The Roaming Mind of Norm

Blog-A-riffic!

2007-11-19T11:08:00.000-08:00

Hey all! I just wanted to quickly mention that my new Photography blog is up and running! It will be paired up with my new Photography website (coming VERY soon!), but I thought I would at least throw the link for the blog on here for the time being! I will still be posting here every now and then, I just needed something to throw on some business stuff, sorta like a "News" page....

here's the link to the new blog:

Michael Wachniak Blog-ographer

Rock on, World! Rock on!

M

"Redneck Spacehelmet" Wins By A Landslide!!!

2007-11-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

I cant believe I won!!!

I entered a pumpkin carving contest held by BluDomain last night, in hopes to win one of the 3 Prizes: a free website template for my photography portfolio. These guys' websites are amazing, but a little out of my price range for the moment.... so I JUMPED at the chance to win a free one....

they mentioned that they would announce the winners at midnight last night so I waited, and waited...and WAITED some more.... at 2am they said "winners will be posted at noon tomorrow"

...not impressed....

so I woke up today (11am White Rock time)....RAN to the computer...

....and....

....there was my photo.... I WON!! I was 1 of 3 winners out of over 500 entries!!!

My whole family pounced on me when I ran upstairs, and Grit is so proud that "she was the photographer for the winning photo" lol Thanks babe!!! :)

so stay tuned on http://www.michaelwachniak.com/ in the next few weeks for some REAL BIG changes :)

Best Friend Engaged!

2007-10-05T23:40:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, long time no talk! I was in Calgary last week picking up a car I bought from my best friend Ben, and while I was there I had the privelage of photographing him and his new fiance's engagement session. The day was perfect, the setting was perfect, and it was a real honor to be the one to capture this moment in time. If you told me 14 years ago when Ben and I became friends that I would be shooting this, I'd probably laugh at you and continue to read "How to Become A RockStar". We've both come a long way I suppose.

Photographing people as in love as these guys clearly are, its hard to remember that I am actually working. Aren't you supposed to hate your job? ;)

Congradulations, Ben and Katherine!

My 15 Seconds of Fame - Part 1

2007-08-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

During my time at home after getting off the ships in April, I have been in quite a few shows around the Vancouver area as a background extra. The gigs are pretty sweet, you dont do anything except sit outside in the sun and read or listen to music or chat with everyone, and then run to set - do your 1 hour of work (usually consisting of walking...thats it), and then go home. At the end of the day you are paid usually a hundred bucks or so, and if you are lucky you show up for a few seconds on the shot instead of being thrown to the cutting room floor. Either way though, like I said its really only tiny gigs that I am going for.... I might be able to point out the blur in the background as me , but usually I wont be able to prove it :)

In any case, they are now all finally surfacing on TV, this being the first one. This is a screenshot of a "Psych" episode...funny show...it usually airs Fridays. Its filmed down on the White Rock Pier and the location is supposed to be set in Santa Barbara, California. Go figure :).

Anyhoo... that stud-muffin in the back left wearing a pink shirt (yes pink shirt) is me. Like I said, I play a "blur" on television....at least you can recognize that hot ass as me :) You could tell the walk too if you saw the show.... Apparantly I think my shit dont stink :)

-M-

Tornados, Canada Day, building the deck, and Dinosaur Park

2007-07-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

Happy belated Canada Day! =)

We made it here to Brooks safely! yay! The drive to Calgary was great, just a little rain but it was OK. We met dad at Peter's Drive-In and Grit had her first Peter's Milkshake....damn those are good!

When we finally got to Brooks, there was quite a large storm brewing, and by 11:00pm...everything started to go a little crazy... things started to shake, hail started coming down, winds started blowing, and I started to get a wee little scared....

The next morning Dad heard that the old house we used to live in and the houses surrounding were PUMMELLED by hail to the point of ripping siding off the houses, breaking windows, pulling trees out of the ground, and scaring the hell of a lot of people! There are reports of milions of dollars of damage to the area (as per CTV news) but the biggest thing is how long it is going to take to get contractors to fix everything... yikes!

Moving on...

Canada Day morning, I couldn't make it to Elbow Falls like I have been for the past 4 years (save for last year, being on ships) because I was in Brooks... so I thought I would go out to Dinosaur Park with Grit... she was blown away! She didnt want to leave lol! I got some good pics too! (I have posted some pics below, but most are from Grits camera because my dad's PC cant post RAW files).

I have also been helping my dad build his deck, and we have been having a blast doing it! I dont think it will be done before I leave, but we have done a LOT, and it was so much fun!

Ok, enough for the random post, I'll get the pics up now and hopefully I will think of something cool to write soon!

love ya!

-M-

This is one of the houses damaged from the severe thunderstorm in Brooks, AB July 29th 2007

This is our old house, and one of our trees lying in the middle of the road.

Dinosaur Park on Canada Day!

This is an amazing photo Grit took just as we were leaving Dinosaur Park. You go girl!

Grit relaxing and soaking up the view at Dinosaur Park.

Dad and I....building the deck ;)

The deck is coming along!!

YeeHaaw!! Calgary-bound!

