The Best of Times

Happy Hallowe'en! Today was another busy day, mainly vetting laptops, setting up & repairing accounts, and learning about the ship. There's a constant stream of new information out here for which I was not prepared, nor could I have been. There must be 12 different passwords for different resources around the ship, and even the MCSs scratch their heads for a while to remember which goes with what. It's not like we're super-organized on shore, but the transitory nature of the MCS position lends to a certain amount of chaos and disorder on the ship, as one crew hands off to the next.

The bad news for the School of Rock is that seas are apparently too heavy for the JR to sail to the Juan de Fuca drill site. We had intended to re-cement the site there partly as a demonstration of ship operations for the visiting educators. Unfortunately, this procedure is more precise than simply re-drilling a hole - any heave over 2 meters would risk damaging the equipment we intend to secure. Current predictions are for 20-26 foot seas at the site, so the trip has been cancelled for now.

The good news, of course, is that we will instead head directly south for smoother, warmer seas...

This evening we took advantage of our last night in Victoria by going out to eat. Mike, Dwight, and I wandered along the docks until we found the SwiftSure restaraunt adjacent to a hotel about a mile from the ship. As luck would have it, the restaraunt was outfitted with several big-screen TVs, all of which featured Monday Night Football!

Suddenly I found myself right at home: a Steelers game in a sports bar, good food and a waitress dressed as Cat Woman... Mike & Dwight left at halftime, but I stayed on to watch the Steelers beat the Ravens 20-19. All is right with the world...



All is right with the world - Monday Night Football in Victoria

.

Mission: DDP

One problem that's been on my mind lately is that of my Diet Dr Pepper supply. It's not easy to find in Vancouver, but I did manage to bring a 12-pack aboard with me on Friday. I've been hoping to get to a supermarket or Wal-Mart in Victoria, and at 4 pm today, I decided it was now or never. I launched Mission DDP...

Step One: Recon
I walked over to the dock terminal and spoke to the security guard there, who has always been kind and generous with directions. My intention was to use his phone to call a cab, but to my surprise he offered me a ride to the Wal-Mart himself, as he lives directly behind it and was just finishing his shift. A nice stroke of luck, to be sure - he also advised me that the taxi services routinely visit the strip mall in which Wal-Mart was located.

Step Two: Wal-Mart
I was dismayed to find that Wal-Mart only had two (2) 12-packs of Diet Dr Pepper on hand. Requests for more in the storeroom were a bust; the attendant explained that restocking only took place at night, when the store was closed. There is, however, a supermarket at the far end of the strip mall, she told me. So off I went with my basket and 2 boxes of DDP.

Step Three: the Mother Load
I parked my cart in front of the supermarket and made my way to the soda aisle. Again, I was disheartened to find only two (2) 12-packs there as well. I asked a stocker to check in the back for me - he said he might have one or two more back there... "How many do you want?" he asked. "As many as you've got," I replied - hoping at least to have 8 for my trip: not even 2 per day.

When the stocker returned, he had a card with TEN more boxes, in addition to the two already in my cart and the two I had from Wal-Mart outside. I didn't see how I could easily transport 14 boxes back to the ship... "I'll take em!"

I piled my 12 boxes into a cart and went outside to retrieve my original two, only to find that they'd been snarfed. Just then a homeless woman approached me begging for change, and I noticed my 12-packs sitting with her belongings. When I explained that those were mine, she apologized and said she thought they'd been abandoned. "You can take them... I don't like Dr Pepper anyway." Thanks! :)

Step Four: Return to base
I called a cab from the supermarket, loaded my loot into the trunk, and was driven back to the dock. When I arrived, Alex (captain of the JR) was waiting for a cab with Ginny Lowe (Yeop), Debbie Partain (Yeop), and several other people from IODP. When they saw the contents of the trunk, I got some looks of surprise and confusion... I was half expecting Captain Alex to lecture me about weight allowances and refuse to let me carry the loot to the ship! Bob Wheatley asked how I was going to get them all onto the ship.

