Better

Okay, not really. . . but today was terrible and then all of a sudden everything on my list of lifts disappeared. . . onto the ship. . . by 5pm. . . a thing of beauty.

So, day two of actually being in dry dock is coming to an end. Aside from some minor miscommunication last night (meaning nothing got done for me on the night shift) things have been like a typical dry dock, just worse. Not ridiculously-terrible type worse, but unloading about 30 trucks onto one pier within one week's time usually means things may be a bit out of order. Ya think?

Anyway, all hotel, marine ops, and smaller projects material has been loaded on the ship. There will be a few small deliveries here and there but really the focus now is just on the azipod work, new slewing bearing and installation of the diesel generator. It will be a little frustrating for me because these jobs really take care of themselves in a way and people will only come to me when they can't seem to get something done. Hard to explain.

Any. . . um. . .thing? Nope. No thing (which is slightly different than nothing).

My brain is still geared enough towards work and I'm sitting with a bunch of work people so really I think the only other things I could write at the moment would be construed as "bitching," which of course I would be. So I won't. If things continue this way I'll have some good online time each night so as usual I'll make the hollow promise of some pictures and stories that will hopefully be more interesting than, "Hey! Did you see that one crane pick we did today?"

No hot water, no laundry, food is terrible, have to pay for clean drinking water and my dog's are barkin'. . . I must be on dry dock.

Pier Side

Going pier side with a ship when you're supposed to be in dry dock makes logistic efforts difficult.  There are usually no fixed cranes for material loading and depending on what port you're at the tide can vary quite a bit, making it impossible to load things from the shell doors where ships normally take provisions.  However, these obstacles can be overcome.

The Summit arrived in Hamburg Friday night has been pier side ever since.  Yesterday we needed two mobile cranes on the pier and a barge that was brought from the shipyard to come along starboard side to load materials for the diesel project.  We don't go into proper dry dock until Sunday night and that means almost everything is already behind.  Slewing bearings, POD work and the diesel generator project.  The weather here in Hamburg is decent but cool and if we have too much rain we won't finish the paint work.

I'm a bit fried already. . . the first day of dry dock (especially if you're pier side instead) is always the worst.  Looking good today for me to get some time on the computer or even (gasp) doing something other than work for at least a few hours. 

"All is well.  Remain calm!"


(474,000 points for proper recognition of the above quote and an additional 12 points for the person who can tell me the significance of the number 474,000.  (The second point award is so low because I only know one person who can get the reference to 474,000 for sure.)

Ham It Up

Been in Hamburg a few days now. It's cold and I like it. Got out with some co-workers last night; good German restaurant, couple of bars on the Reeperbahn. Nice to get out but knowing that work will still be there the next day dampens the mood. The ship comes in early evening and ties up at a container pier near the shipyard. Tomorrow we've got a barge and a crane set up (to work separately oddly enough) trying to get materials on the ship and trash off of it. Probably board the ship tomorrow late in the afternoon. Then I'll find out if the hotel director booked the presidential suite for me or not.

Shipyard is a mess. Moving everything over here was the easy part. Now people start asking for things and I get to find them. . . or not find them, depending on the part. Don't really feel amusing at the moment so I won't try.

Picture is of the Summit in San Juan when I went down there to pre-load. Just to give some sort of representation of this vessel I'll be working on starting tomorrow.

In St. Nazaire

Got into this here one horse town yesterday and I will freely admit that I ain't hardly done a thing since checking into the hotel. A visit to the store with the mad-Greek I'm traveling with and I've even managed not to eat out today since my room is surprisingly equipped with a kitchen. (I would call it a kitchenette but since I find that word incredibly silly I won't.)

Probably not something I should write on a blog that I now know people from work might check but I certainly haven't done an overabundance of work yesterday and today. I find it hard to get motivated when any plans I make will likely be thrown out of the window and any tracking of materials I do will probably turn out to be incorrect upon my arrival at the local warehouse tomorrow. Hard to explain but it goes without saying that inevitably any information I gather right now will not be able to answer the specific questions my superiors will have tomorrow.

But I regress, or digest. . . or something. So I guess I'll just give an actual update to my "schedule." St. Nazaire Monday followed by a few hours in La Rochelle Tuesday and then back to St. Nazaire. With a little luck I'll catch a flight out of Nantes Tuesday night or Wednesday morning but I suppose a train ride may be in my future as well. But I'm thinking I'll definitely be in Hamburg sometime Wednesday and that's good. A few days to actually organize on site and with people who will be helping me. Luckily I have worked in this yard before (Azamara Quest in Sept/Oct) so there's no real learning curve.

Sure wish this tv had an SAP channel in English. Congratulations to my oldest brother who got quite a few points from the last post. Unfortunately, since he had to cheat on the last quote he'll probably end up in the negative this round. Tough luck, brotha. Perhaps it's time to introduce the kid to South Park.

B.C. (not the cave dwelling dudes)

Thbbbbbbbbbthbthpbthpbthpbthpbthpbthpbthpbpbpbthpbbbbththth.



(Twenty-Seven (said in an enthusiastic and flaming voice) points to the person who knows the comedic literature referenced in the title AND only REAL line of text in this post. . . AS WELL AS the show that the enthusiastic and flaming twenty-seven points quote comes from!) (Careful, this one is for experienced procrastinators who may have done nothing for a certain number of years in their life except read bizarre comic strips and watch cartoons.)

(Double-secret probation points for the person who knows which comedian once yelled out in an old man voice, "NOW PUT ON CARTOOOOOOOOONS!!!!!!" during a stand up routine.)

(ed. note: I was going to work in a points-earned number related to the final score of the Tri-Lambda victory over the jocks in "Revenge of the Nerds" but I just couldn't pull it off. Either that or I was worried that I truly never will get out of this 12-year "quoting movies" phase of my life.)

(And don't think I'm not tallying the points in order to crown the 2008 winner. First man (cause women probably aren't stoopid enough to participate) to earn 350 points will win. Of course, there are additional points to the person who knows what cartoon the ghetto-slang version of 350 comes from. "That'll be tree-fitty.")

(Shit. Now I'm just handing points away.)

Great Idea

Sure, it's a great idea to send me 64 emails on my travel day.  Granted I didn't set my "out of office" reply like I should have but damn! . . . 64?!?  I'm not exactly a first class manager here people.  Anyway, blessing in disguise that I was stuck at CDG-Paris all day.  Crappy airport but 6 solid hours on the internet and I guess it's all good.

Tired.  So tired.  Gota long day tomorrow then maybe a little slackin' over the weekend before the real work begins.

Happy days, happy days, somebody jog the jukebox. . . it's stuck on the Lumberjack Song again.

Stuck

And the plot thickens. . . in fact it thickened so much that I'm stuck. Literally. Right now I'm sitting in the Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris. Flight coming in was late and I missed my connection to Brest by about two and a half minutes or so. Thankfully for only 20 Euros I was able to get a decent internet connection here so I've just been sitting here filling up other people's inboxes and racking up my cell phone bill. Dollar a minute, she ain't gonna be pretty this month. Been sitting since 9:30am and don't catch the next flight till 3:30pm. Super.

I can't remember what I wrote last night but here's where the job is at now. Brest Yard is definitely going on strike Friday (or Monday, not sure) so we're about 99% on moving the whole job to Hamburg. Good for us once we actually get all this stuff moved over there. Bad for us at the moment. So we (and when I say "we" please rest assured that I am far from the only person working on this problem. . . hence the reason I can justify taking 5 minutes to write this update) yeah, so we have 5 trucks going from Brest to St. Nazaire (later to Hamburg) right now with smaller items, about 7 more trucks being loaded (hopefully straight to Hamburg once the contract is signed), 11 containers that will require 6 trucks straight to Hamburg, one feeder vessel already carrying two diesel generators that will be loaded in Brest with items too large to go over the road (it takes 3 weeks to get an oversized load permit in France) and another barge with the new section of the hull in Cherbourg.

I'm spent just thinking about it but really most of it is in the process right now. Tomorrow will be interesting and then I might have to go to St. Nazaire before Hamburg but at least the job is being done in a better shipyard now. Wish we had just planned to go to Hamburg in the first place of course but I hear that hindsight is 20/20 which means that actual planning must be like 10/10 or something.

Sorry this isn't very interesting. I have to disagree with my brother's comment on my last post. . . if my life were a reality show I think I would get kicked off. Internet keeps cutting out on me. Guess I should fucos on work.

heh

Doh!

I'm about to board my flight (ATL-CDG-BES) and will arrive in Brest, France tomorrow morning at 10:50am. By all accounts I'll be jumping right into a fire.

Shipyard in Brest is going on strike on Monday. We've been given 48 hours to get all materials out of their warehouse or they will be locked in. Management is trying to arrange for dry dock to be moved to St. Nazaire where the ship was built. St. Nazaire is only about 10 hour drive away.

Of course this all happens as I'm flying and my boss is flying as well. All the cliches apply here. . . people panicking, too many cooks in the kitchen, communication is unclear between countries and companies, etc. etc. Not to be too cocky but mostly likely the evacuation of this warehouse wouldn't be that big of a deal if they just left it to me. I've been working with all parties involved for quite a few months. . . a few phone calls and it's done. But instead we're looking at VPs and Directors and Managers from all different areas getting involved and trying to solve problems that don't exist. And that's my rant/soapbox/bitch session. Personally I'm going to do my best to calm down and enjoy LOST Season 3 on my Archos.

