Drinking before 10 am

Travel

Sailor philosophy

I am a sailor....

Instagram obsession

So I've recently discovered Instagram and I won't lie, I'm slightly obsessed. I have thousands of photos from all over the world and really looking forward to creating some fun new images out of them. Here's a few of them.

Where we come from....

Not all who wonder are lost

Chasing after people....

Canadian Archaeology

Carnival Triumph Fire ...stranded at sa....a crew member's perspective...

It was around 5.30am. I heard that announcement in my cabin, my eyes shot open. I heard the code being called and then the location: DG6. I knew we were in trouble, nobody calls the fire squad to a Diesel Generator at 5.30 am for a small fire. I jumped from my bed, threw some clothes on and burst out of my cabin. Safety Officer was now on the PA System, he was announcing that the marshalling area was the staging area. I ran down 4 flights of stairs from my cabin to Deck 0, I needed to get my Emergency Radio. I now cursed myself, why don’t I keep the radio in my cabin? Why did I leave it in the office? I was now on Deck 0. The staging area was now moved from the Marshalling Area up to the Medical Center, right by my office. There were now hundreds of Team Members making their way to the front of the ship, I had to go against the flow of traffic to get to my radio. I will never leave it in my office again. I grabbed my radio and went for my cell phone to call my Team. The signal on my cell was dead. SHIT, I thought. Now we’re really screwed. That means the fire has affected the power cables and wires, I knew what was coming next, a power outage. I fought back the panic and ran up 4 decks back up to my cabin. I woke up my boyfriend and my cabin phone started to ring off the hook. It was Shivash, my T&D Manager. Between gasps for air I managed to tell him “Wake up everyone, dress warm, put on full shoes, take your radio and water and report to my cabin immediately”. I knew that the rest of my Team’s living quarters were now engulfed in smoke. I wanted them far away from the Engine Room and my cabin is on Deck 4, close to the muster stations and the open deck. Within minutes they were in my cabin, I distributed water and made sure everyone was okay. I started to listen to the radio on the technical channel to try to figure out what was going on. In between orders and desperate officers trying to manage a disaster in the engine room, I managed to decipher a few things. We were in deep shit. Before I could tell my Team, the power went out. I opened my cabin door and jammed a slipper in to keep it open. The emergency lights were already on in the hallway. I scrambled to my flashlight, everyone always made fun of me for carrying it around in my purse. This flashlight proved to be the most useful piece of equipment over the next 5 days. We were just all waiting, in the dark, in silence, waiting for the next announcement and listening intensely to the radio. I thought to myself “We are the next Splendor”. I thought about it for a minute and changed my clothes, I wanted to make sure I was comfortable in case I had to climb into a life raft. As it became increasingly hotter in my cabin, we moved to the open deck. Temperatures were climbing in the engine room and Deck 0, that made me nervous. I knew that the damage was already done, I knew what was going to happen next. We were not going anywhere anytime soon. We are sitting ducks. Now we need to keep calm and come up with a plan. I looked up at the Bridge, I can see Officers pacing and Captain looking concerned. The rest is history. It’s too long of a tale to tell on here. Maybe one day I will tell you over a drink. But one thing is for certain, the crew came together as one solid, strong functioning unit. Whatever had to be done, got done. It was tough, it was hot, it was uncomfortable, it was smelly, it was tiring BUT WE DID IT. No matter how tough or how challenging or how difficult the task was, WE DID IT! Everyone came together. It didn’t matter if you were a cook or an officer or spa, we all worked together. We all made sandwiches for hours, we all formed a human chain from Deck 0 to Deck 9, we all moved red bags from one end of the ship to another, we all offered a shoulder to cry on for the guests. WE DIT IT ALL and we did amazing! Not a single crew member complained, no one ever said No to any tasks. We smiled, we laughed, we cracked jokes, we sang songs and we played pranks on each other. It wasn’t easy but it could have been worse. I am proud of the Engine Team and the Fire Squad because I know exactly what happened down there and I know what COULD have happened if these individuals thought twice about going in and doing what they needed to do. I owe my life to them. I am proud of each and every single Team Member because they put their own fears aside to look after each other and our guests. I am proud of them because we faced and emergency with strength and team work. I have never been so proud of anyone before. I didn’t cry the entire emergency but when I think about us, the Carnival Triumph Family and how well we did, I get overwhelmed with emotion. I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO PROUD OF ANYTHING IN MY LIFE BEFORE!

