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I'm shot. Had to work straight through the last four days, but I stepped off that ship, in Christchurch, on time. Crew-x was bit messy for some of the crew, myself included. It's never a good idea to have an open bar at a dinner for a bunch of pirates. Hopefully, the damages were minimal, but I was afraid to look behind the areas the hotel had cordoned off with large tarps the next day. There were some construction workers busy behind the tarps, so at least some of it was structural...

The trip home was, as usual, a bit stressful and involved a few mad dashes through airports, attempting to make flights booked too close together when you have to clear customs, etc. It was especially close in Auckland, where I had to switch terminals, clear customs and buy my way out-they charge 25 NZ dollars to leave the country. I flew first class most of the way and found passable merlot on both the flights to LA and Minnie:) Despite that, I arrived mostly sober and not too worse for wear.

US airlines really treat you like shit when compared to most of their foreign counterparts, but I was thankful they didn't question the amount of wine I drank, just a couple of funny looks.

I've mostly slept on and off since arriving home Thursday night and tomorrow I plan on going outside and clearing the last 6 weeks of snow from my truck and the driveway. I've seen the whole family, now, including my elusive teenagers, my mother-in-law and one sister-in-law. It's damn good to be home.

Peace.