Big Adjustment

I made to the ship in one piece. There were several complications along the way. First of all, I had problems at the airport. I went through security. I had about 45 minutes to get to my terminal. So I decided to walk. It was a terrible idea. I ended up in a hallway with only an up escalator. I was at the top of that escalator. I finally ran into a security guard who told me to go through some doors that put me behind the security checkpoint. I had to go through again. I arrived at my terminal via train just in time to see them back the gate off the plane. I had to fly standby for the next flight. Luckily I was forth in line so I got on.

The second complication was when I got to LaGuardia. I missed my ride to the ship because I had missed my flight. I had to call the car service and they sent someone "right away". The car arrived 45 minutes later and we departed. It took an hour to get to the ship. It was alright though because we rode really slowly down Broadway and past Central Park.

The third headache was figuring out where I was supposed to go. One guy sent me one way and another guy sent me back. I walked back and forth several times. This doesn't seem like a big deal but it is when you are carrying two gigantic bags with no wheels. I finally was granted passage onto the ship. I was told to report directly to the Mad Haters Lounge. I received some very broken english instructions on how to get there. I found it some 15 minutes later on the opposite side of the ship. I'm still carrying my bags by the way. I walk in and all the new hires are watching a video. During the video, My boss came in and introduced himself. We proceeded directly from there to boat drill, without my bags this time. I realized yesterday when we had boat drill again that I retained nothing from that first two hours on the ship.

The last thing I had to endure was learning of my new position. I was hired to do rigging and automation. When I started talking to my boss, I realized that they just hired a new automation tech three weeks ago. I was informed that I will be taking over as Back Stage Manager. It's not my favorite position in the theatre but it will be fun. I will be working directly with the dancers and performers.

The people I am working are super cool. I have assimilated into their family quickly. People tend to hang out with others in their same work areas. So mostly I hang out with other techs, musicians and performers. I have had a chance to work with several accomplished artists. They include Anthony Acosta(comedian), Mike Panzeca(comedian), Christopher Alan Graves(singer) and Thien Fu(juggler). They all have there quirks but all of them are easy to work with, especially the comedians. They actually hang out with us in the crew bar. After shows we generally hang out there because they have a Wii and the drinks are cheaper than guest areas. It is $1.25 for a beer there.

The living quarters are small but I'm rarely there. It seems like I am constantly going from one thing to the next. This week I had orientation and a test. My boss, Ben told me I would pass because I speak english. I did it was very simple. Example: What color is a fire sign? Red, Green or Blue. My boss is my roommate so it easy to keep up with what I have to do next. He's a cool guy and he's really into football. He has a Denver Champ Bailey jersey. He went Colorado. We have already been talking about going to the Colorado/ Georgia game in 2010.

I went to three different ports this past week. We sailed to San Juan, Puerto Rico, St Thomas and Grand Turk. San Juan was nice. Ben took me to the mall then we ate at this authentic Puerto Rican restaurant called Chili's(there's probably one in a neighborhood near you). St. Thomas was beautiful. It's basically one large mountain with buildings on the side of it. Due to orientation I missed the group of people going out on the island. So, I got off and walked around by myself. Grand Turk is quite simply a beach with a couple restaurants near it. We swam in the ocean and laid in the sun for a few hours. It was nice to relax.

Sorry this is so long and without pictures. I felt like there was a lot that people would want to know about my first cruise. I will be buying a camera with my first pay check. I'll try and post again next week and maybe I can get some pictures from others on the ship. Good Luck with your land jobs.

Love,
Chris