I AM A GRANDPA!!!

Just a quick note to everyone to say Adobe had her puppies!!! I know most of you are thinking "Adobe was pregnant?" well ya she was...lol... and get this: 10 puppies!!!! 8 girls, 2 boys, and aparantly she is doing so well and they are healthy.... i want to see the puppies!!!! Hill, send some pics asap so i can upload them!!! I want pics of Peach with the puppies ok?

Now other news quickly... I have to meet Grit at her Salon in 10 min so we can go for food. I cant remember if i mentioned on here yet or not, but my next ship is NOT Italy. May 8th, when the ship is sold, I come back to Vancouver and have one month off, and then I am continuing on with a new contract and hopping onto the Diamond Princess. Its a Grand Class ship (look at www.princess.com and take a look at it...its so amazing!) and its based out of Vancouver (ironic eh?) and making 2 week cruises to and from Alaska... then in September we go down to the Mexican Riviera. Ah, the ship life :) I just hope Grit can make it to the same ship... being a Steiner (thats the name of the company she works for... hard to explain) its difficult to request a ship. So far our hopes aren't too high, but the universe knows what to do and will make the best for both of us. Szymon, Anna, Will, and maybe even Joel might be heading to Alaska as well, so thats nice. May-August is peak season for the Alaska cruises, and something like 12 out of the 20 ships are there so chances of seeing everyone is pretty good. Not to mention the fact that everytime we stop, there is at least one other ship there, so we can probably visit for a few hours each time if anything.... here's hoping!

ok, more talk later...someone say hi if they can ok? I like getting a few emails every now and then even if its just a hello :)

ciao!

Life Moves Funny Sometimes...

I dont even know where to start....um...I am in the Singapore terminal again...eating my cheesy wedges and having a nice cold pint o' Tiger.... I just finished talking to Graham on msn (HEY DUDE!) and after I am done here I am going back onto the ship. Lets see....this morning 8am I was in the Captains Lounge with him, the staff captain, the PSD, and two Singapore officials.... sounds like I murdered someone right? The highest ranks on the ship, two Singapore officials, and ONLY me....I managed to fend them off with my camera... but seriously, all I had to do was photograph them all holding up an envelope saying "We donated $3600 to some place in Singapore".....then Grit, Julia and I grabbed our shite and hitched a taxi to the beach....where the sand looks like bread crumbs and the water tastes like....well....Salt mixed with a tad of Hep A and B....and I swam in it.....so beautiful.......until Grit tossed a handful of sand down the back of my shorts.........and lets just say when I caught her, I learned a few new German words.... After that we came back to the terminal...they had to work and I had to catch a bus to chinatown to meet Szymon...

A word of advice....

in Singapore, Chinatown is just....TOWN...... when a friend says "hey, take the 143 bus to chinatown and i will meet you at the stop between 2:30 and 2:45...." ......get more info.....

So, i walked around, found an american, asked him if he knew where szymon was.... and after laughing by myself, i hit up Burger King (yay), and cabbed it back to the terminal....and this is where I am now...

ok so as far as last week goes.... and the week before (wow i REALLY didnt update this recently lol)... we just did the Mallaca, Port Kelang, Phuket, Port Penang run... in Phuket I was IPM (couldnt get off ship...god dammit).... but we were anchored 1km off shore..and when the big tsunami came a few years ago, we were anchored right in the path it took. Buildings are still blocked off, and even before I knew where we were, I woke up to this certain.....void feeling..... like something was just not right... one side of the ship was land, the other was sea.... and when you look out.....you can just imagine it happening. We were all celebrating Christmas when it happened......and Boxing day over here....and ....you can just see it coming........its just...... its a real mindfuck.... there....first swear on my blog, but there ya go... +100,000 people died that day, and some of them right here....tourists.... like me....10am, ......and the scary thing was, Grit and I were eating out on the back deck when I was explaining (or trying....) this to her....and it was 10:30am....close enough to shake you up.

