Today…was…great!
The whole cast met at 11:30 to head to a beach. Jen had read up on beaches and we decided on Mullet Bay…mostly because of the name. Her whole description of it sounded good until she said “it is supposed to be one of the most beautiful beaches.” That is always a red flag for me. Beautiful beaches, especially publicized beautiful beaches, tend to be packed with people, boring, or both. Cases in point: Marigot Bay (I forget which island) and Magens Bay St. Thomas. So, I was leery about this beach from the get-go.
We hoped in a cab and they put 6 other people inside with us. Strong New York accents, and the matriarch of the group kept asking dumb questions (“How much is a can of soda?” 75 cents in stores. “No, on the beach”) or saying little things to fill the air with sound. It was everything I could do to stop Deanna from impersonating the lady right then and there.
Once we got there and separated from our taxi partners it was great. I gave it a 3-S on my 4-S beach ranking system. It was only lacking in Snorkeling of the 4 S’s. The four S’s are Sand, Snorkeling, Surf, and Boobs. And like I said, it didn’t have snorkeling. That’s right…this beach was on the French side of the island and women think tops are stupid there. Fine by me, friends. One of the funniest things we saw was a topless women trying to get out of the water who just kept get hit by enough wave to fall over.
We played in the waves mostly. I think a lot of us got a dose of sun…Brett’s face is all red again. And then caught a cab back…with the same people.
The sand got everywhere. This I knew and got into the shower in our room before taking my suit off. I have a swim suit with no mesh inside so I bought a speedo that I wear underneath. That speedo had AT LEAST 4 tablespoons of sand in it. It was insane.
Later on Brett, Ryan, Deanna and I went bowling. Four games. Brett had a blister show up on his finger in game three and pop in game four. Watching him sanitize his hands afterwards was funny in an AFV way. Stingy (like “It stung” not “he saved money”)!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
1/30/09: Day 97: Barbados
Although it was warm in Barbados it was reminiscent of the Oregon coast…overcast and rainy. This was fine by me. My neck was hurting yesterday and I just wanted to take it easy.
Last night we were in the photo area talking to Sam…one of the photographers…when the cruise director popped out from a door and said we had mail. So, yesterday on January 29th we received xmas cards from my Aunt and Uncle, and from Jeremy and Carrie. Extended Christmas!
Deanna had planned on getting her haircut at 9:00am. If we get our haircut on a port day we get a discount. I thought she heard the alarm and went back to bed. Apparently she got up went to the salon and found out her stylist fell off a horse in Antigua and hurt her head so she could cut Deanna’s hair. On her way back into bed…sometime in the morning…Deanna fell off the side of the bed. I just remember waking up to it and giggling. She was giggling as well, so I knew she wasn’t hurt. Apparently our new room stewards moved the bed about 3 inches to the left so that she had more space than she was used to. Regardless…it was hilarious.
The rest of the day was spent doing a final rehearsal and then two shows. All went well.
Oh! I’ve broken the 200 barrier. I weighed myself after…what…two weeks of whey protein and what not? 203.4. I’ll keep doing it for awhile. I’d like to get to at least 210 without a lot of that being fat. And I have at least 4 more months or so to get there.
Last night we were in the photo area talking to Sam…one of the photographers…when the cruise director popped out from a door and said we had mail. So, yesterday on January 29th we received xmas cards from my Aunt and Uncle, and from Jeremy and Carrie. Extended Christmas!
Deanna had planned on getting her haircut at 9:00am. If we get our haircut on a port day we get a discount. I thought she heard the alarm and went back to bed. Apparently she got up went to the salon and found out her stylist fell off a horse in Antigua and hurt her head so she could cut Deanna’s hair. On her way back into bed…sometime in the morning…Deanna fell off the side of the bed. I just remember waking up to it and giggling. She was giggling as well, so I knew she wasn’t hurt. Apparently our new room stewards moved the bed about 3 inches to the left so that she had more space than she was used to. Regardless…it was hilarious.
The rest of the day was spent doing a final rehearsal and then two shows. All went well.
Oh! I’ve broken the 200 barrier. I weighed myself after…what…two weeks of whey protein and what not? 203.4. I’ll keep doing it for awhile. I’d like to get to at least 210 without a lot of that being fat. And I have at least 4 more months or so to get there.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
1/29/09: Day 96: Antigua
The past couple days have grouped together again with rehearsals. On the end of the 27th there was a birthday party for all the January birthdays and their friends. I stepped away to use the restroom at one point. When I came back the entire cast was sporting shirts they won in a contest. I jumped in on the next contest which was musical chairs where the guys had to sit in the chairs and the women had to sit on the guys’ laps. I won! I walked away with a shirt and a towel, but I gave the towel to Ryan since we received the same towel for xmas.
The next morning the phone rang at 9:30 to let Deanna know she needed to come down for drug testing…random style. We’re not supposed to have to do the testing but she did it anyway while Jen tried to find out who to tell that we’re not supposed to do it.
Yesterday we went to a place in St. Thomas called Secret Harbor. Much better than the packed Magen’s Bay from two cruises ago. It was the first time I have been snorkeling on the entire trip!
That night we caught Jane’s second show after our rehearsal and we were late…busted! Jane doesn’t let people just slide in…especially if you “slide in” to the front row like we did. She asked why we were late. Deanna said we were having dinner. I added “dinner before dessert”…desert? I’m having a brain fart on which spelling is the food and which is the terrain. Jane’s show was fantastic. Ryan saw it for the first time and came down and said he was in love with Jane.
