Cathedrals, Mozzarella, and Gypsy's with fire.

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After over one month aboard I was finally able to get ashore!  Feet on solid ground folks! Catania, Italy was like a feast for the senses.  Gorgeous old buildings, winding cobbled streets, fresh cheese, Gypsy's throwing fire with lazy dogs hanging around, every flavor of Gelato imaginable, quaint cafe's. .....

My camera was out non-stop.  Here are some of my favorites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is it Auguster or August-ah?

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I'm in Augusta, Italy. Coming into port my AB was filling out his shore leave form and asked me 'what the hell is an August(pronounced like the month)ah(pronounced like the oh, i see kind of 'ah')'.  I said, 'We're going to Augusta silly!'

My Captain is from Southern Maine...they like to add an 'er' to words that end with an 'a'.  So he keeps saying 'Auguster' and every time he says it I have to swallow a laugh.

 

 

For the record...I believe it's pronounced Ah-goose-tah....

Gratitude

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I'm sure you have all picked up on the fact that my attitude has been less than stellar.  I normally try to keep the blog on the more positive side - with a few rants thrown in here and there  (remember the bean incident?!).  However, I'm having a really hard time doing that...so I figured I'd get it right out in the open.  I'm having a tough rotation.  For some reason this rotation just feels hard.  The kicker is that I can't figure out what is making it seem so hard.  I can obviously pin point a few things that are contributing factors - but the bottom line is I've survived worse - with a better attitude!  I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm depressed....but I just don't feel happy.

Because I've been feeling so down I've been brainstorming ways to perk myself up.  I mean after all....I know life is grand!  I especially know that my life is grand!  I've been thinking about gratitude....more specifically I've been thinking that I should be more grateful.  Last Thanksgiving I posted about some of the things I was grateful for......and today when I went to create a similar post I drew a blank!  As far as I'm concerned that's just unacceptable!

It always seems that as soon as something is at the forefront of your mind it turns up everywhere you look.  I stumbled upon this quote about gratitude today.

 

BE GRATEFUL TO THOSE WHO HAVE HURT OR HARMED YOU, FOR THEY HAVE REINFORCED YOUR DETERMINATION.

BE GRATEFUL TO THOSE WHO HAVE DECEIVED YOU, FOR THEY HAVE DEEPENED YOUR INSIGHT.

BE GRATEFUL TO THOSE WHO HAVE HIT YOU, FOR THEY HAVE REDUCED YOUR KARMIC OBSTACLES.

BE GRATEFUL TO THOSE WHO ABANDONED YOU, FOR THEY HAVE TAUGHT YOU TO BE INDEPENDENT.

BE GRATEFUL TO THOSE WHO HAVE MADE YOU STUMBLE, FOR THEY HAVE STRENGTHENED YOUR ABILITY.

BE GRATEFUL TO THOSE WHO HAVE DENOUNCED YOU, FOR THEY HAVE INCREASED YOUR WISDOM AND CONCENTRATION.

" — Venerable  Master Chin Kung 

 

Now, while I had originally been thinking about being grateful for things and stuff after reading this quote, I realized that maybe I should shift my gratitude focus to people, experiences and opportunities.  Because I'm not going to lie...I'm having a hard time finding common ground and establishing relationships with some of my shipmates (remember when I said I could pin point some things.....well...this would be the biggie).

Because I was a permanent crew member on my last ship for 3 years I was deeply entrenched in "shipboard culture'.  I had friends!  People I want to stay in touch with.  When I was being a biatch someone told me so!  To my face!  When the Chief Mate was getting cranky I'd tell him to take a nap - and he'd trust me to manage cargo without an oil spill!  I really took for granted the level of camaraderie and trust that occurred daily.

I'm grateful that I was able to experience being a member of a cohesive crew - I'm grateful that I learned how to be a good shipmate - I'm grateful that I learned how to work hard (and play hard) - I'm grateful that people took the time to teach me.

Now, that I'm in a new environment and am slightly floundering I'm grateful that I've gained perspective.

Maybe by the end of my rotation I'll be able to say 'I'm grateful for being able to sail with such great new shipmates'.  I promise I'll work on this....but don't hold your breath.

 

In a nutshell....

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The past few days in a nutshell:

 

  • It seems like peoples favorite question to ask me about sailing is whether or not I get seasick.  Yes, why yes I do.....yarfing while having to hold onto the toilet so you don't slide away (because the ship is rolling) is no fun.

  • I saw two whales floating around.  They looked really happy and seemed to be enjoying the sun.

 

  • I didn't tell you guys this but someone charged three airline tickets to my debit card....for a whopping total of 2500 dollars!  It really, really sucked because it came straight out of my checking account....rather than if it had been done to my visa.  But yesterday, the bank put the money back for me!  Yay!  There is still some justice in the world....now if only they could nab the little shits who did it.

  • I'm back on 6 and 6.  Which means 6 hours on and 6 hours off....I've explained that this sucks.  What really sucks is that I keep getting soooo close to seeing the sunrise!  I keep thinking SWEET!  Photo Op!!!!!  Then it's no dice...I crawl into my bed before seeing any gilded skies....

 

  • Yesterday, a bridge component stopped working...after trouble shooting and trouble shooting and trouble shooting I figured out that the gyrocompass was not receiving a signal from GPS #1.  I realized that GPS #1 was not receiving information from GPS #2.  In the process of getting the two units to communicate I somehow lost my waypoint database....all 1,000 programmed waypoints - GONE.  This is a very, very, very BAD Second Mate day.  I almost cried....but I didn't.

 

(So you see I'm not ignoring you guys....please don't stop reading my blog!  I'm just tired and cranky and trying to spare you all!!!!)