Cruise the Pacific

Joan is busy preparing our luggage for the South Pacific cruise. We leave Perth on Tuesday morning and board the ship in Sydney the following day. Daughter Helen is going to baby-sit our place for a few days at a time. She is hoping for a teaching placement before school starts on 2nd of February.

The reporter from the local newspaper who wrote a story on my efforts to distribute free computers did not include a contact number, but agreed that if I wrote a letter to the editor including my contact details they would print it. I wrote the letter, but they didn't print it. I'm sure they want me to take out a paid advertisement. The paper is one of the Community Group .........they don't seem too community minded to me!

I managed to place four computers with one family yesterday. The mother firstly took two for her kids and when the rest of the family visited they wanted one as well. I think this will be the best way of getting the word around and placing the other 25 machines in my workshop. One of her sons looked a bit dodgy and seemed to be looking around whilst inside our place. We will use the alarm system for the period we are away in case he visits to get more than a computer. Might also park a car out the front on the drive to give the impression that someone is home.

We will post from the cruise liner. They have WiFi on board but it costs. They (P&O) also x-ray baggage for alcohol and have sniffer dogs searching for drugs. P&O bans passengers from taking any drinks on board to protect their monopoly. They also charge A$5 per passenger per day for tips to be distributed amongst the crew at the end of the cruise. Let's see....say 600 passengers X $5 X 8 days= $24,000. The ship is the Pacific Dawn which can carry 2000+ passengers with a crew of 700. With a full complement of 2000 passengers the tips would amount to $80,000 for the 8 day trip. That would work out at $114 each crew member. I wonder whether the toilet cleaner gets the same as a Deck Officer?