{"id":3430,"date":"2014-10-06T08:48:41","date_gmt":"2014-10-06T15:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/?p=3430"},"modified":"2014-10-06T08:48:41","modified_gmt":"2014-10-06T15:48:41","slug":"walking-the-railroad-tracks-to-crossing-32-quebec-10052014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/?p=3430","title":{"rendered":"Walking the Railroad Tracks to Crossing 32 \u2013 Quebec \u2013 [10\/05\/2014]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ce73ac2eb0b884a67f0edc8c61badf75\"<\/a>Birthdays spent ship-side are always a little odd. It doesn\u2019t particularly matter if you\u2019ve been away from home for your birthday for ages (I\u2019ve not been home on my birthday since 2011\u2026I think), it never ceases to feel odd. This time last year I was traipsing through Guadi Park in Barcelona with Amras (\u201cwhat did you get for your birthday?\u201d \u201cOh\u2026nothin\u2019 much, just Barcelona\u201d), this year I\u2019m ambling through the damp streets of Quebec instead.<\/p>\n

Really, my life is so bizarre.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve gotten older I\u2019ve become not a huge birthday celebration person, other people can have their big splashy parties (and trust me, we have plenty of birthday parties in the Officer\u2019s Bar of a season), I much prefer a nice quiet lunch with a good friend and a few overly-long phone calls to home.<\/p>\n

And today the museum I\u2019ve been meaning to go to all season had a discount on its admission, so $5 gained me and my friend KitKat entry into the world of Greek mythology. The audioguide that was provided with the exhibition was narrated by the \u2018voices\u2019 of two ancient Greek poets, one of which was Homer \u2013 they didn\u2019t give credit to whomever the voice over actors were, but they were excellent. I wonder how one goes about getting a gig like that. Note to self, look more deeply into museums. The exhibit itself was beautiful, the artifacts themselves were from Berlin, and I\u2019m not sure where they\u2019re travelling to after this, but I was so glad I had the chance to see them before they left (which they will do in the next month or so).<\/p>\n

I stand by my opinion that Greek mythology, while beautiful, is also\u2026somewhat messed up. I mean, look at Zues! I am Zues, king of the gods, also\u2026father to most of the gods\u2026lover to several of the gods (including some of the ones I am father to), and I turn into animals to seduce humans because I\u2019m bored. See what I mean?? Messed up! And don\u2019t get me started on the nymphs, nymphs have a seriously bad run in greek mythology.<\/p>\n

But\u2026not all of it is funny, or dysfunctional. There are\u2026some things, that are most definitely not.<\/p>\n

There are those of you who will know exactly what it meant to me to stand and stare up into the eyes of Artemis, even though parts of the statue were restored\/modern additions, it was still Her \u2013 and that\u2019s so still what matters.<\/p>\n

Hello Lady\u2026care to tell me what to do next?<\/em><\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t answer\u2026but then again, She so seldom does. But\u2026I did feel something unclench inside me while I stood there looking at Her, like a knot of tension I hadn\u2019t even realized was there.<\/p>\n

The sun had finally managed to struggle through the clouds by the time we got out of the museum, so the walk to the resteraunt was bright and felt almost like spring if it weren\u2019t for the chill that is ever present in the air this time of year.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, despite the fact that we were getting there late, the resteraunt didn\u2019t have a line up (something nearly unheard of for \u2018rush hour\u2019 in this place), though we did have to sit at the bar. Which wasn\u2019t so bad really, since the bartender was really friendly. Sometimes it\u2019s just nice to get away, and the place is far enough off the beaten track that no one really finds it, and those who do normally can\u2019t be bothered once they see that it\u2019s crowded.<\/p>\n

Work was quiet once I got back to the ship, and that alone is a gift in and of itself. Completely unexpectedly KitKat got me flowers! So pretty! And then, my Event Manager calls looking for<\/em> KitKat, which \u2013 in the world of the entertainment department \u2013 means just one thing when it\u2019s someone\u2019s birthday. I poked my head around my door (KitKat lives across the hall from me)<\/p>\n

Tell me it\u2019s not a surprise party\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Um\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

If it\u2019s a surprise party I\u2019m not going\u2026they scare me.<\/em><\/p>\n

She just wants to give you cake and sing happy birthday! I am making you go because I want cake!<\/em><\/p>\n

So I recultantly make my way up to the office, fully convinced that it\u2019s going to be the whole team there, which is always so<\/em> awkward (and is the reason I never have my name on the birthday lists at work), but it\u2019s not. It\u2019s just my boss\u2026who proceeds to present me with a tiny cake just big enough for two people\u2026and who does in fact sing me happy birthday.<\/p>\n

I know what a private person you are, I so wasn\u2019t going to do anything public for you. But I\u2019d also never forget your birthday silly girl! You are so loved out here, by lots of people, don\u2019t you forget that\u2026now go enjoy your cake you two.<\/em><\/p>\n

Moral of the story: birthdays at sea are strange, but they can be pretty nifty sometimes\u2026<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know what this year will bring, I never do. This birthday hit me hard and strangely, and I\u2019ve been trying to untangle why that is. But one thing I do know is this: I championed my way through another year, and if I don\u2019t get ID\u2019d at bars anymore? That\u2019s nearly as much of a compliment as being carded used to be, because it means I look like I\u2019m old enough to actually have a life, and at least any lines that might show up in the mirror? Are from laughing more than they are from crying\u2026and that is always a good thing. 31 wasn\u2019t always good to me, but nor was it always cruel\u2026just like most of the other years.<\/p>\n

And after all, it\u2019s just another number, and numbers only mean something if you allow them to\u2026and even then, it\u2019s still just another step on along the railroad tracks.<\/p>\n

Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me this far.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Birthdays spent ship-side are always a little odd. It doesn\u2019t particularly matter if you\u2019ve been away from home for your birthday for ages (I\u2019ve not been home on my birthday since 2011\u2026I think), it never ceases to feel odd. This … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,77,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-below-the-waterline","category-east-coast-adventures-2014","category-reflections-below-the-waterline"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3GtNE-Tk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3430"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3432,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3430\/revisions\/3432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}