Now I’m in Antigua at the good ole Coast bar…and I’m uploading photos!..or not. As I publish this I'm having trouble getting the photos to finish loading. Boo.
The next morning the phone rang at 9:30 to let Deanna know she needed to come down for drug testing…random style. We’re not supposed to have to do the testing but she did it anyway while Jen tried to find out who to tell that we’re not supposed to do it.
Yesterday we went to a place in St. Thomas called Secret Harbor. Much better than the packed Magen’s Bay from two cruises ago. It was the first time I have been snorkeling on the entire trip!
That night we caught Jane’s second show after our rehearsal and we were late…busted! Jane doesn’t let people just slide in…especially if you “slide in” to the front row like we did. She asked why we were late. Deanna said we were having dinner. I added “dinner before dessert”…desert? I’m having a brain fart on which spelling is the food and which is the terrain. Jane’s show was fantastic. Ryan saw it for the first time and came down and said he was in love with Jane.
Now I’m in Antigua at the good ole Coast bar…and I’m uploading photos!..or not. As I publish this I'm having trouble getting the photos to finish loading. Boo.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
1/27/09: Day 94: Sea Day
Kind of a busy blur this week. Since I last wrote we did a few fun things though. On Sunday in New York we got to see our good friend Joey who was there with The Improvised Shakespeare Company doing some shows. Really great to see him. Old timey readers may remember we stayed with Joey and his wife Heather before going on our first ship. That very room that we stayed in is now a nursery for their soon to be born child! It was great to get to see someone from Chicago…AND have that someone be a friend we know and love.
That same day was the day that Mike left and Ryan came on board. So, we have been doing a lot of rehearsing to get Ryan up to speed. He has been performing for awhile and was even on the ship that wrote some of our “ship themed blackouts” so our songs are the only major things to work on.
That same day was the day that Mike left and Ryan came on board. So, we have been doing a lot of rehearsing to get Ryan up to speed. He has been performing for awhile and was even on the ship that wrote some of our “ship themed blackouts” so our songs are the only major things to work on.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
1/24/09: Day 91: New York
The end of an era…well…the dipshits are gone. Even though those kids were in far greater numbers last year they still managed to get under the skin of a lot of passengers. Last night in our final improv show the cruise director made a pre-show “no one under 18” announcement which was met by cheers from the adults. After the show we went to the Blue Lagoon to eat. Fairly empty…until…a majority of the kids arrived. Luckily they didn’t cause too much commotion. One of them did the old “pull the chair away as someone goes to sit” trick on a teen girl and she fell on her butt. The three cookie-cutter brothers laughed like the little retards they are and a passenger came over. First she asked if the girl was ok, then told the boys they were rude. The boys went to stand by a rail by another table and the lady at that table yelled at them and got them to all run like a herd of giggling turds down the hallway. That was the last I ever saw of them. Hooray!
The girl they pulled the prank on was there with her “ship boyfriend”…kind of like camp I guess. Two teens fall in love only to realize WHOOPS! WE DON’T LIVE ANYWHERE NEAR EACH OTHER! YIPE! AND WE’RE TEENS! GONG!
Anywho. Today is the start of a 24 hour party. A 1-day cruise. I’ve found that going from New York to Caribbean…back and forth…causes havoc on my lungs. Just as I get used to the humid air I come back to the crisp, dry, cold air of New York.
I did manage to go get some BCAAs with no caffeine…so…you’re welcome?
Our show is at 11:00pm tonight. Tomorrow Mike leaves and Ryan comes in!
The girl they pulled the prank on was there with her “ship boyfriend”…kind of like camp I guess. Two teens fall in love only to realize WHOOPS! WE DON’T LIVE ANYWHERE NEAR EACH OTHER! YIPE! AND WE’RE TEENS! GONG!
Anywho. Today is the start of a 24 hour party. A 1-day cruise. I’ve found that going from New York to Caribbean…back and forth…causes havoc on my lungs. Just as I get used to the humid air I come back to the crisp, dry, cold air of New York.
I did manage to go get some BCAAs with no caffeine…so…you’re welcome?
Our show is at 11:00pm tonight. Tomorrow Mike leaves and Ryan comes in!
Friday, January 23, 2009
1/23/09: Day 90: Sea Day
I don’t know if you read the comments, but my mom said there are 36mg of caffeine in a can of Pepsi…what? I’ve taken myself off the BCAAs with 200mg of caffeine. Yikes!
Then I found this: http://wilstar.com/caffeine.htm
Then I found this: http://wilstar.com/caffeine.htm
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
1/21/09: Day 88: Tortola Pt.2
As the day went on I thought of some things I forgot to mention. First off, how many milligrams of caffeine are in a can of Coke or Pepsi? The BCAA (branched chain amino acids) doses I’ve been taking also include 200mg of caffeine. On a workout day that’s 3 doses and I’m bouncing off the walls. Usually on the ship I have one cup of coffee in the morning (“time that I first wake up and go to get food”). So, I’m not as tolerant to caffeine as I was back in my two super big gulps a day days.
Speaking of caffeine resistance…Jane had her late show tonight in Spinaker. I already managed to take a 20 minute nap around 8:00pm. I decided to order a rootbeer assuming it would be the Bravo rootbeer they usually have. Nope, Barq’s (with bite…aka caffeine). So even though I got up early I’m still doing stuff at 2:35am.