I AM NATALIA. I AM A STRONG ASS WOMAN. I AM A VERY PROUD CARNIVAL TRIUMPH TEAM MEMBER.

Some of my Adventure Cruise Photos

12 in 12

I can’t believe another year has come and gone! Here I am another year older, supposedly another year wiser, and DEFINETLY another year having gotten wider! In general, New Year’s Resolutions suck... somewhere between the Presidents’ Birthdays and Easter they fall away and at the end of the year, I have yet again accomplished 0 personal goals.

This year I’ve decided to SCREW the resolutions. What quicker way to feel like a stagnant, non-evolving person than to look at your past resolutions and realize most of us have accomplished NONE of them.

I read about other people doing this idea called “12 in 12”and I’ve decided to jump in with both feet. You pick 12 THINGS, do ONE of them, EVERYDAY, for ONE MONTH. The obvious theoretical result being that if you have done something every day for a month, you are more likely to adopt said thing into your routine and continue to do it indefinitely. (Ha! They’ve obviously never seen my no caffeine attempts… disastrous!) Anyway, the whys or hows don’t really matter to me, what matters is that 12 small things for a month each seems much easier than 3 large things for a year, you know? If I absolutely hate my life with/without something I’ve chosen, I don’t have to just quit and give up on a whole resolution… it’s only a month. ONE MONTH. 30 days.

So I’m wondering if anyone would like to join me in this experiment in self-accomplishment? The more people that are involved with me, the more accountable I will be, the more likely I am to succeed.

Here are my 12:

January- do 5 sessions of cardio a week
February- floss every dang day
March- do pushups every day
April- no online shopping
May- only 1 coffee a day
June-spend more time every day trying to look like a girl
July-contact an old friend every day
August-compliment at least one person a day
September-Eat at least 2 different fruits every day
October-Don’t eat after 8pm
November-get fresh air every day (this may sound funny to people that don’t work on a ship)
December-send Christmas cards instead of Christmas emails

Maya prediction: 2012

A crew member needs your help....

A crew member needs your help!

In the spirit of the holidays, please donate to this crew member who is recovering from a spinal chord injury: Donate to Gede

Here is his story:


On October 18, 2012 Gede (good-day), a 32 year old man from a small village in central Bali, was unable to get up from his bunk bed on Carnival Cruise Lines where he is employed. 3 days later he was sent to shore to a hospital in Nassau, Bahamas for an x-ray. The next day he was sent to another hospital in Nassau for an MRI. Then 2 days later he was airlifted from Nassau to Fort Lauderdale's Broward Medical once it was discovered that there was a hematoma in the area of the C4 and C5 vertebrate (neck area). Surgery would be needed to identify what the hematoma was.

On October 29th Gede had spinal cord surgery by Dr. Christopher 'Chad' Roberts, and the biopsy of the hematoma came back identified as a blood clot. Gede remained at Broward Medical for a week, and was then transported to North Broward Medical Center for rehabilitation therapy. Today Gede remains positive and has all of his senses, but his motor skills and strength are still evolving. Currently, he needs assistance to get into a wheelchair. We are now at week 3 post surgery, and shortly Gede will be flow to Indonesia for the rest of his hospital based rehabilitation therapy and then on home to Bali for any outpatient care needed over the next year or so.

Financially, Gede's immediate medical needs have been covered by Carnival Cruise Lines, but they will not cover many of non-medical costs, of travel for his family to visit him in Java (the most likely location for his hospital based rehabilitation therapy), for a car to take him to outpatient therapy, gas, home modifications, internet access, and some home care assistance. The sum for a car in Bali is high, but the many daily items needed are much cheaper than in the states. I estimate that Gede will need around $50,000 US during this transition time.

Gede was the primary wage earner for his family, which consists of his mother, his father who is retired, and his two young sons age 7 & 10. His life has dramatically changed, but without his income from Carnival his basic daily needs will change even more for him and his family.

Gede positive attitude and Balinese spirit continues to improve with his physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OP), and group therapy. The team at Broward Medical has been amazing and Gede has made and effort to memorize the names of every employee who he has met and I know he appreciates all they are doing for him.

World is a book

Balls!

Dope photo......one of my ships!

A woman's curves

Stand up for what you believe in

Which terrorist group did that?