taz_39 | Entries tagged with cruise ship

The first week of 2021 was a weird one for me.

I'm starting a new hybrid role at work, and they want me to shadow for a full week to get the hang of things. Which is great, but that department has a different schedule than mine so there will be some finagling. Usually Wednesday and Thursday are my "weekend". This week only, my days off will be Sunday and Saturday.

So I worked January 1 and 2, then had 3 off, then worked a full week before getting 1/9 off. Just a little wonky, but there was a lot to learn.

On the 3rd it was very strange to wake up and not have to go to work. With a full week ahead I decided to get some stuff done. I did laundry, prepped my breakfasts, and made Scotch eggs just because I've always wanted to but never had the time or knowledge. I used a sausage recipe from The Dude Diet because it's a lot healthier than store-bought sausage meat: lean turkey instead of pork, and way less sodium and preservatives. I seasoned the sausage meat with shredded apple, fennel seeds, allspice, salt pepper, garlic, and coriander. Then I wrapped it around eggs I'd boiled earlier, using plastic wrap to evenly distribute the sausage around the egg. Then i dipped each egg in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs and cooked them in the air fryer.

They turned out pretty good! The only thing I'd change next time is to boil the eggs one minute less, I'd like the yolks more soft. I served them with mustard and mushy peas.

In the afternoon I had a nice zoom chat with my ladies from the Ruby Princess all-female band. It was good to see everyone (well, almost everyone, Molly didn't show up) and see that we are all still hanging in there. Here we are making various faces as Stacey demonstrates a brass musician's specially modified face mask.

After dinner I helped Jameson take down our Christmas tree and heave it over the back fence into the swamp area behind our house. We do this at night because we don't want the neighbors to see...pretty sure it's breaking some tree disposal regulation or something. It's the second time we've disposed of our tree this way...I'm thinking of making us shirts for next year that say, "3rd Annual Roccella Court Tree Sneak" and "Yeet'n since 2019", lol.

We didn't take down the yard decorations because it had rained all morning and we didn't want to put away wet lights (this is Florida, = MOLD). Jameson ended up taking them down while I was at work later in the week.

Mid-week I decided to try making whole wheat bread, not realizing that wheat flour complicates the breadmaking process pretty significantly. My recipe was by volume rather than weight, and it primarily used a mixer, which I'm sure didn't help. I followed the instructions almost to the letter, but when my dough was stickier than expected I made the mistake of kneading it even after it had been in the mixer for 20 minutes. Noooope, shouldn't have done that. I ended up with a deflated, overworked loaf. Although I have to say, it's not a brick, and the texture is actually pretty good. It's just dense.

I made the ever-stupid mistake of asking the internet advice, and got all sorts of comments about how to make focaccia or how to prep all the types of yeast I didn't use, or how other people are REAL bakers who NEVER use mixers. Oh internet, you are so unhelpful and narcissistic.

I will try again next week with these changes:
- Replace 1/4 of the flour with either regular flour or more finely ground wheat flour
- Use a recipe that measures the ingredients by weight rather than volume
- Use the mixer only until ingredients are just combined, then knead by hand so I can feel when it's ready

...I mean, that's pretty much it. I'm already using vital wheat gluten to help with protein content, and a little lemon juice, and my recipe accounts for some extra water for the whole grain wheat. I think these changes will make a difference, but we will see.
This is also why I usually wait until the weekend to bake or cook. I get about 5 hours of sleep each night during the work week, and it really takes a toll on my concentration by the end of the day. When making something new I want to give it my full concentration.

Anyway, to sum it up this week was very stressful (see last post about steno school and work).
I had Saturday off but had a steno class, in which my teacher got the time of the class wrong, started the class 15 minutes late, and got interrupted about 10 minutes by a package delivery. Based on the info given in my last post, what would you guys do? Would you transfer? Am I being a little b*tch about all this?

While out tending my plants on Saturday I heard a rustling and saw this Cooper's Hawk(?) stomping around in the grass. He didn't seem to actually have a prey item, so idk what he was doing, but he was cute as hell.

https://instagram.com/p/CJ1_2EAA9xW

I was surprised to see a few blooms on my hibiscus too. I'd thought it was done for the winter. How nice...it really brightened my day :)

There's not much else I can say, I just wanted to give a summary of the week. It was a rough one but hopefully the stress now will pay off later.
Now I have three more days of work, then three days off, which will be very much needed.
Over the three days I will do chores and stuff of course, and practice my steno. I need to pick up my bass trombone from the repair shop, and call my school's advisory office to see about the steps for transferring.
Other plans include starting the Chia Pet Jameson got me, making lemon ricotta pancakes with my last meyer lemon, attempting the wheat bread again...and f*cking chilling out.

The week was a week.

Work was the same. A lot of people are getting frustrated...about the masks, about the types of calls we get, about how there's no "normal" any more. I'm not immune from these feelings either. But I think we are all grateful just to have a job, and not only that it's a GOOD job. So most of the complaining I'm hearing is more resigned than actually upset/angry.

I got myself a hair appointment and spent the week feeling guilty about it, but when I finally went to go do it it felt soooo nice.
When I arrived I called to let them know I was there and went in when they told me it was OK. I kept my mask on the whole time. They took my temperature and gave me hand sanitizer, then the rest was pretty much just like a regular haircut. It was a little weird to be wearing the mask for the whole thing, but not terrible. I was hoping for a more "interesting" cut, but the stylist pretty much chose to fix up what I already had. At the time I was happy with it (again, really grateful just to be getting a haircut at all) but the next day at work several people said things like, "Didn't you say you were getting your hair cut?" or "So did you get your hair cut yesterday?", so that made me butthurt pretty quick.

I have bland brown hair, and a horsey face with crooked teeth, and my hair has a ton of cowlicks that make it difficult to do anything with it anyway. And the humidity here makes it virtually impossible to style unless I'm using tons of product. I don't wear makeup or spend money on nice clothes or things to make myself look nice. So I really have no room to complain about little side comments about my haircut.

But it would have been nice, I don't know. Not to get complimented, but for there to have been a difference.
I guess I could have kept my ratty split-end hair and saved $50.
At least it feels cleaner. It felt good to clean up a little, even if it was just for me.

The other thing that happened that was really aggrivating was my computer. It's been acting up lately, so I decided to bite the bullet and reinstall Windows. Everything went fine, but I lost a night of steno practice because of all the time it took to re-download and install everything. The next night I planned to study double, but when I opened my steno software it wouldn't even open, just returned an error message. It's open source so that's not uncommon, but I wasn't expecting it. At least not that night, the night before class, my last night to practice. I tried to fix it and got more and more frustrated until I was about ready to throw my computer across the room. Fortunately my boyfriend, who is way more level-headed and tech-savvy than me, was able to figure out what to do and fix it. I felt so ashamed for getting so flustered and for not knowing what to do. And I was reminded of how patient and kind he is. Honestly, I don't deserve him!

Anyway, I only got to practice for about an hour. That made me feel very stressed about how my class was going to go on Monday, and I wasted a lot of energy fretting over something I couldn't control. In the end the class actually went just fine. I'm pretty far ahead in some areas, and pretty average in others. But my expectations for myself are high, and I am not forgiving. My teacher says I need to cut myself a break. She's right of course, but also I think too many people cut themselves a break and end up not getting ANYTHING done. Whatever, my class went well.

My sister had a lot of tests done to try and figure out what's going on with her, but nothing conclusive was found. I really hope this is all just her body freaking out over changes to medications and hormones and such. I just want her to be safe and healthy, and not have to worry about her body sabotaging her. We watched our mother die when we were young, so any illness is incredibly frightening, not to mention a damn mystery ailment. We don't know what's up, but she is strong, and I'll just have to have faith that she will be able to face whatever comes.

By the time my weekend rolled around I was feeling pretty emotional and pretty stressed.
I know that these are pretty small life events, but sometimes they build up and stack on one another, and a reaction is had no matter how I try to logic it away. I wanted to cry at work, but didn't (well, only a little in the bathroom haha).

You know what kept me going? My sweet, kind boyfriend.
He's not in the greatest mental space right now either, but you know what, that doesn't make him any less wonderful. Especially when he has to put energy into my problems in addition to his. I'm more grateful for him than I can put into words.

So now I KNOW you are wanting a garden update, right? RIGHT?
Well you're getting one because I'm obsessed!

The big deal right now is the sugar baby watermelon. I'm glad I'm taking pictures because otherwise I don't think anyone would believe me when I describe how quickly this thing is growing. It is insane. It is basically doubling in size every week. Two weeks ago it was the size of a grape tomato, last week it was the size of a fig. This week it's the size of an apple, and heavier than an apple too. I was worried that it might break its support vine, so I made it a little hammock out of a cut up shirt (this was a recommended tactic online.) It seems to be working well. I also sprayed it and the vines with spinosad to hopefully keep caterpillars and worms from eating the fruit before I can enjoy it. I find it fascinating to grow something like this!

The mint is gigantic again...I just don't know what to do with all of it! I can only make so much mint syrup, or essential oil, or mojitos. What else do you do with mint? I guess I'll be making a watermelon mint salad at some point, or incorporating it into my drinks. Even so there's a lot of it to go around, and I'll have to get creative!

A garden orb weaver has moved in next to my planter. She's about an inch long and absolutely stunning.
I hope she is getting enough to eat in here! There are lots of tiny flies that seem to be coming from my planter, so maybe those are a good meal. TRIGGER WARNING for ARACHNOPHOBIA

On Wednesday morning I opened the shutters just in time to see a big black-and-yellow swallowtail butterfly landing on my milkweed, making it swing crazily back and forth. Yay! However I wasn't quick enough to get a picture before he flitted off. Yaaargh. I was unable to get any butterfly pics at all that day, although I saw the spicebush swallowtail again and a little yellow cloudless sulphur. It was really hot out, so I think they were staying mostly in the shade where I couldn't see them.

I've told this story before so sorry for the repeat, but it's relevant now.
You might remember that way back at the beginning of the year, after I'd first set up my planter and filled it with plants, some sprouts popped up that I hadn't planted.

I decided to keep them, because why not. Over time I ended up with six of them, just randomly popping up in the planter (I accidentally crushed one and had to throw it away, so five). I thought they might be a type of weed, but they didn't really look like anything else around. And a part of me wondered...but no, it couldn't be...

In December I had tried to germinate some passion fruit seeds. I got a purple passion fruit from the grocery and reserved some seeds from it, then planted them in a small plant tray. I left them there for two months, as passion seeds are supposed to germinate within 45 days. Nothing happened. I tried to find the seeds again, but they are small and black and blended in with the dirt. So rather than waste the dirt I just dumped the contents of the tray back into the planter. And forgot all about it.

As the mystery sprouts grew, I tried to identify them with no success. I joined gardening groups, I did reverse image searches, I used plant identification apps. The plants were too young and couldn't be identified until they grew larger. There were lots of good guesses, but nobody was able to say with 100% certainty what they were.

Four months later, June. The sprouts have grown quite a lot, but now I've planted watermelon and it's taking up a lot of space. I decided to move the mystery sprouts to their own pot. At this point I've gotten into the habit of taking a photo of them every two weeks or so and running it through iNaturalist to see if they can be identified yet. Last week iNaturalist said it was "not confident enough to make a recommendation", but guessed that it might be laurel. This week iNaturalist said it was "pretty sure" they are some kind of citrus.

One of my friends suggested a different app, Picture This Plant. I downloaded it and ran the photo through it.
The app responded with 98% certainty. Possum purple passion vine.
In other words, the seeds that I tried to germinate months ago ended up germinating on their own in the planter. Every single one of them.

I found this both hilarious and somehow heartwarming, that the little seeds I'd given up on had grown in their own time.
Also, I now have FIVE passion vine sprouts! Uuuh...does anyone want one? Haha.

And before anyone says anything, YES I AM AWARE that the seedlings have singular leaves whereas the comparison photo has three-lobed leaves. But please do me a favor and google "passion fruit seedlings" and look at the image results. Passion vines do not get three-lobed leaves until they are older. These are passion vines. I have had no end of people telling me I'm wrong, the app is wrong, etc., yet somehow these critics are unable to tell me what this plant actually is. So if you think it's not passion, that's fine, think what you like, I don't need to hear about it.

Anyway, this was a nice exciting surprise for me this weekend. So glad to finally know what these are!!

As it got closer to dusk Jameson and I took a dip in the pool. It was really lovely, the water was warm from the high daytime temperatures and the sun was setting. But, typical Florida, our pool time was cut short by a sever thunderstorm :P We scurried inside where I made us a quick meal of pork loin, mashed potatoes, and asparagus. The rest of our night was spent chilling, plaing Call of Duty and watching YouTube.

Thursday was another scorcher. I hadn't made any plans to cook but did get all the ingredients for smoked salmon and bagels, my favorite!

In the afternoon I had a Zoom chat with the all-female band members of the Ruby Princess, 2018!

We all live in different time zones so it took a little organizing, but we managed to find a time where we could all be online. How cool is that! It was so great to see everyone and find out how everyone is doing. Jane and Molly were two of the thousands of cruise ship employees who were trapped on ships for months when the coronavirus hit. They managed to get back home safely, but obviously this was not a pleasant experience for them. Two of the ladies live in Buenos Aires, and while the economy there is not great at least they have mandated mask-wearing and at least so far they are doing well and able to get by. Our trumpet player, Nia, lives in Wales and is working at ALDI's right now to make ends meet, she is making the best of it and giving it her all :) Our bass player Stacey lives in Texas and has been giving bass lessons online, and she's also attending school. Molly (drummer) is at her parent's house in New York and is considering doing DoorDash to make money. And Jane lives in Canada and is getting by on the government Covid stipend, which is **$2,000 per month!!**

Um, I'm moving to Canada.

So everyone is well, or as well as can be expected right now. I was really happy to see their smiling faces, and reconnect and remember what a great group of women we all are :)

After that wonderful experience and after Jameson was done with his meetings for the day, we took a dip in the pool which was lovely. Then we had leftovers for dinner. I uploaded our Zoom session in case any of the ladies wanted to see it while Jameson played some games. I got all of my things ready for work like I usually do. I'm making an extra trip on my commute to deliver a passion vine to someone downtown; I have no need for five passion vines so am glad that someone will take one off my hands! Hopefully it grows up big and strong for them :)

My sister Raven sent us a souvenir box from a trip she took to Morocco, right before all the flights were shut down due to Covid. We enjoyed some date-and-almond chocolates, an almond sesame brittle, and some dark chocolate raspberry cookies. There are some hard candies as well, and an interesting aloe extract that I'll have to research to find out how to use. Thank you, sis. You shouldn't have (really, you gotta think of yourself first girl!!)

That was my weekend. Pretty chill. There's not much coming up for me next week that I know of. Everything is very routine any more, but there's no helping that.

Another week where I was too busy to write!

Well, we went to see Shin Lim and Colin Cloud, courtesy Jameson's friend Terrance!
If you don't know, they're magicians and they're both AMAZING.

We got to chat a bit with Terrence during intermission, and it sounds like he's doing well. Tour life keeping him busy and all that. Very cool! It was a really fun night. I love our little adventures together :)

The rest of the week kind of flew by in a blur because I was working and Jameson's mom came to visit! She's getting to enjoy the pool and all the fun things about our new house, but I also feel bad because she's doing a lot of cooking and cleaning. I know she likes it (you guys, she really does, I'm not kidding) but a lot of what she's cleaning are things that I've not had time to do because I foolishly took this second job. So I kinda feel guilty, you know? But I am helping where I can, and at least the things are getting done! Also Friday is my last day at Music and Arts, so after that I'll have evenings to tear it up around here!!

My weekdays were pretty normal, just work followed by work and more work. I was pretty exhausted by the time we hit Thursday! After breakfast Jameson's mom and I went shopping for various things for the house, then she showed me how to make buttermilk biscuits! Oh my gosh, they were so easy and good! They look a little pale in this picture, but they really were just right. We had them with butter, and later while I was at work she made some chicken to go along with them. Awesome! There are literally only four ingredients, I can't believe how easy they were to make (recipe HERE).

On Thursday night I drove over to Orlando Shakes to audit the show Evita. I was originally supposed to play the whole run, and would have loved to, but contracts were sent out too late for me to make schedule changes at work. So I ended up only able to sub in for a few days. Still, I'm glad for the opportunity and enjoyed following along with the trombone part last night. There are definitely some bits I'm going to have to work on before performing the show!

On Friday while Jameson's mom painted our door I typed most of this up and weeded some of the bushes out front. Later on I worked on my online course, then went to work. My last day at Music and Arts! I was only there for about a month, but it was worthwhile in several ways. I was glad for the extra money, and the new friends made :) But I will also be glad to have that time back, to work on Future Things.

And now it's already Saturday again, another week swept past, and I'm getting ready for work while typing this. I got an email recently about the all-girl cruise ship band getting back together for a contract in April/May/June, and I don't know how to feel about it. As I mentioned in a past post, I'm trying to move away from music a bit because the opportunities are drying up, and I need to think about the future. This gig would be nice, and it might enable me to see some interesting parts of the country/other countries. But I'll need to consider how it could interfere with recertification and things. For now it's only just been brought up, so we'll see what happens as details emerge.

Last week's post didn't really get finished due to it being SO BUSY.
Jameson was finishing up his final week on the Guardians show. The cast and crew had an awesome year, got along really well, and put on an amazing show every day! Congratulations!

I just had a lot going on and not a moment to write, but that's ok! All good things!
Jameson and I went to see Queen in Tampa! Of course they were absolutely amazing. I'm not even a "real" Queen fan and I had an absolute blast.
(Again, use the little arrow to the right to click through video clips)

https://instagram.com/p/B1VJHaigZBC

I also had the chance to visit with one of my Ruby Princess band ladies!!
Rebeca was in Tampa rehearsing with Norwegian Cruises for an upcoming Alaska-to-New-York tour, and she had a free night. So I drove down, and we went to Seasons 52. We had a great time getting caught up and enjoying a delicious meal together :)

Fun stuff aside, I spent several days working from 6am to 10pm, at CapTel in the morning and Music & Arts in the evening.
I did end up giving notice at Music & Arts. I took the job for the extra money, but with the goal of possibly going full time or being a manager again. It kind of didn't take long for me to realize, that's just not what I want any more. My heart is not in it, it doesn't pay the bills, and I need to be pursuing other things. My manager was really understanding, and was just glad I'd be helping through rental season (their busiest time of year). So at least it wasn't a total wash. I'll stay on through mid-September.

Then throughout the rest of the week, we had a bunch of stuff to do on top of work. Jameson's piano finally arrived and was set up and tuned. Jameson's mom sent us a mattress and sheets for a guest bedroom set, and we also got two more dining room chairs, a garage door opener, lounge and deck chairs for the pool, and ordered all-new appliances. Phew! I'm poor haha. But it's worth it. There will be a lot of moneysaving after all this, but hey. We've got a sweet house.

Funny story, Jameson got a flat tire this week. I got one last week! What the heck! To "celebrate", or to express exasperation, we visited Yeoman's Cask & Lion, a chain British pub with rockin' desserts. That sticky toffee pudding is swimming haha.

I finally got to take a dip in the pool! It was glorious. You guys, it's been extremely long since I've been swimming. Probably 5+ years. Now I can't wait to hop in there at every opportunity! What an amazing thing, to have your own pool! I can see why Jameson wanted one so much.

It's been a good week. Maybe I'll have more time to write next week.
The plan for today (Saturday) is to come home and clean the house while Jameson is at a gig.
The plan for the work week...get through it!

Hi Everyone!

Let's catch up from last week. After Stacey and I cleaned our cabin and walked out for the last time, we went down to the mess for breakfast. I typed up my blog as the other band members slowly filtered in. We killed about an hour sitting and talking together, then made our way to the Princess Theater for disembarkation. While we were there, Doug (our boss's boss) came onboard to thank us and wish us the best. Doug has been an awesome boss and an awesome human being, I'm very happy to have gotten to know him during this contract and I hope to see him again soon!

Our passports were distributed while we stood at the top of the stairs yapping. I got to meet the onboarding trombonist, his name is Narding and he's awesome! I'm glad to be leaving the Disco Deck Party in good hands!! LOL

And then...it was finally. FINALLY. Time to go. For reals.

Jane hugged us all and tried not to cry. Many entertainment folks came to give hugs and farewells. It was amazing. And so was stepping through the door on deck 7, and onto the long zig-zag guest gangway, and walking down to US Customs. Here we go!!

First we went through customs screening, basically talking to a border agent while they looked over your passport and other documents. Having no contraband, I was quickly admitted to the luggage screening area. I heaved my 50lb bag onto the scanner, and then my trombone and backpack. After just a few minutes I was given the all-clear to collect my things and head to the pickup area. I stepped outside into the sunlight. I'm freeeee!

I enjoyed waiting in the sun for Kayle and Skylar to come get me. It was a lovely day!
Eventually they pulled up, and I loaded their car with luggage and my ass and off we went! Kayle knows a great Jamaican place and Skylar and I had never been, so we went there for lunch. They had stuff that I am not yet brave enough to try like cow's feet, chicken feet, and gizzards. But they also had jerk and curried beef and chicken. We got that, and some really tasty pasties. Each meal came with rice and beans, slaw, plantains, and a sort of hush puppy. It was delicious!! I'll have to look for Jamaican food in Florida!

