After my last entry, I went looking for lotion in Germany. I bought Mit Teebaumol, Duschol, fur sensible und trockene haut.
I took my shower with my Zel Przeciw Wagrom, Szampon and Pflegespulung. I toweled off. I poured my Mit Teebaubol into my hand and then rubbed it into my skin.
It sudded up.
Much to my surprise.
My lotion was body wash, or so I think.
My first extra-lingual shopping failure, and just following my post of successes. It seemed ironic.
And while I am discussing ironing, onto my closet…
(In other words, this is an abrupt non-sequitur into something regarding my closet.)
In my closet, I have many envelopes. These envelopes help me interact with the global marketplace. Most of the envelopes have a location and some also have a ratio.
The envelopes are:
Russia 1/30, in the envelope, 230 Rubles
Estonia 1/11, in the envelope, 52 Krooni
Norway 1/7, in the envelope lots of Krone coins
Stockholm no ratio, change
Copenhagen, no ratio, 5 Krone
No label, 56Euros
No label $100
No label 28 Pounds
My closet has a very sophisticated monetary system. Its clothing organization, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired. I am hoping the monetary organization over takes the clothing organization, which seems high hopes. At very least, it would be nice if the closet monetary sophistication migrated into the complete chaos of the currency in my jeans.
When is the last time you put on your jeans and found two hundred Ruble…
Five Krone
And a quarter?
Today, not knowing the currency of Belfast, I unloaded the random currencies from my jeans and left with both Euro and Pounds. Pounds in the left pocket, Euros in the right. I was prepared either way.
My first stop was Boots where the total was 7 pounds 90 p. I handed over a fifty. The woman gave me twenty something pounds in change.
I protested.
She said there was nothing she could do.
I tried to explain math to her, namely fifty minus eight does not equal twenty anything.
She explained exchange rate to me.
I looked at her… and then realized I had pulled fifty from my right pocket instead of my left.
I paid 7 pounds 90 pence with fifty Euros and got twenty odd pounds back.
Apparently Boots was prepared either way also.
In the end, truth be known, I don't pay much attention to the local currency.
I carry the universal currency…
Visa.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Saturday, August 20, 2005
This Mouthwash Tastes Terrible
One of the oddities of living on a ship, is the concept of your local drug store.
Every day, amongst others, I used the following products:
Zel Przeciw Wagrom
Szampon
Pflegespulung
Deo Gel
Vanlig
In order, that is:
Polish Face Wash
Polish Shampoo
German Conditioner
French Deodorant.
Swedish Vitamins
Or at least I think that's what those things are…
Every day, amongst others, I used the following products:
Zel Przeciw Wagrom
Szampon
Pflegespulung
Deo Gel
Vanlig
In order, that is:
Polish Face Wash
Polish Shampoo
German Conditioner
French Deodorant.
Swedish Vitamins
Or at least I think that's what those things are…
Friday, August 19, 2005
Today’s Time Change Is Minus One
Living on a ship that cruises through time zones, ticking them off as we go, has many odd consequences.
This week we put the clocks forward on Thursday, and puts the clocks forward again on Friday. Then on Tuesday we go back an hour and again on Wednesday.
Now the effects of this chaos are so far reaching I cannot even tell you what they are. (But it starts with the IT Officer getting up at 6 am to change the mainframe time. It sucks to have an hour forward, and then have to get up even an hour more forward to change the mainframe clock.)
Luckily the ship builders were BRILLIANT! All the wall clocks on board are controlled on the bridge; I think this is genius.
Another affect of this is, unlike daylight savings time, on any given day, the time difference between me and my loved ones various. Today it is 12 hours to the west coast. On Friday it will be ten hours.
That is just too damned confusing.
So I have this dual clock, a clock with two dials that can be individually set. The other day, I set one clock on Pacific Time, 1:40 and one on Eastern Time, 4:40.
The next day, pleased with myself, I checked my dual clock. According to my clock, it was 11:53 west coast and 4:15 eastern coast.
So I am back to checking the wall for our current gst plus value and calculating.
