(Amanda) on shallops and crying and really nice deli counter guys

Today after work we headed to the ship, expecting the run of the mill behind-the-scenes tour. But no! We got to go out in the Shallop! The shallop is the ship's boat, designed for doing repairs, running between ship and shore, that sort of thing. We sailed out into the harbor (by "we" I mean the talented folks who actually know how to sail) and tacked back and forth for about an hour. I got to help tie off ropes each time we tacked. The wind was lovely and just right for our little jaunt. The sky put on a nice show for us, the sun tucked behind some clouds so the sea wasn't blinding, and then the sky went all purple and red around the edges. So pretty.

Just as we pulled back up to the ship I got something in my left eye. It hurt. A whole lot. And kept hurting. Now, I have a bit of a head cold presently so when I began crying, the snot, well, let's just say I became something of a mess. The Captain, lovely man that he is, fished some eye wash out of the shallop's first aid kit, but I couldn't do much with it until we got back to the gatehouse (tho there was a sort of comedic moment where I was trying to rinse my eye out on the rocking shallop as we tied up to the boat...) My attempts to fish whatever it was out of my eye were unsuccessful, tho I did succeed in making my eye entirely bloodshot and evil looking. So, um, yay. I was under orders to not move my eye too much, to patch it over and go to the doctor if it was swollen in the morning. This seemed like a good plan, but also like a bit of overkill.

First, we needed to go to the grocery store (by "we" I mean myself and the three other interns on the shallop ride). So off we went. I was meandering around the store, trying to keep my left eye closed as much as possible, tearing up a bit every now and again, and sniffling because my nose was still running. I stopped in at the deli counter, to get my cold cuts for the week. As usual I forgot to take a number right away, so it took a few minutes for me to be served. I asked for my 1/2 lb. turkey and 1/4 lb. pepper jack, and the rotund, middle aged deli man with a salt and pepper beard (and a little paper hat!) looked sympathetically at me. I probably looked like I was having a *very* bad day. I watched carefully as he cut and packaged my purchases, and I noticed that he slipped more into my order than he charged me for. Not enough to be obscene, but two or three more slices than were weighed. He saw that I saw and gave me a sweet little smile. It really did make my day.

On the way home I tried to cry out the whatever it was in my eye. It is strange to be in a good mood (I had a productive day at work and the shallop ride was amazing and the deli guy was kind) and crying. This tactic did not work. Upon arriving home I stopped crying on purpose and took a shower, being sure to blink a lot under the water (while avoiding the soap...). This seems to have worked, my eye is still irritated, but the pointy thing (probably sand or salt) seems to be gone.

In other news, I am tired, and going to go to sleep now.

This weekend we are taking a trip to Quincy, so brace yourselves for John Adams-y-ness!