"One step at a time!" I told him.

Step Five: Loading
The rest of the mission passed without problems. I was able to borrow a luggage cart from the terminal, and move all 14 boxes to the gang-plank. From there, it was simply four trips up and back to move the DDP on board, all in a steady rain on slick steel decks... Regardless, I set out to acquire a butt-load of Diet Dr Pepper, and that's just what I did. It may have cost me $93 Canadian (what is that, about 7 bucks?), but I had to declare Mission DPP a rousing success! I now have exactly enough Diet Dr Pepper on board for an average of 3 per day... which means I only have to ration my normal consumption by 25% :)

.

The School of Rock

Sunday was a pretty busy day for us - Mike Hodge started the EOL/BOL (End of Leg / Beginning of Leg) routine, which essentially backs up and removes the data collected from the last expedition, and also adds new information from the shore to our ship-based database. It's a long and grueling process, and I'm glad Mike is taking care of it! In the meantime, I focused on creating new NetWare and GroupWise accounts for our oncoming "science staff," and vetting personal laptops for use on our ship.

For the next two weeks or so, we'll be sailing with the "School of Rock" - a group of 13 middle school and high school teachers, a publisher from McGraw Hill, and representatives from the Smithsonian Institute and the Science Museum of Minnesota in St Paul.


The School of Rock - Class of 2005

We are treating this group as our science party, but they will spend the transit time learning all there is to know about the ocean floors, the IODP, and scientific ocean drilling in general. Our deputy director, Ann Klaus, is also sailing the transit to coordinate the S.o.R., and everyone is pretty excited about the new program.

What it means for me is that I have a 2-week trial run before we reach Acapulco. I can't exaggerate how fortunate I am to have this time to learn about the ship's systems and MCS procedures in a miniaturized state of operations, or how much better prepared I'll be once the scientists board.

.

The JOIDES Resolution

The JOIDES Resolution at dusk - in port at Victoria, BC.


I finally got to see the JOIDES Resolution today, for the first time in person. We were bussed from the hotel this morning at 7:30 to the dock, and boarded right away with our gear. From that point on, there was a flurry of activity and a rush of information the likes of which I haven't seen since I started at UCS. In this case, there's also a new map to learn. The ship is a labyrinth of narrow hallways, hatches, and steep stairways - there are several ways to get anywhere, it seems, which makes it all the more confusing. It reminds me of playing a new level of Quake, though, where it just takes a few days to learn the ins and outs and shortcuts. Over time, I will find shorter routes to where I'm going.

When I saw Paula Clark (who has just finished back-to-back legs), I told her that Phil had decided I wasn't really ready to sail yet, and asked if she wouldn't mind staying on in my place. :) After four months at sea, she wasn't much amused at the proposition... but everyone else had a good laugh.

Paula gave me a quick tour of the ship - one that I would repeat more than once before genuinely learning my way around - and she filled me in on some of the equipment in the labs, etc. Each MCS has given me slightly different stories on how we do things and what to expect, but I'v paid close attention to all of them. Their experience is my best resource out here.



Mike Hodge boards the JR for his 20th Expedition


In the afternoon, Dave Morley went over his daily routine - checking the server volumes, monitoring drive lights on the servers, making sure the backups ran successfully. All in all, very much like my routine with mainframes at UCS. By dinnertime, my brain was full... just in time for the CrossOver Party.

We all made our way back to downtown Victoria, and met at the Sticky Wicket, a multi-floor restaraunt & bar much like the Tap back home. I had some fish & chips with
a small bowl of boulliabaise, then mingled with the off-coming and incoming crew. It was a nice gathering, but after a while, Mike Hodge (MCS), Doug Johnson (Health & Safety Director), Dwight Hornbacher (programmer) and I grabbed a taxi back to the ship. I definitely needed my rest for the days to come.



Mike Hodge, Daryll Schroeder, Dwight Hornbacher, and Dave Fackler chat during the CrossOver Party at the Sticky Wicket

.