2007-06-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

Well, its almost time to pack for Calgary! Grit's doing her suitcase now, and I will raid the closet shortly after her... we are leaving tomorrow morning at 5am for CowTown!

We were checking prices of flights a week or so ago, and to our demise we were looking at a gruelling $220 bucks each!!! ONE WAY!!!! HELLLL NO!!! So, we sat and thought, and thought and sat, and sat and thought some more.... days went by, and still nothing......Then we thought of something: what if we could catch a ride with someone, even a perfect stranger, and just pay for gas (and pray there were no assrapings that followed!).... but how could we find somone like that? Then it struck us like a ton of bricks....

.....and on the fifth day, God created Craigslist. And it was good.

After only a few hours of posting our ad, we had a lead! and then another! and another!

Hopefully we weeded out all the serial killers... because we leave tomorrow in an unknown Dodge Caravan, with an unknown couple... :)

its not that we couldnt afford the flights, we just cant justify spending all that money when we could get there cheaper AND with a slightly better adventure in the meantime!

Now Grit can see the mountains, and hell, maybe there will be enough adventures this vacation to light a spark under my ass to write some more on my blog LOL

We are getting picked up by my dad tomorrow night in calgary, and heading straight to brooks until the 6th, and then we are coming up to calgary for the stampede July 6th - July 13th, and then heading to my 10 year high school reunion.... UGH!

The stampede is gonna rock, and I am glad that I have a few photo gigs to do while I am in Calgary!

I will keep everyone posted, and I hope to see or hear from some of you guys while I am there!

talk soon!

YEE HAAAW!!!

-M-

Shhhh, its a secret...

2007-06-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

Hey all! How goes the battle?

I've been working on the 'photo-business' over the past while... finding clients for weddings, portraits, pet photography..etc. and I have also been assisting this amazing photographer in Vancouver. I have become great friends with him (please dont insert Brokeback Mountain theme here...'why cant i quit you?!!!! ' lol) he has taught me a great deal and has actually sent a few jobs my way so that is great. I have also been doing some movie work (background extras) just to kill time... I have been on an episode of "Psych", "PainkillerJane" and "Kyle XY" since I have been back home... I was called out today for "Stargate: Atlantis" but sadly...didnt have the car lol... oh well.

I have also been reading "The Secret" ....for those of you who don't know what this book/film/phenomenon is, I'll explain: You (yes you) actually create your life. If you want a million bucks, you feel it, and you get a million bucks. If you want love, you imagine it, and you get Love.

Essentially: You think...therefore you are.

what a powerful book... almost too powerful actually, it has scared me on more than a few occasions now.

Just to prove a point, I am going to write down something here today and you will see how quickly it materializes into my life... the last few tests have been almost 'twilight zone' scarey....

I have been kinda scattered lately as to what I want my focus in Photography to be on... then I thought that since I love everything, why dont I become a photojournalist... without the schooling haha. So I emailed some friends who are photojournalists (one was a photographer for the Olympics in Athens, and the other works for The Canadian Press) and asked them for advice. I also looked up some stock agencies for Press photos...and even passed the test on Getty Images' site. Now all I have to do is upload some samples, but you only get one shot so I wanna do some new ones and then send some... I want the photos to be FRESH.

So....for my little 'Secret' test... I have told the Universe that I AM a Famous Photojournalist, and I LOVE my life and my job and my family, and I have an abundance of everything I could ever possibly want and need.

So let it be.

Thank you, Universe ;)

-M-

I've been Minimoys'd!!!

2007-05-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna get right down to it...

When I was young, there were only really two movies in my life:

"Labyrinth", and "The Dark Crystal"

Everyone my age, and I mean EVERYONE my age or older knows these movies... and when mentioned nowadays, you dont get a "ya, i saw it.... good movie'.... you get a 'OHHH YAAAAAA' followed by some rendition of 'You remind me of the babe, what babe? the babe of the power...etc'

if you dont know that quote...stop now... you dont belong here... go watch your Yu-gi-oh...

anyways, I have watched these 2 movies my entire life, I own them both, and the one thing that really got me was how universal these movies were... it wasnt just an American or Canadian thing. I brought them on all 3 ships I worked on, and I have watched them countless times with South Africans, Australians, English, Scottish, Argentinian, Chillian?, German, Irish (with Guiness I might add)...the list goes on...

...and then it got to me... and I am going to sound like a Grandpa right now so cover your ears...

...they just dont make movies like they used to...

More specifically, Childrens Movies, or fantasy sans the sci-fi part of it... there has not been one movie I have seen since Labryinth and The Dark Crystal in that kind of genre that has made me feel in ANY way like I felt while watching those two... at all!

...untill now...

enter: "Arthur and The Invisibles"

me and my mom rented it on a whim the other day, and when we sat down to watch it we were immediately hooked. First of all, The Invisibles LOOK like Gelflings from The Dark Crystal!! I was amazed! They were computer animated, but hey...No one can do what Henson did anymore. Secondly, guess who plays the bad guy?! none other than the Goblin King himself, Mr. David Bowie! Hark, have they just combined my two favorite movies into one?!

