September 27, 2009

September 27, 2009

My last post was when I had six days left on my last ship. Now I have six days until I board my next ship.

The time between has been spent trying to relax for the most part. Right now I'm in New York City, sitting in the upper east-side apartment belonging to a friend from the ship. This vacation has actually been full of encounters with people I met on the ship. I went to San Francisco with a trombone player, stayed for five days in Brooklyn with a guitarist, and have hung out with a musical director, drummer, and my old roommate in New York - all from the ship. I'm glad I'm getting to cash in on having friends in cool places so soon. I expect to do so again after this next ship, only in Europe that time.

Until I'm back on board and have things to say, I leave you with some travel wisdom I've picked up:
1. Always pack vitamin c and medicine. Every new place I visit seems to have a new cold virus for my immune system to check out. Rather than hope you're lucky and finding it at a corner drug store somewhere (like I did today), just carry it with you.
2. If it gets cold at night where you are, bring a sweater when you leave in the morning. You'll thank me when you stay out later than you meant to and have a sweater handy.
3. Carry mints! They're much more accessible and compact than a toothbrush, and you never know when you'll go back to your hotel room/hostel/what-have-you
4. Keep a list of phone numbers you'll need, for when your cell phone dies.
5. Always have at least $50 in cash on you in mostly $10s. You never know when they won't take visa.

August 18, 2009

I've gotten pretty horrible at this blog thing. I've been writing, just not really posting anything. I couldn't tell you why.

I've been here over six and a half months now. I wasn't expecting to be here this long and, quite frankly, I wish I'd left three weeks ago. But now I have six more days and this will mark day four of training my replacement.

On ships, training the person taking over for you is called "handover". I don't know why, or if that's a term used off ships, but I'm going to call it handover here since... well, that's what it's called. I've been given nine days to teach this new guy everything he needs to know about the job and the ship to not completely sink when I'm gone. Since this was my first contract I haven't given one before, but I was GIVEN one and this one is nothing like what I remember.

Everyone's first week on a ship is rough. There's a lot of extra trainings that everyone has to go through and that probably don't make any sense to over half those people, there's the ship to get used to in every sense of the word, there's a new job you're being trained for, new people, new food, new lifestyle. It's all just so new and you're getting so little sleep that it's impossible to really relax that first week.

But other than getting lost a lot at first, I don't remember it being that difficult for me as a whole. If anything it was just the lifestyle and being tired that was rough, but I've never had much issue doing the job itself. For my handover, my trainer would explain things once, have me do them the second time, and after that could just supervise as I did my thing. I didn't need to ask a lot of questions, and I actually got a little annoyed with my trainer for going into such mundane and obvious details as "push the power button to turn this on".

For this NEW guy, it's kind of the opposite. I've actually NEEDED to tell him that he needs to push the power button to turn something on. I've needed to tell him half a dozen times and I'm still not confident that, when it comes down to it, he'll remember to push that power button. He also has this habit of getting some idea in his head that he needs to know how to do something RIGHT THEN and won't drop the topic, even after I've told him multiple times that whatever it is isn't something he needs to know right now and I'll show him later when we're actually doing it. Yesterday he got to work at 3:30 after a training he was at, and spent fourty-five minutes asking such questions that I kept telling him he didn't need to know yet and, don't worry, I'd be showing him tomorrow, and it got to a point where he wasn't doing the job at all in lieu of asking me questions. I ended up leaving him there by himself with instructions of what to do and how to run things (the kids were just playing video games, it was as easy a job as he's going to get) and went off to the office to get some work done there just so he could try and focus on the job for a minute.

So I am still in a constant state of stress, and I still really want to go home, but with only six days it'll be coming up here pretty fast. In the meantime there's a cute new photographer on board from London, England whom I'm hoping can cheer me up.

July 28, 2009

In two days, I will have left California six months ago. It's a little overwhelming for me to think about. I'll have spent more time living on a ship in the past year than I have on land. I'm left wondering how much I'll miss the constant travel, or if I'll be able to sleep without the sound of engines. Cars are going to be a new adventure for me when I get back.

I don't know when I'm going home yet, but I know it will be soon. I'll be surprised if I'm still here in two weeks. And although this job has had some very low points, and I've had some dark days of wanting to do anything just to leave the ship, I'm going to miss it. I'll miss meeting all of these amazing people, and I'll miss getting to relax outside at night and just watch the stars while listening to the waves sloshing against the side of the ship, and I'll even miss living in such cramped corridors with all of my friends just down the hall.

I have some excitement planned for when I get home though. I'm going to visit some friends in Canada, and see a variety of friends from the ship in New York City. I've found someone to live with back on land, though I'm unsure of where we'll live right now. I get to reenter the dating-on-land scene, which is drastically different than the dating-on-ships scene. I get to buy real groceries. It's all going to be amazing, I know it already.

Current events on the ship boil down to a few main things.
Thing the First: I have a new boss these days, and she so far strikes me as a pretty cool Canadian woman.
Thing the Second: K got a promotion and is stressed to his limits, but I try and help the man out.
Thing the Third: C is leaving in four, count them FOUR days. I am a mix of jealousy and sadness right now. Her replacement can't possibly be as cool.

And that's really all there is to it.

July 10, 2009

Today is an epic occasion that comes without precedent, because today... I have the day off.

...Saddly, it is not under happy circumstances. In fact, it's by doctor's orders, because I am just that sick.

Every other time I've been sick on this ship I just work through it. It probably isn't the wisest decision, since I ought to be resting, but there's no one else on this ship who can quite do my job. And my job isn't about me, it's about the kids, so I know that if I don't go to work it will negatively effect some poor kid's vacation. There's just too much guilt that comes along with that, so it's never been an option to me before.

Last night I was having similar thoughts. A few hours into the evening I was feeling pretty low, but I knew I wanted to go watch a movie with K later. It's like when I was little, and my parents told me that if I didn't go to school I couldn't do anything fun later and would just have to stay in bed all day. I told myself that if I gave into feeling sick last night, even to the extent of getting grumpy or not doing my job properly, I couldn't go out and watch a movie with K. So I took some non-aspirin, worked my way through it, actually finished LATER than I was scheduled for, and even felt pretty alright by then so that I could crash at K's cabin in good conscience. I figured we'd watch a movie and hang out for a bit, and I'd still be back in my own bed in time to get a full night's sleep. And then I'd feel all better. I thought I only felt sick because I'd only been getting 2-5 hours of sleep a night that whole cruise. Right?

Not so right.

I woke up this morning feeling worse. I still intended to go to work, but I thought about my track record with recovery and decided that I should go to the infirmary. At the very least they could give me some medicine to make me feel better faster. Plus, I thought all I had was an aching body. I was freezing cold, so I couldn't have a fever or anything. Only I walked into the infirmary, had a nurse shove a thermometer under my tongue, and was just as surprised as she was that I had a fever of 101.

I feel like I'm already rambling on quite a bit, but there is one other thing about this whole experience that I want to bring into light: my doctor didn't know how to type. I sat across his desk from him and watched him hunt and peck each key. Am I the only one who finds this worrying? How does anyone get through medical school without knowing how to type? I learned when I was eleven, and it wasn't that hard. Even if I didn't learn then I wouldn't have been able to make it through high school, let alone university, without knowing how. The fact that someone supposedly made it through medical school and can't even manage to type more than three words per minute is frightening.

So long story short, I'm sick and signed off. I get to lay in bed all day taking non-aspirin and vitamin C. ...and watch movies, and maybe get some writing done, and sleep a whole lot more. I have a feeling I'll be bored in about an hour. I also feel very guilty for not being at work since the girl covering for me has no idea what she's doing. I should've started work fifteen minutes ago and I've already gotten two calls with questions on how to do things in my club. Nnnngh.

And the real kicker is, I fell asleep about half an hour into the movie last night. When it was only half over we both gave up watching and went to bed.

July 1, 2009

It is July 1st, which means I should be home in roughly thirty days. I won't be, because head office still won't tell me when I get to go home, but I SHOULD be and that's something.

The latest news on board is that we're going back to Mexico, and actually have been going back for two weeks now. First Cozumel, my friends and I all went back to our old stomping grounds of a crew bar, drank a silly amount, and went swimming. Last Cozumel that same group of friends lugged 4200 paint balls off the ship and shot each other with all but maybe 400 of them. I have some pretty epic bruising on account of this, but no one else does. Tomorrow (next Cozumel), five of us are renting jeeps and driving around the island in an attempt to get a pal as far away from his ex-girlfriend as humanly possible. It should be good times.

Only other news is that this is the month where everyone leaves. The drummer (we'll call him Fun Ship Frank, or FSF) left two cruises ago now, this is Dan's last cruise, the musical director is leaving on I believe the 9th?, and someone else is leaving mid-July. Pretty soon it'll just be C, Fed, K and I from this cool group (Fed being the fellow who replaced FSF on drums). Of course the people leaving will be replaced with new people and we can hope that they're just as cool, but we'll have to see. C, Fed and I are all leaving about the same time though, so this is kind of the group it'll be until the end... and poor K gets to stay by himself, but he'll be just fine because everyone likes K.

And really it's nothing new, is it? People leaving, people coming, and adventures in Mexico. Life could be worse. But I still have an eye on home and the shenanigans I have planned for when I get to leave, which includes a trip to Canada and maybe New York City... after I've gotten a little settled (but not too settled). Mostly I just look forward to taking advantage of some freedom.

June 16, 2009

This is dedicated to anyone who's ever suggested that my job doesn't really count as "work", or that my life on this ship is all fun and games.

