Tabetha at Sea!

Ten days to go…

2006-09-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

It’s hard to believe that I’m halfway through my second to last cruise on the Spirit. The Penultimate Cruise, as I like to call it. The itinerary for this 8 day cruise is; 2 sea days, a day in St. Thomas USVI, a morning/afternoon in Tortolla BVI, another sea day, and a morning/afternoon in Bermuda, then 2 sea days back to NYC. This is our favourite itinerary. No offence intended to Port Canaveral, Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay (NCL’s private island)… ok, offence intended. They’re all pretty lame. Bermuda is where it’s at!

We’ve been making the best of our last weeks on the ship. Last time we were in Port Canaveral (The Penultimate Port Canaveral trip) we rented a car and drove to Disney World – Lex has a friend who got everyone in for free (except me, since I have an annual pass). We went to Epcot, and had a blast, spending a couple of hours up in Future World before heading back to the World Showcase to snack our way around the world. I grabbed a Kir Royale in France and we snacked on some pastries, moved along to Japan for Kaka Gori (shaved ice with syrups), shifted ever farther to Germany where Jeff and Cody indulged in some bratwurst with saurkraut and beer. Moments later, I schooled the gang on a little something called “School Bread” in Norway. It was deemed the best discovery since Beard Papa’s Cream Puffs. High praise, since the cream puffs are a favourite snack of this cast. We stopped quickly in Mexico for Margaritas before rushing back to the ship. Despite going the wrong way once, we made better time than the last time Mary, Cody and I went to Disney and hit the crew gangway at 6:31pm for the passenger’s 6:30 all aboard. Yikes! This time we were actually aboard with half an hour to spare! I was so happy to go to Disney, especially knowing that I’d be there with Greg in mere weeks.

During that cruise we also went to the private island with DJ Bruno, since it was his last week, and he’d never been to the island at night. Either had we. Lots of mosquitoes. We got hooked up with some free cocktails by some awesome bartenders, though. Things on the island are pretty loose, I guess! We mentally bid a fond farewell and adieu to Bruno, since he was nowhere to be seen, and Mary and I got aboard the tender and headed back to the ship for an early night. The ride over back to the ship was really nice. The sky was cloud free, and the stars were out in full force. I find it amazing how bright they are, and often wish that there was a place you could go on the ship at night that wasn’t all lit up by ambient light. What an opportunity to star-gaze – smack dab in the middle of the ocean, away from all the light pollution that “civilization” belches out.

As we were waiting for the “me-firsts” to get off the tender and back onto the ship, we looked down in the glowing, aquamarine water. I don’t know why it seemed like the water was lit from below, but it was beautiful. A few moments later, we saw what looked like a clear plastic bag swooshing in the water. Once our eyes adjusted to the light and the water, we realized that it was a jellyfish. Neat! Then there was another one, and another one, and then four more! Before long, there was a huge school of jellyfish beside the tender, gently whooshing along in that spooky way of theirs. It was an amazing sight, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I was so grateful that we took a moment to wait rather than rushing back on the ship. I would have missed it, otherwise! What a lesson.

New York was frustrating, we couldn’t get off the ship until almost noon. I felt bad for Mary because she had a friend who had come all the way to New York to see her and hang out for our typical four hour break in the city. I didn’t have any concrete plans, I just wanted to go for a walk and see what I could see. I got almost to Times Square, to hit a bank machine, when I got a call from a number I didn’t recognize. Turns out it was Carmine! He was heading with Beth, their director and new musical director to the Dawn! I was really excited to hear from him, and turned on my heel and headed back to the docks. We all managed to say a quick hello before I helped the fellows get signed through security and up their gangway. It was so nice to see Carmine – he was pretty excited to get started on his new adventure. I hope he has as good a time, and as lovely a cast as I have!

Which brings us back to this cruise, The Penultimate Cruise. Around 3 am on our first night at sea, we heard a “Code Alpha” for a room a few doors down from us being called in the crew corridor behind our room. That’s something that always leaves an “uh-oh” feeling. Code Alpha is the code they use for “Medical Emergency Requiring Assistance”. I was pretty sure I knew which room they were going to, as well. There was a room not far away that had a “No Smoking, Oxygen Inside” sign taped up on their door. I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. Later the following afternoon, we noticed some flowers in the hallway outside that room. Didn’t really put two and two together until Ellie, one of our stewards, asked if we were afraid. Huh? Why? “Because that lady died.” Sadly there was nothing the medical staff on the ship could do for her, and she passed away. NCL’s Miami office sent the flowers. Now there are these flowers in the hallway, a constant reminder that behind that door with the “Do Not Disturb” sign is a very sad old man mourning his wife. He put the flowers in the hall because he couldn’t bear to look at them and the cleaning staff isn’t going to take them away, bless them. The whole thing just breaks my heart. All I want now is to hug Greg non-stop for about 50 years.

It hasn’t really set in yet that we’re leaving. I mean, I’ve got my countdown calendar up on the wall, and I’m excited by the idea of coming home and seeing everyone, but it hasn’t really hit me yet that I won’t see my cast again. At least not in this context, they’ve all sworn that they’re coming to Toronto for a visit. They’ve agreed to call the girls coming in to replace us “Not Mary” and “Not Tabetha”.

We had a fun day at St. Thomas yesterday. Mary and I decided that this final trip out would be our shopping trip, and shop we did! We swung through some jewelry stores before hitting the Tiffany’s shop. I have wanted a heart charm “Return to Tiffany” bracelet for a couple of years now. I know, everyone and their 12 year old niece has one, or a knock off, but I still like them! I’m a label whore. Sue me. Buying in St. Thomas saved me the US to Canadian markup, PLUS the crazy Canadian taxes. We were looking some diamonds on our way out of another shop, and the salesman said if you buy diamonds, don’t tell Canadian Customs about them. For US citizens going back home, loose gemstones are considered rocks, and are all duty free. Not so for Canada. Apparently Canadian customs have put a 40% GST on all diamonds coming into the country, a direct result of the diamond mining taking place in Canada, he said. Crazy. As if we don’t get taxed enough! The discrepancy of customs allowances between the US and Canada alone is laughable. US Citizens get to take home $1200 or so. Canadians? $750. Ha ha ha. Laughable.

I introduced Mary and Homer to the Giggling Gecko for a delicious lunch, thanks to a great experience there with Greg on his most recent trip. The burritos were deemed delicious, and the atmosphere appropriately charming and cheesy. From there, Mary and I went and bought black Chanel nail polish, new lipstick and lip-gloss. (10% off for crew!) Again, I admit, I’m a label whore. And, apparently I think I’m Lindsay Lohan (Firecrotch!). Homer did his part and tried on some lipstick with us, along with his new sunglasses. If I could find the photo, I'd post it!

On our way to Paradise Point and meeting the rest of the gang for more Bushwhackers, I decided to show Mary and Homer a lovely porcelain pendant I fell in love with when I was shopping with Greg for his new watch. It was still there. I was still in love with it. The price on the tag was $172, but “That’s not your price!” gushed the salesgirl. Um, ok. I’m crew on the NCL Spirit, if that helps. I was really hemming and hawing. The salesgirl promised to get me the best price from her manager. While she was gone, I told Mary there was no way I was buying this necklace. I’d already spent plenty, and the Tiffany bracelet was my “reward” for getting through the cruise! I couldn’t justify spending that much money that day.

Well, the salesgirl came back with a price that made me choke. $129. Sold. Guilt rushed over me as I handed over my Visa. I should be buying a birthday present for Greg! I got over it long enough to sign my name.

