Well, tonight is new years eve. Unlike Christmas, I don't have anything fancy planned. I didn't even get off the ship today. We have a soundcheck, 2 shows, and then we're playing a formal big band dance tonight for midnight.
However, I am famous. Or, I will be. They had me record the bell chime sound for midnight on the ship. They'll play that over the ship-wide intercom. So...I'm famous.
Fortunately for me, we're still an hour ahead of NY. So, what the ship is doing is celebrating midnight and then at 12:45 moving the ship's clock back an hour and celebrating again!
I know I don't write a lot, but honestly, my days have been: wake up, work out, eat, lay out, study a bit, eat, play shows. Doesn't leave much to write about. I haven't really gotten off the ship much. I think next cruise I'll try to go to the beach in St. Maarten and St. Thomas.
happy 2010!!!
Fun facts from 2009: I spent almost 4 months of the year in total on a cruise ship - my complete earnings this year came from working as a musician - I visited about 10 different countries - I ate wings almost every wednesday apart from the time i was on a ship and i was working on my brief wing experiment - I became an in-state student in Ohio - I made Passover dinner without any help for the first time - I had my 10 year high school reunion (but didn't go) - I won my 2009 fantasy football championship -
What are your 2009 highlights?
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Champion!
Champion!!!
I am pleased to announce that the Cincy Burninators are the 2009 Fantasy Football league Champions!!!!! I'd like to thank not Bridgett for her apathy, and Adrian Peterson.
Now, it is time to figure out how to spend my $240 in winnings. I am placing ideas into 2 main categories: a purchase, or an event. Quick thought: can you buy Bengals playoff tickets for $120 each? Prob not, right?
In terms of purchases, I was thinking things like satelite radio, a new car stereo, a painting? In terms of events, I was thinking maybe a plane ticket to somewhere fun or some sort of day trip. Maybe a weekend in Chicago or something like that.
For those who know me well, you know that I have a difficult time spending any sort of gift money. So, I need to make sure I come up with something or it will dissappear into the shallow recesses of my bank account.
Please leave thoughts!
WINNNNNAHHHHH!!!!!
I am pleased to announce that the Cincy Burninators are the 2009 Fantasy Football league Champions!!!!! I'd like to thank not Bridgett for her apathy, and Adrian Peterson.
Now, it is time to figure out how to spend my $240 in winnings. I am placing ideas into 2 main categories: a purchase, or an event. Quick thought: can you buy Bengals playoff tickets for $120 each? Prob not, right?
In terms of purchases, I was thinking things like satelite radio, a new car stereo, a painting? In terms of events, I was thinking maybe a plane ticket to somewhere fun or some sort of day trip. Maybe a weekend in Chicago or something like that.
For those who know me well, you know that I have a difficult time spending any sort of gift money. So, I need to make sure I come up with something or it will dissappear into the shallow recesses of my bank account.
Please leave thoughts!
WINNNNNAHHHHH!!!!!
Christmas Day
Christmas Day
I'm not sure how you spent your Christmas Day.This is how I spent mine. After waking up and working out, I got off the ship with my roomate and his friends on the beautiful island of Grand Turk. For $7 each, we got into a minivan cab and took what should have been maybe a 10 minute ride. However, due to what I would later find out to be the "scenic route," it took about 20. It included a narration by the driver whom I wasn't 100% sure even knew we were there. I wondered out loud whether he narrated the trip even when passengers weren't in the car.
There were a surprising amount of horses and dogs wandering about the island. I'm not really sure why. It seems like an odd vacation spot for them. They probably would have asked directions to the beach, but they don't speak the language.
Once we arrived at the beach, we dropped our stuff off and went swimming. Unlike Barcelona, bathing suits were very much involved. The water was warm and salty. In fact, I was able to float on my back which I'm NEVER able to do. IThe beach floor was mostly sandy with big patches of seaweed which was kinda gross, but fine as long as you didn't, you know, step in it.
We eventually took a cab back to the area by the ship in which there were lots of shops. I scoped out some rum for bridgett's Christmas present and then got back on the ship. Just in time to...
Get showered and put on my tux. It was almost dinner time! With my tux on, I joined my roommate and his 3 friends to the ship's steak house. The table shared an appetizer of a pot of steamed muscles and my second course was the French Onion soup. Sadly, it was "fancy" French Onion soup which, unfortunately, translated into "gross." It was made with Jack Daniels in the broth, which would have been delicious except that the entire soup was vastly overpowered by the blue cheese used instead of mozzerella. Not only was the cheese too strong, but it didn't hold up to the broth and became mushy. The consistency of porridge or something. No good. But, not to fear. My main course came and the waiter brought me a SY strip steak cooked medium and 4 lobster tails (I ordered 2 but he took the liberty of putting in a 2nd order). Usual sides of mashed potatos, asparagus, and mushrooms were served family style. Dessert for me was a berry and apple cobbler served with vanilla ice cream. All in all, a wonderful Christmas dinner.
