It's all downhill from here

And that is a good thing! Some days things just stop rushing around in your head. Even if for just a little bit. It is usually a good idea to make the most of these moments. Especially when over a month or so such moments have appeared rarely, if at all :).

God am I ready to be out of dock or what?! Even though there's the better part of a week before crew-change, the mere act of setting sail would be a relief. No cutting or grinding jarring you awake at odd hours for one thing!

For a short trip, this has been a really long one :(. But the upcoming break seems to be promising. Some of us are planning on staying back for a little while in South Africa. The sheer scope of the intended vacation kinda boggles my mind a little bit. So all I'm doing at this point is crossing my fingers and hoping that this one doesn't run into any last minute glitches. It really promises to be awesome :D.

Currently: into no-mores!
Listening to: MIKA vs RedOne - Kick ass

The world spins madly on...

:) I've been thinking this for a while, but I figured it's one of those end-of-year sort of things. This has been a year of going back. To places mostly. Places I hadn't been to in a while. The while being anything from a year to half a dozen!

I find, that sort of thing does more than just bring back memories. It also gives one pause. Visions of what was and is, side by side. I guess that's the downside of reflecting on things, possibly a bit too much? Oh well, at least some of the time, you get the chance to go do things you missed that last time.

Take Ushaka Marine World for instance. Somehow, I'd never made the walk up the beach from where we were staying back in '08. This time, however, we spent a rather splendid Christmas Day afternoon exploring parts of what turned out to be a fairly crazy maze! The dolphins were definitely the best part!

When it comes to boats though, it's been a bit too much moving, too many all-too-brief acquaintances. And way too much time in dock :(. But I suppose that's what set me on the re-visiting frenzy. One thing leads to another, one might say :). Who knows what's next?

And on that note, here's wishing for all those things I don't even know I'm looking for. More last minute plans, maybe lighting up new bits of the map this time. In short, the sort of things that go into the makings of a good year. :)

Currently: waiting for a plan to come together... again
Listening to: The Weepies - World spins madly on

Rewind

As far as unexpected things go, I imagine showing up at Pier 107 for lunch ranks pretty high. Assuming one isn't from Durban. Showing up after a gap of four years and knowing exactly what you're going to have, well, that's just plain showing off I guess :).

After the crazy break I'd had, a peaceful interlude before what promises to be an even crazier trip was much appreciated, and in fact, much needed! So I was thankful for the half day we got in a beach-front hotel upon arriving in Durban.

I was toying with the idea of a quick swim before thinking better of it and settling for a lazy amble up and down the beach, complete with a chocolate covered ice-cream cone, a quick dash into the roaring water and a rather fun ride.

Since then it's been back to work. On yet another new boat. At least this one's kinda new for real. At only a bit over two years old, it's the newest one I've been on yet! Unfortunately, landing up on a boat for the first time while it;s in dry-dock isn't the best way to gather a proper first impression...

Still, there's time enough to make a proper acquaintance. Or so one hopes. I guess after spending less than six months on successive boats, taking such things for granted would qualify as premature :). But, seeing how the world didn't end, anything is possible ;).

Currently: can't wait to get back afloat
Listening to: Rihanna - Half of me

Night-blindness

It's a bit like waking up in the middle of the night, all of a sudden, and not knowing where you are. The moments it takes to grasp your bearings can be entertaining enough. If you aren't the type to be caught in a blind panic right then, or waking up from one of those dreams where you are falling endlessly...

I tend to use the music to get directions right. But then again, with the variety of bed to desk geometries I've had in cabins by now, that's no longer much of a help. Someone once told me I have industrial deafness, or some such thing. Because I leave music playing when I sleep. I just do it to keep the creaking of the panels from driving me crazy :).

Anyway, so realizing where you are on the boat can be a bit like that. Like the waking up thing. Maybe like zooming out. Figuring out where you are if you were looking at the boat from the outside. Then as more of the surrounding scenery comes into view you realize that this isn't the middle of the ocean. There's a whole city through those metal walls.

But on some mornings, all there is, is the dense veil of fog that obliterates all the hills, most of the houses, and once again you are surrounded by nothingness.

