100 little posts on the wall, 100 posts of words....

Happy 100!
Yes, my friends, this is officially my 100th post.

I originally intended to write a pithy, reflective post about how at the Starbucks in Acapulco, where I am currently sitting, I attempted to speak Spanish as i ordered my yogurt parfait and coffee, but got caught up when she asked "De donde esta?" I thought she was asking "For here, or to go?" so I sort of gestured back behind me in the general direction of the tables. She then broke the allusion that we were actually having a conversation, and said,
"No, where are you from?"
I answered "The ship. The Norwegian Star"

But not for much longer. We are on our penultimate Mexican Riviera cruise. And, as my friend Lis predicted, the last few cruises have been much more fun for me then the middle section.

I think it's for a number of reasons---I stopped drinking as much, started working out some more, reading books I really like and taking time doing things I like to do. For example, today, I went off the ship, went to see "Eastern Promises" here at Galleria Diana, laid in the VIP Barcaloungers and ate popcorn and drank diet coke as I watched the excruciating machinations of the Russian mob in London come to grips with their actions and what happens when you treat young girls horribly. Good times.

Now, I'm sitting in the aforementioned Starbucks, sipping on my coffee, watching the people go by to shop at really expensive Mexican Gap and Banana Republic, and will go out to dinner tonight.

Last night, we had an early show, and then had a heli-pad party to celebrate Megan's birthday. Then, a cast-only (plus, a few others) hang-out in Tilliski and Keith's cabin. We listened to music, drank some brews and then I went on a walk out on the deck and watched the waves and stars.

I'm happy to have been on the ship, but will be happy to go on my little West-coast road trip and then home to my lovely little condo, where friends, summer festivals and hopefully, a really great job await me.

Tonight, out to dinner, hopefully overlooking the lovely view of Acapulco at night (Mountains, ocean, lights) and then to the heli-pad for sailaway.

And where am I from?

Ohio. Freakin' Elyria, Ohio. And I'm proud.

But for now, I am from the Norwegian Star.

Good cruise, Bad cruise

Sunday, April 6, 2008
We are in Cabo today, and I've opted to wander and internet about.

My first destination was Senor Greenberg's, a mexitalesson, as they like to call themselves. The internet there is not reliable, but it is close. Plus, they serve Chilaquiles which sounded divine.

There, I saw Georgina, a Romanian from Shore Excursions, along with Redelpho I slaughtered the spelling of his name) , the Columbian piano player from the show band who is still learning English, but "plays like butter" according to another guy in the band. The trombone player was there, too, but I don't know his name or nationality, so I'll move on. In walked Minnie, a waitress from the Phillipines, who was looking for Chris, the US Bass Player. She sat down and poured her heart out to me about life, work, love, and then was out like a shot when Chris showed up. They were going to swim with the dolphins, and the dolphins demand promptness. Next, walked in Elena and Sasha, the Russian ballroom couple from the cast of dancer/singers. They are very nice, and are great dancers. In a few of their big numbers, they like to share a sweet kiss on the lips, and then Elena flashes around and puts her finger on her lips--saying "Shh! Don't tell anyone!" At this week's "Band on the Run" show, they were dancing to last dance, and they only kissed on the cheek. I speculated with Megan that perhaps they were fighting, but today, they seemed content and enjoying each other's company at old Senor Greenbergs, and Sasha flashed me the Thumbs up as they walked by.

As I walked down to Senor Sweets, I ran into a ton of people from the ship. I walked right by the YC Couple, because I didn't feel like chatting,

Then, I ran into Stan, aka, Mr. Motown, who loves Macs and manhandling me. It's nice--it sort of feels like how my Uncle Tom used to grab us and shake us and tease us when we were little. As I type this, that seems more horrible then nice--but it was very sweet and Stan has that energy. He did get a little rough, so I yelled out "Help me, this man is hurting me. This man is hurting me!" Stan stopped for a bit, and then started again, so I yelled it again and stepped back. He then said, "You should use that in your act." We get a lot of that---ideas to throw in our show. In the middle of the second show last night, Megan remembered that she had promised Dominic, a departing dancer, that she would try to work in a bit about a bread truck crashing into her. We couldn't figure out a graceful way to fit that in, and then Derek declared that it was stupid to try so we dropped it. Mostly, when people suggest bits to put in, I listen to them and then promptly ignore their suggestions. I think because we perform improvisation, they think we can just alter the words or pre-plan what we do. It takes a while to explain, and then they seem bored, so my laugh and walk away strategy works a bit better for me.

