My parents have often joked that one day all the nasty I put them through while I was a baby would be revisited upon me later in life. That time has come...
Last night, I was thrown up on. It was in my hair, on my neck, and down my left arm. How did it get all these places? Because the sweet, little four year old I was trying to comfort was in my arms when all the contents of his stomach spewed onto my person. It was red. It was chunky. It was IN MY HAIR. Time stopped as the warmth of it hit me. For a brief moment I thought I was having a vivid hallucination. Then the smell hit me, and it took all of my self control not to throw the sick child in my arms to the floor in a raging storm of curse words. I kept it together long enough to get him to the bathroom and set him down. I did not finish my shift. I looked at the GA, said “I have to go now,” and promptly left.
I made it back to my room and realized the nasty was not over. To get out of my shirt, some of the sick was going to have to brush against my face. I did my best to keep it away, but it got me in the cheek. So the dry heaving began... and continued through my shower. My hour long shower where the scalding, hot water served to rinse away the half bottle of body wash I used to scrub my body. Of course, “scrub” is a rather tame word for what I did. If I could’ve shed my skin like a snake things would’ve gone much faster. I briefly considered using steel wool or rocks... anything, really, to remove a layer of skin.
I don’t think I will ever feel clean again.
The only other exciting thing to happen to me this week has been getting a new Safety Card and Drill Duty. Mind you, I didn’t realize I had gotten this duty until about twenty minutes before drill occurred. Why? Because the magical list that is supposed to be up every night by 6:00pm wasn’t up in time and no one said anything to me. What did this mean? It meant I was running up to the Safety Office on Deck 10 in a panic, only to be met by a very stern Safety Officer who demanded to know why I hadn’t shown up at the meeting that morning. I got my new card and duty after apologizing profusely. My new duty? Traffic Controller on Deck 10.
As a Traffic Controller it is now my job to direct guests to their Assembly Stations during the mandatory guest drill every cruise and in the event of an actual emergency. I stand on Deck 10, starboard side, next to the midship stairs and direct everyone to go down to Deck 4 where the lifeboats are. Pretty simple really. Of course, to get to my station I have to take the stairs, from Deck 4 (our meeting/check in point). Six flights of double stairs in a life jacket, safety vest, and hat are not fun. For the record.
Looks like I’m going to be on “Wave Goodbye” this Thursday, which means I’ll be up in Dress Whites at 7:00am with a Mickey Glove on waving to all the guests as they debark. The only thing that makes me accept this state of life is that I will get off work at 5:30pm, which is UNHEARD of in YA. I’m so going to see The Golden Mickeys. It’s the only show on board I haven’t seen yet.
Oh, and one more thing... March is a long way off and I’m gonna need some more things to decorate my walls. Photos, letters, cards, etc are greatly appreciated and will be hung up upon their arrival. :)
Love to you all!
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