Dr. Spock I'm Not

I am recovering slowly from the "Basta Pasta Party." I think, perhaps, that the waiter's uncanny ability to refill my wine glass with a strong Italian white while I wasn't looking may have contributed to my downfall. I don't like more than two glasses with a meal, but I was so wrapped up in an intriguing conversation on anti-Americanism (I'll get back to that topic) that I may have inadvertantly hit 3+. Ouch. Ok, it wouldn't have been painful, but I needed to get up extra early this morning to tour a visiting Research Vessel as part of my Dr-Spock-Science-Officer duties. I was expecting a glamorous and intricate tour of the complexities of scientific research conducted on the unpredictable Southern Pacific Ocean, but the charming man doing the tour said that this was his first time on this particular ship, and he was unfamiliar with how catamaran-style boats fared in nasty seas. Of course, at that hour, I was feeling a bit green even thinking of rough seas, so I pleaded pressing deadlines and "toodled" back to work.