After our meal we drove back to the house for a little rest before going for a walk to the pier. I forgot my phone so there are no pictures, but it was very nice. There were lots of people out because the weather was so nice. We watched the waves roll in to shore and admired the way the sun made them look like shining teal glass. We saw a whale spout several miles away, but although we stared and stared we were unable to see the whales. Still, it was cool!

We wandered back to the main pier area which had lots of restaurants and shops. Kayle gave me the choice of getting an ice cream sandwich from The Baked Bear or donuts from Blue Star. I have lactose intolerance, but c'mon. You've got to LIVE. I chose the ice cream!!!

Ooooh my goodness. It was SO GOOD. We tried pieces of each others' sandwiches. Kayle got a donut sandwich (I forget what kind of ice cream she had!!), Skylar had a brownie sandwich with the signature Baked Bear ice cream, and I had oatmeal cookies with blackberry crumble ice cream. All of them were fantastic, but I liked Skylar's combination the best! What an amazing treat :)
Post-ice cream photo!

Too soon it was time to walk home and get ready to go. We enjoyed a Portal session with our parents while resting and digesting. They're excited for the new baby!

Then Kayle let me weigh my luggage, and I was dismayed to see that it was overweight. This was easily solved by leaving a bag of crap at Kayle's house, but I felt bad dumping stuff on her. Then, of course, I weighed myself and was disappointed to see that I've gained a few pounds since joining the cruise. I mean, the food was really good, and they served dessert with every meal!! I'm talking only 2-3 pounds, it'll probably come off simply by returning to my normal eating habits. But in that moment I was harsh with myself. I need to form a more positive self-image.

ANYWAY. Kayle let me take a quick shower, then she and Skylar drove me to the airport. I hugged them goodbye and got started on getting back to Orlando! Molly (drummer) was on the same flight as me, so I met up with her and we chatted while waiting to board the plane. I was worried (as usual) about being allowed to take my trombone as carry on, so tried approaching the concierge desk to ask about it (sometimes they'll let you board early, and they always appreciate knowing what I'm trying to do in advance). The concierge told me to "try my luck", so I did...and it fit in the overhead! YAY!!!

The flight was fairly smooth but there were moments of turbulence. It's winter after all. When we landed in DC, I hugged Molly goodbye and we went to our separate gates. My second flight was on time and less turbulent than the first, though the landing was rough because it was windy. The clouds looked like whipped cream.

Once in the terminal I began heading toward the luggage area. Jameson intecepted me in the lobby. I almost ran over a person in a wheelchair and a small child to get to him!! I squeezed him very hard. Finally. It felt very good.

We fetched my luggage and drove back to the house, stopping at a new sushi place that Jameson wanted me to experience (it was REALLY good, more on that the next time I go!). Then we had Christmas! I felt bad because I didn't have any actual physical present for Jameson to unwrap :( but I got us a gift card to Del Frisco's Steakhouse! This particular steakhouse chain is special to both of us...we've been there twice in Fort Worth in 2014 and 2016. I can't wait to revisit this place with him for an amazing meal!!

The presents that Jameson got me were much more interesting! Stocking stuffers included a plunger-shaped wine stopper and a wind-up piece of sushi that would run around on the floor! As well as chocolate of course! I was surprised and touched by the gifts he got me: a copy of my trombone professor's new album, the entire Sandman/J.H. Williams collection, and an absolutely gorgeous tea set from Harney & Sons featuring their best looseleaf black teas and a stainless steel strainer! Wow! Among other things! I feel very loved and very lucky :)

After that we drove out to Jameson's gig at The Villages! It was very cold, especially for Florida, especially for me having just come from hot Mexico! But I didn't care. I was just happy to be on land, happy to be outside, happy to be with Jameson, happy. I danced around like an idiot and had a great time.

https://instagram.com/p/Bs33ZrSgFpH

I barely made it to bed when we got home, I was so tired! We wanted to see the lunar eclipse/blood moon, but both of us were exhausted.

The next day I had rehearsal at 10am with the Winter Park Playhouse for "Ain't Misbehavin'"! I was excited and a little nervous, but everyone was friendly and the staging is AWESOME!! The band is going to be on stage with the performers, and the horns will be lofted on a narrow balcony above the stage!

A picture after they put some more detail into the stage. We'll have little bandstand thingees.

What it looks like up there.

Rehearsal went really well! And I'm sure it'll get even better as time goes on! I mean listen to these amazing vocalists!! I was blown away!!

https://instagram.com/p/Bs6o7HwAZxI

After rehearsal I came home, and Jameson and I went grocery shopping. While I've been gone he hasn't done much home cooking, poor guy! He's just been too busy. We had to restock our empty fridge! When that was done we relaxed and watched tv together. It was great.

The next day was very similar, another rehearsal that again went really well! Afterward I came home to find that Jameson had made us his famous enchiladas! Yum!! I scarfed them down while we watched Kids Baking Championship.

On Wednesday the cast of Ain't Misbehavin' had a photoshoot in the morning. The band wasn't really involved, but we had to be present in case of wide-angle shots. Afterward I got some lunch and we had rehearsal, which went so well that we were let out a little early! I came home to relax and watch Jameson play some video games, then he took me out to dinner at The Melting Pot!!! (He'd gotten a gift card from work!)

Oh my goodness. Everything was delicious of course! There were some fancy new meat options, including duck and lobster! We really enjoyed our meal, but dessert was the best! We got the bananas Foster, only with dark chocolate instead of white! It was SO DANG GOOD.

https://instagram.com/p/Bs_-_3mgqGn

We both went to bed a bit early tonight since Jameson has a work meeting tomorrow and I have some interviews, and opening night for Ain't Misbehavin'!

Thursday. I got up early and had a job interview. It went....ok. I'm not entirely qualified for the position, but I do have skills that could be helpful, so they might consider me for general office work instead. Which would be great. I was a little disappointed...the optimistic part of me hoped that I'd be a better fit. But perhaps I can work up to it. Or maybe my approach needs to change.

Anyway, then I had another interview, one that I knew was not going to lead to a job but that might be good just for local arts involvement. Then I went home to rest a bit before the show. When it was time I packed up the car and went to the theater. The show went very well, and I'm looking forward to two more tomorrow night!

On Friday morning I had a nice breakfast, then did some work online. Gathering my tax documents and such too. Bleh.
After lunch it was time for the first show of the day, which went well (a few mistakes, but it was a preview show after all). Afterward I picked up dinner and went home for a bit to eat it with Jameson, then drove back to the Playhouse for our ACTUAL first show! It also went well. And if it's this good now, I'm sure it'll be great in a week or two!

Well, this has been a pretty long blog post as I get back into "life on land". It's Saturday and I'm eating breakfast before doing some chores and getting ready for another round of shows. I'm not sure that there will be any "adventures" other than trying to find a job again. Hopefully this time around I can maintain a better attitude. Thanks for reading :)

**DISCLAIMER**: The views expressed in this blog are my own and do not reflect the views of my employer!!

01/12 cont'd

Kayle and Skylar picked me up from Hojas and brought me to their house. I was still pretty wet from walking in the rain, so they gave me a towel to dry off. Then we just hung out together, and it was great. Kayle graded some papers while I looked for jobs and Skylar made us a beautiful lunch of baguette, apples, greens, and this amazing gruyere cheese made—a better word would be “crafted”—by one of his friends. It was simple yet so good I could have eaten it all day! Then we enjoyed the carrot cake I’d gotten from Hojas.

All too soon our visit was over, but I’ll be seeing them next Saturday! They’ll be picking me up from the ship to spend the day before my late night flight. I can’t wait!

Back at the ship I unpacked and got ready for the passenger drill. The last one I’ll ever have to do! It felt pretty good!

After that Nia and I took our phones to the nearest crew area to try and soak up the last bits of wifi as the ship pulled out of LA. Eventually we went out on deck to watch the sun set. There was an impressive line of thunderstorms moving across the area and over the mountains, pretty cool to see. The next time we come back here, it’ll be my last time.

01/13

At sea today. It was a fairly slow morning. I had breakfast and practiced, then had a look at the disembarking information packet that Jane had dropped off. Basically we will need to have our luggage packed the night before disembarkation, and bring it to security to be inspected. Early the same morning we will sign off at the crew office…I assume this is when we’ll receive our passports back. Finally on Saturday we’ll gather in the Princess theater and disembark together. I was glad to get all of this information in advance!

But reading all of that made me feel restless. I didn’t feel like going to the gym, or relaxing and reading a book. In fact I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do. Probably because what I want to do is go home!

Rebeca feels the same way, she misses her boyfriend and the foods that you can only get in Argentina, and her dogs. Molly wants to have a real honest-to-god sandwich and graham crackers, two things you can’t get on ships! Nia is looking forward to seeing her boyfriend and her sister’s dogs, and going on vacation. Stacey will be happy to see her family and play some gigs. Paula found love while she was out here on the Ruby Princess, and is looking forward to a visit from her new beau, who is coming to see her in Argentina after his contract ends! Jane still has a few more weeks on the ship and a lot of work getting all the new musicians settled in, but once that’s done she’ll be playing with her brother’s band in Canada and hopefully getting some much needed R&R!

And me, you already know. I am going to see Jameson, and start a theater gig, and have job interviews, and visit my family. I’ll be very busy, but I’m excited!

Oh wait, where were we. At sea. Haha.

So I couldn’t decide what to do with myself. I ended up walking around outside on the promenade deck, taking photos here and there.

The deck is a public area, so I was stopped several times by guests who had questions. This kept me occupied and killed time nicely too. I showed one woman how to get to deck 5 via the nearest elevator, then answered a question about laxatives from another woman (yeah I don’t know either you guys). Another person wanted to know whether the neck pillows sold in the shops on deck 6 came in sizes. And finally a woman asked for help figuring out whether she was on the port or starboard side of the ship.

I was glad to help people, but after a while I decided it was time for lunch and some quiet time before the Welcome Back show. The show went fine, it was more fun because it was our last one. I think every show will feel that way! Kind of like letting everything go piece by piece.

Next we had Brian Cheatham’s Motown/Disney shows. Both of those went well and we had a lot of fun, Brian is a fantastic singer and his energy got us all moving and playing our best!

Now I’m enjoying some anime and a little reading before bed. Tomorrow is Cabo, but I’ve taken IPM for Alex (dancer) so I’ll be on the ship for the day.

01/14

It’s an overcast day in Cabo. I wonder if more people will stay on the ship because of that.

I had breakfast and practiced. Had a nice view of the Grand Princess anchored next to us.

After that I went down to the crew office to let them know I wouldn’t be taking the company-provided transportation to the airport on Saturday. I took out some trash and did some light cleanup on the company music tablet, then had lunch. I went to the gym even though I didn’t feel like it, and visited the medical center because my sinuses are killing me and I think they’re infected. They gave me a saline spray (I already have Flonase) and that’s probably the best they can do since I’m leaving at the end of the week. I thanked them and went to my room to read and have a nap.

In the evening we had two back to back dance sets in Explorers lounge. Both went pretty well, though it would have been nice if more people were there! Afterward we stuck around for a bit to watch the new party band perform. They’re very good!

Tomorrow is Mazatlan. The ladies are planning to go ashore to hang out at the beach and have offered to find someone to take my IPM, but honestly I’m not feeling the beach. We’ll see.

01/15

Mazatlan. We had a crew drill in the morning, our last one. Yay!
After that the horns had a sound check for Disco Deck Party, which took a little longer than usual because we needed to work the transitions with the new party band.

After that I think the girls were heading out for their beach day, but I decided not to tag along. I know it’s lame, but hey. I’m lame.

Instead I had lunch at the buffet, then did a load of laundry and packed more, as much as I could four days out. Then I went exploring. I was trying to find the ship’s main laundry room to get new bedding for the next musician to use our cabin. After wandering around for quite a while, I finally figured out that it was on Deck 2…I’d never been there before! I was able to get clean sheets and a towel. Another thing to check off the list.

Nothing exciting happened in the afternoon. I made the mistake of checking the ocean forecast for the end of the week: Thursday looks pretty tolerable, Friday looks like it could be the worst sea day we’ll have for the entire time we’ve been here. Great.

01/16

At the Vallarta Mall for the last time, doing my weekly job hunt. I don't have anything until 4:30pm, so there's plenty of time, but I still got up early so I'll have time in the afternoon to relax. I applied for many jobs, and signed up for one open call audition, and took care of all the mundane stuff that a land-based person would do throughout the week but I've got to delegate to a few hours.

So this is the last port before we head back to the US. My last port as a cruise ship employee.

I've learned quite a lot, and while I wasn't the most outgoing or adventurous, I've gained a great deal from this experience. Musically I was forced to step outside my comfort zone, especially concerning jazz improvisation. I'm still not comfortable with it, I still don't like it. But I'm better at it, and I at least know more about it than I did, and this will help me in the future I'm certain!

I learned how to lip trill, or at least do a "shake", which is just awesome! I've been trying for years to master this skill, and finally I can do it. Thanks Princess Cruises!

I've met six wonderful women, who I hope to keep in touch with in the future. I can't wait to see where our paths will take us.

I've learned how to deal with all of the physical and mental challenges that come along with working at sea, and found that overall I am capable of handling them.

As I sit here getting all pensive about my time on the ship, a few things that I've learned come to mind. I'd like to share them with you as recommendations, in case you decide to cruise for leisure or work! Take 'em or leave 'em :)

Don't expect to be able to walk from one end of the ship to the other on every single deck. In other words, just because a restaurant or shop is on, say, Deck 6, doesn't mean you can get to it simply by walking on Deck 6. You may have to go up a deck, or down a deck, or use an elevator. Don't complain, just do it!

Go to Tea Time at least once on your ship. On the Ruby Princess this was between 3:30pm and 5pm. It's great food and a lot less crowded than the lunch/dinner buffet!

Whether you're an employee or a guest, treat yourself to one of the fancy restaurants on the ship! They are WELL worth it! I can highly recommend the Crown Grill steakhouse!

Remember that the VAST majority of ship employees and crew do not speak English as their first language. You may have to repeat yourself or wait while the employee grabs an English-speaker. Please be patient...regardless of nationality, everyone is there to help you and will do so asap.

Expect periods of limited/slow/absent wifi and phone services, especially on sea days. The technology is improving but hasn't quite reached anyone's expectations yet.

Be prepared for motion sickness, even if you've never experienced it before. Anyone can get motion sick. My boss has been working ships for twenty years, and I saw her struggling with nausea and headaches. Bring whatever you need to bring, and/or visit the ship's medical center for some Meclizine. You never know.

If you know that you'll be motion sick, it's best to book a cabin that's midship (literally the middle of the ship) and as far down as possible (I recommend deck 8 or below).

That's all I can think of for now. What an interesting experience this has been for me. I feel like I've gained a lot of perspective out here.

After a while I decided to call it quits and head back to the ship. Once on board I took a shower and had lunch, then relaxed until it was time for rehearsal.

Rehearsal was fine, Brian’s shows were fine. We had a fun moment where he came over and danced with me, which was a lot of fun! A great memory for my last show with him. He’s a great guy and I hope he goes far in the entertainment world. Honestly, almost all of these guest entertainers have been wonderful to perform with :)

Then we had a late entertainment Christmas/New Years party! It was a little weird because, well first of all it’s way past both of those holidays! And also we’ve got a combination of people leaving very soon, and people who have just arrived and don’t even know anyone yet. But it was a great party, great people and awesome food!

The party took place in the Youth Center up on Deck 17. There was an air hockey table and Skii-ball, and games and music. The music managers had collected baby photos from most of us and put them together into a slide show! We had a lot of fun trying to guess who was who! We were some pretty cute kids ;)

And partway through we had a nice surprise. Nia (trumpet) had put together a slide show of our band featuring video and sound clips from our shows, and photos and memories of our time together. It was thoughtful, heartfelt, and just beautifully done. Jane (our boss) was crying at the end of it. Once we leave she’s going to have to go back to working with those darned male musicians :P Of course there’s nothing wrong with that! But, you know…we’ll miss each other! We had a big group hug and it was really a wonderful moment. Thank you so much Nia, and all of you ladies. It’s been so awesome.

01/17

Today I gave myself the gift of sleeping in, followed by my last breakfast buffet here on the Ruby Princess! I had smoked, fish, roasted tomatoes, French toast, muesli, and fruit. As I ate I did a little networking and was excited to possibly line up a gig with a NOLA-style brass band! Yay! I’ve never played New Orleans-style before, and honestly, before this ship contract I would not have been confident enough to put myself out there for something like that. Despite my complaints here and there about working on this ship, I am extremely grateful for what I have learned here. While I’m not a great jazz musician and probably never will be, I can at least look at jazz music and jazz gigs and say, “I can do that”. Something that was not possible for me before working here. So thank you Jane, for forcing me to play jazz. Thank you Nia for coaching me and leading by example with your freaking sick playing! Thank you Stacey for the jazz lessons and insights, for listening to my whinings and forcing me to get over my jazz hang-ups. You have all made me a better person and a better musician. Thank you.

Anyway, haha. Next we had Voice rehearsal, it went well and quickly. I went back to the room and packed some more clothes and started my last load of laundry. Then Jane called me to her office for my final appraisal (basically an employee evaluation). I was happy to find that she’s been satisfied with my work and every aspect of my being a part of this group. Again, I’m incredibly grateful. It’s been an absolute privilege!

Later in the evening we had our last dance set together in the piazza. For whatever reason, there were a TON of people dancing, possibly more than we’ve ever had. It was really, really awesome. As we took our bows I looked around and saw Jane and Paula tearing up again. You guys! Stop that!!

Tomorrow we have a VERY long day. We have to get up early to do all our sign off paperwork, then we have the Voice followed by two of Dwight’s shows, followed by checking our luggage with security. Among other things. Woo!

01/18

Today started early with signing off at the crew office. We had to turn in our employee IDs, and in exchange we got a Seafarer’s Certificate and a letter stating that we had successfully completed our contracts without incident. Yay!

Next we had Voice rehearsal and show. The ship was moving a lot and it was a bit of a struggle for me, but the show itself went well! When it was finished I was happy to pack up my company-issued music tablet for the last time. Yay!

Then we had two of Dwight’s shows in Explorers lounge. These were our last two shows, ever. Dwight made a point to address us during the show and share with the audience how much he enjoyed working with us. What a stand-up guy. When those shows were over some of us were a little teary-eyed. We turned in our music, and that was that…our last work on the Ruby Princess. Yay!

After that we had to get our luggage inspected by security and loaded onto a cart, to be distributed to us when we disembarked the next day. This didn’t take nearly as long as I thought, but it was still around 11pm before all of us were finished. I went up to crew bar for a little bit to spend time with the girls and other crew members who wanted to say goodbye and wish us well. It was nice to have this opportunity to say goodbye and have a drink with everyone, but the ship was still rocking a lot and I wasn’t feeling it. I ghosted out pretty early.

Tomorrow, we disembark. It’s been a wild ride.

01/19

My eyes popped open at 6:50am. I began tearing the sheets off my bed. By the time I was finished Stacey’s alarm was going off.

We got to work packing our remaining things and cleaning up the room. Although disembarkation isn’t until 10am, we needed to be out of the room by 8am because the new band is moving in right away. That’s a quick turnaround, but that’s normal on ships I’m told!

Soon we were ready to leave. The room was clean, all we had to do was take our linens to the laundry room and trash to the incinerator. Goodbye cabin. It’s been fun.

We dropped off our garbage and dirty laundry, then went to the mess for breakfast. I was very happy to have phone signal! I’ll probably treasure that small pleasure all week haha. We ate and did internet stuff to kill the hour. We were joined by Nia, Molly, Paula, Rebeca, and others a little bit later. We all enjoyed killing time together, for the last time!

In a little while I'll go through customs before setting foot off the Ruby Princess for the last time.
There's so much that I could say, that I'm going to leave unsaid for lack of time. I don't know if I'll be able to post later today, so I'll do it now and have a follow-up post later on.
Mostly, thank you everyone. It's been a pleasure. See you down the road.

**DISCLAIMER**: The views expressed in this blog are my own and do not reflect the views of my employer!

01/06

Today we are at sea. It’s a fairly nice day out. I had breakfast and practiced my Ain’t Misbehavin’ stuff, then walked around on deck a bit. I downloaded a new book yesterday but it turns out it’s only 600 pages, so I’m rationing it haha.

It was a pretty average day. I had a nice lunch and opted for a nap instead of the gym. Nia gave me some Gabrieli music so I spent some time enjoying that. We had Welcome Back rehearsal and then the show, both fine. Paul has a cold but he still did both of his shows, and they were just fine. It’s worth mentioning that this was our last time playing this particular show (Paul has two Broadway shows so we’ll have one more later in the week). It felt strange to turn in our music afterward.

Tomorrow we are in Cabo as usual. There’s nothing I need there, but there’s always internet stuff to do.

01/07

Welp, so much for getting off the ship today.

Not sure if it was just me, if maybe I’m extra sensitive today or what, but it seemed to me that the sea was rougher than usual. I decided to give it a go anyway, but when I got to the tender it was bobbing up and down pretty violently. I gulped and stepped on anyway, but hadn’t counted on sitting there for as long as we did. After just a few minutes I felt dizzy, and five more minutes after that I was about to panic because we hadn’t even left the dock yet and the little boat was pitching so hard that everyone was holding onto their seats. Nope. I got up and got off.