I've got a short flight to Atlanta, probably some crappy phone calls there and then try to relax on the way to Paris. Hasta la vista!!! Tengo Nada.

PR

Had a successful loading day in San Juan yesterday. I only dealt with 4x20' containers being loaded on the bow of the vessel but overall the ship did 24 containers. Preparation for the dry dock beginning in France on April 11th. In addition the ship will load smaller amounts of material (and technical representatives) in La Rochelle, France and Vigo, Spain. Alas, I don't get to attend either one of those loadings.

However, I'll be in Brest, France starting on Tuesday and should get the first weekend off with a rental car cause the ship won't be in yet. Don't know what I'll do. Gotta hang with a Celebrity manager named Ioannis Ouzounidis. We call him Ouzi and yes, he's trouble. I'll probably keep myself (and my liver) as far away from him as possible in our 9 days together in France before the vessel arrives.

Well, this afternoon and tomorrow will be my last chances to talk to people cheaply for a few months. As of right now I'm set to finish off the Brilliance in Hamburg until May 17th or so. Might get 10 days to travel between Summit and Brilliance. Haven't decided where to go yet. Will probably depend on whether my bro (THE IK) decides to join me or not. One option is to sail with the Summit after the job is done. They do a little 10 day jaunt around Western Europe. We'll seen. Since I'm headed to Hamburg anyway and I haven't seen Berlin yet. . . maybe. . .

Hope everyone is well. I'm still kickin', though I'm not actually too sure what my foot is actually making contact with. Hope it's not kittens or puppies or something like that (cause that would be um, you know, wrong).

Prost!

Revision Quatre

Just finished up a wonderful week with my friend from England. We hit all the best restaurants (that I know of and can afford), laughed ourselves into giggles (mostly at my expense) and spent a long weekend in Key West with the watching of the sunsets and the eating of the fish and the snorkeling of, the, uh. . . water. Oh yeah, and the gaining of the sun. I'm not the darkest I've ever been but let's just say it's a good thing my next destination is France and not the Bahamas again or I'd have to start wearing one of those hats that rice farmers wear.

Anywho, here is the new, new, new, newer, newest revised schedule for me, myself and I.

Uno: San Juan, Puerto Rico from March 28-30; Saturday loading of the Summit before it's Trans-Atlantic crossing and the start of my next dry dock.

Dos: Brest, France from April 1-30; Back to my favorite French coastline for the same type of dry dock I did last year at this time when I was first hired. Same yard, job and people but not quite the same level of experience (or lack thereof) for me. However, if anyone is interested I can tell you that it will be a bigger mess than the last two dry docks we did there. . . ask me why on my non-existent forum.

Tres: Two possibilities from May 1-12; Either I will be traveling on my own (probably Berlin, Copenhagen, etc) or I will be working on another dry dock in Hamburg for the Brilliance. All of this, of course, depends on my knees and their willingness to keep my big butt afloat.

Quatro: (the quatre in the title is French in honor of. . . ) Hamburg, Germany from May 12-17ish; Spend a week helping a co-working close out yet another diesel generator project. Will only be there for the last week of the job.

Cinco: May Somethingth; Arrive back in So Flo, have knees properly assessed, start therapy/work out, achieve enlightenment, call Buddha and the Dali Llama to thank them for prior, snorkel and generally revel in living on a warm water coast.

So basically I'm off again. Any of you friend type people who have been putting off that phone call to me will either have to call on Sunday afternoon or forever hold your peas. . . at least till the end of May. Ramble, ramble, harumph, harumph, and if I don't get a harumph out of that guy I'm gonna take away his paddle ball game.

Forty-two points for the person who knows what movie I was just referencing and an additional thirty-seven points for anyone who knows why the first points awarded are the number that they are.

Drinking less than you may thing. . . Love, ad.

A Wild Saturday Night

Unfortunately the title of this post is a little misleading. Scratch that, it's just downright sarcastic. I filed my taxes last night. Sweet. My boy, you are the epitome of a good time! One of the roommates even asked if I was going out in an attempt to get himself motivated. . . I failed him most thoroughly. But on the flip side the government owes me money and Florida doesn't even take income tax so unless you own a business or property or any of that fun stuff you don't even have to file in Florida.

I knew there were some reasons I moved down here. It's the little things. Silver linings on hard pillows as it were.

So, we had a few reasonably cool days and some actual cool nights but now we're back to the business or making people sweat. Personally, I'm avoiding it today by organizing things in general; my room, computer, lemurs, addresses, small wicker baskets and whatever else I can find. Figure the soonest I'll move out is in October when the warehouse/office I work at moves twenty miles to the Northwest so I may as well hang something up on the walls of my bedroom. Silly.

(By the way, will someone please tell me when I reach an age where it is no longer acceptable for me to just be renting a room in a house and I need to force my cheap self to rent my own place? Thanks.)

Whelp, time to find that Motivation. I think I saw it under the bed earlier curled up with a bottle of vodka. Maybe I'll name my Motivation and join him in an attempt at brotherly bonding that will later result in him spending more time with me. Hank. My Motivation might be named Hank.

Killer.

f

it

that's all i got

B'tween

Serenade dry dock ended last Thursday. . . Summit dry dock begins April 6th (for me anyway).  Actual job starts on the 11th.

Gotta say that I feel a bit behind at work, school and life (scratch the middle one) which is odd since people keep asking me when I'm going to take some time off.  Time off?  Right now?  Doesn't sound too sound to me.  Oh wait, I am planning on some time off.  Friend of mine through Trek America is visiting from England for a week starting on ol' St. Paddy's Day.  Good timing, I'd say.  Though I guess the argument for bad timing could be made as well.

So, maybe a trip to Key West, a little beach time coupled with maybe some snorkeling or water sports of some type and the obligatory fine food and wine.  MAYBE I won't even open the laptop and I'll turn off the company cell phone and tell people I'm heading North instead of South.  Couldn't hurt for a few days.

Thought I'd have this weekend to "catch up" but now I might be heading to San Juan Friday night and flying back Saturday night.  Seem silly?  Marine department people do things like that all the time.  And as usual there's no coherence to my thoughts so I'm going to bed.  In the middle of that classic time between jobs when I should take time to upload photos and update my blog and Facebook and thank Dog I don't have a myspace page.  Hell, it'll take me a few hours just to re-arrange the files on my 160Gb Archos PVP. . . (just bought LOST season 3 and I'm looking forward to that on some upcoming international flights from hades).

Oh yeah and to keep the marriage vibe for 2008 rolling I just found out two more good friends of mine from high school are getting married.  That means I'll be home for at least a week in July, a long weekend in October and some time in summer of 2009.  That makes four total for this year and one next year. . . all people I consider to be pretty darn close to me.  I have to miss one in April down in Phoenix but I'm sure the others will be a good time.  Tengo nada and nowhere to go.

Done and dunn.

Still Alive

Well we were supposed to leave the dock and go pier side tomorrow but now it looks like we won't get wet till Wednesday. My portion of the job is pretty well in hand but there's still work to do. With a little luck I'll only run the crane eight hours each day for Monday and Tuesday and with a lot of luck the ship will head to San Juan straight from the dock on Wednesday.

Sorry so dry. Got another Bar-B-Que down on South Beach tonight. Don't worry if you don't know what I'm talking about. . . it ain't all that exciting. Hope to be home on Thursday but with only a month until my next dry dock starts I suppose I may be at work on Friday.

Cheers.

Still Kickin'. . .

. . . but somebody check the heat index on this place. Sweatin' as I type and got nuthin' more than a cold shower and a sweaty bed to look forward to. But the job is goin' and tomorrow we're fixin' to BBQ us up some fiery goodness on the unholy patch of ground we call South Beach. (Here's a hint. . . it ain't exactly like the South Beach that Miami is famous for. There ain't no women and the men have all been puttin' in fourteen hour days for two weeks now ('cept me cause I dunn gone and enjoyed me a weekend in PHX.).)

Seriously. . . sweat drippin' from my eyelids as I type this. No a/c on the ship and gotta sleep with my cabin room door open to try and catch the breeze. Good thing nobody minds a naky-fat white guy on a tiny bed these days.

Yeah! Try to sleep tonight with that thought rattlin' around up there!

Not really sure why I do what I do. . . but then again there's probably a good reason up there that's just close to incineration and is hiding till cooler weather prevails.

Back Into It

Got back Monday night.  Three flights really did a number on my ka-nee.  I didn't feel too bad but when my co-worker met me in my cabin to hand the job back over to me he wisely pointed out that one of my legs was roughly twice as big as the other.  Huh. . . go figure. 

Luckily we're in the middle of dry dock right now so the work load is greatly reduced.  In addition my logistics sub-contractor who normally mans the ground post had to go home for a few days so I've been on the ground running that side of things.  Sucks to get down off the ship (DD gangways are never kind and usually resemble an attempt to climb Half Dome) but once I'm on the ground we've got a twenty foot container set up as an office down there with a fridge, fans, desks, etc. . . the only thing missing is internet cause if I had that I could run the whole job from the ground and sleep in the container.  Yeah, cause that's not ghetto.

So, we're in the lull before the storm and trying to get as far ahead as possible.  This is the enjoyable time when the crane only runs twelve hours a day instead of sixteen and on Saturday and Sunday I should be able to cut back to eight measly hours and then we can bar-b-que and have one of those beer-type things down on South Beach.  (Ed. Note:  South Beach is actually a desolate wasteland where we stage containers, trash and materials and has none of the charming characteristics of normal beaches. . . not even the sand.)

