I've never totally understood the phrase "Hurry up and wait". I mean, I get it, but I think it's stupid. So now here we are, I understand it but think it's dumb. There, now the truth has come out.
I bring up this point because recent events involving my husband signing onto the cruise ship I work on are creeping up and causing us to wait for answers. After careful evaluation I have decided this is truly the curse of the cruise industry. For those who read this (and I currently only have 3 followers so thank you devoted fans) when you work on-board a ship and ask head office a question, you can bet "dollars to donuts" (another phrase I don't like) you will wait for an obscene amount of time for an answer. This is especially true if the question will not truly benefit that person or the company in the long run. You must twist your words to make them think if the answer doesn't arrive, the ship may sink, or worse, they may take a pay cut.
On one contract, my fellow singer and good friend had a medical concern that required immediate attention, and it wasn't until I mentioned the big "c" word... (contract obligations? No, cancer) that they stepped back and re-read my previous 12 emails and finally made an effort to help. Thankfully, it was not cancer, but almost 2 years later he is only just finishing up with the office regarding the issue, and he hasn't worked for the company in that time. It's sad, frustrating, and unnecessary.
The convenience factor when you work on ships is absent. If you have a concern at your 9-5 job on land, you can go to the human resource office or the nurses office, or you can go home and sleep it off until tomorrow. You can walk into your bosses office and sort out issues and questions that may come up and move on to tackle the next project. My boss works in California, and I work in the Panama Canal, or Mexico, or Aruba, or Greece, or Alaska. Adams boss works with my boss, but to get them to talk is also "like pulling teeth". (I can appreciate this phrase, but believe me, sometimes pulling teeth is quite easy.) The chain of command on a ship is frustrating too, as sometimes you can't go to your boss directly, but instead must play a telephone like game of passing along information.
I love ship life, I really do. I especially enjoy it when my husband and I get to float around together. However, the next time you're frustrated at work with a problem, just remember you can pick up the phone and dial an extension or email your co-worker and get it sorted out. I have to walk down to the crew bar, buy a phone card or email card and hope the satellite connection works so I can talk through a broken line to whomever is concerned, and that they are hopefully at work depending on the time zone. I guess "the grass is always greener" applies here.
So for now, while Adam and I await the fate of his contract, we will "stop and smell the roses" and hope for the best. I don't want to "count my chickens before they hatch", but I have a good feeling about all of this. I have to be positive. Anything less just won't "cut the mustard".
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