This was my day yesterday, beginning to end:

8:30 AM: I wake up after about six hours of sleep, which isn't bad but it's still 8:30 in the morning. Struggle out of bed, get ready for my day.
9:00 AM: I'm off the ship and ring Martin so that we can talk for a whole 15 minutes before he has to get ready for work.
9:20 AM: I find a bagel and coffee and just relax, actually, until...
11:00 AM: I'm back on board, getting ready for work.
11:30 AM: A-pass duty, where I help check guests in. It is the least favorite job I've ever done, anywhere.
1:45 PM: I'm done with a-pass, changing out of my uniform...
2:00 PM: off the ship making phone calls, etc.
3:00 PM: back on the ship getting ready for boat drill
3:15 PM: boat drill, where I help hand out wristbands to children etc.
4:00 PM: As soon as boat drill is over I go to a department meeting. C and I are both more of an affiliation with the department than actual members, so we spend most of the time bored out of our minds while the others try and hash out some conflict they're having with one another.
5:15 PM: Meeting FINALLY over, I go to my club to try and get a bit of prep work done.
6:00 PM: What I thought was going to be ten minutes of preparation took 45 minutes, so when I finish I go straight to dinner. A disappointing dinner. I had salad with old lettuce and some really nasty hummus.
6:40 PM: Back to gather my things and begin registration what is supposed to be a half-hour registration time.
7:45 PM: Registration is finally over. C and I trek out together, find a photographer pal of ours, and end up having some fun with an impromptu photo shoot since we have our snazzy new uniforms now.
7:55 PM: I crash in the mess with some pals with a cup of tea, intending to relax for the half-hour I have before work should begin again.
7:58 PM: I get a call from the cruise director wanting me to go with him to suck up to some guests. It's all kind of a long story, but it has to do with another cruise director, a certain blog, and these folks having a bad time on one of our other ships. Except, they came on another cruise anyway despite their horrible horrible time. Hmm.
8:00 PM: I run up to the office to check my email to try and figure out what the cruise director was actually talking about.
8:20 PM: I meet with the cruise director beforehand so that we can go visit these people at dinner, only to have both of us discover that the other cruise director was wrong, they don't have teens traveling with them, and it's pointless to have me around. I run off since I should've finished prepping to open my club back up already.
8:30 PM: I arrive just in time to open, and spend the next 3 1/2 hours registering another 60 kids, struggling to convince them that they should stop being awkward, convince them again that they should be even LESS awkward and dance, and successfully DJing a dance party.
12:00 AM: wander around the ship with and without teens, make sure all is well, etc.
1:00 AM: I've given up by now, clock out, and drag one of my musician friends to the crew bar where C buys everyone a round, we all critique a dry martini, and for the first time since about ten that morning I relax a little bit.
3:00 AM: I get back to my cabin exhausted, crash, and manage to sleep seven whole hours.

And that was the end of my day. I think the real kicker of the story is that despite pulling what turned out to be just over an eleven-hour work day, I still spent 40 minutes in the office earlier playing catch-up on things I should've had done yesterday. And I'm still not entirely prepped for this cruise... I like getting everything together by the day before the cruise starts, but I'm not ready for the last day of this cruise yet. It's just one simple thing and won't be an issue, but still.

I am greatly looking forward to going home and getting some time where I don't have to work.

June 12, 2009

The other day I was standing up on the very top deck of the ship, watching fog roll over Grand Cayman Island and wondering what I was going to miss about the ship when I left. I still have these moments of peace every now and then when I'm looking out a window or standing outside when I remember: I'm on a ship, and that's pretty cool. I can have had the worst group of kids after getting four hours of sleep, but nothing can change the fact that I'm on a cruise ship of all places. I don't really get that feeling on land very often.

Of course there's other things I'll miss as well, but honestly that's the main one. I'll miss people, but the people won't be on this ship after I leave anyway. I'll miss getting to go to another country every few days, but not enough to really matter. Maybe I'll miss parts of the lifestyle, but it's too soon to tell about that right now.

I'm probably very behind with this blog thing, since I don't really remember what I wrote about last. I've been sick for about three weeks, and am ALMOST at 100% again. I had to wake up at 8:00 AM this morning for a very pointless training. I got to eat in the guest dining room two nights ago. I got to hang out with J, the bloke mentioned towards the beginning of this thing quite often, twice in the last few weeks because our ships go to the same place on occasion, and K has returned to this ship. It's mostly same old, following a routine, and trying to make it these last six weeks before I burn out entirely.

May 17, 2009

I haven't been writing, because I don't know what to say. I probably don't know what to say because so much has been happening, I don't know where to start. It is yet again one of those things that is hard to explain to people who have been living their own lives far away. But I guess it all really boils down to one thing: change.

When I left, and perhaps even the REASON I left, I knew that this experience would change me. It's just what made sense, and what past experiences with traveling and/or getting into a new stage in my life has taught me. So this was a double whammy, since I am both traveling AND living far away from everyone I knew AND I'm a recent university graduate striking out on her own. It's inevitable, even. And I knew it.

What I DIDN'T know was where it'd change me, or how it'd specifically go about doing so. I had my guesses, sure, but who knew? And turns out my guesses were all wrong, anyway, since nearly four months in I think I'm getting a good idea of where I'm going as an individual. It's probably pretty obvious just from reading this blog, even, if that's what you're looking for, since of what I remember I've mostly been writing about the people I'm meeting.

Really, that's what it all boils down to, and I suppose that's how it's always been. It was the friends I made in university who shaped me through those years, and that hasn't changed. Every new friend I make here is making some impact on me, whether big or small, and I think meeting so many people and getting close to so many of them so fast is just expediting the process. Normally it'd take years for me to find those four or five close friends who'll teach me something significant about myself, but I can name at least three I've met on the ship; and that's three definite, wow these people changed my life ones. I'm not sure I could count how many slightly-lesser ones there've been.

As to HOW I've changed, or what specifically it was about these three people that changed me, that's a bit trickier to answer. Again, it's one of those things that's just hard to put into words. I can say it has to do with a new way of looking at life and priorities, and I can say that I feel it's a good change, but otherwise... well, it's something people will have to see for themselves when I get back.

And as for more general life-updates... well, like I said earlier, I wouldn't know where to begin. One of those three people I was just referring to left three days ago, but I've been alright. Another pal, if not one of those three, is leaving tomorrow morning. She's actually been here longer than I have, and once she leaves I'll be the person in our little group who's been here the longest. When did I start to become one of the oldies around here?

May 1, 2009

May already, and I've passed my half-way point. Passed my half-way point, and ran straight into a brick wall. Or at least that's what it feels like.

I was sitting at a table in the crew mess the other night with two of our musicians, unhappily pounding a $10 bill into the table, and the two just started laughing at me. One even said, "Wow, you've been here three months now haven't you?" I said yea, asked why, and he laughed more. "Because everyone gets that way at three-months. Don't worry, you'll develop stockholm syndrome soon." A small comfort.

I'm not sure I can talk about what's making me unhappy without breaking some rule (technically speaking, any higher-up could find this if they looked in the right places), but I will say: corporate corporate corporate. I think I need to work for myself. It's so unfortunate that such positions are in short supply. But through my anger I've come up with a plan, and I'd love to see anyone try and tell me I'll have to work on a ship over Christmas.

In your more typical news, PM is gone and life goes on. I've been feeling sick, again, but I'm still functional. I even made it to the gym for half a workout earlier, though the way I'm feeling now I kinda wish I didn't. At least I don't feel lazy.

My teens last cruise were spectacular. On the last night I closed the club at 12:45, went to say good-bye to one of the other girls in my department (in reality, I listened to said co-worker sing karaoke while explaining to my on-board boss why I was angry with corporate in as collected a manner as I could, and she actually took my side), and then went back to a few of my teens and hung out with them until 3:45. It was good times, and a joke from that night lead to me finding eight boxes of cereal outside my club the next morning. That's right, the kids left me a tip... in cereal.

I told my kids this week the story of my cereal-tip since I was that tickled by it, and today three of them brought me a box of rice-krispies. I laughed, then looked at the box and found a $20 slipped inside the top flap. It was amazing.

Last night we had some department bonding as well, in the form of grabbing some drinks between shifts and getting a table in the guest dining room together. Man do I love the guest dining room.

So all in all, things aren't going so bad. If it weren't for corporate I'd be happy as a hippo. If I still feel this way when I leave for good, I imagine I'll write them a letter that, in short, will say: YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.

April 28, 2009

I am half-way through my contract. These last three months have been full of fun and adventure and work, and once I got used to ship life I fell quite easily into the routine of things around here. I expected another three uneventful months to come.

And then swine flu happened.

Today is April 28th, a Tuesday, and we're supposed to have gone to Cozumel. Actually, it's only 7:25 as I type this so we should still be IN Cozumel. I should be relaxing out on Lido deck supervising swimming teenagers right now, recovering from a day in the sun and possibly a mojito. But at 11:00 last night I learned we wouldn't be going to Cozumel, because of swine flu.

On a short-term scale, this doesn't mean much. It means we miss a port of call, which is a bummer and means I have to work an 11-hour day as opposed to a 6-hour day, but it happens. The guests get upset but it's not the end of their world. Life goes on, next cruise is back on track. But this isn't a missed port for weather or hurricanes or what-have-you, this is a missed port for a pandemic in Mexico. It won't go away before our next cruise. And our next cruise? It only goes to Cozumel.

I don't know what this will mean on a long-term scale. I haven't really been told anything, but rumor has it the higher-ups are looking for an alternative port and my ship will switch routes. Shadier rumor has it we might be going to Nassau. I don't know, but I'll try to keep things updated.

The worst part of this story isn't that I have to work two sea days in a row though. Oh no. The worst part of this story is the guests. At 11:15 this morning I called C, wondering if she knew where my nametag was, and it turned out she'd grabbed one of mine instead of hers. When I went up to switch with her, a riot was going on at the pursur's desk where the captain was answering questions. They moved things into our main lounge, and I snuck off to watch the going-ons with a photographer. And, man, what a show.

