Busy weekend on campus - Friday was the deadline for Global Studies and Maritime Affairs Senior Thesis, which is our equivalent of the mates exam, and so Thursday night we were all up late trying to get it done. Mine, a whopping 57 pages, was turned it at approximately 0635 hours Friday morning. To celebrate, there were a number of parties, but pretty much everyone showed up at Heather and Alicia's post thesis/birthday party which merged with the last rugby social of the year at Brett's place. It was an amazing party, probably one of the last big "college parties" i'll really get to, so I'm glad I decided to go.

And now....it is Saturday. Which means that it is changeover. I don't know if I've blogged about changeover before, but it's a longstanding tradition around here. The idea is this: At the end of the year, right before mates exams, the graduating seniors (1st class cadets or midshipmen) are relieved of their duties to the corps, and to celebrate this, they have a big formal dance. It's kind of like prom around here. It's a big deal, and we get kicked out of almost every place we have it since you know how sailors party. I say almost because we actually managed to reserve the same place this year. SHOCK. At any rate, the actual changeover represents the changing over of the corps of cadets leadership to new people, and everyone collectively rising in rank. The ceremony was at the beginning of march, but since the corps is lame, we are having the dance now instead of then.

I have been sleeping in curlers, y'all. This is serious business - I didn't even do that for prom!

In equally exciting but less positive news, the secret service raided a certain pair of cadets today for counterfeiting and for cocaine sales. Way to give us a good name guys. While I hate to see any body's life ruined, I'm not unhappy that this happened - people like that can't be trusted and frankly, I don't want them in the industry. That behaviour gets people killed. We already have the most dangerous industry in America; more people die a year in the maritime industry than even in mining. I read a statistic once about the cost of life for every ton of cargo brought into this country, and it was chilling. Safety is fucking paramount because lives are at risk and there is only so much you can control when you are at the mercy of the sea. People who you can't trust, who make decisions like that, quite literally get people killed. It isn't a joke, it's not funny, it's the lives of the people you are with and that isn't something that should be taken lightly.

Cheese!

I love cheese. I adore it - I inherited this love from my father, who would buy a pound of mozzerella and a pound of swiss when he would come home, and would eat it piece by piece whilst reading Tom Clancy novels and watching the history channel. Of course, he'd be reading and not watching TV, but G-d help you if you changed the channel. My mom, too, is a cheese lover - she's one of those lived on Guyere in college types - and as a result, there was always cheese in the house growing up. There is not a time where there is not at least cheddar, mozerrella, feta and string cheese in my mother's fridge, and whenever my sister or I are home you can guarentee something fancier is around and in large quantities.

My sister and I are both big cheese fans. Her favourites are goat cheeses, while mine are sheep cheeses, but if you were to put the two of us in a cheese shop we would not leave for many hours and when we finally emerged, we would have easily a hundred dollars worth of cheeses on us. We've got a bit more exotic tastes than our parents (who are fans of milder cheeses, honestly), but cheese has always been a big deal for us. It is one of the culinary staples - like spices or family recipes for cheese cake or charoset.

While I was in New Caledonia a few summers ago, I was making my way back to my ship with some shipmates of mine - we'd gone on a bar crawl and had to walk the 3 miles back to the port stinking drunk - and along the way, we saw a Chevron gas station. We walked in, in search of cigarettes and water only to find - to our amazement! - that the gas station had baguettes and brie.

Baguettes and brie. at a gas station.

We picked up a bunch and dashed back to the ship, only barely managing to get back to the ship before curfew; and we ate all of it in the lower class lounge that night. Yum.

But the real point of this post is that i have a favourite cheese.

Valle d'aspe.

From Cheese Shop:

This aged wheel of goat cheese truly epitomizes an authentic tomme de Chevre from the Pyrenees Mountaints. The small production results in exceptional, complex flavor. It has it all in terms of nuances: fruity, tangy, and a little salty. It finishes with a wonderful caramelized nuttiness that makes you reach back for more. The texture is firm and flaky so it shaves very well, but is not too hard to be a table cheese.

they forgot to add that this cheese is friggin tasty as hell.

Deadliest Catch

Just finished up watching a marathon of this show - which is, for many reasons, extremely popular here at the academy. A lot of guys here grew up on crab boats in the berring sea, or fishing in the area. Crab-stories are pretty common but they never cease to enthrall. Sea stories - the ones at sea and the ones on liberty - are in full supply and you'll definitely hear the good ones more than once. There are plenty of stories about drunken liberties, daring escapes, insane saves, and big hauls. There are lessons learned, traditions upheld, and superstitions proven with years and years of experience and knowledge.

But there are plenty of stories that are spoken without laughs, in somber tones on the mess deck. Because not everyone makes it home, and many are claimed by the sea - it's more common than people think.

There were 3 deaths and 2 people pulled out of the water this season (one by the coast guard, one by one of the ships); which definitely hits close to home for mariners. We train extensively for man overboard situations - you wouldnt believe how often - so that when it happens, you can respond fast enough to make sure that you DO save lives - not lose one.

Going to sea is inherently extremely dangerous. There are around 2000 deaths at sea every year - thats ~166 a month. The industry is VERY small, and every time you hear about losing a man at sea, it tugs at your heart - because it could have been you, one of your guys, and sometimes there is literally nothing you can do.

Watching the guys on the Time Bandit pull a fellow fisherman up - i have to tell you that my heart caught in my throat and I was damned teary eyed when they saved him.

Here's to my shipmates - those out at sea and those heading out soon - stay safe, stay smart, stay aware of yourself and your equipment.

Fair skies and fair seas, friends.