Do me a favor... if you can, search and find "tsunami sound file" on google.. somewhere out there, there is a recording of the earth splitting open under the sea.....turn all the lights off, turn it up as loud as you can, and just sit there... thats all that went through my mind as Grit and I stood at the railing looking out into the sea in Phuket. Thats all I could think.

......deep breathe.....back to writing updates now: We are doing Laem Chabang this cruise again (BANGGGGGGGGGGGGG-KOK!) and guess what....

my next door neighbor in Calgary...Ray...good buddy from a mutual ...friend...

He and his girl went backpacking to India last November (driven to the airport by yours truly) and this week...they are in Bangkok.....and I am going to meet them.....how crazy is that?! "oh hey guys, have fun on the other side of the planet...oh and by the way....4 months from now, are you free for a cold one in Bangkok? Great! I will pencil you in!"

Life moves funny sometimes....

Like sitting on the beach today and hearing "Sakura, raise the flag.....no no no, the orange one".....signs from past lives....still haunting me...

that last sentence was for me. Dont expect to understand it. Nothing wrong with writing for JUST ME sometimes.

Life moves funny sometimes......

See you all in the next cartoon.

And yet some more photos! LOL

Watching the Elephant show in Pataya.

How Cute is that?!

Ben the Videographer and myself taking a pic with the Elephants... We are so cool! lol

How is that for a one in a million shot?! One of the coolest moments in my life...

I took them home in my camera bag... they live with me now. And I am not giving them back. Simple as that.

More photos!

This guy was just laughing in Singapore for no reason....then when I told him to smile...he stopped. Go Figure.

A Beggar man outside a temple in Port Penang.

A Traditional Thai Show in Pataya, Thailand. Go Elephants Go!!

Grit, Myself, and Julia (Grit's new GERMAN cabinmate). They are just coming back from a day out in Singapore, and I was taking the embark photos. Thank God for Self-Timer :) . Grit is a lot happier with Julia around, she isn't as homesick anymore with a fellow German-speaking female aboard.

My Aussie friends that I mentioned in an earlier post... you guys are amazing!

Singa-Dinga-Dong, my new best friends are gone...

Ok...back in Singapore again...but this time I finally got a chance to get off for the day. I did my morning gallery shift from 7am-10am, and then grabbed Grit and left for downtown in a taxi for a few hours...we got kinda lost...

kinda..

we found a riverside cafe and had some Thai food (aw god yes), and then had to run back to the ship so she could work.... we got back on time (2:45pm) but i still have til 7:30pm tonight off so i am walking around in the terminal (which is actually a giant !$!%^! shopping complex) and i stumbled upon this internet cafe...

I haven't much to write about....all I can think of really are my new friends that just left today. There was a group of 4 passengers from Australia (my age) and they have been on the ship for 2 cruises (14days)...through those 14 days, we grew to be best friends. Everytime i had a camera in my hand they would come and pose for me, everytime i walked by them they would run up to me and give me hugs and high fives....and then island night this last cruise I finally had a chance to go have a few drinks with them and party. We danced in island shirts and leis and hula skirts (and Kat, my favorite chicky of the bunch, even had a REAL coconut bra)....and we danced on the open deck all night....they even gave me a nickname: Mugshot Mike. And then the song came. And we danced.

"Hey Mikey, you're so fine, you take our pictures all the time, hey Mikey! Mugshot Mikey!"

And then last night as I was finishing my shift they all came up to me and handed me a photo. A photo Szymon had taken of the 4 of them with myself. They paid for the photo a few days before, and signed the back of it with emails and song lyrics and 'photograph my wedding, Mugshot!"...I was ....I dont know... I was in shock, i guess that was what I was. I just ...even now i cant think of what i was...my mind goes blank... i dont even know what i feel, although i know it has to be positive...its almost a blissful love feeling...but more shock than i have ever felt...sorta like .... ok, if you are really upset...to the point of hating the world, and then you see one thing, or hear one thing and in one instant....click.....the world just flips over and begs you to rub its belly...and you just sit there....and even though for me i wasnt really in a horrible mood to begin with at all.....that gesture just made it all a whole lot better. It was a "hey mike....you really ARE doing a good job on this planet...." Dont tell anyone but it actually brought a tear to my eye. If i thought of it i would have uploaded the photo of them today...but all in good time.

