So here i am...about 8000mi from Traverse City (rough estimate). Right now it is 4:24pm, Wednesday the 27th. It is 2:24am in Michigan. So as i type, many of you are probably sleeping. I feel like sleeping as well. We arrived last night at around 10pm our time. we had an amazing sunset to come arrive in. check the pics i have on flicker. A few notes about the journey over/the people that i have on my ship/ and other cool notable things:
--A few men from the phillipines that speak virtually no english, and when you say "Hey man! whats up?" they reply with "OK!" and the biggest smile you can imagine.
--A boson, who was on the streets before this job, that when you greet him in the morning with a "Good morning bos" he replies with a simple "Yes", as if it was a question.
--A guy named Bernie who is nearing 70 and just mimbles alot. There was a time when we were asking about going to the track and betting on horse races. Jake, 2nd mate, said "Hey bernie, do they have dog races there too?"...after a long silence, Bernie replies with "Yeah they got the fuckin Lotto!"...and when he gets tired he starts talking like Carl from Slingblade.
--Dolphins jumping about 50yards off the side of the ship during our BBQ on friday.
--Crossing International Dateline listening to "Brand New Cadillac" by The Clash (courtesy of bhallsd)
--Listening to Modern Life Is War.....yeah, thats it for that one..
--Working my ass off. 16+ hour days.
--3am wake up calls, and my 80/20 hot chocolate coffee morning mix.
--Sunrises and sunsets
So guam! Guam is a strange place and my Chief Mate put it best when he said, "Americans suck as colonists!" Its as if we have taken all the shittiest things about america, and put them here. Denny's, KFC, McD's, Outback Steakhouse, Walmart, etc...Its strange. Strip clubs and "massage" parlors one block from the Tiffany and Co. and Louis Vuitton stores. Its just strange. Also, it seems that you are either Chimoran (native guam residents are called Chimorans), A japanese tourist, or in the military.
Me and Alex rented a car for the entire day for $40 from the security guard at the dock who had no teeth. He said to give the key's back to his brother tonight. he will be security from 10pm on. The car is sketch, at best, and when you turn on the air conditioning it feels as though it will stall any moment. This AC is vital in weather that is 95* with 90% humidity. Miserable hot. Doesnt seem to effect the locals though, but i have lost considerably amounts of fluids today. Here is what our day consisted of:
--A trip to Gun Beach to go snorkeling...which was amazing!! We had to walk through this super extravagant hotel to get to the beach. we were the only americans there, and when i took off my shirt, a few japanese ladies cringed, and turned away. haha. whatever. i saw some of the wildest looking fish ever! Parrot fish!! look those up. so cool looking up close. 100's of smaller, rainbow colored fish, and as i was standing on the reef looking into the water, a slightly large eel poked his evil looking head out from under a rock. It wasnt a typical green moray eel, but it was definatley in the same family. scared the shit out of us! super sweet though.
--Numerous hermit crabs and rock-jumper crabs the size of your fist scurrying about.
--three historical parks reading placks on when the americans and japanese fought on these very beaches for the island. It cast a rather grim shadow over the day for about 10 minutes. when you think about the bloodshed that happened where you are sitting...strange feelings come on.
--Went hiking looking for a waterfall...no luck. we almost got lost in the interior of the island...so we turned back. Beautiful views though.
--Swam at three different beaches and a water hole, created by coral reef.
Pretty cool day. Now, we are headed back to the ship to clean up, and grab the second mate, and head back into town. He's been working and wants to go out for a bit tonight. We leave at 7am tomorrow morning. 3 days to Ningbo China. then 20 hours to Shanghai, and THEN 10 days back to long beach. My next entry will be from Long beach. I love and miss you all. CHECK MY FLICKER PAGE for pics of today. take care. --jh--
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Long Beach to Hawaii (trip #1, Stop #1)
Greeting from Hawaii! This is by far the worst place i've ever been in my life...hand downs. Ok, i can't lie...its wonderful here. We arrived yesterday at around 5pm (hawaii time), and first lines went out around 630, tied up at 7pm. The approch to the islands was beautiful. if you look at a map of the islands, we came right through the Makapuu Passage, which is looked to the east side of Oahu. Right between Oahu and another island (forgive me...i forget the name). So islands on either side. stunning. We have actually been working very hard this entire week on our way over, and we (Alex and myself) were nervous that the Chief Mate may not let us off at all.