Would you believe I haven’t even opened the box for my bracelet yet? Tiffany’s wrapped it all up so nice, and tied a bow on it. I don’t have the heart to muss it up yet. Just having the pretty blue box with the white ribbon is enough right now. Again, label whore.

We all reconnoitered at Paradise Point and threw back Bushwhackers. I had a basket of Sharkbites and a pair of 2 for 1 Miller Lights. In the tram, Cody and Julie and I had met a couple from Texas, pretty cool folks. We talked with them some more up at Paradise Point and asked them to join us down at the Off Shore Bar. We had a great time with $2 Heinekens and I tried to learn the Two Step before we headed back to the ship. We got back to the ship around 11:30 – latest ever! As a result, Tortolla had to do without us today.

We’ve got one more sea day, and then we’ll hit Bermuda one last time. I can’t wait.

Be Careful What You Wish For

2006-09-03T13:28:00.000-07:00

We’ve been blessed with a calm hurricane season so far this year. There have been the occasional “rough sea days”, waves up to around 8 feet – enough to rock the ship, but nothing major. I like the rocking, it’s a fun sensation, and at night you’re rocked to sleep. Well, if you like a little bit of rocking, more must be better, right? Well that’s what we thought. We’ve often said we wanted bigger waves, a storm that feels a bit dangerous - something exciting to break up the monotony.

I don’t really wish for that anymore.

Last week we were re-routed due to Tropical Storm Ernesto, we were held back in Port Canaveral for a few hours and then headed straight to Nassau Bahamas. We stayed there overnight and skipped heading to the private island (Great Stirrup Cay). From Nassau, we headed straight back to New York. We’d managed to skirt the storm until we headed north. Now the problem is we were going to catch up with the bad weather, and sail north through it (with it!) as we headed home.

All day Friday, the seas were as rocky as we’d ever experienced. Not a big deal for us, but enough for them to start putting out “barf bags” in public areas. As the evening progressed, the seas got rougher. We took to involuntary trotting. As we walked down the corridors, when the bow of the ship went up a wave, we’d trot down hill, then as the bow slammed down and the aft of the ship raised there was a sensation of extra gravity pushing down. Very strange, but also really kind of fun. If you were standing still, sometimes you could get a sensation of weightlessness. Now imagine. We’re on a relatively big ship. We were getting tossed around!

Occasionally, you’d here a slam and feel the ship shudder. I have no idea what that was, but it was always startling. The appropriate response to the slam and shudder is, "We hit a whale". I walked back to my room via the Promenade deck, and was surprised to see several guests sleeping on the deck chairs – pillows, blankets and barf bags clutched close. The rocking felt much more pronounced when I returned to my room, way up on the 11th deck. Things started falling off the shelves, and I got up many times to move items out of harms way. When I opened the closet, the hanging clothes were all at an angle, getting back into bed was literally walking uphill. Crazy. I always felt safe, but when you’re sliding around on your bed in the dark, you feel small and it’s easy to let your mind wander. I got up and took a Gravol to try to make myself fall asleep. Instead it just made me dopy. I did manage to get a little sleep, but was awakened frequently by slamming and rocking. At this point the waves were up to 18 feet. I just wanted it to stop after a while. It wasn’t scary, but I was ready for it to be over and kept watching the clock for 8 am – the time I estimated that we’d be near enough to the channel leading into New York Harbour that the waves would calm down.

I had breakfast at 8:30 in Windows restaurant and was thrilled to see a Pilot boat come out to meet our ship. That Pilot boat was tossing around like a toy. As we went along, I’ve never been so happy to see a buoy as I was to see the one leading into New York. Gradually things calmed down. I went back to bed and slept until noon.

Later that afternoon, Homer told stories of his walkabout at 3AM on his way back to his cabin. People talking about an NCL conspiracy about why we hadn’t gone to the private island – “I hear they haven’t gone to the private island in 3 months!” – not true, this ship alone goes there every other week, not to mention the rest of the fleet. A family sleeping in Champagne Charlie’s, tucked into blankets and the children were wearing lifejackets. People freaking out, convinced that we were going to capsize. I have a feeling that Cruisecritic.com will reflect some very unhappy cruisers for this time out.

We ran into some pretty rough seas on our way back out last night – but not quite as bad as the night before. It was still bad enough to keep the housekeeping staff on their toes, cleaning up after the seasick. We’re well out of it now, though as we head to St. Thomas, USVI. Our rumbuckets are at the ready, and we’re ready for a Bushwacker or two.

I’m finally in the home stretch. It’s September. Only 4 more weeks until this contract is over. I’m having a good time on the ship, and it will definitely be hard to leave this cast. It sounds corny, but we’re like a family. We hang out a lot, but also give each other plenty of space, and no-one thinks any less of anyone else if they want to go their own way and do something different. I’m grateful for the people I’m working with. They make this time away from home a lot easier. That being said, I can’t wait to come home. I miss my friends, I miss my sister, I miss my dog, I miss my house and my bed, I miss walking along Queen Street West heading to brunch, I miss the theatre, and I really, really miss Greg.

Speaking of grateful, I can’t even put into words how grateful I am for Greg. Greg has been a champ. He knew how unsatisfied I was working at the bank. The ship was a way out, and better yet, a way out that meant that I got to perform and travel. He has respected my desire to work, and has been willing to sacrifice for my happiness. It’s such a wonderful example of what a great guy he is. I can’t get over how lucky I am. I can’t wait to see him again on September 30th, when we will be re-united at Disney World in Orlando. Where better to celebrate our reunion and his birthday?

Only four more cruises to go.

The Prodigal Blogger

2006-08-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

Ok, so I’ve been neglectful of my blog. I admit it. But when the days run together with a “Groundhog Day”- like quality, you tend to lose enthusiasm for recording it. That being said, I’m still having a good time, although I have morphed into a veal calf in the process. I do nothing but eat, and lay around. Yes, there is a gym on board. I’ve even used it with some regularity. Or at least I used to. Apparently I’ve given in to the inevitability that I will come home chubby. I’ve got 6 weeks to turn that attitude around. Wish me luck.

Some updates:

I wrote to Telus about the crazy bill, and asked why I had been charged such loan-shark like roaming fees on a North America plan. Apparently I hadn’t . Apparently those charges were from May, when I was not on the North America Plan, but using my phone in Chicago (during the improv festival), New York (while vacationing with my sister and mother) and Chicago again (rehearsal for the ship). Gulp. Right. Oops. But Telus was wonderful. They rolled back my enrollment to the previous month, and gave me a large credit to use on my next bill. It was very nice of them, and an example of why I keep my phone plan with Telus. They’ve never let me down on this kind of stuff.

Lex is feeling much better after the mugging. NCL arranged for him to go to the dentist the following morning in Tortolla, BVI. The managed to replace the tooth that had been knocked out of place, and his mouth is as good as new. The dentist was amazing, he did the whole procedure for free, telling Lex that he’d already been through enough. The production show cast (singers and dancers) pooled a couple of hundred bucks so he could replace his camera, Second City sent him a new iPod Nano, loaded with songs, and we gave him some money to replace his phone.

I have resigned myself that as my only easy access to Greg, my internet budget will always be my largest expenditure. I’ve tried to be good, I’ve tried to budget, I’ve tried to say we’ll only chat for half an hour at a time… No dice. I have a hard time budgeting time with Greg, once I’m talking to him, I never want to stop! It’s so easy to pretend that I’m not a thousand miles away in the middle of the ocean when we’re chatting. I have to cut myself some slack though, since we’ve managed to stow a little liquor in our rooms, we’ve been saving a LOT on the nights when we drink. And no, that’s not every night. Anymore.

