Weekly Update for January 2, 2009

It is so strange to type 2009 in the date for this, but that’s how time goes. New Years Eve was a blast here on board. It opened with a semi-formal dinner (which means the girls dressed up) where we had Hamburgers and French fries and drank Egg Log (somebody made a spelling mistake on the sticker). After dinner was a service to reflect on our past year and to ask for blessings on our next year. The service had music and a few people spoke. After the Service was a time for fellowship with even more food and games if one wanted to play, but I just sat around and talked with people. At 11:45 most people went up to Deck 9 (the top of the ship) to count down to the New Year. At midnight, Koge went crazy, shooting off fireworks from every angle we could see. It was one of the most impressive things I have seen in my day, and will last in my memory. I don’t think I have ever seen a whole sky covered in fireworks, and maybe never will again.
After the Fireworks was a Scottish dancing time. We were taught all these funny dances, and a lot of them were fun. We twirled and spun, and some people even got aggressive. After that dance there was a party upstairs with more dancing. This time it was techno mixed in with some salsa. I didn’t dance a whole lot here, but I did make myself look like an idiot, which is usually fun. I finally hit my pillow around 3:30 or 4 am.
New Years day was uneventful for me as I slept in until 2 or 3. All that happened that is notable is a big LAN “party” where a bunch of people got together and played Battlefield 1942 with each other. There were around 20 of us playing together, and it was pretty fun.
Next week I am on Fire Rounds, which takes place from 11-7 during the time when everyone is sleeping. This means I will miss a lot of things that could happen, but oh well. Have a great start to 2009!