Hello from the Rock!

Surprise, surprise... I've relocated yet again! I came to the realization that my minimum wage paying job I had in Fredericton couldn't keep me afloat, not even close. So prior to coming back to Newfoundland, I went home with the parents for about three weeks. And even three weeks was too much. Don't get me wrong, I do love my parents. But I think anyone who has been out on their own for a few years with the occasional visit for a week or two to their parents will agree, the novelty of being home wears off, fast. I was fine for a while, really.. sleeping past 5am, relaxing and such... then began the questions (mostly from my mother), as she is convinced herself ever since I settled on going to school for culinary arts (to be a chef) in the fall that I will be poor and maybe never get a decent job. Absolutely convinced. So along with this belief she has comes an absolutely insane bombardment of questions. Most center around if I think I'll ever make money at my chosen profession. Thankfully my mother has stopped asking about whether or not I have a boyfriend (honestly, no I don't take guys home to meet the parents, but when you live 4 or more hours away, it's a bit more of a bigger deal, and I'm not about to bring home every guy I go out with for a month or so, or less...), she's now moved on to my long term financial demise that I have apparently decided for myself.

So after saving some money, I set off for Newfoundland on a beautiful sunny day. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better two days of driving, especially across Newfoundland. It took about 8.5 hours to drive across and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Considering it was the end of April, this was especially fortunate, as anyone who is from any part of Newfoundland (or even any part of Atlantic Canada) will tell you. 8.5 hours was a bit much in one day with just me, running on about 4 or 5 hours of sleep I got on the ferry ride across.. on a couch in the lounge, no less. Which reminds me, whoever designed the MV Atlantic Vision clearly had no concept who would be crossing on this ferry. No idea at all. Considering this ferry links North Sydney, NS to Newfoundland (either through Port aux Basques or Argentia) you can guess that there will be two types of regular customers: truck drivers and vacationers (either going to Newfoundland most likely from somewhere in Atlantic Canada or Newfoundlanders going on vacation, likely somewhere in Atlantic Canada). That being said anyone who has met either of these two groups would know all they need on a ferry is coffee/tea, some cheap meals, somewhere to relax and maybe even grab a snooze. Remember the scene in Titanic when they first get on the boat and see all of the fancy things it has to offer? Same thing. I mean this ferry had been running for abotu two weeks by the time I travelled on it... the royal blue carpet on the stairs was still plush and spotlessly clean. Everything on the walls consisted of beautiful oak, glass, and chrome finishes. The floor, when it wasn't this beautiful carpet that made you feel like you should take off your shoes, was this marvelous mix of black and white granite (or what appear to even be marble, in places). There were two fancy dining rooms open only at particular hours, which was very inconvenient for those of us crossing at 11:30pm, as only one restaurant opened during our cross and it was at 6:30am, about a half hour before we docked. The one and only lounge had multiple signs indicating there was to be no sleeping (which was promptly ignored by myself and about 25 others) with it's magnificent and carefully planned lighting, round tables surrounded by retro yet in style arm chairs. The rest of the ferry consisted mostly of rooms, from what I heard, were extremely small (which yes I realize all ferries have small cabins, but these were people who had travelled on the other two ferries that make the same crossing). But at the top of the list which confirmed that they had no idea who their patrons would be, was the absolutely overpriced items in the "snack bar". A small bottle of water (not Aquafina or Dasani sized, smaller) was $2.15 (closer to $3 with taxes & deposit), and they had a small selection of sodas, sandwiches, and even some chocolate. A breakfast sandwich (you know, the kind like you get at McDonald's) was $5.75! A hot dog, the same! Needless to say, it's a bit much for a bunch of Newfoundlanders. I don't even want to think how much a beer would cost on that ferry!

Well considering the late hour and the excessive amount of rambling I've managed to do, I will leave this entry at this.

184. (My sister has a scale! Oh, I'll have to make another post on my situation here on the rock!)