Let me explain stowing liquor in our room. The weird thing about cruise ships is that if you bring liquor aboard, they take it away and store it for you. You can have it back at the end of the cruise. So if we want to drink, we have to either pay their prices (not bad, but they do add up), or we have to get beer and wine from the crew bar (the beer gets a little skunky after being chilled and then warming up night after night – no fridge). Well, this is where guests come in. Whenever one of us has a guest come aboard, we put together a wish list of what we want from the duty free, and we give that guest some cash. The guest goes and buys our booze, and then on the last night of the cruise when you’re able to go pick it up, they come around like Christmas to each of our rooms and distribute the hooch. Of course, this only works if the guest isn’t already buying booze to take home…

Mary and I have taken to grocery shopping at Wal Mart whenever we’re in Cape Canaveral. We’ve stocked up on cereal, baked Cheetos, Weight Watchers chocolates (not as weird or gross as that sounds) and other such snack foods. They have “Snack” times here on the ship, but I’m bored of the same little sandwiches and really gross pizza. I’ll take a bowl of Organic Raisin Bran, or a packet of Oreo thins. Speaking of food, you know what I miss (other than spiciness and variety)? Good bananas! I don’t eat a lot of them, but I really miss nice ones. The bananas here on the ship look like they’ve come from a shelter for abused bananas.

Cody, Mary and I went to the Magic Kingdome at Disney World in July – we’re going to go back and hit the Animal Kingdom in September when the crowds are lower. We had a great time, despite the lines and the crazy heat. We did the updated Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and Splash Mountain. I haven’t been on Splash Mountain in years, always a chicken when it comes to that big scary drop at the end. I screamed my fool head off, and the drop scared the bejeezus out of me, but I think I’ll do it again. I’m such a pussy. Just being at Disney World in the middle of this job was surreal. I love that place, and I kept wishing I didn’t have to leave to go to work! Well that clinched it. I’m taking Greg there for his birthday, as soon as I get off the ship. Like literally, the minute I’m off this ship on September 30th, I’m on a plane to Orlando. I figure if I’ve bought a Disney Vacation Club membership, what better time to use it! We’ll be staying at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge, which is a beautiful resort. I had planned to go in December for a pre-Christmas, and then in February with my sister for our birthdays, but I’ll be on another ship for those two time-frames. So October it is.

Mary and I also, strangely, look forward to the nights where we turn on the TV to put us to sleep, and we catch either “Guess Who?” or “Hitch”. Those are our go-to bed time stories. We stay awake until we can see our favourite parts – Bernie Mac as Percy Jones, yelling for his wife to come back – “Come back woman! We got 60 pounds of shrimp for tomorrow, 60 pounds of shrimp! Don’t let me raise my voice now, I’m gonna use the muscle”. Or Kevin James showing Will Smith that he doesn’t need any coaching on his dancing, “Here we go, see how it gets bigger? First I start the fire, then I make the pizza. I take the Q-tip, then I throw it away. Take the Q-tip, then throw it away…” Classic. These are terrible movies, I know. But these little gems tickle us. Mary and I often roar about what Percy Jones will or will not do. We’re retarded. That’s what ship life does to you.

In a fit of spontaneity, we managed to get Greg aboard the ship a few weeks back for an 8 day cruise. I was trying once again to get him and his parents aboard via a special Friends and Family rate offered by NCL, and somehow the offer was sold out by the time I got my paperwork in – 18 hours after the offer came out. I put in a request for him to come aboard anyway, and stay in my cabin, and in true NCL style the approval came through the day before the cruise. Greg hopped on a bus that same night and hauled ass to NYC. We spent 8 amazing days together, I was so happy to be able to show him all the things I’d been telling him about – Morningstar beach with the buckets of rum, Paradise Point and the Bushwhackers, Horseshoe Bay and Bermuda in general… It just all seemed so much better when he was there with me. And Greg was very well received by the rest of the cast, although the curry chips, Peek Frean cookies and Coffee Crisp bars he brought may have had something to do with it! He also brought me Sims 2 (among other gifts) for my Playstation, which will make the rest of my time her go much quicker!

I keep looking around for gifts for people, and coming up with nothing. It may be the places I’m shopping, or my distain for crappy objects with the names of places you’ve been but your friends haven’t. I’m not sure. I just know that I’m gonna have to do better than this. I may have to devote a St. Thomas day to shopping, and skip the beach. There are nice stores there (lots of jewelry) even a Tiffany’s, but you have to dig through some pretty bleah places, too. I did buy a present for Scooter. He gets nice new collar with slide on metal letters that spell his name. He’s already wearing it, and looking quite spiffy by all accounts. He thanked me by getting an eye infection that culminated in a $185 vet bill. Thanks Scooter. Glad I have pet health insurance!

Greg is coming aboard again this weekend. Never has a six-day cruise dragged like this one! Usually these stinky Florida/Bahamas/Private Island cruises fly by, but this one’s dragging like a bum leg. I can’t wait to see Greg again! Another 8 whole days of being together! Pure heaven. This time we’re going to do all the silly cruise activities, I think. Treat it like a real vacation, like we’re on the cruise cause we chose to be here.

Oh right. Work. The scripted shows have been going well. Crowd size varies based on the day and time that we’re performing, but they’ve been well received pretty much across the board. The improv sets have been pretty rough. Or at least they were at first. Now that we’re getting into a groove with each other, it’s been easier. But it does tend to be all games, which I’m obviously not a huge fan of. There’s some negotiating in the works, regarding the improv. We’re not contractually obliged to do the sets, but the casts on the various ships started doing them because they were bored. Meanwhile the lounge where the improv happens is always PACKED, and NCL is reaping the rewards via drink revenue. We get a free drink out of the deal. Now, the entertainment director who brought Second City aboard the ships is leaving NCL, and before he leaves he wants to put the improv sets into our contract, two shows instead of one, and we’ll be PAID for them. I’m a little worried about the money. We’ve already established that we’ll do improv for free, so the value is set at zero, so it would be very easy to under value our shows. I just have to have faith in the people negotiating the contract, I mean at least this entertainment director wanted to pay us at all.

I must be crazy, because after my contract here on the Spirit ends, I’ll be home for a month (after our trip to Disney World, of course), and then I’ll be heading to the NCL Jewel, which sails out of Miami. Yep, I’m doing another four months.

The Bubble Bursts

2006-07-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

Have you ever really looked at a bubble? It’s perfect, spherical shape, hanging in the air – floating on unseen air currents – dancing perhaps? When you look closer, you see rainbows swirled in it’s nearly invisible surface, reflections of nothing. Unless you are a practical person who understands and feel the need to explain the physics of how and why this amazing ball of soap and air hangs, it can seem magical. Mesmerizing. It serves no purpose but to delight.

That’s how I imagine the passengers see these cruise ships. They don’t care to see the boring machinations that make this floating city work. Tired of carrying that drink glass? Just set it down next to the piece of sculpture on the stair landings, or on the floor or the ‘shelf’ in the elevator, or in the middle of the hallway. “Someone” will pick it up. Need something? Bark at a faceless crew member to get it for you.

The crew works their ass off. Occasionally we are prodded when we show up at the restaurant for breakfast by 9:30 (rare for me).

“Did you just get up?”

Embarrassed, we answer – yes…

“Ha, I’ve been up since 5:30”.

You win? Some begrudge our ability to sleep in and lie around all day like veal calves. Others don’t. I just try not to get in their way, and tip well when they serve me. As Cody says, we’ve paid a lot of dues to get a gig this cushy, so we shouldn’t feel guilty.
But then we didn’t lose friends or family members to wars or ship accidents. Some of them have. They really do win. We’re pussies.