Please? yes. yes I am :)

Now, if they can make a sequal, and throw something in from The Pirate Movie, Caveman, The Three Amigos, and Spaceballs.... I can narrow my favorite movies list down to one! :)

(but those really arent kids movies...are they?) =)

13 GIGapixel image... yes, thats what I said!

2007-05-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is for all of you photo-geeks out there...

this guy in Harlem, New York combined 2045 images and created an UBERSIZED 13 Gigapixel image... the resolution is 279,689 x 46,901 pixels .. It took them 1 day to process the photos, and 46 hours more to render the image....

...i think i just peed a little.

..and what does all of this proove?

Nothing....absolutely nothing.

But its cool, and if you have some time, check it out and play around with it. You can zoom in to anything in the photo and the detail is crazy! It takes some time, but be patient, its well worth the wait! Don't forget to look at the main window on the top left corner to see how much you have actually zoomed in... its amazing!

www.harlem-13-gigapixels.com

Michael Wachniak Photographer: New Site

2007-05-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

It is an honor and a privelage to announce my new and improved portfolio website. I am now officially home, officially rested, and officially available worldwide for photojournalistic coverage on weddings, portraits, and any other events.

click logo to enter website

Pull the damn cord, Mikey!!!!

2007-05-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

Its no surprise that I injured myself just moments after this photo was taken...

but what a cool photo, n'est pas? :)

I've been working my tushie off this past two weeks I have been home...my God has it been two weeks already?! I have also been on this computer many hours each day trying to finish my new site, I am really surprised that I havent added anything on my blog in the process.... but there you have it lol. The new site will be up this week sometime...and it really isnt anything special, its just a little more full and rounded.... rather than just a portfolio, there are services, prices, CURRENT contact info (haha...guess i should update my address from calgary lol). I have added a storefront, where you can (for real this time) purchase my fine art prints! Not only that, but as your photographer, I am also adding the service of making your photos available for viewing online with your own login and password, so you and your family/friends can view AND purchase photos online from a very reputable third party company! On the wedding side of things, I am adding the option of canvas prints AND Leatherbound Photo albums courtesy of the hard working individuals at www.willowbook.com I have a lot of people on my side of the line this time, helping me out...the team is literally growing daily...it feels good :)

new camera equipment, new site, new business cards (thanks, Charles! lol), new advertising campaign...

...same great taste :)

-M-

Been home since the 18th!

2007-04-21T23:32:00.000-07:00

...still hibernating, i am fighting a cold, i miss the guys and gals on the ship but i am glad to be home...

things look promising here on land, i just gotta do some more research and get better of course hahaha

give me a shout ok?

info@michaelwachniak.com

-m-

The one about the Camera

2007-04-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

So, I am sitting here in the Grand Cayman internet cafe... Kyla, Thomas, Matt, Richard, and Linda to my right... typing on a computer where only 10 or so days before I was sitting in this exact same spot making faces with Grit to my mom on the webcam... and now Grit is safely at home probably sleeping in my new King sized bed...stress free...waiting only 13 more days for me to come home... and only 2 more formal nights...

and now I have a new camera :)

Get this: everywhere I look this damn camera has been $1899US...so when i found it duty and tax free in Grand Cayman for $1750.. I shit myself...

and after waiting and waiting and finally getting the email telling me its in stock..

I daresay I shat again :)

Therefore I am sure its no surprise to you that I shat a third and hopefully final time when I grabbed up the posse today, went to the store, finally TOUCHED a Fuji S5pro... "MY" Fuji S5 Pro.....

and then the lady said 'minus your Crew discount.....'

expected: $1750 paid: $1661

I danced outside after the transaction was made (and firmly gripped the bag as Thomas, Matt, Linda, Kyla, and Richard all attempted to mugme at the same time)

13 more days in the Carribbean...

Then I go home. No Shit.

-m-

Grit going to my mom's, 20 days to go for me, where's my %&*@! camera, and employee of the MONTH??

2007-03-29T20:02:00.000-07:00

Well, now that the internet has been put back on in the ship, I can update again :)

so... much has happened since my last post... Grit has officially quit as a Steiner (down with the hellish company!) and as I type this she is flying somewhere between Toronto and Vancouver!!! She has opted to go home 20 days earlier than me, to stay at my mom's house, and hibernate WITHOUT alarm clocks and hair appointments until I come home on April 18th...

Lucky Lucky Lucky :|

It was a major pain in the ass to get everything sorted out... but she is finally on her way... oh, also: Kylie (steiner from australia) has also quit and gone to Canada WITH Grit, and will be staying with at my moms for a night and then heading to Whistler for a job interview at a spa :)

again, down with Steiner... you suck very much.... and its not just my opinion, its many many many peoples opinions... if I had to choose between working for Steiner, and getting kicked in the plums by a marathon runner with stilettos.... I'd spread my legs and grit my teeth.

In other news: Can SOMEONE please tell me where the hell to find a Fuji S5 Camera Body????? there, I said it, thats the camera.. Its the Nikon D200 but with Fuji Insides.... yes, I am going Nikon.... do research on the Fuji S5 and find out why. Plus, I know the Nikons now more than My own Canon :) I updated the For Sale sign around the ship tonight for my camera and I have my pager on at all times... It will be sold, OH YES, it will be sold...