I feel upset about it, and I can’t pinpoint if I’m upset because I’m embarrassed at how I reacted today or because I feel trapped on the ship, or simply because I’m homesick. Or maybe it’s because I checked the weather and it looks like it’s going to be another hellride on Thursday and Friday. Maybe it’s all of those things. Anyway, looks like I’m staying on board.

I just want to have “normal” sea days. I don’t want to have to dread the end of the week each and every week. But that is unrealistic, and in any case there are only a few sea days left, so I’d better suck it up.

It was an otherwise productive morning. I had breakfast, did laundry, and cleaned our cabin bathroom. I rested a bit, ate scones at tea time, and went to the gym. I even did another round of packing things since Stacey had gone ashore and I could make a mess. It begins...

We only had one show this evening, with Jamie, who is also a Princess cast member. It's been a while since we did his show so of course we felt we could have done better. Still, it was a pleasure and Jamie sounded great. Afterward we turned our music in. Another show lost to memory.

The ship was moving a great deal tonight. We have a new captain this cruise, and apparently he thinks stabilizers are for pussies. Again...I was hoping to enjoy the last two weeks here with less nausea...but instead it looks like this could become a nightly event. That's a shame. Yes, the Meclizine is a lifesaver and I'm very grateful for it. But it does have side effects. I wonder if the cruise ship industry considers that one third of the global population is susceptible to motion sickness; in other words, at any given time, 33% of your passengers are deciding whether to book their next cruise or not based on their experience. Just saying. "The views expressed in this blog do not reflect..." etc etc.

01/08

Today we had a short morning drill about Stairway Guide safety and how to speak to passengers during an emergency. Afterward I got off the ship and took the blue line path to the tourist square in Mazatlan. I'm grateful to get off the ship today. This is my last time visiting Mazatlan; next week I have IPM duty in this port.

Allegro cafe was open, so I went there. I've been giving Dulce Mami a lot of patronage and figured why not spread the love. Plus Allegro has faster wifi ;) I got a chai and got all caught up on my internet things. After several hours of applying for jobs and taking care of other business, and two cups of coffee and a muffin, I could no longer find an excuse for camping at Allegro. It was a nice day, so I wandered a bit and found some interesting places in the quiet side streets. It was a nice way to spend my last day in Mazatlan.

Elsewhere, some of the ladies were out with the Mariachis for one last meal. Tomorrow Juan and Ray will deport in Vallarta, and head home for a break before their next cruise contracts. It has been wonderful performing with these two, and I feel like I’ve learned a lot from them. And with this, the goodbyes have begun. Juan, Ray: as they say in the circus, “See you down the road”! Thank you for everything.

(photo courtesy Mario)

Back at the ship I unpacked and cleaned up before our Disco sound check. It was nice to have some chill time.

The Disco Deck Party went well. Either the sea was very calm, or someone graciously had the stabilizers on tonight. Maybe there's hope for the rest of this contract after all.

01/09

Today I woke up very early for some wifi time. I have IPM today, but Nia has kindly covered me for the morning since she'll be asleep anyway. I had a few errands to finish, including sending headshots and a bio to Winter Park Playhouse and letting the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey know I'll be back in town soon to start volunteering again. I also worked on my project-that-I-can't-tell-you-about-until-it-happens, and made plans to visit with my sister on Saturday.

I have a sore throat again. I'm very much hoping that it's just because the air on the ship is dry. Can you even get sick twice in a row???

Back at the ship I unpacked, showered, and had lunch. And a nap.

That evening we did the last of Paul’s Broadway shows. It’s amazing to think we’ve been performing with Paul for six weeks! Both shows went well. And afterward, we turned in our music. Honestly, It’s been a pleasure working with Paul. He’s been gracious, approachable, exacting, and fun. His musicianship is going to be the standard by which I judge any future guest entertainers :)

Tomorrow night Paul’s throwing us a little party in the dressing room, just to put the cherry on top of what’s been a great experience!

01/10

I slept for a long time today. It felt like my cold was coming back, so I figured extra sleep would be a good idea. Then I went to the guest buffet for a better-than-usual breakfast of smoked fish, muesli, and fruit.

We had Voice rehearsal in the afternoon, which went quickly. Afterward the ladies went up to the buffet for lunch, but having just eaten I chose not to go with them. Instead I typed this blog and did some reading. The internet is not working today and it’s kind of a bummer. It’s been pretty consistent for the past month, so I shouldn’t complain, but when you can’t say “good morning” to your boyfriend or respond to an important email that you know is waiting for you, or make plans with your sister, it’s a little frustrating. I hope it’ll be working again tonight or tomorrow.

At night we had a double dance set in the Wheelhouse. The first set featured Nia and I, for the second I sat out and Paula came in on sax. The Wheelhouse stage is small, so it’s better not to have the whole band up there. We had a great audience, lots of people got up to dance and we got a lot of compliments on our playing afterward.

When the sets were finished we went to the theater dressing room for the get-together Paul had arranged for the whole entertainment department. It was nice to share a drink and some snacks with the dancers, lighting/sound guys, cast members, and musicians. Pretty soon a lot of us will be going our separate ways, but we’ll have some great memories.

(photo courtesy Rebeca)

01/11

Still no internet again today. Argh.
Seriously, in Vallarta I actually finally got some responses from my job queries. I know that there are emails waiting in my inbox to schedule interviews. And my sister was thinking about meeting up again, and had said she’d get back to me by yesterday, but I’ve got no way of knowing what’s happening. Arrrrrgh.

That aside, the ship has been moving a great deal and it’s hard to be motivated to do anything. When the ship plunges, the gravity is crushing. And when it rises back up, it feels like you might get thrown off the ground and into a wall or something. It’s extremely uncomfortable, and even those who don’t get motion sick often get brutal headaches. My boss, who has worked ships for twenty years, was motion sick yesterday night.

Anyway, we are fortunate to only have Voice today. Because of the movement of the ship, the entertainment schedule was changed such that the production show will take place today (although I’m not sure the motion is any better for the dancers). That means Dwight’s show has been cancelled, so we ladies only have one afternoon performance.

Before the show I ate breakfast and did laundry. The show went well, there were only five contestants this week so it seemed to go quickly. And afterward, we were free for the rest of the day! How exciting! Too bad it’s a sea day haha. I took a nap and tried not to let the plunging sensation get to me.

We received a weak wifi signal sometime in there, and I managed to send a few texts and check my emails. Thankfully no one wants to do an interview this Saturday (I had offered it for phone interviews and was worried that someone would take me up on it and I wouldn’t know until it was too late). And I think my sister and I will meet up tomorrow. That would be nice.

Since we had an unexpected night off, Nia decided it might be nice to have a dinner together. We probably won't have time to do this next week. Jane made reservations for us at Crown Grill, the ship's steakhouse.

We all sat around a big table with Paul and talked about all kinds of things: how we got into music, what our plans are for the future, what's the first thing we'll do when we get home, etc. We enjoyed an AMAZING meal. I just had to get the filet mignon again, it was so good!

Full and happy, we walked back to our cabins together. Tomorrow we arrive in San Pedro for the second-to-last time.

01/12

As usual, I got off the ship early. Nia and Molly came with me as they were making a Target run. I went straight to Hojas. It was raining, and I was pretty damp by the time I got there. Kayle and Skylar are picking me up later...maybe they will let me borrow their dryer. Or a big fluffy towel!

I had my favorite Hojas sandwich, a Number 3 with no cream cheese and an egg. I skipped the tea in favor of an Americano. And I bought each of us a slice of carrot cake.

I'm sitting here typing this and feeling grateful, and excited. Grateful to have had this experience and learned so much, and met so many wonderful people. Grateful and excited for the opportunities awaiting me when I get back to Florida. Excited to see Jameson again, and to move forward with my life, in whatever direction it may lead. The past year has been very difficult, and it was hard to have a good attitude. Honestly, I'm not sure that I'm in a better position this year either. But I think that if I can actually manage to keep a positive attitude this time, that will change things. Accepting this cruise ship contract was a good idea, and I'm glad Jameson supported me and encouraged me to do it. I'm glad for everyone in my life who recognized that this was something that I should try. It's opened up my perspectives, and overall I think it's made me a better person (I mean we'll see haha). So, thank you to everyone who has supported me this far. I am extremely lucky to have you in my life!

Kayle will be coming to get me soon. It'll be good to see her again.

(**DISCLAIMER**: The views expressed in this blog are my own and do not reflect the views of my employer!)

12/29 cont.

Later in the afternoon Molly and Nia joined me at Hojas. Molly was annoyed because she tried to ship a package home, and had to jump through an insane amount of hoops to make it happen. While this was definitely frustrating for her, I was grateful that she’d found this out today, because I had also planned to ship a box home if needed. Sorry Molly! Thanks Molly!

Too soon it was time to head back to the ship. I packed up and enjoyed the walk back, went through security, unpacked my things, chatted with Stacey. Had a quick lunch before the drill. Did the drill, then started on some laundry. Another nice day in San Pedro.

This week the company VP is on the ship, so we’re all going to be dotting our t’s and crossing our I’s :p

12/30

Just another day at sea.
I had breakfast, then practiced “Ain’t Misbehavin’” in my stairwell. Last night before going to bed I’d listened to the first act and made lots of notes…there are stylistic things happening that are not written on the page, and I want to make sure I get them right. I’m very grateful for technology, the ability to have an entire part in front of me that I can mark and annotate without fear of permanently damaging it.

After practice I had a nice lunch and after a little digestion time I went to the gym.

12/31

Wow. Is 2018 at an end already?

It’s been…a weird year. Not my best, for certain.
I was difficult to live with. Difficult to work with. Difficult to be around. To everyone I’ve hurt or offended this year (and there are many of you), I hope you can accept my apology. Things were not going well for me, but that’s no reason to take it out on others.

2018, for me, was marked by the pain of losing my job…but as I’ve said many times, it was more than a job. It was a family, a life…practically a living thing unto itself. After five years with the circus, I thought I’d finally found a place where I belonged, and a place where I could stay. To me, losing the circus was the equivalent of the universe saying, “There is no such place.”

That was a hard pill to swallow. It was painful to think that nothing could ever compare to this experience, and the time to have and to hold it was already past. I didn’t know how to cope. When I applied for jobs, or took auditions, I had no passion for it and no goals in mind.

I got on this cruise ship at the end of the year not because I wanted to, but because I felt I had to. After applying to 300+ jobs this year, I had only heard back from a handful, and of those only one or two extended job offers. One of those was a kennel. I learned a lot working there, but I was bitter to be working entry level at base pay and my pride told me that my resume should be getting me more than this. Even when I was offered the cruise ship contract I remained bitter, thinking that this was some sort of gimmick band and the only reason I’d been recruited was because of my gender.

But Jameson encouraged me to do it. He said it might be good for me, to get away and reset. I grudgingly agreed, although I dreaded leaving him for four whole months. I was also honestly afraid…afraid to be at sea, and afraid to be out of touch with the people in my life. But in the end I said yes, and packed my things, and did it anyway, because some opportunities should not be passed up.

And I’m glad I did it. Is the ship life for me? Probably not. But the experience has been worth it, meeting some amazing musicians and learning so many new things and finding out what ship life is like. I got to do so many things that I never thought myself capable of, and I was able to grow a great deal as a musician. I am thankful to William, the trombonist who recommended me for the job, and to Doug for deciding to hire me…to Jane for being an incredible boss, to Nia and Stacey and Rebeca and Paula and Molly for being wonderful human beings and stellar musicians who have taught me so much.

Most of all, I’m grateful for the perspective that ship life has given me. There are things more valuable than income, and more important than the type of work you are doing. There are things in the future worth looking forward to. Being out here has given me time to prioritize and get some direction.

Moving forward in 2019, I already have so much to look forward to. I have a fun theater gig coming up, and THREE job interviews! I am grateful for the opportunity to interview, no matter the outcome. My sister will have her first baby, and I will be an aunt for the first time. I’ll get to visit my parents, sisters, brother, aunts, and possibly even grandparents this year, family time that has been neglected while I was touring with the circus or chasing desperately after employment. And best of all, I can look forward to another wonderful year with my Jameson, who has been my rock through all of the turmoil we’ve experienced. I feel like I can face anything when we’re together!

Anyway, these are the thoughts I’m having as 2018 draws to a close this evening. I know that many of you out there are having similar thoughts of what has been and what is to come. All the best to you in the New Year. <3

Today we are in Cabo San Lucas, and I have IPM duty. I also woke up with a scratchy throat…am I really going into the new year with a cold?! Good grief.

I spent a lot of time relaxing today in the hopes of easing whatever virus may be trying to sneak up on me. We had no performances during the day, so I spent some time reading, watching anime, writing, and napping.

Nia and Molly were also killing time, so we played a few music quiz games together. I vacuumed our cabin, and went upstairs for tea time, and chatted a bit with people online since the signal was good. As it got late I made some green tea hoping that it would keep me energized for our 11pm set, then ran through some of the music for our performance.

It was packed when we got to Explorers lounge...mostly with younger people dancing along to the track playing. When we started playing our old-school dance music, it kinda cleared the floor for the older folks (don't worry, there was a DJ upstairs for the young drunks to continue their party!) Our older crowd enjoyed us so much that they kept clamoring for more, so we kept adding more and more songs! As the clock struck midnight, we paused to play Auld Lang Syne and ring in the new year. We kept playing until we ran out of songs...until after 1am!

Well...I had come down with a cold, and I was awfully tired. So I was a loser this New Year's Eve, and went straight to bed. Tough!

Tomorrow is Mazatlan. I'm hoping things will be open!

01/01/19

Wow, the first day of the new year!!

It was hard to get up this morning, but I had to do my job hunt. I want to start 2019 employed, thankyouverymuch.

I got off the ship and enjoyed a nice quiet walk to the main tourist square. It was pretty quiet, and everywhere you looked there were spent fireworks and cups and bottles, evidence of some awesome New Year's partying.

In the square I was disappointed to see that most places were closed. Allegro too. But as I rounded the corner, I heard talking and the sound of dishware. Dolce Mami was open! And they were the ONLY place open. I tried to order crepes again, but must have gotten it wrong because the server came back with pancakes. Oh what a tragedy! Hahaha. They were delicious of course :)

It was more busy here than I've ever seen it, every table was packed. I took a tiny table in an awkward location to try and stay out of the way. I think it was smart of the owner to stay open!

I didn’t stay as long as usual, partly because I didn’t want to take up space and partly because there just weren’t many jobs to apply for this soon after the holidays. I did what I could and packed up. No other coffee shops were open, so I enjoyed a leisurely walk back to the ship.

Mazatlan is probably my favorite port of the three Mexican ports we regularly visit. I like it because it’s a Real Place. Cabo San Lucas feels very “spring break”, with lots of booze everywhere and tacky tourist junk and people getting up in your face trying to sell you tours or water taxis or random knick-knacks. I’ve heard Vallarta is nice in the residential areas, but you need a taxi to reach those and meanwhile in port there’s a Walmart, Sam’s Club, and a big mall…it’s my favorite port for wifi and supplies, but it’s not really all that interesting.

But Mazatlan is residential. You need to walk through real neighborhoods to get to anything touristy, and even then the tourist area is pretty small compared to the other ports. And when we were here for Christmas few businesses were open; in other words, these people value celebrating the holiday over catering to tourists. That’s so awesome. Just strolling around here makes me feel more at ease, and less like a stranger in a strange land.

Back at the ship, I went to the mess for a quick meal. I was surprised to see that once again we had a special menu for New Year’s Day! I was only a little hungry so kept it light with a halved avocado filled with baby shrimp salad, a few pieces of rainbow trout, and a small slice of panettone. Full and tired, I went back to the cabin for a quick nap.

In the evening we had a sound check and two performances of Dwight’s Motown show. It went very well, as usual. I was very tired afterward and went to bed right away. Gotta fight this cold.

01/02

Today turned out to be insanely busy. We had a crew drill in the morning which ended up lasting an hour and a half while our muster station leaders nitpicked about how we point out emergency exits. The problem wasn’t the nitpicking, it was that they opened the floor to opinions from the rest of us. So of course several people felt the need to voice their opinions, and argue, and debate…anyway, it took a lot longer than it should have. Let’s leave it at that.

By the time I was able to go ashore it was almost noon. That’s ok, I wasn’t feeling great anyway. I got to the mall and had a few hours of internet time, applied for a few jobs, and walked right back to the ship. I had a nice lunch and a shower, then tried to relax for a little while before our busy night.

First we had back to back sound checks, one for Paul’s Broadway show and the other for the Disco Deck Party. Then there was some time to eat dinner and get changed, then we did two of Paul’s shows. The second show started at 9:30, with the Disco show starting right at 10:30 up on deck 16. After Paul’s last show we had to pack up, run to our rooms, change very quickly, and get up to deck 16. Poor Paula had three or four instruments to pack up and move in addition to getting changed, so Nia and I waited for her. The whole band isn’t there until all of its members are there after all.

We arrived upstairs just in time. We don’t usually have the Disco show that late, and it was pretty clear why: the wind was INSANE. My music stand almost blew over, and the wind kept grabbing my bell and forcing me to grip my trombone tight. We all struggled to play with our hair whipping into our eyes and mouths, despite all of us tying and pinning it back. Ah well. We got through it, and there were lots of people dancing and enjoying themselves, so it ended up fine. Again, I went right to bed afterward.

01/03

I slept in today. It was needed.

I took my time waking up, but eventually got dressed and went upstairs to the guest buffet. The sea was calmer than usual this morning, and I was very grateful. I hope it lasts.

After a delicious meal and a nice chat with Jameson, I went back to the room to gather my things. I warmed up in my stairwell before heading to Voice rehearsal. Rehearsal was fine. I had lunch and some chill time, and practiced a bit before our evening shows. We did a jazz set in the piazza that went pretty well, and then the horns got to play with the Mariachis again!

The Mariachi set went well, although I think afterward we all wished we had rehearsed it one more time. It’s been a while since our first attempt, and we’d forgotten a few things. But still, the dance floor was packed, and we were happy to play with Mario, Juan, and Ray one last time. They’ll be leaving next week in Puerto Vallarta. I can’t believe it’s time for people to start parting ways already.

01/04

I was very tired today, but got up early for breakfast and did some laundry. We had Voice sound check and show in the afternoon, both of which went well. Afterward we got to enjoy a few snacks that had been brought to the dancer dressing room, that was a nice surprise! And then I took a nap. I don’t know why I’m so tired lately, but I can only guess from having a cold.

In the evening there were two jazz sets, but I was not involved in either of them. Nia and Molly suggested that we all have dinner together before the sets in the Wheelhouse. We enjoyed an awesome meal, possibly one of our last together as a group :( I had some amazing calamari sticks, a mushroom salad with a crispy poached egg on top, and some sort of amazing brandy chocolate concoction for dessert. Yum!

Both sets went well, although imo the second one went on longer than totally necessary. I recorded most of the first set...we could all use more promotional material, yes? By the time the second set finished there were only one or two guests left, and the rest were employees. We all went to bed. Stacey, who had been playing bass for almost two hours straight, was exhausted. She said her fingers were burning.

01/05

I was off the boat right away at 8am in San Pedro. I went to CVS first to buy a luggage tag and a few small toiletries to get me through the last few weeks. Then I went to Hojas of course! This is one of my last times coming here. I had the Chef's Special, ham and cheese on an everything bagel with lots of veggies and homemade chipotle sauce, yum! And I had the ginger vanilla black tea, which was delicious. Gonna miss this place!

I worked on my various online projects and my job hunt. Somewhere in there Molly joined me and we had internet time together :)

In a little while I'll have to go back to the ship. Just two weeks left.

12/23

Yesterday night went well. After typing the blog, I stayed at Hojas Tea House and applied for some more jobs that came up. Molly (drums) joined me for a bit. When it came time to head back to the ship I walked alone so that she could call her family.

Back on the ship I unpacked and chatted with Stacey before the passenger drill. We put on our life jackets and went to our Stairway Guide stations, making sure that passengers made their way to the Muster Stations in an orderly fashion and whatnot. This is a pretty crowded cruise, and I’ve heard that there are around 300 children on board, maybe more. Crazy!

After the drill my boss helped me to print some documents for a theater gig I’ve got after this ship contract is over. More details on that after the holidays!

Then I had a shower, took out the trash, and went to Deck 4 to claim some packages. One was my Secret Santa stuff, the other was from my sister Raven! I’m not allowed to open them until Christmas!

I had a quick dinner, then a run-through of the Christmas tree lighting ceremony music with Nia (trumpet) and Paula (sax). I had just enough time to grab my Christmas light necklace and Santa hat before heading down to the piazza to play!

We played well and had fun. We were supposed to stick around for a photo, but Nia and I forgot and ruined it. Whoops! Hopefully we can get one before the end of the week! Sorry ladies!

Today we are at sea, and it’s a pretty average day for us with the Welcome Back event and Paul Baker’s Broadway show. Jameson is flying to Chicago to spend Christmas with his parents; I sent him a few quick texts, then got my cabin ready for inspection. This time they actually came into our rooms and did real inspections (sometimes—ok usually—they just pop their head in and ask if we need anything repaired) so all of us sat in the hall to be out of their way. Poor Nia was still eating cereal, while the Mariachi guys chatted and the Argentinian ladies shared some mate.

When inspections were over I snuck my Secret Santa gifts down to Jane’s office, then killed some time before heading down to the HR office with the girls to claim our Christmas presents from Princess. The line was VERY long…but there are over a thousand employees on the ship, so we shouldn’t have been surprised!