And the passengers blithely carry on, not seeing the gears in motion. Not even when they get to port. We arrive during the day, and I imagine that the perspective of the ports is the same as the ship: that the ports are sanitized for your protection. They’re not.

In St. Thomas yesterday evening, our musical director was mugged. He had walked from the ship to K-Mart (hey, sometimes you need something from the big K), and was walking back to the ship in the dark (unlit roads) when he was jumped by three guys. Apparently they knocked him down and beat him, knocking a tooth out of position, bloodying his nose, and leaving a gash on his head that would later require seven stitches. They took his bag, with his camera, cell phone and $40, and his iPod, which he was listening to at the time. Lex managed to flag a taxi who kindly took him back to the ship in his bloody state, where he was whisked away to the medical center and the police were called.

The Law and Order/The Closer/Without a Trace lover in me can’t help but theorize. THREE guys? And their take was one iPod which they could see, and bag containing potentially nothing but a wet beach towel and a water bottle? They lucked out, but still… It doesn’t take three guys to mug someone walking alone at night. It can take three jerks to jump a guy and do a little gay-bashing. I’m not saying that’s what happened, but if not, then these guys were punks who haven’t figured out that three guys in a mugging means splitting the small take three ways. We found out later that there’ve been two killings in the last two weeks on St. Thomas – an island with a population of 60,000.

Lex was lucky.

We’re re-evaluating our behaviour at port. No one will go anywhere alone, especially at night, and no more crazy booze-em-ups.
I am not someone who wants to see boogeymen in corners, or to avoid doing things I want to do because of what “might” happen. But I can’t help but look at the ports a little more suspiciously now.
Shifting my behaviour slightly, so as not to be the “sitting duck” isn’t a huge change for me. Ladies, back me up – we tend to be hyper-aware of our safety anyway. Am I right?

And I can’t help but wonder if Lex will be taken off his show rotation for a bit while his facial swelling goes down, and if he’s been encouraged not to talk about the incident around the passengers.

Just keep looking at the shiny bubble, folks.

The waiting game

2006-07-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, there was an exciting plan afoot. Our ship did a one-night cruise out of New York, out to international waters (so people could gamble) and returned to New York the next morning. We were not scheduled to perform on this overnighter. And so we began to plot, and hope. We wanted to spend the night in New York. We wanted to spend the night in New York really bad. As a result, we were in a perpetual state of waiting to hear if the excursion had been approved by the “higher ups”.

It was killing me.

We were like kids on Christmas morning, every day looking at Cody with hope in our eyes, afraid to ask, but desperate to know – “Did they say yes yet?”. No – not yet. “How ‘bout now?” No. “Now?” No. All we know is that it “looks good”. But nothing official. Picture me in footie pyjamas, wriggling and flailing. Seriously, Christmas morning. I wanna knoooooow!

Well the word came down the pipeline around Wednesday that we were a “go for launch”. Excited emails were sent, fervent searches on hotels.com were made – we had an overnighter in the Big Apple, and we weren’t going to waste it! The majority of my excitement came from the fact that Greg was planning on bussing down to meet me in New York. I love New York, but I love Greg more. We could have spent the weekend in Guantanamo Bay for all I cared, as long as I was stuck in my prison-kennel with Greg, we’d have danced to the behavioural modification music and dined on our gruel and water al fresco (as if we’d have a choice).

How did I go from a romantic weekend to political fury? Not sure. I blame the current administration. Getting back on track.

Greg reserved us a room at the Gershwin Hotel (think Drake Hotel, but older and less pretentious – or at least with an earned pretention), and all we knew is that we were going to see a Broadway show, and eat dinner.

Greg took a Greyhound from Toronto to New York, and went directly to the hotel to check in. Apparently our hotel was sandwiched between the Sex Museum and an S&M club. Hey. It’s New York. I called him as soon as we docked and told him I’d check in as soon as we were able to get off the ship – usually between 10:30 and 11:00. Longest two hours of my life.

As soon as we were cleared, I rushed off the ship with my overnight bag and headed to the terminal. I did a perfunctory glance around in case Greg decided to meet me at the port, and then called him. He answered, sounding odd. I asked if he was ok. He said he’d been napping. I started to say he should go back to sleep and I’d let him know when I got to the hotel, and he stopped me saying “hang on, I have to do something”. Next thing I knew an arm slipped around my waist, and there was Greg! We walked to the subway chattering excitedly, it was amazing to see him. I kept choking back tears, unable to believe he was there with me – I was so happy. He led me to the hotel, where we dropped our bags and then turned around and headed out for a walk and to search for some food.

We walked south, towards the Flat Iron Building. We stopped for Burritos and then made our way through Washington Square Park to the Village. Just walking, and talking and being together - I can’t remember the last time I was so happy.

We had agreed to meet up with Homer, Lex and Cody at TKTS to grab tickets for a show that evening. Greg and I really wanted to see the Drowsy Chaperone, but it wasn’t available (no surprise considering all the Tony nominations and wins), so we picked up a couple of tickets to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels instead, while Homer grabbed some tickets for the rest of them to Sweeney Todd. We stopped by the box office for the Drowsy Chaperone to see about getting Greg a matinee ticket for the next afternoon (sold out) and saw a plaque explaining that they did a draw for $25 front row tickets at 7pm for evening performances. Well, that settled it. We were coming back to enter the draw! On a whim, I left a note for Bob Martin at the stage door and we went to have a beer with Homer (and Cody and Lex as soon as they got back from Avenue Q) before we dashed back to the hotel to change for the evening.

We got ready as quickly as possible, hopped the subway to Times Square and entered the draw.

My name was around the 6th name called.

We WON! We were going to see the Drowsy Chaperone. Now, what to do with our Dirty Rotten Scoundrel tickets? I sent Greg on ahead to try to sell them to another couple and I bought our new tickets. Greg hadn’t had any luck selling the tickets out by the other theatre – which occurred to me as being a flaw in the plan because if they were AT the theatre they probably already HAD tickets to the show. So we changed our attack and moseyed over to the TKTS booth. We approached about 5 or 6 couples before a very nice couple agreed to buy our tickets – we offered them at $10 less than what TKTS was selling them for, so I’m sure that helped.
I grabbed a pretzel for dinner, and Greg grabbed some meat on a stick, and then we headed back to the theatre for the show, congratulating ourselves for a plan well executed.

I’d seen the show in an early incarnation, with a cast full of friends at the Toronto Fringe Festival. It was fun to see it with new life and new songs and new dances with an amazingly talented Broadway cast. Bob was terrific, it was very satisfying to see him in this show, with an audience eating up what he was dishing out. I don’t know whether it was feeling a validation for comedy, or seeing someone from Second City rising to new heights, or if it was sharing the experience with Greg, but seeing the show made me so incredibly happy. It was perfect.

Afterwards I played Backstage Annie and waited to say “Hi” to Bob. As he came out and was signing autographs, I saw a familiar face chatting to someone in the doorway.
It was Lisa Lambert! I shouted her name and gave her a wave, and she came over with a big hug and we chatted for a while – she looked great and it sounds like things are going gangbusters for her, too. Rightly so, she’s a brilliant lady. A savvy autograph seeker was tipped off that this was THE Lisa Lambert, writer of the songs for the show, and pulled her into the autograph fray. Whee!

Bob managed to finish up with the fans and came over with a hug, and a hello. If you’re reading this from Toronto, Bob misses all of you – the whole community! We chatted for a few and I introduced him and Lisa to Greg and Homer, Cody and Lex who had joined us at the theatre by then. How fun and how surreal; I couldn’t be happier for them because it couldn’t have happened to better people.

We said goodbye to Bob and made our way to the Village for some dinner, which took forever and ended up garnering us a free second helping of drinks. I had lobster ravioli. It was good. We tried to take the subway back to the hotel, but gave up on it and took a cab.

