Random picture post

Blair (saxophone) and I backstage. Why am I so

shiny? I have no idea.

Tony (trumpet) and I. Also backstage. Apparently

I couldn't find anyone to take a pic so these first 2

are of the "extended-arm-face-camera-backwards"

variety.

Majesty docked in Nassau. This view is from

the stern where the crew hang is (back deck).

Atlantis Hotel located across the port

of Nassau. I'm really looking forward to taking

a water taxi over there soon. I heard they

have high ceilings.

If I could figure out how to do a background

photo for this blog, this would be it. Also, if I could

photoshop Ben Affleck out and insert me, that would

be great. This is often my back deck pose (or at least how

I picture myself): staring at the ocean and trying

to figure some things out.

It finally happened (and in a BIG way)

Well, I finally hit my head on the ceiling on the ship. Only, I didn't just hit my head. I've done that before. I do that occasionally at 6'9" tall. This time, I CRUSHED my head. I've been waiting for this for a while. I'm actually surprised that it didn't happen earlier. I think the ship has 7' ceilings. I fit standing straight up without a problem almost anywhere. I do have to watch out for water sprayers (for fire) that stick down from the ceiling. Also, I need to watch out going through doorways. This was my downfall. I was stepping through a doorway on my way to lunch this afternoon and I came up from my duck too quickly SMASHING my head at full speed. It's amazing how hard you can hit your head, how fast you can get going just by walking. I'm fine (calm down, Mom). More embarrassed than anything, really.

This week's 4 day cruise included some extra passengers. 2 sign language interpreters were cruising and  assisting some people onboard. I really like sign language. I wish I knew more sign. Especially because I took some classes in college and most of that didn't make the download to the permanent memory on my internal hard drive. Anyway, I always relish the opportunity to see this language "spoken." Watching a sign language interpreter makes speeches and group trainings more interesting. I have never seen someone signing music lyrics, though. That was a new one on me. Usually, signers are a few words/phrases behind, which definitely was happening during some of the songs. However, during the songs that the interpreters knew, it was neat to see them signing right on time with the lyrics instead of listening and translating. Very cool.

Something very rare happened to me in Key West yesterday. I went in a shoe store and found something in my size. I bought myself some "shandals" on the spot. Ventilated and lightweight like a sandal, but, protection of a shoe. Next up, buying myself a helmet I can wear around the ship.

"I lent voice to thought and that was my mistake"

(The title of this post has nothing to do with the rest of it. It's just a quote from The West Wing that made me laugh out loud while watching DVDs this week)

This past weekend there was a large music festival located right next to the port. I think it was called Ultra Music Fest. Anyway, there were over 250,000 people in town for the festival. On one hand, that's cool that people come out to support live music. On the other hand, traffic was crazy busy by the port making it a long shuttle ride to downtown. Trust me, after having ridden the shuttle now several times, it's important to know that you want these rides to be as short as possible. Not only was this the longest shuttle trip so far, but, there was a guy literally sitting on my lap the entire time. One thing's for sure, that many people in one place makes me appreciate the solitude of ship life a little bit.

We also said goodbye to one of the singers in the cast this past week. She was transferred to another ship for some reason (I'm not sure why) and was replaced by another singer who signed on earlier in the week. There have been lots of rehearsals for the cast without the orchestra to accommodate the new performer. After the last show for the original cast member, Rechell, there were lots of tears in the cast. I didn't know Rechell that well, so, not such a big deal to me. I guess this happens all the times on ships. People coming and going quite frequently.

Spent my first day on the beach at Coco Cay this week. It's a really nice island. Different than our other ports, we actually don't dock on shore. We anchor a ways away and take small tender ships to the island. It's kinda fun to ride on the tender ship because you get a look at the Majesty from the outside looking in without land around. Also, I've noticed that most ports have a "construction" type feel to them. There are lots of cranes, scrap metal, concrete and other such things all around. Without a dock on Coco Cay it's pretty much just uninterrupted beach. Much more natural than a port that can accommodate cruise ships. Took a long walk on the beach and cleared my head. Tried to get some sun. Not sure that everyone there was prepared for my midwest lack'o'tan, but, what can I say. I gotta be me. Some pics below...

