Hoping for Uneventful

Well we're off again, turning for 18.5 knots on a 91 degree rhumb line
toward the Mediterranean Sea with a 2 meter swell under our port quarter
causing us to roll 14 degrees, lulling me into a state of constant
drowsiness. The cumulous and nimbus clouds are casting shadows which vary
the color of the sea from a bright indigo to a black slate, the boundaries
between the two clearly defined. The water itself is a navy blue that is
churning teal and powder blue, depending on where you look at it- powder
blue off the beam, teal off the stern. Above the startlingly white cumulous
clouds the nimbus heads are sloppily spilling out into the stratosphere and
cirrus hooks poke out from above them like dogwood limbs in winter; below
them, the cat paws on the water are equally as bright as the clouds in the
chaotic skies. We are underway, making way, each mile a mile closer to the
beach and a mile closer to home.

I got to hang out with Clay and mom in Savannah before leaving and it was
great to visit and laugh like idiots, though I can't say I was good company-
the coastal run leaves no time for sleep and I'm afraid I was pretty much
spent... A stop to catch up with friends at QiSoft and the Hogan
line-handler's new offices and it felt like I'd actually been in Savannah
for a visit, albeit a microscopic one. And I actually connected with Laura
briefly while she was out gallivanting through the deserts outside of Sonoma
with mystics, UFOologists, and their loved ones- hopefully she told them
about the object I saw over the Indian Ocean (actually, I hope she had a
great time- it sounded like she did).

My new watch, the 8x12, is much more civilized than the other two, but lacks
the sunrises and sunsets of the 4x8 and the quietude of the 12x4's morning
shift. But it allows for me to get 4 hours of overtime and still have two
hours for doing non-work stuff! One of my new shipmates and I are going to
be gym rats this trip and we're scheduled to go up and hit it soon...
luckily, today we cleaned the pool in preparation for water... so we'll have
the pool, the sauna, and gym all ready to go ASAP.

And that about wraps it up... uneventful and quiet, not overtaxed or overly
stressed at this point- I suspect this trip will be mellower than the last
(but I'm knocking on wood when I say it).