Friday the 13th Eve

7/12/12

It has been an interesting day for yours truly.  

First, our library system went down.  This is the program that contains the database of all our books.  With a bit of luck, I got it fixed (I have no idea what a "-84 error is") but it was a headache in the meantime.

Second, during one of the chipping/painting stations a cadet using a needle hammer to chip paint accidentally missed the bulkhead where he was working and came right through my cabin’s window, shattering the glass to bits.  I now have a delightful view of a plywood board.

Third, we’re hitting some weather and taking some swells again as we’re back in the Atlantic.  So far, there have been zero bookshelf “casualties,” but some of the kids are looking a little green.

So all in all it has been an interesting Friday the Thirteenth Eve.

This has not stopped the library from being incredibly busy.  You would have thought the library was giving away cake today by the way cadets and crew were coming in! Once one group would get up to leave, their table was immediately taken by another group students.  When taking a break from deck and engine questions, students would relax with a friendly game of chess, quiz each other on knots, or catch up on the latest news from shore.  One of the most popular items in  the library is a selection of headline news, world reports, stock market standings, sports scores, Olympic qualifier results, and – the favorite of yours truly – entertainment news.   All sent from the land library. Imagine the surprise on the cadets’ faces when they learn that not only can they see how far behind their baseball teams are from the Yankees, but also keep up with the Kardashians at the same time.

Speaking of shore, there have been quite a few questions already on what there is to do in Liverpool.  The library has a number of books on England, and I will be issuing a 2-page port guide in the coming days.  If you at home would like to send your cadets mail (no packages please, just letters), the mailing address for the ship in Liverpool will be:

NAME OF CADET, T/S EMPIRE STATE,

c/o Inchcape Shipping Services (UK) Ltd.

Unit 4

2 Tower Road

Birkenhead, Wirral

CH 411FN

--Liz--