Unfortunately, I am an employee and did have to work after filling myself with wonderful food. We played 2 jazz combo sets in the lounge upstairs followed by a raucous British pub night thing during which I was kissed on the cheek by one of the girls on the cruise staff, kissed on the cheek by a middle aged drunk woman, and mounted by multiple guys on the cruise staff. Nobody told me I'd be judging which side of the room sang loudest, but it seems that representatives from both sides were quite adament about my choice.
All in all, a great day.
I'm not sure how you spent your Christmas Day.This is how I spent mine. After waking up and working out, I got off the ship with my roomate and his friends on the beautiful island of Grand Turk. For $7 each, we got into a minivan cab and took what should have been maybe a 10 minute ride. However, due to what I would later find out to be the "scenic route," it took about 20. It included a narration by the driver whom I wasn't 100% sure even knew we were there. I wondered out loud whether he narrated the trip even when passengers weren't in the car.
There were a surprising amount of horses and dogs wandering about the island. I'm not really sure why. It seems like an odd vacation spot for them. They probably would have asked directions to the beach, but they don't speak the language.
Once we arrived at the beach, we dropped our stuff off and went swimming. Unlike Barcelona, bathing suits were very much involved. The water was warm and salty. In fact, I was able to float on my back which I'm NEVER able to do. IThe beach floor was mostly sandy with big patches of seaweed which was kinda gross, but fine as long as you didn't, you know, step in it.
We eventually took a cab back to the area by the ship in which there were lots of shops. I scoped out some rum for bridgett's Christmas present and then got back on the ship. Just in time to...
Get showered and put on my tux. It was almost dinner time! With my tux on, I joined my roommate and his 3 friends to the ship's steak house. The table shared an appetizer of a pot of steamed muscles and my second course was the French Onion soup. Sadly, it was "fancy" French Onion soup which, unfortunately, translated into "gross." It was made with Jack Daniels in the broth, which would have been delicious except that the entire soup was vastly overpowered by the blue cheese used instead of mozzerella. Not only was the cheese too strong, but it didn't hold up to the broth and became mushy. The consistency of porridge or something. No good. But, not to fear. My main course came and the waiter brought me a SY strip steak cooked medium and 4 lobster tails (I ordered 2 but he took the liberty of putting in a 2nd order). Usual sides of mashed potatos, asparagus, and mushrooms were served family style. Dessert for me was a berry and apple cobbler served with vanilla ice cream. All in all, a wonderful Christmas dinner.
Unfortunately, I am an employee and did have to work after filling myself with wonderful food. We played 2 jazz combo sets in the lounge upstairs followed by a raucous British pub night thing during which I was kissed on the cheek by one of the girls on the cruise staff, kissed on the cheek by a middle aged drunk woman, and mounted by multiple guys on the cruise staff. Nobody told me I'd be judging which side of the room sang loudest, but it seems that representatives from both sides were quite adament about my choice.
All in all, a great day.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
An open letter to Mrs. Nancy Mamola
Dear Mrs. Mamola,
Thank you for so faithfully reading my blog. I have been distracted this week but I will make a point of writing more often. I hope you are having a wonderful holiday.
Warmest wishes,
Brian
Thank you for so faithfully reading my blog. I have been distracted this week but I will make a point of writing more often. I hope you are having a wonderful holiday.
Warmest wishes,
Brian
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Fireplace channel, check. A Christmas Story on tv, check. Christmas trees, check. Christmas music, check. There's something different though...I can't quite put my finger on it. Oh yeah! It's the 80 degree weather, clear blue water, and beaches. Well, I haven't actually been to a beach yet...but they're there nonetheless.
Tonight I'm sure what the plans are. however, I'm very excited that tomorrow we're going out for fancy dinner! One of the advantages of knowing passengers on board is that as guests of the passengers, you can go eat places that you wouldn't otherwise. A wonderful example is that tomorrow on Christmas, I'm going to eat in the fancy $25 restaurant. Unless something else comes up, I'm planning on having lobster tails and NY Strip Steak. But, perhaps they'll have something special on the menu as well.
For those not familiar with cruise ship dining, certain restaurants require a cover charge. However, once you're there, you can order whatever you'd like from the menu. 2 types of steak, 3 appetizers, whatever. Thanks to a kind bandmaster, we'll have Christmas off, so I will be enjoying a nice long Christmas dinner.