Then Greg and I had some private time.

The big idea was to get out of the hotel early and do some sight seeing. When the alarm went off at 9, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. We didn’t leave the room till 11:20. We walked for a bit, wound up at the park by the Public Library and just sat an ate grapes, and hatched a plan to have a picnic in Central Park the next time Greg comes.

We hauled ass back to the hotel, grabbed my bag and cabbed to the port to say goodbye. It was a much less tearful goodbye than our first one because we already had plans in place to see each other in less than a month.

It was an absolutely perfect weekend, and we all came back to the ship refreshed and excited with stories to share and I had the location of a new favourite treat (Beardpapa’s Cream Puffs) tucked under my hat.

And I came to the realization that as long as I can see Greg every so often, I’ll be ok on this crazy ship.

And for Greg's version of these events, go here.

A Warning

2006-06-26T15:11:00.000-07:00

If you ever decide to head to the USA and take your Canadian cell phone with you, be warned. Even if you pony up for the pricy "All over North America" phone plan, that covers long distance within same continent, you're still going to get strung up with roaming charges. To the tune of 95 cents per minute. You heard me. I got a phone bill for $489 this month.

I've got an enquiry in to Telus about that. Frankly, I think that should have been clarified when I changed my plan to the "Talk North America" rate plan, to the tune of $100 for 400 minutes.

"Hi, I'm heading to the States for 4 months, and I need a rate plan that covers the US and Canada".
"No problem, try our Talk North America Plan".
"Cool, so that means my calls within North America are covered"?
"Yes, just be careful not to exceed your monthly 400 minutes, you'll be charged long distance for those".
"No problem".

That was the gist of the conversation I had with the lovely Telus rep. No, "Be careful, we'll bend you over with roaming charges". As a matter of fact, here is the description of those plans from their own website: Talk North America plans are perfect for anyone doing business across the Canada-U.S. border. With Talk North America, you're covered for airtime and long distance throughout TELUS Mobility's service areas across Canada, and in all digital roaming areas in the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii. Check it out: http://www.telusmobility.com/on/plans/pcs/talknortham100.shtml Nothing there about roaming charges.

I'm annoyed. And out almost $500. Seems like I'll be changing my rate plan to the cheapest one available for a while. 95 cents a minute for roaming charges on top of $100 a month? Thanks, but no thanks. I can get a phone card and call from the ship, at sea, for half that.

Into the eye of the storm

2006-06-11T16:24:00.000-07:00

Friends have been wonderfully supportive of my choice to take this cruise ship job. They respond with jests such as “Who goes cruising to the Caribbean in the SUMMER?” “Great choice, go south during hurricane season”, and “You’re going to go nuts”.

I kid. They really have been supportive. But they’ve also said all of those things. Honesty and supportiveness are not mutually exclusive, I’ve discovered.

Yes, it is sad to miss summer in Canada, but when you think of it, I’m getting UBER-summer. You think it’s sunny and beautiful in Toronto this time of year? Try sitting on a beach in St. Thomas, with warm water in which you can actually swim. Yes, it is hurricane season, but the nice thing about a ship vs. a city is the ability of the ship to get out of the way of the hurricane. And yes, there is a chance I may go nuts. There is no “But” for that. I think I’ll be ok, I’m always good looking forward to little delights. New York is a little delight. St. Thomas is a little delight. Port Canaveral and it’s easy access to Disney World is a little delight. As long as those pellets are there when I hit the bar, I’m going to be ok.

But back to the hurricane season thing. We’ve hit some choppy weather both times coming back to New York, yesterday they closed the port side decks due to high winds – reported as almost gale force winds, with 8 – 13 ft waves. There were barf bags on all the landings of the staircase, but frankly the ride was quite smooth – they must have been using the stabilizers.

This week, there’s a tropical storm (Alberto) milling around Florida, we may run into some rain come Tuesday when we’re there. Seeing the first tropical storm of the season along with the solemn retrospectives about Hurricane Katrina makes a sobering backdrop. I’m not frightened. I have every confidence in this ship and the crew. Despite a 70 foot wave having hit the Norwegian Dawn last hurricane season, or perhaps because of that fact, I’m not worried about our safety. We spoke with Ed Alonzo, the magician on board, and he was on board the Dawn for that fateful trip. Well, not so fateful – there were no fatalities, but lots of injured and frightened people. He described the experience as “cool”.
And then there’s the Norwegian ship that went aground on some coral in Bermuda on Wednesday, under the guidance of a local pilot. Doesn’t count.
Occasionally I’ll wake up and feel the ship listing in one direction or another and feel my stomach jump, so I’m obviously not subconsciously oblivious to the potential danger. But I’m not sweating it, either. I actually really kind of like the motion. I’m left wondering how rough the seas will have to be before I get seasick. Alberto may demonstrate.

Every week when we leave New York harbour, as we pass by the Statue of Liberty, I am amazed that this is my life right now.

The staterooms have few channels to choose from, and so I’ve been getting my news from CNN. Or as I call it now, the “al-Zarkawi is dead now” channel. I meant to get a newspaper while we were in New York today, but I was too blinded by shopping. Oh boy, I’ve got CNN on now, and they’re taking a break from their Zarkawi coverage and doing yet another Katrina retrospective – “Sudden Fury”. Slow news day, I guess.

I’m going to post a couple of photos of St. Thomas – I’ve not been too good at taking pictures but I’ll try to get better. Bermuda was cold and rainy, so I’ll take some photos there in couple of weeks to put it in a better light! It’s amazing though, I love it already – even in the rain. There is so much that appears to be untouched from the time it was colonized. I look forward to renting a scooter and riding around to see more of it. I’m also looking forward to seeing the beach – Cody’s a big fan.

I’m starting to feel like four months isn’t going to be too long. I’m getting a handle on this. It would be so easy to treat it like a floating frat party, and drink and carouse the nights away, but that isn’t something I can do long term. I’m already tired of drinking and being out late. We may just have dinner and play cards tonight. I’m glad of that. I didn’t really think I’d come home an alcoholic or anything, but there is a temptation with any acting job to have a couple of drinks after the show. And on a gig like this, there’s also the temptation to have a few drinks on non-show nights, because, hey – don’t have to be up early tomorrow! After all, this is practically a vacation. I keep sight of the fact that I’m here to work. I don’t want to get lost. I want to get things done. I want to work. To have time to do that is exciting. Will I do another four months, back to back? Probably not. I might like some time at home. I miss my Greg too much. And Scooter. I’m in doggie withdrawal. I’m afraid that I’m going to lose it one of these days and grab one of the drug sniffing dogs down in the baggage loading area and give it lots of scratches and scratches! Prison might suck, so I resist.

The Grind Begins

2006-06-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

The Grind begins

I cannot express how happy I am to be on a ship that is based out of New York. I love that city, and there is something wonderful, albeit frustrating, to be able to spend four hours there every weekend. I mean, four whole hours! You can do a lot in four hours in New York.

But only four hours? That’s barely enough time to do anything!

Mary and I were on a mission our first trip in. We hopped the subway to Union Square and did some major search and destroy shopping. When we emerged from the subway, we walked into the midst of an organic fruit and vegetable market set up in the square that day. We’re not able to bring that stuff on the ship, so instead I ogled the fresh produce and inhaled the earthy smell. Mmmm. Dirt.