The captain, staff captain (your second-in-command), hotel director, cruise director, chief pursur... pretty much all the head-haunchos were there doing a Q&A session with the guests, letting anyone ask a question on the microphone and doing their best to answer so that everyone understands what's going on. Sounds simple, right? It would've been, if these guests were at all reasonable. Instead they were just idiots, accusing Carnival of doing this just so that we could make more money, asking over and over again why we can't just go to a different port (because we don't have time; everywhere else is too far away at this point), why can't we just go back to Tampa early (because that would be lame?), and so on, so forth. There was one woman in particular instigating them all, yelling that everyone should boycott the casino and bars, and just being a pain in everyone's asses.

Now, don't get me wrong. I can understand why guests would be upset we missed a port. I can even understand some of their points. But there is a wrong way and a right way to do criticism, and they had it all wrong. Besides, do they not understand that this is still THEIR vacation? Make your complaints, sure. PLEASE, in fact. But once you've done that, go on and do your best to enjoy yourself. Have fun. Relax. Maybe take a second to realize that not getting to go snorkeling in Mexico beats out dying of swine flu.

As far as other things go... well, we had another crew party last night. Poor timing, but it was a lot of fun despite it all. They opened the water slides for us, and people went down them right through 3:00 AM. There was also food, dancing, drinking... your typical party. A good way to prepare for 48-hours of sea day.

April 19-21

I didn't realize it'd been so long since I updated this thing. Plenty has happened, I suppose, but nothing particularly noteworthy.

Life continues as per usual. Easter night I went to the crew bar to try and unwind and cheer up, and ended up back at my club destroying the piano man at guitar hero. Piano Man (hereby refered to as 'PM'), by the way, is my new best friend on this ship. He's leaving in about two weeks now, but the last week has been lots of fun with him. This is the first day in awhile where I haven't seen him ...

...Okay scratch that, he called me while I was mid-sentence there and we hung out until we each had to go to work. It's now the next morning. All I was getting with that was: I made a new friend, he's pretty cool, and we got close pretty fast. And he'll leave me soon, but it'll be alright.

My teens this cruise were alright. Half of them were the sweetest little angels who renewed my hope that seventeen-year-olds can be anything besides messy sluts, and the other half were... well, messy sluts. And they were stressing me out something awful last night, but somehow they all calmed down by the time I put dance music on? It's usually the opposite, but until that point I was trying to keep a group of boys from tearing the room apart, literally, as a group of seventeen-year-old girls mooned over one of my coworker pals and how couldn't I call him and have him come hang out with them more? No, kids, no.

This company continues to prove to me how small it is as well. I mean, it's not small, but PM worked on the ship I was guest to last summer as well (albeit he got on the ship the day I left it, darn) and while at the crew bar in Cozumel the other day I turned around to find a bloke who played drums in the jazz trio on that ship, while I was there and hanging out in the jazz bar a lot. He didn't remember me, but he was still excited about it. He works on another ship now, and we port together every two weeks so I'm sure I'll see quite a bit of him before I head back to Cali.

I don't feel like I did the best job with this last group, but I feel pretty refreshed right NOW about getting a new group on board. Also, got another email from the boss saying I'm doing a good job, and she gave me a bonus of sorts in the form of gift certificates to a bar in Cozumel. I love my boss. Even if she did give me slide duty this Cozumel. I'm going to make PM keep me company by going down it as I have to sit there bored.

And that's about it. I'm about to go get some lunch with a group of guests I met this cruise. I have less and less teens each week the rest of this month. I'm still keeping an eye out for an email saying I can go home someday.

...except that I didn't get to go online and post that yet, since now it's 1:15 AM and I just finished work. Today in Tampa rather than do my usual phone-and-internet thing, two guests took PM and I to a little cafe on the other side of the channel, and then drove us around town a bit to show us Ybor. It was pretty awesome to get to hang around some people who weren't crew, and they were both really nice to talk to as well!

My new group is pretty great as well. I've met about thirty of them so far, know twenty of them decently well, and think the vibe is pretty great. I felt really refreshed going into tonight as well, and I think I'll do well this cruise. AND! AND! I HAVE HALF A UNIFORM NOW! I have my shirt, and I am stoked.

And that's all, for real.

April 12, 2009

Happy Easter, though I can't say it feels much like Easter on the ship. I just made myself an egg salad sandwich in the mess, though my Scottish pal insisted it was just an "egg mayonaise" sandwich with "gerkins" thrown in. I accused him of not speaking English.

This is my last busy cruise for awhile, and the trouble has decided to all come out in force for the occasion. Last night was full of angry parents and disappointed eighteen-year-olds.

In particular, there was a pair of girls who came in. They told me they were both seventeen, but when I looked at my list (because I'm not stupid; I have a list) it turned out one was eighteen. I apologized but explained that the eighteen-year-old wasn't allowed, and the seventeen-year-old pitched herself a little hissy fit which ended with her tearing the sticker I put on the cards of kids in the RIGHT age group from her card. Because... well no, I still don't know what the point of tearing the sticker off was. All the sticker does is let you into my club, and it doesn't hurt to keep it there. But no. The Queen of Dramaland made a big show of tearing it off. I've seen twelve-year-olds behave with more grace.

I also don't understand this mentality that if someone can't get into my club, it will ruin their vacation. There are a lot of things to do on this ship. I don't even think my club is the most interesting of the bunch. If I had a night off, I'd be doing sing-alongs in the piano bar, not hanging around a bunch of fifteen-year-olds dry humping one another in a pretend dance club. Even if I WAS fifteen!

There's not much else going on. I think I get holiday pay today, which means a bit of extra cash... and today is payday anyhow. I am well-stocked up in granola bars, but my adventure to the mall in Tampa proved futile yesterday. There's a lot of new people on board but I got off work so late last night I didn't bother going up to the bar. I've also hit my ten-week mark, which means roughly fourteen weeks left to go, which also means I've worked on thirty cruises - this makes thirty-one. I'm still waiting on hearing about an official sign-off date AND whether or not I can get some work leave in June, but hopefully I'll hear soon.

April 5, 2009

Not only is it April already, but it is April FIFTH. That half-way mark of my contract is coming closer at lightning speed these days, and people tell me it'll be that way for a bit. In reality, I think it's just because of how things have been going.

On the last cruise my parents were visiting. It was really nice to see them, but in reality I didn't get to see them much. It was odd to be around family while they're on vacation while I have to work every day. I wanted to go watch shows and point my friends out with them, but I only really saw them in port and at dinner.

Still, I had fun. The dinners were AMAZING after two months of eating staff food. I came to the conclusion that the bread and desserts we're served are all leftovers from what the guests got a few days ago, so I spent that week eating a LOT of bread and desserts. I'm making up for it this week by... going to the gym. And in Cozumel, the three of us went to the Mayan ruins at Tulum. It was hot, but a nice ocean breeze swept through and I got a lot of pictures of iguanas. They'll show up on facebook when I have a faster internet connection.

The one downside of my parents being here is that I didn't have ANY downtime. My days went: wake up, scarf down food, go to work, rush back to my cabin to change, go to dinner, shower, go to work, sleep... and do it all over again the next day. It was only broken up by a crew talent show, which meant one of those nights I actually hung out with friends until nearly 5:00 AM. And... well okay, actually two downsides. My parents also picked the cruise where I had the worst kids ever, although they can't have known that in advance. Not that all of my kids were terrible, but the few that were were REALLY terrible. One threatened to kill me, a lot were drunk, a good dozen weren't the right ages and kept trying to sneak in, and at one point there were 120 bodies in my tiny club and just me looking out for them. It was bad. But, you live and learn, and I definitely learned. I just got my ratings back from the cruise and I actually did pretty well in that aspect. I live to work another cruise.

This cruise is the exact opposite. I have a high kid count, but there's some sort of high school band onboard that makes up over half of them and those kids are all hanging out by themselves NOT in my club. The kids I do have are awesome, respectful, all kinds of fun, and they adore me. A lot of them have already asked if we can keep in touch so that the next time they cruise, they can come to wherever I'm working. We even have inside jokes! It's an amazing feeling when I've clicked with my group this well, and it was MUCH needed after the last cruise.

The other fun about this cruise was just today in general. Yesterday I learned that a friend of mine didn't know how to swim, and since we were in Cozumel today I told him I'd teach him. It turns out he actually CAN swim. When he's in shallow water he relaxes and does fine. But as soon as I took him out into deeper water he'd panic, and that obviously didn't work. So, swim lessons today were really just trying to get him to relax, and once he started getting that down things went fine. On top of that, I get a special fuzzy feeling when I've just watched someone learn something, so I've been living on that high all day.

After swim lessons we ran into S and the three of us sat for hours just chatting and sipping mojitos. Mojitos in Mexico. This is what makes this job worth being so far away from home. So we relaxed, took one last dip in the pool, and I flounced off to work while the rest of them got Chinese food. Since I hadn't eaten yet that day (other than the mojito) my trainee swimmer picked me up some tofu thing and brought it to me at work too! So the rest of the night was spent hanging out with teens, munching tofu, watching a movie, and then working the deck party. My teens had a blast all night, so so did I.

And now? Now I'm lathering myself in lotion to help that sunburn I accumulated go away, about to crash in bed with a great book. I might still miss home, but no one can deny: this is an awesome way to make a living.

March 22, 2009

And so it continues...

My new best buddy is leaving tomorrow. Surprise, surprise. ...Actually, it was a big surprise even to him. We had our late night of devouring pizza, the next day I was hanging out in his cabin while he was at work, and when he got back he told me he'd just found out they were moving him to a different ship on Monday. He was really angry about this, naturally, since they should have just moved him there to begin with and not sent him to the other side of the country, but he'll be alright. Still... we were supposed to be great pals. I moped to Casino S about it at lunch earlier though, and he said he and I could be pals so long as I 'drank hard'. Oh the Scottish.