Back to Victoria

Slept in this morning, except to say good-bye to Quintin when he left for work. While Le spent time with Avery, I got online and looked up information on Victoria - specifically how I might get to my hotel! In the early afternoon, Le dropped off Avery at Kindergarden and drove me to the BC Ferry depot in Tsawassen.

Just as the trip two days before, I was able to purchase a bus ticket while on the ferry. Shortly before coming in to port, I boarded the bus and rode all the way to downtown Victoria. As luck would have it, the bus depot was only two blocks from the Chateau Victoria, my home for the night. My one-bedroom suite is nicer than my apartment back home - but I left it long enough to meet Mike Hodge for dinner across the street. There we talked about our trips to Canada, and what lies ahead for us and the off-coming MCSs, Dave and Paula.

After a nice dinner, it's back to the hotel to update my journal, and now to bed. At 7:30 am, the bus will take us all to the JOIDES Resolution...

.

Kings & Company

Quintin and I returned to his apartment for lunch, but only to drop off the car. We hit the streets on foot and walked about 18 blocks through downtown Vancouver, stopping occassionally to eat samosas or gilato, or window shop tobaccanists for Cuban cigars.

The ridiculous moment of the day was when I was solicited to buy some weed. As some of you know, I have sworn never to wear tie-dyed shirts, but I was wearing my STYX shirt, which sports a feaux tie-dye print, to which the pothead pointed when he decided to approach me. "This is a PRINT! This is NOT a tie-dye shirt!" I told him after pleasantly refusing his offer. Quintin enjoyed the fact that I looked more "Canadian" than he did, proven by the half-dozen people who approached me for directions and ignored Q altogether.

Gads.

Le stayed home with her children today - Tessa goes to school at 8:30, and Avery goes to Kindergarden at noon - so it was great to take an evening out with the whole family. Q also invited a friend & coworker, Randy, to join us.

We had dinner at Earl's, a tavern-like restaraunt / sports bar in downtown Vancouver. Quintin & Le sold me on the place by singing praises of Earl's steaks, but when I read the menu, I saw an 8 oz filet, and a 10 oz sirloin. "Excuse me," I asked Quintin. "Where are the steaks for grown-ups!?" These damn Canadians with their bite-size steaks.

It all worked out for the best. I chose instead a spicy seafood pasta dish, with a tomato cream sauce, scallops, and huge chunks of tender salmon... Quintin and family stayed on for "stinky tofu" - their name for "sticky taffee pudding," which is essentially a thick chocolate pudding with chocolate syrup and vanilla ice cream. And words can't express how bewildering was the end of my day, when we all witnessed 5 yr old Avery's rendition (in full) of "Baby Got Back" while a proud father looked on ... which reminds me, I have to call Child Protective Services in the morning. :)

All in all, I put more miles on my shoes today than I have in the past month, but I had a grand time. I got to see the natural and artificial sides of Vancouver, and spend quality time with great friends... I hate to leave tomorrow!



The King Family & Company - Tessa, Quintin, (me), Avery, Le, and friend Randy - at Earl's in Vancouver, BC. They have a great Children's Menu.

.

Man in the Wilderness

This morning, Quintin & I drove up to Capilano Suspension Bridge and Park, just north of Vancouver. This was just what I was hoping for: a chance to get close to nature just a few miles outside of the city... the sights and smells of the temperate rain forest were beautiful beyond description. Huge douglas firs cling to a steep mountainside that drops suddenly hundreds of feet to a rocky moutain stream.

Capilano's suspension bridge crosses the chasm 250 feet above the water, while the Treetops Adventure links a dozen trees together with smaller suspension bridges, sometimes over a hundred feet from the forest floor. We got a lot of exercise, and a lot of great photos:


Capilano Suspension Bridge


Quintin among the Treetops...


From the cliffside, you can see the Capilano Bridge above and the mountain stream below...

.

I pulled into the 7-Eleven...

I arrived in Vancouver last night, after catching the Ferry from Victoria. I wasn't sure how to proceed from there; fellow passengers on the plane from Seattle had advised me to run as fast as I could from the Ferry in order to catch the first bus out. Otherwise, they warned, I would have a long wait.