We did a quick lap of DSW, looking for athletic shoes for Mary. Nada. We went to Filene’s Basement and I picked up a couple of t-shirts and a pair of sandals, and some Bumble and Bumble shampoo, conditioner and styling spray. On sale? Bumble and Bumble? Get out of my way. After that it was “Forever 21” for some more casual tanks and t-shirts. Here’s the thing. I thought I over packed. But I’m starting to hate the sight of some of my regular starring items. It didn’t occur to me that in Canada you can get away with only having a few tanks and t-shirts, a pair of shorts and some capris. You so seldom wear them with any real regularity. No dice here. I guess it doesn’t really matter, cause the passengers turn over weekly, so they don’t see you wearing the same t-shirt every Tuesday. But my peers will. I try to convince myself that I don’t care what they think… but, well, I guess I do.

It was so bizarre to set sail this week knowing that this is it. We’re on our own now. We still get together for dinners most nights, and we meet for brief “freshen up” type rehearsals, but the rest of our time is our own. We have to fashion a life for ourselves here. I am burning through internet cards emailing people and chatting online with Greg. Its an indulgence I don’t mind allowing myself. Aside from the fact that I really love chatting with Greg, it also seems to me that strong communication is essential in a relationship, even more so when one of you is a couple of thousand miles away. I’m immensely grateful to have someone like Greg who all but insisted that I take this job, and I don’t want to mess it up! But again, mostly chatting with him just makes me so happy. I go back to meet up with the others with a smile on my face, ready to have a good time.

And we do have good times. We hit the nightclub on board early on, and did what Cody has dubbed “Anonymous Karoke”. Crazy improv actors livening up the otherwise dreadful experience of Karoke with a little thing called “stage presence”. A little show before they realize who we are. I didn’t participate in the singing part of it, just the laughing hysterically part of it. Really funny, and also a little scary at times when this very, very drunk woman named Elsa came onto the floor and started dancing around Cody and Mary when they were singing. It was weird. We weren’t sure if she was trying to sing along, provide back up dancing, seduce them, or if she was just getting ready to kick their asses. Either way, her husband came along and pulled her away. Good times.

We had two sea days on this trip, and we’ll have a couple more heading back home (obviously). I’m going to have to come up with a plan for sea days. They’re boring. So far they’ve consisted of drinking and being up late-ish, but not too late (always in bed by 2) trying to sleep in (latest sleep in for me so far? 10:15am), checking email, wandering around, eating and napping. I should really just enjoy being able to relax.

Our first stop was in St. Thomas. This was awesome. For a lark, we got off the ship and walked to… WENDY’S. That’s right. My first island experience was a Frosty. We grabbed a gypsy cab and made our way to MorningStar Beach. Picture the perfect beach postcard. That was it. Lovely white sand, beautiful blue water with a churning surf, and a bar. I’m not a big water person, I don’t like getting it in my eyes. Yes, I’m a pussy. But I sucked it up and did some splashing around and some minor body surfing in the rising tide. We stayed on that beach for almost 3 hours, which amazes me, because I always get BORED at beaches. Not this time. I was ready to leave when we did, but I’d happily go back there. Side note: Very grateful for my SPF 50 sunscreen. I’m getting some colour (or color), but I’m keepin’ it real.

After the beach, we met our driver and he brought us to the base of the “mountain” overlooking the harbour (or harbor). We took the sky-train/gondola up to the top and prepared ourselves for the well advertised “Bushwhackers”. Dude. If the words “Bailey’s Milkshake” appeal to you in any way, get your ass to St. Thomas. We were up there for probably four hours getting tipsier and tipsier. On the way back down, we were singing “Bohemian Rhapsody” at the top of our lungs – well, not me. I was laughing too hard. Anyway, that should apprise you of our state of mind. To my dear parents who may be reading this – I only had 3 drinks in those four hours. Really.

I don’t know whether it was the water, or the sugary drinks, but my gut was not happy last night. I’ve decided that it was the water. I’ll continue to enjoy the Bushwhackers while in St. Thomas. I’m trying not to be too paranoid. I never got to the medical clinic on board to get my HepA shot. You’re supposed to refrigerate the vials, and by the time I had a chance to get the shot done, it had been un-refrigerated for over 24 hours. Thought I’d best not risk it. So there’s sixty odd bucks well spent.

Tomorrow we have our shows. We’re meeting to do a tops and bottoms of the show, then a full run. It’s a lot more work than I’m used to doing on a show day, but I’m grateful for the chance to work kinks out before the audience sees it. Rehearsal. What an unusual concept. We didn’t do a lot of that back home. Could be partially due to the Equity rules (actually that was probably a lot of it), but there was also the idea when I was last in touring company that I couldn’t give up half a day’s salary to come and do an improv workshop for a gig that paid me $85/week. Part of me knows that made sense, but then the other part of me marvels at the difference in work ethic between Chicago/New York and Toronto. Toronto’s catching on. Improv troupes rehearse now. We never used to. For Slap Happy to get together and rehearse, it takes a big “thing”. Like we wanted to do a new format in Chicago. So we talked about it, tried it out onstage at our Thursday shows, and then did one short rehearsal before we went to Chicago, to make sure we were all on the same page. We’re lucky in that we’ve been together for so long that we have a short-hand, and this method works for us because its how we’ve always done it. But it’s not a route I would recommend for new troupes. Directing the Bad Dog Sessions showed me the value of rehearsal time, it was ridiculously rewarding to see that show progress and grow through the rehearsal process. Awesome.

But I’m on a ship now, with people who customarily rehearse. Which is also awesome. They get a kick out of my distaste for “got your back” that goes on backstage pre-show. They taunt me with it now. I’m the nutty Canadian who thumbs her nose at customs that aren’t organic to her. It just reminds me a little to much of “Peace be with you”, “And also with you”.

Um, it’s 70’s night in the nightclub just outside the internet room and library. So far I have heard a Gloria Gaynor competition, a BeeGees competition, the Village People… well you get the idea. People are eating it up. Not me. I’m still full from the buffet.

Summation of week one

2006-06-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

The journey begins…

After a night of repacking my suitcases, room service and “making an early night of it”, I actually woke up 15 minutes before my 4:30 alarm. That’s a bizarre thing. Normally waking up every morning is a challenge. I’ll sleep through alarms, or “snooze bar” myself into oblivion, but on days when I have to travel, I’m up before my alarm. Actually I wake up multiple times through the night, too, grabbing for my watch or alarm clock every time.

So when I wake up at 4:15, it’s no real surprise. I briefly contemplate going back to sleep. Suicide. I get up, shuffle a few more things around, take a bite of cold pizza, write a note to the maids explaining that the giant red suitcase is garbage and leave them a tip, and head out the door with time to spare. I meet Homer in the lobby and our car is there promptly at 5.

Fastest ride to the airport, ever. Could be because it’s 5am on a holiday weekend and no person in their right mind would be traveling.

Mary and I are seated together on the flight to New York, and get into fits of giggles, inspired greatly by the lack of sleep (Mary, like Homer and Jeff, did not go to bed at all the night before. Maniacs). There is a girl seated next to Mary who is a mess. She slouched down in her seat, put her feet up on the seatback in front of her, and passed the fuck out. Mary literally had to climb over her when she came back from the rest room towards the end of the flight. She tried to wake her a few times, she nudged her arm, but no dice. So, she got a lap dance. It was an unholy sleep. The flight attendant had to yell to get her to wake up and put on her seatbelt for landing.

A van picks us up at LaGuardia, and we loop down the east side of Manhattan, through Battery Park, and then up the west side to get to the docks. Seemed like the long way to me, but since it wasn’t a metered trip, and I wasn’t paying, I didn’t worry about it.

We were met at the crew area by our company manager and fellow cast mate – Cody – and we lined up our suitcases and waited for the drug sniffing dog. We agreed that we all had “fresh meat” written all over us – all bright eyed, piles of suitcases and nervous smiles. There was a lot of “wait, what did I agree to, again”.

