The North Wind – (05/10/2011)

~ The wind called to Vianne, it spoke of places and adventures waiting to be discovered, of friends in need yet to be met, of challenges yet to be faced….by someone else…next time~ – Chocolat

When a contract ends it’s an odd combination of bitter and sweet, as you’ve doubtlessly gathered by the tone of recent updates. At the end of this week, those few of us that are left from January will pack up our lives into two or three suitcases, pictures will come down off the walls, scrapbooks will be tossed into the bottom of shoulder bags to be thumbed through later when the urge to relive Hong Kong, Singapore, Universal Studios, Luxor, Easter Island (even though I wasn’t on board for Easter Island) rear up once we’ve been ashore for a while. Photographs will be backed up, hard drives unhooked and wrapped up to be carried home and backed up to home PCs, laptops will finally be properly unplugged and stored.

Pack your life back up, shoulder its weight and move on to the next.

For my part, my handover notes for my replacement have already been written and sent off to the head office for approval, my flight details are already arranged, leaving only the necessity of checking in, and then the inevitably hellish procedure of getting to and from the airport…

“Please remember to store all carry-ons in the overhead bins or under the seat in front of you…”

It is therefore both my sorrow and my joy to announce that these pages will be going on temporary hiatus until such time as I set foot on the water again.

Don’t worry, it won’t be long, but for now I need a breather, and space to enjoy what I’m sure will feel like an all-too-brief-vacation. I need to center myself a bit and spend some time with friends and family who know little to nothing about the crazy life I lead below the water line save what I tell them J Where I can just be a normal girl, not having to watch what I say, or what I do, or worry that I’m saying the wrong thing to the wrong person from the moment I roll out of bed. Where my bed stays still and my days start when I want them to.

Until I start craving salt again, until the urge to see what’s over the next hill, the next wave, the next horizon, starts building again. Until I next take off to follow the north wind.

In short, I’m burned out, and I need some time to recharge before heading out for my summer contract.

Thank you for following the whirlwind travels of a girl who calls a moving ship her home for the majority of the year.

Bright blessings, and see you in Alaska!

Till next,

Shaughnessy,