Tender docking area. Majesty in background.

Good snorkeling here at CoCo Cay, so I hear.

Long walk on the beach did me some good.

I heard there's a nature trail on the island somewhere. Gonna

try and find it next time.

Had an invite to play Euchre recently. The last time I played was over New Years Eve in Detroit. I was up visiting some friends for the holiday and we played. It's amazing how games of Euchre just seem to begin spontaneously in the Detroit area. I remember playing all the time in college. It just seemed as if everyone knew how to play. I had to teach Tony how to play and that felt weird. Can't remember the last time I taught someone to play Euchre. After 5 minutes he was an expert. Not because of the teacher, but, because of the simplicity of the game.

Walking in Nassau

I finally brought my camera with me when walking around Nassau yesterday. It was a beautiful day. High 70's with a nice cooling breeze. The water is REALLY clean and bright blue here.

I realized that this was my first step on foreign soil in a long time. In fact, it was my first time out of the USA except for going to Canada for a few snowboarding trips. So, naturally, after Tony and I left the ship our first stop was Subway (!!). He was hungry. I had already eaten. Apparently, you can get a $5 footlong anywhere. 

We cruised around some of the shopping areas and took a walk to check out the beach. I even managed to get IN one of the pictures (how's that for thinking ahead?). Things I have planned for Nassau in the future: parasailing, kayak rental and buying a drink served in a coconut. 

Pictures as promised:

Ted likes police. Interesting uniforms!

I'm always amazed at the size of the cruise ships.

I'm really not this fat, the shirt is too big and the wind is blowing (at least

that's what I'm telling myself).

Ahh....American culture!

You can't just get away from this stuff!

The statute of limitations on the coolness of the trombone

We do 2 different production shows onboard the Majesty. On our 4 day cruise, the guests have the opportunity to see both shows. During the production show, I'm located with the rest of the orchestra in front of the stage to the right behind plastic sound barriers. When we play the show and I'm facing the performers much like the audience is. I sit closest to the plastic sound guard and am often times sitting right next to guests. 

This past week Tuesday at the first of our shows, I was playing and got the feeling that someone was staring at me. During some rests I looked over to my left and saw a young girl about 6 looking right at me. She gave me a big smile and a "thumbs up" gesture. I returned both and went back to playing. After the show, she approached the pit orchestra area with her Mom and 2 younger sisters. After I met Mya and her family, she explained that she really liked the music and the way the trombone sounds. I played a little tune for her and she loved it. They live in Tampa, but, are originally from Russia.

Later in the cruise, on Thursday, we were doing our "farewell" show. We perform the second of our two production shows and the crew from the ship says goodbye to the passengers. After the show, Mya and family came up to say goodbye. I asked Mya what her favorite part of her vacation was and she said, "The shows." I said that was great and that I was pretty sure that the singers and dancers were over by the door if she wanted to meet them. She immediately took off for the door dragging her Mom by the hand behind her.

Go figure. Trombone is only cool for a short time. I can relate to that.

Mixolydian Flat 6 Hungarian Goulash Scale…with peanut butter

We were in Key West yesterday. Every time we come back to the US from the Bahamas we have to clear US Immigration. This means that everyone on the ship must have their passports checked individually by the Border Patrol and Coast Guard. Of course, all the guests go first followed by the crew. This process usually keeps all the crew onboard until around 11:30 am or so after which we are free to go ashore and hang. 

Since I already went through immigration last week, I spent the morning in training and then practicing for the early part of the afternoon. Working on getting less diatonic in my playing and incorporating patterns using the ascending melodic minor scale. This scale has many names and my roommate and I were discussing all the different terminology that people have for different types of harmony. Years ago his professor at Manhattan School of Music was sounding off about how people get caught up in terminology when they just need to play. "I don't care if you're playing the Mixolydian Flat 6 Hungarian Goulash Scale…just play music."