I haven't had anything exciting to report because it's been a pretty hassle-free cruise so far. I met the accupuncturist on board. I talked with her about my mom and grandma and she thinks that accupuncture could be good for my mom's fibromayalga and even grandma's dizzyness. Unfortunately for dad, accupuncture can't cure funny-looking. But, I really think it could be worth a try for mom.
The company was very thoughtful and passed out free 1 hr phone cards for Christmas. It's little things like that that can make the difference with employees. So far i've just left a message on Sharon's voicemail, but I'd like to call her and my parents and Bridgett.
Assuming nothing gets messed up with the meal (there's a small chance that the restaurant manager will get finicky about us eating tomorrow. Even though there are rules allowing us to eat with guests, some managers like to give you a hard time about it), I'll report on what i ate tomorrow.
I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas.
PS - after I typed this up, the crew were given their real Christmas presents. A 4Gb video mp3 player. Pretty fancy!
Fireplace channel, check. A Christmas Story on tv, check. Christmas trees, check. Christmas music, check. There's something different though...I can't quite put my finger on it. Oh yeah! It's the 80 degree weather, clear blue water, and beaches. Well, I haven't actually been to a beach yet...but they're there nonetheless.
Tonight I'm sure what the plans are. however, I'm very excited that tomorrow we're going out for fancy dinner! One of the advantages of knowing passengers on board is that as guests of the passengers, you can go eat places that you wouldn't otherwise. A wonderful example is that tomorrow on Christmas, I'm going to eat in the fancy $25 restaurant. Unless something else comes up, I'm planning on having lobster tails and NY Strip Steak. But, perhaps they'll have something special on the menu as well.
For those not familiar with cruise ship dining, certain restaurants require a cover charge. However, once you're there, you can order whatever you'd like from the menu. 2 types of steak, 3 appetizers, whatever. Thanks to a kind bandmaster, we'll have Christmas off, so I will be enjoying a nice long Christmas dinner.
I haven't had anything exciting to report because it's been a pretty hassle-free cruise so far. I met the accupuncturist on board. I talked with her about my mom and grandma and she thinks that accupuncture could be good for my mom's fibromayalga and even grandma's dizzyness. Unfortunately for dad, accupuncture can't cure funny-looking. But, I really think it could be worth a try for mom.
The company was very thoughtful and passed out free 1 hr phone cards for Christmas. It's little things like that that can make the difference with employees. So far i've just left a message on Sharon's voicemail, but I'd like to call her and my parents and Bridgett.
Assuming nothing gets messed up with the meal (there's a small chance that the restaurant manager will get finicky about us eating tomorrow. Even though there are rules allowing us to eat with guests, some managers like to give you a hard time about it), I'll report on what i ate tomorrow.
I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas.
PS - after I typed this up, the crew were given their real Christmas presents. A 4Gb video mp3 player. Pretty fancy!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Average Day
Well, it's day 2 of the first cruise. Last night our schedule involved a very brief 5:00 rehearsal followed by an 8:30 and 10:30 show. The nice thing about the welcome aboard show is that there's a 20 minute block when the curtain closes and the comedian does his act. So, the band gets off the stage. With a Sunday night show, this meant we had a little time to walk up 2 decks to the crew bar and watch some Sunday Night Football.
Today I decided to make my day to get into some sort of a routine. So, I woke up at 8:30 (which was really 9:30 since there was an hour shift I had forgotten about) and went to the gym followed by breakfast. I don't have work tonight until 9:30 so it's been a relaxing day. I practiced a little. I'll proably practive some more later. Do some work, take a nap. Then a 9:30-10:15 and 10:30-11:15 jazz set. And that's my day.
Each time I get on a ship, the adjustment period gets smaller since I know pretty much what to expect. I haven't been off the ship anywhere fun yet (unless you count a Ft. Lauderdale grocery store) but I'll try to get off Wednesday. That's all from the Princess Cays island. Go Giants tonight!
Today I decided to make my day to get into some sort of a routine. So, I woke up at 8:30 (which was really 9:30 since there was an hour shift I had forgotten about) and went to the gym followed by breakfast. I don't have work tonight until 9:30 so it's been a relaxing day. I practiced a little. I'll proably practive some more later. Do some work, take a nap. Then a 9:30-10:15 and 10:30-11:15 jazz set. And that's my day.
Each time I get on a ship, the adjustment period gets smaller since I know pretty much what to expect. I haven't been off the ship anywhere fun yet (unless you count a Ft. Lauderdale grocery store) but I'll try to get off Wednesday. That's all from the Princess Cays island. Go Giants tonight!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Settling and Missing
There was a lot about today that was nice. My roomate isn't here yet, so i was able to come in and leisurely put away all my stuff, take the bottom bunk (sorry), and relax. I ran into the trombone player and cello player next door and chatted with them. After settling a bit, I made an attempt to orient myself about the ship. Having found the restaurant that was open to crew for the day (since we're in dry dock), I decided not to risk not finding it again. I had a lovely dinner of french onion soup, salad, lamb shanks, and fresh fruit for dinner. I was joined by an entire string quartet and the trombonist (who went to school with a friend of mine). Lovely.