My teens this cruise are all kinds of trouble, but I only have about three more hours with them. Maybe less. I'm edging pretty close to my cap on how many hours I can work today before they owe me overtime (aka, how many hours they allow me to work because they are definitely not paying me more) so the kids will have a hard time convincing me to stay open later. Plus, I need to go say good-bye to the new best bud, not to mention one of the techs is leaving too. But Ang (another tech) told me about the new light tech coming soon, and I've already decided that will be my NEW new best friend. He'll be here in two weeks.

My only other big news is that I emailed my corporate boss yesterday asking for an official sign-off date. Fingers crossed.

March 20, 2009

The worst part of working with kids is the parents.

Last night, I had a woman come in with two daughters. One had just turned sixteen, and one had turned thirteen a few months ago. I know this, because I have a list of names and everyone's birthdays, and when a new teen shows up at my club I look them up and make sure they're at the right age to be in my club (15-17, with a little wiggle-room for almost-15). So I talk to the two girls and their mom and let them know that the sixteen-year-old can stay, but the thirteen-year-old was a bit too young and had she gone to check out the club for 12-14-year-olds? The girls were silent as mom jumped in to say that yea, she'd been to the younger club, she didn't like it. It was pretty early in the evening at this point and neither club had been open for very long, so this girl can't have been in there for more than half an hour if that. Sooo I go on explaining that I'm really sorry, she's just too young, but she should definitely give the other club another chance because they do a lot of the same activities and blah, blah, I talk up the younger club like it's nobody's business.

Buuuut of course this wasn't good enough. The woman starts to get angry, asking me what's so different about my club that her thirteen-year-old can't be here (the ages, pretty much: she's thirteen and that's too young to be hanging around seventeen-year-olds). She starts to tell me about how her eleven-year-old is in the younger club and gosh they're just allowed to come and go as they please there and what's up with that and yet her thirteen-year-old can't be here? (I am still not sure how these two pieces of information relate but I still tell her no, her thirteen-year-old can't be here, and actually her eleven-year-old should be with the 9-11 group and they CAN'T come and go as they please but boy that didn't work).

AND THEN.

She tells me that she paid for this cruise, and she should be able to put her kids wherever she wants to.

Holy. Entitlement complex. Batman. I will never understand what makes these people think that because they forked over $200 they can do whatever they want, rules be damned. Of course I am very happy for her service, because if people weren't coming on cruises I wouldn't have a job, but come ON people! Not to sound like a fuddy duddy or what-have-you, but the rules are there for a reason! And why she wants her thirteen-year-old daughter hanging out with seventeen-year-olds is yet another mystery! She even met the seventeen-year-old boys in my club, they're a bunch of sluts. They told me straightaway they were only in my club to find girls. I don't blame the blokes, they're on vacation and they're seventeen, I'm just saying that if I were a parent I wouldn't even want my SEVENteen-year-old daughter around them.

But it gets better, because after I continue to explain (nicely, of course) that it's company policy and it isn't up to me at this point, she demands to speak to the captain. THE CAPTAIN. As if the captain cares AT ALL. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he wants everyone to have a good time, but he's the CAPTAIN. He doesn't really deal with my program anyway. I mean, sure, if he told me to jump I'd have to do it, but I'd be surprised if he knew anything about my club's policies. He has more important things to deal with. So, I can't call the captain, but I do offer to call my boss for her and she decided that was alright. Basically my boss told her the same thing I did over the phone, that wasn't good enough so she told her the same thing in person, and that still wasn't good enough... so they go outside, I'm left without a word in, and when my boss comes back she tells me I have to let the girl in my club (with a few restrictions and extra rules, but that is beside my point here).

Sooo we learn this week that a bitching guest gets people to jump for her. Awesome. I am going to talk to my boss later to try and explain why I'm not happy about this. In professional terms of course... I'll focus more on the safety of this thirteen-year-old in my club or something. I don't know. I'll think about it, I have some hours.

On a happier note my Californian's friend's replacement is pretty awesome. He's my age, English, and will talk sports with me. We were up late devouring a pizza together last night and decided we were going to be best buddies for the whole five weeks he's here, though that may have been Jack Daniels talking. My plan to surround myself with men who have girlfriends (and won't cheat on them) is going swimmingly, though really I still think I need some solid female friends that I don't already live with (C is still great, we'd just go crazy spending every spare minute together).

As an addendum: I just got some mail delivered and it includes TWO CDs a friend from home sent. They will be epic, I already know, and my day has been officially made. Got a card from mom too which was cute, and not to sound ungrateful but how am I supposed to have a beer on you if you don't send me beer money mom?

March 17, 2009

These past four nights have been really, really weird, but last night might take the cake.

I haven't gotten much sleep lately which is especially bad since I'm sick, but last night I decided that didn't matter and I headed up to the crew bar anyway. There wasn't really anyone I wanted to hang out with, but I ended up chatting for a minute with the male production singer and his girlfriend. They... well I don't remember what happened, but something happened where I had stepped back and was looking for someone else to talk to. There was a guy standing next to me, so I introduced myself to him, figuring I'd make a new friend. He told me his name, I recognized his Scottish accent, I eyed his nametag to learn he was a casino guy... and I asked if he was a worker on the ship I was a guest on last summer. Turns out that yes, yes he was, and not only that but he REMEMBERS me. He didn't remember the amount of money my brother and friends had lost to him in blackjack for that whole half hour I met him, but he remembered making a list of bars I should go to in Glasgow with Laura.

Clearly this random happenstance meant he had to buy me a beer, and a beer meant I spent the evening chatting with the man. He's a nice guy who seems genuinely interested in just being a friend, and I need something like that right now. Even if it's just a HOPE that a guy will just want to be my friend.

And right now I'm relaxing at my favorite crew bar in Cozumel with three of the musicians. K is gone, so his replacement is sitting here instead. It's different, but it's nice. I just got to talk to Reks too! He's in Latvia right now taking care of his sick little sister and is headed to Spain in a few days, so that'll be exciting for him. Getting in touch with Mr. Casino again (I will call him S) is making me feel a lot better about saying good-bye to people.

March 16, 2009

I keep opening up my file-of-blog-entries to write something, but they either never get written or turn into an email to someone specific instead. Sorry mom and dad.

There's actually been a lot going on, I just don't want to tell the whole world about it. The guitarist (K) left last Tampa day, and I was really upset about that one. Moreso than I was about Reks, actually. The band has almost completely changed since I got here and it's changing even more soon. K, Manchester, and the trombone player (another Californian) have been my main social entertainment, and they'll all be gone by the 28th. I befriended another Brit last night and he's leaving this Tampa day with Henry, but there was still a few fun hours, including him using my hand as a map of the UK and trying to explain where Newcastle was. Maybe you had to be there...

I've been a bit mopey about K leaving, but I'll get over it. We have a new karaoke host around, and the new guitarist seems to be an alright dude. Another Canadian.

Last Tampa day I was busy running around the whole time. I got off the ship after a late night of saying good-bye to K, had to be back on at 11:30, and was back off at 2:00 to say good-bye to K again, make more phone calls, and lend Manchester my laptop. Then back to work, and to the crew deck to make more phone calls... in reality this all adds up to a call home and something like three hours of talking to Martin, but such is life.

And now? House is on, and I don't have to be at work another fifteen minutes. I've had a relaxing day so far and am going to go host karaoke for my kids and DJ all night. Maybe I'll head to the bar, but I'm hoping to run into my fellow Californian and end up watching movies instead. We saw Idiocracy the other day, it was good stuff.

March 11, 2009

Nothing particularly new has happened, I just want to update on the status of my illness. I've learned that people call it the 'ship cold', and apparently everyone gets it when they start on a new ship - usually a lot sooner than I have. Now that I think of it, Reks and some of the other social hosts got it my second week here. I'm surprised I didn't just get it then with them. I'm feeling ever-better too, although my voice has taken on a particularly husky attribute. A gay man told me he wanted me yesterday (jokingly, of course, he is gay after all) because of it, so I guess that's alright.

I managed to have my first relaxing night in a long while yesterday. I went up to the bar but didn't drink, and instead hung around with the bassist onboard. He's an older Englishman from Manchester, and we managed to have a good chat about life in general. He's decided he needs to move to San Francisco and be friends with my father, making the assumption that anyone who raised me must be pretty cool. I think he and dad would get on pretty great.

Today we're in the Cayman Islands, but I slept in instead of getting off the ship. That may sound really lame, but it was much needed and this has been my favorite morning in weeks. I'm going to get offline in a minute and chill out with The Decemberists, and maybe find a movie and someone to watch it with.

March 10, 2009

I've gotten some complaints about not writing enough in here anymore. I feel a little bad, since this is kind of what I do in place of emailing anyone, but I've been at a loss with how to put my current feelings to words. I know what I feel, I just don't know how to say what I feel. It's quite the pickle, isn't it?

But I can say what's been going on. I had my worst cruise ever last cruise, because a combination of personal drama, my worst group to date, and a continued lack of sleep. Yesterday I was in Tampa though, and I promised Martin I'd have a good week, so I'm doing my best to make good on it. It's a bit of a struggle right now since I have a cold or the flu, not sure which, but I'm attacking full-force with a combined effort of Robitussin (recommended by Martins everywhere) and Advil (for the fever). The infirmary still scares me, so I'm thinking it's a last resort. I have a good friend leaving next Tampa day, but I have a good group of kids so far this cruise. I have some things to work out, but I have a group of friends here who are trying to offer encouragement where they can. It's unfortunate that this group of friends are all leaving, but... well. There will be new people. I'm getting used to it.