Rance, what are you doing?
Well, I watched a couple episodes of Boston Legal, which is Deanna’s new favorite show and I’m about a season behind her now. I also don’t know my presidents very well, so I downloaded pics of all the US Presidents and will attempt to memorize them as something to do on sea days. Also, I’m listening to an album Brett gave me by a group called Girl Talk. It isn’t really a group so much as someone who had mixed a lot of rap songs together with popular songs. Super upbeat and good for working out.
In other news, we’ve had just a couple run ins with the teens in the past few days. Deanna gets the worst of it because she’ll actually stop to talk instead of using the patented “keep walking by as you speak pleasantries” method so you don’t get trapped in a weird conversation. Some of the things she has heard from them…”tell me a joke!” and from Ashleigh “I love you guys! Will you remember me when I leave or will someone else take my place?” Yikes! They all know me by name…to my misfortune. We saw them on the stairs (because all…ALL teens on the cruises end up hanging out on stairs) and they got all excited when they saw me. “Your name is Rance right?! Do you know what Rance means? Do you rance? Do you rance? Have you ever ranced?!” Rather than play I simply said “What do you think ‘rance’ means?” “It’s another word for ‘smoking weed.’ …My dad told me!” So, because they think ‘rance’ means ‘smoking weed’ they all say hi. During Jane’s show tonight they all walked by and said “Hey Rance!” and did their attempt at a cool handshake with me.
On the way back to our rooms we rode the elevator with an elderly woman. She smiled gently at us and then shivered. I said, “Chilly night, ma’am?” and offered her my coat. She said, “you are so generous!” I walked her to her cabin whilest we shared stories of favorite vacation spots and hilarious things that pets do. Once we got to her cabin she asked if I wanted to come in and tell more stories. Rather than just telling her that I wasn’t allowed to go in passenger cabins I told her I would be reading stories to children the next morning and needed to prepare puppets. She smiled a genuine and understanding smile, handed me my jacket, and patted my hand. Also, this entire paragraph was made up for Jeanie’s sake.
Speaking of caffeine resistance…Jane had her late show tonight in Spinaker. I already managed to take a 20 minute nap around 8:00pm. I decided to order a rootbeer assuming it would be the Bravo rootbeer they usually have. Nope, Barq’s (with bite…aka caffeine). So even though I got up early I’m still doing stuff at 2:35am.
Rance, what are you doing?
Well, I watched a couple episodes of Boston Legal, which is Deanna’s new favorite show and I’m about a season behind her now. I also don’t know my presidents very well, so I downloaded pics of all the US Presidents and will attempt to memorize them as something to do on sea days. Also, I’m listening to an album Brett gave me by a group called Girl Talk. It isn’t really a group so much as someone who had mixed a lot of rap songs together with popular songs. Super upbeat and good for working out.
In other news, we’ve had just a couple run ins with the teens in the past few days. Deanna gets the worst of it because she’ll actually stop to talk instead of using the patented “keep walking by as you speak pleasantries” method so you don’t get trapped in a weird conversation. Some of the things she has heard from them…”tell me a joke!” and from Ashleigh “I love you guys! Will you remember me when I leave or will someone else take my place?” Yikes! They all know me by name…to my misfortune. We saw them on the stairs (because all…ALL teens on the cruises end up hanging out on stairs) and they got all excited when they saw me. “Your name is Rance right?! Do you know what Rance means? Do you rance? Do you rance? Have you ever ranced?!” Rather than play I simply said “What do you think ‘rance’ means?” “It’s another word for ‘smoking weed.’ …My dad told me!” So, because they think ‘rance’ means ‘smoking weed’ they all say hi. During Jane’s show tonight they all walked by and said “Hey Rance!” and did their attempt at a cool handshake with me.
On the way back to our rooms we rode the elevator with an elderly woman. She smiled gently at us and then shivered. I said, “Chilly night, ma’am?” and offered her my coat. She said, “you are so generous!” I walked her to her cabin whilest we shared stories of favorite vacation spots and hilarious things that pets do. Once we got to her cabin she asked if I wanted to come in and tell more stories. Rather than just telling her that I wasn’t allowed to go in passenger cabins I told her I would be reading stories to children the next morning and needed to prepare puppets. She smiled a genuine and understanding smile, handed me my jacket, and patted my hand. Also, this entire paragraph was made up for Jeanie’s sake.
1/21/09: Day 88: Tortola
Today we were in Tortola at the same time as the NCL Dawn. I think in all of our work on the ships this is the first time we have been in port with another Second City ship. We got to see Jeff, Jeanie, Tim, and Joe from the other ship. It was great to see other people from Chicago. We all met around 9:00am and went to a breakfast place.
I have some great (aka terrible) photos caught at candid/mid-conversation moments that will be up eventually…maybe next time we’re in Antigua.
I have some great (aka terrible) photos caught at candid/mid-conversation moments that will be up eventually…maybe next time we’re in Antigua.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
1/20/09: Day 87: St. Maarten
Ahh…St. Maarten. Last time we were here it was the best beach we had been too. So, we were really looking forward to coming back here. Our plan was to go to dawn bay for snorkeling or fun on the waves. But then a dude from Chicago had to go and become the President.