The dog could not have been less interested in our suitcases. I wanted to scritch his ears. He was super cute.

Cody led us aboard, showed us our cabins, and took us on a whirlwind trip around the ship. “Here’s the buffet area, here’s the deck, here’s the pool, here’s the club where we do our improv sets, here’s the crew area – always have your blue card showing down here, you’ll get those later, here’s the crew bar, here’s where you go tomorrow for your photos, here’s where you hand over your passport, (bye bye passport!) on and on… we filled out some papers, signed our lives away, and then Mary and I went back to our cabin and unpacked.
I thought that I had over packed. I was convinced that my suitcases were not going to fit anywhere, I sure that the cabin would be so small that we wouldn’t be able to fit all our stuff in it. Shouldn’t have worried. There was plllllenty of room. We busted out our multi-plug power bars, I plugged in our air freshener, and we got ourselves situated. The bit of information that Cody had dispensed that made me insanely happy: FREE LAUNDRY. I filled a bag with what I’d worn in Chicago, and waited for the magic to happen. When I told Greg about it, he sighed. “Well, now I know you’re never coming home – you’ll never have to do laundry again.”

We had a nice dinner that night, did a little drinking down in the crew bar, had some cast bonding and then called it a night.

The next few days are a blur of acclimating to the ship, finding out where everything is, and rehearsing. Making mental notes of places to go and things to do to stave off cabin fever and sheer boredom. We all have grand plans. Screenplays will be written, play synopses will be outlined, sketches will be created.

I’m allowing myself this week to just get over the change. Next week, or more accurately, next cruise (in and out of New York port in a matter of hours on Saturday) is when I lay out my schedule. I’ll figure on working out, writing, taking in some planned activities – I mean who can pass up the opportunity to make a beaded gecko, learn to fold towels into animals or salsa dance? You can bet your sweet ass I’m all over those ballroom dance classes.

Our first pair of scripted shows went well. We’re in a good place right now, and as long as we are diligent in the next few weeks about continuing to rehearse and keep ourselves fresh, we’re solid. I’m just happy that I remembered everything I needed to say and do, and that I didn’t fall down! I am consistently impressed with the rest of my cast – they are terrific. And (they key) they’re all incredibly funny. We rehearsed a bit more today - figured we’d get all the time we could in before we lost Dina (our director) and pitched a bunch of blackout ideas. That was a bit of a giggle fest, tell you what. And you know what was nice? It was not competitive or judgmental. Just – hey, let’s try this. We threw some pretty retarded things out there. But Homer came up with a blackout that did the job, and we’re going to put it in the show. Hooray for Homer!

We are meeting for dinner tonight at Teppenyaki for a last meal together. We ate at the steakhouse restaurant last night. I don’t think too many of us will be rushing back there. Me, because I can really do without a steakhouse in my life (although their French Onion Soup was terrific, but not really worth the $20 cover charge), and the others because the lobster didn’t seem to agree with a few of them. As a matter of fact, a few of our group felt pretty sick last night – the jury’s still out on whether or not it was the rough seas or the lobster. I’m excited about the Japanese food. I still haven’t eaten at the sushi restaurant yet. I’m saving that experience for next week.

That’s the other thing I’m doing. Rationing fun. Can’t do it all in the first week or two, I really space things out so that there’s something new and interesting to do for as long as possible.

On that fun and exciting note, I’m going to go get dressed for dinner. All my nice stuff is still in the laundry, so my options are pretty limited. Sadly, I think I need some more clothing. Sigh. More shopping.

So it would appear that time flies

2006-06-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

Its not that I've been consciously ignoring my blog. And it's not even that the internet is that expensive here on the ship (only 10 cents per minute for crew). We've just been pretty busy. Rehearsals every day, dinner as a group, and I'm not sure what else.
And the crew's computer cafe is really smoky - that's something I hadn't expected, the ever present haze. I'll start using my laptop up in the passenger areas once I start using a new internet card - apparently you can't go back and forth between laptop and desktop cafe station with them. Weird, but there you go. I'll jot down some details about the first week, and upload them shortly. We arrive back in New York tomorrow morning, and we'll likely have to be awake at 6am or so to go through immigration - we only have to go through the process once, and then we're set for the rest of the time.

I miss tofu.

We'll be able to spend about 4 hours in New York once we get there, so that should be enough time to go pretty much anywhere we want to go and spend some time. Mostly, I'm just looking forward to calling Greg and talking to him. It'll be 8 days before I can talk to him again, so I'm already dreading the time in between. I may have to buckle and work some phone cards into my budget. Sometimes you don't mind paying $3.00 a minute...

Smoke... overwhelming... must go find fresh air...

The Day Off

2006-05-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhh...

I am getting used to the change of pace in my life. It feels very weird not to be at an office every day, plugging away at a identified series of tasks, with a very specific set of goals. My last two days of work have been, well, half days for me. With late starts and early finishes. And the time between those two perameters are full of fun! Its unfathomable.

And today, I had a break from that gruelling pace! I had high plans to visit the Art Institue or the Field Musem as you may recall. Well, a late start, and an ill advised trip to Marshall Fields for a manicure/pedicure put the kibosh on that.

On a positive note, I went to Cereality for breakfast. Man! I wish I'd remembered about this place two days ago! As much as I enjoyed my room service breakfasts, I would have happily eaten at Cereality every morning. LOVE IT! Truth be told, I am just as happy to have cereal for dinner as almost anything else. Cereal's awesome. And for there to be a cafe to celebrate that? Love. Apparently they'll do up personalized boxes containing your own blend of cereals for weddings and whatnot. Awesome.

Tonight will be devoted to re-packing. I bought a second new suitcase, a carry-on sized one. Tomorrow I will be one of those douchebags with a big carryon AND a computer case. Fuck me, right? Well, sorry chums, but I've got a load of crap. Tomorrw I will embrace my douchbaggery and hope that I avoid another $30 "holy shit what did you pack in there?"charge. And here's something I hate to admit. On both of my suitcases, there's a part that I don't understand. I have no idea what it's for. On the "lid", there's a thing that you unzip and flip up - it has elasticized bands with a clip on the underside. Then underneath that, there's the mesh part that you unzip to store things in the "lid". I don't get it. When the super thorough dude at Marshall Fields was walking me through every suitcase type known to man, I saw something like this, but it had a hook on the top side of it - obviously for hanging things. This? No hook. I don't get it. It's depressing that a suitcase confounds me like this.

I also bought some Sea Bands (just in case - although I'm unnerved that the directions look like a comic book) a pack of Airborne (they QUARANTINE you to your room if you get sick on the ship!), my "sparkle" for my show outfit, some socks and a pair of cropped pants cause they fit so damn good. I must get on that ship and away from retailers. Jerks.

Tomorrow the adventure begins anew.

Chicago Part Deux

2006-05-26T23:27:00.000-07:00

Day two of rehearsals went well. We're making strides with everything, and did a run of the show as we know it so far. We're waiting till we get to the ship to assign chair moves and figure out entrances and exits.

I got two envelopes full of moolah at today's rehearsal, too. Wardrobe stipend and... the words that strike joy in the hearts of actors - my per diem. Ah sweet mannah from the producers.

I spent the afternoon wandering around. Bought some earrings to add some sparkle to my wardrobe. I'd like to find a necklace, too.

Tomorrow is a day off, which will be spent sleeping in, getting brunch, a manicure/pedicure, and potentially a visit to either the Art Institute or the Field Musem. I've been spending a lot of time alone. I have friends in town that I'd normally call, but I'm feeling a bit selfish about my time. I'm going to have four months of people in my face at every turn, I'd best get my "me time" while I can.