Kat, Chris, Amelia, Jaiya (sorry dude, i dont know how to spell your name)....in 14 days, you made my entire life. I truly mean that. And I know you will be reading this at some point, probably in the next few weeks...and i couldnt be happier for that.

Guys? *raises glass to the aussies* Cheers.

IMD March 8th

Just a quick note before I head back to work. I just wanted to wish all the women in my life (past, and present) a very Happy International Women's Day. I don't know much about this day, but I found a site http://www.internationalwomensday.com that looks to have all the information anyone would need. If I had the money and arms over 30,000km long I would hand you each a rose but for now only Anna, Alison, and Grit get that privelage. ;)

Mom, Hill, Kaia, Anne, Heather, Kelly, Dana, Amber, Bev, Angel+Adobe (yes, i'm including female dogs too), Mary (mom's cat...what the hell, eh?) and all the others that I am sure I would have mentioned provided I wasnt being tapped on the shoulder every 20 seconds by someone who wants to use the internet....you all mean so much to me and I think about you more than you really ever will know.

Namaste,

M

Some random photos Part 3

A beggar woman in Bangkok. I gave her 2 dollars US to take her photo, and when I left she started crying. When I passed her again, we all gave her 20 total. Bless her.

When we set up Formal Nights, we know it can get a little crazy. This is how we look BEFORE we start...imagine AFTER!! sheesh!

This breaks my heart every time I see this.

This is me in Melaka, Malaysia on a Trishaw...so colorful.

Markets in Bangkok. I got a pair of Billabong shorts for 2US dollars....thank god they are made in Thailand lol.

Some photos in random order Part 2

This is my dishwasher buddy that I talk about. He is like this every time I see him. He makes so little money and still he smiles. Living proof that there are angels among us.

You can probably tell this photo was the same night as the elephant photo...it just makes me giggle. I wish canada had buns like that.

This is the Natural Bridge in Albany, Australia. this thing is easily one of my personal 7 wonders of the world.

This gives you an idea of how big the natural bridge is.

At the beginning of each cruise we shoot new passengers in front of a background showing the Pacific Sky. This is what we do when there aren't passengers to photograph...

Some photos in random order Part 1

Me in bangkok with my new friend...talk about Braving the Elephants!

Me and Matt in the crewbar. He might be sent to Venice with me as well...lets hope we go!

This is Grit and myself in the crewbar...photographing 6 hours on a formal night deserves a drink or two...

Hello world, I'm in Singapore!!

I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, deedleedee... relaxing at the Singapore Marina with a coconut and Szymon behind the camera

Update to the terror

I'm alive. All is well. No pirates while I slept, however we did stay in the same spot, anchored in the middle of the Mallacca Strait for over 36 hours... we just started moving 2 hours ago, and still nothing is fixed. we are working off one propeller and basically HOBBLING into the closest port, Port Kelang (Kuala Lumpur)...should be there around 6pm, its 2pm right now...

Today was supposed to be a day off too...dammit I was going out to see sites and all that, but now I had to work in the gallery...oh well...still not an office job, so can't complain. Plus, I just saw Szymon and Anna's photos of the Singapore Zoo....and I am totally jealous and therefore going there myself or with Grit next week. The Orangutans walk all over you and cuddle you and you can pet Tigers and ride elephants!! Tell me thats not the best place in the world!!!!!! YOU CAN PLAY WITH MONKEYS!!!!!!

Till then, my friends!

M

Serious Trouble...