It's not late but it feels that way.  With a little luck I'll have a little more time online the next few days. . . you know, to catch up on the rather bloated work inbox I have accumulated.  Haven't exactly got a swollen personal inbox and wouldn't mind hearing a bit about how people are doing these days.  Cheers.

Weekend Off

Flew back to FLL on Thursday night.  Quick load of laundry and a repack and then a flight to PHX at six AM on Friday.  Got into PHX late morning. . . lunch with friends. . . pick up the tux. . . meet more friends. . . drinks are had, etc., etc.  Yesterday was the rehearsal and dinner to meet the wedding party.  Now it's today and today is the wedding.

Only had to take a couple of phone calls since leaving the Bahamas so the job seems to be going well.  It's awfully nice to get off of the computer and away from work for a while.  Seeing a few good friends always helps.  Speaking of getting off the computer. . . have a happy Sunday.

Dry Dock Begins

Well, the job begins tomorrow.  Would certainly like to be better prepared but I always feel like that.  Ship doesn't come it till eleven AM and the dock won't be dry till late afternoon and then we can start running the cranes, so I've got a little more time to organize.  Wish it cost less than three bucks a minute to use my cell phone over here BUT I'm flying to Phoenix on Friday morning for a wedding weekend so hopefully I'll speak with a few of you before I get back to Grand Bahama Island.

I'm watching Six Degrees on the National Geographic channel.  Probably need to cut it out before it depresses me too much.  Hope everyone is chugging along just fine.  Life is too good not to be.

Travel, Thy Name Ain't Freeport

Been on the island of Grand Bahama since Tuesday and life is cushy. Relatively temperate eighty degrees Fahrenheit, car from the shipyard, room in a resort-type hotel, office in the yard with A/C and internet (though the hundeded-fitty emails still in my inbox make me regret the connection) and looking forward to a working Saturday but a Sunday mostly off. Of course the island is so small there ain't much exciting to do.

Now if you want to know how to really experience, take advantage of, and enjoy, an "exotic" local take a quick read of an entry by Pistol Pete on a website linked to the right and run by a few guys I know, some people I don't know and of course the star of the show is a rather large fellow from Philly who complains a lot (and who I grudgingly know).

DrunkCyclist

Make no mistake, no matter what you read on that page the underlying theme is that riding a bike is good and good for you. The world, and especially The States, would be a vastly different place if everyone actually rode the bikes they used as clotheslines in the garage.

Rant, rave, sometimes rage (though never in a violent way). I seriously think that like most Americans I don't do enough (or, in fact, shit) about the things I claim to believe in. Perhaps a change is in order. Too bad my job gives me the perfect excuses not to do a thing other than handle my business.

Broward County Atheists

The FBO (once again to the right) is terrific. Maybe I'll eventually be able to compare it to the

FBA

If you have the ability to think back to a single moment in your life when riding a bicycle made you feel good in any way you should find the time to read some of this.

Thoughts on Cycling Culture

"I'll tell you what killed vaudeville, see. The talking pictures, that's what killed vaudeville!"

The Year of the Flight

Carbon footprint nuthin'. . . I'm makin' a gall'darn carbon snow angel this year. Including the flights I've already taken since January first I'm on pace to have at least sixteen flights this year. Not sixteen round trip flights though so I guess when you call it eight flights it doesn't sound so bad. Not like my boy JG. . . that man probably has enough frequent flier miles to retire by now.

Sittin' in Ft. Lauderdale airport, where I should probably just rent an apartment, and waiting to fly to Freeport. The nice think about Freeport is that it's only about a thirty-five minute flight. It's one-hundred and five miles from Miami to Freeport which is awfully nice cause it's easy to correct mistakes for work or otherwise. Hell, I might even fly home this Friday and back on Sunday depending on how things look at Grand Bahama Shipyard. I've heard tales of people COMMUTING from Freeport if you can believe that. I suppose I could see flying in for the week or out for the weekend or some variation of that but taking a flight every morning? . . . and on a puddle jumper no less.

I flew from PHX to Flag a few times in a twenty passenger, dual-prop plane (a flight which has been immortalized by Ron White in the first few minutes of the original Blue Collar Comedy Tour. "I flew here form Flagstaff because my manager doesn't own a globe!" . . . . "We took off from the Flagstaff airport, hair care and tire center there. . . " Classic.). However, my first flight experience dealing with Freeport involved a ten passenger plane. Eight. . . it was awesome. Anyway, the one I'm on today must be twenty to forty people so hopefully my lunch will stay with me pretty easily.

Guess I better get some actual work done while I'm here at the airport. Another CRITICAl (STAT) shipment for the as-yet-un-running Jewel diesel generator project. Crate worth fifty-K from Freeport back to Miami. I swear we should just buy a little boat that can hold a couple of containers for local transport.

Here's to the inevitable start of another dry dock!

For the Bushies

I don't care what your political beliefs are. Just watch this and THEN tell me that our president has been doing a good job the last seven years.

Bush Tells Us What His Job Is

And if anyone cares to know, I'm registered as an Independent. This has got nothing to do with political parties and everything to do with how far in the hole our country is in my opinion.

You know. . . cause this is the internet and therefore my opinion counts.
ha

What My Job Sometimes Entails

The following is an example of the type of thing that I sometimes do during the course of my job. (WARNING: The following is a bit long and quite full of hot air, but did you expect anything less?)

Sitting at my desk Tuesday morning tending to regular business I get a phone call from the project manager for all eight diesel generator projects we are working on. (I have been on dry dock for two of these projects and have two or three more dry docks this year that are centered on the DG installation project.) The project manager is on board the GTS Jewel of the Seas where they are very close to getting the massive diesel generator operating that was installed during an October dry dock. As often happens during a project this big there were a few last minute parts they needed to get the engine running.

I was asked if we had the ability to air freight some spare parts from the Miami area to St. Marteen, where the vessel was to call the next day. I checked with our in-house air freight company and it turns out we got lucky and there was a four AM flight to the tiny island. The flight was arriving at seven-forty the next morning so we could pretty much be assured the package would make it to the ship before she departed at the end of the day. . . as long as there would be no issues with customs. A quick call to our agent on St. Marteen set me at ease with regards to customs clearance because he laughed when I asked him if there would be any problems getting the package on board by the end of the day. No worries.

So far, so good and this technical emergency should really be no big deal as long as the part they need is actually in the Miami area. The diesel project manager told me that a representative from a company called Wartsila would be contacting me to arrange the pick up of the part. (I'm thinking it's no big deal. . . a technical company that big normally has a warehouse in Miami and I'll just need to call for a pick up of the part.) It's still before lunch and I think the situation is well in hand. I only need to have the part delivered to Miami International airport by five PM so there's plenty of time. Still no time for lunch though because now I'm a little behind on the work for my upcoming dry dock. No worries.

Get a call around two PM on my cell phone. . . number starts with plus-forty-seven so I know it's from Norway. (Damn, I thought I might get this done without having to worry about mis-communication due to a language barrier.) The Wartsila rep on the other end of a phone is in a very noisy environment and has a classic, and heavy, Italian accent. Guess he ain't Norwegian. He verifies that I'm the guy to talk to about the spare parts and tells me he's in Ft. Lauderdale. Turns out he's not so much in the actual city of Ft. Lauderdale but rather he's on a ship that is anchored in Port Everglades which is the port in Fort Lauderdale for cruise ships and container vessels. Possibly this information would have been handy a little earlier since the only way to reach a vessel at anchor is to hire a tug boat to get out to the vessel for the pick up. A few worries.

I have no idea who to call for a tug boat in PEV (Port Everglades) Harbor. None. All four of my co-workers, who might know this kind of thing off the top of their heads, aren't in the office and don't answer their cell phones. A generic web search produces a few shaky possibilities. As I'm starting to cold call companies that probably can't help I get a lucky break and the Italian calls me back. He's gotten two numbers for tug companies from the captain of the vessel he's on. I call the first number and get lucky. . . but not in a sexual way. The company has a tug that can make the pick up fairly soon. We've never done business with this tug company but luckily payment isn't a concern since we're so big. What is a concern is finding a place where the tug can meet a designated truck that will then bring the package to our warehouse. Building addresses are one thing. . . having a truck meet a tugboat at some random pier might be another. Still only a few worries.

Things work out. The tug company gives me a pier number in Ft. Lauderdale that might be a good transfer point and the trucking company doesn't seem to have much of a problem with waiting at a pier for the boat to arrive, especially when payment for the time spent is guaranteed. Things are looking good and it's still early afternoon.

The Italian number pops up again. I answer to the sound of engines roaring and large men with sledgehammers doing whatever it is they do in endless engine rooms on board massive vessels. "Hold minute. I move," the man shouts. He's wondering when the tug will arrive and I assure him it's on the way. (At least I hope it is.) I finally have a chance to ask him what the dimensions and weight of the package are. Dimensions? What dimensions? There's not even a box involved. I reply, "Ummmm, okaaaaaay. . . . . . . what do you have?" He's got four bolts, thirty-six inches long and five inches in diameter with the appropriate nuts, compression washers and the specialty tools to make it all work.

