So after a few days on board, and in between cargoes, I felt more than a little put out when I got the call to pack my shit and move for a few days on a temporary transfer.
I basically went to our largest bunker barges, which I have never operated (I did spend 2 weeks on one 10 or so years ago, though, when it was just a seagoing barge), filling in for a crewman who had to go home. It's my job to go where the company tells me, after all. I had a little mild butthurt, in that we have guys who have done fuck all or next to fuck all for the past 6 months who got to continue dicking off while I was continuing to work, but with time came a moment's grace where I realized that with the slowdown, I better be grateful to be working, and also grateful for the opportunity to make myself useful. It's like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer; it just feels so delightful when you stop.
It was busy, it was hot, and I am happy it ended. I've since returned to the HQ-in-exile, and wonder of wonders, my days away did great things for my attitude. I'm far more grateful to be here and standing by for cargo orders than I was. The work will come. We're at the tail (ish) end of the summer slowdown, and with Sep 1 approaching, warehouses in the US will begin stocking up on cheap crap from China, although I'm sure it might not be in the volume we had last year, but even so, the container ships will be making more port calls here in the fall than they did in the summer, God willing.
I'm approaching the halfway point of this voyage already. Not much opportunity for shore calls, sadly, but the mornings are cooling off, becoming pleasant. We're coming into the best time of year in the northeast.
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