Byebye, Tokyo!

Hello beautiful people!

My last gasp of internet air before diving into another P3ace B0at Adventure!!

Being back on the ship fills me with happy memories and even "natsukashi" feelings
of the not as happy ones.  (In Japanese "natsukashi" means something like "to look
back fondly upon" or perhaps "reminisce" but as an adjective.

I'm in room 3027, right across the hall from where I was before.  I'll be sleeping
on David's old bed, though there has been one more sleeper there for the past three
months.  The shower/bathroom area is a bit smaller than the one we had before, but
everything feels like home.

The ship crew show fantastic customer service; everyone has been welcoming me back,
even if I didn't really talk to them on the previous cruise; they remember I was
onboard.

I understand we will have a new captain.  Captain Costas is on vacation during the
voyage and will be back at the helm for the 53rd voyage (rumor has it)..

I'm thrilled to report the piano bar (Hemmingway) and the hallway around it are
NON-Smoking areas, except for one desk-sized ventilation unit where smokers will
have to stand when they smoke.  I wish for the best for everyone, and I hope the
vast majority of passengers, staff, volunteers, crew all appreciate this change.  
Hemmingway has new bright red carpet, and the main hallway on 6th floor has all new
blue carpet (and it's a bit bouncy, too!)

Basically all of the teaching materials have been moved from 6th floor to Room 10
on GET Street, where teachers will find them far more accessible.  The old
computers and copiers are still in that 6th floor office, though.

(GET stands for Global English/Espanol Teaching)

Yesterday Tony (one of the teachers on our team) and I helped load stuff and move
some of the GET Teachers' luggage to their rooms.  I enjoyed having a head start on
getting my stuff situated in my room, and basked in a long warm shower before
reading a bit of _Speaker for the Dead_ by Orson Scott Card.

I'm planning to be less distracted by romantic interests on this voyage, and take a
lot more time for myself.

Some people have asked about sending emails...  I love to know how all my peeps are
doing, so please let me know!  I just won't likely have time to reply until mid
2006 or beyond....

      Love and Hugs
      Peace and Light
      Happy Holidays
      - Rob!

heh... I just realized I said nothing about Christmas.. It's just another work day
in Japan, save that today happens to be a Sunday.   Merry Christmas!