But the funny thing is, theres a whole lot of nostalgia with my 10D... so many good roadtrips with some of the best friends I have ever had...

now in some weird weird unforseen news....

i was told today by my manager that I have been nominated for employee of the month... sounds cool eh? now, add on the fact that there are only 12 people nominated each month....out of over 800...

800!!!!!

talk about a good way to leave a contract! even if i dont win it (and i expect some hard working, well deserving philippeno to get it instead... kudos in advance), i get a photo with the captain and psd, and a certificate of 'you almost made it!' :)

damn... yay me!

now, to sum up:

if everything goes to plan, in 20 days i will be home, driving in the rocky mountains taking photos with my new camera, with my 'employee of the month' photo framed in my back seat :)

roadtrip? roadtrip.

ruh.

-m-

Out of a Coma, 29 days to Go, and you wouldn't believe it if I told you...

2007-03-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

Well Holy Shit... its a new blog entry.

I slipped into a coma there for a while, days blended into each other, blinking meant entire 10 days cruises were gone, and every click of the shutter button spiraled me further and further into a deep state of .....

...Blah...

catch my drift? Much has happened, obviously as every day on ships is a week and every week is a month and so on and what have you.... and yet, with 29 days to go before I meander home... I really have nothing coming to mind to mention...

Havent done many shore excursions, and nothing exciting at work either... I have come to the conclusion that the last 1.5 months of our contracts here we all tend to do the same thing: sleep during the times when we can get off the ship in port, do laundry instead of going to the crewbar, watching movies and hanging out in the corridor instead of partying, going to restaurants and internet cafe's in port rather than 4x4-ing or snorkelling or suntanning...

we are winding down. and we all feel it. 8 of the 12 or so photographers are all leaving within 1-3 cruises from each other, so we are ALL doing this...

Including tonight, 6 more formal nights to go :)

*insert sigh of relief here*

oh, one big thing before I go... (other than I promise that I will update a few times a week from now on... busy bit is out of the way), I am finally upgrading my camera kit.... and if you know any ounce of me in any way, you wouldn't believe what I am upgrading to even if i told you. And yes mom, for the record i will STILL be coming home with a significant amount of money saved up. WAY more than the 300 bucks last time :)

Til the next time, see y'all in the next cartoon!

-M-

Photographer for Hire?

2007-02-04T09:24:00.000-08:00

So Grit and I have been talking, and we are thinking that it may be time to leave the shiplife soon. MAYBE!! We are just looking at what is coming after we leave, whats the next step and so on... Her and I are sitting in an internet cafe in the Cayman Islands right now, each roaming the Online-Universe, each in our own private Dell-brand Spacecrafts, hunting for answers.... aka 'cruisin the net'.

i have a list in front of me which i have compiled over the past few days, everything ranging from 'email Jason about the june 23rd wedding', to 'locate and price out german lessons around white rock area', even to 'working permit information for Grit to work in Canada'.... the list goes on. I have stock photo sites I have to inquire about, MANY photographers around Vancouver area that I have to get back to, and find out where the hell in the world Szymon is :) (photog friend from the pacific sky...this dude's been literally 'hammocking it' in the south pacific in Vanuatu for the last 5 months or more... lucky bastard haha)...

Grit's beside me searching up Hair Stylist and photographer jobs in Europe on river cruises... paid in Euros, less stress... makes sense.

So I will keep you all posted as we think of whats going on next... I guess what will most likely happen is that we will come to Canada and I will look for various Photo jobs here and there... possibly get a spot in a Vancouver Gallery for some of my pics from the road... some kind of 'upcoming artist' thing or something...

If anyone knows of anybody needing a wedding/portrait/anything photographer give me a hollar ok? I know I get 30+ hits on the site from the U.S.A. so that goes for you guys as well ok? You are only a hop skip and a jump away if you consider how far I have travelled in the past year... If you guys need a photographer, (especially a good lookin' one with an even better looking German girlfriend hahahahaha) give us a shout ok? send it to info@michaelwachniak.com

Cheers!

-M-

Photo Update!

2007-01-25T09:02:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone! Everything is going well... nothing unusual around here... oh, Jan 17th we were coming back to Ft Lauderdale and we saw a very small boat with 16 or so refugees making a run for the USA... they were badly dehydrated and they had a hole in the bottom of the boat so we picked them up, fed them and clothed them until the coast guard got them. I imagine they go back to Cuba, but i assume its better than drowning! Kudos to the captain for picking them up... when they got on they said 2 other cruise ships passed right by them without even looking.

In other news, Jan 28th is mine and Grit's 1 year anniversary with Princess Cruises... man what a year! Grit's doing well, but has decided this is her last contract as a steiner... we are planning our next step now. I am coming home for a bit after my contract and she will most likely stay on for a bit and then when i am done, she will walk off the ship (quitting and flipping off Steiner in the process), and then we will fly to Germany and tour Europe for a month or so. Bills will be paid by then, and we will have a good idea of what to do next. Dubai is looking promising at the moment.