We woke up and watch inauguration coverage all day. I managed to do laundry and go to the gym. CNN was using something I learned about a few years ago…Photosynth. It seems like they’ve been working on this technology forever. When I first heard of it they said it would use Flickr photos…which is why I started using Flickr. Photosynth takes a series of photos and finds common reference points to combine them together to make a semi-3D environment. CNN had everyone take photos of Obama getting sworn in. Cool stuff.
Other than that we got together to play Settlers…two games. Deanna won both.
We woke up and watch inauguration coverage all day. I managed to do laundry and go to the gym. CNN was using something I learned about a few years ago…Photosynth. It seems like they’ve been working on this technology forever. When I first heard of it they said it would use Flickr photos…which is why I started using Flickr. Photosynth takes a series of photos and finds common reference points to combine them together to make a semi-3D environment. CNN had everyone take photos of Obama getting sworn in. Cool stuff.
Other than that we got together to play Settlers…two games. Deanna won both.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
1/18/09: Day 85: Antigua
I seem to have skipped a few days. What has been going on? Well…since we have a moment of free time here and there I have been trying to go to the gym. There was that setback early on with my shoulder (which I’ve mentioned) that has gone away big time. I try to stretch and concentrate on having good form more than I did. If you’ve been reading awhile or if you know me you know that putting on weight is entirely difficult for me. I think I started at about 190-192 when I got on (the scale was in kg so I can’t remember seeing a number in pounds…88.1kg). Right now I’m floating between 198 and 199.9. Once I saw the scale go to 200.4, but 199.9 has been the highest since then.
Food is everywhere on this ship. I was doing double breakfasts for awhile, but I usually wake up around 11am now. So NOW I’m doing those muscle powder things using a plan I read about in a magazine article. Whey protein, casein protein, BCAAs and creatine. I’ve only done it for about three days so far…since New York. No huge results. The problem with it is the shakes are designed to be taken based on a 9-5 schedule. One before breakfast is ok, but I’m eating smaller breakfasts because the shake is filling. One pre-workout, but I have to workout further past lunch or else I’m too full with the shake…plus there is an after workout shake. So, the hardest part is always feeling a little full in that gross way.
Anywho…BORING.
I finished reading the Complete Idiot’s Guide to 2012. A very interesting read. I recommend it if you want more info on Mayan and other cultures’ take on 2012 from multiple sources.
Also, Mike is leaving us on 1/25 and will be replaced by Ryan Archibald, so that will be a fun little change up.
Other than that, today is Deanna’s birthday! We went to a nice beach in Antigua, had some great food, and came back to the ship. We then went to Jane L. Powell’s (the Chocolate Goddess of Love) show. Deanna has really gotten to know them better on this cruise…I kind of have. Her hanging out with them usually works like this: Deanna says “I’m going to go up and get some hot water for tea.” About an hour later I decide that’s too long for water and find her giggling the night away with Jane.
We were around the third row at Jane’s show and in between songs she started a conversation with Deanna and said happy birthday. It was great. Somewhere else in the show Jane sang happy birthday…I got most of it on video. We then had dinner as a full cast and headed back to our room to catch the last 9 minutes of the Steelers/Ravens game. Go Steelers!
Food is everywhere on this ship. I was doing double breakfasts for awhile, but I usually wake up around 11am now. So NOW I’m doing those muscle powder things using a plan I read about in a magazine article. Whey protein, casein protein, BCAAs and creatine. I’ve only done it for about three days so far…since New York. No huge results. The problem with it is the shakes are designed to be taken based on a 9-5 schedule. One before breakfast is ok, but I’m eating smaller breakfasts because the shake is filling. One pre-workout, but I have to workout further past lunch or else I’m too full with the shake…plus there is an after workout shake. So, the hardest part is always feeling a little full in that gross way.
Anywho…BORING.
I finished reading the Complete Idiot’s Guide to 2012. A very interesting read. I recommend it if you want more info on Mayan and other cultures’ take on 2012 from multiple sources.
Also, Mike is leaving us on 1/25 and will be replaced by Ryan Archibald, so that will be a fun little change up.
Other than that, today is Deanna’s birthday! We went to a nice beach in Antigua, had some great food, and came back to the ship. We then went to Jane L. Powell’s (the Chocolate Goddess of Love) show. Deanna has really gotten to know them better on this cruise…I kind of have. Her hanging out with them usually works like this: Deanna says “I’m going to go up and get some hot water for tea.” About an hour later I decide that’s too long for water and find her giggling the night away with Jane.
We were around the third row at Jane’s show and in between songs she started a conversation with Deanna and said happy birthday. It was great. Somewhere else in the show Jane sang happy birthday…I got most of it on video. We then had dinner as a full cast and headed back to our room to catch the last 9 minutes of the Steelers/Ravens game. Go Steelers!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
1/15/09: Day 82: Sea Day
Some of you have probably wondered “Hey. Where do you guys port when you’re in New York?” The answer is “right where that US Airways plane landed in the water.”
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
1/14/09: Day 81: New York
Lost a big chunk of crew today. Not in a bad way, just in an “a lot of crew reached the end of their contracts” way. Since they had to go through immigration and get off the ship it meant delays for all of the crew looking to go into the city.
I think we got off around 11:30. It was 19 degrees out, which is nothing compared to the 4 degrees it was in Chicago, but still cold to us Caribbeaners.
Turns out that the expected 700 kids were more along the lines of 200…but I have seen some of the kids from last year. Only three that I recognize so far. One was the 14 year-old who kept hitting on the dancers in the bar and when we had him kicked out he tried to say he was 18…he looked 12.