Ok, first of all this isn't a joke. Last night at around 4am I was in the crewbar (i was drinking Solo...lemonade) and I was having a chat with Ben (Officer on the Bridge...very important guy). We were all up so late because today was supposed to be a very slack day for most of us: arrive in Mallaca, Malaysia at 8am, take a tender to shore and hang out at the beach or take a trishaw again to see sights, then back on the ship for work at 3pm...this didnt happen and I will tell you why.

As Ben and I were talking, an engineer ran up and pulled Ben aside. When he came back, Ben looked grim.

Mike: "whats up?"
Ben: "Our engine is dead. we aren't moving. its very serious."
Mike: "wow, now that you mention it, I dont feel the ship rocking. we ARE stopped. So when will it be fixed?"
Ben: "maybe never. we could be dry-docked and sent home."

Apparantly the bearings in the only engine we have are messed up. we have one propeller working on a cruise ship with 1700 people aboard. Now, i dont know if its still that serious, but that was 4am, and it is now 2pm and we are still in the same spot as we were then (somewhere in the middle of the Mallaca Strait, which unfortunately has the largest population of pirates in the entire world). Last night, Ian and I wandered the top decks and watched the spotlights pacing frantically around the ship. Its very eerie when you are miles from land, and the water is almost completely still. The best way to describe it would be something similar to the movie "The Princess Bride" where Buttercup jumps into the water with the shrieking eels....the water was that still, and out here its very eerie.

I will keep you all posted as soon as I find out anything, but for now we are safe, and from what I am hearing on passenger decks, the captain says we wont be here much longer. That means absolutely nothing though, so I will find out more. If we dry-dock, we will either stay until its fixed provided its a quickie, or maybe even be trans-shipped or sent home. I pray the White Lady gets a speedy recovery. She is far too amazing to have something like this happen to her.

Ok, its formal night tonight so i gotta go grab my tux from the drycleaners and get ready to set up...

That must just suck for all the passengers that just came onto the ship yesterday only to have the ship break down that very same night. They get well compensated for it but still...

In any case, I am happy doing what I am doing, and its all just one big adventure. This may be a career for me. I could very well be a "Lifer".

OH! Good news before I go (i just remembered it lol). Last night Joel told me what ships I could be on after we leave this ship in May. I could either be going to one of the high end ships in Alaska (I will be home every week for a few hours lol), or.....get this....are you ready?.....

The Crown Princess, one of the two highest end luxury ships in the entire fleet....its brand new and needs people to set it up, so for 6 weeks it is dry docked (out of water), no passengers, all I would do is set up the gallery and basically unpack stuff (God...i hate moving lol)...so it would be hard work but no passengers and its dry docked so I can leave the ship every night and do whatever.... now comes the best part....

Mike, where is it docked?

6 weeks. Venice, Italy.

Close your mouth. :)

Where am I?

Ok...um...I was in Bangkok the other day, and Singapore a few days before that, then today I was in Malaysia, and then tomorrow I am in Singapore again.....I think the captain is lost.

I am just writing quickly before heading down to the cinema (Broken Flowers is playing, gotta see it), and although I really have nothing to say that would excite you.....I am sure I can make up something.

.....nah, I cant.....brain no workie. Things are going good, we were in Kuantan today, but I didnt get a chance to see it because I was shooting Gangway (people coming off the ship to go and play). I finished at noon and worked at 3 again and we set sail at...4 or 5...but for that 3 hours that I had off in the between time, Szymon, Anna and myself took the 40 minute free bus ride into Kuantan, I bought an English/German dictionary (Hey, why not...Grit is helping too lol), and then literally 10 min after I left the bus I got back on. Oh first I stopped into 7-11. Just because I could. In Singapore there is a traditional tea called Tarek Tea, and here in Asia they have "Pepsi Tarek" lol. Its actually kinda good. Mix redrose tea aftertaste with Pepsi....it sounds gross but damn, just try it lol

Ok movie time, I gotta run. I will probably jump off the ship tomorrow in Singapore to write more to you all, but I can't go and see the city again til next week because I have to shoot Embarkation photos (the new people coming on tomorrow)...My third Cruise is almost finished!

Ciao!