After taking a tour of the ship with people that had been on it before, we ended up at the crew bar. I found myself missing people from my old ship. I know I'll meet the new band, but I really liked some of those people and thought I just might see them dancing at the CB if I wished it hard enough.
Speaking of missing..these trips are funny in a way. Even though I only see my parents and grandma and my fav once a year, I do tend to miss them a bit while I'm away.
After taking a tour of the ship with people that had been on it before, we ended up at the crew bar. I found myself missing people from my old ship. I know I'll meet the new band, but I really liked some of those people and thought I just might see them dancing at the CB if I wished it hard enough.
Speaking of missing..these trips are funny in a way. Even though I only see my parents and grandma and my fav once a year, I do tend to miss them a bit while I'm away.
travel
One thing I was looking forward to about this trip was that I didn't have to fly to Europe. Easy right? No time zone, short flights...
The trip started normally enough. My amazing, beautiful, wonderful girlfriend Sharon drove me to the airport at 5:30am. Flight to Atlanta was easy. We left Atlanta in rainy weather and not long after we heard the beverage offerings, the pilot came on the radio. "Unfotunately, the antifreeze system on the right wing has malfunctioned. We have a backup system that can get us back to Atlanta safely, but we can't continue to Freeport. So, we turned around.
Almost 2 hours later, we were on our way and had a very uneventful flight. ..Until after we landed. It was raining buckets and it was one of those airports in which you walk off the plane down stairs and eventually into the terminal. Walking through some rain. not a huge deal. Except for the massive, unavoidable puddle in between the plane and the gate. Shoes and socks, meet water. Soaked.
So, with 1 liter of genuine bahamas rain water in my socks, I went through customs. I'm happy to say that there weas a port agent out waiting for me as soon as I got through customs. The first time out of 3 that I didn't have to make multiple calls to be picked up at the airport.
Transportation to the ship. You know those movies set in Africa where a guy drives this hollowed out van through dirt roads? --Yeah. Except here the dirt roads were filled with giant puddles. i'd like to think differently, but I'm pretty sure with each puddle he drove through (read: waded) he thought "gee, I hope we make it through this one."
We made it fine. However, the ship is in "dry dock." When you're my dad and you have a ship not currently in the water, you put it in your backyard. When you're a cruise line, you put it in dry dock. However, the gangway (ramp to get up to the ship) for dry dock is nothing like a normal gangway. Remember "the eliminator" from the American Gladiators tv show? Like that, but with 2 rolling bags and a laptop bag. It's hard to describe the length and steep angle of the gangway without exagerating. But, let's say you had to see it to believe it.
I made it!
The trip started normally enough. My amazing, beautiful, wonderful girlfriend Sharon drove me to the airport at 5:30am. Flight to Atlanta was easy. We left Atlanta in rainy weather and not long after we heard the beverage offerings, the pilot came on the radio. "Unfotunately, the antifreeze system on the right wing has malfunctioned. We have a backup system that can get us back to Atlanta safely, but we can't continue to Freeport. So, we turned around.
Almost 2 hours later, we were on our way and had a very uneventful flight. ..Until after we landed. It was raining buckets and it was one of those airports in which you walk off the plane down stairs and eventually into the terminal. Walking through some rain. not a huge deal. Except for the massive, unavoidable puddle in between the plane and the gate. Shoes and socks, meet water. Soaked.
So, with 1 liter of genuine bahamas rain water in my socks, I went through customs. I'm happy to say that there weas a port agent out waiting for me as soon as I got through customs. The first time out of 3 that I didn't have to make multiple calls to be picked up at the airport.
Transportation to the ship. You know those movies set in Africa where a guy drives this hollowed out van through dirt roads? --Yeah. Except here the dirt roads were filled with giant puddles. i'd like to think differently, but I'm pretty sure with each puddle he drove through (read: waded) he thought "gee, I hope we make it through this one."
We made it fine. However, the ship is in "dry dock." When you're my dad and you have a ship not currently in the water, you put it in your backyard. When you're a cruise line, you put it in dry dock. However, the gangway (ramp to get up to the ship) for dry dock is nothing like a normal gangway. Remember "the eliminator" from the American Gladiators tv show? Like that, but with 2 rolling bags and a laptop bag. It's hard to describe the length and steep angle of the gangway without exagerating. But, let's say you had to see it to believe it.
I made it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)