I spent the afternoon yesterday off the ship. Key West is a favorite port for the crew of the Majesty. Lots of shopping, bars, food and sight seeing available. Having never been in Key West before, I enlisted the help of the saxophone and trumpet players (Blair and Tony, respectively) onboard to show me around. Prior to joining Majesty of the Seas, Tony was on tour with the Broadway show, "Spamalot" and they had made a tour stop in Key West about 3 weeks ago (about 2 weeks prior to his joining the ship), so, he was a decent tour guide around the tourist areas of town. Blair has been on the Majesty for almost 3 months and was our main guide. 

Every Thursday when the ship docks in Key West, Blair does a 9.5 mile run around the island called the "Blair-a-thon." Afterwards, all three of us decided to go out to an early dinner at one of Blair's favorite spots in town. We were looking for a funky local place within walking distance from the ship. Enter: "Peanut Butter 'n' What?!?" Everything on the menu is made with some sort of peanut butter. Here's what we ordered:

-PB+J Sushi Rolls with peanut butter and chocolate dipping sauce (no fish, just rolled up PB+J sandwiches with the crusts cut off)

-Iguana Tails (sliced jalepeno with peanut butter…awesome…and spicy!)

-Peanut Butter and Bacon Penne Pasta with Chicken

-Peanut Butter Philly Cheesesteak

-Peanut Butter Rice Bowl

-Peanut Butter Chocolate Shake

-Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Sundae

Initially, this did not sound all that appetizing to me, but, I decided to put aside my irrational food fear and try something new. Much to my surprise, my favorite thing on the menu was the penne pasta. Incredibly good flavor and texture. Tony even approved and he's a self-proclaimed pasta snob (he says it's due to being a 1st generation Italian-American). The rice bowl tasted somewhat like Thai food with the peanut sauce and the cheesesteak was satisfyingly large. The peanut butter shake while not as epic as Pizza Bob's in Ann Arbor, was still pretty damn good on a hot day in south Florida. 

Nice people who own the shop, I hope business is good for them. Not really busy, but, we were there in the afternoon (not exactly peak dining hour). I will definitely be back again when we come back to port in Key West. Incidentally, they make their own peanut butter there in 4 varieties. Smokey BBQ, Natural, Sweet and Beer flavored. Check out more info here:

http://www.letseat.at/peanutbutternwhat

Lastly, I experienced something completely new in Key West. We were walking down the Duval Street (busy with shops and people mall walking) and one of the vendors on the street said this to me:

"Deep sea fishing with strippers tomorrow?"

No one has ever said those words, in that order, to me before. That was a first!

"3 days is like 3 weeks..."

Completed my first complete week onboard today. While I don't feel like a salty sea veteran, I do feel like I know my way around the ship a little better now. I don't get lost very often anymore. This is quite an accomplishment, I think, because all of the hallways in the crew area look the same. Doors, hallways, stairs…it can be a little overwhelming. But, I now can get around with relative ease. It is interesting how time goes by on the ship. I've only been here a week, but, it feels like I've been onboard for a month. Not a bad thing, necessarily, just interesting to notice.

One of the things I enjoy most about the ship is the diversity of the crew (and passengers, for that matter). The current crew is made up of people from 62 different countries. This makes for pretty interesting conversations on the back deck. Last night, I was sitting at a table with people from the Netherlands, Canada, Italy, and the USA. The subject of national pride came up. The guy from Italy knew a GREAT deal about Italian history. Furthermore, he pointed out how it was very important to him to know his family background. My roommate (also at the table) is 1st generation Italian-American (he actually lives in Ecuador…go figure). He made it clear that it was important for him to know not only his Italian heritage, but, also his American story. For instance, he knows when his parents came to the US, where they lived before and where they moved to, what kind of work they did when they arrived. The question was posed to me about my Polish, French/Irish heritage. It occurred to me that while it is interesting for me to know where my family comes from, it does not define who I am as much as it seemed to for my friends at the table last night. That's not exactly the right verbiage, but, it's close. I guess what I'm saying is that life on the cruise ship has made me feel more like a citizen of the globe than ever before.