We got a free wifi card, and this cute little mini-backpack! How nice!

After that I wanted to rest for a bit. Sleep does not always come to me easily on the ship, and some days I feel it more than others. I watched the Frosty Christmas special on my laptop and took a little nap before lunch. That gave me a little more energy, so I went to the gym.

At the Welcome Back event rehearsal, each of us found a little white box on our music stands. Inside were a set of nice headphones in blue and white, with “Princess Cruises” on one earbud and “Entertainment” on the other. There was also a note thanking us for providing great entertainment to ship guests. I was really surprised and happy to receive such a nice gift, but mostly for the “thank you”. Sometimes just an acknowledgement that you bring something valuable to your employer is enough. Thank you for that, Princess Entertainment.

Right afterward we had sound check with Paul Baker, and then his shows. They went pretty well, although personally I would have liked to play better. It was awfully cold in the theater and I think it got to me a bit, I felt stiff. Next time I’ll warm up more!

Tomorrow, Christmas Eve, we are in Cabo San Lucas. Several of the ladies are going on shore excursions for the first time! I was expecting to trade IPM duty with someone so didn’t plan anything, but that’s all right, relaxing free days are great too :) The only shows we have tomorrow are a Christmas caroling in the piazza, and a jazz set (BOOOOO) at night. We’re also going to have a gift exchange!

12/24

I woke up and had breakfast, but went right back to bed. I hadn't slept well and honestly wasn't feeling great.

About an hour later I got up again. Stacey had left for her shore excursion so I had the room to myself. I decided it was a good time to implement Phase One of packing :) I brought a lot with me for this contract, but I didn't use everything. So anything that I haven't used during my time here, or that I knew I wouldn't use in the next month, I organized and stashed in my big suitcase. It felt good to get some things out of the way!

Next, I loaded up my backpack and took a tender to shore. My boss has offered to take my IPM duty for tomorrow, Christmas Day, but I already know we have a rehearsal in the morning and I've no idea if we'll have time to go ashore. So I figured it's best to do it now. I found the cafe Stacey had shown me last time and got a giant chocolate muffin and a coffee, and just relaxed.

One huge muffin later, I was feeling a little better and decided to return to the ship for some rest. That night, being Christmas Eve and all, we had some Christmas-y shows to do!

First we had the tree lighting ceremony in the piazza. Jane (piano) and us three horns (Paula, Nia and I) opened the ceremony with some jazzy versions of classic Christmas carols! Mike (solo vocalist/guitar) was able to get some footage of our performance. Thanks Mike!

https://instagram.com/p/Br0tgoCA070

Then we had a Christmas jazz set in Adagio. We again played jazzy versions of classics like White Christmas and Winter Wonderland. We also did that Charlie Brown Christmas theme, and some jazz standards as well. Stacey (bass) made a video, hopefully I will be able to share it with you soon!

Jane gave each of us a wonderful Christmas present: a framed photo of us all together! Looking at the photo, we were all amazed to think we'd hardly known each other when the picture was taken. And now we've grown really close, and our time together is coming to an end. It's a bit sad...but I'm so happy to have made new friends in this talented, professional group of women. I am a difficult person, and I find making friends difficult. So the friendships I've made here with Paula, Rebeca, Nia, Jane, and Stacey, are very valuable to me. Thank you, ladies. It's been wonderful.

But our day wasn't over yet. Everyone had Christmas performances that night, so the only time we could have our department gift exchange was midnight! We all gathered in the musician's hallway on Deck 7 to exchange gifts!

There were wonderful handmade presents, like the painting that Ray received. And there were prudent, "easy" gifts, like the gift of money some people got. I received a very nice leather purse from Juan, one of the Mariachis. There are leather goods in many of the ports we've visited, and I've stopped to admire them several times as one of the few souvenirs I might want for myself. But it's just something I'd never buy for myself. So it was awesome that Juan went ahead and got one for me!! I ran to my room and transferred everything into it right away! Thank you Juan :)

We chose this moment to give our boss her Christmas gift: an engraved frame containing our group photo! We all had a good laugh over how we'd gotten each other essentially the same gift! Jane loved her present :) Here's a group photo taken right after we gave her her gift.

After the exchange we enjoyed wine, beer and cookies. Around 2am I was exhausted and finally rolled into bed. Merry Christmas everyone!

12/25

Today we had rehearsal for the company Christmas show at 10am. We were surprised by gifts of candy from Nia and Stacey! In addition, Nia had handmade each of us a personalized frame with a photo of our group! Mine even had a little trombone in the corner! Aren't they beautiful?

The rehearsal took longer than expected, and I could feel everyone getting stressed. But soon enough it was over, and we all went our separate ways. I had a nice breakfast in the mess while talking with my Aunt on the phone (I turned my phone data on since it's Christmas after all!). It was good to talk to her, and we planned a visit for March.

Next I went ashore in Mazatlan while FaceTiming my brother and sister Jonah and Raven. They were just hanging out at my sister Kate's house...she's a nurse and had been called in to do a liver transplant on Christmas Day. It's dissapointing that she couldn't spend Christmas with the family, but it's infinitely more awesome that she spent her Christmas saving someone's life! Way to go Kate!!

I opened the presents that Raven had sent me: some strawberry lip balm, a box of fancy chocolates, and a case with ten different kinds of looseleaf teas! I was very grateful to receive gifts on the ship, even though I'd told most people not to send any...it was nice to have a little something to open :)

We said our "Merry Christmases" and hung up. I tried calling my parents, but they were occupied with my sister Kayle and her husband, as well as their friends on this Christmas morning! That's ok though, I had called them last night from the ship :) We wished each other a Merry Christmas. It was nice to be in touch with family today!

I went to the main square in Mazatlan, but everything was closed except for one restaurant, so I returned to the ship. I was still tired from a long Christmas Eve. I had a shower and a nap, and lunch in the crew mess. What a surprise! There was a wonderful Christmas menu that included carved turkey and steak medallions, and a HUGE Christmas cake! There was a wine station and a soda station, and the officers were serving the food! It was really very nice of Princess to make Christmas so special!

In the evening we had caroling in the piazza. Jane was supposed to do a solo piano set, but Nia was able to find horn parts, so we played along! All of the officers were there, dressed in their uniforms and Christmas hats. The dancers were there too, dressed to the nines. Guests and crew sang together. It was a lovely experience.

And then, the Christmas show! The horns played carols outside the theater...again, lots of footage was taken, so hopefully I'll have some to share with you! The main theater show featured Stanley, the Princess mascot bear, coming to life in the middle of a Christmas party. Stanley has never celebrated Christmas before, and it's up to the crew and guests to show him how people celebrate Christmas around the world! The show featured our orchestra, the Mariachis, the dancers, star vocalists, and even the children of some of the cruise guests! It was a very nice show and a lot of fun to do. Here we all are afterward with Paul Baker!

During rehearsal I took this quick shot of the set so you can see what it looked like:

https://instagram.com/p/Br0UtCZAbBa

And I HAD to get footage of these amazing dancers! I couldn't tear my eyes away from their Rockettes-style dance number. Stunning! (There are TWO clips here, use the arrow keys to the left and right of the video to navigate!)

https://instagram.com/p/Br3ClKpgirQ

Both shows went very well. Afterward we all went up to Deck 16 for a nice Christmas meal in the buffet. There were special foods, like sashimi, pumpkin gnocchi, butternut squash soup, and tender steak. There was even Yule Log for dessert! And of course, there was great company :)

Exhausted and full, I went right to bed after eating. Despite being away from home, my Princess family made this Christmas feel warm and special. Thank you all.

12/26

Today is a blessedly light day. The rhythm section has the day off! And all the horns have is the Disco Deck Party at night.

I slept in a little later than usual and it felt great. Eventually I made my way to the Vallarta mall for coffee and wifi. I spent most of my time there assembling this blog, and for once, using the internet for a little FUN. Yes, I still need a job, but nobody is posting job listings the day after Christmas! My parents had gotten me an Amazon gift card, and my sister got me an ASOS card! So I did a little shopping, downloading, and relaxing. It was great.

When I was finished I hit the Mexican Walmart for a few cleaning supplies (we’ll need to clean our cabins when we leave) and went back to the ship. I was able to do a load of laundry and eat lunch, then there was a sound check for the disco show.

After dinner I relaxed until it was time for Disco Deck Party. The show was really well attended…this is the first time I’ve seen the conga line wrap all the way around the pool!

As we packed up afterward, Nia was feeling like ice cream so we went down a deck to get some! She got a vanilla cone, I wanted to try the ice cream sandwich with oatmeal cookies and cinnamon ice cream! It was REALLY good!

Tomorrow we are at sea. We’ll have Voice rehearsal and the Paul Baker shows. My big plans are to sleep late, eat at the guest buffet for breakfast, and go to the gym.

12/27

I slept late!
I ate at the guest buffet!
I did NOT go to the gym! Lol!

There was some beautiful smoked salmon at the guest buffet, I had it with roasted tomatoes and scrambled eggs and muesli on the side. Afterward I decided to clean up my phone a bit, deleting stuff that I don’t use. Voice rehearsal went well, and afterward I had planned to go to the gym, but too bad, didn’t feel like it. I go through “gym phases” I guess.

Instead I went to the ship training/internet room to have a look at my flights home and see if there were any better options out there. My flight is an overnight, leaving Los Angeles around 11pm and arriving in Orlando at 11am the next day. I was hoping for same-day, but there truly weren’t any better AND affordable options. So I’ll suck it up. It won’t be so bad. And it’s more convenient for Jameson as he has a gig on the 19^th.

That settled, I went to tea time and then to Paul’s rehearsal in the theater. After rehearsal I chatted with Stacey, then we had the two Broadway shows. Both shows went well, nothing to report.

Tomorrow, another day at sea. The schedule looks pretty straightforward.

12/28

Yep, it was a straightforward day at sea.
I kind of wish I didn’t have to take Meclizine every time we go up the coast. Boooo, genetics.

After breakfast I spent some time watching the Broadway musical “Ain’t Misbehavin’”. Immediately when I finish my ship contract, I’ll begin performing this show with the Winter Park Playhouse. I’m extremely grateful to have work right when I get back, and I LOVE doing theater gigs! I’ve never played this show before, and wanted to get an idea of what it’s like. The internet has been very good lately, so I was able to watch more than half of the show. The band performs on stage for this one, which was great because I could see what kind of trombone is used and what kind of mutes he’s using (all of them haha). Now I need to invest in a mute stand…

I ate a quick lunch and went to Voice rehearsal, which went well. The show went well too, although the motion of the ship picked up quite a bit and I was feeling a little bad in the guts. Still, I made it through the show. Molly, Nia and I went upstairs for tea time, and then I went right to a midship stairwell to try and settle my stomach before Dwight’s Motown shows.

Dwight’s shows went very well, and I made it through them fine, just with a little acid reflux and discomfort. I just wish my body handled motion differently, it would make this job a lot more enjoyable. Afterward the girls had wine and pajamas :) but since I wasn’t feeling great, I passed and went straight to bed. Tomorrow is an early day in San Pedro.

12/29

Once again, I’m extremely grateful to get off the ship right at 8am!!
I took an Uber to Target. It feels kind of silly to hit Target with only three weeks remaining, but sometimes you just need stuff. I got a new toothbrush, a black shirt (musicians always need these!), a red shirt to replace one that was damaged in the wash, some Clif bars and beef jerky for when I use internet in Mexico but don’t want to pay for meals. Then I Ubered to Hojas for my weekly tea-and-internet time!

Along with my lemongrass coconut rosehip tea, I got an everything bagel with egg and spinach, and a cranberry orange scone to take back to the ship. I’m going to miss Hojas.

It’s hard to believe our band only has three weeks left. Every day I hear people talking about how they’ll pack, what they need to do, and what their plans are for post-contract work and fun. Three of our ladies have been contracted with another Princess ship, and will join up in about two months. Nia will be taking a vacation with her boyfriend. Jane will be performing with her brother’s band in Toronto. Stacey has a new ship contract, plus she’s looking into learning programming. We will all go our separate ways…but our time together has been wonderful. I’m glad to have met these ladies.

As for me, I have a lot in the works, but for now I’m focusing on the theater show and visits to friends and family. I have managed to line up a few job interviews, and hopefully can arrange for a few more in the coming weeks. There’s a lot to look forward to!

But now it’s time for tea :)

12/16

Today we’re at sea. I got up early and since we ate so much yesterday, I decided to hit the gym first thing in the morning. After a shower I threw my sheets in the wash and went upstairs for a light breakfast.

We had a show in the evening (I’m writing this days later so honestly forget what the heck we were doing haha!)

Anyway, normal sea day. Nothing to report.

12/17

Today we were in Cabo. I got off the ship as early as it was possible to do so, because I’ve got IPM in Vallarta, my normal internet spot. I need to make up for the lost hours elsewhere. Stacey showed me a small café off the beaten path with good matcha and decent wifi! I had a few hours there, then when my battery started to die I moved to Cabo Coffee Co, which had worse coffee and wifi, but outlets.

Around 4pm I came back to the ship and got cleaned up just in time for rehearsal with Nia (trumpet) and Paula (sax) for Christmas carols and Mariachi music we’ll be performing soon. Then we had a show in the theater with one of the ship’s own dancers/vocalists, it went very well.

After that we had a rehearsal with the Mariachi band. Tomorrow we’ll play with them on their Day of the Dead set at 7:45. I have a solo piece all to myself and I’m pretty nervous! Here is what I’ll be playing: https://youtu.be/CIcDWHxR-ao

12/18

We are in Mazatlan. I got off the ship early and went straight to Dolce Mami, this time for a legit breakfast! Their crepes are FANTASTIC!

I camped for a bit and worked on this blog and looked for jobs and did some last-minute Christmas shopping. Because I have IPM in Vallarta, I was very grateful to have so much time ashore today.

After about two hours I started to feel bad about camping, so packed up and headed out. On my way out I asked if I could purchase a Dolce Mami mug, since it seems to be their only non-food item with their logo on it. They happily obliged, though I got the impression they don’t get that request often! Anyway, it’ll be nice to have something to remember them by. I’ve only got about four more opportunities to visit.

I tried camping in front of the school again to steal the free wifi, but with THREE cruise ships in the harbor there were way too many people around eating up the data. I decided to give Allegro another try. The vibe there was much different than last time, friendlier and a lot of younger people serving and running the register. I got a chai and set up camp again, for another two hours. I was able to apply for lots of jobs, although I’m not sure how qualified I am for any of them. But I’ve got to try.

Finally after a few messages with Jameson and updates to my computer, I decided to call it quits. There is only so much job hunting a person can do, and I felt that four hours straight was enough for one day. I had a pleasant walk back to the ships, unpacked, cleaned up, and had a late lunch.

Soon it was time to perform with the Mariachis. I was pretty nervous. It has been so hard scheduling rehearsals, and I have to admit that I had a very negative attitude about it most of the time. Our charts seemed to always be wrong, I had trouble getting my own parts right, and sometimes it felt like we were wasting our time. Now we’d find out whether all our hard work was worth it.

Long story short, it was great. There was a huge crowd, the guests danced and clapped and had a wonderful time. It was so crowded that the horns had to stand on the lip of the piazza fountain, and I did not know where to put my slide for fear of accidentally hitting someone! But that’s how you know it’s a good set :)

I performed Idilio, and while it wasn’t perfect I was happy with how it went for the first time.

Nia (trumpet) had a blazing solo during one of the pieces. Paula (sax) in addition to being an amazing player is also a fantastic dancer, and she was dancing and smiling the whole time! Molly (drums) had a blast backing up our whole ensemble. Afterward we all cheered and hugged each other. We finally did it! It was a great feeling to perform together with such wonderful, accomplished musicians. Mario, Ray, and Juan are amazing Mariachis, and I am so grateful that they let us be a part of their musical style. I have actually wanted to play with a mariachi band for a long time, and this was my very first time achieving that goal, all thanks to these three guys, my awesome boss Jane, and Princess Cruises. I can’t say thank you enough!!

12/19

Today we are in Vallarta. We had a short entertainment department meeting early in the morning, followed by a rehearsal for our upcoming Christmas show. The music was pretty straightforward, but there’s a lot of choreography involved. We ended up rehearsing for over two hours! I had skipped breakfast, so was starving by the time we were finished. Some of us girls and mariachis went upstairs to eat lunch together, then we all went our separate ways.

I have IPM duty, so I stayed on the ship. Today is the 19^th…only one month left with Princess Cruises. It’s been a wild ride. I’ve learned a lot, and struggled and stressed, and had exciting and fun adventures. But soon it will be time to return to land, and I’m beginning to think about what I need to do to prepare.

On Nia’s recommendation, I checked the Crew Self Service website to see if we had been given flight home information yet. Yes! Wow…this is really happening!

I didn’t really do a whole lot else today…I had planned to go to the gym but was feeling a bit tired, so mostly just rested and recouped. In the evening we had Disco Deck Party, I got to wear my Christmas lights necklace! The show went well and I hit the sack right after.

12/20

Today we are at sea. We had Voice rehearsal in the afternoon. It was sunny and nice outside, but the ship is moving up and down a lot like it does when we’re going against the coastal current. I spent a few hours outside enjoying the sun, but started to get sleepy! I came inside for tea and scones, then went to sound check for Paul Baker’s Broadway show. Later at night we had shows at 6:30 and 9pm, both of which went well.

12/21

Today the sea was rough :/ I spent a lot of time in the midship stairwells to help prevent vertigo and sickness. I took my motion sickness pills of course, but still, spending time in my room puts me in the prow of the ship, and the up-and-down plunging sensation there is very uncomfortable.

We had a busy day. First we had Voice rehearsal and performances in the afternoon, followed by rehearsal and performance of Dwight's shows late at night. All of the shows went well...it was just a long day. All I wanted to do was get to San Pedro. With the holidays approaching, many of us are thinking about last-minute gifts, the entertainment department's Secret Santa, and the holiday performances we'll have this week. And now that there's only one month left for our little band, we are also thinking about how to pack and whether we'll need to ship things home. Since San Pedro is our only US stop, we look forward to it for all of the things we can't get in Mexico.

12/22

I was absolutely thrilled to be allowed off the ship around 8:30am. It was a misty morning along the dock as I made my way to Hojas Tea House. One thing that ship life has taught me is to be grateful for shore time. On average, I've gotteen between 4-6 hours of shore time in each port. When we were stopping in California I had as many as eight hours ashore, and sometimes in Cabo I've had as few as two hours. Either way, time not spent on the ship is a blessing. I walked slowly this morning, enjoying the relative silence and the smell of rotting leaves, and the feeling of brick and concrete under my feet.

At Hojas, I ordered a green tea and an egg sandwich, then got to work on my internet stuff. Much of what I'm doing today is stuff I couldn't do in Mexico, mainly uploading footage of our performances and downloading updates for my computer. It may seem silly that I spend hours online, but you have to remember that on a ship none of my devices can update. Sometimes it takes a while for everything to download and install, even before I get to start working on my own things.

I'll be staying at Hojas for at least another two hours, then I might walk to CVS for a few things if there's time. We'll see how things go. I have to be back on the ship at 2pm. At 3:30 there will be a passenger drill, and then I'll have to check the mail for some Secret Santa packages I've ordered. After dinner we've got a tree lighting ceremony to play, that should be fun. Next week will be full of Christmas adventures, I'm sure!

12/09

Today was pretty straightforward. Breakfast. Practice. Lunch. Gym. Rehearsal. Shows.

There’s really not a whole lot to report. Just an average sea day.

Tomorrow in Cabo I have IPM duty. The horns are rehearsing with the Mariachis in the afternoon and possibly playing a set with them in the crew bar late (LATE) that night. Before that, though, we’ll have Dwight’s Motown show, which is always fun.

Well, since today was boring…
Some passengers decorate their cabins for Christmas, or for special occasions. Here are some of the decorations that I’ve seen this week!

12/10

The weather today is making me sad that I’ve got IPM. Absolutely perfect…not too hot, not too cold, sunny and gorgeous.

It felt good to just sit on deck and read a book. The Grand Princess was docked next to us.

We were supposed to have Mariachi rehearsal today, but Nia wasn’t feeling well so we cancelled. Honestly I was kind of glad. I was the one who pushed so hard to do Mariachi stuff in the first place, but it just keeps getting pushed back, and no one seems to be considering it as an actual part of our work but more as a side project.

Today after practicing I tried to finish my Christmas shopping! Shopping is a bit difficult on my phone. I did what I could, then went inside to put some Christmas specials on a flash drive to share. You know, that Rudolph Claymation special, and the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Merry Christmas Charlie Brown! Always good to pass these around at this time of year!

So it ended up being a slow, beautiful day. I had some nice meals in the mess, I skipped the gym because over the next two days I’ll be doing a lot of walking to reach internet (assuming I can go ashore). In the evening we had the shows with Dwight, they were well attended. Molly’s (drums) parents are here to visit for the holidays! We got to meet them after our last show. Really lovely people.

Almost as lovely as the sunset that night. Wow!

Later on several of us did end up going to the crew bar to hear the Mariachis play. I brought all of my equipment because I wasn’t sure if the horns were going to play or not…some of us seemed to want to use this opportunity to rehearse. We didn’t play, so I ended up standing against a wall with my music tablet trying to take notes whenever they played a song we shared. It was kind of awkward, but sometimes I guess that’s “part of the gig”. The band sounded awesome though, and they had a huge crowd dancing and enjoying their playing!