More on those kids if I see more. I think we’re safe though. I’ll keep an eye on other blogs to see if someone else got ‘em.
I think we got off around 11:30. It was 19 degrees out, which is nothing compared to the 4 degrees it was in Chicago, but still cold to us Caribbeaners.
Turns out that the expected 700 kids were more along the lines of 200…but I have seen some of the kids from last year. Only three that I recognize so far. One was the 14 year-old who kept hitting on the dancers in the bar and when we had him kicked out he tried to say he was 18…he looked 12.
More on those kids if I see more. I think we’re safe though. I’ll keep an eye on other blogs to see if someone else got ‘em.
Monday, January 12, 2009
1/12/09: Day 79: Sea Day
Well, we nearly made it through our first 10-day cruise. There were FAR less kids on this cruise…still a good amount of “not old” people though. Instead of doing a family friendly improv show and an adult improv show we’re doing two adult ones. Last night was the first and they wanted dirty. In the first game I asked for a style of music and we got “Gay.” An improv first for me.
As I think I said before Brett’s girlfriend signs off in New York. Although I heard they asked her to stay on one more cruise because we’re supposed to have 700 kids next cruise. This worried me. It worried me because last year around this time (1/18/08-1/26/08…read those blog entries. 1/25 and 1/26 especially) we had the Chaos Kids on board. A quick summary is they destroyed a video game in the arcade, broke into a life boat, climbed over walls to break into the private pool for the penthouse and threw all the chairs in to the pool…and those were the main highlights. Very little adult supervision. Everyone on the ship hated them and cheered when they caught heat from security…EVERYONE. They were supposed to get majorly busted for all the stuff they broke but they got cut slack because they come back year after year. I can only imagine that the adults who take no responsibility for them are throwing down major cash in the casino.
It also worries me because I know they’ve gone on multiple cruises. One kid last year was saying he thought he saw one of us on the Spirit and then listed out four cruises he had been on. Some of them are actually okay when they’re by themselves, but then they get around their friends and act like dipshits.
I’m even more worried because this ship is just over a year old. They couldn’t have been on it last year because they were on the Jewel with us at a time when the Gem was only 3 months old. So that means this is the newest ship and most likely their target.
So, wish us luck. We’ll know in two days. And I’ll know right away.
As I think I said before Brett’s girlfriend signs off in New York. Although I heard they asked her to stay on one more cruise because we’re supposed to have 700 kids next cruise. This worried me. It worried me because last year around this time (1/18/08-1/26/08…read those blog entries. 1/25 and 1/26 especially) we had the Chaos Kids on board. A quick summary is they destroyed a video game in the arcade, broke into a life boat, climbed over walls to break into the private pool for the penthouse and threw all the chairs in to the pool…and those were the main highlights. Very little adult supervision. Everyone on the ship hated them and cheered when they caught heat from security…EVERYONE. They were supposed to get majorly busted for all the stuff they broke but they got cut slack because they come back year after year. I can only imagine that the adults who take no responsibility for them are throwing down major cash in the casino.
It also worries me because I know they’ve gone on multiple cruises. One kid last year was saying he thought he saw one of us on the Spirit and then listed out four cruises he had been on. Some of them are actually okay when they’re by themselves, but then they get around their friends and act like dipshits.
I’m even more worried because this ship is just over a year old. They couldn’t have been on it last year because they were on the Jewel with us at a time when the Gem was only 3 months old. So that means this is the newest ship and most likely their target.
So, wish us luck. We’ll know in two days. And I’ll know right away.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
1/11/09: Day 78: Tortola
Supposedly. We were only in Tortola from 8:00am-12pm…and it was Sunday and raining. Sunday means not a lot is open…supposedly. I say supposedly because I got up in time to catch the tail end of breakfast. Deanna got up early to got out and about with Rochelle…girlfriend to Ruslan the bassist. I know this because I set my alarm for Deanna to wake up. Then Deanna tried to quietly get ready. Then Deanna left. Then Rochelle called for Deanna and Deanna wasn’t there. Then Deanna came back and was being very quiet for my benefit again. Then Deanna left…and turned the lights on as she did so. She didn’t realize she did, so it made it even more funny later on after I was awake.
Other than that, not much different. OH! There is one thing from a couple of days ago. There was an old man who saw me and said he loved the show and then, like a lot of people tend to do, gave me a “good line for the show.” He said, “When someone comes up to you and says ‘Do you play basketball?’…because you’re tall, you turn to them and say ‘Do you play miniature golf?’” He then talked a little more about liking our show and ended the conversation with “anyway…do you play basketball?” So I hit him with the mini golf line and he said “Ha ha. You can put that in your show!”
A day or two later he was at a table next to me outside but I didn’t see him. I was watching one of the football games when I heard from the table “Do you play basketball?” I hit him with the mini golf line with no hesitation. He got a big smile and said “that was a rehearsal!”
Other than that, not much different. OH! There is one thing from a couple of days ago. There was an old man who saw me and said he loved the show and then, like a lot of people tend to do, gave me a “good line for the show.” He said, “When someone comes up to you and says ‘Do you play basketball?’…because you’re tall, you turn to them and say ‘Do you play miniature golf?’” He then talked a little more about liking our show and ended the conversation with “anyway…do you play basketball?” So I hit him with the mini golf line and he said “Ha ha. You can put that in your show!”