Other interesting tidbits from the ship: 

-The ceiling in the guest gym is too low for me to run on the treadmill. The ceiling in the crew gym is also too low. However, in the crew gym, there is an area cut out of the ceiling so I CAN fit. Problem is, it's like having my head in a bubble that's not clear. All I can see is the rounded ceiling tile right in front of my face. It's kind of like running full speed in a closet.

-It's incredible how many people ask me about my height onboard. WAY more often than in the states.

-When asked where I'm from, I now say "The States" instead of Michigan/Indianapolis, etc. Usually I'm talking to someone who has no idea where certain cities are within the US. Takes a little getting used to. For the first day or two, I was answering that question with "Indianapolis" or "Michigan originally" and I got a lot of smiles and nods. People don't know where that is, they know that I don't get that they don't know, but, they are nice enough not to point it out.

-Onboard pools are filled with salt water. Would've been nice to have that information before I hopped in for life raft training the other day.

First time for everything

Well, I've never done any kind of blog before, but, I figured this would be a good way to keep in touch with anyone who is interested in what I'm up to down here in the Caribbean. In short summary: I've taken at 6 month contract as a musician on the Majesty of the Seas, one of the smaller ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet. We do 4 and 3 day cruises to the Bahamas and back. I've been a professional musician for over 25 years, but, never worked on a cruise ship. In fact, this is my first time ever on a vessel this large. Also, incidentally, my first time out of the US (except for Canada) in my life. Wow...maybe there's more to this "Walkabout" that I originally thought.

Anyway, I've been on the ship for a work week and things are going very well. My days have been fairly busy (by ship musician standards) and I've been getting used to life onboard.

After I got on the plane on Sunday, March 4th, I felt a huge sense of relief. I knew that once I sat down in my seat on the plane, I had finished my responsibilities regarding civilian life for 6 months. My itinerary was now completely in the hands of Royal Caribbean. This was a big relief for me, apparently, because 2 minutes after I sat down in my exit row seat…I was asleep.

Overnight in Miami on Sunday was interesting. Shared a hotel room with another sign on from Honduras. He was preparing for his 3rd ship contract. He did not know what his job would be on the ship, but, he was hoping to get a promotion at some point because he speaks English pretty well. His contract is 10 months and he will be going all over the world as his ship is much bigger than mine. Also, had dinner with my Mom and stepdad Lyman. Really nice of them to come over and see me off.

Monday sign on was interesting. Lots of hurry up and wait. Waited for the bus at the hotel, arrived at the Port of Miami and waited while my luggage was scanned, waited in line to get my passport checked at the gangway, waited for my carry ons to be checked before entering, waited in the training room to sign paperwork, waited for my musical director to show me where my room is…you get the idea! Had a short rehearsal and then played the "welcome show" at 8 pm that evening. That lasted about 45 minutes with me having to play for about 10 total. Nice work if you can get it.

In terms of the rest of my week, my activities consisted of safety/ethics training during the day and playing gigs at night. The training is very standard "new job" stuff. Behavior expectations, harassment seminars, etc. There is also ship specific training. I learned what to do in case of different emergencies, which fire extinguishers to use with certain types of fires, and how to operate lifeboats. I even had to flip over a life raft in the pool by myself. As far as the music goes, we have 2 production shows that we perform with singers and dancers. We also do a "Captain's Party" and a jazz set in one of the bars on the ship. There are many other musicians onboard, which I was surprised by since this is one of the smaller ships in the fleet.

Some pictures from my first week. I'm sure I'll get better ones as I get more time and get off the ship!

Miami from my cabin

Nassau from my cabin

Key West from back deck

Coast Guard at Key West

Pier at Key West

Key West from the room