Food! Glorious Food!

The adventures of Carol Brown, representing Norwegian Cruise Line on a 6-month mission on the open sea to train the crew, explore new ports, seek new friends and experiences, and to boldly go where she has not gone before.

Carol’s log: Sea date: May 5, 2011

I’m in a rut. Every day since I’ve been here, I’ve had the same thing for breakfast—scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, orange juice and a banana—and the same thing for lunch—chicken, rice, veggies, a salad and another glass of orange juice. Okay yesterday I had the Clam Chowder but only because it was the red one, not the creamy white one. I know Camara (my daughter). The white one is definitely better. Oh and on Monday I have the fish instead of the chicken but you get where I’m going with this. I’m eating the same things for a number of reasons.

1. They are delicious. This hotel can really put on a buffet!
2. They are what’s being offered in the buffet along with a different pasta daily, potato salad, a wide range of cold cuts, fruit salad, soup and the most tempting desserts you’ve ever seen!
3. I’m trying to stay away from wheat and dairy because a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine recently told me that I’m phlegmy and that wheat and diary are the culprits.

So I’m trying to eat healthier which leaves scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, orange juice and a banana, chicken, rice, zucchini, a salad and another glass of orange juice (my potassium is low hence the bananas and orange juice). But this has created a bit of an eating rut at breakfast and lunch.

My intention this morning was to mix it up a bit. Have some oatmeal or check out what else was on the menu. But intention is just that. I ended up sleeping through my 7:00 a.m. alarm but only because I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and couldn’t go back to sleep. I showered and started writing and didn’t lay down again until 6:30 a.m. I thought I’d catch a catnap but it was 8:15 when my eyes popped open. I drag on the clothes I’ve laid out, brush my teeth and headed downstairs to meet the shuttle bus by 8:30. This of course means I’ll head out without any breakfast but I grab a couple of bananas and an apple from the buffet and join the others on the shuttle bus.

We spend the morning at the stunning head office meeting the rest of the team including the bigwigs. They are the most down-to-earth bunch of people I’ve ever met. Everyone at the head office makes us feel valued and welcomed. I even get a big hug from one of the executives! I get camera happy and take pictures of the models of some of our ships that are scattered throughout the building. We stop for a group photo before getting on the shuttle bus.

We head back to the hotel for lunch and I shake things up with my food selection. Well sort of. I have ribs and rice and a salad. I know I had ribs the night before but I was so tired of chicken and the ribs looked so yummy! They weren’t as tasty as the ribs I had at Dave and Buster’s but considering I had no breakfast, they were good.

The afternoon training session was competitive as we were divided into teams and introduced to our new top secret program. But it wasn’t just our intimate team of Training Specialists in this high-stakes challenge. We had some of the team from the head office join us including the vice president of one area and a number of directors and managers. We had secret identities and code names but that’s all I can tell you other than that my team won. If you know me you know how competitive I am and how much I hate to lose. The ruling in the Pictionary game the other night still raises my hackles. Okay I don’t really know where or what hackles are but I’m sure they would rise up at the implied loss. The session was gruelling, in a good way, and we are all looking forward to rolling out this training.

The evening ended with what? Food, glorious food! Vito, Semin, Daniel, Richard, Anne, Lorne and I met in the restaurant for a late dinner. I had the Baked Stuffed Shrimp. It was stuffed with crab and was sided with pilaf rice, asparagus and carrots. I tried to eat the veggies but must admit that I left some on the plate.

I’m feeling a bit melancholy tonight. Tomorrow is our last day together. I’m going to miss these people, my new friends and teammates. But until we part, we are going to party tomorrow night at our graduation ceremony. We’ll be certified as Training Specialists and sent off to perform what we’ve be trained to do. I couldn’t be happier!

The voyage continues…

Cruising