The fact that we change time zone so frequently, makes it hard to keep track of the time land based offices we interact with, such as the LA Corporate Office, Florida Spa Office, etc. (When you have to call your boss in LA for something urgent, it is important to consider whether it is 3 am.) To compensate, there are clocks all over the ship set to random hours, but the correct minute past the hour. This way there is no need to first figure out what time zone we are in before figuring out what time it is somewhere else, where somewhere else is a land based office a the nearest person works with most.
Our office has an LA clock that is always set to LA time. (It should say, Boss Time, cause that is all we care about.) It took me a few time changes before I was comfortable not changing the time on that clock when changing other clocks.
We also use the phrase old time/new time a lot. He called at 11 new time, 10 o’clock old time last night. This is partially because the time does not change at 2 am. The time changes at some nebulous localized convenient over night time. In the bars, the time change is after 3 am. The computer systems change time at 5 am. The hotel and phone accounting systems change around 7 am. I think the bridge watch changes at 4 am. (But now I am curious and will find out.) Luggage handlers change time at 8pm the night before. And the Ving servers never change time, they stay in GMT, always.
To make sure no one forgets the time change, the crew doors have signs. They are turned to “time change” on the nights with time changes, to remind us to change our clocks, and be on time.
It is also funny when I wear a watch, which I only do when I get off the ship. I put on my watch the other day and wandered around the city. I checked the time, knowing I would have to get back, and the time was clearly wrong. (It turned out to be wrong by two hours.) I needed to know what time it was but could not find the time. I had to remember what city I had last worn the watch, what time zone the city was in, what time zone I was in at that time and adjust my watch.
In the end, you spend a lot of time, on time.
Submitted at
21:35 GMT +3.00 old time or
20:35 GMT +2.00 new time
11:35 GMT -8.00 LA time
This week we put the clocks forward on Thursday, and puts the clocks forward again on Friday. Then on Tuesday we go back an hour and again on Wednesday.
Now the effects of this chaos are so far reaching I cannot even tell you what they are. (But it starts with the IT Officer getting up at 6 am to change the mainframe time. It sucks to have an hour forward, and then have to get up even an hour more forward to change the mainframe clock.)
Luckily the ship builders were BRILLIANT! All the wall clocks on board are controlled on the bridge; I think this is genius.
Another affect of this is, unlike daylight savings time, on any given day, the time difference between me and my loved ones various. Today it is 12 hours to the west coast. On Friday it will be ten hours.
That is just too damned confusing.
So I have this dual clock, a clock with two dials that can be individually set. The other day, I set one clock on Pacific Time, 1:40 and one on Eastern Time, 4:40.
The next day, pleased with myself, I checked my dual clock. According to my clock, it was 11:53 west coast and 4:15 eastern coast.
So I am back to checking the wall for our current gst plus value and calculating.
The fact that we change time zone so frequently, makes it hard to keep track of the time land based offices we interact with, such as the LA Corporate Office, Florida Spa Office, etc. (When you have to call your boss in LA for something urgent, it is important to consider whether it is 3 am.) To compensate, there are clocks all over the ship set to random hours, but the correct minute past the hour. This way there is no need to first figure out what time zone we are in before figuring out what time it is somewhere else, where somewhere else is a land based office a the nearest person works with most.
Our office has an LA clock that is always set to LA time. (It should say, Boss Time, cause that is all we care about.) It took me a few time changes before I was comfortable not changing the time on that clock when changing other clocks.
We also use the phrase old time/new time a lot. He called at 11 new time, 10 o’clock old time last night. This is partially because the time does not change at 2 am. The time changes at some nebulous localized convenient over night time. In the bars, the time change is after 3 am. The computer systems change time at 5 am. The hotel and phone accounting systems change around 7 am. I think the bridge watch changes at 4 am. (But now I am curious and will find out.) Luggage handlers change time at 8pm the night before. And the Ving servers never change time, they stay in GMT, always.
To make sure no one forgets the time change, the crew doors have signs. They are turned to “time change” on the nights with time changes, to remind us to change our clocks, and be on time.
