Me and shipping containers

Six months ago if you would have told me that I would now be working in marine cargo operations/logistics, I would have laughed in your face.

And yet, here is a picture of me from a couple weeks ago, walking on a shipping container in the shadow of a nearly 300-foot cargo vessel. (I'm about to start hooking the ship's crane to the container so it can be swung on board.)

Here's our crew with a container in the air between the ship and boat. I am supposedly overseeing this operation, making sure it's done safely and determining the order of the movements. Which surprises no one more than it does me!

We've also used the SkyTrak to move an (empty) container from one part of the station to another. Thankfully I wasn't in charge of that movement. I'm learning that I do not enjoy being in charge when I simultaneously have the feeling that I don't really know what I'm doing. And realizing that there are a lot of people in the world who either don't care about that feeling or have far grander ideas than I as to what they "know" how to do.

Or maybe it's just a matter of time and comfort level. I have only been down here for six weeks. And I'm already pretty cozy in a shipping container.

And on one. (That's me again either attaching or removing the hooks of the crane's lifting straps. I can't remember which. It's only been six weeks, but it's been a lot of containers.)

Yep, folks. This is really happening. They say seeing is believing...