And now she's gone from suck to blow!

  Another day. Christ. 

    I said that out loud in the dark at 0445 this morning when I got up. That's my usual wake up time, but of course I'm not waking up on the HQ, I'm in exile this week. 

    The storm that the media has been whipping people into a frenzy over finally hit us yesterday. The tzar bomba cyclone of death and AIDS e11venty!  or whatever cute bullshit name they gave us. It's the first winter gale. Same one we have every year.  Not the last, chances are. 

       But shit yeah, it blew like a mad mother, even tucked up in the protected corner of the container terminal where we were standing by, it was blowing hard. And then the temperature dumped. 

 So it was 9 degrees when I got up. Yesterday we took a bunch of those little plug in box heaters and put them in strategic places, like the deck fitting under the galley sink where the fresh water line enters the house. and another where the poopoo water line  gray and black water line leaves the house, and by the main water feed pump for the house, all places that share a bulkhead with the outer skin of the house and where water is apt to freeze.  This barge has heat trace tape wrapped around the water lines and a heating coil in the main water tank, like mine. Alls I know is that today we have a warm place and running water, praise Jesus and pass the hand cleaner. 

     So with just B holding down the HQ as watchman while it's laid up awaiting my Glorious Return next week, I assumed he'd  go over the water system, as this iteration,  HQ3.0, has poor cold protection for the water system. I checked in with him today and he is going to be the proud posessor of a dirty ass, as he's got no running water.  My suspicion is that he didn't go over the water system yesterday and is paying for that today, although to be fair, at 9 degrees, anything short of throwing a blowtorch into a cargo tank probably wouldn't stop the water system from freezing as is. I've been asking for the cladding and heating system to be replaced since I came aboard 2 years ago. 

     So, I guess I am grateful for having warm quarters and a minty clean ass this Christmas, even if I am not where I want to be exactly.  In that spirit, I wish you all a very merry Christmas too. Hug your loved ones if you can, or Facetime them if you can't.