I was told when I started that I'd know whether or not I could do this at the six-week mark. I'm almost there - I'll be there next Saturday - but I'm still not positive. Well, that's not true. I know I CAN do this. I do not know if I can do this without becoming someone I don't want to be. And I don't know if I can do this and not come out of it feeling bitter towards the whole experience. But there are other times where I'm thinking about My Next Ship, that comes with a desire to see other bits of the world, meet more people, and gain different experiences with a different ship.

Maybe I'll know more Saturday.

March 3, 2009

Here's one of those moments I'm sitting in a bar in Mexico with some galpals, and all is well. With the exception of last night I've been spending my evenings hanging out with a variety of interesting Englishmen.

Yesterday was a slow if long day at work, and when I headed off on my dinner break around 5:45 I went down the stairs, turned the corner, and found an unconscious coworker sprawled out at the bottom of the staircase. I feel like that is an inappropriate introduction to this story, but I can't really put to words the exact feeling I had upon seeing it. Though, I should say, there were also two men who barely spoke English standing over her and doing a lot of nothing.
But hey, I have first aid training! I ran down the rest of the stairs, checked that she was breathing, got someone calling 9-1-1, poked at her shoulder, tried waking her up, and made absolutely sure I did not move her back or head. No response, so I just sat with her until the nurse got there. But when the nurse DID get there I didn't know she was the nurse at first, and the first thing the woman did - even before saying anything - was to take the girl's head in one hand and start SHAKING it. SHAKING. HER. HEAD. I flipped out and told the nurse that, whoa, don't move her head don't move her head, at which point she snapped at me that, excuse her, she is the nurse, do not tell her how to do her job, and I apologized and backed off but holy smokes she SHOOK HER HEAD.

So. Yep. There are other aspects of the story that just complicate it even more, but I'm not sure I'd want to get into it here. But that's what I did right before dinner. I am more than a little frightened of the medical staff now.

None of that matters as much right now, though. I am content, despite the production singer just spilling his beer on me. The girl will be alright, I am full of guac, and I'm going to go find my friends and lay in the sun.

February 27, 2009

I haven't actually done this pre-write journal entry thing in quite awhile. I guess I really am low on things to say.

Today has been kind of a grumpy one for me. I had slide duty and left wondering what I'd actually signed up for here. I did not get my bachelor's degree to argue with children over following the water slide rules, only to have their parents come and tell me their kids should get to do what they want because they're paying to be here, and oh my gosh I really don't like Southerners. It's no wonder foreigners dislike Americans so much, THIS is the crap they see.

This cruise has been a party cruise for me, though not on purpose. I don't remember what I did the first night (not because I'd been drinking or anything, it just feels like so long ago I can't recall), but the next night was formal night. After work a group of girls, myself included, decided to do a Sex and the City thing, cracking jokes about the ship being our boyfriend the whole time. I got more male attention just walking to the guest disco than I have all year. The night was kind of a bust in the girls'-night-out sense since one girl ended up having more guy-drama, C was grumpy and went home early, and most of the rest of us were hanging out with some male or another by the end of the night (I stuck by the production singer, his girlfriend, and the guitarist... simply because they're nice people; I'm doing my best to stay away from drama). The night after there was a crew toga party, where the lounge band played and the production singer sang and most of the showband stepped in for a few songs as well. People danced and drank and we got delicious food for once. Last night was far more low-key, but I was still up until 3:30 (the earliest I've gone to bed this cruise, to be sure) hanging out with musicians.

So in a social sense of the word, this cruise has been a success. In any other sense, not so much.

Work, I don't know, I made a lot of mistakes this week. Nothing I got called on, really, but I am my own worst critic and I KNOW I screwed up. The good thing about my cruises being so short is that tomorrow I start with a clean slate, sort of. I made some mistakes, but I'll learn from them. And my mistakes were generally of the office variety, not with my teens - they're pretty alright this time around. Certainly not my favorite group and they all think every activity I suggest is just so lame, but if I can talk them into trying something out they have fun. So it's a challenge, but things with them are going fine.

Social things as a whole are all drama this cruise. Poor C is getting stalked by one of our coworkers, though she tried to quiet bluntly straighten him out last night and we'll see how that goes. Other relationships are on ice or failing and gossip is ripe. One of my good friends' boyfriends is in the hospital for the next month because health care on this ship is actually really, really awful, and if I ever get that sick I'll quit before I let them convince me to try and stay onboard. But hey, I'm fine.

Tomorrow marks the official one-month mark for me. Tomorrow I'll be working almost non-stop, but I will celebrate when I get through eating pizza with a brand new, ever-awkward group of teens. And I'll be tired, because tonight a zillion people (okay, maybe a dozen) are signing off and there will be more social shenanigans. Only two of them are friends of mine though, and one of those two is coming back in about a month, so it could be worse.

As an addendum: I just had dinner with the cruise director, and something about that just makes me feel important. Now I'm going to go to a show for the first time, to see my friends perform before they all leave.

February 23, 2009

There was a point last Saturday where I was laying on a bench, staring lazily out over what I think was the Atlantic ocean, letting the sun dry me off from the swim I'd gone on a few minutes ago, when everything felt right. I could forget being unsure and my insecurities about this job and just relax, even if it was just for an hour or so. And it was spectacular.

Everything else fades in and out of this routine I've fallen into. I didn't click so well with my group this last cruise, but they didn't mesh very well with one another either. By the time I kicked them out of the club at 12:30 last night, they still told me they had a good time. My club is 'pretty cool', they tell me. I'm not sure how I feel about getting my validation from a group of teenagers, but I guess I'll take it.

Saying good-bye to Reks last night/this morning wasn't quite as upsetting as I thought it'd be. Surprisingly, he was sad too. We could just silently be sad together, and even though he protested as I hug-attacked him, I think he'll miss me too. At least two more friends (not to mention, my boss) are leaving in five days, and there's a few each Tampa day for the weeks coming up as well. The musical director promises me that this isn't a normal thing, and all my friends won't always leave, but I have a hard time believing him for now. At the very least, some people will stick around. I hung out with the guy production singer last night, and I asked when he was leaving. He said May. I said, good, then we can be friends after all. And then we got pizza.

February 19, 2009

Tampa day, Tampa day. I am sitting in a coffee ship next to an empty chai latte and listening to that 'Hey There Delilah' song. It's one of those songs that brings back some fun nostalgia, and cheesy as it is feels somewhat applicable. I don't know. I'm a sap at heart.

I have work in an hour and a half, but for now I'm just trying to relax. C is on the phone explaining to a parent or something how little we get paid (it's true - we found out how much musicians make the other day and nearly cried). The hot Russian man is nearby, though he's married and has the most adorable son on the planet I'm sure.

Last night I found out it was my English musician galpal's last night. Turns out SHE had only found out the day before. They're transferring her to another ship. People leaving really is becoming a norm for me, and I'm not sure I like that. I didn't get to say good-bye to J either, since he went to bed before I even got off work. But J I might see again, and the English girl... well, I told her I expected a couch the next time I'm in England. The people who replace those two had better be awesome.

Today I get to call my parents, call Martin (later than my parents, I thought I'd let him sleep in), get a new group of kids... and do it all over again. But this next one is a four-day, which means instead of getting hit on by guests I'll get hit on by really drunk guests.

Funny quote of last night:
"Can I have your number?"
"Why?"
"Because you're HOT!"
-Spoken between a teenage boy and myself. I am remembering why I always liked the older ones, even when I was a teenager myself...

February 18, 2009

I haven't been writing so much in here, and there really isn't much reason for it. I've been busy, but when am I not busy? Especially these days. It's nigh impossible to have a functioning social life here, but at the same time everyone understands that. On a typical sea day I wake up around 10:30, grab lunch at 11:00 and head into the office as soon as I'm done eating to check my work email. I get to my club at 11:45 to set up for that afternoon's activities, and from noon to roughly around six I'm in there with the kids. Then I eat dinner, which usually takes around an hour since mealtimes are also hang-out times so long as people aren't rushing off to work (they usually are), and have the next hour or two to shower, do any leisure activities (like write in this, or do my laundry), before going back to work. I'm at work until 1:00 am, then go to the crew bar and hang out with whichever of my friends are still there until I crash. Then I do it all over again the next day.

As you can see, there's really only so much time to write, and there's only so much to say. I work, and I try and have fun with my friends here. Only the guests change, and my friends change to a lesser degree.

This cruise, I absolutely adore my group of kids. They're friendly, they're reasonably down-to-earth, and they're appreciative of what I do. Really, I can't ask for anything better. But then at the same time, I'm not really sad they're leaving. I had five days with them, and I'll do this thirty-two more times until I get a vacation.

This is J's last night on the ship, as well as the cruise director's. There's a party tonight that I'll show up for for a bit. Turns out that the ship J is moving to also goes to Cozumel, though it's a 7-day one. Nonetheless we're there at the same time once every two weeks or so, so he is now my facebook friend and we've made vague plans to meet up in the future.

Talking to my coworkers here, I realize I'm not alone in going through cycles of loving and hating it here. There are still times when I can't believe I'm getting paid for this, and there are other times where I just miss everything from home. It's also ridiculously hard to explain what living here is like, because it's nothing like living on land. People want to know what it's like, but I can't think of anything to compare it to. It's like living on a ship. That's what it's like.

February 14, 2009

I just put up a post I wrote yesterday, and not much has happened yet today, but I try.

Last night was hilarious fun. C and I kicked the kids out at eleven and moseyed down to the crew bar. The musical director gifted me with a cone and I spent most of the night blushing and trying to explain my innocence to anyone who saw the cone and jumped to conclusions (which is pretty much everyone who passed by, cruise director included). It was bad enough where the corporate techie, musical director, and the guy production singer would start laughing if they even looked at me. But it was a good night.