My reply, "Yeah, uh, you're gonna have to go ahead and find a crate or something to put that all in. We can't exactly air freight a hundred kilos worth of loose metal parts." He's flusterated and hasn't thought of this. My air freight company finds this a convenient time to call and remind me that they need the dimensions of the package before they can guarantee the booking on the flight. Things progress, a crate is found, the tug arrives, the cell phone is passed to the captain of the tug and we confirm the drop off pier and the pick up company. Everything is now either shiny or green depending upon if you're watching "Serenity" or "The Fifth Element."

I communicate the likely success of our air freight plans to the head project manager and now at three-thirty in the afternoon I'm told there is a second item that will need to be air freighted to St. Marteen or it won't even matter if the bolts make it. (Sweet. Thanks for the timely heads up.) Of course, we aren't even sure if we've found the second item that is needed or where it will be in So Flo once it's found. To cut the "suspense" I'll say that it all worked out in the end. The tug met the pickup truck on the Fifteenth Street pier in Ft. Lauderdale and luckily the second part was found, purchased and was able to be picked up by the same truck that was designated to pick up the crate of bolts from the tug. No worries.

The truck arrives at our warehouse and predictably the crate isn't sealed and there's not a stitch of paperwork attached to it. The bolts and nuts look like they were possibly removed from a similar engine to the one they are destined for, and possibly removed that morning by those same gentlemen who normally wield the sledgehammers. Our warehouse staff kindly seals the crate up and after a quick verification of the weight and some affixation of proper paperwork from the air freight company the truck pulls away from our warehouse at five-fifteen in the afternoon. (Turns out the actual cut-off for air freight is six PM down at MIA but it's not wise to tell anyone else that or they'll be asking you for specialty air freight at five-thirty in the afternoon.)

So that was half of my Tuesday. The parts were confirmed on board the Jewel the next day but true to form for most departments in this company I haven't heard a stitch about how successful (or unsuccessful) the start up of the diesel generator was. Oh well, I guess I did my job.

Great Googley Moogley

Guess I gotta go buy a house now. Drop anything almost a whole percentage point and the economy is fixed. . . once I buy a house. Or something like that.

Been laid up a bit with typical ankle and ka-nee BS. Seems like every time I hit the gym the darn thing hits back. However, limping provides a stout reminder of one of the reasons I took this job. Flexibility. Of course I'm not speaking of my personal, physical flexibility but rather the fact that when I'm hurtin' I work from home. Simple as that. No inquisition, just trust.

Don't really have anything that I wanted to write about. Was gonna upload some pictures onto Flickr but the ol' company laptop is fighting me at every turn. Apparently uploading a photo of my brothers looking stupid doesn't comply with company policy. Turns out that the failure is okay cause most of the pictures were nothin' write home about. . . which is sort of what I'm doing I guess.

Well, I'm keeping busy. Gonna put the Serenade of the Seas into dry dock on February 11th and there's a whole lot of work to do between now and then. I guess for lack of any better ideas I'll give up my tentative traveling work schedule for the winter and spring. The start and end date on each of these is highly flexible. . . put it this way, I ain't exactly booked any flights yet.

February 11 thru March 5 -- Serenade of the Seas in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island
March 27 thru April 9 -- Independence of the Seas (New Build) in Turku, Finland
April 10 thru April 29 -- Celebrity Summit in Brest, France
And possibly;
April 30 thru May 17 -- Brilliance of the Seas in Hamburg, Germany

The Serenade and the Summit are my jobs. I'll be on the Independence just to learn the process of a new build so I can help manage the Genesis class in 2009. I doubt I'll work the Brilliance but it's a possibility since I'll already be in Europe.

I guess I can add my fall schedule too since it won't take too long.
November 15 thru December 3 -- Celebrity Infinity in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

Guess I won't be home for Thanksgiving.
Hope everyone is taking good care of themselves.

Yup

Got back to Hollywood today. Job went ok but nothing fun to report. I've got almost a month till my project starts in Freeport. Hope everyone is doing well.

Freeport

Well, my first dry dock in Freeport and I'm bored outta my skull.  Okay, not quite that bored but seeing as how I'm not the lead Project Manager on this seven day work party the job is leaving a bit to be desired.  Really I'm only here to learn the capabilities of the shipyard in preparation for my three week project coming up in February.  Hell, I ain't even been out to the one town on the island yet. . . but seeing as how everything is imported to this island (and therefore ridiculously expensive) I don't think I'm going to lose any sleep over it.

Not much else to report at this time.  A beer or glass of wine in the crew bar costs a buck, but I've been pretty good about not abusing that.  It's pretty funny watching everyone walk away from the bar with their purchase limit though. . . a six pack or a bottle of wine per person, that's ALL you're allowed.  Funny.  Welcome to dry dock.  Even the easy jobs ones drive people to drink.

Unfortunately there's not much here to take pictures of but I'll try to post something interesting again someday.  I sort of promise.

Aside from this job, um. . . oh yeah, the family winter trip to Wisconsin was pretty sweet.  Ma, two bros, one bro's wife and one bouncing, baby niece.  My brother's kid was pretty much the entertainment the majority of the time.  She was about to turn one so she almost walks (the argument could be made that she took her first steps in the W-I), sorta talks (babbles), and generally has one helluva personality on 'er.  Aside from tossing the baby around there were cocktails and trap shooting and dinners with semi-distant relatives and a bonfire (complete with roasted snow balls), quite a bit of scrabble played and general christmas frivolity.  It was a very good time and caused me to forget quite a bit about work. . . in fact I'm finding that I still have a problem with remembering some of the things I am supposed to remember for work.  Oh well. 

Happy Frickin' Monday Everyone!
(today is Monday. . . right?)

As They Say. . .

. . . up in Wisconsin, "It's colder than a witch's tit in a frozen lake!"

OK, it's not THAT cold but by Florida standards yesterday was the coldest day so far this year. Got below fifty degrees at night and stayed under seventy (I think) during the day. Good times.

And speaking of good times I'm almost ready to head out to Wisconsin. In reality, I'm more than ready to get out of here but it turns out that in order to get paid for doing my job I have to, uh. . . um. . . do my job? (Insert hysterical swear word-hybrid funny word here.)

Work has been going, going and some days it just keeps going. But I had another positive (in my eyes) change to my travel schedule for next year and I might get to spend more than a week in Finland learning the new build process on the Independence of the Seas. The reason it's highly important that I understand the process is not for the benefit of the Independence but rather for the first ship of the Genesis class coming out in 2009.

If the name didn't tip you off you should know that the Genesis is the start of something big. . . really big. While the Freedom class (consisting of Freedom, Liberty and soon the Independence) is currently the largest class of cruise ship out there the Genesis class will be FORTY PERCENT LARGER. Say it with me meow. . . Holy Ship!

(Just tryin' to make my Poppa proud with some word play and keep the Flagstaffians (not to be cornfused with the Flagstaffafarians) happy with a "Super Troopers" movie reference.)

Well I know I keep promising fun things like pictures of the boat parade (video was a lot better than the pics cause of the light situation) and my full travel schedule for '08 (I might be in Europe for three straight months) or even an update that doesn't involve my job but rather my every day life. Along those lines I just became the proud owner of. . . . . . a swanky "new" BBQ. I'm sure most of you thought I was going to say "dog" or "mail order bride" or something fun like that but it just ain't in the cards.

That's right. . . there are cards. Think about it.

Lately

So (you ask not really knowing if you really want to know or not. . . um. . . want to know) what have I been up to these days? Nothin' special. Sorry to disappoint.

Fully moved in to the new place but not fully unpacked. Been to the gym a little bit lately, been at work a lot lately (go figure) and been planning next year a lot. I think I might have a preliminary schedule laid out through April of next year so maybe I'll try to get that put up on here at some point.

In the meantime you can check out my upcoming Saturday night plans. . .
http://www.winterfestparade.com/
I guess I know someone who knows someone who probably once had a dog who may have had a former owner who happens to know someone who has a place with a balcony somewhere on the Ft. Lauderdale waterways, which happen to be where this event takes place. All I know is that it's gotta beat out the Candy Cane Parade I attended last weekend. No, I'm not joking.

All I know is it's still pretty darn warm down here but in less than two weeks I'll be freezing everything off at my bro's house up in Wisconsin.

I wonder how much frostbite I actually need to suffer until I'll feel like coming back to So Flo.

Not Quite Dunn

Done gots myself moved in this weekend. Still got the big screen to man handle but it's actually been nice the last few days not having that thing call to me with football games aplenty in hi-def. The house I've moved into has a pool, backyard, bbq, a sane roommate and the rest of the amenities we take for granted. Living the last two months with only broadcast television and having to poach my internet connection from neighbors will hopefully make me appreciate things a little more.

Work tomorrow. For the first time in a long while I don't have a laundry list of things to do when I first get in. Don't get me wrong, the laundry list is there somewhere, but finally having four days off in a row and only doing a tiny bit of work on Thurs. and Fri. has cleared my head. Well I suppose that and moving all my worldly possessions from one place to another.

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving week and weekend. I know we could all use more time off but at least it's close to Christmas. Dog knows I don't have to be religious to appreciate a holiday that provides me with time off and a good excuse to head to Wisconsin to freeze my butt off with family. My brother's little girl will almost be a year old when I get to see her. . . little terror will probably be walking and everything by the time I see her in a few weeks. Times they do change.

World Peas.

He Offered

I would like everyone to notice that in response to my last post my old college roommate actually offered to have my head bashed in with a boulder whilst I sleep. Hell, not even a rock. . . A BOULDER!

Only a true friend. . .