As we got off the deck and back into the ships office after tie up, we asked the mate if there was anything else we needed to do. His reply? "The only thing you guys need to do is get the fuck off the ship and have some fun tonight." Wonderful!! We met up with the second mate (jake), got a taxi into Waikiki ($30 cab ride!! daaaaaannnnggg!!), and strolled around the strip, going into generic tourist places, and just looking around. We ended up at a place called Dukes, which is a barefoot bar. Located right on the ocean, you are able to walk right off the beach and into the resteraunt. Super cool spot. We pretty much stayed there all night. The shots you will see on my flicker page of the water, shoreline, and surrounding scenery were taken from the beach at Dukes. While Alex and Jake were cruising for girls, i chose to sit on the beach and just stare out and work on my photography skills. I hope you enjoy them.
Let me pull a Tarantino and give you all an idea of what it was like getting to this point:
August 13th:
I've accepted the fact that i will no longer be seeing Jessica, my family, and friends for a while. The stress as well as this unmistakable feeling that i get right before i take chance has subsided, and there is no turning back. There is a line from the In My Eye's cd that i like. The opening to one of the tracks is "Growing up/Not slowing down". That line put me at ease a little bit. I made the decision to do this...here i am...and here we go. We depart at 4am tomorrow morning. I have to share a room with Alex Swies. He is a fellow GLMA cadet, but i imagine sharing a room for 4 months wont be as great as several other thousand things ive done in my life. Oh well. i'll get over it. The chief mate has already put me to work delivering mail and doing other assorted tasks. Already working...yikes. No sooner had my bags hit the floor in my room, he called me down on the intercom. That was an intense conversation, but i expect to work, so, although oddly intimidated by this short man, and his smug demeanor, not to mention his turtle like neck and head (his neck comes from the front of his shoulders instead of on top...it just looks kind of weird, you know?), i've moved on.
August 14th:
Tails of a run in with a typhoon the last trip are going around. some pretty serious shit went down i guess. No one was seriously injured though, just heavy sea's. I hope that doesnt happen again. I was up today at 2am to watch us depart the dock in LB. "this is it...this is it...THIS...is it" just kept going through my head. Sound like a song to anyone? anyways, we had dolphins jumping out of our wake at 7am that morning. A good omen i suppose. Maybe not... as we got further from land, i got progressivley sicker. Maybe it had more to do with my excitement level, like you know how little kids will get SOOOOO excited about something that is going to happen that they end up getting to worked up, and then, sick? Maybe that was it...i'd like to attribute it to the 5-6 swells we had coming in from the North, meaning they were rolling the ship about 8 degrees side to side for 24hours. I threw up 7 times today. Im not going to lie, or act hard about it. My body didnt know how to deal with that kind of sea...Lakes and ocean...way different kind of roll. I fell asleep at 7pm that night and awoke for watch at 3am the following morning, feeling absolutley fine. weird.
fast forward
August 15th:
The cooks on the ship are amazing. The best in the fleet ive been told. Check the pics of our spread for our friday night BBQ! This was a fun event. On every trip, one day out from Hawaii and Guam (either coming to the islands, or leaving them) we have a BBQ on the stearn of the ship. everyone is in Flip Flops, floral print shirts or t-shirts, shorts, and just casual attire in general. Much like a BBQ that someone would have in there backyard, except this is 2000miles + away from ANYONES backyard. pretty cool. the crew has been very friendly and cool to us. After our 48 probationary period, in which the Chief mate threw everything he could throw at us in attempt to rattle us, he has lightened up considerably. We've shown him we are here for the right reasons, and that we are genuinely interested in whats going on. they like that here. So we are in pretty good, in fact, the crew has just as many questions for us about the lakes, as we do for them regarding the ocean. thats kind of a neat thing. The social gathering on the stern was a fun time. To top it off, we even go to see the mythical Green Flash. I say mythical because i feel that it is similar to a unicorn...Often talked about, yet, a rare sighting. I made myself laugh with that analogy. Its not as "Spielberg" as some may think, but it definitley happens. So what a good night. Tomorrow we will arrive in Hawaii....