In Grand Cayman now... gonna head back to the ship and go to the gym for a bit, then its formal night... meh, whattya gonna do :)

I'm Ron Burgandy. Keep it real, San Diego!

-M-

Grit and I on New Years!

Grand Cayman Sea Turtles taste the best...

Grit's first time in Jamaica... she was SO happy :)

MY sexy self walking around the Panama Canal locks Jan 22nd.

The photo team, Christmas Eve 2006. Par-tay!

This is (no word of a lie) Bob Marley's bed. We went to tour his house and went to his tomb as well. I have knelt down 2 feet in front of Bob Marley.

Up in the spa for a full Barber treatment. Shave and a Haircut... literally! (but it wasn't two bits, it was free lol)

Just outside Bob Marleys House and across from his tomb.

St. Maarten. Boxing Day (Dec 26th for you americans haha). Jellyfish sting. Nothing a little Aloe right from the beach didnt clear up! If you have ever licked a 9 volt battery, it feels the same way... but on your foot lol.

Re: My Inner-Violin.....

2007-01-11T11:45:00.000-08:00

The night I wrote the previous entry I woke up 3:30am to find out my inner-violin was not an inner-violin at all...it was food poisoning :)

I lept over Grit, ran to the bathroom, and literally emptied from every opening in my body....

shortly after I was quarantined to an even smaller cabin for 24 hours, watching the same movies over and over again, and actually getting bored of sleeping....and showering for fun.

they let me out yesterday at about noon, dubbed it "food poisoning" (not norwalk, thank God).... and i was back in my cabin getting ready to work before I could say "oh shit, my sink is still plugged". :(

as for the whole 'terror in the spa' thing about Grit leaving.... i found out ONE THING.... Grit is just way too damn smart to go down that easily. All the emotions over the past while must have triggered this survival instinct in Grit because she had about 15% retail sales before I went into the quarantine, and when I came out her retail was and still is just over 50%.... Germans must REALLY love David Hasselhoff!

Never Piss off zhe Germans, ja? zay vill puneesh you! :)

but....the inner-violin is still playin.... hrmmm.... sickness is gone, Grit wont be going anywhere..... so what could it be?

My Inner-Violin

2007-01-08T15:09:00.000-08:00

so...I have this funny feeling that things are about to change fairly soon 'round here. The air is sittin' a little thicker than before. Its like when you are lying in bed at night and its totally dark and so silent that you hear your own heartbeat... but when it is SO quiet, and so motionless, you hear this little magnetic hum so faint..... its almost like there can't actually be 100% silence. Thats the feeling I have had for the past few days....that hum. I can feel it. Its like an inner-violin buried deep inside me....playing one continuous note.... to either warn or make me aware of something....and to be honest....i have no fucking clue what. All it feels like is a change, not a bad change and not a good change, but a change.... like a new adventure. And only today about 20 minutes ago did I get the first hint as to maybe what it was.

First, Grit works for a shit company. I cant stress that any other way. She works 14 hours a day, along with all the other Steiner slaves, and at the end of the day, just as they pour their bodies into their beds, they are all individually told that they didnt work hard enough, and really shouldn't be here. This is not the way to live. Sure I bitch about my job sometimes, its what I do. But I can get off in almost every port we go to for at least a few hours and relax. Grit, along with all the other Steiners here, gets 1.5 days off in every 10 day cruise. every other day is 14 hours give or take 1 or 2 hours.

I went to SawGrass Mall in Ft Lauderdale today to buy something nice for Grit (while she worked of course..oh by the way, it was an 18 hour shift yesterday). I found her some aromatherapy satchels that you can heat up and wear around your eyes or your shoulders and I also got a feather-pad for the top of our bed so she and I can have less backaches at night. I know she will love it. Totally gonna pamper her tonight (especially after hearing what I am about to tell you).

I went upstairs just before writing this to see her in the spa, and she pulled me aside and started to cry like she has been holding it in for centuries. She and a few others were told today that they have 7 days to improve their retail sales or they are getting sent to another ship in 10 days.

The Inner-Violin plays on...

So now I am sitting here, at the computer in the crew internet room, day ZERO (well, day 1) of a new cruise....and my 'balance' is spinning like a mother fucker..... if she leaves, I go with her. pretty bold statement, i know, but really its not that crazy. the way i see it, is we would both quit. she has so much talent that she could easily find a job back in germany again. I, would come back home, do SOMETHING, and maybe a month-month and a half down the road, I am off to germany on a 6 month visa maybe assisting some post-nazi wedding photographer or something like that.... i actually know some german now... but i would have to step it up if this was actually going to happen. it sounds like I am in the clouds, I know.... but look at the life I have at the moment. Read back on the shit that I have told you all about on this blog over the last year, and then just BEGIN to think about the shit I HAVEN'T told you about.... moving to Germany on a temporary basis really doesnt sound any different..... its just a new chapter that's all.

Nothing's indefinite yet, she may not even leave at all....but sooner or later the shiplife will stop and something new will come to me....in the next chapter.

