Rabaul tomorrow

Tomorrow Rabaul
Kleig lights blasted around the curtains about 6 am. We are travelling northeast at the moment so that means we get the sunrises. Ed was snoring quietly so I tried to go back to sleep. I was dreaming about losing my contact lenses on a concrete surface somewhere and was afraid I or someone else would step on them before I found them. I was considering that I brought a very old back up pair when the bridge came onto the loud speaker in the hallway and all I could make out was something about Solomon Islands. Soon after this I could hear motors around the ship. I crept up to the curtains and peeked out but couldn’t see anything. (Later in the morning, the Captain came on and told us that the reef pilot had disembarked to join a freighter ship on it’s way to Cairns. Mystery solved.) Pretty soon they stopped. I tried to go back to sleep without any luck, so I snuck out of bed and started reading on the couch with the spotlight coming around the drapes. Ed woke up around 8 and I opened up the drapes. The sun was like God was coming down to the earth; after awhile, I had to shut the sheer drapes because of the heat.
The ocean is just short of a glass like surface. The swaying of the ship is ever so subtle and doesn’t interfere with walking. I asked Ed if he was going to exercise and he said No so I didn’t pursue it though it is easier when he does; it makes a big difference in how he feels and all that goes with that. Fortunately, he seemed to get a good night’s sleep (whether it was naturally or with Ambien I don’t know and won’t ask) so this day should be better than yesterday started out.
I went to the library to pick up the quiz and upload the blog. Most of the email was notices of events when we won’t be present. From there I dropped by the sale today and got 4 more pairs of dangly earrings. Not that I need anymore you understand, but they were different and the price was better than I’ll ever find again.
Port talk: Rabaul
Well clearly I am not recollecting this port accurately. It is not an island like Chuuk but rather an area of the New Great Britain part of Papua New Guinea. Rabaul (some folks are pronouncing it as Rah-ball so now I’m thoroughly confused) is on the lip of an old caldera. In the vicinity there are at least 8 active volcanos. Some of the folks are nervous about being around an active volcano but we are traversing one of the most active parts of the “rim of fire” which goes around the Pacific. Heavy rain has also been predicted so this may be an aborted experience. We area only in port for half a day.
New Captain
You can see him all over the ship greeting people everywhere and talking to them. I overheard him say he was getting off in Athens. So many folks are talking so positively about him; he is so opposite our previous captain. One lady had sailed with him before and she said he gave her a big hug when they ran into each other.
Trivia
Well we had Chuck, Evelyn, Susan, Betty, Ed and I. John, the dance instructor who has been sitting with us occasionally, dropped by to see how we were doing and then went to do his jogging outside which is fantastic right now with the calm ocean, mild breezes and great weather. But you will get tanned really quickly. WE WON! With only 12 correct answers so that gives you an idea of the nature of the questions. Astin gave us several multiple choices when dates or amounts were involved and we are all grateful for those. I have come to the conclusion that questions about the human body are aren’t in the mainstream knowledge base, can result in some way far out answers though—not that I know the correct answers many times. So we have two more pieces of “shitty green paper” to redeem later.
In the afternoon, the Tasmanian couple joined us so we had a full complement of 6. We came in second. That’s a mixed feeling because we always have a correct answer to one or more questions among our rejects. In other cases, we weren’t even warm so we don’t care. The question about which actor made the most money in 2000 was just such an example. The answer is Bruce Willis. None of us even thought about him. If it is noon in London, what time is it in Athens? I said 2 hrs and convinced at least one other person of that but the group went with one. Turns out, it’s 2 but I think initially I had the time in the wrong direction. Oh well….
Choir
I joined them again and it seems there are more people each day. There are probably 30 people of all kinds who show up each day and I’m amazed at how David Craythorne, the director, is able to quickly get a real choral sound out of this motley crew we are. I still don’t know if I’m alto or soprano (I think probably not anymore) or tenor but I sit in an area and try to follow along with the sopranos and tenors for the time being. It is a humbling experience for me and probably good for my character because when I was young, I always sang in the church choir and often had solos. My voice was fairly good when I was young but over the years, it’s gotten pretty pathetic I’m afraid. But in a large choir, I can hide. Hee hee
Locked in!
I went to the restroom and when I came to come out of the stall, I couldn’t unlock the door. I tried the usual tactics and finally a lady came in and I asked her to turn the handle for me. She couldn’t get me out either and went to find a crew member. In the meantime, I kept leaning against it and such and finally it broke loose. About this time, the lady returned with a crew member and we suggested a good oil job so it doesn’t happen to someone else; tightening it up might help too. I found this whole experience very amusing. The lady asked him if I was afraid of being in there for a long time. I told her no; I was pretty sure someone would eventually show up. So by that time she was ready to use the facilities and she said: well I’m sure never going to use that stall!
Lunch
I picked up some fruits and some ice tea and sat with Lysle who was at a table with another couple. Eventually he left to join the Vets get together and I finished up my fruits and bade the folks goodbye. I’m reading a biography of Albert Einstein and gathering facts to share with trivia buffs in case they come up in the form of a question. It is NOT true for example, that he was a bad student in math or anything else! In fact, he was a good student and mastered algebra, geometry and such long before it was offered in school. I am particularly interested in his family life having heard only snatches here and there. I originally intended only to skim the book and pick up info here and there, but it is well written with clear and simple explanations of some of the physics concepts so I may stick with it. There are many interesting photos of him through his life.
Aussie history
I think it’s mostly Yanks and a few scattered folks but the Aussies attending these lectures (give my an American professors) is few. He talked about the White’s only policy and many of their prime ministers. We are beginning to recognize and remember some of the names.
Sudoko
There was a big Sudoko challenge and Ed went to this. He said there was some really serious Sudoko players who showed up complete with strategy books. He competed for a while but wasn’t a finalist.
While Ed was competing, I went up to the Pacific Lounge to secure our trivia spot and continue my reading about Albert Einstein. He was really and interesting personality to put it mildly.
Chuuk immigration
These forms were waiting for us when we returned to our cabin. Chuuk is a part of the Federation of Micronesia which is a US territory/protectorate? We know a former ambassador of this area and a nurse who was region 9 head of HHS in San Francisco and she often talked about Micronesia as a part of Region 9’s responsibilities.
The ocean now is blue gray and with a hint of a mist such that it’s hard to tell where the horizon ends and islands begin. The clouds are not bright but they do look laden with plenty of water. If it weren’t so warm outside, I’d say it looks almost wintry.
Lounge lizards
So many folks are as dark as coffee beans. How can this be attractive? And their skin is so leathery looking. When they can’t lay out for various reasons, they are depressed until they can go out and fall asleep in the sun again. Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world and I’m sure this was mentioned at least once to everyone. Don’t they get it?
Supper
Only 6 of us and this allowed for more sharing of discussion. We talked about different taxation schemes, old age pensions, and various laws. Since we have 2 Kiwis as the table, there is some comparing and contrasting between the Aussies and the Kiwi’s governments and laws. We had Bananas foster for dessert. No fire alarms went off in the making. I’m not quite sure how they do it now because they don’t use candles on ships anymore and fire is the major concern on ships even with all the metal around.