A day or two later he was at a table next to me outside but I didn’t see him. I was watching one of the football games when I heard from the table “Do you play basketball?” I hit him with the mini golf line with no hesitation. He got a big smile and said “that was a rehearsal!”
Saturday, January 10, 2009
1/10/09: Day 77: St. Maarten
Fresh and new! We haven’t been here before. St. Maarten is Dutch owned on the South half and French owned (and called St. Martin) on the North half. We took a cheap water taxi over to a beach and part of the town. As opposed to the crappy crowded beach we were at in Antigua, this one had a nice amount of space and was very laid back.
We hung out, ate a restaurant, and enjoyed the day like vacationers. No, not booze and braids.
We hung out, ate a restaurant, and enjoyed the day like vacationers. No, not booze and braids.
Friday, January 09, 2009
1/9/09: Day 76: Barbados
Barbados. Another one of our prior destinations. The plan was to meet Jen and Larrance to go to Folkston to snorkel. The first snorkeling of this contract!!!...yeah, I didn’t go.
I had trouble falling asleep the night before and we had to be back at 3:00 I think. Plus we had our shows tonight so I didn’t want to be tired from no sleep and potentially from sleeping all day.
So, it was pretty much just chilling out. Brett went to the beach near the Boatyard and put sunscreen on…everywhere but his face. He now looks constantly embarrassed.
I had trouble falling asleep the night before and we had to be back at 3:00 I think. Plus we had our shows tonight so I didn’t want to be tired from no sleep and potentially from sleeping all day.
So, it was pretty much just chilling out. Brett went to the beach near the Boatyard and put sunscreen on…everywhere but his face. He now looks constantly embarrassed.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
1/8/09: Day 75: Antigua
Ah, memories. Today we came to Antigua and did what we did last year…went to the Coast and used the internet!
This cruise has been sort of eye opening as far as seeing age effect people. One lady near us was in a wheelchair with someone I can only assume is her son. He was telling her he was going to leave her there while he went to get a card. That he would right back. That he would turn her around so she could see the direction he went. She replied “Yes, sir.”
I found that odd and wondered if she even knew who he was. Turns out we crossed paths again as she was walking into her room with her son via a walker. As she entered the doorway she said “I’ve never been in this room before.” To which he matter-of-factly replied “Yes you have. All of your clothes are in here.”
Kind of sad.
Jane had another great show tonight. She has been extra saucy lately.
This cruise has been sort of eye opening as far as seeing age effect people. One lady near us was in a wheelchair with someone I can only assume is her son. He was telling her he was going to leave her there while he went to get a card. That he would right back. That he would turn her around so she could see the direction he went. She replied “Yes, sir.”
I found that odd and wondered if she even knew who he was. Turns out we crossed paths again as she was walking into her room with her son via a walker. As she entered the doorway she said “I’ve never been in this room before.” To which he matter-of-factly replied “Yes you have. All of your clothes are in here.”
Kind of sad.
Jane had another great show tonight. She has been extra saucy lately.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
1/7/09: Day 74: St. Thomas USVI
Hmm…I missed a few days. I can’t think off anything major that has happened off hand. Jen’s mom and step dad are on with us so we’ve crossed paths with them. Brett has been sick and it is his girlfriend’s last cruise as an employee…so we haven’t seen much of him, but we hear him coughing through the wall. And we see Mike around from time to time.
Jane L. Powell and J.J. are back on the ship. We had a nice chat with them last night that went for about 2 hours. They are great.
Now. Technically it is just after midnight on 1/08/09 as I write this. Something out of the ordinary happened…but I’m saving it for last. Just keep reading.
Today was our first non-sea day of the cruise. Jen said they were going to Magan’s Bay at 1:30. A beach here in St. Thomas. Deanna and I got on a taxi to meet them. Deanna read somewhere that it was one of the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world. As long as it has snorkeling or waves, I’m in…and I knew this one didn’t have snorkeling.
Our taxi pulled up and there was a long beach, full of people, with the calmest water I’ve seen in a long time. Lake Michigan has bigger waves. We got to the beach, started walking to one end to see if we saw Jen, Larrance, and company. As we turned to head the other way we got a full view of the sheer numbers and set up camp where we were. I got bored pretty quick, much to Deanna’s chagrin, but just tried to relax. Huge clouds kept randomly blocking and unblocking the sun…complete with random rain. After a couple hours we headed to a taxi and went back to the ship.
Later that night we saw Jane’s show. She was riffing and throwing in stuff she doesn’t normally say. I was glad we caught it. From there we got a little food, came back to the room to watch the rest of Bourne Supremacy on TNT and call it a night. Goodnight everyone!
…but then. I couldn’t sleep. I was playing Risk on my iTouch in the dark when I noticed the constant dull hiss of our AC went silent. A couple of seconds later Deanna said “there’s no power in our room. The alarm clock is off.” I quickly got up to get dressed. Deanna said “Why are you getting dressed?” To which I replied, “To see if the emergency lights are on in the…” BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.
If you’ve been on a cruise ship you know this is a bad thing to hear. This is the “something is up and everyone on the ship should get your life vests and go to that place you gathered on day one, remember?”
