Today the library is open, but there are no classes. The library was quiet last night, and even quieter today! Mike and I are covering 9-7 so none of the students have to work. We’ll sneak a few hours off tomorrow and Monday, probably. It would appear that most students took the opportunity to sleep in, and now they are fighting for sunbathing space on the pool deck. Bikinis everywhere! I feel old. Parents of SAS students: your kids have been working hard, they deserve a day off, do not take them to task for sunbathing! I took advantage of the relaxed library hours to work out in the gym. It is an experience to run on a treadmill on the ocean. I found I had to hang on even though the the waters were quite calm, lest I take out the exerciser next to me.
I am finalizing the students’ work schedules and have decided that we don’t need double coverage for every hour we’re open. Most of what we are doing is checking reserve and travel books in and out, some proxy and other connectivity trouble-shooting. We’re starting to hand out proxy passwords, too, so students are using the UVA databases and electronic journals.
We passed over the Equator at about 14:15 today. Surprisingly, it just looks like more water. I guess I was expecting a big red stripe, or perhaps a speed bump. At some future date we’ll have Neptune Day, in celebration of this geographic milestone! We’ve covered over 2000 nautical miles since leaving San Juan, something like 900 to go.
Posted by Melinda Baumann 