Feeling: out of place
Listening to: David Guetta - Without you (feat. Usher)

Snow creeping down mountain-sides

So I went ahead and made the plan. Now let's see how everything works out. It's a good plan, in that the details are entirely absent :D. Well, not entirely, but absent enough to let things happen. Or so one hopes.

But there's still a whole week till the break starts, and this trip seems to have been going on forever :-<. What is it with last trips on a boat? (I am beginning to sound like a broken record here, I know, but that's kinda the thing :(.)

So yeah, another boat. Apparently. As usual, my future is a bit like sailing in low visibility :). Can't ever see too far ahead. But you can be sure things are going to show up along the way. Mostly, quite suddenly. Oh well. Isn't always a bad thing. Only like... well, I was going to say a lot of the time, but that's just 'cos I'm tired and can't see an easy way out of this next week till crew change I guess :).

Bergen is back to doing what it does best, revelling in chilling rain that freezes the bone and transforms everything into something of a haze of wet numbness. I guess the days of sunshine weren't really going to last. I regret the fact that I didn't take any sunrise photos. There were a few good ones. But not in a while.

Right. Things to look forward to, yet another last minute trip, hopefully a nice car. Two weeks of fall coloured roads. Not all bad then. Too bad that's a whole six-and-a-half days away.

Currently: tired
Listening to: Sixpence None The Richer - A million parachutes

Raindrops in the dark

Trip number four. And I'm still waiting to fly out. Maybe this time. Then again, this was the first time I sailed in. To Bergen. if you were to believe the reputation, it rains all the time in Bergen. Actually it is quite a well deserved reputation. I've just been unusually lucky for the most part :). Not on the sail in through the fjords though...

It was about as miserable as you could imagine. Grey, cold, blustery and wet. And I thoroughly enjoyed the meandering sail in through the waterways leading into port that look like so many cracks that have opened up on the earth and let in the sea.

There's something about sailing a ship through channels in low visibility. Dense fog is a bit of an overkill, you can't see anything. But this sort of misty low lying cloud thing, that hangs like a curtain a mile out and leaves a small bit of the world open to your eyes, it's what I sometimes imagine to be at the heart of all things nautical. You never can see a lot. But whatever you see, is everything there is :). Or so it seems anyway.

Anyway. Finished with the the American Gods re-read. But that's about it as far as the reading goes. Since hitting port I've had a couple of nice walks into town with the sun shining gamely in the face of the increasingly hostile cold. But for the most part it has been a mind numbing succession of things to get done. Now! Every moment a reminder that there's something not being attended to, a something that will soon rear its head in anger :-<.

Oh well. There's always suddenly discovered cool music to fall asleep to.

Currently: 11, 10, 9...
Listening to: The National - ADA

Every hour wounds. The last one kills.

It's been a bit grim with the post titles lately huh? But I assure you, this one's merely for effect. It's out of American Gods. Chapter 3 as a matter of fact. :) I'm following what turned out to be an awesome suggestion to follow a re-read of Neil Gaiman here.

I've got to say, the Kindle has lit something of a fire under my reading lately. But to trace back the last few books would quite neatly follow my path from the boat back home. It was, by no means, as simple as that sounds!

The last few days of the trip were spent recovering what gear we had out and heading into Peterhead for crew change. In case that doesn't sound a bit out of place, let me clarify. The only reason we spent days out on the back deck doing that, was because there was no way we could get anyone on or off the boat at sea. Yes, it's the North Sea. Things like that happen a lot out there!

Of course, seeing how the cold was beyond anything I'd ever felt before on a boat, getting kitted out for twelve hours on the back deck starting at midnight was, well, interesting. Too bad I was too busy freezing my ass off to gather any entertaining evidence. Coraline seemed to fit right in with the cold and often cloudy and foggy scheme of things in general. (I had to occasionally remind myself that this was a children's book though.)

