What blog? For those of you who follow this dusty ol' rhyme from the high seas (ahem, mom), I apologize for the recent lack of new words and thoughts 'round here. The rocking of the ship, coupled with my own carelessness caused a coffee spill a few cruises ago and a few essential letters on my keyboard have since gone kaput and never came back. I've nonetheless devised a way to type, but it takes a long time and, well, I'm lazy.
Anyway, that's not important. What is important is that today, this moment right here, wherein I'm sitting in a cafe, eating a pizza, drinking a cafe doble, I am basking in the still novel feeling that I am done. It's over. Fin. Koncheelos. If this were a normal turnover day, new passengers would be arriving in fifteen minutes, but it's not. When I go back to the ship for the last time tonight it will be to celebrate and say farewell to those I got to know over the past four months.
Boy, we had fun. Copious laughter, a couple tears, some bruises, a flying fish, a storm, a marriage proposal, many birthdays, a Christmas, a polar plunge, and a heart-shaped Valentine's Day cake that was literally the frosting on my entire season. Retrospect is already starting to kick in, painting my memories a warm orangey hue of sunset.
And now, after catering to eleven cruises full of vacationers its my turn to escape a routine that was escape to so many others. I will not miss spending ten hours a day every day behind that little bar, but Antarctica, well, I can't wait to see her again.
