Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Chickens and Sharks and Groundhogs, Oh My!


Well, our final Sunday at Sea has come and gone.  There are rumors that we may have a final celebration next weekend just ahead of the ship’s return, but just in case – we were all served a healthy dose of steak, hamburgers, and hot dogs last night!  And don’t forget the sundae bar!  Speaking of food, outside our beloved Sunday at Sea, don’t be surprised if your cadets might want a nice big meal when we get back to shore – some of the menu items are becoming more… creative… with fewer days ahead of us to eat what’s left in the reefers.  This librarian can report that the “chicken fried steak” was most likely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Luckily for my sweet tooth, desserts still continue to amaze and today we had a 1-year Anniversary chocolate pudding cake with chocolate icing and piping for MT chair Mate Anthony Palmiotti and his wife, Engineer Yeoman Kathleen.  Congratulations, you two!

Coming up this week are the final dress inspections for cadets before we come into New York.  We want the ship and everyone aboard to look their best for you all on Monday, so there’s extra chipping, scraping, and painting to be done, and more shoes to shine and uniforms to ready.  In the meantime, the Jeopardy! game is more competitive than ever; it turns out cadets know WAY more about sharks than I thought they would as I celebrate our own version of “Shark Week.”  I’ve been forced to change out the question twice daily because each is answered within the first 20 minutes of posting!  (They really like reading the “Encyclopedia of Sharks,” too!)  Here’s an example for you: “The great white shark has been known to display what kind of behavior, also known as “spy-hopping”?”1. 

Cadets are also enjoying news from the Olympics in their downtime and, as always, the evening movies.  Tomorrow night we’re scheduling the classic “Groundhog Day,” which is ironically how many students are describing the past few days as we continue across the Atlantic on the goodship TSES.

Signing off,
Books

Answer 1: What is “standing” vertically in the water to survey its surroundings? 

No comments: