Winding down

The mood on the ship is subdued. People have one foot on the ship and one foot off. Then with papers and exams it seems a lot like the end of any semester, but maybe more final than that. Like the last week of high school (without the silly string and water balloons).

Three nights ago was the Ambassador's Ball. This is a little SAS tradition dating back to the very beginning. It's prom. Everyone gets dressed up, they serve you a fancy dinner. There's a champagne toast and jazz music, there was even a tissue paper arch that you could get your picture taken under. I was planning on going, but at the last minute I started feeling weird about closing the library for the whole night. Also, all the preparations and hoopla were starting to give me a pukey, grouchy, curmudgeonly feeling. So I stayed in the library. I'm glad I did too. There were a few students who really were glad I was there. It sounds like it was fun, but I don't think I really missed out on a whole lot. I didn't hear any wild party time stories that I wish I had been in on.

Two nights ago we were suppose to be having a little party for our work study students who had their birthday's while we were at sea. Mary and I were pretty tickled that our students had taken it upon themselves to arrange it, and I was feeling pretty pleased about the little community that I had helped build. So, we showed up to a private room off the dining room, and we all ate dinner together and talked and laughed, then they brought in the cake that said "Thank you Mary and Erika!" Can you believe that? They'd made us cards too. Those kids are the sweetest things EVER! Working with them and getting to know them has really been one of my favorite things about this voyage. We've worked them really hard too.

Last night was the talent show. There's some really talented people on the ship. Some of the highlights were: our student worker Megan singing, professor Michael Karlberg performing an original blues song, the dependent children doing a step dance performance, professor David Snyder's impersonations of a fork and an electric toothbrush, and the swing dancing club doing a dance routine.

That's the last of the special events for this voyage. There'll be a little convocation ceremony the last day, but the rest is study days and finals. Well except today is pajama day which is a theme day I can really get behind.

Yesterday the ocean was very rough, today so far it seems not so bad. The Explorer's current position is 31 degrees 15.3 N / 042 degrees 24.2 W.

The barcoding project is almost done. All that's left is videos and that's sort of slow going. I'm going to see what kind of progress we make today, and we might need to go to plan B, but I think we're going to get through it. Kelly and Rich volunteered all afternoon shelf reading. I'm going to have to find time at some point to do my end of voyage report, and make some additions and changes to the manual. I'm sure it'll all work itself out though, tra-la-la.

The main conversations on the ship these days revolve around what one is looking forward to the most about being home (excluding seeing family and friends, which is a given). Here are the common things: doing your own laundry (that's not just me), eating what you want when you want it, driving (though some people say that's something they're dreading), TV, Mexican food, unlimited internet. I'm looking forward to Raising Cane's chicken fingers, seeing my pets, doing my own laundry (I miss Downey), and not having to see one single travel guide.