We finished getting dressed and grabbed our safety cards (‘cause we’re crew). I also grabbed my wallet, iTouch, and a couple granola bars. The seven short and one long beep kept repeating. As we got out of our door Brett popped his head out and saw us with our safety cards and said something along the lines of “is this happening?” Looking down the hall it was not a calm row of passengers making there way to their safety stations with their life vests on. It was a long hall of heads popping out of doors, perplexed. I think I saw one door open with vested people on the move.
Deanna and I went down the stairs. Another group of three people making the decent…below sounded like mild/minor chaos. When we got to about deck 8 people were a little more panicky. The alarm was still sounding, but at least it wasn’t a solid tone (that means abandon ship). I think I was calm until I saw a few crew members with the look of “is this happening?” before shaking out of it and heading to their stations. On deck 7 our stairs are right by the Bliss bar…that is where the chaos sounds were coming from. Drunk people not knowing what to do. I heard some saying “we need to go back to our rooms for life jackets!” (which you’re not supposed to do if you’re not in your room).
We made it to the photo area when the captain came on. Everything was okay…okay enough to be told you don’t need to go to your station with a life jacket. We started heading back. And now, we put the pieces together.
The captain said in one announcement that something caused one of the engines to stop, thus putting the load of two engines on the one remaining engine. It couldn’t take the load so it shut off…causing the blackout. Once emergency power kicked in the alarm was automated. It will always go off when the power blacks out…even if the ship is in dry dock and in zero danger of sinking.
We get up to our room and Brett and Mike hadn’t left yet. Brett was watching the front-of-boat channel and said he saw a flash just before the power went out. Lightning. The captain confirmed it a few minutes later as he said we should go back to sleep or to whatever we were doing, or to the bar.
Mike said “thanks for checking on us.” Deanna replied, “we checked on Brett.” Brett rebutted, “you didn’t check on me, I opened my door and you said something to me.”
Deanna then said I was like Costanza trying to get out of a birthday party with an oven fire. (knocking old women and children out of my way)
Jane L. Powell and J.J. are back on the ship. We had a nice chat with them last night that went for about 2 hours. They are great.
Now. Technically it is just after midnight on 1/08/09 as I write this. Something out of the ordinary happened…but I’m saving it for last. Just keep reading.
Today was our first non-sea day of the cruise. Jen said they were going to Magan’s Bay at 1:30. A beach here in St. Thomas. Deanna and I got on a taxi to meet them. Deanna read somewhere that it was one of the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world. As long as it has snorkeling or waves, I’m in…and I knew this one didn’t have snorkeling.
Our taxi pulled up and there was a long beach, full of people, with the calmest water I’ve seen in a long time. Lake Michigan has bigger waves. We got to the beach, started walking to one end to see if we saw Jen, Larrance, and company. As we turned to head the other way we got a full view of the sheer numbers and set up camp where we were. I got bored pretty quick, much to Deanna’s chagrin, but just tried to relax. Huge clouds kept randomly blocking and unblocking the sun…complete with random rain. After a couple hours we headed to a taxi and went back to the ship.
Later that night we saw Jane’s show. She was riffing and throwing in stuff she doesn’t normally say. I was glad we caught it. From there we got a little food, came back to the room to watch the rest of Bourne Supremacy on TNT and call it a night. Goodnight everyone!
…but then. I couldn’t sleep. I was playing Risk on my iTouch in the dark when I noticed the constant dull hiss of our AC went silent. A couple of seconds later Deanna said “there’s no power in our room. The alarm clock is off.” I quickly got up to get dressed. Deanna said “Why are you getting dressed?” To which I replied, “To see if the emergency lights are on in the…” BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.
If you’ve been on a cruise ship you know this is a bad thing to hear. This is the “something is up and everyone on the ship should get your life vests and go to that place you gathered on day one, remember?”
We finished getting dressed and grabbed our safety cards (‘cause we’re crew). I also grabbed my wallet, iTouch, and a couple granola bars. The seven short and one long beep kept repeating. As we got out of our door Brett popped his head out and saw us with our safety cards and said something along the lines of “is this happening?” Looking down the hall it was not a calm row of passengers making there way to their safety stations with their life vests on. It was a long hall of heads popping out of doors, perplexed. I think I saw one door open with vested people on the move.
Deanna and I went down the stairs. Another group of three people making the decent…below sounded like mild/minor chaos. When we got to about deck 8 people were a little more panicky. The alarm was still sounding, but at least it wasn’t a solid tone (that means abandon ship). I think I was calm until I saw a few crew members with the look of “is this happening?” before shaking out of it and heading to their stations. On deck 7 our stairs are right by the Bliss bar…that is where the chaos sounds were coming from. Drunk people not knowing what to do. I heard some saying “we need to go back to our rooms for life jackets!” (which you’re not supposed to do if you’re not in your room).
We made it to the photo area when the captain came on. Everything was okay…okay enough to be told you don’t need to go to your station with a life jacket. We started heading back. And now, we put the pieces together.
The captain said in one announcement that something caused one of the engines to stop, thus putting the load of two engines on the one remaining engine. It couldn’t take the load so it shut off…causing the blackout. Once emergency power kicked in the alarm was automated. It will always go off when the power blacks out…even if the ship is in dry dock and in zero danger of sinking.
We get up to our room and Brett and Mike hadn’t left yet. Brett was watching the front-of-boat channel and said he saw a flash just before the power went out. Lightning. The captain confirmed it a few minutes later as he said we should go back to sleep or to whatever we were doing, or to the bar.