Turkey day has come and gone. Appetite for turkey has done the same. I managed not to buy anything on Black Friday but I'm sure I'll make up for it in the next few weeks like a good little American. You see I'm moving into the house a few days early and I needs me a bed and maybe somewhere to put my clothes. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about used furniture still at this point in my life, but I draw the line at a used mattress. . . actually I draw the line quite a bit further back but since the new bed is my only concern, um, that's all I'll be concerned with. Right.

So you all know how it is, you move into a new place and there are things that need a'buyin'. . . even when the new place is fully furnished. Still haven't figured out how that works. Now I'll have a slightly more solid address and that means it's time to register the H2O (no, I don't own a Hummer, I own an Element and can't think of anything wittier to call it right now) and maybe even get a Florida license. Shoot, I might just run right out and find a charity to send me way too many of those little address labels with my new numbers so I can feel guilty about not sending them any money for something I didn't ask for in the first place but still intend to use for the two pieces of physical mail I send every month.

Phew, I think I just channeled Sammy Davis Jr. He didn't donate for those labels either, ya know and Adam Sandler once told that Mr. Jr. only had one eye. . . but I still think he just had a facial tick (like Galen Pallas).

Well I guess I've only got about thirty-two hours left before it's time to return to work. It's supposed to be in the mid-eighties and "sticky" all week. Good times they are a'comin'.

(Insert inspirational, deep and witty words of wisdom here.)

A Minor Sign

Two nights ago whilst lying sleepily in my bed I heard a funny sound on the floor, just to my right. That funny sound was followed by an annoying sound from my ceiling fan. That annoying sound from my ceiling fan was followed by the realization that something odd had certainly just happened. That's right, one of the blades of my ceiling fan SNAPPED clean off mid-way through the metal arm that, under normal circumstances, holds it firmly to the body of the fan motor.

I'm gonna go ahead and make a leaping judgement here that I need to get the heck outta this condo. I'll be moving into a house at the end of the month. Same house I was supposed to move into when I first moved out here in March so some of you may still have the address.

Send cookies. Chocolate cookies.

A (was-almost-killed-in-his-sleep-by-flying-fan-parts) D

(I guess this means I'm free to die the way I've always imagined. . . by TC crushing me in my sleep with a rock. Good luck doing it from Flag, T.)

Presentations

I present to you. . .

. . . the reverse mohawk.


. . . Half Dome.


. . . a Key Largo sunset.


. . . a van and some people in front of Mount Rushmore.


. . . three million dollars worth of slot machines in boxes.


. . . and finally. . . Van Golf! (I have no idea what I'm doing here.)


As my oldest brother would say in his most condescending tone,
"That is all."

The Cool 66

The new magic number down here is sixty-six. Well, really it's anything that's under seventy. No a/c now at the house cause it's frickin' beautiful outside. The doors and windows stay open all the time and that's all the air control I need. Suppose that's one of the reasons I haven't written anything for a while. The other is that the madre came in last weekend and after showing her all there is to see in my little area of the world (one morning of work) we went down to Key West and had a good time. Sunset, drinks, gorgeous.

We hit up an alligator farm and a huge tropical fruit stand down near homestead and now I've got an avocado the size of my head waiting to be made into guacamole, a dragon fruit waiting for slicing and something else I can't remember the name of but I know I can't eat it until I leave it on a paper towel for a while and it turns completely black. No shit, them's the rules. Figure the guac. will make a fine how d'ya do for the Aunt and Uncle coming in this weekend. I can only hope that the TransAtlantic cruise they're comin' off of will make them think a Sunday afternoon with me watching football, drinking beer and eating fresh guacamole is relaxing. . . or something.

Not that football is all that's on the menu. . . it's just that I'm still getting over the picture on that TV I bought. Sure am glad I don't have HD cable (or any cable at all) cause I'd probably take a week off just to enjoy the picture. Anyway, I've got a few pics to put up soon but for now I must work.

Start 'er Up

Not that I know who she is or why she needs starting, but. . .

Found a possible beacon of civilization (or at least a kind-er soul) down here. Went to see a PT for my elbow today and it's possible that he will be resolving my knee issues on the side. BTW ('cause apparently I'm hip enough to use Y-Gen acronyms now), my primary care "physician" most likely missed (or misdiagnosed) my knee problem so badly that I may as well collapse to the left in his honor. Who's surprised by a show of hands? Mighty fine absence of hands I don't see out there right now.

In my physician's honor I'm going to wade a little further into the system, change my HMO to a PPO during the only fifteen days of the year they (my co.) allow us to and continue to fight the non-chalant, give me your co-pay, if-I-don't-look-you-in-the-eye-maybe-you'll-go-away medical system that has been created in this land of the free. The word free only existing in our mottos these days and not in, or around, any other part of this civilized society.

On the up/down side my new PT took one look at the x-ray pics of my elbow on my flickr page, asked how he could put his pictures online and proceeded to enlighten me as to the fact that without surgery on my elbow I might as well be signing up for the hi-pain-threshold club when it came to retirement. We'll see how that one plays out. Don't get me wrong, the HPT club has been around longer than the Stone Masons (or so the Simpsons tell me) but I'm not sure I should be one to join an old-boys-type club. My delicate rear never did bear the spanking sessions well.

Three physical therapy sessions next week. I figure they'll cause me to drop thirty pounds and take away any joint problems I may have in about a week and I can go on with my life just as I did coming out of high school. Wait. . . what? It DOESN'T work that way? Damnable brochures and their shiny pictures always showin' the best.

Oh yeah, I'll be moving into the house I originally booked passage into (back in March) sometime either during November or at the end of said month. The internet connection looks to not be poached anymore and I'm not sure how I feel about that. Kinda enjoy borrowing connectivity from my neighbors. I swear I'm not changing their internet preferences to cat fetish sites and the 24-hour weather website. . . cause they're already there.

As Ik would say; A-out (though I may be a bit further out than should be allowed. Is somebody gonna throw a brotha a line or what?)

Free Meals Are OK

Group lunch today footed for by some body's corporate card. Nice. Sucked into a meeting at four-thirty in the afternoon. Probably not going to be nice. Meeting goes till about eight o'clock, after a mandatory stroll through the warehouse. (At least we toured the empty, but still cold, freezer section.) What's that? Our gracious visitors who want our business would like to buy us dinner. Ow, my arm hurts. The Italian piano bar hasn't gone the way of the dingo in So Flo just yet. Wine, fish, limonchello, desert, champagne. . . are we celebrating something? Nope. The game was one. I hate the Red Sox.

Go A's. Go to Fremont, apparently. I doubt I'll ever see a live game again after they move.

I Didn't Even Know I Was Gone

Surprise! I flew out to France on Monday afternoon. Got into Paris Tuesday morning and then immediately flew to Nantes, France. Picked up my rental car and drove about forty-five minutes to St. Nazaire. Got in around noon and slept. Then I slept. Then I slept some more. Knee was killing me from the flights and the driving so didn't get much of a look at St. Nazaire. Small city though and I'll probably be back one day. Made it out for dinner at a local bistro which was good. Slept.

Spent all Wednesday in meetings with the local shipyard and two logistics companies. Getting people to work together. . . good times. Dinner out with colleague Wednesday night but travel plans the next morning necessitated an early evening.

Up at two-thirty in the morning, not part of the plan. Couldn't get back to sleep so stayed mildly entertained with French music videos till four-thirty. Took a bath, since there was no shower in the room. Drive from St. Nazaire back to Nantes and try to check in for my flight to Madrid. Woman kindly tells me that the flight is delayed at least an hour and they are looking at how to get me to Miami once I actually reach Madrid. It's six-thirty in the morning. Oh shit.

Somebody was mistaken. Flight from Nantes leaves just a few minutes late and even though it's a forty passenger jet and a bumpy ride it isn't full and the service is good. Things are looking up. Typical layover at Madrid then American Airlines decides to show what it can do. Full flight, a/v system that doesn't work, terrible food, crying babies. . . the whole nine. A/V system finally starts to work but our row doesn't get audio. Two cherries on top. One; our reading lights turn on and off without you bidding them too. Two; it's the hottest transatlantic flight ever. Usually they keep it cool and skinny people use the blankets. Apparently it was a tribute to summer and people were fanning themselves. Seems funny when it's forty below outside.

Good week. I took today off. Yup, there's work to be done but. . . time to go enjoy the TV I finally broke down and bought.

Here's to it. . . whatever it may be.

100

Well, this is the one-hundredth time that I've posted something on this pitiful little blog. Started it around summer of '05 so at this HIGHLY prolific rate I can expect to hit the one-thousandth post sometime after my grand-kids are getting to college. Not that I hear much guff from my adoring horde of fans (all four family members) and it has become readily apparent to me that while some of my friends are big fans of myspace and facebook and all those others they don't seem to get the knack of looking at this site to see where I am in the world. No to chastise but it never fails, every email I get from a friend back in Cali asks where I am right now. . . . oh well.

78

That's the real big number in my life. Seventy-eight is the exact temperature that my apartment stays when you open it all up and turn on the fans. At least it's down to that these days. I don't even have to turn on the a/c until it's time to turn in.

Gonna play with some big boxes tomorrow. Hope to take some rather graffic images of the horrors of Asian packing techniques. I swear they're making pallets our of balsa wood over there. We unloaded five forty-footers into LC2 (logistics center 2) this afternoon and not a single pallet made it out in one piece. Anyway, might have to explain another minor logistics snafu later on. If I start a rant on it now I'll never get my ugly rest. Needless to say, there was some miscommunication (seemingly standard in my job) and I can't fit the freight from five forty-footers into the other five forty-footers that we ordered to transload (another great made-up logistiky-type word) the freight into. Ah, nevermind. Good night.

