home to San Francisco.

Now to pack up my life into a small locker.  Oh wait, that’s no different than shoving it in a car…

That took less than an hour.  I love not having too many possessions.  Although I was surprised by the way that storage unit filled up so quickly.  I have a fair bit of stuff.  Four boxes worth.  Might be time to purge.