THERE IT IS! sorry, im long winded, but i think it's more fun to read in retrospect. I hope that between that and the pics, you can have a good idea of what its been like to so far. have a nice night...we leave Honolulu tomorrow at 11am (HI time). Guam in 7 days. Another post w/ pics then. Take care. I miss every single one of you. --jh--
As we got off the deck and back into the ships office after tie up, we asked the mate if there was anything else we needed to do. His reply? "The only thing you guys need to do is get the fuck off the ship and have some fun tonight." Wonderful!! We met up with the second mate (jake), got a taxi into Waikiki ($30 cab ride!! daaaaaannnnggg!!), and strolled around the strip, going into generic tourist places, and just looking around. We ended up at a place called Dukes, which is a barefoot bar. Located right on the ocean, you are able to walk right off the beach and into the resteraunt. Super cool spot. We pretty much stayed there all night. The shots you will see on my flicker page of the water, shoreline, and surrounding scenery were taken from the beach at Dukes. While Alex and Jake were cruising for girls, i chose to sit on the beach and just stare out and work on my photography skills. I hope you enjoy them.
Let me pull a Tarantino and give you all an idea of what it was like getting to this point:
August 13th:
I've accepted the fact that i will no longer be seeing Jessica, my family, and friends for a while. The stress as well as this unmistakable feeling that i get right before i take chance has subsided, and there is no turning back. There is a line from the In My Eye's cd that i like. The opening to one of the tracks is "Growing up/Not slowing down". That line put me at ease a little bit. I made the decision to do this...here i am...and here we go. We depart at 4am tomorrow morning. I have to share a room with Alex Swies. He is a fellow GLMA cadet, but i imagine sharing a room for 4 months wont be as great as several other thousand things ive done in my life. Oh well. i'll get over it. The chief mate has already put me to work delivering mail and doing other assorted tasks. Already working...yikes. No sooner had my bags hit the floor in my room, he called me down on the intercom. That was an intense conversation, but i expect to work, so, although oddly intimidated by this short man, and his smug demeanor, not to mention his turtle like neck and head (his neck comes from the front of his shoulders instead of on top...it just looks kind of weird, you know?), i've moved on.
August 14th:
Tails of a run in with a typhoon the last trip are going around. some pretty serious shit went down i guess. No one was seriously injured though, just heavy sea's. I hope that doesnt happen again. I was up today at 2am to watch us depart the dock in LB. "this is it...this is it...THIS...is it" just kept going through my head. Sound like a song to anyone? anyways, we had dolphins jumping out of our wake at 7am that morning. A good omen i suppose. Maybe not... as we got further from land, i got progressivley sicker. Maybe it had more to do with my excitement level, like you know how little kids will get SOOOOO excited about something that is going to happen that they end up getting to worked up, and then, sick? Maybe that was it...i'd like to attribute it to the 5-6 swells we had coming in from the North, meaning they were rolling the ship about 8 degrees side to side for 24hours. I threw up 7 times today. Im not going to lie, or act hard about it. My body didnt know how to deal with that kind of sea...Lakes and ocean...way different kind of roll. I fell asleep at 7pm that night and awoke for watch at 3am the following morning, feeling absolutley fine. weird.
fast forward
August 15th:
The cooks on the ship are amazing. The best in the fleet ive been told. Check the pics of our spread for our friday night BBQ! This was a fun event. On every trip, one day out from Hawaii and Guam (either coming to the islands, or leaving them) we have a BBQ on the stearn of the ship. everyone is in Flip Flops, floral print shirts or t-shirts, shorts, and just casual attire in general. Much like a BBQ that someone would have in there backyard, except this is 2000miles + away from ANYONES backyard. pretty cool. the crew has been very friendly and cool to us. After our 48 probationary period, in which the Chief mate threw everything he could throw at us in attempt to rattle us, he has lightened up considerably. We've shown him we are here for the right reasons, and that we are genuinely interested in whats going on. they like that here. So we are in pretty good, in fact, the crew has just as many questions for us about the lakes, as we do for them regarding the ocean. thats kind of a neat thing. The social gathering on the stern was a fun time. To top it off, we even go to see the mythical Green Flash. I say mythical because i feel that it is similar to a unicorn...Often talked about, yet, a rare sighting. I made myself laugh with that analogy. Its not as "Spielberg" as some may think, but it definitley happens. So what a good night. Tomorrow we will arrive in Hawaii....
