My wish for cooler weather has been granted, at least for today. The sun has disappeared behind heavy clouds and a brisk wind is sweeping the decks. The seas are still relatively calm, but the forecast is for gale force winds later today so I expect that to change.

I was up early prowling the ship before dawn…..I hadn’t actually wanted to be up prowling at that hour, but we were having a little plumbing problem in the cabin. Just a side note: the vacuum toilets on the ship are a model of efficiency most of the time. But when the vacuum line doesn’t have any suck, then things……..well….suck. So, while waiting for the plumbing problem to resolve itself I walked the Promenade Deck and explored a few corners of the ship that I hadn’t made it into yet. It is very pleasant to have the whole ship to yourself in the early morning hours.

Breakfast was entertaining. A gentleman from India and his daughter came and sat at our table. He was still old-school India and spoke limited English while his daughter had lived in New York most of her life and was completely Americanized. As we were discussing the relative merits of Sydney and Melbourne a pod of dolphin appeared in the water 14 decks below us. They only made a brief appearance, but it was still a fine way to begin the day.

More Cultural Notes:

Australians have an interesting way of talking. Colorful terms like Bloody and Bugger tend to work their way into even the most casual conversations. As mentioned before there is the ever present “Where the bloody hell are you?” making it into print ads and onto the airways. But here you can say “Bugger” without feeling self conscious. Yesterday morning while on tour I heard “Bugger All”, “Bugger Me” and “Mean, Sniveling Little Buggerer” all being used without any real malice or anger….OK, may that last one had a tinge of anger in it, but in any event I find Bugger to be a wonderfully descriptive term. The other thing to point out is that Aussies have a tendency to be a little understated when talking about undesirable events. One example would be the use of the word “bit”. In America, a bit of something means a little tiny amount of something. In Australia it seems to mean just the opposite. If an Aussie says that “we’re in for a bit of weather” you can expect a cyclone. If he says “there’s a bit of rain heading our way” expect a flood. In the Outback “a bit of heat” means it will be over 120 degrees today. And if an Aussie says that “you’re in a bit of trouble” you should run for the nearest exit.

Place names – It is possible to let your eyes roam a map of Australia and find:

Gannawarra, Goorambat, Goornong, Geelong, Gobur, Murrumbeena, Murrindindi, Mollongghip, Nar Nar Goon, Nunawading, Toowoomba, Tallygaroopna, Tally Ho, Tea Tree Gully, Toongabbie, Woori Yallock, Yass and Yea.

…………no wonder these folks have a great sense of humor….for many of them just writing down their own address brings a chuckle.

Internet access had been a real pain on this cruise. The connection has been slow at best and often non-existent.  I’m still trying to publish yesterday’s web page update….maybe I can get it done tonight or tomorrow….but if you stop seeing updates it will be because I can’t get a stable connection long enough to publish the new web pages.

Website Updates (when they occur) will be at:

http://mysite.verizon.net/rick.longbrake/ricks_site/

What with some of the little inconveniences that we had encountered….spotty internet and plumbing that sucks…or rather doesn’t suck when it should suck….we have been comparing the Diamond Princess somewhat unfavorably with the Star Princess that we have sailed on three times previously. Comments such as: “The Star wouldn’t allow that” have once or twice crossed our lips…..but then this morning during a brief moment of internet clarity I spotted the story about the Star Princess catching fire in the Caribbean….1 dead, 11 injured, over 500 passengers evacuated from the ship due to damage to their cabins….all because some smoker couldn’t be bothered to put out their cigarette before flicking it into the wind…….after reading that we decided that we were, in fact, reasonably happy with our current accommodations. But we do hope that the Star is back in action soon, it is a really fine ship.

Yet another wine tasting is on the immediate horizon, so I better close this out and get ready for it. I will try to send this tonight or tomorrow morning if the Internet cooperates.