W107

TIME 1042 (MT)

Hey folks, not much up still. Since we arrive at station tomorrow, everyone on board is running around trying to get things ready. We should arrive about 2 hours before the first dive, number 3828, is scheduled. The Alvin dives are numbered from 1, they don’t ever start over. I’m pretty excited to see the first dive tomorrow. Craig and Hugh are the observers and the pilot is Tony Tarantino. They set up the pool on deck last night, but as far as I know, no one has gotten in yet. The only thing I’ve seen it used for so far is to test weights. We saw a ship yesterday, which was exciting since we’re the only signs of human life out here, aside from the occasional plastic floating in the water. Still have yet to see any really exciting animals. I did see a little baby turtle a couple of days ago. Did I tell you about that? I can’t remember if I did or not. I was up on the bridge this morning with Jerry, Sallye (the 3^rd Mate) and the Captain. The captain made a joke about my last name, something I’m more than used to after Seinfeld was on the air for so many years. I’m pretty shocked that it took someone this long to say something. It certainly makes me feel at home! The captain is from New York and he’s a Mets fan. Too bad, I’m a HUGE Yankees fan, so I’m waiting for word from someone on shore to see if those nasty Anaheim Angels who ousted my boys are going to lose to the Giants or not. Captain wants the Angels to win naturally. So anyone else out there a yanks fan? Hepsi is currently making a crossword puzzle for you guys. She’s found it to be much more work than she anticipated at first, so I hope you enjoy it! Starting tomorrow we should start to really get into the science on board since the dives are starting. It’s interesting to see the different kinds of work on this cruise. Some folks are out here working for three weeks and will get results almost immediately, some have to wait a couple of months, and some come out here to work for three weeks on the cruise and go back home and have two YEARS of work to do on all the data. Science is a crazy thing! The weather is all calmed down, we’ve been riding a 9 foot swell on the beam which makes for a rocky trip. Lots of folks weren’t feeling so hot yesterday unfortunately.

The exciting thing lately is that last night I learned to play the card game spades! It’s pretty addictive. Kevin, the chief engineer, Dave Sims, an SSSG and Laura, one of the science crew taught me how to play. Kevin and I won — not bad for my first game, huh?

I’m also hoping that the ping pong tournament will start soon. I’m getting pretty good, maybe I’ll actually have a shot! That’s all for now folks! Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.