THERE IT IS! sorry, im long winded, but i think it's more fun to read in retrospect. I hope that between that and the pics, you can have a good idea of what its been like to so far. have a nice night...we leave Honolulu tomorrow at 11am (HI time). Guam in 7 days. Another post w/ pics then. Take care. I miss every single one of you. --jh--
Saturday, August 9, 2008
MY flickr account
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshholton/
just posting it somewhere where people will hopefully see it more than TWITTER.
just posting it somewhere where people will hopefully see it more than TWITTER.
Let this be my annual reminder that we can all be something bigger...
A few notes this morning:
1. I NEED THAT NEW CEREMONY RECORD...i've declared them, Paint It Black, and Sabertooth Zombie to be my current favorite hardcore bands right now.
2. New Trash Talk coming out soon...
3. USA Fencing team rules
4. I was told that San Diego is more of a flip-flop community, rather than Croc community...i'm ok with that.
5. Olympic opening ceremony was fuckin righteous. no doubt.
6. Lou's record Shop in Leucadia is a pretty amazing place. complete with GG Allin shirts. rare.
that is all.
1. I NEED THAT NEW CEREMONY RECORD...i've declared them, Paint It Black, and Sabertooth Zombie to be my current favorite hardcore bands right now.
2. New Trash Talk coming out soon...
3. USA Fencing team rules
4. I was told that San Diego is more of a flip-flop community, rather than Croc community...i'm ok with that.
5. Olympic opening ceremony was fuckin righteous. no doubt.
6. Lou's record Shop in Leucadia is a pretty amazing place. complete with GG Allin shirts. rare.
that is all.
Friday, August 8, 2008
crossbones and traffic jams
I arrived in sunny San Diego yesterday afternoon, but first, let me back up to the flight from DET to denver.
A screaming, loud, Asian baby took my window seat. Well, his mom put his car seat there, but i really didnt mind...after all...the window seat coming into the Rocky Mountains sucks. So i had the outside, and couldnt sleep because the kid ("oliver") was really upset the entire flight. Right before landing, he was especially upset, due to the pressure change. It probably hurt his soft head. I can understand, and i felt bad for him. His mom proceeded to fill him up with milk and cheese-its to help him stay quiet. It worked very well.
Upon landing, as we rolled to the jetway, she had the baby up on his feet facing her. I was shutting down my iPod. The kid took interest in the bright screen and fun buttons. I looked up at him and smiled...he smiled back...and proceeded to throw up on my shirt. hot milk and cheese its. it was just a little bit. His mom gasped and turned his head the other way, and he filled his car seat with hot soup. it smelled awful. I almost threw up. she apologized a lot, and i said it was fine. It kind of wasnt, but i'd live. I exited the plane, and went immediatley to the bathroom to change my shirt. sick.
The flight from DEN to SAN was fine. i slept the entire way pretty much...listening to Interpol's "Turn on the bright light" album. relaxing.
I got a little lost in the airport because i stopped to call Jessica and let her know i made it safely. I couldnt help but feel guilt in that i had just left the person i love most for five months while i embarked on an incredible adventure sailing across the pacific ocean. It's still with me, and will probably not pass, but this is what needs to happen now, and i have no doubts that we will make it and be fine. Life won't wait, i guess. Still...she's so cute and funny...i'll miss her everyday.
