last days of the 42-day cruise

November 26, 2012: Sea Day 5
I met both the kids while we were all eating breakfast this morning. The boy came up and we were coloring when the girl came up. She and her mom argued about her staying and then she left; apparently she is very upset when I’m not working the afternoon shift because she wants to be there with the other girl and she doesn’t like Brian. So, the boy and I put on a movie, made a rocket out of plastic cups and construction paper, and went outside to play basketball. It was a really easy morning.

It was a quiet afternoon as Kayley and I watched Harry Potter, and I helped out with Bingo. I went to dinner with the band, then Cass and I went downstairs to watch Amelie (she has it on her hard drive). Glenn was singing in the Piano Bar so after the movie I went to listen. Blake came up right after Glenn finished (he had planned on being up there, but got distracted), and the three of us went up to dessert extravaganza. I was very happy they had lots of strawberries at the chocolate fountains!

We went down and changed and went to the OB. Not many people were there. I hung out with Annette and we played Rummy for a bit with Edison before he left, then we played Speed. There were only a few other people in there so after a while the other group, a group of officers and electricians came over. We’d hung out some before, but it was interesting when we tried to show them how to play the game. They didn’t really get it, it just looked like we were throwing down cards to them. We stopped playing and talked instead, and then they all started trying to do tricks with the cards, none of which really worked.

November 29, 2012: Half Moon Cay
The last few sea days were uneventful, so there is too little to merit a whole entry on them. We’ve finally returned to civilization, no more being in the middle of the ocean with no connection to the outside world. In some ways, that disconnect is liberating, not having to worry about keeping in touch because it is so difficult. However, it also makes for a boring time, stressful as well because spending 7 straight days confined with the same people (most of whom you’ve spent the last 30-something days with) makes people start to turn on each other. Although there is stuff to do, it all starts to get monotonous and you long for a change of scenery. It’s been a long 7 days, an even longer 42 day cruise.

I was feeling slightly sick last night. More than slightly I guess, since I did have to call Brian to cover for me at work because I felt so bad. It wasn’t quite the sick feeling, but it was a headache turning migraine, added to feeling clammy and shaky. As soon as I got to my room, I climbed in bed and fell asleep, not noticing a thing until 4am. I dozed on and off from then until 7, really 6 because I’d forgotten about the last hour back. Cass was getting ready to take the first tender to land with the HAL Cats so they could get their instruments over there before all the guests needed the space. She left and I got up. It was an earlier morning than I’ve been used to, but I’d had more sleep than usual.

I had breakfast, then came back down to prepare my bag to go to shore with the kids. I met Brian in Club HAL at 10 and realized that all the kids were going to meet us on shore, so we headed down. He made a stop by his room and said he’d meet me downstairs. I got down there and waited, and waited and waited. After 20 minutes, I tried calling, but there was no answer. The party planner and I talked for a bit, and she told me that only one of us really was allowed off because we’re on an IPM rotation with the Explorations Team, all of whom were off the ship. So, I stayed on the ship; I didn’t know where the Club HAL area was on land anyway, that’s why Brian and I were getting off together so we could find it. At least I’m going one more time next week, I can get off then.

I hung out in the room until I was scheduled to work. I knew the kids were on shore, so I had lunch before going up to Club HAL. No one ever showed up, so I ended up listening to music and playing Lego Harry Potter all afternoon. It was a strange day.
After work, I read until dinner, then went up to Club HAL again, not expecting any of the kids to show up because the French boy’s parents were in the show, and the siblings told me they probably weren’t coming up because they needed to pack. All three of them came up. They played Kinect Sports while I took down drawings from the walls and organized them into their bags to take home. They played sports for a while, but then wanted to watch a movie, so I put one on, the girl and I made snowflakes while the boys just watched the movie and talked. Then they all left for the last time. Club HAL was oddly quiet as I cleaned up and prepped the room for tomorrow and the new kids coming aboard. It’s strange to think I’ve spent so much time with these kids and now they’re just gone.