We got a GREAT Job
Pack your virtual seabags! We got a GREAT job! I am always excited to share with you when we get the call for a job/ship. I had been on this ship twice before, (1982 as a porter and 1988-1994 chief cook) so it was easy to accept the job without hesitation. While completing the phone call with the details of when and where I should join I was already recalling the last time I was there. I was doing the math in my head but was having trouble calculating while still listening to the details. I thanked the caller, shared how excited I was to have this opportunity, and hung up the phone. I immediately called Lorraine (my sister, best friend and publisher.) She, like me, was overjoyed when she heard the details. She knew how much I liked this ship and that it would be the perfect fit. While talking with Lorraine, I took a relaxed minute to do the math again. The present year is 2025, and the last time I was on this ship was 1994...2025-1994... that is 31 years ago! My last ship before we opened our Creperie Catherine at the ski resort in Mont Tremblant, Quebec. I have seen the Laurentien numerous times since I returned to sailing in 2019. I always took an extra minute to watch when we met her and would smile inside while I relived happy memories from my time on board. The ship was my home for over 5 years and when I disembarked the ship on that hot summer day for the last time in 1994, the name painted on the side of the ship was Louis R Desmarais. A lot happens in 31 years and like myself changing with the times and changing my name from Cathy to my given name Catherine, the ship made a major transformation too and was renamed CSL Laurentien. In my imagination I secretly thought that there was still a connection to our long friendship because her new name was a nod to where I lived now, the Laurentian Mountains. During the call offering me the job, the words CSL Laurentien came through my ears as Louis R. She will always be the Louis R. to me. It took a moment to digest the exciting news. I would join in Quebec City and immediately thought what a fun sister road trip this would be. The next information was the best part of this job. I had planned on sailing this summer, and like in previous years, it would mean relief cook jobs on multiple ships. Join a ship, unpack, cook for thirty days, pack, disembark, repeat. I could not believe my ears when the caller said the job would be 100 days. Wow! How lucky am I. A job on one ship where I can settle in and spend 100 days. I can create a routine and make time for my favorite things to do when I am sailing. I walked every night after supper on Louis R and already saw myself falling back into that routine 31 years later. There is a second cook and she has years of experience. The ship also transits the Great Lakes and Seaway. It really is the perfect job. Today I am organizing my things. Lorraine reminds me that she can bring me anything that I am missing. I have been in touch with the regular chief cook, and she said I could send a list of things I would like added to the grocery list she will place before I come. We have one week before joining in Quebec City. Make sure to pack some summer clothes. We will be on the ship until August 1st. I look forward to some fun activities in the upcoming week before I start my new job. It's a beautiful day today, and I hope to fit in a walk with Lorraine. I wish you all a lovely day and will keep you posted.