Today we had some interesting things happen. The CPR baby dummy that had been appearing here and there was discovered on the prep counter this morning. It was leftover from when this ship was called the Rapture, and we kind of held onto it as a twisted little mascot for all our misadventures. Leaving it in people's beds, or doing strange things to it, removing limbs and the like, became just one more form of entertainment for the crew. This morning though it was found covered in clarified butter sitting on the prep counter. Angie, who had to clean and sanitize the counter, wasn't too happy. Baby went into the trash can.
Through metaphysical power, the power of belief, or just odd coincidence, the oven that the baby had been left jammed into the door earlier this week shorted out, smoking and sparking as it died. More on that later.
One of the more interesting things that happens on these boats is the phenomenon of special orders. People like being special and having special little things brought to them. Today at lunch we served Thai Chicken wraps. My bad, we did have chicken at lunch yesterday too, so some lady asked if she could have smoked salmon in her wrap (she had already asked for something different at boarding dinner and we'd given her some smoked salmon we had in the fridge. So we obliged her today, then someone else at the table thought that was a good idea and asked for one as well. Keep in mind we'd already made two low-fat wraps, one salad with no wrap (gluten allergy) and one wrap with no peanuts (even though they were only on the side as a plate garnish). Oi.
So we do all these things, feeling very abused and underappreciated. I get into "a mood" at this point and send Angie and Shelly upstairs to take breaks since Shelly is getting up early with Angie to learn Early Riser routines and desserts and such. I let out my angst with some Ani Difranco, who alternately fires me up and gets me all misty eyed, meanwhile I'm prepping as much as possible for dinner so things will go smoothly. When I'm finally satisfied with my progress, I clean up and go upstairs for a nap. Napping from 4:30 to about 5:20, I groggily make my way down to the galley. At this point the girls promptly inform me that the oven (which the cursed CPR baby had been in) pretty much exploded. Well, smoked and sparked out through the door. Unfortunately this took the griddle with it, since they are linked in circuit. Oi.
Dinner time was a cross between awesome and horrible. Everything was peachy keen as soups went out for first course. Then, with about four soups left to serve, the call comes from the bridge, "we've got bubble netting humpbacks dead ahead." Awesome, and not. Truly bubble net feeding is the greatest most amazing thing to see. We ask the next server who comes down, "are people still sitting?" "Yeah," they say. OK, keep serving. Set up six plates for the first table, about to put proteins on, when another server comes down and says most of the passengers have left the dining room. So this is why I requested a big warming oven. Into the warmer everything goes, and out we go as well to see the show. Ten minutes later, satisfied with my dose of spectacle, I walk back down to the galley, and stop in the dining room as I see about a dozen people sitting at their tables, apparently waiting for dinner. That's odd. They didn't care about the whales so much. So I told them we'd have dinner for them shortly and then trudge up to the bridge to alert the servers that they had folks in need of service. Long story short, the whole dinner hour, which had been delayed by 45 minutes or so, consisted of people moving to different positions, getting up and watching whales after their plates had been prepared, and people literally trickling in over the course of a half hour.
Now, as I finish typing, Eric the Chief Engineer and bunkmate has just informed me that the main element for the right hand oven has blown itself into four pieces, but that the griddle and two right-hand burners should hopefully be operational by morning. This is good as I have already put a special french toast dish on the menu for breakfast, and I'd be nonplussed to have to bake it instead of using the griddle.
I'm getting up early tomorrow since we have BBQ for lunch and we're going to Baranof Warm Springs in the afternoon. This has to be my favorite place in Southeast Alaska, and I'm looking forward to a long Sulfery soak in a public use horse trough hot tub with an amazing view.
Good night.
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