This morning I woke up to Southern Gospel music blaring in my cabin. I can not tell you why, but I was not a happy camper and used a few choice words to explain my annoyance to C. Turns out it was about time for me to get up anyway, but, shoot. Why would they possibly turn that on in the crew cabins?!

Right now I'm relaxing in an internet cafe in Tampa. J is sitting nearby. C is outside on the phone. The corporate techie signed off today, as did one of the corporate trainers, but saying good-bye is beginning to feel natural. J leaves after the next cruise, and Reks leaves the one after that... those will be a lot more sad. I put some pictures up from Cozumel this week on my facebook, if anyone wants to see those, or put faces to a few of the people I talk about (or names, actually).

February 13, 2009

I didn't really have any funny stories last time, so here's a bunch to hold everyone over:

About a week ago, I met another of the musicians. This one is a young English girl from around London, and I met her in... kind of odd circumstances. I was sitting at dinner with an Aussie, a Kiwi, a different Brit, and a Canadian, and we were all making fun of each other's accents and our own. It was just one of those things where we tore into one another, and ourselves, but it was all in good fun. The Brit left, and as I was in the middle of mocking the Queen's English and all the different words for essentially the same sort of clothing, this English girl sat down. She spent the rest of dinner saying very little to me or anyone else, evaded my attempts at beginning a conversation, and pretended I didn't exist every other time I saw her for the next few days. I assumed, of course, that I'd accidentally insulted her, and it was sad.

More recently I've been seeing the girl around more. England came up in another conversation yesterday, and she was happy to beam and talk about how great the UK is. She also joked around about how 'they' created America, and the English language, etc. etc., and didn't I just wish I was from the UK? But, she added, my ancestors probably were, so it was alright for me.
I laughed and said yes, actually, I really loved England and would love to live there, though my ancestors were from Scotland... at which point she gave me a look (you can imagine the look) and reminded me that Scotland IS in the UK. And I had to laugh at myself and admit how stupid I just sounded.

Ever since then her and I have started to become friends. I got her pissed last night (though, really, it was the musical director's fault) and she opened up. I also ended up watching Little Britain with her and a corporate techie until 4:00 this morning, which she was quite giddy about, but even better than Little Britain is the fact that she felt it necessary to explain to me after every sketch that the English aren't REALLY like that. As if I actually believed, after watching a television show about Brits, that they're all chavs or something. Then again, maybe there's something to that.

As for other hilarity... at the staff mess, they always have pitchers of ice water in the middle of the tables and glasses out, so people can help themselves to water. There wasn't much water left in our pitcher tonight at dinner, but I tried to pour myself some anyway and ended up dumping ice all over the table. The people at the table next to me applauded, Reks chalked it up to my being American, everyone else was almost in tears laughing, and I just stared in shock at the ice now covering my lap and plate.

My last story has to do with the corporate techie. As many of you know, I made myself a special man friend of a techie while I was on a cruise myself last summer. Apparently a lot of people know him, which includes the coprorate techie on board for this cruise. He just heard I knew the man, instantly jumped to his own conclusions as to how well I knew him, and emailed him (and CC'd it to me) that he's been hanging out with this other techie's "cone", ha ha, eh? There's a few things in this to make it even more awkward, so I'll list them:
1. I haven't spoken to this techie since before I got off the ship. He walked me back to my room one night, said his good-byes, made plans to meet me in Amsterdam the next day, and I never saw him again. No-show for Amsterdam, couldn't find him the rest of the trip, never heard from him again. It's been at least five months since we've said a word together, and now that's being interrupted by this guy from corporate who wants to make fun of him.
2. Corporate all have personal email accounts, I have a company account that belongs to whoever holds my position at the time (so, for now, I'm the only one who reads my emails), this techie on the other ship... shares an email account with the three other techies. So three other people can read these emails.
3. The term 'cone' basically just refers to guests, in general. If you're a guest, you're a cone. 'Coning' refers to that forbidden sort of fraternization with guests, which encompasses everything from getting just a bit too close to a guest, to... getting a lot too close to a guest. This poor techie barely crossed any corporate policy lines - he really just toed them, I'd say - but that's not what anyone is going to assume.
4. This guy is just plain awkward to begin with, and presented with an awkward situation I think he might break. The poor thing.

That's it for now. I guess I'll keep it updated on the poor techie story. I really can't wait for this cruise to be over - I spent a good portion of the day dealing with security issues and kids breaking into my DJ booth, despite the fact that my club has been closed all cruise.

February 12, 2009

I go through stages here of wanting to leave asap and having the time of my life. Yesterday cycled through both, but it ended (and continues) on a high note.

The kids this week continue to be crazy. Also close-minded, also ignorant, also I want to shake some of them. Another downside to this job is I have to bite my tongue as twelve-year-old girls tell me that Pres. Obama is evil because he supports the gays and doing anything about it could potentially get me fired. But hey, tomorrow is my last day with them.

I've gotten closer to J (the aforementioned piano player) this cruise, and have come to the conclusion that he's the biggest sweetheart ever. It is impossible not to smile around the man, whether he's telling me about his fiance, talking about some musical theory something I have no idea about, or trying to pretend he's interested in sports. He's only here for another week, but I'm throwing caution to the wind this time around to be his friend.

Anyway, I made plans to hang out with C and J last night after work. Neither of them were working as late as me, but J wanted to practice piano anyway and C hadn't gotten to really hang out since she got here. But by the time I got off work they were both in the crew bar anyway, just drinking and hanging out. Turns out it was two of my friends' birthdays, so when I went up there to get them I was instead bombarded by offers of cake and people shoving drinks into my hands... and on top of it all, it was crew karaoke night. So we ended up staying up there anyway, hanging out and drinking more than we ought. I played darts with J, the trumpet player, and Reks... and Reks destroyed us all, but really I didn't do too badly! Especially considering the $2 drinks people kept buying me. And since I know my parents are reading this: I did avoid all balconies in my less-than-sober state, do not worry.

We called it a night around two this morning, and all I had to be up for today was slide duty at noon. 'Slide duty' today really meant 'stand outside for an hour', so it wasn't so bad. C got off slide duty an hour later than me, so I laid around and read until she got off work and now we're sitting around at the crew bar in Cozumel. I wasn't hungry, but I just scarfed down some falafel because I wanted something that wasn't ship food. Reks is inside skyping his girlfriend/family, C and I are sitting outside by the water, and the bar is blaring that song they play whenever the Sharks score. It's pretty sweet, I gotta say.

I think I work four hours tonight. Tomorrow will be a long day, but it will likely end in more shenanigans with my fellow crewmates. I don't know of anyone signing off, but there will probably be some. And then, back to Tampa. C and I have already drawn up a shopping list of things we want for our room, not to mention food.

I don't really have any funny stories that are also appropriate enough for parents and such to be reading. There's currently a lot of drunk men singing Bon Jovi in the pool. Badly, I should say.

February 11, 2009

This cruise is, unfortunately, more work than I originally foresaw. It's still less work than I'd USUALLY do, but it's more than I'd do if, say, C wasn't in training. I guess they're just having me cover more for her so that she can get a decent amount of sleep - or attempt to, at least. And that's fine by me, just ... less time off.

Today we're in the Caymans, and I once again am not getting off the ship. I could have, if I wanted to wake up at Ridiculously Early O'Clock, but I have slide duty and C is in training annnnd... it just wasn't happening. Next time. And I'll probably manage to get off for a bit tomorrow, but again with the slide duty (normally I have Cozumel days off until 8:00 or 9:00, but since this cruise is weird...)

Last night dragged on forever, too. After three hours of guitar hero III I had a headache, and that was of course when more kids came. At least then there were enough where I didn't have to play with them, I just gave them the guitars and sat. Of course, that's also when some of the guest-musicians (as opposed to the musicians who work here - again, this cruise is weird) came in, and I had a teenaged southern gospel guitarist trying to hit on me for the next hour. Apparently his band is a Big Deal with capital letters, but I couldn't have cared. If nothing else, by the end of this contract I will have come up with plenty of new and inventive ways to brush off such advances.

I ate dinner with some of the musicians last night, and they'd just finished up their one show of this cruise which consisted entirely of classic jazz music at the captain's "reception". Apparently one of the guests was overheard saying, "This isn't God's music - this is just noise to me," and they were pretty bummed. I am a Christian, and I try to be a good one, but THIS representation of Christians makes me so angry. Who are they to define what 'God's music' is? At dinner last night I made the joke 'What would Jesus listen to?' and we unanimously agreed that it probably wouldn't be these southern gospel concerts. On cruise ships that these people paid an exhorbitant amount of money to be on (they paid more than normal). One of the preachers is the father of one of my kids this cruise. She is fourteen, and her parents have already bought her a hummer. What would Jesus do? NOT THAT, I am pretty sure!

On a similar note, I was playing Apples to Apples with a group of kids yesterday. I had forgotten how abound that game is with potential dirty jokes, and I couldn't use a single one. That game is especially hard with such a young crowd, since they don't know who anyone is. About half didn't even know who Hilary Clinton is. And if anyone I just went to Disneyland with is reading this: one of my cards was 'Bates Motel' and I giggled quietly to myself for a good five minutes.

I've told myself I'll try not to form any strong opinions about this job until I've gotten at least six weeks in, since everyone tells me it takes that long to really get the hang of everything. However, at this point? I am pretty sure I am not cut out for either the business or hospitality tracks in life. It's not that I can't understand this view of trying to make the most money, and in the hospitality business doing your job well = making the company more money... and, really, unless I work for a non-profit the eventual goal is to keep making money and I DO understand that, but when it's the main motivation to do a good job? I just can't do it. I get my motivation from trying to make a difference, or trying to teach kids something for however long they're with me, not from whether or not their parents will take them on another pricey holiday.