Tomorrow I only have a dance set at night. I’m getting peer-pressured into playing the late night jazz set, but one thing to know about me is that peer pressure has the exact opposite effect that you’re looking for. If I’m asked sincerely to come along, I will probably cave and do it. But if I get bombarded with “C’MOOOOOON DOO IIIIIIT” and a lot of egging on, it’s a definite no. I don’t like being bullied.

Anyway, sorry, got off subject there.

12/11

I got off the ship in Mazatlan as soon as it was possible to do so. Did not get much sleep last night, so hoping to get all of my internet chores finished as soon as possible. I walked to the tourist plaza and today was able to steal wifi from a nearby music school instead of going to a café, I was sitting outside on a bench with my laptop. I don’t care how stupid it looked. Maybe I’ll be mistaken for a student.

(two hours later)

Welp. A bird pooped on me and all my stuff. But hey, I got my flights booked to visit my sister when she has her baby, and my parents when I get back from the ship!

So...several people have messaged me or approached me this week, concerned that I'm spending so much of my shore time walking miles to reach internet and basically only spending time on the computer. Some people seem to think that I should use the ship's wifi, or buy a phone simcard, or use the time to sightsee and experience Mexico.

I appreciate the concern, but I think that it would help if I explained some of the reasons behind my behavior. Here we go!

In six weeks, I am back at home with no job. I have been applying for work whenever I can, and STILL am not getting any responses or interest. If you have ideas I'd love to hear them :) but in the meantime I WILL continue applying for jobs, because I NEED a job. Wouldn't you do the same if you were in my position?

In four months, if I still don’t have a job, I’ll have some tough decisions to make. I am planning for that eventuality, and that planning requires a lot of internet time. I can't go into details but let's just say I'm working toward something that might improve my job situation for the future, and it requires some time spent online now.

I don't feel that it would be responsible of me to go on expensive shore excursions, tours, or trips, or spend hours lying on a beach, when I'm about to be jobless again. I came here to work and save money, and to learn and grow as a musician, NOT to have a vacation. Working on a cruise ship IS work! It's the guests who are on vacation, not me :)

Ship internet is not only very expensive, it is also very unreliable and my laptop blows through those megabytes in no time at all. I've had to limit my ship internet time to my phone only, because it uses far less data. When we are at sea (three days out of every week), the internet works less than 50% of the time and is only strong enough to push a text or two through. I usually can't even send or check email at sea! And I certainly can't fill out a full job application on a signal that's not even strong enough to send a text! In addition, finding signal can be a problem. Sometimes I have to stand in a stairwell to get signal. I also am not allowed to use my phone or other devices in front of guests, which greatly limits where and when I can access the internet onboard.

Mexican simcards are unfortunately not cheap or free. If I have the choice between walking 15-20 minutes to a cafe for four hours of free wifi, or paying $50 for a simcard and $40 every time I hit my data limit, I'll take the walk and the wifi, thanks!

There you have it. I hope that helps to explain why I do what I do. You don't have to agree with it or comment on it, just if this was on your mind for whatever reason this should provide some explanation for you. Thanks!

Back to Mazatlan. I walked a few blocks and found a café called Dolce Mami. The owner speaks a bit of English and the whole vibe was a lot friendlier than the last Mazatlan café I’d tried, so this may be my new go-to place if they’ll let me camp for a bit.

(two hours later)

Ok, they did let me camp for a bit, and they have wonderful coffee and cookies :) I'll be back!

I returned to the ship, got cleaned up, and had a dance band set in Club Fusion...not our usual performance space, but it was a pretty nice change. We had a small crowd but a lot of them did get up and dance! Awesome and lovely!

Tomorrow is Vallarta, and once again I'll be hunting for internet. So there. :P

12/12

Vallarta. Internet.

It was SUPER humid! But the mall was nice as always, and I got to apply for quite a few jobs and really finish my Christmas shopping. I was very grateful to be able to take care of all that now, because on Saturday I want to spend time with my sister Kayle again! Back on the ship, I got caught up with Stacey and dumped a bunch of lime juice and baking soda down our shower drain…it’s been clogged for a few days and no one has come to fix it, so I’m taking matters into my own hands in the safest way possible. In about 30 minutes the drain was clear and I was ready for some dinner!

After dinner I worked on converting a video I’d taken of a jazz set the previous evening, and spent a few hours relaxing before Disco Deck Party.

Now begins the two sea days to get back up to San Pedro. If I’m reading the ocean forecasts correctly, we’re unfortunately in for a rough ride.

12/13

Yeah, it’s a little bit rough today. Not as bad as it could be, though.

It’s a pretty chill day. Everyone is making plans for Christmas, getting gifts home and seeing family via video chat and such. I tried to buy a few last-minute presents using the unreliable wifi, but gave up after a while. We had a Voice rehearsal in the afternoon, and it went well although poor Jane (MD, piano) has bronchitis :( I want to tell her “Take it easy” but I don’t think her job allows for that.

After rehearsal I transferred some Christmas carols onto my tablet for later practice, then got a shower and had a relaxing afternoon. The evening shows with Paul Baker went well, though the second one was tough because it was late and we were a bit tired. Great crowd though!

Tomorrow, more of the same!

12/14

The seas are rough once again!

I decided to sleep in for once because I’ve been pretty cranky lately and figured maybe more sleep would help. After breakfast at the guest buffet I practiced in the stairwell before our dance set in the piazza. The set went well and we had a few dancer, always nice :)

I spent my afternoon mostly chilling in various parts of midship to avoid feeling any motion sickness. I took my meds and everything, but sometimes it can sneak up on you. We had rehearsal and then performance of The Voice. And at night we had a rehearsal with the Mariachi band up in Adagio lounge. We’re supposed to do a set together, but somehow it keeps falling through.

This week Molly’s (drummer) parents were here, and they came to see many of our shows and sets. Tonight was their last night on the ship, so they came around to each of us and gave us bottles of wine and a big hug. Such awesome human beings. Thank you!!

12/15

Today we were in San Pedro. I had some trouble getting off the ship, nothing that I can talk about here though, sorry. When I was finally able to go ashore my sister met me at Hojas Tea House, and from there we went out for dim sum!

As soon as we sat down we were converged on by a swarm of servers wanting to know what we wanted. Luckily Kayle and Skylar have been here before, and they handled most of the ordering. We got mostly dumplings of various types, some in paper-thin wrappings and some in fluffy cloud-like steamed buns. One was even wrapped in a sort of “nest”, I have no idea what it was but it was crispy and light and delicious. Everything was amazing!

After that we walked off our meal by hitting Tokyo Market and Daiso. Mostly we just looked, but I did find a few more stocking stuffers for the ladies!

Just a few hours later they had to drive me back to the port. I was sad to only get a few hours with them today, but it’s certainly better than nothing and I was very grateful for the time we had. Thanks Kayle and Skylar…see you again soon!

Back on the ship, I assembled my gift bags and hid them in the closet. Christmas is coming!
Then we had the passenger drill and several rehearsals for Christmas stuff and Mariachi stuff. Then there was a dance set in the piazza. Our boss-boss, Doug, is on the ship this week to work on some technical issues. He offered to take us out to dinner!

We went to the ship’s steakhouse and it was AMAZING. Filet mignon, asparagus, red-skinned mashed potatoes, sautéed mushrooms…everything was fantastic. We enjoyed red and white wines, and a variety of exotic salts with our steaks. My favorite was the applewood salt, it tasted just like a campfire smells and somehow triggered nostalgia for me. Weird and tasty haha.

We thanked Doug profusely, and he thanked us for being such a great band. I’m very thankful to have a boss who’s so generous and thoughtful toward the people he’s hired. And I’m glad we’ve done a good job in his eyes.

After a long exciting day it was time for bed. Tomorrow, sea day to Cabo.

Hi folks!

Once again I’m posting late because I’ll be spending time with my sister. Thank you for understanding!

12/02

We set sail from Los Angeles/San Pedro last night. The sea was still a bit rocky, but today is better. At least the ship is not pitching up and down.

We played the Welcome Back event and two new shows with guest entertainer Paul Baker, who does a Broadway show featuring a lot of roles he’s held over the years. We had been warned that it was a complex show with a lot of click tracks…and it was, but as long as you listened carefully it was pretty straightforward. Both shows went well. Paul will be with us for several weeks, so we’ll have time to improve for him.

After the shows I went straight to bed. Some of us are still not feeling great after that one rough day at sea.

12/03

Today we are in Cabo San Lucas. The only thing I had scheduled was the Disco Deck Party sound check at noon and then the show at 9:30pm.

The weather was very nice, and with so much free time I decided to go ashore for a bit! I have been wanting to get new sneakers because when it rained in Vallarta mine got soaked, and now they smell gross no matter what I do. There’s a Sketchers outlet at the local mall.

I got off the Princess tender and wound my way through the busy port. It’s a very touristy area, lots of shops and restaurants and locals pushing tours and excursions at every corner. It’s a long walk to the mall, probably a little over a mile…distance-wise that’s not too bad, but fighting your way through sidewalks clogged with tourists and souvenir hawkers does take a while! I made sure to wear my ship ID prominently to encourage less harassment. For the most part this worked, but I still got catcalled an awful lot.

At the mall I quickly found the Sketchers store, found the shoes, bought them and walked around a little bit hoping to get ideas for Christmas. For some reason this mall doesn’t have wifi so I was not inclined to stay long. After I’d had time to window shop and cool off from the heat, I stepped back outside and made my way back to the pier. I passed old women selling handmade dolls on the sidewalk, fancy jewelry stores full of Mexican fire opals and locally-mined silver…little boys carrying iguanas and offering photos with the lizards for a few dollars, kiosks selling huge freshly-cracked coconuts laced with chili powder...and more. Along the way I glanced into the cloudy water along the docks and saw many red-and-black crabs, pelicans, minnows, and one black fish with white spots. It was a nice day and I was happy just for the walk.

Back at the pier I was surprised to find a bit of internet, so instead of going back to the ship I plopped down on a bench and did a little work. I am applying for jobs for when I return to Orlando, planning flights to visit family, and trying to line up gigs as well. I was able to make progress with all of these, which made me feel accomplished for the day. When I was finished I climbed aboard the tender and rode it back to the ship. After a refreshing shower I enjoyed scones and tea on Deck 16, cleaned my cabin, and savored some quiet time.

Around dinnertime Stacey returned, and we told each other about our doings. She and some of the other band ladies had taken a glass-bottomed taxi tour of Cabo, followed by a relaxing day at the beach. How nice!

The Disco Deck Party went well, although with the ship pitching so much the pool and hot tub were sloshing and spilling enough to cause a delay to our start. I wonder why the waters are suddenly so awful. Maybe it has to do with the recent seismic activity around Alaska.

12/04

We arrived in Mazatlan around 8am. The music department had a brief meeting around 9am, just to go over a few changes and upcoming events for the holidays. Hard to believe Christmas is almost here! And 2019 too!

After the meeting we had a crew drill, which is basically all of us checking in with our departments, going to our passenger drill stations, and then going to our muster stations. So it’s just like a passenger drill, without passengers and without having to go over life jacket procedures and such. When the drill was done we watched a safety video. All of that was finished around 11am, perfect timing for the guest buffet! Today I had muesli, eggs and mushrooms, smoked salmon, a triangle of French toast, and some pineapple.

Rebeca (guitar) sat with me, and we had a nice conversation. Like me, she has a partner at home. We are both missing our S.O.’s very much right now. She told me that she’d had a Skype session with her partner yesterday, and both of them had to struggle to keep from crying. I empathized with her, and together we talked about our plans once this contract is over, and whether or not we’d consider another contract in the future.

For Rebeca, the economic situation in her home country is not good. She says that the prices of goods has gone up as much as 600% in some areas, and on top of that it’s difficult to find work. She feels that things will improve eventually, but for a while she and her partner may need to put work first, even if it means being apart. She hopes to join a cruise ship again as a duo along with her loved one.

For me, I think there are more options. Although I have had trouble finding work lately, I will at least have several months to keep trying. There will also be time to talk with Jameson about what will work best for both of us. My plan currently is to keep job hunting and networking and doing my absolute best to find something. If nothing comes up by the end of March, I have two contingency plans, and we will see which is the best choice at the time. I don’t want to share too much about that just yet…even the best laid plans are often all for nothing.

Anyway, I enjoyed spending time with Rebeca this morning. Afterward I practiced and went to the gym, enjoyed a little snack, and had rehearsal for the guest entertainer shows this evening. Then it was dinner and the two shows, both of which went well.

Tomorrow we are in Vallarta, and as usual I’ll be booking it over to the mall early in the morning to use the wifi and continue my job hunt.

12/5

Here we are in Vallarta! The mall is decorated for Christmas.

I got off the ship after breakfast...I have the day off because tonight's guest entertainer doesn't use horns. Whee!

I spent several hours at the mall sucking up wifi. There is Christmas shopping to do, apps to be updated, flights to be booked to visit family once I leave the ship. It's just the start of December, but with the holidays approaching I feel the need to get certain things taken care of before everything shuts down and everyone loses their minds.

When my interneting was done, I went to Mexican Walmart for a few small gifts for the girls for Christmas (sssh, don’t tell them!) and then returned to the ship. I cleaned up, ate lunch, started a load of laundry, and had some nice quiet time. When the laundry was finished I had dinner, then Nia (trumpet) and Paula (sax) and I rehearsed some Mariachi music that we hope to perform this coming week.

Next up, our two sea days to return to San Pedro/Los Angeles. I really, really hope that the sea will stay calm for us.

12/06

Today the sea seems calm! Hooray!

After breakfast I practiced in my stairwell for a bit. We have a jazz set tonight (boooo) and two Motown shows with Dwight, our pianist/vocalist in the Crooner’s lounge.

While I was practicing I happened to glance out at the sea and was surprised to see another Princess ship! I’m not sure which one it was but it was a similar size to ours, so maybe the Emerald?

I went to the gym, then we had rehearsals before our evening shows. Dwight’s shows both went very well; Explorers lounge was packed and the audience was great! Even our jazz set was well-attended and also went really well. So well in fact that we wished we’d recorded it! Everyone had great solos, even me for once.

Dwight’s last show ended around 11:30, so I went straight to bed. Tomorrow we have another sea day, and the only thing on our schedule is Voice of the Ocean.

12/07

The sea was much rougher today. Oh well. At least we only have one show scheduled.
Since I have been to the gym for two days in a row, today is my rest day. I had a nice breakfast, then spent some time struggling with the ship’s internet and phone to get some things done so I don’t have to waste time doing them on Saturday. I get to hang out with my sister Kayle! And I don’t want to have to be making phone calls or doing internet stuff during our time together!

Anyway, I spent most of my day relaxing…reading, watching Ship of Darkness (hilarious by the way, it’s on youtube, check it out) and trying to do some Christmas shopping whenever the internet was strong enough.

Our one show went well and was shorter than expected! Several of us decided to play cards and enjoy a drink in the crew bar. I almost won the game, but Jane (bosswoman, piano) beat me in the end!

12/08

Today I got to spend time with my sister Kayle!

Stacey and I got up early and were able to get off the ship just a little after 8am. We took an Uber to a Trader Joe’s and did a little shopping, then she got picked up by her uncle while my sister and her husband Skylar came and got me! We drove to her house and they showed me around, then Skylar cooked us an amazing breakfast of eggs, cheese, avocado, and sausage on tortillas.

We sipped our coffee and got all caught up. Kayle has been busy preparing for her new arrival, she showed me some of the baby items she’s collected so far: books, bottles, onesies, stuffed animals, and more. I told her about my doings and life on the ship. At one point the baby was kicking, so Kayle let me put my hand on her tummy to feel it. Wow! It’s so amazing to experience a new life, especially one that will be related to you!!

After that we drove over to Skylar’s workplace. He’s…well, I don’t know his official title, but he works with drones and satellites and such, and much of his work is classified. But today he showed us something really cool! Do you remember the Hubble space telescope? Skylar’s employer is building it’s replacement, the James Webb telescope!

Pictures were not allowed, but it was still incredible to see it. The main portion of it was not there today, but I got to see the huge “eye” that will be capturing light waves put out by distant galaxies before the dawn of time. The telescope is being built in a carefully controlled environment; people need to wear hazmat suits and use specially calibrated tools to work on it. Skylar pointed out small collection plates stationed around the room designed to act as canaries in the figurative coal mine, gathering samples of micro-debris that could potentially harm the delicate gold foil and mirrors. A video in our viewing area described the launch and deployment processes of the telescope, and Skylar provided details on how it will capture infrared light while deflecting the interfering rays of our own sun.

It was a really incredible and mind-boggling thing to see. I felt privileged to see something that few people will get to lay eyes on, a device that will be an important part of human history.

Too soon it was time to head back to the ship. Before that, though, I wanted Kayle and Skylar to experience the magic of Hojas teas! This time I got the green tea with chocolate powder mixed in…Kayle got the same but in latte format. Both were amazing, like all Hojas teas :) The three of us shared a piece of egg nog cake while making plans for another visit next Saturday. Then they drove me to the ship and we said our goodbyes. I’m so happy that I got to spend time with Kayle today! It really made my day and gave me some positivity to carry through my week.

Once back on board, I unpacked all of my goodies. I had gotten some RX bars, candied ginger and stocking stuffers at Trader Joe’s. Kayle had given me some candied pecans that she made herself, and a few satchels of tea that she thought I’d like, and a pair of slippers that she didn’t need. It felt like Christmas already! And on top of that, I received some teas I’d ordered in the mail! Merry Christmas to me!

We are en route to Cabo San Lucas, but first we will have one sea day.

(**DISCLAIMER**: The views expressed in this blog are my own and do not reflect the views of my employer!)

11/25

Today is Stacey’s birthday!
Last night the most awesome thing happened. I was already asleep, it was a little after midnight. Suddenly I heard music, like guitars and such. The music seemed to get louder, and I realized it was the Mariachi band playing right outside our door! I stayed in bed so as not to wreck the moment. They played Happy Birthday in Spanish and English for Stacey! Standing there in the hallway in her pajamas, she was laughing as everyone clapped and wished her a happy birthday. How sweet is that!

I don’t know about her, but I had some lovely Mariachi dreams after that!

This morning we are at sea. It still seems a bit rough, but not nearly as bad as a few nights ago. I had breakfast, and had enough wifi to talk with Jameson and see how he’s doing. He just got back from Thanksgiving in Chicago with his family. He had fun but he’s pretty tired. Also the fridge seems to be acting up, and he’s worried we might have to buy a new one. I hope not. I was happy to be able to talk with him for a bit.

Jerome (bass, formerly my bandmate on the circus) sent me a catch-up email just to see how things were going on the ship and to give me some updates on his life as a bassist in New York. I was glad to hear from him and hear how things are going with him. I told him a bit about my experiences so far on the ship. Sometimes it’s nice just to talk…I feel like that’s a rare thing any more. Instead of conversations, people just want to impose their viewpoints on each other. I just want to know how my friend is doing. He just wanted to know how I was doing. That’s how people show that they care about each other, you know? Not by forcing views onto each other or cramming unsolicited advice down each others’ throats. Sorry, I’ve grown a big chip on my shoulder from some of the messages and comments I received after the circus closed. Suffice to say, I was happy to hear from Jerome and have a good conversation with him. He’s a former cruise ship musician himself, and has given me lots of helpful advice and insight.

Anyway, after that I went to practice music for a new Motown show we’re doing tonight, then had a little time to relax before lunch and rehearsal.

The shows went well tonight. Our guest entertainer, Bryan Cheatham, is a cool dude with a great voice and a wonderful life story to share. I really enjoyed performing his show.

We arrive in Cabo San Lucas tomorrow. We’ll have the Disco Deck Party to perform, and also a jazz set. Jazz sets…sigh.

11/26

It was a nice day in Cabo.

I had weird dreams and woke in a weird mood. After breakfast I spent some time messing around on the computer before the disco sound check up on Deck 16. Well, there was supposed to be a sound check. Instead there was a movie playing on the giant screen, so we had to reschedule for 8pm.

I had a nice lunch and went to the gym for the first time in a while. Afterward I wasn’t feeling great so just hydrated and read for a little while. Then we had a jazz set (probably the reason I wasn’t feeling well, nerves) which went all right I guess. I mean my solos were all right, but this time I struggled with communication. They’re looking at me, am I supposed to take a solo now, or play the melody again? That chord change isn’t what’s written, are we ending the piece or is this a transition to something else? Everyone seems to either know what to do or be able to communicate it in a way that I’m not picking up on. There’s a mystery etiquette, or language, or standard, that I am not privy to. Most of the time that leaves me confused, frustrated, and feeling like I’m being hazed. But you know what, that’s my problem. I don’t expect my bandmates to babysit me. There’s no one to be angry with but myself. I was just hoping that by now I’d understand a little better, or be in on what’s happening during each set.

Well…I had wanted the opportunity to try. And if nothing else I’m still grateful for that. Most groups would not even grant me that privilege.

Later on we had our sound check, then Nia and her boyfriend and I had dinner in the guest buffet before the Disco Deck Party (which went just fine). Tomorrow it’s Mazatlan again, and this time I’ve got the whole day off, so I may go explore.