Seeing how we were supposed to be heading home, none of that seemed too big of an ask. Unfortunately, I wasn't really sure if I'd be going or staying. (A wayward wood chopper was to blame, and sundry paperwork. But mostly the wood chopper.) So I packed anyway. And crossed my fingers and toes. Even some other peoples' fingers, when I could get them to feel sorry enough. :P

There was even a short and rather happy (and consequently, headache inducing) encounter with what passes for a Scottish town once we made it to port. Then, come crew change day, I was told I could indeed head home! Ha! Best bus-ride ever! The one from Peterhead down to Dyce airport near Aberdeen! The sun was shining, light white clouds scudded past the blue sky! Of course that wasn't going to last.

I made one flight in peace. Finished up with the Gaiman. Then as I was wondering where to go next with the reading while wandering down Heathrow's Terminal 5 towards my gate, the dreaded announcement greeted me. Our aircraft was in need of some repairs. :( I turned to Asimov to provide some peace and calm. Another set of robot stories I hadn't read, The Bicentennial Man.

Soon enough the powers that be decided that we needed a different aircraft and the delay was the exact span of my transit in Delhi. From there on it went more or less downhill. You know what's worse than knowing for certain that you'll miss a connection? Knowing that there is a very slim, but real, chance that you might still make it. :(

And I was so close! I got to the check in counter after less than five minutes of them closing. I had no check-in bag either! (I've actually made a few of those before. You just have to run like hell.) But at the exact same moment another passenger showed up. Only, he had a half dozen family members and what looked like an unending train of baggage trolleys in tow. :-< 

At least they let me check in for the next flight. All of 11 hours before take off. (Hey, there was a political strike in town and the inside of DEL Terminal 3 is fairly civilized. It's got tons of power sockets, free wi-fi, the works!) I had a string of newish excessively violent movies I hadn't gotten around to watching yet. Perfect way to vent frustration, I say. And there was Asimov.

By the time I made it home, the other political strike (in Kolkata) was long over. So at least I didn't have to walk home. Since then it's been pretty cool actually! Well, it was warm to start with, but then it started raining, so. Anyhoo, I'd been thinking about taking up another recommendation for a little bit. But I wasn't sure how well Ayn Rand would go with a rough trip, or a terrible transit. But once home, I figured I was free to start.

Atlas Shrugged is a big book. Even on a Kindle it feels like a big book! It is also easy to tell that it is a book written in another time. Another world. One that seems even farther away than most of Asimov's creations, in fact! (But that's not a fair comparison though, is it? For all their numbers and spans across the stars and galaxies, Asimov's worlds are all essentially our own.)

But there are stretches of pure brilliance. I imagine some things are timeless. No matter how extreme you make your characters, how insanely uni-dimensional, wind blowing hair at a hundred miles an hour is still pure exhilaration. :) For the rest of it, I figured American Gods would be a good companion. I mean, there's probably no bigger contrast. But at least all the weirdness of the one, I'm fully aware of. :)

What I really like about the concept of a re-read is how you can actually remember to ask all those things of a fellow reader that you forgot to the first time. You know how it is, you read a book. You love it. Or whatever, you have your personal moments of joy, hate, inspiration, grief, enlightenment etc. But then someone else reads it, a little while later, and you've forgotten most of it! Everything you wanted to talk about has boiled down to a couple of highlights that just doesn't do it all justice.

Anyway, I've finally found the first whole Alanis Morissette album since Jagged Little Pill that I actually really like every single song on! The combo with Dave Matthews' latest makes for a particularly awesome soundtrack to the reading. :)

Currently: caught up in two worlds
Listening to: Alanis Morissette - Havoc

I'll cut you into little pieces

Yes, one of these days. I think this was in some music video at some point. Metallica, was it? Or some guitar solo that I can't place right this moment. I of course, can't help but feel that way right now.

You ever find yourself levitating? Just beyond proper sanity. Oh so close though. But just beyond.

Scottish bars and goodbyes. Not a combination I'm used to, I must say.

Another day another surreal experience. With bits and pieces of stark blue clarity thrown in. I'm floating. I like it that way. Some people like their bubbles bigger. I don't. Well, I do, but I'm scared witless when it comes to trying.

There are two bags to pack right now. Let's see what goes wrong now.

