When I last left the flagship, it was perhaps not on the best of terms. When I last came to Alaska, my life – as per usual with me and Alaska – turned itself upside down and inside out; I was a little bit nervous about returning to both at once.
But I should never have worried about the flagship. She’s my girl, and this…this is my home. Or at least the closest thing to a home that I have out here. I am comfortable here, I am welcome here. This ship – this world – she knows me, she accepts me.
And I am happy here. Happier than I remember feeling in the longest time. One of those perhaps rare moments where everything feels like it’s fallen into place. For the first time in ages I feel balanced. Or at least close to balanced.
Perhaps a big piece of it is that the job is still going spectacularly well. It’s a little busier and a little different working on seven day runs – certainly more crowded for one thing – but those crowds all seem positive. For my part, I’m just enjoying the fact that I’m actually in a job where I can help people – even if it’s just in little ways like fixing their camera settings. And instead of working 11 hour days, and running to the upstairs lounge every night just to wind myself down; I’m working something actually close to normal hours, and I’m only going out because I want to, not because I have to.
The bottom of it is that I don’t know what Alaska has in store for me this season, but I can tell you this – I am definitely heading towards those glaciers with a much better calm in my heart and confidence in my step than any of the years before.