Today we drove to LA to go to the Chinese Consulate and get my visa so i can get off the ship on china legally. It was a suprisingly easy task, thanks to Uncle Brian who did like two days of research prior to my arrival on what i needed to take to them...which was more than previously thought. No matter. we got the letter from matson, copies of my MMD and passport, new passport photos, application filled out, and the $160 fee. done deal. The drive there and back was incredible. the traffic...ive never seen anything like it. we took a different route coming back to the house, and stopped at a record shop on the Pacific Coast Highway, just outside of a beach community called Leucadia. cool place. i was looking for the new Ceremony record...but no such luck...they had'nt received it yet. We returned back here soon after.
This weekend will be a real good chance for me to kind of clear my head before i embark on this journey of adventure, probably some danger, and explore my mental stamina. I want to prove to these guys that im capable of doing this job; this exciting, daring job that few people choose to do for numerous reasons. Although i will miss Jessica (alot), friends and family, this is a great oppurtunity. To sail the ocean, and be able to explore these places, and just feel that sense of freedom and adventure...i just feel it's part of me. I need it. Im excited, nervous, anxious, happy, sad, etc...i think ive had every emotion run through me in the past four or five days imaginable. I've done it to myself...i take the steps...i move myself forward...and i take responsibility for the decisions and path i've chosen. And day by day, i'm becoming more and more accepting of that fact.
See yuh on the flip side... --jh--
A screaming, loud, Asian baby took my window seat. Well, his mom put his car seat there, but i really didnt mind...after all...the window seat coming into the Rocky Mountains sucks. So i had the outside, and couldnt sleep because the kid ("oliver") was really upset the entire flight. Right before landing, he was especially upset, due to the pressure change. It probably hurt his soft head. I can understand, and i felt bad for him. His mom proceeded to fill him up with milk and cheese-its to help him stay quiet. It worked very well.
Upon landing, as we rolled to the jetway, she had the baby up on his feet facing her. I was shutting down my iPod. The kid took interest in the bright screen and fun buttons. I looked up at him and smiled...he smiled back...and proceeded to throw up on my shirt. hot milk and cheese its. it was just a little bit. His mom gasped and turned his head the other way, and he filled his car seat with hot soup. it smelled awful. I almost threw up. she apologized a lot, and i said it was fine. It kind of wasnt, but i'd live. I exited the plane, and went immediatley to the bathroom to change my shirt. sick.
The flight from DEN to SAN was fine. i slept the entire way pretty much...listening to Interpol's "Turn on the bright light" album. relaxing.
I got a little lost in the airport because i stopped to call Jessica and let her know i made it safely. I couldnt help but feel guilt in that i had just left the person i love most for five months while i embarked on an incredible adventure sailing across the pacific ocean. It's still with me, and will probably not pass, but this is what needs to happen now, and i have no doubts that we will make it and be fine. Life won't wait, i guess. Still...she's so cute and funny...i'll miss her everyday.
Today we drove to LA to go to the Chinese Consulate and get my visa so i can get off the ship on china legally. It was a suprisingly easy task, thanks to Uncle Brian who did like two days of research prior to my arrival on what i needed to take to them...which was more than previously thought. No matter. we got the letter from matson, copies of my MMD and passport, new passport photos, application filled out, and the $160 fee. done deal. The drive there and back was incredible. the traffic...ive never seen anything like it. we took a different route coming back to the house, and stopped at a record shop on the Pacific Coast Highway, just outside of a beach community called Leucadia. cool place. i was looking for the new Ceremony record...but no such luck...they had'nt received it yet. We returned back here soon after.
This weekend will be a real good chance for me to kind of clear my head before i embark on this journey of adventure, probably some danger, and explore my mental stamina. I want to prove to these guys that im capable of doing this job; this exciting, daring job that few people choose to do for numerous reasons. Although i will miss Jessica (alot), friends and family, this is a great oppurtunity. To sail the ocean, and be able to explore these places, and just feel that sense of freedom and adventure...i just feel it's part of me. I need it. Im excited, nervous, anxious, happy, sad, etc...i think ive had every emotion run through me in the past four or five days imaginable. I've done it to myself...i take the steps...i move myself forward...and i take responsibility for the decisions and path i've chosen. And day by day, i'm becoming more and more accepting of that fact.
See yuh on the flip side... --jh--
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