11/27

Started my day with breakfast at the guest buffet!
The thing with breakfast buffet is that we aren’t allowed to eat there A) if it’s very busy, B) if it’s a sea day, or C) during peak hours. So if you want to eat there, you kind of have to plan for it. Today we arrived in Mazatlan early, around 8am, meaning that many people would be ashore by the afternoon. It was also not a sea day. So I thought I might have a good chance. It was a bit busy when I got there, but despite that it was OK to grab breakfast. Yay!

Breakfast in the crew mess is very good as well, but sometimes a change is nice. You don’t see smoked fish, French toast, or yogurt parfaits in the crew mess :)

After breakfast I went exploring in Mazatlan!
Knowing that I may not be able to find internet right away, I had used the ship internet to plot my route to the historic district by taking screenshots of maps and directions. But that all turned out to be unnecessary…the route was marked with a big blue line in the middle of the street. All you had to do was follow it to reach the main square. Smart!

The road took me through some nice neighborhoods…much nicer than those I’ve seen while in Mexico City with the circus. I’m sure with a bunch of tourists regularly passing though the area extra efforts are taken to keep the “blue line” clean. There was also a strong police presence, and volunteer Q&A folks standing on almost every street corner to help you find your destination or recommend places to see/eat. It was really very well-planned. Still, in the market areas there were a lot of vendors and hawkers trying to rope tourists into spending money. I made sure to wear my crew ID in a prominent place. While my clothes and blindingly white skin may scream “tourist”, the crew card screams “don’t waste your breath heckling this person” haha.

First I visited the big historic cathedral near the center of town. I have seen it from a distance every time we’re in port and have been wanting to go check it out. It was beautiful.

Construction began in 1856 on the site of an ancient Indian temple. One notable feature found in this cathedral are the stained glass windows, many of which feature a Star of David. The reason for the incorporation of the Jewish religious symbol is unclear, but legend has it that the stars were included as a token of gratitude for a donation made to the church by Mazatlan’s Jewish community.

(photo courtesy colonialmexicoinsideandout.com)

A few blocks away from the cathedral was a large open-air market. It was very crowded and nothing jumped out at me from the usual selection of touristy knickknacks, so after a quick walk-through I moved on to a bread store. I wanted to eat everything but exercised self-control.

Back in the “blue line” plaza, I ran into the band ladies having some drinks together. They were pretty much finished and heading their separate ways by the time I got there. Jane (boss, pianist) and I went searching for wifi and coffee and found it just a block away at a nice coffee shop called Allegro. We chilled there and enjoyed an Americano and some pulled pork sandwiches while checking our email and social media. I don’t get to spend a whole lot of one-on-one time with Jane because she’s so dang busy…as the Music Manager she’s in charge of all the musicians on the ship, plus she has to perform, and that’s a LOT of work. It was nice to have a nice quiet hang with her :)

When we were finished I decided to return to the ship as it looked like rain. I had lunch and started some laundry. Stacey came back soon after to have a shower and prepare for the evening production show (the horns aren’t involved in that) so I hung out in the crew bar, typing this post and enjoying some decaf tea so that she could have the cabin to herself for a bit. Then dinner and some anime, and some planning for tomorrow.

We’ll be back in Vallarta. I have IPM duty, but Stacey has graciously agreed to stand in for me in the morning (she says she’ll be asleep anyway) while I scoot over to the mall for the internet. In the evening we have shows with our next guest entertainer.

11/28

It was pouring in Vallarta!

After a bit of hesitation I decided to go to the mall anyway. I need to be looking for jobs, and since I only have free and reliable internet for a few select ports for a few select hours, I need to take advantage of that regardless how inconvenient it may be sometimes. I got to the mall soaking wet...but hey, it's just water.

Also...I was going to refrain from saying anything derogatory about passengers. But GEEZ. There were so many people whining about the rain, and demanding that they receive covered escort to and from the ship, and on and on about how "This is ridiculous!". My goodness people, bless your hearts.

Anyway, I was at the mall for a few hours looking for jobs and typing this blog. I returned to the ship and cleaned myself up, had lunch, and practiced for our show with Jamie Crockart tonight. It's a rock/soul show, should be fun!

And it was :)

The next two days are sea days. I'm hoping it won't be as rough as last time, but with the way the weather is right now, who knows.

11/29

The seas were indeed a bit rough today. I had a nice breakfast and decided to hit the gym right away because if it was going to get any worse I might make excuses about falling off the elliptical or something.

After the gym we had a rehearsal for the Voice, then I had lunch and spent some time reading in a stairwell near midship. You see my room is forward, in the prow of the ship, and the plunging motion there is pretty strong.

Around 3:30 I went to the medical center just to ask what they’ve got available for motion sickness. They don’t do the patch here because of the side effects, but they had some Meclazine sitting in a big box, free to grab for all crew. I took a handful, went up to the guest buffet for some snacks, and took one of the pills about an hour before our first show of the evening.

We had three shows with Bryan Cheatham and all went well. His music has been really fun to play, and he’s a pleasure to work with.

After the shows we were all pretty tired, and the ship was plunging quite a bit harder. There are gale-force winds and 13ft waves! At the risk of motion sickness I’ll try to get some footage tomorrow because it’s pretty impressive to see the ship break through the waves. My medicine worked quite well and I’ll definitely be taking it again tomorrow. Just lying in bed the motion is extremely strong, and tomorrow is supposed to be the worst of it.

11/30

It’s the last day of November, holy crap! Just one month and nineteen days until I get to see Jameson! :D

Today was ROUGH. Just walking around the ship was a struggle, especially near the prow. After taking a great deal of motion sickness medication I went out on deck to get some footage.

https://instagram.com/p/Bq1FWu8A9qB

For most of the day I stayed in a crew stairwell near midship. The rocking motion was less pronounced near the middle of the ship. Nia (trumpet) was struggling with motion sickness as well, I felt horrible for her. How the heck are you supposed to open your throat and lift your diaphragm and blow into an instrument when you can't stop retching?? But whatever, we all made it through the evening shows.

I'm trying to sleep but the motion of the ship makes it hard. Tomorrow, I just wanna get off this boat as soon as possible.

01/12

I got off the boat as soon as possible.

Walked to Sacred Grounds to post this blog and take care of updating my devices. Next I'll walk a few blocks to Hojas for some food, some awesome tea, and hopefully to do some job applications and another project I've been working on.

This week was fun, but that last day at sea was awful. I really hope the weather improves from here on out. But I'm also very grateful for whoever invented motion sickness remedies.

(**DISCLAIMER**: The viewpoints expressed in this blog are my own and do not reflect the views of my employer!)

11/18

Today we are at sea on the way to Cabo San Lucas. The ship set its clocks an hour ahead last night to match the time zone shift.

I got up to have breakfast and practice in my stairwell on the deck. The sea was calm and had a silvery look to it.

Every once in a while a flying fish would jump near the prow, but I was never quick enough to catch one on camera.

I played through a ii-V-I progression in order to help with my jazz improv. Then I played the music for our jazz set tonight, and then some Motown charts for our guest entertainer. Then I spent a little time relaxing before lunch and the gym. The gym was surprisingly crowded…there’s a younger demographic on board this cruise, and it shows.

We had a Welcome Back event sound check, then the event itself, which went smoothly as it usually does. After that I killed an hour reading and going through some new music before dinner. Around 9pm we had a dance set in the piazza that was well received.

Tomorrow we are in Cabo San Lucas. I will have IPM duty and will remain on board, but we’ll have sound checks and rehearsals anyway.

11/19

A pretty straightforward day in Cabo San Lucas. Breakfast, practice, gym, reading. A sound check for the Disco Deck Party. A jazz set up in Adagio lounge, which went pretty horribly for me personally but was probably fine for the actual jazz musicians in the band. I don’t want to talk about it haha.

Later at night, the Disco Deck Party. I like it better at night (it’s been an early evening show for a few weeks) because the lighting is much more pronounced. It just feels more “disco”!

Tomorrow we’re all supposed to get flu shots and I think everyone is trying to find a way out of it. I haven’t had a flu shot since I was a child, to my knowledge, and I’ve had the flu once in the past ten years. But whatever, if it’s required I guess it’s time to get a flu shot. We’ll be in Mazatlan, but I will not have time to go ashore.

11/20

Here we are in Mazatlan! Looks nice.

The Carnival Splendor is docked across from us, facing us.

I suppose I could have gone ashore for about 2-3 hours. But with a time frame like that and nothing near the port, honestly it’s not worth it to me. Instead I had a relaxing morning and enjoyed reading out on the sunny deck. We had mandatory flu vaccines around lunchtime…I had my little private freakout about getting a shot, then sucked it up and went and got it.

My afternoon was pretty free, just lunch and practicing and rationing my precious paid satellite wifi. Using the ship wifi on your phone takes a lot less data than using your computer. I sent a few texts to friends and family, and tracked a tea order I’d placed earlier in the week.

Beginning around 4pm we had rehearsals with our guest entertainer for a Motown show, followed by three shows, the last one ending around 11:30pm. All went well, the audiences were great! These three show days can be tiring, but nothing like a circus three shows.

Tomorrow we are in Vallarta, with the Walmart and shopping mall very close to the port. I’ll have about three hours during which I could run to the mall, but honestly I don’t need anything and I can wait until LA to use wifi. We’ll see.

Oh, today Jane gave us a promo clip from our gig with Stephanie Hodgdon last week! I don’t think I’m allowed to post the whole clip, but here are some screenshots and video snippets of the horn section (because I’m biased :P If I am allowed to post the whole thing at a later date, I will.)

11/21

Wow, is it really the day before Thanksgiving? October seemed like a slow month, but November has flown.

I didn’t really feel like going ashore in Vallarta because I hadn’t slept well, but forced myself to go. For one thing, we have two sea days coming up and we’ll all be trapped on the ship. And for another, time is flying by and I’m going to need to begin the job hunt again, and the only ports where I can reliably get wifi are Vallarta and San Pedro. So, off I went.

I went straight to the mall, plopped down in the food court, and got to work. There are no outlets there, so my time was limited by my laptop battery (which is not great). I updated my blog, looked for Mariachi charts, updated my social media, and began looking for jobs.

After about two hours my battery was running out. I texted back and forth with Jameson for a bit; he just landed in Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with his parents and the pups. I said hello to everyone and wished as many people as possible a happy Thanksgiving. On sea days the internet can be sketchy, so may as well do it early!

I walked back to the ship and had a nice lunch, then tried to relax for an hour before rehearsal with another guest entertainer who is doing an Andrew Lloyd Webber show. He has two different shows, and we rehearsed both of them even though we’re only doing one today. The rehearsals went…ok…and the first show was ok, and the second show was better. It was challenging material for our rhythm section especially. With a few extra days to rehearse the second show, hopefully it’ll go well!

Tomorrow we are at sea for Thanksgiving! I’m not sure if there is any special meal prep for the holiday, especially since this is an American holiday and the majority of crew are not American. The passengers may see some changes to their dining options though…

11/22

Happy Thanksgiving!

My day was pretty easy. After breakfast I had a short interview with HR, a standard thing for new hires just to check and see how we’re doing. Then there was a rehearsal for Voice of the Ocean. Then I did laundry, went to the gym, spent some time watching the choppy sea, and went to “tea time” at the buffet to enjoy a mini-scone and some fruit.

At night we had a jazz set in Adagio lounge. There were a lot of people there, and we got a lot of compliments on our playing both for the set and for our previous performances throughout the ship. It’s good to know that people enjoy our playing!

After the jazz set a bunch of us went to the guest buffet in the hopes of getting some Thanksgiving grub. They did have traditional foods including turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Rebeca (guitar) tried her first-ever pumpkin pie and liked it! All of us were thinking of our friends and family of course, but it was nice to spend Thanksgiving together with these ladies :)

Tomorrow we have one more sea day.

11/23

The sea is quite choppy today! I don’t remember it ever being this rough since I’ve been on board.

https://instagram.com/p/BqkeFaZAfQc

https://instagram.com/p/BqiTbpJAopJ

I wanted to hit the gym, but there was so much motion even halfway up the ship on deck 7 that I couldn’t really picture operating an elliptical way up on deck 16. Even practicing in my stairwell didn’t seem like a good idea today.

I decided to treat it kind of like a “train run” day. Movies, snacks, rest. And I spent a little time on deck, although it was really windy and slippery. The sea is a bit rough but it’s also beautiful. The waves shine like obsidian, and there’s something magical about the silver line where sea meets sky on the horizon.

Anyway. It was kind of a boring day! We had Voice of the Ocean rehearsal and performance, then another Broadway-style show with our guest entertainer, Josh Paul Young. Both went fine, but I had a close call with seasickness during that first rehearsal. I didn't barf but did have to run offstage to pop some Dramamine and eat a green apple. So much for having a pirate in my ancestry -_-

Ah well. I was happy to make it through the shows.

Tomorrow we are back in port at San Pedro/Los Angeles! Yay! Phone signal! Wifi! And hopefully some tasty tea from Hojas!

11/24

I woke up early, feeling very fuzzy in the head thanks to the Dramamine. I was ready to get off the ship right away, but shore leave was not granted until nearly 9am. I had breakfast and waited. Finally we were allowed off, but for some reason some of us were tagged as non-US citizens, so it was a trip down to the crew office to clear that up.

Once that was done I was allowed the "privilege" of setting foot in my home country. Aaaanyway, annoyances aside, I got an Uber to Target to get Stacey a birthday card and small present. I also picked up a few necessities, including some more Dramamine and some Biscoff cookies to help with any future motion sickness.

Next, to Hojas for their Lemongrass Bouquet tea. Oh my goodness. It was delicious, creamy, herbal, soothing...just what I needed the day after rough seas.

It was a nice week. I was missing my friends and family and especially my boyfriend this week. But November is almost over, and I will see everyone again soon. I am spending the rest of my time here at the teahouse planning flights and looking for jobs! In a few hours I need to be back on the ship for the passenger drill, and then we'll have a dance set in the piazza.

(**DISCLAIMER**: The views expressed in this post do not reflect the views of my employer!)

11/11

Today was a day at sea. We had cabin inspections in the morning. I went to practice afterward; we just got the music for guest entertainer Stephanie Hodgdon, who is doing a rock show!

My morning was fairly free and I didn’t have a whole lot to do. I watched some anime and hung out in the crew bar, and had a nice lunch.

The shows in the evening went well, though I think we would all have liked to have a bigger space so we could really rock out! Still, the two earlier shows were well attended and people seemed to really dig it!

Tomorrow is our last visit to San Francisco.

11/12

In San Fran for the final time! This morning we had a crew drill, and the US Coast Guard was present so we had to really do a full drill, with lifeboats and crocodile lines and the whole shebang. Fortunately we did not have to actually get on the lifeboats! They're safe and all that, but they're very claustrophobic when filled to capacity!

After the drill I got right off the boat to enjoy this city one last time. It was a bit smoky due to the the forest fires burning in various parts of the state :/

I visited a Ross Dress for Less to try and find some camis, had no luck, and found a Trader Joe's instead! I find it amusing that the simplest places--grocery stores and internet cafes--are the most exciting to find when you're on tour. Anyway, I got just a few things to stock my "Emergency Rations and Snack Drawer" in my room: Clif bars, RX bars, some dried fruits, and a jar of honey.

After that I was hungry. In San Fran's Little Italy there are tons of great places to eat. I settled on Brioche Bakery & Cafe. They had some awesome-looking food in the display case!

I got a caprese panini and asked them to add prosciutto as well. Simple yet absolutely delicious. Hit the spot!

Next I spent some time using the free wifi at a cafe (mostly to write this post).
After finishing my internet stuff, I thought a real Italian gelato might be nice!

There were so many gelato places to choose from…some were even right across from each other! I decided on Lush Gelato, because it was on the main drag and they also had non-traditional flavors. But then, how was I supposed to decide between such awesome options?!

Lush makes their gelato in small batches, so they were already out of some of these flavors. That helped me to narrow it down! I chose the banana salted caramel gelato, and the chocolate orange peel sorbet. Both were absolutely delicious! The gelato had a better texture, but the candied orange peel chunks in the chocolate sorbet were right up my alley! I’m glad I tried both!

When my treat was finished I found a thrift store and did some browsing. Didn’t find anything this time, but that’s how thrifting goes! I made my way back down to the tourist area and had one last look around. It’s been wonderful to visit this city once again. Who knows if or when I’ll get to come back? I’m grateful that I could make some sweet memories here. Thank you, San Francisco.

Back on the ship, I put away my things and had dinner at the crew mess, then showered and got changed before reviewing the charts for tonight’s jazz set in the Wheelhouse bar. As you all know I dislike jazz and especially lead sheets. And this entire set was jazz, and lead sheets. Sigh.

The set went pretty well, I think. My solos were not very good…it’s been a while since we’ve done a jazz set, and I was nervous again. I need to keep practicing this style every day so that even if I’m nervous my muscles will remember what to do. But hey, everyone else sounded great!

Tomorrow we are in Monterey, but I have IPM duty.

11/13

I got up at my usual time and had breakfast, enjoying the phone data I was able to receive in the crew mess. Afterward I did laundry, washed my trombone slide (which was an “interesting” experience in the tiny shower), and went to the gym. After a little chill-out time, I went to Café Caribe for their “tea time”, featuring mini scones and fruit and other tasty treats.

Somewhere in there I went out onto the deck and observed a “man overboard” drill taking place. You can see some sea lions milling about in the background.

https://instagram.com/p/BqNniwxAhVL

In the evening we had a dance set in Explorers lounge. Personally I’m not a fan of Explorers as a space, it is rather cramped. But the dance floor is nice and so is the seating and the bar. We had some dancers, and I always love to see people enjoying our music by dancing as we play :)

It was a nice IPM day for me.
Tomorrow we are at sea. I think we will do the rock show again with the guest entertainer.

11/14

Today is Jameson’s birthday!! Sadly he has to work, but I hope he will have a good day anyway! I sent him a present and hopefully there are more on the way from his friends and family!

After wishing Jameson a happy birthday, I had a nice breakfast and took advantage of the ship’s internet to send a few more texts to family. My sister is preparing for a trip to Italy, and I wanted to wish her well. I also needed my brother and sister’s addresses so I can send Christmas presents later.

For breakfast in the crew mess I always have oatmeal, eggs, yogurt, and fruit. The oatmeal is pretty runny, so I’ll add a scoop of muesli to give it a little texture. Then I add my own honey, spices, and dried fruits that I’ve brought along. With the eggs, I’ll get two or three hard boiled eggs and eat the whites along with ketchup or a piece of bacon. The yogurt is just your standard fat free stuff, and then I’ll have a slice of pineapple or cantaloupe as well, and a cup of coffee. I try to eat healthy.

I didn’t feel much like practicing this morning. Instead I went out on the deck to stretch (I was sore from the gym) and to read a little while enjoying the fresh ocean air. As I was reading, guests were walking by for exercise or for pleasure. A few saw my “musician” name tag and stopped to say they enjoyed our recent performances, or to ask when our next one was. One lady suggested that I move to Canada and teach there. “We have health care!” she exclaimed proudly, “and not enough lady musicians!” Selling points, indeed!

In the afternoon we had the Voice rehearsal, lots of talented singers this time! Then later in the evening we had a rehearsal and two shows with Stephanie Hodgdon. Stephanie has been working for Princess for quite a long time, but this is her first time as a guest entertainer and only her second performance as one. Her show was well received, and hopefully she’ll be able to continue entertaining on other Princess ships!

After the show Stephanie insisted on a group photo. Ain't we a lovely bunch? One very cool thing about working here has been the ability to interact with artists of many different genres, and to see how each artist rehearses and performs. It was a pleasure to be a part of Stephanie's performances!

Back in my cabin, I was a bit bummed to find that I’d been scheduled for training at 10am tomorrow. We will be in San Diego, and I was hoping to get off the boat early because there’s a Marine Evacuation System drill between 9am-11am during which no one can get on or off the boat. But it looks like I’ll have to wait until the drill is over. Oh well…I have to appreciate any time off the ship, because remember, it’s never guaranteed.

11/15

Well, training was not so bad, and neither was the MES drill! Both took place at about the same time, and did not take nearly as long as I expected. I should learn to be more optimistic :P

I was able to get off the ship around 11am. Yay!

It was a beautiful day. I hadn't really planned anything...I considered the zoo, but Jameson and I have already been, and it's a bit expensive. Working here has been more about saving money. But I still do want to have SOME fun! So I decided on a nice brunch at Cafe 222!

Cafe 222 has been around for over a decade, which is saying something. The owner is a woman who sold a screenplay and used the money to finance the cafe. Although there are many awesome dishes on the menu, Cafe 222 is known for its peanut butter & banana stuffed French toast, which was featured on Food Network's "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" (CLICK HERE to watch a clip from the episode). Apparently Bobby Flay is a big fan. Of course I had to try it!

Oh my goodness. First off, the peanut butter and bananas inside were pretty basic. Let's get that out of the way. But the TOAST. Just, WOW. Whatever seasonings they're putting in there, coupled with a perfect griddling, make it amazing. Next time (if I get a next time) I would just get the French toast alone. It was that good. There's something special in the batter. No part of it was soggy...it was light and fluffy and crispy caramelized on the outside. The pb and bananas were nice, but the actual French toast is where it's at!

There are tons of amazing things on the menu, and I wish I could have tried them all! If you ever go to Cafe 222, be sure to try something from the griddle, whether it's French toast or pancakes or waffles. Very much worth it!! I only wish Jameson could have been with me so we could enjoy it together!

