Two days at sea

Sunday, February 24, 2019
Monday, February 25, 2019

Where am I?

Please pardon the horizontal blue line in the map. This is an aberration in the software caused by crossing 180º longitude.

So, what’s been happening?

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I really enjoy my days at sea. They give me the opportunity to “recharge my social battery” and to do the kinds of things that I love to do (which might be considered “wasting time” at home.) One of those “things I like to do sometimes” is to create a little mischief.

My stateroom attendant’s name is Ayu (more on that later.) Ayu is the one who keeps my room neat and pretty, and who also makes the towel animals. She has treated me to some kind of a creation every night of this trip (which, at this point makes 33 nights in a row.) Today, I decided it was my turn to make a towel thingy.

With some inspiration provided to me from John Hibbert (by way of Julie Tolle) I set up to put a little art into Ayu’s life in a similar manner. And with that inspiration, I created this:

After I finished creating this guy, I turned out the lights, closed the door to the “head” (that’s ship’s talk for bathroom) and left my room for a few hours. As I walked away I was experiencing the same feeling I would get when I had just loaded a mousetrap with cheese, pried the hammer back, and gingerly locked the keeper in place: tense, but confident in my work.

When I returned, Ayu (who was working on neatening up somebody else’s room) saw me pass by in the hallway. She immediately ran out of that room and made sure that I could see her full presence. Without any further hesitation or notice of anybody else being nearby, she called me out and exclaimed, “Robert, you scared me!”

Mission accomplished!

Later in the day

Sunday evening, after my almost daily trivia ritual, was a gala dinner night in celebration of the Oscars. Now, the only person who hates to put on a suit more than I is Matt Tolle so he, at least, will understand why I chose to eat a light dinner on the Lido deck instead of getting all gussied up. But the celebratory atmosphere was not completely lost on me. I love the Oscars and the whole world of entertainment in general. Around sunset, the weather was still absolutely beautiful and it drew me outside for a little dessert and entertainment.

I gleefully and briefly interrupted my dessert in order to soak this up:

As you can imagine, I really didn’t mind the interruption.

And, what else?

On Sunday night (Saturday in Phoenix) I was surprised by a video call from home! Four of my best friends broke into my home, drank up all of my booze and nearly had the cops called on them because others who are watching my house did not know they were coming! (I hope you can hear my voice as you read my words. I’m just kidding about most of that.)

This was the most personal intimate contact I’d had with anybody from home since I left to take this magnificent trip. I was completely choked up at the expression of care and concern about me. Let me introduce you to four of my closest friends in their natural state.

Yes, some might consider these people to be a little odd. I certainly do! And yet, I love them dearly. Thanks for the call!

So, who is Ayu?

It has been pointed out to me that I have not shared with you, gentle reader, any information about the new friends and acquaintances I have made while aboard the Amsterdam. For this, I apologize as I was sure that most of you were interested only in the geographical aspects of my travels. I have been corrected and I will now start to add some “color” to my posts by introducing you to those people that I have found to be a pleasure to be around.

Ayu, is my stateroom attendant. She is from a small town Indonesia, not too far from Bali. She’s very smart, well educated, speaks perfect English, and just might be in the wrong job.

Ayu is not just my towel animal maker, she has also become a good friend over the last month. I mean, I see her twice a day, every day, so we should be friends, right? There were times when I didn’t see my ex-wife that often.

I am broken hearted that Ayu will be leaving the ship when we stop in Bali. We’ve made a wonderful connection and I will miss that. Hopefully, her replacement will be equally personable.

Next stop: Auckland, New Zealand.

What is it?

OK, the last towel animal I presented to you was this one.

And, if you guessed an anything-o-saur, then you were absolutely correct. Ready for another? Of course you are! So, here you go. What is it?

You can record your guess in the “Reply” section of this post, or you can just send me a message by some other form. Good luck!