The Inner-Violin plays on...

-M-

This will be my last entry before Saddam Hussein dies...

2006-12-29T16:36:00.000-08:00

I have nothing to say other than that.

I mean, I didnt really know the guy.

-m-

.....And a Happy New Year!!!

2006-12-29T11:20:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Happy New Year!!

Holy shit am i glad that the Christmas Cruise is over!!! It was just a weird weird weird cruise...

you'd THINK that during the holiday season on a cruise with all families, people wouldnt steal.... WRONG! thats when they do it the most!

I caught soooo many people (not just kids but old farts too!) stealing photos from the gallery and generally just being HORRIBLE SCROOGES during the holidays.... arg!

ok...thats it... i'm done bitching :)

I got to see St Maarten for the first time (love it... love it...) and Grit and I had a great Christmas .... we woke up around 9am, opened gifts (with Bony M singing in the background haha), and then we made some tea in our new "Decorate-Yourself Starbucks Mugs" and then we met Stu, Carrie, Matt, Kyla, Thomas and Linda on the gangway and went out to St Thomas..... and my God.... Magen's Bay... I can tell you, it was like the beaches in Ouvea...but damn close...

Beach....Tanning.....Swimming.... and my day off, in a Caribbean Island on Christmas Day :)

Now I am sitting in Fort Lauderdale just a few hours before the "New Years Cruise" starts...

what good fortunes and experiences will be brought my way this cruise?

New Years Eve is formal night (typical. just typical.) and I am shooting portraits in The Atrium until 10:30pm and then after we put the photos up in the gallery, we all go up to the open decks and shoot everyone having fun til midnight, when the balloons and streamers drop. Grit is off at 10pm and i told her she has to walk around with me until midnight hahahaha... gotta have the new years kiss ya know :)

alright folks... its off to the ship again... sleep for a few hours and then work for a bit, then when Grit gets off at 9pm we are getting all dressed up and headin to the steakhouse... mmmmmm, dead cow :)

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Instead of wishing you everything you want in 2007, I want to wish you all everything you need. If you truly need it, you WILL get it.

So Be It.

-M-

Long Time No Talk!

2006-12-20T10:58:00.000-08:00

hey everone! Its been a long long time, almost a month! i am still alive, but have been pretty busy....and Grit has been taking up my time :) yay! I am in Ocho Rios right now, on December 20th, 5 days til Christmas... in Jamaica and its 30C outside :) dont hate me lol.

Lots has been going on, but just to give a quick summary and then some pictures: I have swam with dolphins (and even kissed one!), I have white water rafted in Costa Rica (with Grit, she loved it, hell its better than her last contract in the Baltic...BRRRR), I have dressed up as Freddy Mercury at an 80s crew disco (and won the grand prize: a Motorola Razr cellphone!), I have worked hard and played hard, and things are going good. Lots of friends, everyone is happy, great team, and I am proud to have the life I have. Not sure if there are many contracts after this one or not, I might be ready for something new soon. Grit and I are planning our trip around Europe in the Summer (dont worry, I will be home first for a fair bit...Brooks and Calgary especially!!...Dad, I'm gonna kick your ass at golf, and I might wanna throw in a fishing trip too!)...

How is everyone else? How is the Christmas prepartion process going? We have 473 kids under 18 next cruise... Holy Christmas, Batman! Also, we had a contest last cruise to see who could sell the most Cruise DVDs and I won (I had 20 and the 2nd place behind me had only 8 hahaha) so I get Christmas Day off in St. Thomas...and Grit has it off too!!!

Oh my god, sitting here typing...and guess what is playing on the stereo at the bar here?

Bony M Christmas...

Only the family would appreciate that..... NOW it feels like Christmas :) what are the odds?

ok, photo time, and then I gotta go!

Merry Christmas everyone!

p.s. I am waiting until the festivities start here on the ship before I send anything home so i can send photos of us having our Christmas in the Caribbean ok? I havent forgotten.. I just thought it would be cheaper to send everyone 1 package of everything rather than presents and THEN photos...

Ta!

-M-

Madonna (Grit) and Freddy Mercury (me) at the 80s disco

White water rafting in costa rica!

Me and Mitch :)

How Real Coffee is supposed to be... in Costa Rica :)

'The 80s Guys'

My 100th Post...what now?

2006-11-24T11:14:00.000-08:00

Wow. 100 posts. what now?

It has been just 3 weeks shy of a year since I started this blog, and reading back on some of the posts, I just can't believe how lucky I am.