It is also funny when I wear a watch, which I only do when I get off the ship. I put on my watch the other day and wandered around the city. I checked the time, knowing I would have to get back, and the time was clearly wrong. (It turned out to be wrong by two hours.) I needed to know what time it was but could not find the time. I had to remember what city I had last worn the watch, what time zone the city was in, what time zone I was in at that time and adjust my watch.
In the end, you spend a lot of time, on time.
Submitted at
21:35 GMT +3.00 old time or
20:35 GMT +2.00 new time
11:35 GMT -8.00 LA time
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Land Based Work
Vs.
Cruise Based Work
In land based work, it is acceptable to call in sick.
In cruise based work, it is acceptable to call in drunk, still, from the night before.
In cruise based work, it is acceptable to call in drunk, still, from the night before.
Cool: Flyg Ballong
Cool: Flyg Ballong
(Flying Balloon in Swedish)
Balloon pre-flight
More balloon pre-flight
Sky, balloon, ground, pretty self explanatory (which is why it has the longest explanation thus far)
Stockholm old medieval city. Stockholm is a city of lots of islands, and so many bridges. There are also lots of little ferries, used in the same way we might use a bus.
Picture of me, for my mom, to prove I am alive and sympathizing with my captors, due to Stockholm Syndrome.
This Stockholm neighborhood had a terrible outbreak of tramplines
"Are the trampolenes to provide a safe landing for the balloonists?" (From my Dad, kidding.)
A little outside Stockholm, like twenty minutes. (Cities are little in Europe.)
A reflection of the balloon in water, from the balloon
Random things I have learned:
Norwegian Grammatical Rule:
Why say in two syllables what could be said in eight.
Dates:
The Americans use MM/DD/YY
The Europeans use DD/MM/YY
The Mainframe uses YY/MM/DD
Payroll uses YY/DD/MM
And no matter what you enter first, it is wrong for the intended purpose.
Phonetic colloquialisms Can be Hysterical:
I got an email promising to get that information to me, "In a Yippy."
When you work to hard, the basic stuff trips you up:
My mother asked, "Where I you?" (The first question most people ask me.)
I replied sarcastically, "On the ship. Where do you think I am?"
She laughed. "Ok, Mika, and where is the ship."
I reply, "Um," not knowing I look out the window for a hint, and see a BIG sign that says, "Welcome to Copenhagen."
In my life, time is told in Cities:
Judith to me, "When was that? Was that the day before yesterday?" (Monday or Sunday)
Me, "No, I think it was Stockholm." (Saturday)
Judith, "That's right, cause it was the day Helsinki shipment." (Friday)
I need to reference the wall to find myself:
Friend, "Where are you?"
Me, in my office, "I don't know. What is the date?"
Friend, "August 17th."
I look at my calendar on the wall, find August 17, "St. Petersburg."
(Flying Balloon in Swedish)
Balloon pre-flight
More balloon pre-flight
Sky, balloon, ground, pretty self explanatory (which is why it has the longest explanation thus far)
Stockholm old medieval city. Stockholm is a city of lots of islands, and so many bridges. There are also lots of little ferries, used in the same way we might use a bus.
Picture of me, for my mom, to prove I am alive and sympathizing with my captors, due to Stockholm Syndrome.
This Stockholm neighborhood had a terrible outbreak of tramplines
"Are the trampolenes to provide a safe landing for the balloonists?" (From my Dad, kidding.)
A little outside Stockholm, like twenty minutes. (Cities are little in Europe.)
A reflection of the balloon in water, from the balloon
Random things I have learned:
Norwegian Grammatical Rule:
Why say in two syllables what could be said in eight.
Dates:
The Americans use MM/DD/YY
The Europeans use DD/MM/YY
The Mainframe uses YY/MM/DD
Payroll uses YY/DD/MM
And no matter what you enter first, it is wrong for the intended purpose.
Phonetic colloquialisms Can be Hysterical:
I got an email promising to get that information to me, "In a Yippy."
When you work to hard, the basic stuff trips you up:
My mother asked, "Where I you?" (The first question most people ask me.)
I replied sarcastically, "On the ship. Where do you think I am?"
She laughed. "Ok, Mika, and where is the ship."
I reply, "Um," not knowing I look out the window for a hint, and see a BIG sign that says, "Welcome to Copenhagen."
