I know, I know....

I know, I know that I promised that I would write more often and not fall into the "ignore the blog" trap when I onboard. BUT if you have ever worked a day on a ship, then you would understand.

I have been onboard nearly a month now and this has been the busiest first month I have ever had.  Not that there's a lot of BIG things happening but more like 1000 small thins happening ALL THE TIME.  And if you are in HR then you know that means a pile of paperwork sky high. It is super nice to see my dear friends again who have helped me to mend myself together after an emotional vacation. But it has also been difficult to see them. By the time 8pm rolls around and I am almost done work, I have little desire to do anything but sleep.

I have not been reading, I have not been meditating, I have not been working out. I don't like this. I am finding it harder and harder to balance my time with my workload.  I had a few opportunities to go out and hang with friends but this usually leaves me very behind in my work.  I still do not understand how I can possibly receive 50 emails an hour?! Don't people sleep?

But I need to find a way to get to the gym and read because i NEED to nourish my soul. Lucky for me this will be a short contract and I will have the whole summer off :)

Here's some photos of my contract so far.

On  my way, Toronto to Miami

Flying into Miami, overlooking South Beach

When in Miami I can never pass up the chance to catch up with good friends

Sweet Valentine message from an orphanage in Bali, Indonesia

A view I will never get sick of

One of my faves; Key West

Key West

Key West

At Fat Tuesday's in Cozumel, Mexico with my two good ol' friends DJ Billy and Christie

Christmas ornament from my favorite Texan Christie

Welcome aboard flowers from another ship

Curacao

Dinner out in Curacao with my ladies

Sorting crew mail, can you find me?

One of my favorite people; Chanel from South Africa

And I finally took a day off in Cozumel, Mexico. It rained cats and dogs but I still enjoyed it.

Contract Number 13, 9th year in the Caribbean -- Part 2

Alright Part 2 of my Caribbean adventures.

One of my craziest weeks on board when my very first roommate from nearly 10 years ago came to cruise.  Emily and I were a disaster together then and we are a disaster together now, haha but I had a blast. We did a lot of excursions and I was running on very little sleep but it was worth it.

Off roading in La Romana

Off roading in La Romana

Off roading in La Romana

Off roading in Aruba

Off roading in Aruba

Off roading in Aruba

Off roading in Aruba 

Off roading in Aruba

Off roading in Aruba

Emily and I are planning to go to Vegas together. It's going to be a disaster!

Now I don't know how I ended up with so many South African friends but South Africans and Canadians always seem to get along. And one of mine and my  friends' favorite ports is St. Maarten, this time around we found a new spot for food and drinks.

Also had a chance to catch up with one of my dear old friends in Ocho Rios, Jamaican (his home town) when we were in port. Invited him over to tour the ship and I got these awesome shots.

And of course we can't forget the crew favorite of Cozumel, Mexico.  We haven't been there in 6 months and the island has grown significantly; new businesses, restaurants and more cruise ship traffic. The owner of Fat Tuesday was nice enough to throw a Thanksgiving Party for us when 4 of our ships were docked, it was so nice to catch up with old friends.

We had a rare late night call to Aruba just before holidays and we had an opportunity to wonder around. It was lovely to do some shopping and to watch the day into the night. The island was already  decorated for Christmas and it looked lovely!

And in the spirit of the holidays, we also had our fabulous Christmas Tree up in the lobby.

 I had one last opportunity to hit the beach before going home. Grand Turk is wonderful as the beach is right off the pier. Chanel and I brought our adult sippy cups and off we were.

Yoga on the beach

Adult sippy cups

I was due to sign off on my birthday which in a way is nice but in a way is not as you spend your special day traveling. We went to steakhouse a  few days before my actual birthday. We all met up at our favorite bar and funny enough, all the girls were in black and if I must say so myself, we all looked stunning!

My actual birthday I spent with a few good friends in Miami having unlimited all you can drink mimosas. It was a perfect and lovely way to finish off my 13th contract.

Even though I consumed bottomless mimosas for 5 hours, I still managed to get to the Miami airport on time. I didn't get a chance to eat and there was no food on the plane so I did what every reasonable person would do, I kept drinking ;)

I arrived home safe in one piece, filled out my immigration paperwork all wrong, got my luggage, had my bestie pick me up and rolled up in my warm and sweet home. The next day my niece, the love of my life woke me up.  I unpacked, did my laundry, packed again and made my way to Poland.

Oh the life of a seafarer :)