A Forty-Eight Hour Day?

Today is our third consecutive day at sea since leaving my beloved Japan in the rear view mirror (if we had a rear view mirror) and during that time we have set our clocks ahead four hours. A fifth hour was lost recently also, but my body is so sleep deprived I can't recall when that occurred. To say that the passengers are getting a little testy, including yours truly, would be a colossal understatement. Our bodies are so confused we don't have a clue what meal is appropriate when. Oceania's solution: Let 'em sleep as late as they want, then feed them a magnificent brunch with everything one could possibly desire complete with unlimited Bloody Mary's and/or Mimosa's. Do they know their passengers or what!

The reason for all this fiddling with the clock is in anticipation of crossing the International Date Line at some point today or maybe tonight. For any of you who has pulled that chain and flushed all that you learned about that line, I shall give you a brief refresher course. This line running between the North and South Poles in somewhat of a straight line is 180 degrees from the prime meridian in Greenwich, England. As the name implies, it is the start of a new day when traveling west. It is the source of much grumpiness when traveling east - at least on this ship. I've flown over the international date line twice on our trip to Australia and New Zealand with Warren, Bill and Brenda. Flying over it headed west is a piece of cake. Unless you are totally absorbed with the exact date, it matters not. Flying east is a different story. Bill's birthday was celebrated in New Zealand, then hours latter we boarded the plane for home. The flight was delayed for some reason. We sat on the tarmac for quite some time. Finally we take off for that very long flight home. It is still Bill's birthday. We land at the airport in San Antonio - it is still Bill's birthday. Only Linda Lee can stretch out a birthday longer than that one! (Love you, Linda!) Anyway, crossing this imaginary line was much easier from above, but then again how many times does one get to have a Mulligan in life?

I learned from our "Currents" publication that it is not required by international law to strictly adhere to the 180 degree longitude line between the two poles. Not only does it detour around national borders here and there, it can be moved left or right for trade reasons. And here is a fact that might be useful someday in Trivia: Each and every day,

". . . between the hours of 10:00 and 11:59 UTC three different calendar dates are in use simultaneously on Earth." Who knew? As Dottie, our cruise director, is fond of saying, "You learn something new every day!"

How will I spend my second June 28th this year? Blogging, of course, to share more of Japan with you.

Today Is Someday! Embrace It!