In the past 11.5 months, just off the top of my head I have:

- flown over the International Dateline to Australia
- been blown away by the serenity of the South Pacific Islands
- been stung by a school of baby jellyfish and luckily didnt have to get peed on
- been a pirate in the indian ocean
- crossed the equator in a ship
- drank beer with strangers in a dark alley in Bangkok
- treated a Thailand prostitute's to a free dinner with a friend and then hung out with her in Kao San Road talking and laughing simply because we thought it would be nice for her to have a "night off".
- not only witnessed but photographed a burial at sea
- sat on the beach in Phuket where the tsunami hit the worst.
- rode on and befriended an elephant named "Sweetheart".
- para-sailed in malaysia.
- fell in love with someone who lives on the other side of the planet, and who to this day i have actually spent more time away from her than with her since we met, and we're stronger than ever. (by the way, Grit told me yesterday that she got a call from Steiner, she is coming to work on the Coral in 8 days!!!!)
- took a train to venice, italy and spent 8 hours in absolute amazement.
- survived what could have been one of the worst disasters at sea ever recorded, and walked away without a scratch and standing taller.
- dipped my hands in the famous fountain, and hummed "give peace a chance" to myself at the John Lennon memorial in central park, new york.
- I have crossed the atlantic in 9 days, and woke up at 530am one morning to watch the statue of liberty get closer.
- I have taken a photo straight down from the top of the empire state building.
- i have cried at the world trade center site.
- i have swung from tree to tree on a cable while it was pouring down in a rainforest in costa rica, and screamed to the heavens the whole way.
- i swam with stingrays in grand cayman 1 week before steve irwin died, and i am going to do it again.
- i have soaked up the sun lying on a tube drifting down the great river in jamaica
- i have finally brought home a girl that my family likes :)
- i have learned a few words in over 15 different languages
- i live with 800 crew members from over 40 different countries every day that never fight each other, never steal from, and can always manage to make each other smile. i dont see why the rest of the world find it so difficult.
- i have watched storms all night and past the sun rising over the middle of the ocean, just because i could have sworn that i could have very well been the only one in the world to see it.
- i have walked ACROSS the locks of the panama canal... very little people do that.

the list goes on...all for the past 11 months.

and what now? i keep on roaming.

thats what we do.

like buffalo, we roam.

and then all of it happens.

and we roam.

-m-

Random Picture Time!

2006-11-20T11:52:00.000-08:00

ok these mexican keyboards are very hard to get used to haha! ok, i am in Cozumel Mexico right now, and i just popped off the ship to send some random pics of this cruise. the zipline tour in costa rica was amazing, and although i didnt get to do the ATV tour in jamaica, the river tubing that replaced it was well worth it. Panama was a real treat too, i actually jumped off the cruise ship at 5am while it was still moving and onto a pilot boat that took me to shore. then i shot photos of everyone on their balconies as they past by me in the locks of the panama canal. i actually walked ACROSS one of the locks to go to the other side... not many people do that! in fact, only 3 people on the entire ship can actually leave at that time, and they are all photographers hahahaha. ok, i am gonna finish the blog entry and then grab some mexican food. then its back onto the ship, i gotta finish feeding my negs through the line and print em off before island night! yay!

=M=

this is jay, canadian SR. Videographer (probably my roomate in 2 days too...good thing we really really get along). In panama we shoot the balconies on the ship for an hour and then we have about 6 hours off with an escort until the ship comes back to get us, and all we do is drive around. this is a friend of our escorts in a local REAL pub (not some dolled up one for passengers, this is authentic). Got our asses handed to us in Pool though...damn those guys are good!

this is our new friend pointing to HIS women.... old men dont change no matter where you are haha.

this is one of the tugs that pull the ships through the panama canal. this particular one has been retired and is sitting in a park...for big kids to play on!

striking a pose in panama. Vogue :)

ZipLine tour in costa rica....150 metres in the air, in a rainforest, pouring more rain than any day i have ever been alive to witness. also...biggest frontal wedgie ever...look at that package!

Oh me, Oh my!

2006-11-13T09:23:00.000-08:00

I just had to mention this, as I am completely stoked about it. On the Crown last contract I didnt go on a single tour/shore excursion through the ship because I either had zero time, or my cabinmate Jacek always beat me to it...

Today, I have not only booked one, but TWO shore excursions for this cruise.

Ready? Get this:

1. Tomorrow, I am joining a small crowd of say 20 people and we are all hopping on our own ATVs (All-Terrain Vehicles) and we are driving up and down the beaches of Montego Bay, Jamaica. After kickin up the sand for a while, we are driving up Mt. Zion (yes, Bob Marley's 'Zion'). I should get quite a few nice jungle type photos with this one!

and finally:

2. In 5 days time, I will be joining again about 20 people, but all Crew this time (Crew Only Tour), and we are doing whats called a 'ZipLine' in Limon, Costa Rica. A ZipLine can basically be described as "that tightrope people dangle from hooks on in the TV show 'Fear Factor'..."
We are going from tree to tree shimmying across a metal zipline, roughly 80 feet in the air...

stoked? yes! scared?

....not yet ;)

-M-

Cozumel....pant...pant...

2006-11-10T11:47:00.000-08:00

Woke up this morning 1 hour earlier to a phone call from an equally sleepy photographer saying we are in Cozumel earlier and we gotta hustle to the gangway for pics....

...2 hours in TOTAL and UTTER heat.....no shade (until Royal Caribbean pulled alongside...thank you!)...

now I am on a few hours off so i get to do basically the same thing...take pics in the hot sun...BUT not of passengers haha... some cool places round here... 'Carlos N Charlies' and of course 'Senor Frogs' (done that....many times....).

