An Introduction...

So I decided to start a sort of diary to record (mostly for my own sake) the next 8 or 9 months of my life, while working at sea - so I guess it's best to start with a brief introduction of myself!

My names Matthew, also known as mattytude, or 'tude for short! I'm a 21 year old guy from Belfast in Northern Ireland. I've worked in retail all my life, up until the last year whenever I broke into the music copyright and licensing industry which I've enjoyed immensely. With my contract coming to an end, I decided to pursue horizons new, quite literally, and get back into retail - onboard a cruise liner!

I applied for a retail assistant job with Harding Brothers about a month ago. I read article upon article about the difficulty of getting into a position like this, so to be honest, I didn't have extremely high hopes, and it came as a great shock when I got a telephone interview, and finally a face-to-face interview in Bristol, on the 21st of July.

At the group interview, we were told we'd be notified within a week whether or not we'd landed a position. I got a phonecall the next day, and it came as a bit of a shock to the system!

From there it was all systems go, with a long list of things I'd need to do before being assigned to a ship - 2 days training in Bristol, 2 days training in Southampton, get an American Visa, get an Australian visa, get yellow fever jab, get a seamans card, get medical insurance, and the list goes on! 

I then got word on Monday 26th July that my 4 days of training would begin in Bristol this Monday, the 2nd August. Sheesh - that was quick. I then got word later on that night, that I'd been assigned to my ship, the P&O Cruises, Aurora, and that my start date would be, wait for it, the 8th of August!

This was alot sooner than expected and it's been a rush getting everything into place. But it's mostly sorted now, just a few last bits and pieces to sort, and a few last goodbyes to make!

So I'm away from Sunday 1st to Thursday 5th training, home for literally 2 days, then I leave Belfast on the 6th August, to meet my ship in Southampton and leave to travel the world, hoping to return on the 14th April 2011!

I've no reservations about the hard work involved - it's not going to be all luxury and stuff. I know the implications involved. And I know moving away from my friends in family will probably be one of the most emotionally demanding things I ever do in my life, but here it goes! I'm going to see places I never knew existed, I'm going to meet such a diverse new group of people, and hopefully friends, and I'm going to experience what life is like working onboard a floating community, full of interesting people with different cultures and backgrounds.

It's taken alot of hard work and effort so far, but here I am, 7 days before leaving. The intention is to record here a diary of events, the highs, the lows, the inbetweens, as a reminder to myself, and to keep my friends in close contact. It's all came out of nowhere in terms of time, and maybe that's better than having a lot of time to consider what I'm letting myself in for... but here it goes...

Keep tabs on where the ship is, and sea a webcam, by clicking here.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea...

Matt