After wine hour in the hotel lobby (no, I didn't drink for an hour) I went to see a movie (The Da Vinci Code. I liked it. Shut up.) and grabbed dinner at a creole type restaurant before cabbing up to Second City to catch the Mainstage show. Beth had called me this afternoon to make sure I "had everything I needed", and offered that I could go catch the show that night if I wanted. Nice! Of course I want! Fun show, naturally I particularly liked the political stuff. And the stuff that was just plain wrong. Wheeeee wrong!

The countdown to ship life continues.

On a totally unrelated note, my dog's been getting all kinds of blood tests done lately. He had a "general health" blood panel done a couple of months ago at the same time as his heartworm test, and one of his liver function tests came back "elevated". The vet recommended a recheck after 5 weeks, so the day before I left Scooter gave some more blood to the cause. Elevated again. Twice as much this time.
So my sister took BingBong back to the vet this week for a full day of needle pokes and rationed food. Those tests were normal. So we're not sure why his ALT is elevated.
He goes back Monday for more pokes. They want to rule out Cushing's. He doesn't have any other symptoms, but we're just being safe.
A) Poor guy
B) Poor sister - last time I went on an extended tour, he got hit by a car. She's going to stop agreeing to look after him - he's a disaster!
C) I'm very glad I have Pet Health Insurance this time.

Speaking of needle pokes, I have to find a doctor who will administer the Hepatitis A innoculation my doctor prescribed for me. HepA is rampant in the Caribbean, apparently, and can be transmitted simply by having a HepA carrier handling your food. I managed to get the vaccine, but didn't have time to go back to the doctor to get her to give me the poke. So I've got the syringe in the mini-fridge in my room. Waiting. I'm assuming the doctor on board the ship can take care of it.
I'm tempted to do it myself, but I don't know if it's an arm or an ass shot. Jeez. Neither sounds fun. But I paid $65 for it, so I'm gonna use it, dammit.

Chicago

2006-05-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an insanely long day. Woke up at 5am to finish packing and to steal some last minutes with Greg and Scooter. Bless their hearts, they both woke up with me even though neither are big early morning fans.

Goodbyes are hard. Understatement. Four months is not a long time, but a really long time all at once. Greg had offered to come with me to the airport, my sister offered to get an Autoshare car and drive me to the airport... I declined both. If I'm going to be a blubbering mess, I'd rather it be in the privacy of my own home. And I'd feel terrible dragging loved ones to the airport in the pre-dawn hours just to watch me check in and walk behind the counter to customs. Gone are the days where it is worthwhile to bring someone to the airport. Pick up, yes. Drop off, not so much. Give me a nice airport limo/car service and a quiet driver, and I'll be fine.

Travel was uneventful until I got a cab in Chicago, and a taxi helper dude hoisted my suitcase into the cab's trunk. Apparently I overpacked, because that suitcase burst at the seams. Well, more the zipper than seams. I should have known. I had to sit on it to close it. They charged me an extra $30 when I checked in at the airport. My suitcase weighed 62 lbs. I may have overpacked. Understatement.

I got to my hotel by 9am, (very nice - free wifi service and Aveda bath products) full of ambition. I was going to go shopping for a new suitcase and show shoes! I was going to get something to eat! I was going to GET THINGS DONE!

Not so much. I stayed in my room and tried to unwind enough to have a nap. Got a good 20 minutes.

Off to Second City for a "what to expect on the boat" meeting. Nothing unusual. Basically, be nice and don't cause a fuss. Not a problem. I'm not a big fuss-causer. Met some of my fellow cast members, and our musical director - all of whom seem great.

I wish I had more exciting things to tell, but... well... next I bought a suitcase.

I started at Marshall Fields, because I'm a sucker for department stores. I have often said that the service in the United States is better than in Canada. Chicago has proved this to be true. When you walk into a store, they actually GREET you, they don't pretend not to see you and start absently shuffle hangers around like they're trying to solve a puzzle. It's unnerving. I couldn't walk 20 feet without a helpful attendant. I made the mistake of engaging the luggage guy. He kept me busy for 20 minutes showing me the various 29 inch suitcases they have, and the intricasies of those same suitcase. I knew I was in trouble when he took off his suit jacket. He was in the luggage selling zone. Sadly for him, I am not an advocate of buying the first thing I come across... I have my mother's 'research before you buy' instinct.

Ok, and I'm a bit of a bargain hunter.

Long story short, I paid a lot less for a comparable suitcase at another department store. It doesn't have the sexy "turn every which way wheels", but it seems like it'll hold everything without my having to sit on it to close it. Which is an accomplishment. Understatement.

Today was the first day of rehearsal. I'm loving our director - she's terrific. Fun, relaxed, but also clear about what she wants. We burned through things and got out of rehearsal an hour early. We have one more rehearsal tomorrow, a day off on Saturday, and then head for New York very very early on Sunday. Ouchy early.

After rehearsal, I went way north on the red line and visited a dance supply store. I was looking for a nice looking pair of shoes that would be comfortable and quiet. Immediately I thought of ballroom dance shoes. I'll tell you what, I've never been so comfortable in a pair of 3 inch heels. And by mentioning the ad on their website, I got 50% off (told you I was a bargain hunter). Ended up paying only about $50 for the shoes. Amazing. That's a third of what I would have spent on regular shoes, knowing me. Walking back to the El station I realized that I was grinning and that I was remarkably happy. Even if this gig is the last thing I ever do for Second City Chicago, I'm realizing that it will have been worth it. Just to be feeling this way, it's paid off. I am grateful.

My dilemma for the night is, do I order the in-room manicure/pedicure? It's $110, but they come to your room!

Did I mention that they're a free wine reception in the lobby every night? And that I got a free hand massage while I drank that glass of wine?

I think I want to live in this hotel.

In which I get used to the idea of leaving...

2006-05-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

The last week has been a whirlwind.
Deciding to leave my secure, well paying job for a four month contract performing with Second City on the high seas was... well... hard. It took a lot of soul searching, a lot of self reflection, a lot of encouragement from loved ones, and a lot of faith - all bundled up in a 24 hour period.

The minute I pulled the trigger, most of the fear and apprehension was replaced with relief and joy. Joy. Something that I had been leaking slowly for months. I'd assumed I was going to be "that" person from now on. The bank employee with a hobby. I am so grateful to the bank and the stability it's given me, and the luxuries it has afforded me. But the chain was starting to chafe. That's why when this gift fell into my lap, I knew I had no right to turn it down.

Every so often it'll hit me, though. The sadness. The weight of what I'll be leaving behind for four months. I try not to dwell. After all, if I hate it, I can come home early. I don't expect to hate it.

There's so much to do to prepare that the reality of what I'm preparing for hasn't quite set in. I'm a nerd, I find planning exhilerating. I got the running order and scripts for the show late last week, and I'm still trying to make the leap that those scripts will be living, breathing scenes in two short weeks. Holy crap. I'll be in rehearsals in two weeks. In Chicago. Nope. Still doesn't seem real.

I'll be in New York later this week for some family time with my sister and my mom - timing couldn't be better. I need to load up on nice summer casuals and classic show clothes.

Meanwhile I've been in touch with a couple of my fellow cast members, and am looking forward to meeting them all. There's something very cool about walking into a situation where no-one knows you from Adam, and starting with a blank slate. No preconcieved notions of what you can or can't do. Sometimes I feel like in Toronto, once you're in your slot, that's it. I'm excited about starting fresh.

Oh, and also the room service. I'm excited about free room service.
"I want a sandwich". BANG! There's your sandwich.
That gym and I better make friends, fast!