Or maybe my boss just sucks.

I'm kind of missing my old tutoring job, which was a volunteer job at a homeless shelter so I DEFINITELY wasn't motivated by money. I think I'll go back to tutoring when I get home, until I can motivate myself to go back to school for more degrees.

February 9, 2009

Tampa day is quickly becoming my favorite.

There was a boat drill this morning that was much earlier than I thought it'd be. It ended up being an hour BEFORE I had set my alarm to go off. So, I woke up to an emergency announcement and had to quickly throw on some clothes, grab my life vest, and run out the door. In the process I had grabbed my personal cell phone instead of my work cell phone and the Captain called me while I was at the drill, but... I'm just assuming it wasn't important.

I also had slide duty this afternoon, which I forgot about until I was on my way to lunch. I wasn't late to it, it just meant I had a lot less time off the boat than I originally thought. I ALSO ran into my boss and my new roommate (hereby refered to as 'C') on my way off the ship, so instead of getting off right away I showed C around a little, helped her get her room key, and showed her where the crew lounge was since she had training there in an hour. I felt bad leaving her on her own with nothing to do for that hour, but I had a limited timeframe to make phone calls and find free wifi. I failed at finding any sort of shop that sold any of the items I forgot to bring that I've been so desperately desiring (what I would do for a loofa right now...), but I found a coffee shop with internet and will still call it a success.

As far as the new roomie goes, C seems great so far. She is only a year older than I am, is indeed American, and is very sporty. The first two questions she asked about me were whether or not I drank, and if I liked music. ...I think we'll get along just fine.

I've been trying to be a good new roomie too, making space for her and trying to tell her everything I wish I'd known my first week here. I've been introducing her to every passer-by I know, took her to dinner (where she got to meet some more musicians), and walked her to work (since she's still very lost). She has training every port day this cruise I think, but we're going to explore Tampa together next time we're there.

The cruise this time is a religious charter, and they have an awful rep among the crew. One of the movie options for kids is something called 'Bibleman Defeats the Gossip Queen'. My teens surprised me by wanting to turn off the religious music, doing the Cupid Shuffle around their room, and going on at length about all of the cute boys they've seen on the ship (apparently there's a piano player who's just a hunk - and also probably fourteen).

Not much else going on. I work a lot less hours this week, and I get off earlier as well. When I do work, it's usually with C - at least for parts of it. The only downside is that there isn't much to do in the meantime. C and I turned on Animal Planet briefly earlier and squeed over a program about a baby panda bear... I have a feeling there will be a lot of that.

Lastly, I had my ear fondled by a Romanian earlier. I've come to the conclusion that Romanians are an odd bunch. And Transylvanians do not appreciate being asked if they're related to Dracula. Take note.

February 8, 2009

This week, I learned that four-day cruises are apparently the ones where everyone gets drunk (and by 'everyone' I mean guests, not crew). Not my kids, thank goodness, but everyone else. Everyone was seasick last night and none of my kids showed, so I was helping out where I could and, gosh, people, moderation.

Behind the scenes, I'm back to questing for more friends. Thus far, I'm already succeeding. There's an Aussie girl who's only been here a month and is having the similar issue as me, where her friends are all leaving. Once we each clarified we'd be around until July, we were bound to be fast friends. And so it starts again.

Though I'll also say I'm pretty stoked to be making some GIRL friends. Most of my other friends have been guys here, which I have no issue with myself but it would seem everyone else does. Living here would make you believe it's impossible for a guy and a girl to JUST be friends, as I guess the rumors start up once you're just seen talking to someone of the opposite sex in the crew bar. I can only imagine what people think of my love life on board, and thus far not many people believe that when I get lost in my own thoughts they don't involve anyone on the ship.

Not that there's anything WRONG with the guys here, of course. Plenty are nice, I just don't see them as more than friends. Even more are flirty, but I'm not attracted to them. A few (okay, one) are downright creepy, and that just brings me to want more guy friends! It's always nice to have someone around to remind people that no really DOES mean just that, and not 'ask again tomorrow' or 'try harder please'. Pretty soon I might have to invent a body-building fiance. Whose also in jail for beating up the LAST guy who hit on me. Or... just tell my supervisor. You know, whatever becomes easiest.

My point was: girl friends. I am excited to have them. I am also excited to get off the ship tomorrow, and to get to call home again. And after that, I'm excited to not have much work to do this next cruise because of this charter. More on the charter when they've arrived and proven themselves as crazy as they sound.

February 7, 2009 (part two)

I forget what I wrote earlier, except for being upset about Reks. Most of the time when I write these things, I'll write them when I have a spare minute or ten and post them later that day or the next day. This is mostly just because writing them takes a bit of time, and time is not something I have much of these days... not to mention, I pay $0.10/minute for internet and buy it in $20 chunks, so talk is not cheap if I'm on the ship. The other side-benefit I get from doing it this way is, if I'm upset about something, I have some more time to think about it and find things in a different light. Last post I just typed as I sat there stealing french fries, so there wasn't that lag where I got to revert to my typically optimistic self.

It's only been six or seven hours since Reks told me he was leaving, but I'm already feeling better about it. I figure people leaving is just something I have to get used to, here. Besides, I left California for six months... if the people I left can take it, so can I.

But also, even if I only got to be Reks' friend for a few weeks, I'm glad I got to be his friend. I might not ever see him again, but I got an awesome day in Cozumel with someone I have a surprising amount in common with. Not to mention, I got to show an eastern European that not all Americans fit his stereotype, and not all girls (esp. American girls) are clueless when it comes to football (soccer-football, not American football). He won't budge on the Liverpool vs. Barcelona issue, but some battles I am willing to lose. And hey, if I keep in touch I bet I'll have a place to stay if I ever visit Spain or Latvia or Denmark or wherever he ends up at again.

In other news, Cozumel is pretty. There's a bar there that is mostly just for workers from the cruise ships that come in. The owners used to work for my company, so made a place for the crew to relax while in port. It's right on the water, so we spent hours lounging around, drinking (he had beer, I had a strawberry milkshake), taking turns going online with my laptop (free wifi!), and laying around in the sun. I got a little burned, though... and if Howard reads this and gets any satisfaction from that, I hope he gets a hangover tomorrow. He jinxed me. But hey, I am already starting to build up that tan; now I am two shades darker than a vampire!

As an addendum: I have the television on in the background, and there was just a commercial for the cruise's bedding/mattresses. It's like they're rubbing it in. I get a sheet and a threadbare blanket in a very cold room. Those jerks.

February 7, 2009

I am sitting at a crew-only bar in Cozumel, Mexico stealing french fries from Reks (my nemesis, I don't care anymore, that's his name). It's nice out, if a little windy. I really don't have much else to say on that matter... except that the water is really pretty and is about three feet away. There's a cute little pool here too, and free wi-fi.

Earlier today one of my friends told me he's leaving next time we're in Tampa, so looks like I'll be up late again some night soon to say good-bye to him. What REALLY has me sad though, is that on the walk over Reks told me he's going to quit. He should've been here about as long as I will, so I should've had this FRIEND all the while, but nope. And I... don't know what to say. I am pretty upset.

But for now, I am content to sit around stealing his french fries and discussing life and love and all the rest. He has a special lady friend back in Denmark I'm trying to make him tell me about, but so far all I'm getting is that she likes soccer.

I'll probably have more to say in a few days. Work-wise... this morning was a boat drill, and last night I had a bunch of kids so I kept the club open until 12:40. I have a friend who'll be around Tampa later this month so I might get to hang out with him. Etc. etc. I really want a hug; I haven't gotten one since I said good-bye to mom at the airport.

February 5, 2009 (part two)

It is actually very early on February 6th, as I just got off work, but I wanted to write something in my current good mood.

I spent most of the day stressed out and doing ten things at once. I spent the first hour of my shift grumbling about a certain annoyance and computers (basically, I share two computers with eight people. One was legitimately taken, and one was out for MY scheduled office hours and the two hours before that simply because someone was being an idiot... and I had a lot I needed to do on it and couldn't).

But, once work with the kids actually started, everything just fell into place. The reason(s) I needed the computer became a moot point as the two girls I spent most of the evening with would much rather just talk to me about randomness and play some cards. I also had a boy for the first hour who wanted to play some basketball video game, and I played along (as the Lakers, for Christine of course), but mostly the girls are the reason for my good mood.

You see, both are... troubled, you could say. I would say. But both are also very sweet. Both recognized how UNcool I am (I am many things: nice, caring, I'd even say I'm a good person, but I am not and have never been 'cool'), and both just laughed with me about it and took it upon themselves to teach me about the latest and greatest of rap music. One of them started the evening saying she didn't want to be on a cruise, hated cruises (it was her first one, but she knew she'd hate them), and never wanted to leave the US. Both girls left tonight saying they were having too much fun and didn't want to go to bed yet, wanted to go on a longer cruise when they were a little older, and wanted to go to university and study abroad in Europe. They promised me they'd be back tomorrow, and they are going to make this an awesome cruise for me.

This, ladies and gents, is why I do what I do.

February 5, 2009

My first cruise is over, and the next one begins. It hasn't quite hit me that this is my life for another 23 weeks (not six months anymore – 23 weeks). I'm still not into the swing of things, to be honest, but I'm getting there. I'm guessing it will take two more weeks.

Yesterday improved drastically as the night wore on. The ship was really rocking and my one kid got sick, so after an hour of mario party 8 (I beat him, ha ha!) he left for the night and I had three hours left to go. My trainer showed up a little after that and we spent the evening finishing paperwork and just chatting. One of the techies came by as well, just to say hi since she was bored. Afterwards I did go up to the crew bar, but not everyone was still there. Nemesis (I really need a new name for him) taught me how to play darts and I even managed to get a bulls-eye, conveniently right after he told me they were really hard to get and he was aiming for the twenties instead. There was much gloating. I got to sleep around 2:00, woke up at 6:20, and get to stay up until at least 1:00 tonight. It's going to be a long day, and I didn't even get to get off the ship.

