Josh: You Spend Your Entire Life Searching For Your Soulmate, And Then You Find Them... And It's An Elderly, Drunk Guy Who Doesn't Speak English

Riku for president! I know the election is over, but this guy is the greatest. He smiles all the time (one tooth and all, drawing below taken from nataliedee.com. Normally I just rip off the pictures, but someone actually drew that, and just on the off-chance that the Magician doesn't murder me and the world doesn't end and I'm not executed in Georgia on that murder charge, I'd like to not get sued. God, that was a depressing sentence to write), drinks sake or beer twenty-three hours a day, does his job so well that no one else on the boat really needs to do anything, and he's so humble that this morning I almost caught him bowing to a seagull. If I hadn't just fallen head over heels for Mary, I'd have some serious, stone-skipping, soul-searching walks on the beach as to whether I should ask for his hand in marriage.

Our daily routine: Mary and I sleep late in our tiny cabin, then rouse ourselves for breakfast with the Captain while we read the current events on the Internet. Then Mary and I lounge around in the back of the boat tanning and whale watching until late afternoon, when she goes to the helm to drink tea and talk smart with Captain Maeda and I set up the dominoes board and get stinking drunk on sake with Riku.

Not to leave out the First Mate, Mochizuki, who is a decent guy as well. He's studying to be a Captain himself, and is just very dedicated to learning all he can. He spends all day looking at nautical charts and books, though when the day is over he's happy to unwind with the rest of us.

That was how the last three days have gone (probably should have put a time stamp at the top- today is November 21st, 2008). Weather-wise, today was probably the last day of sunshine we'll have as there is a moderate-sized storm system to the north, though the Captain assures us it's nothing to worry about. Meanwhile, of course, this (below) is what I'm imagining we're actually heading into.

In health news, my ankle is feeling much better, with the eel bite healing fast. The antibiotics did the trick. Another late night with Riku, however, and my liver might just jump overboard.