Life After Working On Cruise Ships (aka The Real World Is Strange)

5 months ago, I quit working on cruise ships. After that, I used a Eurail pass to go around Europe. 7 weeks later, I flew to Vancouver. The next day, I took the Amtrak down to San Francisco. Then I headed to Black Rock City for Burning Man. It was a busy summer.

After that, I returned to Vancouverand re-entered the real world. That was three months ago. Yes, its been that long since I last posted.

I know, I know, its a bit awkward now. Its like texting someone weeks after hooking up, going hey baby, wanna go to the Aquarium?. Obviously, youre not sure what to think now. Is this going to be a one-night stand post? Are you afraid to emotionally invest again in this blog? No one cares for the emotional roller coaster that is infrequent blog posting. Ive followed bloggers in the past whove done the same: post regularly, build a loyal following and then one day.stop. I often wonder, what happened? Have they been kidnapped? Are they lying dead in a ditch somewhere, after one meth session too many?

I know it takes a while to get over these abandonment issues. So, for any distress causedIm truly sorry. Moving forward, I shall try to stick to posting once a week-ish. (Unless I start doing meth, then you should probably just assume the worst) Update: Dont worry, Im not doing meth! I just dropped the ball. Again.

I could say that Ive been working on multiple projects but that would be a lie. Working on a cruise ship had the benefit of having few distractions when we were out to sea. Internet was horrendously expensive. The best thing on television was Fox News. And most of the people were spectacularly boring. At the same time, there were no chores like cooking, cleaning or washing up. Its a bit like having a bonus 5 hours a day. So your options were to work out, get drunk or work on a project. (Or in my case, do all three.)

Now that Im living in Vancouver, the reality of being back in the real (working) world again has finally sunk in. At first, it was difficult. There were all these bizarre activities I had to do, like laundry and cleaning and grocery shopping and cooking. Then there was the commuting to work. What an odd activity for humans to have to do. To make things worse, we have to spend a continuous 8 hours inside an office. No going off to the beach for the afternoon. No siesta time. I must admit, there were more than a few occasions where I fantasied about returning to cruise ships. Yes, those were dark times.

Slowly but surely, I began to adapt. You see, the secret to adapting to a new place is to focus on the positives. Like being able to eat whatever you want. Or to drink water which doesnt taste like chlorine. Or not having to get drunk to make people seem more interesting. Or for it to be socially acceptable to grow a hideous moustache.

Donate to Movember. Its for science!

Originally published at web-beta.archive.org.