Currently: high as a kite
Listening to: Alexi Murdoch - All my days

Of storm birds and lengthy pieces of string

I don't particularly mind weather downtime :). A bit of peace and quiet. Well, not exactly, what with the thundering swell smashing about the hull and all. Quite a nice bit of rocking to help you fall asleep too, unless the feeling as your bed drops off from underneath you worries you, that is. :D

I do find my cabin this trip, one right at the bows, quite entertaining in that respect. Till stuff starts falling off the various tables, shelves etcetera. I don't much like getting woken up in the middle of the night.

The other reason why I like weather downtime, is that there can be somewhat interesting by-products of my attempts at keeping my fingers busy :). And of course, there's a fair bit of entertainment to be had from polling opinions on what random bits of string might look like to different people :D.

Right, then. One more week to go. In the mean time, I shall steadfastly continue my attempts at not getting wet while attempting to catch some fresh air!

Currently: into no-mores!
Listening to: Chicane - Flyover

The realm of Nehalennia

Surprising though it may be, this is actually the first time I find myself sailing in the North Sea. Why should that be surprising, you ask? Well, that would require a trip down the history of marine seismic, which I shall give a wide berth to. Suffice to say, do what I do long enough, it is inevitable that you'd find yourself in these waters.

And now I can somewhat appreciate the legendary status that the North Sea weather has achieved with mariners. Not fame, exactly :). I suppose a video would have worked. But I hate videos, so this will have to do.

It's not that I haven't been in bad weather before, but the fact that the Pride is a fair bit smaller than the Trident makes for more interesting moments ;). And then there's the rapidity with which the weather slams into you. Out of the blue is the norm rather than the exception.

Either way, this is supposed to be just the opening act in the weather drama. Come September, things generally take a turn for the more spectacular. Or so I am told. I guess we shall see!

Currently: pitching and rolling away
Listening to: Yael Naim - New soul

Nameless birds over cloudy water

Right, so here we go again :). It's been raining in Bergen. Not as much as it is infamous for, but enough. And when it's not raining, the hilltops are smothered in low clouds. Not exactly the cheeriest of scenarios, I admit. Nonetheless, the new boat experience hasn't been altogether terrible  thus far :P.

The day I got in was gorgeous though! Bright sunshine, blue sky, a Friday afternoon full of people visiting this and that. I did the unthinkable and actually walked into a restaurant all by myself and proceeded to occupy a huge table for six :D. (Well, there was no one waiting, so I didn't feel too bad about it.)

Since joining the Pride, although we are a mere 20 minute walk from down-town, I haven't ventured out yet. It's been a little crazy. Can it be any other way?

And as appears to be the norm, the immediate future appears mired in fog, rather like the barely-there hours of darkness. Or what would be darkness but for the twilight. Yup, a year and a half away, and summer nights are just as annoying and everything still pretty much costs an arm and a leg.

Currently: assimilating
Listening to: John Mayer - Something like Olivia

Fleeting images

Let's just say that I'm really glad I'm back home. Despite the hot, sticky, stifling weather. Although I'm being told that this is nothing compared to what it was like a week ago. So really, I'm quite glad I'm back :).

It was pretty touch and go in the end. Almost a repeat of that last crew change off the Trident. But we did make it. I ended up back on Malaysian soil after a long time. The only thing I do remember about Miri though, is that it was a lot bigger and brighter than I expected. But after 3 weeks in Singapore, this really didn't compare :).

KLIA looked much the same. I suppose the shops might have changed a little in six years, but not much else. I think I quite liked that.

Having not read one bit since the previous crew change, I decided to give The Rest of the Robots another shot. The page mark said I'd read a fair bit. My mind simply chose to disagree completely. So I started over. The introduction is quite entertaining anyway. I for one didn't know that Percy Bysshe's wife wrote Frankenstein!

I resented the running commentary a little. I really don't want to know what went behind the writing of the stories. I want to make that up myself! Still, Asimov is Asimov. But now that I'm done with that, I can finally get to A Short History of Nearly Everything.

The next week or so should be interesting. In quite possibly an unfortunate manner, seeing my general relationship with visas. But at least I should get to stay home a fair bit longer than the 5 days I originally had :).

Currently: sweating profusely :-<
Listening to: Mazzy Star - Into dust