On the plus side, I moved into my new room and got to unpack! Slightly less plus side is that my internet connection is even slower down here... but if I can find free wifi in Tampa and Cozumel, I should be fine. Just... assuming I ever get off this ship.

There were some funny incidents last night that got me thinking about fate. I'm not sure I believe in it too strongly, since to some degree I shape my own path and blah blah blah, but there are a few things I leave up to fate. Whether or not I get to see people again after they've seemingly left my life is one of them. When I was on vacation last summer, meeting people left and right and making maybe fifty new friends in the course of five weeks, there were plenty of people I really hoped to see again but, really, what were the chances? A few were workers on the cruise ship I was a guest on last summer.

Well, as fate would have it, one of them is working here. Not one of the closer friends, but he's one of the musicians I had a brief hello to at the dance club. I ran into him last night and didn't even recognize him at first, but he was telling me about his past contracts and I figured it out. He also brought up some of the other musicians I'd hung out with (one of them I even saw after I got off the ship and was in Denmark) and caught me up on how they're doing. It was a nice little moment of reminiscing.

There was also a certain techie last summer I became fast friends with, and the techie I hung out with last night used to work with him. We are going to swap stories of him cross-dressing sometime, and it will be glorious.

All of this just goes to show that people have a funny way of wandering back into my life unexpectedly. So, some of my new friends left this morning... but I'm sure I'll hear from them again someday.

In the middle of writing this I had embarkation duty, and my cheeks kind of hurt from smiling at new guests. I saw some of my teens already, so hopefully they'll show up for the first events tonight. I am currently a little grumpy about having to work the entire time lunch was being served. BUT, I got to make phone calls today, and even if they were brief it was nice just getting to hear some familiar voices. I'll get to do it again on Monday!

February 4, 2009

Last night I was doing the cupid shuffle across the Lido deck and came to the conclusion that I am pretty good at this job. The cupid shuffle had nothing to do with it, except that I was at the deck party making a fool of myself with some of the other entertainment staffers and about thirty guests. Those 30 guests consisted of 29 old people, and the one kid I've been working with this cruise. That's right: I convinced a sixteen-year-old boy to join a congo line AND do the electric slide. Thus, I think I must be good at my job.

Today has been rough though, for no particular reason. I was up studying for a safety exam last night, but I didn't get up until 9:40 so I got a decent amount of sleep. I worked from 10:00-5:30 and go back from 9:30-1:00, which isn't bad at all considering how the rest of this cruise has gone. But last time I looked in the mirror, I just LOOKED tired.

Last night I had my first dream about home, too. It was simple: I ate dinner with my family and sat on a couch with Martin watching his roommates play lego video games – essentially what I spent most of my time doing the week before I left. I woke up kind of sad that it wasn't real, but at least I did get an amazing last week in California. And it's only six months! It feels like such a long time right now, but six months from now it won't.

On a more positive note, I think I'm starting to see how working here will change/teach me. I'm certain it will all be in a good way. I have, however, decided that I am treating myself to a massage when I get home, because if this is how I feel after one cruise than BOY will I deserve one. I also want a home cooked meal.

Not all of my soreness is from being worked to the bone, though. I mean, maybe it's half that (but keep in mind, half of THAT was training), but the other half is because I am getting a LOT of exercise. I haven't been to the crew gym for more than a few minutes to poke my nose around, but there's plenty of little things: like the six stories between where I live and where I work (unless I'm wearing heels or something, I take the stairs), or just dancing at the deck party last night. I played some DDR earlier as well, not to mention wii sports can give you SOME version of a work-out. At the very least my arm is tired from wii tennis.

As for what I've been doing: well, it's same old. More video games. The deck party was actually fun, if only because I like dancing and the entertainment staff are great people. I'm organizing my songs on the dj machine doodad. I got my caper all taken care of and have to pick it up from the printers later tonight. After work, despite how tired I am coupled with the fact that I have to be up at 6:00 tomorrow morning, I am going to the crew bar to say my good-byes to some people who are leaving (all of the corporate training trainees are leaving, as well as my nemesis' roommate).

Tomorrow, despite my super-early start, should be a good day. I get to talk to my parents and Martin ON THE PHONE. I'm also going to try and get off the ship to buy some things I forgot. I'm ALSO moving rooms, to a larger one, and I get it to myself for this next cruise I think. Rumor has it that we're getting a new girl in my department: one who is working with the next age group down, and she's an American! I've already decided she'll be my best galpal here. It's meant to be.

And now, dinner.

Sleeping in this morning was a bust. Partly this was my fault, but mostly I'm going to blame other things.

You see, yesterday was formal night on the ship. I work with guests, so I had to dress up as well. I'm not exactly known for my love of dressing up in dresses and doing my hair and the like, but require me to look nice and I'll secretly enjoy it. Also, I bought a very pretty black dress about a month ago that I look absolutely gorgeous in. So I had a fun time getting to prance around in it, even if by 'prance around' I secretly mean 'play more video games and do inventory'. And after work I didn't quite want to dress down yet, so I went to the crew bar instead for another half hour.

All of this basically just means that I went to sleep at 2:00 this morning. And this morning, there was a mix of things ruining my potential eight hour of sleep. For one, I don't know why but my intercom speaker thing in this room plays music, quietly, at random times. Right now I am having 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' serenaded to me. It just switched to 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'. This morning, starting at around 8:30 and continuing at twenty-minute intervals, it was playing and replaying a single song. It's quiet enough, but when the room is quiet and I'm trying to sleep someone may as well be shouting in my ear. On top of this they're doing construction in the hall outside, and by 'outside' I mean RIGHT outside. On the other side of the wall. So there's all sorts of hammering and drilling going on just a few feet away, and these walls are paper-thin. It is a sad sad thing, this, and it started around 9:00 this morning. So, I am still not doing so well on the sleep thing... but a mix of six hours of sleep and coffee (that's right, I've had to start drinking coffee) has me able to function as much as I need to.

Today has been a normal day so far. Training this morning, a quick lunch of salad and cheese sandwich afterwards, and even though we got into port at 2:00ish and my kid left around then I did office work until 4:00. I think that has actually been my favorite part of the job so far, which might sound really strange since my job so far has consisted mainly of playing video games... but with that work, I know what I'm working towards. I have a number of things to do (all to prepare for the next cruise, so things like food orders and putting together my caper and finishing the paperwork for this cruise), and when I finish I get to feel so accomplished. Like: Yea, I got something done! Instead of... I get to play more video games later. I don't know, I doubt I make much sense.

And in case you haven't guessed it, I haven't gotten off the ship today either. I have another meeting this evening, and have been working all day, sooo... not happening. Maybe next cruise.

As an addendum (since I'm writing this two hours later), I just figured out internet in my room thanks to an adventure with my nemesis and some help from two of the dancers. Yaaaay!

February 2, 2009

Another day, another thirteen hours of work and training. Last night wasn't terribly exciting, really. My Croatian friend was around, so I ate dinner with him and he told me all about his teaching experiences back in Croatia. After dinner I went right up to the club, where I watched the super bowl with the one teen who's been showing up for events and played wii sports until he had to go around 10:00. The next three hours meant more training, but for at least two of them I just played in the DJ booth and put on whatever music I wanted.

This morning was more training, but I've befriended the new nurse and she had to be there as well. She's a kiwi, so we chatted about our respective countries and she had a lot of questions about mail and banking in the US, since 'home' is mostly Florida these days. I've also made a Romanian hairdresser friend who was there, and we were the only two who came to the tour offered at the end of the first part of training so we got lunch on the Lido deck afterwards (we are allowed to use it during the day if it isn't too busy). After that, more training, but in between the two I ran into the kiwi and her trainer (a really nice lady from London), met the magician on board, and bought an internet card. Unfortunately I can't find the crew internet in my room... but hopefully after I finish writing this I'll have some time to wander up to the crew lounge. I imagine I can find it there.

After all of that, it was more video games and more training after our one kid had to go to dinner.

But OH, there is ONE exciting thing that happened today. We're arriving in port tomorrow four hours later than planned, and I had the misfortune of walking down a guest hall when this was announced. I suddenly got bombarded with questions from scared guests about what was going on, and would we be back in Tampa on time, and various other questions... which I dealt with spectacularly, in that by the time I left each guest they were calmed down and smiling. Less spectacularly in that I didn't actually know what had happened, since I had only heard as much as them by that point.

This arriving-late thing is being made up for by leaving-late, so the guests still have a lot of time in Cozumel. Unfortunately, both this and ANOTHER training session have severely dented my day of sleeping in. I can still sleep until around 10:00, since training is at 11:00 and I'll work 12:00-2:00ish since the kids will still be on board, but that is a lot different than my original sleep-until-lunch plan.

Also, I was in training the entire time we were in the Caymans today, so I haven't made it off the boat. I could get off tomorrow, though. My only issue is that I'd want to go with someone else who knows the port already, and I'm still in that getting-to-know-you stage of my friendships on-board. Speaking of which, I ate dinner with my Latvian nemesis. We got into a fight over which was the better football club: Barcelona or Liverpool, which ended when he flailed at the asst. cruise director about it and the asst. cruise director said “she'll be nice, she can't help it if Barcelona sucks.” Ha! We called a truce anyway, after it was discovered we both liked Irbe. So, see? I'm making friends! We even ate with some of the dancers, who are all tiny freckled girls from Canada or England (at least the ones I've met), but they're also friendly. I'm really digging the staff on this ship.