At the moment, I'm panicking a bit because I'm here at Senor Sweet's, another coffee shop, and I can't remember what time all-aboard is...and it's a long walk back on the pier.

I'm looking forward to not having to worry about all-aboard time, to having my own bedroom, to cooking my own food, to having constant internet access and to being with my friends and family.

I'm going to miss the sunshine, the shows, the crowds and the lovely music everywhere on the ship.

Back to the Star for me!

This blog is not in chronological order

Saturday, March 8, 2008

A few observations on our first sea day, Cruise #6.

I got up early this morning, at 9 am, to clean up the cabin a bit and eat prior to my impending teeth-whitening at the Barong Spa. When I wake up, Megan, my roommate, is usually always up, and is trying her very hardest not to disturb me. It always makes me laugh---her consideration of my sleeping is very sweet---but completely unnecessary. This morning, when I popped out of bed and said “Hi” she didn’t respond. Shit, I thought, this is bad—she’s really just frustrated with me as a roommate. Luckily, when I saw her later in the day at Java Café, she hadn’t heard me say hi and wasn’t pissed at all. Things can get blown up pretty quickly on a ship, so I was very relieved.

My teeth are now 3 shades whiter then they were this morning, thanks to Leanne, the teeth-whitening specialist at the Barong Spa. And my brown spot, near my left eyetooth, is significantly lighter then it was before. I am really glad---whenever I exchanged food-in-teeth smiles after dinner, people often think my little brown spot is food crud—and it’s usually awkward after I tell them that it’s actually a spot, not food. There’s no real good way to recover form that conversation, so having it lightened up is going to be a big help in those tense teeth moments.

After teeth time, I worked out in the Barong Gym. I did elliptical and pushed myself a bit and felt a bit sweatier then normal. I still only worked for 30 minutes…that’s my maximum for some reason—even though I have literally, hours and hours of time to spend working out. I am currently the exact pre-set definition on the elliptical machine. After I chose my program, and am requested to enter in my age, weight, and desired workout time—I perfectly match up with the existing pre-sets---Age: 35, Weight: 150 pounds, Workout time: 30 minutes. I may try to mix it up with Yoga tomorrow, if I can get my lazy butt out of bed by 8am. That seems really hard right now.

My friend Lis sent me a collection of essays by David Foster Wallace, including the last essay, entitled “A supposedly fun thing I will never do again” , about his experience as a passenger aboard a Celebrity Cruise to the Carribbean in 1995. I haven’t read a lot of cruise humor, but I devoured this essay today. I was reading it in public areas of the ship—in the Barong Spa relaxation room, on the helipad on deck 13, and in the Marketplace Buffet—and I felt like a humongous rebel. The essay really captures the feeling of cruising, how each cruise is like a machine, designed to make you feel like you’re having a “Crazy” or “Relaxing” or “Indulgent” experience, and how ridiculous the passengers can be, and also, how lovely it can be to meet new people and see the world from the water and just gaze out into the blue. Big ups to Lis for finding this book and sending it---I know she’s wanted to get it to me for a long time, so it was a big surprise to find it in my mailbox this San Pedro.

At the moment, I’m sitting in the internet café, listening to the Melodic Quartet sing “Blueberry Hill” and planning my outfit for tonight’s family dinner in La Trattoria. We have two guests on the cruise, so we’re all going out for dinner to meet everyone and manga manga manga (as the menu of La Trattoria encourages us to do).

Afterwards, a long-form rehearsal in the Stardust and, most probably, crew bar after.

Buenas Sera!