Eat your greens.

Go Figure

My frustration has a name.

And That name is The World.



Has anyone looked at this world lately?


And I'm not just talkin' about network TV and
news channels. Though I am talkin' about the
fact that my local channels seem to think that
B-Spears getting a flat is more important than,
well, more important that ANYTHING ELSE!

I'm going to try and go to bed without writing
something mean. It's a tough job, but. . .

I wish I were insane.

Back In Miami

I swear it's gotten more humid since I left.

 

Flights were typical flights.  Booked completely full, faulty entertainment system, multiple screaming babies, good times all around.  Not sure yet what my feelings are about being back in an office.  The Office.  I finally have my own cubicle to colorfully decorate with Dilbert cartoons and other trinkets that show that I'm really not the type of person who normally works in a cubicle. . . even though I work in a cubicle.  Don't remember where I first heard the term "Cubicle Farm" but it is rather fitting for our little logistics office here in So Flo.

 

I've been working for RCCL for over six months now.  Feels a little longer than that.

 

Finally have business cards too but since the phone line in my cubicle isn't actually connected to the phone number on my card I'm not sure how effective of a tool the business card really is.  Have a spanky new(er) laptop waiting in the wings as well which is good cause the miniature hampsters that are powering my current laptop are getting tired.  Also their running wheels are a little rusty and I've had a hard time getting any WD-40 in there to help them out.  Man, life is sooo hard.  I haven't had anything delivered to me on a platter actually made of silver in DAYS and this silver spoon is really getting uncomfortable in it's current position.

 

On to the next phase.

I'm not completely done with the Quest.  I still have to organize crane support, labor, garbage dumpsters, etc. . . for when she arrives in Miami on the 20th.  But in order to prove my worth, earn my keep, justify the existence of my job I guess, I'm going to start working on a diesel engine project for a couple of different ships.  Don't remember what I've wrote about this but whenever I mention it to people in the office they just get this slightly tazed (not dazed) looked on their face and after a few seconds they develop a sad little smile on their lips and shake their heads wistfully, as if to say, "Another one thrown under the bus. . . and he was so young!"  In truth I'm looking forward to it.  Anything I can do to justify my existence is just fine by me, though a pinch on the arm followed by a good yell seems to work just as well.

 

Came off dry dock with a sore knee, a cold and a cold sore to boot.  Think I'll take it easy this weekend.  The apartment is now cable free and the internet is highly limited to when I can poach it from my neighbors.  Looks like I'll get a lot of reading done this weekend.  Might even find time to unpack. 

 

Time to work on my expense report. . . hasta la bye-bye.

Dunn

Flying back to Miami manana. Yeah, it's a little early. No, I didn't do anything bad to get me sent home. However, I did pull a typical move (typical of me at least) and got hurt in an odd way. Strain in my foot turns into a limp. . . add the limp to three days working however many undogly hours in new work boots. . . you've got a recipe for a knee swollen to melon-like proportions and a distinct inability to walk properly. Same sad song; Boy meets boot, boot meets pavement, pain meets boy.

Anyway, I'm not being deported for my lack of mobility. (On-board doc says it might
be a problem with one or both of the meniscus in my knee, which sounds likely and bad and means I'm in for a fun future.)

In terms of logistics this job is going extremely well. Add that to the extreme number of logistics people we have here and people have gotsta shuffle. So, I fly home tomorrow and I'll be back in the office on Friday. (I'll take my medicine and like it gal' darnnit.) The rumor is that there are fires to put out back at base. Fires that will only be squelched by smoothly moving freight and well planned delivery times coupled with flawless cooperation between multiple feuding entities. Logistics, like manna from the heavens. . . or somethin' like that.

Where was I? Ah, yes. . . rambling.

Good and bad. Cold and hot. Well handled yet still FUBAR. However, at least I get to sleep in a decent bed again in a clean room. While I do happen to have my own room on board the ship it hasn't been a cleaned in days and they are doing work in there every day. Two nights ago I came home to metal shavings all over the floor and sawdust in all the drinking glasses. "I'm sorry, Bob, but I'm gonna have to go ahead and skip a night in the room of podiatric lacerations and just, uh yeah, punt."

Yeah, PUNT! If Fitty says it's a good idea then it can't be all bad. Gotta admit that I'm not mentally geared to go back to the land of spontaneously combusting lizards and beach-folk with faces like old leather handbags just yet.

Alas, the travel is over for now. There's a very small possibility that I'll find some distant adventure within this new project I'll be working on, but most likely I'm grounded till Xmas in WI. Good time. Good and cold.

In the meantime I guess I'll have to find my board shorts and flip-flops.
And on that disheveled note. . .

Thirty-two dozen points to the person not named A.C. who can tell me which fairly modern cartoon this is from.

One man speaking all the lines to nobody in particular:
"And he said, HEY! I DON'T LIKE THE CUT OF YOUR JIB!!
And I said, I'M SORRY, BABY!! IT'S THE ONLY JIB I GOT!!!"

Turns out it ain't cool to talk about how another man's headsail has been trimmed.
Go figure.

Not Quite Worth Five Thousand

With my job I have to deal with this. . .


But I also get to see this.


There's a whole lot of this. . .


But who wouldn't enjoy seeing one of these?


However, this is the reason for it all. . .
I give you, the newly named Azamara Quest.


She's a small vessel so she don't look like much in the graving dock. Only holds seven-hundred and ten passengers who have paid for white-glove service and a chance to visit some smaller ports that our larger ships can't go to. Celebrity Cruises just bought this vessel from Pullmantur Tours (even though we own them) and everything with the old ship name (Blue Moon) on it needs to be replaced. All new carpet, mattresses (yay!), storage shelving, mini-suites and fancy new Bolidt decking on all the open decks (and that's just the beginning). At this point we're actually more than halfway through the job so I'll have to get a few pictures up of the work being done.

Well, back to it.

RE: vitalization

When I finally find/make time to create an update it so happens that my hands are a bit frozen. Turns out that Northern Germany is about as warm as the name would imply. Actually can't complain 'cause it's only been 'mostly cloudy' the last few days. . . though today showed a chilled face of such ferocity that it even bit through my 'padding' and numbed me up good by the end of the shift.

So how's the job going?
Typical dry dock. Long, semi-productive days with a distinct lack of respect for the logistics department. It's a small ship that's trying to complete more work, in a shorter period of time, than much larger ships complete. We've got six logistics people working the cranes and forks. Four on day shift, two on night. Normally we've got two or maybe three people total. Needless to say we could use another person or two and we're constantly pinned against the wall by contractors, marine department, F&B department, hotel department and of course more contractors.

Whelp, there ain't much to this but it's all I'm up for. I'll try again over the weekend but we've got full services so I ain't holding my breath.

Hope all is well whoever you may be.

Hamburg

Great city.  Good beer.  Pretty girls.  Having fun driving in my spanky new Golf TDI rental. 

 

Head to the Blohm and Voss shipyard again tomorrow to start work in earnest.  Co-worker and I dropped by there today but just to look around.  HUGE YARD!!  I mean, like, bigger than one o' dem lampshades that Tiny Elvis was always talking about back in the day on SNL.  Seriously, the shipyard in SF has two dry docks and a few piers. . . this place has something like 17 docks! 

 

Um. . . yeah.  I've got shipyard envy.

 

Not gonna type long cause the free computer I'm using in the hotel lobby has a German keyboard, I suppose as it should.  The z and the y are switched, the shift key is the same size as a normal key, there are quite a few bonus keys with fun little markings over them and almost all of the special symbols aren't where we Americans think they're supposed to be.  Ah yes, it's the little things while traveling. . . like being able to write a coherent email in under fifteen minutes and without hurting your delicate hands, like mine.

 

Hope to establish a pseudo office at the shipzard tomorrow and will maybe get a few pictures up. 

 

Double dunkel please.  Danka.

Turns Out

Well, no surprise here, it turns out that warehouses are the same all over the world. Gruff workers smoking cigarettes, fork trucks threatening every last little piggy under leather and more disorganized freight than you can shake a mongoose at. (ed. note: this blog does not condone the shaking of mongooses (mongeese?) at anything or anyone, under any circumstances. Keep your mongeese to yourselves people.)

My work here in RTM is pretty much done. There might be some freight this afternoon but for the most part everything is labeled, organized and prettier than a cold beer on a Friday afternoon. Speaking of which. . . every office I've visited in Europe has cold beer in the fridge. Where did we go wrong people?!? If the USA is the freest country in the world then where's the beer in the workplace? Seriously, this upsets me more than a little. Not even for the lack of actual consumption but more for the implication that people aren't responsible enough to enjoy one beverage with their co-workers and then drive home. Life is sooo hard. . .

. . . just ask Paris Hilton. (Here's a ray of shining intelligence for everyone out there; the aforementioned girl (not woman) is UGLY. Not an attractive thing about her. Think about it and then find some dog-awful picture of her at some premiere for some event that she did nothing for. She's skinny, squinty, sallow and sad. All in a row. This has been a public service announcement from a guy who has no right to give public service announcements.