In my life, time is told in Cities:
Judith to me, "When was that? Was that the day before yesterday?" (Monday or Sunday)
Me, "No, I think it was Stockholm." (Saturday)
Judith, "That's right, cause it was the day Helsinki shipment." (Friday)
I need to reference the wall to find myself:
Friend, "Where are you?"
Me, in my office, "I don't know. What is the date?"
Friend, "August 17th."
I look at my calendar on the wall, find August 17, "St. Petersburg."
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Rushin' Moments
A quick run down of moments from Russia...
Cyrillic Signage at Catharine’s Palace, I just thought it was cool.
Peterhof’s Palace, the goal was to surpass Versailles. Talk about over the top!
That ain’t Disneyland gold paint, also Peterhof’s Palace. Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of the ridiculously gaudy interior with so much gold. It never occurred to me it was real until the guide explained how it was plated, and suddenly I realized it was all actual gold.
OK, this is a heater. I realized that seems boring, but it is a hand painted tile heater on gold feet and there was one in every room. It being Russia and all, they like heaters. (They also had old fashion double windows; the ones where there is a window, and then outside of that is another window.) The walls are yellow silk.
The vast horizon between this opulence and the reality of daily life in Russia remains quite evident today, thought perhaps marginally less extreme.
And yes, "We take dollars, ten dollars. You have Euros, I take Euros, eight Euros. Oh? Pounds? Yes, I take pounds five pounds. Not enough pounds? I take four pounds, two dollars, or eight dollars one pound. Or two dollars, one Euro, six pounds and 10 Kroner. Ruples?"
He checks his pockets. "No, no Ruples." You start walking away, "No, wait, I take seven dollars twenty-five Ruples."
(By the way, mixing currencies is something you get used to on a ship. I gave someone 200 Swedish Kroner, just today, and they gave me $20 and three Euro. You don’t even try to figure out the exact exchange rate after a while.)
Cyrillic Signage at Catharine’s Palace, I just thought it was cool.
Peterhof’s Palace, the goal was to surpass Versailles. Talk about over the top!
That ain’t Disneyland gold paint, also Peterhof’s Palace. Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of the ridiculously gaudy interior with so much gold. It never occurred to me it was real until the guide explained how it was plated, and suddenly I realized it was all actual gold.
OK, this is a heater. I realized that seems boring, but it is a hand painted tile heater on gold feet and there was one in every room. It being Russia and all, they like heaters. (They also had old fashion double windows; the ones where there is a window, and then outside of that is another window.) The walls are yellow silk.
The vast horizon between this opulence and the reality of daily life in Russia remains quite evident today, thought perhaps marginally less extreme.
And yes, "We take dollars, ten dollars. You have Euros, I take Euros, eight Euros. Oh? Pounds? Yes, I take pounds five pounds. Not enough pounds? I take four pounds, two dollars, or eight dollars one pound. Or two dollars, one Euro, six pounds and 10 Kroner. Ruples?"
He checks his pockets. "No, no Ruples." You start walking away, "No, wait, I take seven dollars twenty-five Ruples."
(By the way, mixing currencies is something you get used to on a ship. I gave someone 200 Swedish Kroner, just today, and they gave me $20 and three Euro. You don’t even try to figure out the exact exchange rate after a while.)
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Weeeeeeeeeeeee
We were supposed to dock in Helsinki today, but it was so rough that we had to pull out and go back to sea. (Banging a big ship against a dock is bad.) The port call was canceled.
And as I sat in my office, the rough seas rolling my chair across the slick linoleum floor of my ship office, I couldn’t help but wonder whose idea it was to buy chairs with wheels.
And as I sat in my office, the rough seas rolling my chair across the slick linoleum floor of my ship office, I couldn’t help but wonder whose idea it was to buy chairs with wheels.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Over the gap, Oops, to The GAP
The picture below was taken,
Right before I ripped my jeans,
Jumping a fence,
To escape from customs.
Nice picture though...
That is Stockholm in the background.
Right before I ripped my jeans,
Jumping a fence,
To escape from customs.
Nice picture though...
That is Stockholm in the background.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)