Movie Nights Continue

March 29, 2012

Teamwork at sea is absolutely essential. You depend on each other for not only your work but your support network for daily life. So, it is fairly common that work teams try to spend time together just to relax. Your immediate team is like your close family, the people you interact with on a daily basis, the people you trust with your highs and lows. It is important that you take to simply relieve stress In their company. Work teams often eat together. Some enjoy bike rides or shopping trips when they are in port. Some hang out in the crew lounges together. Some enjoy beach time when in port. For our HR team the answer is movie nights.

In reality the movie doesn’t matter. In fact the movie tends to be the last thing we decide upon. The night is the most important. We look for an evening when things don’t begin too early for anyone the next day. Since we generally can’t start the movie until 9:30pm or later, it is critical that no one has to bounce out of bed at 6am or earlier. The second most important thing seems to be food and beverage. Since the HR Manager has room service privileges the staff begins to speculate  on what they will feel like eating that night, generally some treat that they have longed for but haven’t had lately, hamburgers, quesadillas, and desserts are generally the order of the day. The place is always clear, it must take place in the HR Managers cabin sine he or she is the only one with room. It has a proper living room area and so four adults can relax comfortably and watch a movie without being on top of each other. Yes, four could fit in my cabin, but two would be on my ‘couch light’ one on my bed and one could pull down the bunk above. But my TV screen is small and I don’t have Surround Sound.

Okay, the movie does matter a little. To keep us all happy it must have laughs and some adventure. Rush Hour 3 was our choice when we had movie night with Laura. For Tim’s first hosted gathering we were subjected to Hangover 2. This movie is not to be confused with Oscar nominated films. It has a few ‘cringe worthy’ moments. But as a vehicle to sit and laugh, and laugh at each laughing, it was the perfect choice.

When Tim joined I wondered if we would quickly reform the camaraderie that marked Laura’s tenure. The movie night sealed the deal. Since Tim is a bit of an overgrown kid, the movie was virtually background entertainment as we commented and tormented each other like the rather dysfunctional family that we are. We knew this tradition, no matter the composition of our team, must endure.

And the adventure continues . . .