Off my high horse and back to the real world that matters, or doesn't matter. . . I can never remember which is correct. Does the "real" world (i.e. getting up, going to work, dealing with BS all day just to buy things that you don't have the time to enjoy) matter? Or is what Really matters the complete opposite? If somebody figures it out please let me know.

Sorry, no interesting pics of Rotterdam yet. Haven't gotten out much and we all know how well those night pictures of the distant skyline turn out. Oh well, I'm sure I'll be back here and I'm staring ten days in Hamburg square in the face before the vessel even arrives for dry dock. There might be a few beers consumed in that time. Check out the famous fish market on a Saturday morning and scrupulously avoid anyone who wants to drag me through the red light district. My motto, if you have to pay for it maybe you don't deserve it. Just my personal opinion. But what else is a page like this good for if not my personal opinions?

Don't answer that.

For those who care, the people here where I'm working are nice, at least to me. But then again anytime I thank somebody and tell them that it wasn't necessary for them to bring me that sandwich for lunch or that second cup of tea they just laugh and say, "It's okay, you're a customer." Makes me wonder what life would be like if I wasn't a customer. . . and if I was paying all the bills on this trip. Oy! I can remember how incredibly broke (and buried) I was when I returned from that two month European trip last year. At this point that trip feels like it was four years ago.

Hope everyone is well wherever you are and whatever you're doing. Whatever you do, stay away from College Ave in Berkeley this Saturday because it's birthday weekend among my old group of friends back home and some insobriety may ensue. Break out the notes and the pirate eye Jones, I'll be thinkin' of you all this weekend. And to top things off the Candeeman turns something like forty-seven this Saturday in Vegas as well. Helluva weekend to be sober. . . so don't be.

A Heineken tipped back to you all. Grab your bike and move to the Netherlands, you'll fit right in.

In Rotterdam

Tired. Maybe not even from jet lag. Certainly not from anything "bad" that you all have going through your minds. Been treated to dinner two nights in a row but haven't gotten a chance to see much of the city. If I can get enough work done tomorrow then I might have a bit of time Friday afternoon. . . otherwise I only have Saturday morning and we all know how likely that is.

Time to shower. Nice hotel. Too nice for me. Better clean up my act I guess.

Stay up and work or go soak in the tub that's actually big enough for me.

Tough one.

Funny. . . But Not In A "Ha Ha" Sort Of Way

Things do happen to me, I swear. Okay, maybe they're not terribly interesting or worthwhile things; nor are they challenging and eccentric things; but they happen none the less. Just like creative grammar. . . that's a "thing" isn't it? Point is that every time I actually write one of these little things I say to myself, "Self! You should put something down every few days instead of every week or two. I don't care if it's an old story, a fictional story, a worthless update on the interesting breakfast you had or something wholly worthwhile." Then I silently vow to be good about posting interesting tidbits for the people back "home" and promptly don't. See once you post something then you might want to post again right away but it's sort of like that untrue rule about not calling girls too soon. You FEEL like you're not supposed to post again for at least a day. So I have every intention and ability and the fodder to do it with and then before I know it a week has gone by and now I have to compress quite a few things and leave most of it out. And there that is.

It's two o'clock in the morning and I leave for Rotterdam in about twelve hours. Gonna pop into the office in about five hours since I don't have a printer at home (I know, I know, livin' the high life). But I've got a little Gershwin over the speakers and most likely can't get to sleep cause of all the darned excitement and I'm gonna be gone for five weeks and I get to see new places and I get to work out of the office and I get to drink good beer and, and. . . and things shall be as Dog intended.

Promises, promises. If it all works out I'll have pics of ROT up within the week and maybe a story or two. Should have four days with a relatively light work load and then a similar situation in Hamburg for ten days (including rental car and a couple of Sundays) before all hell breaks loose. And let me just tell you my family, my friends and my random clickers. . . if you think the last couple jobs in France were tough I can assure you they were a drop in the bucket.

RCCL did this same job to an identical vessel back in May and the horror stories that emanated from that job still haunt my dreams. Of course we're taking more logistical manpower than I've ever even heard of for a revitalization but that don't mean it won't be not pretty. (Triple negative?) Seriously we've got my boss, myself, another Project Manager and three (count 'em if ya got 'em) subcontractors with us. Most likely we'll be running one shift from about seven in the morning till around five in the afternoon with four of us and then the other two guys will take over at five and only use one crane instead of three until around two in the morning. But who knows, these things always change by the time the job starts. Seven to five doesn't sound all that bad but those are just the hours the cranes will operate for our shift. In and around (and after) that is all the fun computer and phone time spent tracking shipments that we weren't told about that needed to be here yesterday and are more vital to the job than me keeping my heart beating. . . at least that's how they act. Oh yeah, and there's also the inevitable fact that there won't be enough people to unload all these containers until two in the morning. . .

What's that? You need volunteers? And you thought you saw me raise my hand? Sure things boss. My hand was up, whatever you say. Last notable and fun-fact for this job is that the ship is so small and we have so many people working on it that we'll be bunking times two in each room (and possibly times three). I realize that people cruise in these rooms all the time but I gotta admit that it's more than nice and good for moral if you have your own space/shower/music/nakidity and only your own snoring to deal with after an eighteen hour shift that's about to roll over into one more shift of similar magnitude.

Welp, I think I'll put on my dunn-deroos and see if I can't squeeze a little sleep into these eyes. We'll find out if I still love to travel sometime tomorrow. . . after I've been properly compressed into a plane seat for a few hours.

At least my family was loving enough to give me Stephen King's, "Dark Tower" series to keep me interested. Haven't pulled the trigger on that Archos 605 yet but the books are more entertaining than digital media any day. And they never seem to run out of batteries. Funny how that works.

Maybe even in a "Ha Ha" sort of way.

Two Year Injury

Well, it's been two years to the day that I first had my right elbow x-rayed after that, um, incident with a young lady friend of mine. And you can all get your minds outta the gutter cause you know damn well that if this had happened under any sort of kinky circumstances I'd tell you straight up. Hell, I'd probably write a book. Anyway, here's the first x-ray I got in Flag two years ago.



At the time the radiologist labeled it as an occult fracture of the elbow, though he did not specify the exact area that was fractured. (I was now officially part of occult. Heh!) Soft cast and a sling. . . props to TmfC for wrappin' me back up a few times. Cost me my last Trek America trip but a few weeks later the swelling was down and mobility was probably about eighty percent.

A couple of diagnoses later and some physical therapy and I find myself here in Florida with proper health insurance again. Went to a orthopaedic surgeon and between the x-rays he took, the original x-rays and the MRI report from eighteen months ago he diagnosed me with an occult fracture. But this time he told me exactly where he thought it was (is?).



There it is!



Basically there was a fracture along the bottom line of that triangle. The triangle slipped down a bit and mended itself there. And that is why I don't have full extension of my right elbow. . and probably never will. When I try to straighten my arm the bone and tendons don't want to let it go all the way.

For now it's PT which I probably can't start until I get back from Germany in mid-October. C'est la vie.

The Litos

Well, my roommate took off today for what should be a six month stint on board a ninety-eight foot yacht on it's way to Acapulco via Cancun and the Panama Canal. Except for the whole baby-sitting rich people aspect I'm pretty jealous. Not too long ago it's the kind of thing I would have been doing and none of you would have batted an eyelash.


Yup, that's Amy.

Unfortunately, I don't have too much time to enjoy my solidarity. The flights haven't been booked yet for my next work trip but I should be leaving September tenth to fly to Amsterdam. The plan is for me to then train it to Rotterdam and work at a consolidation warehouse that we have there. Then I'll fly to Hamburg about a week later and get to enjoy a rental car and a hotel for about ten days before the vessel actually gets to Hamburg. I'm sure there will be plenty of hard work to be done but the hours shouldn't be nearly as punishing as the all day shifts we work during dry dock.

The availability (as they call it) lasts about two weeks or so and then I'll probably be in a hotel again (or aboard the next vessel being worked on right after ours) for another couple of days in order to clean up all the tools and extra materials that we always have. Probably be back in the Miami area by October thirteenth.

All in all I'm looking forward to the trip and the experience. This job is definitely going to be a lot hairier than the last couple of dry docks I worked on but I'll be part of a proper logistics team this time and it shouldn't be as stressful. Alas I won't be able to travel in Europe after the job is done. The ship is steaming back across the Atlantic right after we're done and we need to come back here and set up cranes and crews in order to load the final materials and provisions before the vessel makes her maiden voyage with her new name and revitalized hotel.

It's still incredibly hot down here. Go figure. I've made the obvious realization that it's not the day time temp that gets me but the fact that it doesn't cool down at night. . . at all. Usually the weather predictions show about a three degree drop in temperature at night, with no change in humidity. Awesome.

By Popular Demand

The aforementioned, and highly fashionable, mannequins in my living room.


No comment.


And of course the ever-riveting shot of my place of employment.



I doubt that I can even begin to share with you how depressing this post is.
Next time I'll just put a bunch of dead puppies on the screen.

(ed. note: oooh, that might not go over so well. good thing i'm too far away for anyone i know who reads this to come and hurt me. just try it.)


Ten points to anyone who can tell me where these next lines come from.

Man on plane: "Who's flying this thing anyway?"
Same man answering his own question after looking into cockpit:
"It's a penguin! . . . And he's been drinking!!"
Penguin answering man in angry tone: "Wah, wah, wah, wah."
Man: "Wait a minute. . . penguins can't fly! PENGUINS CAN'T FLY!!"

