Knife Throwing

If you're having a bad day on a ship, it's hard to get away from anyone. That being said, you have to be strategic about knowing just who to go to in order to get OUT of your bad mood. For me, it's Bagus, the Indonesian crew bartender. The thing about the bar is that it's ridiculously cheap to buy good alcohol. We're talking $1 Jack and Cokes. Needless to say, the man's a genius. While having a particularly rough day a couple days ago, I went to sit with Bags in the OB and wind down with a drink. He decided there was no sitting and moping in his bar (especially when he was bored) and proceeded to teach me to play darts. Hours later, many drinks later, and several rounds of darts later, we switched to throwing his paring knives at the dart board. He was amused and slightly scared that I did better at the knives than I had at the darts. The tip of one is currently stuck in the door that holds the board. Whoops, my bad. I was in a far better mood than before, despite maiming one of Bags' knives.

Life tends to be slightly surreal living on a ship. The water is an otherworldly blue, it's sunny and in order to create a relaxing atmosphere for vacationers, there are no reminders of the days on the ship. This creates massive confusion for me. I know that we're in Florida on Sundays. Other than that, I really have no gauge for what day of the week it might be. The days are referred to by either their port destination or the lack thereof (simply a sea day). As such, I apologize now for randomly calling someone and having no idea what day is.

I just settled into life on this ship and now have to transfer on Sunday. I'm sure it will be fun once I actually reach my next ship, but I have a total of two days worth of travel from Florida to Mexico before I actually reach my destination. All because of the fact that I'm American. And only Americans can be photographers in Alaska. The ship I'm on now goes to Europe and South Africa.... I get to go to... Alaska. Dammit. Thus far being the only American has had some humorous advantages and I'm sure Alaska will be alright, it's just that it's Alaska. This ship is going to Europe. Which one sounds more fun to you?

Being around Brits constantly is confusing and enlightening all at once. The other day, Lauren asked me if someone had 'tried me on.' I was so confused and my mind took that a totally different direction that Lauren had intended, but apparently that's how they say 'hit on.' I honestly think trying on is more relevant in that situation, but it makes me think of socks. Which when applied to people is just plain weird. I should make a notebook filled with the random phrases that these guys have taught me in just two weeks. Last night at dinner while listening to them talk, I realized that 90% of it or so was way over my head. I have no idea what they're talking about the majority of the time, let alone actually understanding them. It's a constant guessing game for me, and I sort of just fill in the blanks. Which has landed me in hot water before, but it's comical.