onsdag den 17. november 2010

San Diego - Panama

Jeg er blevet spurgt, hvorfor jeg skrev på engelsk på bloggen her. Jeg kunne ikke komme med et godt svar, så derfor vil mine indlæg fremover være på mit kære modersmål.

Vi sejlede fra San Diego i Torsdags. Jeg var syg den første dag. Ikke søsyg, ikke fuldesyg, men febersyg. Mærkeligt. Påstår jo ellers hårdnakket at jeg aldrig er syg. Sidste gang jeg var syg var da jeg havde den tvivlsomme ære, at være nr. 68 i DK/Thailand med fugleinfluenza.

Til min store lettelse varede det kun en enkelt dag. At være syg ombord på et skib er ikke en ønskværdig situation. Navnlig fordi man ikke bare kan få fri fra arbejde, men må bide det i sig og udføre sine opgaver. Opgaver er der sådan set nok af, selvom tempoet endelig er gået lidt ned eftersom vi er kommet af sted og er kommet ind i en daglig rutine. Min rutine hedder 12-4, både eftermiddag og nat. Her er det en fordel at jeg ikke har et vindue/koøje på mit kammer. Jeg har med største lethed vendt min dagsrutine og har gjort kl 12 middag til tidlig morgen. Dvs. jeg sover uden problem indtil vækkeuret ringer kl. 1145.

Internet ombord er noget lort. Adskillige dage helt uden og når det endelig er her er det meget sporadisk. Jeg sidder og skriver dette i word, da jeg ikke kan komme online. Mandag var jeg dog i stand til at læse nyheden om at Manny Pacquiao udraderede Antonio Margarito i lørdags. Ikke at være i stand til at se de store boksekampe er en af de ting der generer mig mest ved at være isoleret i denne lille verden, Apogee er. Og når man så tænker over det, så er det vel ikke så galt det hele hvis det at misse en boksekamp er det værste.

I bund og grund kan jeg sige at jeg har det udmærket her. Som alle arbejdspladser er der nogle ting man er træt af og nogle folk man ikke kan lide og nogle chefer der er psykopater. Men hvis man blot holder sig for øje, at dette ikke er spor anderledes, havde jeg haft et job på land og ellers betragter de irriterende hændelser, opgaver og konfrontationer som en del af et cirkus og ellers passer sit arbejde og tager tingene afslappet, ja så er det faktisk et ret godt job jeg har her. Især når man opvejer med de gode ting: Lønnen, flinke kolleger, eksotiske destinationer og chancen for faktisk at blive dygtigere til et eller andet. Det sidste er et indlæg værd i sig selv. Jeg skriver lidt om det når jeg har fundet ud af om jeg rent faktisk lærer noget.

Vi ankommer Panama lørdag tror jeg. Hvis alt går efter planen bliver der landlov i Panama city. Fyldig rapport skal nok komme her på siden. Derudover kan jeg fortælle at Mexico er et udsædvanligt langt land. Vi har nu sejlet i næsten en uge med 13 knobs fart og vi har haft Mexico om bagbord hele vejen. Det eneste land jeg har sejlet næsten lige så længe langs med er Norge. Ikke at der i øvrigt er nogen sammenligning. Man kan virkelig mærke vi er kommet til de varme lande. Søvandstemperaturen er omkring 28 grader og luften er lummer og varm. Det er dog stadig en befrielse at komme på dækket, når man kommer fra et maskinrum der ved flere lejligheder har ramt 45 grader.

fredag den 5. november 2010

The end is nigh for San Diego

The end is nigh for San Diego…

So we’ve moved on board. I am in room no. 7. One of the best rooms I think. I share it with the 2nd Officer whom I have not seen yet. He is 40 years old. Regardless of that, I exploited my chance and took the lower bunk. I think he had the lower bunk before, but that reign has come to an end now. As a yachtie, you don’t have a lot of space around you and you are rarely allowed privacy. Nevertheless, I think I have made a good thing for myself already in my cabin: I got myself an old flatscreen tv from the boat and went to radioshack and bought 200 dollars worth of cables and accessories and I have made myself a little home cinema setup – Bunk size. Another thing I used money on, is the Witmark demos. The newest release from the Bob Dylan catalogue. I bought it from the official internet store because I got a Bob Dylan t-shirt as an extra gift. Being the only reason I actually bought it, since I have the music already.

Today we bunkered the ship, getting ready for departure, which is now set for Tuesday. Our next port of call will be Martinique via Panama. I am very excited to go through the canal for the first time.

Realizing that I won´t be going to the Undisputed gym anymore, I took the crew car yesterday and brought my trainer and the manager there, each an Apogee shirt. They seemed very happy about the present. I liked going there. It was a learning experience, and I have a lot of new tricks to try out in Brønderslev bokseklub when I get back.

Lars asked me about the Americans and their working clothes. As seen on tv, jeans rule supreme. Also for working clothes. You will see people at the ship yard working in t-shirts and jeans. If that is not the case, the workers wear funny uniforms a la Mario brothers. Complete with caps and everything. Talking about working clothes, a thing that has been on my mind lately is the difference between overalls and boiler suits and finally coveralls. In English, it would seem that what we call overalls in Denmark is what we would call boiler suits. I have seen these as coveralls as well here. Can anyone clarify exactly what is what? And what are the Danish overalls called in English?

The other day, we went to a fish sandwich shop here at the harbor. In the water there was a sea lion. I have wondered several times, where sea lions live naturally. Now I have found out: California. I like to know where animals come from. At least from which continent.

The other night, we were at the house the captain had rented here in San Diego. He had invited us for barbecue and allowed us to daze in the Jacuzzi and pool belonging to the house. Two things: The house was pure luxury. A regular MTV crib. And second, the steaks the captain had made were the best food I’ve had for a long long time. It made me realize how much shit we are filling ourselves with in this land of opportunity.

Talking about the great American food tradition: I finally found the perfect filthy, greasy, delicious genuine American burger. It is found in “Five guys”. Do visit this place if you ever go to the United bluff. It is the taste of America.

Oh yeah, they just had an election for the replacement for Arnold as governor in this state. Jerry Brown won. That name rang a bell in my head, and I couldn’t keep from singing the good old Dead Kennedy’s song “California über Alles” in my head. Quote “if you mess with president Brown….”. I talked to one of the dayworkers about it, and as it turned out, it was this same Mr. Brown as the Dead Kennedy’s had warned about in their song from the early eighties. Listen to the song and you will find out how derailed this American society is, politically. Point of fact: 28 percent more Americans, than at the presidential election, would today vote for the republicans…! They seem to have a short memory about who brought this country to its knees.