As it turns out, however, there was a bus line serving the ferry itself. I found the driver at an information desk on the boat and asked him for the best way to get downtown. We took out a map and found Quintin's building; his bus took a direct route into downtown Vancouver. He was kind enough, in fact, to drop me off at a 7-Eleven only a few blocks from the King's apartment. It was no sweat for Q to come pick me up.

Quintin and his family live in a nice apartment on the 13th floor, overlooking False Creek, their children's school, and much of downtown Vancouver. They put me up in Quintin's office, which is all glass on two sides, with an awesome view of the city. I slept on a mattress on the floor, surrounded by city lights and a cool breeze coming through the window. After my 18-hour journey, I was very grateful for such a nice place to rest.


View of Vancouver from my corner bedroom


View from the King's living room

.

On My Way

I had a 7:20 am plane out of College Station, and I'm sure things would have gone swimmingly had I made the flight.

After spending weeks stressing over all that I had to accomplish at home, at work, and in preparation to leave both for 2 months, I suppose that arriving only 10 minutes late for my flight was actually quite an achievement. But those few moments stretched into much longer delays throughout the day...

I had to wait for the 9:45 am flight out of Easterwood, and the connecting flight out of Dallas put me into Seattle 20 minutes late. This gave me plenty of time for me to make my puddle-jumper to Victoria, but not so for my checked luggage (of course). I checked through customs and made arrangements for my bag to be sent to Quintin & Le's apartment. Unfortunately, the delays made me miss the 5 o'clock ferry to Vancouver.

So here I sit at the Victoria Airport, eating a $6 grilled cheese sammich, fries & a Coke. I hope my stomach can adjust to this foreign cuisine... they may taste the same as at home, but here of course they're called French-Canadien Fries.

By the way, I just heard my first "eh" ... Someone just dropped his friend off at the Airport curb with, "Good luck, eh." The friend replied, "Okay, have fun, eh."
Damn Canadians, with their eh's and aboot's and pot leaves on their flags. What's that about? It's like they couldn't decide between a pot leaf and red star, so they split the difference. Not cool, eh? :p

Anyway, Canada-bashing aside, it's sunny & cool here in Victoria, and the scenery is beautiful. While it's true that missing my flight this morning caused me to arrive late to Seattle, which in turn caused the airline to misplace my bag, which in turn caused me to miss the 5 o'clock ferry... at least I won't have to lug my carry-on suitcase on the way to Vancouver.

And lest it sound like I'm complaining, I will say that I had 3 pleasant flights: very smooth with nice conversation. As we approached SeaTac, the plane flew directly over sunny downtown Seattle - Husky Stadium, the Space Needle, Quest and SafeCo Fields were just outside the window. I felt like we'd gotten the nickel tour of the city from the seat of my plane.

The ride into Victoria was brief, but I gathered lots of good info from the locals on how to get to Vancouver. I'll be taking a cab over to Swartz Bay to catch the Ferry to Tsawwassen, which is just south of Vancouver. From there, I hope to catch a bus into downtown, and then call the Kings for a ride.

More tomorrow...

I'm Sailing Away...

Howdy! Welcome to my travel journal for my first voyage aboard the JOIDES Resolution, the sailing vessel for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. For those of you who don't know me, or need a refresher: My name is Michael, and I work as a MicroComputer Coordinator with IODP at Texas A&M University. I was just recently tapped to sail on our drilling vessel as a Marine Computer Specialist; I will be responsible for maintaining all computer and networking equipment and software aboard the ship along with my counterpart MCS, Michael Hodge.

This is my first leg, so everything will be new to me - sailing aboard a drilling vessel, working in this capacity, handling a 7 day / 12 hour work rotation, etc. For the benefit of my family, friends, curious onlookers and my own posterity, I'm going to keep this Blog throughout the end of the year to catalogue my experiences, thoughts, and a few images from the journey. Let's all pray for a safe one ...