Just need to put this out there.

There have been moments…many moments…when I’ve found time to pause and ask myself if spending nine months on a ship touring exotic areas is really worth it. Granted, there’s the paycheck, the social interactions with people I’d otherwise never meet, the food, the drink, the scenery, the general sense of well-being and accomplishment that helps satisfy my restlessness and desire to travel and escape the dreaded confines of staying in the same place for far too long. Likewise, there’s the loneliness, the isolation of a tiny room on a floating metal object, the repetition of the same songs on the same schedule cruise in and cruise out, the dress code, the banality, the ever-present notion that the places where I sleep, eat and work are all too uncomfortably close to each other.
It’s a balance, really. Then again, so is everything in life, but working on a cruise ship presents another set of brilliant challenges and comforts. A very kind, intelligent person I know put it eerily well when she said that the experience of working on ships is rather bipolar; the highs are near soaring while the lows can be, well, suck. It’s not real life by any means, so it’s safe to consider that, while the highs are legitimate products of happiness, the lows are essentially the consequences of living in this odd never-never land of high school with cheap, free-flowing alcohol. In other words, when it’s great you’re thrilled; when it’s bad, you realize that it’s that way because you signed a contract. While the highs can be plentiful, the lows are, depending on circumstance, sometimes unfortunately common.
Which brings me to my first point: Harold and Kumar go to White Castle is an absolutely fucking brilliant, reaffirming movie.
Let me explain.
I was fortunate enough to witness this cinematic masterpiece a few days ago whilst taking care of some laundry, itself a pain in the ass low, really. I just picked it up to pass the time, but there’s an important lesson to be taken from that film. Simply put, they wanted something and they went for it. Never mind it was a fast food craving, and ignore the fact that they rode a cheetah at one point. Plain and simple, if you want something bad enough nothing should get in your way of obtaining what it is you really crave. Again, ignore the fact that “crave” is used in the movie to indicate the desire for tiny little hamburgers.
Thing about it, though. It’s a simple message, a cliché when you get down to it, yet how many people actually follow through with this in their lives? Call it a stupid stoner movie all you want, but realize that this stupid stoner movie, like it or not, contains a vital life lesson, a universal one at that, that not everyone has the clear mind to really follow.
This brings me to my second point: I need to stop being such a little punk about this whole ship thing.
I wanted to go back to Europe, and here I am. I’m even making a paycheck, so there’s the ultimate bonus. I’m here as an employee, name tag, khaki pants and all, but I’m here nonetheless. I’m here, and no amount of poolside sets or eating at designated hours can take that away from me or what I want out of this experience.

I wish I had a grander way of concluding this, but it’s about 1:30 in the morning here, and all I really wanted to do was write about how much I truly appreciate Harold and Kumar’s shenanigans and escapades on their way to White Castle. Mission accomplished.

Cheers.