After that, I decided to walk to some thrift stores. This took me through some pretty rough neighborhoods, but oh well. There's no rougher neighborhood than a train yard, and I've been in plenty of those. I had fun looking through the clothes, but once again didn't find anything.

I decided to give myself one more affordable treat while in San Diego. I took an Uber to a Japanese shopping plaza! There's no Japantown per se here in San Diego, but there is this little block with three or four Japanese groceries and shops huddled together (along with a used book store, Starbucks, and Target, sooooo...). I certainly don't NEED anything from these stores, but I love to look!

I mean come on.

Come ON.

I looked at everything, and bought a very few things ;)
I went to the bookstore and browsed.
I went to the Starbucks and typed while savoring a black pumpkin spice coffee.
It was nice.

Sometimes the nicest thing is just existing in a space. Not necessarily spending money, or rushing between points of interest. Just being in a place, in a moment. Thank you, San Diego.

Anyway. When I was finished I made my way back to the ship for a relaxing evening. Tomorrow we sail to Ensenada. In the morning the whole band is supposed to have a group interview for the onboard tv program, called Wake!

11/16

This morning we all had to be up early for an interview up on Deck 19 in the photography studio. The interview is for the Wake show, which is onboard programming showcasing all things Princess, from the shops to the people to the inner workings of the ship.

We wore our black show clothes and spoke with Natalie, the Princess hostess with the mostess. She asked us some questions about our time on the ship, what it’s like to be a musician here, what it’s like to be part of an all-female group. We were trying to decide how to verbalize that last one, and having trouble. Stacey (bass) nailed it:

“When men join a band, they have an instant fraternity. And when we joined this group, we found an instant sorority.”

She’s right, and that’s the perfect way to describe it. Men don’t have to think about integration on that level, because any group they join is pretty much guaranteed to be made up of men. There is already an existing camaraderie. But as a woman, I can tell you that I’ve almost always been the only female in any band I’ve joined. One just does not feel naturally accepted entering a room full of men. All of the women in this band agree that this has been our experience as musicians.

For most of us, this is the first time we’ve ever been in an all-female ensemble. Some of our members have been musicians for decades. Think about that. An entire career as a musician without ever playing in a band made up of women. Always being the only chick in the male ensemble. It was really fascinating to think about.

As a trombonist, I always just took it as a matter of course that if I wanted to play the trombone, I’d have to be “one of the guys” at all times, because there just aren’t women involved. I wonder how things might have been different if there were more women in music. In a classical setting there were of course other women in the orchestra…but never in the trombone section. It was always me + the boys.

Anyway, this was just an interview, but it led to some interesting thoughts. We had fun and hopefully passengers will enjoy learning a little bit about our ensemble!

After the interview was over Stacey (bass) Molly (drums) and I had a nice breakfast at the guest buffet. Molly had unusual trouble opening her banana, and finally managed to rip the top clean off. It looked like a little samurai helmet and we couldn’t stop laughing!

The afternoon was pretty much free. I have no interest in Ensenada, so just took a few pictures of the port from the deck.

I decided to give my body a break and skip the gym. I read a little bit, and wrote, and had a nice lunch. I practiced of course. We had a rehearsal and performance of Voice of the Ocean. All of the candidates were very good this time around! Usually it’s easy to pick out 1-2 strong singers with a good chance of winning, but this time it seemed everyone had a pretty even shot. Great job everyone!

Later on we had an evening dance set in Explorers lounge. There weren’t a whole lot of people there, and it took a lot of coaxing to get even a few couples to dance. Bummer, but that’s how it is sometimes. Other times the dance floor has been full…it varies every time.

Tomorrow we are back in LA (or more specifically, San Pedro). This is now our only American port, so I’m going to be really gunning to get off the ship each time we visit!

11/17

We had a crew drill this morning, only this time the US Coast Guard was there to inspect us as we completed it! Very interesting. Mostly it was a normal drill that just took longer than usual. Stacey and I checked in at our department muster station, then we went to our stairwell where in a real emergency we'd direct passengers. After over an hour of waiting, some Coast Guard personnel came through and questioned us on our ship safety knowledge. I was only asked one question--"Where are the children's life jackets?"--to which I replied, "Deck 7 and on the lifeboats themselves." Easy. But poor Stacey really got interrogated! "Where is lifeboat No. 13?" and "Where is Muster Station X?" and "Which side of the ship has the even-numbered rooms?" My goodness!

After that we were sent to our regular muster stations, and then we were released around 11am. We were all excited to get off the ship, but for some reason shore leave had not been granted yet :( probably due to the drill. We were not able to leave the ship until almost noon. I booked it to Hojas Tea House for the latest i-device updates, and to post this blog, and to enjoy some matcha tea and a bagel sandwich!

After this I'm going to visit a guitar shop to pick something up for Stacey, then it's back to the ship for the passenger drill. The Disco Deck Party has been moved back to our day in Cabo San Lucas, so I actually have the rest of the day off! I'll probably hit the gym, and maybe treat myself to the guest buffet :)

We have nine cruises left, all of them in Mexico.

(**DISCLAIMER**: The viewpoints expressed here are my own and do not reflect the views of my employer!)

Just as a little addendum to last week’s post, Theresa Barlow, my circus boss’s wife, sent me the infamous chocolate chip pumpkin bread!! It was just as amazing as I remembered. Typically any circus person lucky enough to get one of these treasures would hoard it for themselves. But this time—just this once mind you—I sliced it up to share with the band. The first and last time I’ll ever share a Theresa Barlow chocolate chip pumpkin loaf!

In addition to that excitement, Stacey (bass, my roommate) got us a hot water kettle! Neither of us had packed one because it was on the list of Things You Can’t Have, but since then we’ve been told it’s OK as long as it has an auto-off function. Yay!

Why is this so exciting you ask? Let me tell you a little something about the Ruby Princess.
The crew mess (that’s the crew dining room) is located on Deck 4 Aft. Aft means “the rear end of the ship”. My room is located on Deck 7 Forward (“the front end of the ship”.)

This means that if I want coffee, or hot water for tea, I need to go up and down three flights of stairs and walk the entire length of the ship and back. To give you an idea of how far this is, if you were to do 2 ½ laps on the deck of the Ruby Princess, you will have walked one mile. Therefore, walking the length of the ship twice plus going up and down three flights of stairs adds up to approximately ½ mile.

I’ve been walking ½ mile for each cup of tea.
That’s why having a kettle in the room is such a wonderful thing! FEWER STINKIN’ STEPS!!!

11/04

The water is very choppy today! After breakfast I practiced in my stairwell. Our guest artist today is a Motown group called Horizon. There’s a lot of music so I was concerned, but after playing through it I feel a lot better about it :)

While packing up I overheard a guest telling someone that they could see whale in the distance. I stopped to look and sure enough, you could see mist every once in a while from a blowhole. It was too far away to see the whale itself, but it was still cool.

https://instagram.com/p/Bpzgdb3geNJ

I spent the afternoon taking it easy, because from about 3pm-11pm it was non-stop music-making!
First we had the sound check and performance of the Welcome Back/Welcome Aboard Captain's Circle event. After that we went right into a rehearsal with Horizon. Then there was just enough time to eat dinner and get changed before launching into three shows with Horizon. All three shows went well, although we were all pretty tired by the last one! I think the second show at 9:15pm was the best, because we had the biggest and most energetic crowd and the best sound. Here is an audience clip of the show!

https://instagram.com/p/Bp0Ww_-gRXJ

The guys in the band were fantastic. We're going to be doing another show with them soon and I'm looking forward to it!

After such a long day, I was quick to get to bed!

11/05

Today was special! We were docked in San Francisco for the entire day, from 7am-11pm! Not only that, our bosswoman was able to get us a WHOLE DAY OFF! No playing! Whee!!!

Molly (drums) and I were scheduled to have IPM duty this port, however Stacey (bass, my roommate) was a true champion and took my IPM duty!! I can't thank her enough! She said she wanted some chill time on the ship. No one was available to take Molly's IPM, so I chose to return to the ship early and take over her shift so that we can each enjoy a half-day ashore!

I was so excited that I had trouble sleeping! I woke early in the morning and was off the ship right at 8am! I walked to Boudin Bakery for some breakfast and internet time. And then...

Japantown!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Japantown is only about six blocks, but there’s a lot packed in there. I started off at the most notable landmark, the Peace Plaza pagoda.

I was a bit early as most of the shops didn’t open until 11am or so, but I walked around and just looked at everything. Los Angeles has a Little Tokyo area, and this was like that only much smaller and more residential. But it was interesting to see that many of the houses and apartments even had Japanese architectural elements.

The two things that were open were the Daiso (Japanese dollar store) and a Japanese grocery. I went to both, and though I didn’t really need anything I always enjoy looking around. The grocery especially…I just want to try everything!! I did end up getting some taiyaki bean buns for Molly, because she’d mentioned that she likes sweet red bean filling :) And I got some standard seaweed crackers for myself.

By the time I was finished with that, most of the other stores were open. There was a large mall featuring food stalls, restaurants, a two-level bookstore, tea shops, and any number of retailers selling products from Japan. I really wanted a yukata but unfortunately they are pretty expensive, and I didn’t find any on sale this time.

Although I saw many things that would be fun to have (bento boxes, wall hangings, sake sets, etc), there was nothing that I actually needed. It was about lunch time, so I settled on Udon Mugizo inside the mall. I've never had udon before and wanted to give it a try!

This is niku bukkake udon, served cold with scallions, shredded nori, seasoned thin-sliced beef, and a lemon wedge. There was also a small pouring container full of dashi sauce, which you’re supposed to either dip the noodles in or pour over them. My goodness, it was delicious! Kind of like a cross between ramen and pho. The seasoning on the beef was fantastic! I ate too much but it was so dang good!

After that big meal I needed to walk it off! I revisited some shops and walked around outside for a bit as well. I went down to a nearby Safeway to get Stacey some chamomile tea. When I felt like there was a little more room in my stomach, I went back to the mall for dessert!

This is a taiyaki ice cream from Uji Time Dessert. Taiyaki is a popular snack item in Japan, named after (and shaped like) a fish. The fish is just waffle batter that’s been poured into a mold and then filled with something tasty, usually sweet red bean paste or custard or something. In this case they were using it as a cone for ice cream! The flavor choices included matcha tea, black sesame, or seasonal maple peach. I had intended to get maple peach but got distracted by the black sesame! You could also choose a filling for the fish, either red bean paste or Nutella, but I was still pretty full from lunch and didn’t want to overdo it so opted out of the filling. Both the ice cream and the taiyaki were delicious :)

After that I was feeling pretty tired (food coma?) so got myself back to the ship to relieve Molly of her IPM duty and give her her taiyaki. I took a short nap, then went to the gym. Around that time we got tomorrow’s schedule, and it looks like I won’t be able to go ashore this time. But I’m happy that I’ll still be in California and will still have data!

I was very happy to enjoy this lovely day in San Francisco. Yes, I ran off and did this stuff by myself. But remember that in a cruise ship environment, privacy is virtually nonexistent. Look back at the pictures of my cabin and think about sharing it with another person, who needs to eat and shower and study and fart just like you do! It’s not terrible by any means, and Stacey is the best roommate I could possibly ask for! But when the opportunity presents to be alone for several hours, I’m going to take it! It was very refreshing. I only wish Jameson could have been there.

We’ve been in touch pretty frequently actually. He’s been busy with gigs and work, and looking after my houseplants (thanks my dear!). I like to find out what he’s up to, and I’ll be excited when we’re sharing space again :)

11/06

I woke up and did my routine, or what seems to have become my routine. Breakfast at 9am, practice sometime between 10-11:30am. Depending on how practice goes, maybe a little reading or computer time left over. Lunch around 1pm.

Then usually my “work day” begins with some kind of training, or a rehearsal or sound check, or maybe an afternoon performance in the piazza. And then there’s usually a few hours for a trip to the gym or more practice or relaxation, followed by dinner, followed by the evening performances…usually jazz sets, or dance sets, or a production show, or a show with a guest entertainer. Wash, rinse repeat.

Today I had training at 2pm and a set at 8:30pm. I had intended to go to the gym, but was feeling physically very tired and decided to call it off in favor of some time enjoying the fresh air on the deck. I don’t have time to go ashore in Monterey before we leave, but it was still nice to watch the ships coming and going and enjoy some clean air (many of the larger ports are rather…smoggy.)

Training was fine, the evening set was fine. As the sun was setting I managed to catch this little pod of sea lions heading out to sea.

https://instagram.com/p/Bp3B46rAU_O

11/07

Today we are at sea all day on the way to San Diego. Our band has a rehearsal for Voices of the Ocean (or VOTO as we call it), followed by some more shows with the Horizon Motown band. Once again I skipped the gym...I have actually been trying to go about four times per week, and I think my body hasn't adjusted yet because I feel extra tired :/ So I'm going to scale it back just a little this week, and try again next week!

The rehearsals and the Horizon Motown shows went well. Here is the main Ruby Princess Theatre stage, where we were preparing to rehearse for the Motown show.

11/08

Today we are very lucky! Well, the horn section is haha. The only show scheduled for our band is the production show Magic to Do, which only the rhythm section has to play. So the horns have an entire day off in San Diego, and shore leave from 8am to 7:30pm!!

San Diego is another circus-nostalgia city for me. Lots of great circus memories here from 2013 and 2015.

I stepped off the ship and took this picture from the prow.

My day began with a nice lox bagel from Spill the Beans. It was kind of overpriced if I'm being honest, but they do make their own bagels and cure their own salmon and make their own cream cheese...so maybe not. Stop on by but be prepared for long lines of hipsters!

There was nowhere to sit in Spill the Beans, so after finishing my meal I moved on and found another coffee shop to type up this blog and do some work. Pretty soon I'm going to have to start applying for jobs again, and I also have another project in the works that requires a lot of computer time (I'll share what it is if it actually works out!).

Once done with that...I had to do it.
I went to the train yard.

It was a long walk. The closer I got to the train yard, the more homeless folks I saw camping out, the more dirty it got, the less attractive. But that's what life with the circus was all about. All of the glamour was in the shows. All of the grit was on the rails. When I have the opportunity to visit the places where we used to stay, or perform, or enjoy each others' company, I will do so. I was glad to stand here today and see how much has changed, and to look back on what it was like.

After my little nostalgia trip I walked over to the public library for a little more wifi time. Although the wifi was good, it was difficult to find a seat because there were a LOT of homeless folks in there, using the internet to look for work, eating lunch behind the bookshelves, or brushing their teeth in the bathroom. This was not annoying, it was just saddening. Thank God for public libraries, probably one of few places where people can look for work or clean up for a few minutes without being asked to move along.

I did what I needed to do, then walked through the Gaslamp District and found a pizza place for a slice. For old time’s sake I stopped in the Ghirardelli store and got some dark chocolate. Then I began the trek back to the ship. It was a two mile walk and I had plenty of time, so I took it slow and just enjoyed the day and the fact that I was getting to enjoy this city again.

I was still hungry after a while, so when I found a Panera I stopped there for a small salad and stayed for a while to text with friends and family. When it got dark I decided to continue walking back. Along the way I ran into other crew members returning. It reminded me of how we all used to converge on the circus train after a day in each city. The ship looked beautiful; it’s the first time I’ve seen it from the outside at night.

Back on board I put away my things and had a light dinner in the guest buffet, then since it was payday I decided to splurge on an ice cream sandwich from the café on Deck 16! This is the Cookie Colada: two ginger coconut sugar cookies with pina colada ice cream! It was pretty good!

Tomorrow we are in Ensenada, and I do not expect to have time to get off the ship.

11/09

We arrived in Ensenada this morning. After breakfast I went to an all hands meeting, which was really an awards ceremony for people who have been Princess employees for years and for those who have provided exceptional service to guests. We also received a few updates on things happening in the company.

After the meeting I did a little organizing on my music tablet and my ipad, then practiced a bit, had lunch, went to the gym. The usual stuff.

Around 4pm there was a rehearsal for Voice of the Ocean, which went nice and quickly. We wrapped it up just as the ship was pulling away from Ensenada. I had a nice lunch of fish, rice, and broccoli in the crew mess, and then we performed Voice of the Ocean. To be honest the audience was kind of dead, not a whole lot of energy this cruise. I guess that happens sometimes. All of the singers did a great job. Were they great? No. But they had the courage to get up there and sing in front of a theater full of strangers. That’s something even I, a supposed “musician”, will not do. One elderly woman was shaking the entire time, and it turns out she was singing for her husband and they were celebrating their 55^th wedding anniversary! How amazing is that? I was very happy for her!

Anyway, that was all the house band had to do today. Stacey (bass) and I went up to the guest buffet for some light snacks with members of the party band, and then we met up with Molly (drums), Paula (sax) and Rebeca (guitar) in the piazza to see the Mariachi band play for the Day of the Dead celebration!

Once again the guests did not seem to be in an interactive mood! We tried to liven things up by joining the party! Here is a clip of everyone dancing together :)

https://instagram.com/p/BqAoiKAAlOc

If people do not want to dance, at least they can enjoy watching others dance! I’m not much of a dancer myself :)

11/10

It's turnaround day in LA! I decided to try a new coffee shop today, but their wifi was having issues so I found a tea shop instead. Sitting here now typing this. It's kinda busy so I may go explore around the block and come back to see if the line has gone down.

It's been an eventful week and this was a long post! Next week is our last one hitting the California ports, so I'm going to explore as much as I can and enjoy the wifi. Because after that I'll only have Saturdays in LA and the Walmart in Vallarta for my internet time!

(**DISCLAIMER**: The views expressed here do not reflect the views of my employer!)

10/28

Today we had cabin inspections at 9:30am. For these inspections, we have to make sure our beds are made and the cabin is reasonably neat. Our life jacket, muster hat, and safety card all need to be on our bed. Since I’m on the top bunk, my safety rails and ladder have to be in place. And then someone comes through and has a look to make sure everything is in order. They might only glance into the room, or they could do a thorough inspection…it seems to vary. This time we got a cursory glance.

I had breakfast and practiced for a while. First I worked on improv, using Stacey’s suggestion of practicing a ii-V-I pattern. If you’re not into music theory you may not know what this means…don’t worry. It’s pretty much just an exercise that helps train my ear to listen to a certain pattern and make things up over it. When that was done I played through a Mariachi song that I’d recently downloaded in the hopes that the Mariachi band will let me sit in with them one night. After that I played through our set list for this afternoon, which is a bunch of dance tunes.

When all of that was done I packed up and started walking back to my room, but on the way I noticed several passengers looking over the side and pointing. There were some flying fish leaping out of the ship’s wake! I have never seen flying fish in person before! I tried to capture a video for you, but they were small and fast and it was unpredictable where they’d appear. I mean, if you can see it, there's one in this clip:

I put away my things and enjoyed some quiet time before lunch. Normally this is when Molly and I would have our art auction work. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, they’ve done away with our positions. It’s a bummer, but I had fun while it lasted and perhaps having the free time will be nice as well :)

Later in the day we had our dance band set, followed by a sound check and then performance of the Captain’s Circle Welcome Back event. This is just a short little special event for people who are members of Princess’s VIP club. Guests can win prizes and such, and we musicians and dancers are featured for a few songs.

After that I went to the gym, and then to dinner. And later in the evening I went to the crew bar for drinks and card games with some of the band ladies. All in all a nice day. Tomorrow we arrive in Cabo San Lucas. I have a rehearsal in the afternoon, but after that might have some time to go ashore! We’ll see!

10/29

As it turned out, I did have time to go ashore! In the afternoon there was a short sound check, then I got on the ferry to land. It was my first time riding the tender port boat!

Once in Cabo San Lucas, I wasn’t sure where to begin, so just wandered. There were many touristy things to do, including a dolphin experience, glass-bottomed boats, snorkeling, and any number of beach activities. For now, though, I just wanted to look around. We’ll be coming here a lot over the next three months, and I see no need to do everything at once.

It was a lovely port with some nice shops. It was a very hot day, so after a while I went into a mall to cool off. But I didn’t need to buy anything. I ran into Molly (drums) and Rebeca (guitar) and Ray and Kiba from the Mariachi band. They were lamenting the shoddy wifi situation. We headed back to the port together, where Molly and Rebeca decided to sit in a restaurant in the hopes of wifi and Ray, Kiba and I decided to head back to the ship. Sorry my shore excursion wasn’t full of thrills, but hey, that’s just the kind of day it was.

That night we had another Disco Deck Party, and it went well. Our music is paired with a sort of cheesy video featuring some Love Boat cast members, but the guests seem to enjoy it. After the set some of the girls went to get ice cream, but I wanted to go to bed because we’ve got an early morning tomorrow.

10/30

First thing in the morning we had our first bi-monthly entertainment department meeting in one of the ship’s lounges. Most guests were ashore having fun, so the lounge was empty. We got some information on upcoming guest artists, safety drills and inspections, and promotional/financial statistics.

Right after that we had a crew safety drill. For a passenger drill we would don our lifejackets and perform a safety demonstration for the passengers, much like an airline steward would. But for a crew drill we take our lifejackets and neon yellow hats to an assigned check-in station, where we have our ID cards scanned. From there we go to our normal passenger safety positions, and from there to our “muster stations”, which is basically any room large enough to safely hold a large number of guests in the event of an emergency.

