Well, we leave for sea tomorrow, and its as if the ship has suddenly sprung to life. In the past few days, one of our labs has been taken over by boxes, their numbers counting into the 400’s. I was impressed at the number of boxes all the scientists had, until it was pointed out to me that that’s all from one lab, and that they only represented 4 out of the 24 scientists on the cruise. But it is so nice to have all these new faces running around, everyone is moved onto the ship now (because the Falmouth road race is tomorrow, so people needed to come on at least 5 hours before we left). I spoke to some of them at dinner, and it seems like they have a wide range of interests, which should be really fun. I hope that I am able to learn more about each of their areas.
My direct boss, Drew, just moved onto the ship a few days ago, so we are now able to go through the rest of the 3 month/25-30 dive check list that we had been holding off on. Todd took little Nick and me on a shopping trip and then out to dinner (with Drew) which was a really nice bonding experience. I had at first been really intimidated by Todd’s demeanor, but as I’ve continued working with him, I realize that his comments are a sign that he cares.
I have my alarm set for early because I want to be sure to see us off from shore (I’ll post pictures of that below). I have had so many amazing experiences already, but I feel like the real adventure is about to start!