Dunn-er

Meaning that it's finally done or at least more dunn(er). I know that these things I have to say are neither thrilling and/or riveting but at least some people who read this will know what's up before I talk to them next and they have no idea where (or who) I am. Cheers to those keeping up. I wish you would provide me with similar info on your lives so I don't fall victim to the "no idea" crowd.

Just an informal invite to. . . um. . . everyone. I suppose I should say almost everyone since technically "everyone" with a net connection can read this, fools that they are for wasting their time. Anywho. My formal invite is to Florida, the Fountain of Youth State, because I am finally settled in my living arrangements. I've got a place to myself and there's even an extra bed or two. Next six months (at least) I should be by myself at the address I have previously provided everyone via email and anyone/everyone is welcome to come partake of the beach and the, uh, beach.

Disclaimer: Due to work restrictions the author of said aforementioned invite can not (and will not) guarantee his actual presence at time of said visits. I wish my work travel schedule was solid but it's rather spongy and constantly changing instead. My apologies, but by agreeing to come visit me you will actually have to give up all rights to seeing me. But feel free to use the apartment and the car. The fridge costs extra.

Spent but not spendy.

Doin' Stuff Is Good

Finally kickin' a little good ol' logistical action at work the past few days. Okay I suppose that Friday doesn't count as being within the last couple of days but if you're really gonna nit-pick once you find out which days I'm talking about you can just go somewhere else on The Man's Internet.

Have been getting to do something called out-port loading. The lingo still doesn't completely make sense to me but essentially rather than traffic all kinds of material through our warehouse here in Hollywood, FL they just send me to a local warehouse (not to be corn-fused with a local whorehouse) and I get to tag pallets and get 'em loaded into containers in the right order with the right documentation. And this is now what I consider exciting in my life. Super.

I guess I haven't written about the upcoming job on the Azamara Quest yet. That's the revitalization that I'll be working on in Hamburg next month. And before you ask, a revitalization differs from a normal dry docking cause it's longer and therefore more work is done (go figure). And if you want to know what a dry docking is. . . look it up. Anyway, to give you an idea of the scope of this project; we will receive approximately one-hundred and twenty containers, each twenty feet in length and usually container ten pallets worth of material. The material in these containers will be coming from all over the world, literally. We're going to have to load about eight to twelve containers on board the vessel each day and this is a small cruise ship. Only holds seven-hundred and ten passengers. I suppose it's hard to explain all the variables in one paragraph so I shouldn't have tried. But suffice to say it's things like this that keep me employed.

And now back to the point I was making before the last paragraph; ou-port loading gets me outta the office to learn new places and faces down here. And speakin' of getting out I did manage to have a little happy hour(s) with a few of the more congenial people from the office last Friday. Not too bad of a time and nobody even got hurt. . . which always seems to happen when I'm all set to have a really good time. (Flagstaffian's can think of Keegan (sp?) face-planting off his bike this past summer on TC's birthday right when fifteen of us were headed off for the bars. He was doing all of about zero-point-five miles an hour and cut his front wheel to hard. . . heh.)

So, some things are looking up and others are just looking around wondering where the good times are to be had. Looks like the roommate will be around till the end of the month and then I guess the boat's headed to Cancun. . . assuming there's a Cancun left to head to. Guess I should check Dean's progress before I write that. Oh well.

Off to a fairly early night for the first time in a while. That's a good thing. As all my biking buddies say, "Keep the rubber side down." I guess that'll just have to refer to the soles of our sneakers or boots for the rest of us mortals.

Wishing you all good times and psychedelic toads.
Which both happen to be in short supply down here.

So, uh. . . I Guess That Settles It?

So the water and power will be transferred to my name on Friday. Does that mean that the place is all mine at that point?

Of course not.

So the roommate got the job on the private yacht. . . 'cause life is just that hard. Of course, "they" can't leave just yet (two captains and her) cause of the four major storms going on in the region. Of course my version of the weather on the Internet only shows three major storms in the whole world and only two in our region but since when have I been a meteorologist? Of course, never. Of course you can't use the same two words to start ALL your sentences. Of course, it IS fun to try. But of course the part that's the most fun is changing the grammar at the beginning of each sentence 'cause you can't remember the grammatical rule that governs such nonsensical and useless things in this world.

Of course, don't tell Mom or The Candeeman I wrote that. . . . aww hell, don't tell them I wrote anything at all or the red will start flyin'.

Anywhooters, I thought you should all know that I now live in a part of the world that concerns itself with the weather patterns on other continents. That's right, Ladies and Gentlemen, here in the SoFlo we get weather reports for Western Africa. . . and that's awesome.

One tropical storm just came off that coast and while it's slated to pass us on the last satellite projection that I viewed we all know that those babies respect nothing unless it's global cooling, so I guess I better go stock up on vodka, and. . . um, water? Yeah, water. Ooh, and goldfish. You can't wade through your parking lot to go driving during a hurricane if you ain't got your strength up with goldfish.

No bull, there's a guy I work with who's a true "local" and he waits out the hurricanes by driving thru them, and I suppose into them. Of course, he's got an F-350, quad-cab, dually pick-um-up truck so maybe he feels it's his right. . . or his duty. And when I say local you should note that he was born down the street from where we work. Maybe seven percent of the population down here can say that. . . but that's only cause there's no hospital down the street so it's not a popular place to birth a child.

Suppose I should shuffle off to bed. But a final word of warning. . . dissing shuffle board can bring serious physical consequences to one's person. These people down here carry canes. . . and they know how to use them.




ed. note: I can't believe the spellchecker didn't accept SoFlo! The world's gone wrong. Het orslwd ogne gorwn.

99% Chance of Change

Just a little ditty to inform any party that may be concerned with my mental health that my roommate is ninety-nine percent sure that she is going to be taking a job on board a private yacht that is sailing to the Western side of Mexico via the Panama Canal for six months. I have tentatively agreed to continue to reside at her place while she's gone for just a little bit more money. I am fully aware that I might be asking for trouble but I've been looking at places I can afford on my own and especially when they come fully furnished they are little boxes for way too much money.



Can't pass up the chance to have a 2/2 all to my self for a while. I might send a few pics once I get all the mannequins and other weird shit down off the walls and various other places. Don't ask, I've been living in a strange situation for a while now.

Point is that change is a foot which seems to be how I like it. Now if I can just make myself wait a little longer till I pull the trigger on that big screen/surround sound system I've had my eye on. . .

Here's to change, and to Fridays. . .

BLAGHPHGHHGHPPPPPPPPPPPT!

Never seen a Tasmanian Devil. Check one out below.



Two bros, myself and our pop all caught this together down in Tasmania. Pretty gnarly creatures. They eat everything; hair, bone, meat. . . down the hatch. They're chompin' on a tasty wallabee leg in the video. Make sure you have the sound up cause if you catch a good growl out of one you'll know why the cartoon character sounds that way.

I was looking through some old pics on my computer today and found myself wondering what happened to sitting down with family and friends and the ol' slide projector after a big trip and lettin'em all rip? Granted these days you'll be streaming a slide show from your laptop to your big screen tv but still. . . when was the last time you got together with friends, drinks and a long picture session.

I know, I know. . . if the pictures don't move it's not nearly as fun. This post being no exception.

Is Change Always Good?

Most of you who know me obviously know that for the past five years or so I'm almost constantly looking forward to the next big change. If it's not a new job or a different place to live then it's a different car or a new bottle of vodka. On second thought scratch that last one cause once again, those that know me also know that vodka doesn't bring about a very large change in me very often. (Now if we're talking about The Capt'n then it's a different story. Especially New Years Eve quite a few years ago out at Harms' parent's place. . . if you don't know then don't ask.)

Anyway, I don't need to move to a different part of the country this time but I have decided I need to change my living situation just a bit. My current roommate is a self-described lizard when it comes to the heat down here in So Flo, which promptly caused me to associate myself with being a polar bear. . . a bit out of his Element, though still driving one. Point being that even though I dislike always living in the a/c I still need it in order to sleep; in order to sit through that lovely three hour meeting I have the next day and most importantly to not FALL ASLEEP during said meeting. Rookie, rookie mistake. Especially when you're in a room full of people making AT LEAST five, large figures more than you.

So, told my roommate I was moving out at the end of the month and started looking around a few days ago. Found a few places right away that would work but nothing that blew my flip-flops off. (How often do you get to write the words flip and flop together?) AND THEN things start to happen. Just as I find a decent enough house with a quasi-normal enough guy living in it my roommate comes through with a barn burner. She might move to Puerto Rico and open a restaurant/bar with a friend of hers. AND (here's the kicker) she would want to rent her whole place out to me for just a hundred bucks more a month (+ all the utilities, of course). Not a bad deal. Two bed, two bath, fully furnished, plenty of room for friends and family anytime and easily within my price range.

As it happens the guy at this other house has to wait to hear from a recently dumped-out-of-the-blue-after-a-three-year-relationship buddy of his so I'm in a mini-holding pattern. . . with a really small packet of peanuts and a thimble full of beer. . . until he hears from his friend and until my current roomie goes down to P.R. next week and checks things out. Guess I'll get another post up when things pan out, thin out or just fall out.

And if this post wasn't long enough, or funny enough, for you then you've got to check out the most recent gem at Bad News Hughes' site. Link upper right. Warning, his site is definitely told in a no-holds barred kind of way whereas mine is told in sort of a no-bar-holds-me-down kind of way. Whatever that means.