9-17-08

9-17-08

This morning we found out that the quota for the season is coming to a close. 48 hour sprint to the finish line. Once that is done, this boat is going to go on its way, I go mine, right onto another boat. There was talk that the boat was going to drop me off back in St. Paul where I was to hop right on to another boat from there for a long trip to end near the beginning of November. Now it sounds like I am going to Dutch Harbor with this boat where they'll get ready for their next trip, and I'll have some time to get to the library to get some new books, and get an internet connection so that I can catch up with what the world has been up to while I've been away. But only for a short time before I get a new assignment and boat. I really don't know what I'll be doing. It's possible that when I land it Dutch, there could be a boat waiting for me in the harbor as I show up. I could have a week to kill, that's the rub with this job, unpredictability.

Today I spent most of the day watching movies, and reading my last book. I will have gone through three books in these two and a half weeks. I haven't put time away to start and finish books like this on the main land, I wish I would have. There has been little for me to do today and last night. I can't explain why, but I haven't been able to be on deck to do my sampling. Which is fine, I do my sampling when it works out that I can, any time of the day. There have been circumstances which haven't allowed me to do it the last 35 hours or so. So I've been eating ice cream with the cook while she gives me her take on why the sky is falling in the stock market, and why its a great idea for her to throw a ton of money it to this house that she wants to buy when she gets home. I just listen, I learned within the first two days that she isn't looking for conversation as much as she is looking for someone to tell her ideas to. She doesn't want feed back. Once I stopped trying to convince her away from what I thought was a bad idea, and began smiling and nodding, she started to bring out ice cream. I figured out a pattern quickly; agree and get ice cream. This is the Pavlov I'm on.

- Casey