Self-Serve Stores Day

Once a month or so, it becomes necessary to resupply the consumables- groceries we handle ourselves- we do our own shopping, we take on fuel and change out crew from local tugboats... but we still have to take on stores.

 For the most part, the monthly wish list looks similar from request to request. Absorbent pads to mop up oil drips and spills, boxes of rags for general cleanup, surfactants, detergents and solvents to keep every SINGLE drop of oil off the deck so we don't put a sheen in the water (requiring everyone to spend a lot of time on hands and knees scrubbing- there's a reason why no one wants to work with me, I guess). Then there are tools, lightbulbs, rope, paint, ladders, safety glasses and boots, office supplies (we kill a LOT of trees. The US Gubmint's idea of environmental protection is to armor us all with reams of copy paper and ink jet cartridges, forms, binders, notebooks and electronic gadgets, mops and brooms, assorted gloves for all occasions (yours truly has delicate hands held together with baling wire and duct tape) and other assorted goodies.
    Normally, stores get palletized and one of us will swing a deck crane out to pick up the pallets from a forklift or the bobbing deck of a tug. Today, however, it's self serve Sunday. Yours truly was stupid enough to mention that I have my pickup with me, and we're idle, being moored several miles upriver from our local warehouse. So I get to go load my truck at the warehouse, drive over, and hump goodies for stowage. To celebrate, I broke out the cast-iron skillet this morning, and went all full-breakfast. Unfortunately, this resulted in mass food coma, so, once that lifts, we'll try to get something done around here. Might be a while.