Mike said “thanks for checking on us.” Deanna replied, “we checked on Brett.” Brett rebutted, “you didn’t check on me, I opened my door and you said something to me.”
Deanna then said I was like Costanza trying to get out of a birthday party with an oven fire. (knocking old women and children out of my way)
Sunday, January 04, 2009
1/4/09: Day 71: New York
Back to back days in New York! On the way to breakfast I saw a couple ladies getting ready to leave the ship who said “You’re the guy from Second City!” and went on to say our show was the highlight of their cruise and other nice things. I guess we run into passengers on one-days after all.
The first day of this cruise felt a little more relaxed. Maybe because it isn’t families traveling on holidays, or maybe because there are ten days instead of seven. But the buffet wasn’t crowded to maximum capacity. Less arguments in the halls. Although we did have a nice overhear as we were eating lunch in La Cucina.
Mom to 10 year-old Daughter: Oh! That is enough dessert! You don’t have to take a dessert every time you walk by them!
Daughter, smiling, with a brownie and some cookies on a plate: I’ll just eat the brownie then.
M: I’m not going to clean it up when you puke.
Families!
The first day of this cruise felt a little more relaxed. Maybe because it isn’t families traveling on holidays, or maybe because there are ten days instead of seven. But the buffet wasn’t crowded to maximum capacity. Less arguments in the halls. Although we did have a nice overhear as we were eating lunch in La Cucina.
Mom to 10 year-old Daughter: Oh! That is enough dessert! You don’t have to take a dessert every time you walk by them!
Daughter, smiling, with a brownie and some cookies on a plate: I’ll just eat the brownie then.
M: I’m not going to clean it up when you puke.
Families!
Saturday, January 03, 2009
1/3/09: Day 70: New York
Today was a new type of thing for some of us…a one day cruise. Yes, one day. Essentially a mega booze cruise. If you’re on for one night you pack light, dress nice, drink a lot, and gamble. Also, no worries about going to bed early.
We had a show at 11:00pm. Since our normal work schedule is 2 sketch shows and 2 improv shows per cruise we normally feel like we’re getting a sweet deal on the longer cruises. It doesn’t matter how many days are in the cruise, contractually we only do that amount of shows. So, theoretically, we get off easy only doing one show on a one-day cruise. If they really wanted to they could have us performing all day long doing our 4 shows. Luckily they don’t.
I was curious how the house would be. Would they come to see it? Would they stay out and party or gamble instead? Answer, they came to see it. Packed house. And they were loving it. There was one guy with a distinct and high-pitched laugh who started kicking into gear during our improv game Take That Back…which carried over into Deanna’s Honesty Song and really hit “uncontrollable” during Mike’s It Was Your Fault song. Mike and Larrance worked so well together on the song to take small breaks in between to riff on the guy.
Since New York is normally the day we go to town, come back, I do laundry, eat, and be drowsy, it felt weird to do all of that and then tack a show on, but we did it. Part of the weirdness was that we never really saw any of the passengers, and we never really would because they would all be gone the next day.
We only have one more of these one-day cruises in about 20 days. They help reset us after 20 days so that we leave on a Sunday and not a Saturday.
We had a show at 11:00pm. Since our normal work schedule is 2 sketch shows and 2 improv shows per cruise we normally feel like we’re getting a sweet deal on the longer cruises. It doesn’t matter how many days are in the cruise, contractually we only do that amount of shows. So, theoretically, we get off easy only doing one show on a one-day cruise. If they really wanted to they could have us performing all day long doing our 4 shows. Luckily they don’t.
I was curious how the house would be. Would they come to see it? Would they stay out and party or gamble instead? Answer, they came to see it. Packed house. And they were loving it. There was one guy with a distinct and high-pitched laugh who started kicking into gear during our improv game Take That Back…which carried over into Deanna’s Honesty Song and really hit “uncontrollable” during Mike’s It Was Your Fault song. Mike and Larrance worked so well together on the song to take small breaks in between to riff on the guy.
Since New York is normally the day we go to town, come back, I do laundry, eat, and be drowsy, it felt weird to do all of that and then tack a show on, but we did it. Part of the weirdness was that we never really saw any of the passengers, and we never really would because they would all be gone the next day.
We only have one more of these one-day cruises in about 20 days. They help reset us after 20 days so that we leave on a Sunday and not a Saturday.
Friday, January 02, 2009
1/2/09: Day 69: Sea Day
Today Deanna and I were the two people leading the Second City improv workshop. Normally at these things we get between 10-40 people. Last week we had over 100, this week we had 111. Crazy.
There was a little blonde girl with full-on braids named Lexi who we had talked to earlier in the cruise after our improv show. She was there in the front row. We were doing an activity where everyone needed a partner. People were slowly trickling in through out the workshop. One guy wandered in during the first pairs activity and I saw a woman who had no partner and asked him to go partner with him. Lexi said “No! He’s married!” I told her it was okay. “HE’S MY UNCLE!” I again assured her that he could still remain married, but it was a funny little panic moment.
There was a little blonde girl with full-on braids named Lexi who we had talked to earlier in the cruise after our improv show. She was there in the front row. We were doing an activity where everyone needed a partner. People were slowly trickling in through out the workshop. One guy wandered in during the first pairs activity and I saw a woman who had no partner and asked him to go partner with him. Lexi said “No! He’s married!” I told her it was okay. “HE’S MY UNCLE!” I again assured her that he could still remain married, but it was a funny little panic moment.
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