Once we arrived at our muster station, our muster captain came around to make sure we were standing in the correct position. From there, we received directions on how to organize guests and take them to the life boats in the event of an emergency.

After the drill was finished, I was starving! As a special treat I went up to the guest buffet for breakfast. I had banana bread, smoked fish, yogurt parfait, fresh fruit, and scrambled eggs with mushrooms. Yum!

Then it was time to practice and go to the gym. I had taken Rebeca’s IPM duty, but in the end she decided to stay on the ship because the crew drill was longer than expected. It was also very hot and humid here in Mazatlan. We will be visiting this port very often, so I’m not worried…I’ll definitely be checking it out another day!

After the gym I decided to eat lunch at the “tea time” that takes place in the buffet area around 3:30pm. Molly (drums) has been raving about it ever since we set sail haha. It was actually pretty awesome! Mini scones and mini burritos, salads, fresh fruit, ice cream, and a chocolate fondue fountain, among other things! I made myself a little plate. Yeah don’t judge me for all the desserts :P

The rest of my day was pretty uneventful. I got myself a Princess logo water bottle, since washing and reusing plastic bottles is getting old. I wandered around the ship and on the decks, and just enjoyed some quiet time. The ocean is so big and blue. On the circus train, traveling between cities was part of the excitement. You’d see so much along the way. Here it’s just the vast ocean, so it can seem a little boring. But every once in a while you can see something amazing, like sea turtles or flying fish. And there’s a nice calm feeling that comes with the rolling waves and the sounds they make on the ship’s hull.

10/31

This turned out to be a busy Halloween!

First thing in the morning we had a training session that went for over an hour. After that most of us decided to go ashore in Vallarta, if only to visit the Mexican Walmart that was close to the port. Going there was pretty nostalgic because it reminded me of the Supermercado we loved to visit in Mexico City with the circus. I didn’t actually buy much, just a dish towel and a few cheap shirts to flesh out my ship wardrobe.

After Walmart I walked over to the Galleria mall next door. I enjoyed window shopping and looking at all the cruise ships from the food court.

https://instagram.com/p/Bpm9U2JhWLf

It was very hot and humid, so after getting my free wifi fix at the mall I headed back to the ship, got a shower, and had lunch. That evening we had a rehearsal with our first guest entertainer, Anne Martinez from the Vegas show BAZ. Although we were essentially sightreading her music, the rehearsal went well and so did the two evening shows. The shows were pretty much just Anne singing and talking a bit about her background and musical experiences. She’s an interesting person and a very talented vocalist. It was a privilege to perform for her!

Later on there was a Halloween party in the crew bar! I went up to check it out around 10pm, but apparently that was too early because it was dead (pun intended). I decided not to wait around because I hadn’t made a costume and we’ve also got such a long day tomorrow. But still, I got a video of the decorations.

I should mention that other parts of the ship have also been decorated for Halloween!

I wasn’t very festive for this holiday, other than eating a bunch of candy! But hey, we’ve got three more major holidays while on this ship!

11/01

Only two months and nineteen days until I can see my boyfriend again! But who’s counting ;)

Today we had another early morning training session. After that many band members went off to practice. There’s a lot to do…we’ve got our first Voices of the Ocean rehearsal today, plus a rehearsal and three shows for the guest entertainer. The last show starts at 10:15pm, so it’s going to be a long day for us. For that reason, and because my parts for all of these are not very involved, I chose to chill for an hour before lunch and just run through the music right before the rehearsal.

Voices of the Ocean is copied after the hit TV show The Voice. Contestants are auditioned, and then must choose from a list of pre-selected songs, which the house band (us!) will play for them during the “show”. There are even gonna be spinning chairs and buzzers, just like on The Voice!

We rehearsed in Adagio, which is a sort of lounge way up on Deck 16. I’ve never been to this little corner of the ship before.

The rehearsal went well. It was fun to play along with amateurs who were brave enough to get up there and do their thing! That takes a lot of guts. I hope everyone will have fun!

Afterward we found out that Anne, our guest entertainer, was not feeling well and would not be performing this evening. Instead, one of the cast members from the Princess Theatre company would be performing some rock songs with the rhythm section as backup. We were a bit surprised to hear that, since she also has two theatre performances this evening at 6:30 and 8:30, and the guest entertainer spots are at 7:30 and 10:30. It’s a lot of work for her on short notice, but it’s wonderful that she’s stepped up to fill in!

As for the horn section, we suddenly found ourselves with two fewer shows to perform. We’d still cover the middle guest entertainer time slot with a dance band set at 9:15, but I felt bad for the rhythm section for having so much work. I attended their 7:30 set, partially to be supportive and partially in case something else came up and the horns were needed after all (you never know!). They did a fantastic job. Our dance set went well too.

11/02

Today is another sea day. After yesterday’s shenanigans, we were happy to have a light day today. Just a rehearsal at 2:30 for Voices of the Ocean, and the actual show at 7pm.

In the morning I had breakfast and chatted with Jameson and my family. The ship wifi is sketchy any time we’re moving, but by refreshing often I’m able to get messages every few minutes. After breakfast I chilled for a bit and spent some time reading on the deck.

Our rehearsal went well, the show went well. All of us got to play with the judges’ chairs!

11/03

Today is weird. We have a crew inspection today, but not all of us...but none of us can get off the ship until it's done. Sigh...
I woke early to do laundry, then went to a sound check for the Disco Deck Party show which will be later tonight. After that several of us pooled on an Uber to Target. We have very limited shore leave, maybe two hours. I'm typing this from the Target actually.

So pretty much every Saturday I'm going to be posting to this blog because that's when we're in LA. There may be one or two exceptions to this, but expect postings once per week, Saturdays.

In closing, here are my pins, which I must wear any time I’m in a public area on the ship!

(DISCLAIMER: These statements do not reflect the views of my employer. Thank you!)

10/22

Let’s see, where did I leave off? We had docked in LA, and Molly and I were running errands. After coffee and internet time we ended up going to a nearby Marshalls for random stuff. She needed cheap headphones for the gym and a laundry bag, and I needed a notepad for both myself and Stacey (somehow I forgot to bring one?!). I also got honey for my morning oatmeal, as honey is not readily available in the crew mess. I couldn’t find cinnamon, but did find nutmeg.

Then we took an Uber to a UPS store to collect our packages. We got back to the ship in time to catch the buffet for lunch, then there was a passenger safety drill and two dance band sets. The sets went well. I focused really hard on my improv solo when the time came. One of my biggest issues is that once the solo starts, I forget to keep counting and lose track of the chord changes. So today I tried extra hard to count, and as a result my solo was noticeably better than usual (I know because everyone said so!). Just keep swimming.

10/23

Today is a “sea day”, meaning we’ll be at sea all day on our way down to Cabo san Lucas. Last night the ship’s clocks were set ahead by one hour. Losing an hour of sleep sucks.

It’s a busy day for me, at least up until dinner time. I got up at 8:30 (technically 7:30, eew) and had a nice breakfast with my new oatmeal seasonings. While I was eating I noticed people putting up signs advertising a “kombuka” sale, along with a list of beverages…wine, beer, liquor, soft drinks, and water. Intrigued, I started walking around Deck 4 to see if I could find where this sale was taking place. After a while I noticed crew members dragging bottles of loot from a particular direction, and started walking that way. I still couldn’t find it, but finally stopped a Russian dude carrying three bottles of whiskey to ask. He didn’t speak English at all, but I was able to gesture and flail in a way that said, “Hey, where did you get that?” His hands were full of bottles but he nodded enthusiastically and pointed a finger at the floor. Down. I thanked him and went down to Deck 3. I’ve never been to Deck 3 before today and wouldn’t have known to look there.

There was a big queue down there leading into an office. The majority of folks in line were wearing blue or white jumpsuits indicating that they worked in some mechanical capacity on the ship. I was the only woman and the only one dressed up. I got a few amused looks, but I was amused as well. Just because I dress nice doesn’t mean I don’t also enjoy a nightcap once in a while ;)

When it was my turn at the office, I handed over my crew ID. The officer at the computer ran it, then asked what I wanted from a list of beverages. The prices were very reasonable, and for a moment I was tempted to stock up. But I just don’t drink all that much. I got a bottle of vanilla vodka. The officer seemed surprised: “That’s it?” Her reaction was pretty understandable, as people were leaving the deck dragging hand carts stacked tall with cases of Coke, water, and liquor. But a liter bottle of vodka is more than I’d ever need. Hopefully the band ladies will help me enjoy it!

I went to a different section of Deck 3 to collect my booze and trekked back to my room to store it. After that I practiced for a bit, then Molly and I had our cherry pie work at the art gallery again (that pretty much paid for the vodka!). From there we went straight into an afternoon dance band set, which went well even though personally I hadn’t gotten much practice time on that music. And right after that we packed up and carried our equipment to the theater, where we did a sound check and then played for the Captain’s Circle club members Welcome Event.

After that, we were basically free for the day! I was very tired, having not slept well the night before, so took a short nap after dinner. In the evening we all went up to the Crew Bar to enjoy a “wine and cheese night” event! It was really nice to have some social time with everyone. The crew bar is basically a rec room just for crew. It has a pool table, couches, a DVD and book library, a small convenience kiosk, and a bar of course!

10/24

We arrived in Cabo san Lucas around 1pm. Before that I woke up and had a nice breakfast, then practiced for a while in the theater stairwell. I had planned to eat lunch and then go to the gym, but as I was packing up Molly (drums) found me. Apparently we were needed in the art gallery for our cherry pie work at the last minute! I ran back to the room and got dressed, careful not to wake my roommate who was still sleeping.

The art gallery wasn’t very busy, so we were only there for about an hour. Afterward we decided to go up to the guest gym, bringing Rebeca (guitar) with us.

I did the elliptical and finished just as we were docking in Cabo san Lucas. This was a “tender port”, meaning that we must drop anchor offshore and use ferries to carry passengers to and from the ship. I traded IPM duties with Rebeca today so that she could get off the ship, because while she has most of the day free I have rehearsal and a show at 4 and 10pm. So since I can’t get off the ship anyway, why not do IPM? And when we are in LA, because Rebeca is not a US citizen she will not be allowed off the ship, so I’m hoping she’ll be willing to take my IPM shift.

Anyway, after the gym I got cleaned up and had lunch in the mess, then had a rehearsal for a disco event later in the evening. Then it was dinner, laundry, and some plain old chill time. At 10pm we had our disco set. It was the Ruby Princess Orchestra horn section (Paula, Nia, and myself) performing with the Party Band consisting of drums, guitar, bass, keys, and vocals. We had a lot of fun playing and the guests had a great time!

Afterward Molly and Rebeca came up to join the party, and everyone started dancing while the Party Band continued with more disco medleys. I was ready to call it a day, so packed up and started heading down to my room. Walking along one of the decks, the breeze was very nice and the lights from Cabo San Lucas were pretty, so I stopped to just enjoy the silence and beauty for a moment. As I was gazing down into the black water, I got a bit of a surprise. This sea turtle drifted to the surface right in front of me. I scrambled to get this blurry photo before he sank back into the dark water.

10/25

Strangely, I have absolutely ZERO work today! I’d love to explore Cabo san Lucas, but we’re supposed to leave at 1pm so I’d have to get up super early.

Instead I thought I’d try the guest breakfast for the first time, just to break up my oatmeal-and-boiled-eggs routine. Guest breakfast is awesome! There was so much to choose from: pancakes, French toast, every kind of egg imaginable, bagels, fish and pork and beef, sausage and bacon, all kinds of fruits…the list goes on. I got myself a yogurt parfait, coconut French toast, an eggs benedict, a roasted tomato, and some fruit. Crew are often not allowed to eat at the breakfast buffet because it gets very busy, so this was a rare treat.

After breakfast I practiced for a bit. There aren’t really any practice rooms here, so we all have to make do with any spaces not in use. I like this stairwell, because it’s close to my room and in a deck area that guests don’t use.

After practice I had a small snack at the crew mess and talked with one of our pianists for a bit, then went up to the piazza to check out some of the shops. I was hoping to find a retractable lanyard, but no such luck. But it was nice to see what the stores carry, because guests will often ask.

Back in my room, I said good morning to Stacey before heading up to the gym. In the evening I went to see my bandmates perform in Magic to Do, a new Princess production show. Though I couldn’t record any part of the show, I did catch these ladies laying down the playoff music! Way to go girls!!

10/26

Today was busy! I had a nice breakfast and practiced a bit, then had work at the art auction with Molly. Afterward we had a piazza set right away, so we ran over there and laid it down. Then I had a short meeting with my boss, basically it’s been a month and she’s checking with all of us to make sure we’re adapting to ship life all right, which I thought was really considerate. Then I had to charge my music tablet, then Nia (trumpet) had to install an update on said tablets so I lost all of my real books! Instead of reinstalling them all I decided to use my iPad for the evening set instead.

The ship seems to be moving a lot today, but so far I don’t feel sick. We still have one jazz set in the evening, and I’m kind of stressed about it already. I dunno, some days I wake up with the mindset that it’s just not going to turn out well, and I don’t know why. Today I think it’s because there’s not much time to practice, so maybe I’m already feeling underprepared. But I need to remember that it’s just one set, and whether there’s time to go over the material or not all I can do at any given time is my best, and that will have to be good enough.

Tomorrow we are back in LA. Rebeca (guitar) and Paula (sax) were kind enough to take IPM duty for Molly and I, so we are going to Target to pick things up for ourselves and other people in the band. Most importantly, Halloween candy!!

10/27

Finally back in the states! It's so nice to have phone service. This morning Molly and Stacey and I took an Uber to Target. I wanted to get a few pieces of clothing and some cleaning supplies. Still no luck finding a lanyard, my goodness! I also picked up some Halloween candy per my boss's request. After that we went to Sacred Grounds again to enjoy the wifi and coffee. Shore leave in LA is very short because that's where we take on passengers, so there's always a passenger safety drill around 3pm and we need to be back an hour before that. But still, any time off the boat is nice!

As we head into our next week of cruising, I hope to get more time in some of the Mexican ports. So far things are going well, I just wish I were a better musician. But maybe with time.

10/17

We are sailing to LA today. Upon returning to the ship last night, Paula (sax) wasn’t feeling great, so I was asked to fill in for her set. I did a very poor job, mostly because I spent the entire day goofing off and hadn’t played a single note or listened to any jazz.

I’m having confidence issues. Well I guess you all know I had them before coming here. All I can do is keep trying. In a few minutes I’m running up to Nia’s room (trumpet) to pick up some recordings. Stacey (bass) has already given me quite a lot of music as well. And I’m going to try to do one hour of listening every day.

One thing that I forgot to bring or buy is a notepad/paper. Everyone has suggested that I write out the music as a way of practicing that goes along with listening.

Today we had our first outdoor set, wearing our cute little “Hawaiian” shirts and standing near the pool. It was very hot, but we made the best of it and afterward many people came up to thank us for playing and tell us we did a good job. And then we saw some whales! I wanted to take pictures, but really all you could see was a blue lump in the vast blue sea. In person, they were beautiful.

10/18

We arrived in LA sometime last night or this morning. We had another outdoor set today, but this time it was a special PR event for some company VIPs to experience some of the new sound equipment that’s been installed during ship renovations. The sound check was in the morning, so I got up early and ate breakfast then climbed nine flights of stairs(!) to reach deck 16. It was a beautiful day and we had a fantastic view of the shipyard and bridge.

The sound check went well. During the down time before the event I checked my email and spoke with other band members about how we can arrange some pop/rock/funk charts for ourselves for future sets. It’s a little difficult without reliable internet, but I think we’ll be able to pull something off, just maybe not right away.

We had to wait over an hour for the event to start, but start it did, and it was over in just a few tunes. Afterward several execs came over to thank us and introduce themselves. I was happy to meet these people, who very likely had a hand in hiring me!—and who also have a say in the equipment and facilities that we’re able to use. So even though it was a long wait to perform for them, I was glad that we got to do it.

Afterward we were starving! The crew mess was closed, so Stacey (bass) and I went to the Horizon Court buffet. It’s for guests, but we have permission to use it on certain days during certain hours. We figured this probably qualified as a permissible time to eat! The food was delicious :)

Then we had a little bit of free time before the turnaround day safety drill. “Turnaround day” apparently means the day we take on passengers and then “turn around” and leave haha. We all spent the time resting and enjoying our American cell phone data service, although we could only get signal by sitting in the hallway near a door. I felt bad every time an international crew member approached our little hallway huddle to ask, “Wifi?” only to find out we were using data.

The safety drill went well. I returned to my room and decided to risk washing some of my “dry clean only” clothes…so far it looks like nothing was ruined, yay! Then I downloaded some real books, jazz exercises, and recordings that Nia (trumpet) had graciously put on a flash drive for me. I’m going to begin working these into my daily routine to see if I can’t improve my musicianship a little bit.

I am well aware that it’s my own fault that I’ve avoided everything jazz for so long. I didn’t like it to begin with, and then after getting shamed or embarrassed every time I tried to perform it I started to actively avoid it. But I think these ladies are making me reset how I approach jazz music. Here I am being given the opportunity to improve, and I NEED to take advantage of it. Afterward I may decide that I still hate jazz, or whatever, but at the very least I need to really make an effort this time.

Tonight at dinner there were WHOLE SQUID! And I do mean whole. Guts and eyeballs and everything but the beaks and ink sacs. I like to try new things and I already know that I like squid, so I slopped some onto my plate and took a big bite. Blech! Squid guts are not very good! The taste isn’t actually that bad, but the texture was pretty awful. Rubbery and gritty and just no. Plus it was oversalted. I ate it anyway so as not to be wasteful, but probably gonna cross whole squid off my list :P

10/19

Today was pretty slow. We only had a little training in the morning, then a set around 6:45. In the time between we were “” docked at Catalina Island. “” docked means that we’re not in an actual port, but rather anchored offshore, and then the cruise ship provides little orange ferries to take people to and from the island. I know this because we woke to an awful grinding noise, which my roommate said was the anchor tearing up the bottom of the sea. But anyway, here’s Catalina Island.

I didn’t disembark myself because I felt I needed to practice for the evening set. And it’s a good thing I did, because even with the practicing I didn’t play very well. But then I think most of us weren’t happy with how we played. Personally I was nervous, Molly (drummer) said she just wasn’t in the groove, and I think Paula (sax) might have wanted a sectional beforehand. And we should have tuned as well. But, hey. It’s only been two weeks, and we haven’t had that many sets together. People still danced, and applauded, and seemed to have a good time. Of course we want to do better, but what’s important is that people are still having fun and enjoying what we’re putting out in the now.

In other news, we have begun sailing to Mexico!
Tomorrow I’ll have a sectional with Paula and Nia (trumpet), then Molly and I have volunteered for a “cherry pie” job: helping out at an art auction!

10/20

Today we had a dance set in the afternoon and it went quite well. Even my solos were not terrible. The only hitch was a request from a guest, and we thought we had the lead sheet for it, but turns out it was a Bb sheet. So I started to play and thought, “Well this doesn’t sound right!” That’s because it needed to be transposed! Whoops! But we got through it one way or another, and we still got applause when we were done.

Oh, before that, Molly (drums) and I had our “cherry pie” work registering people for an art auction today! It was very easy. We each got a computer and a spreadsheet with some formulas already entered. If a guest wanted to register for the auction, we’d ask for their room number, and their name would come up automatically on the sheet. Then we’d assign them a bidding number and give them some raffle tickets. A fun job for a little extra cash! When we were finished we enjoyed lunch at the guest buffet, since crew mess was closed by then. I enjoyed spending time with Molly and getting to know a little more about her :)

Other than that, it was a pretty slow day. I went to the crew gym for the first time and used the elliptical. Tomorrow Molly, Stacey (bass) and I are going to the guest gym together to exercise. All of us have almost the whole day free in Ensenada, but I am stuck with In Port Manning (IPM) duty and can’t get off the ship. I’ll probably spend the day practicing, searching for stray wifi signals, and exploring the ship (I STILL don’t know where everything is!)

10/21

It was a nice slow day. As mentioned, I couldn't get off the ship because of IPM duty, but made the best of my time. I practiced, did laundry, and went to the gym. Here are some pictures of the port. We were docked next to a Carnival ship.

In the evening we had a rehearsal for a Disco Deck Party to take place in a few days. Pretty straightforward stuff.

10/21

I'm typing this from a coffee shop in LA. Molly and I walked there to get our wifi fix, and we also need to pick up some stuff we ordered and had sent to a UPS store. I also want to pick up some honey and cinnamon (for my morning oatmeal) and some office supplies, like a lanyard for my ship ID. This coffee shop is awesome by the way...Sacred Grounds. Stop in if you get a chance.

We need to be back on the ship by 2pm, then we have a passenger safety drill at 3:15pm. At night we'll have two dance band sets, which should be fun (because there's less improv haha). I like it when people are dancing and having fun :)

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taz_39

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goofball on a train

(adventures of a touring musician)

Entries tagged with cruise ship

Week 1 Weirdness

Connections

Good Gravy

Busy Week is Busy

Back to Life

I'm Freeeeeee

Week Before Last

Ringing in 2019

Long Christmas Post!

Final Month At Sea Begins

Average week

Late Post Again!

Time With Family

Exploring Mazatlan

Ship Week

Last California Ports

San Fran and San Diego

3rd LA Port

2nd LA Port

LA Port