“If you’re not a ten you’re a nine point nine.”
‘Relax and recharge’ that’s the theme for today, as we sail slowly through the straights of Messina, passing by the city where only last season I sat on a wall with a notebook in my lap and watched the golden lions roar and the bells chime and climbed to the top of the bell tower in the Italian sunshine. There are a few people, naturally, who are disappointed that we aren’t calling there on this route, but of course we can’t stop everywhere. And this area of the world presents so much to see that it would be foolish to try.
In fact we’re moving so slowly we can hardly be said to be moving at all. The sea slips by as at a pace that might be equivalent to a speedy snail. Or perhaps not so speedy as that!
It’s hard to believe my first week here is almost over. I’m not really sure I expect the time to go so quickly. Of course, a large portion of that could be due to the amount of work I’ve had to do in reconstructing the library, but it’s hard to say. I think time just generally goes quickly at some points.
Tomorrow we head to Greece and the gateway port for Olympia, which is still on my list of things to do but won’t be happening this week due to the inevitable beginning-of-contract budget constraints. But I like the gateway port itself, even though there’s not much there, so I’ll likely wander about for a bit and eat some yummy food and then wander on back. This early on I take any chance I can to get off the ship since everything is still fresh and new.
That’s not to say that life is perfect, life is never ‘perfect’. There are little problems on every ship and this one is no different, but the problems here are minor: a colleague who won’t stop calling my roommate at midnight, a cabin steward who doesn’t like making my bed because I have my own linens instead of company ones, the fact that one of my laminated images that’s been with me for nearly a two years of travelling (and is one I can’t so far find a replacement for) seems to have mysteriously vanished between that contract and this, there’s a shelf under my desk in the office that is in exactly the right place to leave black & blue on my shins (I’ve asked them to take out already J ) – but all these are little things. Tiny things. Things that you just kind of shrug off and deal with (okay so the picture is aggravating 😛 ).
Maybe it’s just because I’m in Italy. For the first summer in three years I’m in sunlight instead of the drab, draining Alaska rain. I’m looking out at waves that are bright blue instead of slate grey and having to worry about putting on sunscreen in the morning instead of rain gear.
That kind of thing can make a big difference in your attitude whether you realize it or not at the time.
I’m actually excited about this contract. More so than I really thought I was when it started. That twelve hour flight really took it out of me. But I’ve got a great team, and I have a good office space, and I’m in what’s probably one of my favourite countries in the world all summer.
And of course, Alanse and his wife are joining me at the end of the month, though only one of them is remotely aware that I’m here. THAT has been a difficult secret to keep…
Even the coffee here tastes better.
So yeah, life may never be perfect? But it can sometimes get pretty close…