As time went on I began to get sleepy, so I put a CD into the stereo system in the van. The music kept me somewhat awake. It is very easy to fall asleep in there because all of the lights are turned off so that you can see the monitors better. Also, it's very early in the morning.
I think the pilot, Bill, was getting a little sleepy too, or maybe he was just being nice when he asked me if I wanted to drive JASON. At first I thought he was kidding, but after he handed me the control box and began to instruct me on how to drive JASON, I know he was serious. So after a quick pilots lesson, I drove JASON on a course that had been allready mapped out or me. All I had to do was follow the lines. I sounds easy, but sometimes the current pulls you off course. After about an hour, I was starting to get tired again and I was getting to a complicated place in the course. So I handed over the control to "Skip" who is the Senior JASON pilot and ran upstairs to get a Mountain Dew.
After my watch, I ate a large breakfast. Eggs, bacon, and pancakes. And went down to my room to take a shower. After my shower I came back upstairs to the main lab where my computer is and began to work on producing the next edition of the Thompson Times. I was getting a sore back from sitting at the terminal, so I decided to go up to the bridge and check out what was going on up there. The Chief Mate was glad to see me and we talked for a while. He let me steer the ship for a while which is really easy to do out in the open ocean. Most of it is run by a computer that keeps the ship on course. Sometimes it will get a little ways off, so you have to grab this little joystick and turn it until the ship goes back on course. That was much easier than driving JASON, but I don't think I could drive the entire thing (the ship) all by myself.
So, I thanked the Chief Mate and walked back down to the computer to set up some more stories. At this time I decided to check to E-mail that people send to the ship asking questions about what we do out here. I have to go through them all and decide which one to answer and which ones have allready been answered. Then I do my best to distribute them to different members of the scientific crew.
After getting to about the halfway point on finishing the Times, I took a walk outside ot see what the weather was like. The waves were larger than they had been before and it was very cloudy outside. Then there was a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder. The waves got even bigger and suddenly they were so large, they were coming up onto the deck. A huge wave came up and landed down right on top of me and threw me over the side. I found myself in the water and the boat was driving away and I was left all alone. That's when the sharks appeared and ate me for lunch. Just kidding. I thought this story needed an action scene somewhere.
But, seriously, I did walk outside to see that it was cloudy and reminded myself to put clouds up for the weather section of the Times. I didn't stay outside more than five minutes because the wind was blowing hard and bringing the temperature way down. So I went upstairs and went into the lounge where a small group of people were watching an Indiana Jones movie. After the movie was over, it was time for dinner. I went through the buffet style line, was greeted by the chef who's name is (really) Neb. There are two other guys who help out with all the meals, there names are (really) Jimbo and Primo. With food in hand (actually it was on a plate) I proceeded to find a table to sit at. I walked over to where Byron (your correspondent) was sitting and put my plate on the table. After sitting down, I waked with Byron for a while. Then Captain Al (the captain of the ship - duh!) sat down at our table. On most ships, the captain is an illusive character who is never seen, unless you go up to the bridge on his watch. Not Captain. Al. I see him walking around the ship all the time talking with the crew members and the scientists. He checks up on what I'm doing on the computer every once on a while.
After dinner it's time to put the finishing touches on the Times and get it ready to be sent out for "publication". Matt Pruis usually gives me a hand at trying to make the files as small and inexpensive to send as possible.
My final activity for the night is to watch the 2000 (or 8:00 pm) movie in the lounge. One in a while, they actually show a good movie. Last night it was, "Little Buddah". The best thing about it was that it took place in Seattle. The movie is over at 2200 (or 10:00 pm), so I get to bed at about 2215. That gives me approximately 4 hours to sleep until Mark (my watch leader) wakes me up again to go on watch.
Please keep in mind that this is not what I do every day, it's just an example of what I did on one day. Every day is a little different, but in many ways the same. I'm sure that if you're in school (high school, middle school, etc.) you know just what I mean.
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