Some new stories

So it has now been 2 weeks on board this ship and WOW! My schedule is such that I wake up at 7:30 and go to work at 8am. Then break at around 2 pm and back to work at 4:30pm until close at 10:30 or 11pm. 12 to 14 hour days is something I am not used to, but it's becoming the norm. Any free time is sleep time. I never took naps until now. Sleep is so precious to me now. We were in Vancouver last week and I slept right through the whole day as we didn't have lunch service.

Anyways after the first week and the end of the first cruise I was invited to drink with "The Mafia" otherwise known as the Filipino people to know in the kitchens. They drink a lot, and they show up the next morning still drunk. So I walked down to the crew mess and one guy was standing outside and asked me to come in. I walk in and there's about a dozen of these guys sitting around a table with a glass and a bottle. They pour a drink and push out a chair. I looked left and right as if trying to get some sort of comfort in this strange situation, but none was to be found. I sat down, I had a drink and then another. Before I knew it I was having a good time. I made some friends and am now able to get what I need when I need it in these kitchens.

In the kitchen I work in there is the chef Jomon Jose, he is from India. He is actually a very nice guy and helpful in the kitchen. I sense some tension because I view things differently, but it's not that bad. His contract is up in a month, and then we get a new chef. My assistant cook is Lemont and he is crazy good. He has been on this ship for 6 months now and has 4 months left. That's a long time.

On a friendly CIA note, I met up with Martin Smith of AOS 4 in Ketchikan, Alaska yesterday. He owns a restaurant in town and his father in law owns the fish shack on the docks. I ate at the fish shack and some real tasty halibut. It was good to see a familiar face.

Oh and thank god for Skagway. They have a microbrewery. I went there and sat down for a tasty pint of their IPA. I look forward to going their next week and trying a new beer. I never will get a chance to really see Juneau as we are always busy for lunch and by the time we are done with lunch I have maybe an hour to get off to see the town. Now Vancouver lends itself to plenty of time for me to see. No lunch service on that day means 6 hours to spend in Vancouver or in bed sleeping, I don't know.

Still having trouble with pictures. I am going to try uploading on facebook or something.