I think I am gonna grab a cervesa and then hop back into my cabin (with the broken airconditioner...still cold compared to outside)...and then its island night! Formal night is over (last night) and its smooth sailing from here (for 3 days haha)...

Here are a few pics so far that I threw on just cause I could...
cheers!

-M-

me and my sis and mama just before I left for the Coral

the new gang on the 2nd night on the ship...Halloween! Notice me without a costume :(

the new home...Coral Princess... on my way to it for the first time. Shot from a tender boat in Grand Cayman.

The Atrium of the Coral Princess.

Random Thoughts And Pictures Falling From the Sky

2006-11-06T14:07:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! I thought I would throw a little update online today...tell all my peeps the DownLow on whats been goin on these past few days. Work is good, getting back into my little groove again... deck 2 cabin sucks my hairy ass....pardon the vulgarity, but there is no other way of putting it...meeting new friends each day, some real cool people here on board. Crewbar is small and insignificant...but a beer or two each night to wind down is simply unpreventable. Formal Nights are still the bane of my existance...c'est la vie!

I suck at ping pong...the Phillipeno's dont.

Panama Canal is amazing...there is literally 1 foot of water maybe 2 on either side of the ship...

Fits.... LIKE A GLOVE!

I am eating super healthy... probably because I have only been to the crew mess to eat ...twice maybe. Horizon Court is where its at. Every meal I have the worlds biggest salad: onions, lettuce, carrots, radishes, celery, bacon bits, croutons, peppers, and a TINY bit of dressing. Then there is the fish (not fried) AND either chicken/steak/pork/all of the above. No Deserts (not holding back, they just simply dont appeal to me...plus I am eating too much dinner haha). Still havent started up with the gym again, but i cant find the @!$#!$ thing haha. Everyone says crew gym is on deck 1.. i have looked 4 times and i cant even find stairs to go to level one!!! The spa has a passenger gym, but I would like to try out the crew gym first and make sure i still know how to exercise still haha.

Grit is still at home in Germany. She called Steiner today to see when she can come here and they said they might have an answer wed or thurs this week. getting impatient here... she is guaranteed a spot here, but its all a matter of when... oh well... she is doing well and we are talking lots. I cant wait to see her, she will love the ship, its so much smaller than what we are accustomed to from past contract. Its a lot like the Pacific Sky!

Speakin of which, get this: first formal night (first day i was here) I grabbed my camera and put a memory card in.... i hit preview to see what pics were already on it, and first pic was.... ME.

WHAT THE !$!%?

Apparantly when we sold the Pacific Sky, we sent all our equipment (including the memory cards) to various Princess Ships... the memory cards obviously came to the Coral, but what boggles me is this: I have had a contract in the mean time. The cards were in plain sight, and not only were they on the ship i came to, but nobody deleted these cards for....6 months! And I could have picked any other memory card that WASNT from the Sky... my first thought:

Wake up Neo. The Matrix has you.

Where's the hidden camera? Is this the Truman Show? :)

Very Syncronistic indeed.... yet hard to decypher the meaning so far....

in the meantime, thats all. I am going to Costa Rica tomorrow. There is a Sloth Sanctuary there, I might not have time to go this turn, but I have 16 more times to go before we head to Alaska.

How is everyone else doin? How's the snow? :) Don't worry, it was about +35C today in Panama before the rain....I will send some heat your way ;) I am all sweaty anyways.

See you all in the NEXT CARTOON!

-M-

First message from the Coral Princess

2006-10-30T21:34:00.000-08:00

Oi Oi, Geezahs!!!

Ok...where shall I start....

- Vancouver to Vegas to Miami to Grand Cayman via plane... not bad. (first thing i did when i got into miami was....yes.....listen to "Miami" by will smith...."welcome to miami..." haha)
- Staying 1 day in Grand Cayman was good... walked around, saw some places I have already been (and that was cool...not sure why...), had free internet in the hotel, had 2 for 1 Bud light in a bar/grill at night (hey...its still beer). Only slept 2 hours and woke up to the phone ringing and it was the guy downstairs picking me up....slept in haha...oops!
- Got to the ship, saw James Security/Rob Purser/Stacey Tours from the Pacific Sky...alright! Photo Team is really cool..lots of cool ppl, none of them sane by any means neccessary. 6 photogs left last cruise so the cabins are messed up, therefore i am staying with a videographer on...deck 2....Jesus....what did i do wrong? its only temporary though...photogs live on deck 9 here so thats 5 decks higher than the crown! yay! Had 2nd formal night, during which i was the restaurant photo bitch guy thing.....and 3 tables told me I was the nicest and best photographer they have ever seen on the ships... I have 2 more days on this cruise to find them again and introduce them to a little thing called 'comment cards' haha. now its 12:30am...gonna go grab another drink (seeing as how I just found Scotty from the Crown about 20 min ago...life just gets better and better)... i started singing the ports of call song that we made up on the crown and scotty's buddy said 'oh...now i know who you are'...i guess i am popular haha. tomorrow i have no inductions, no laminex to get off the ship with in cozumel, and nothing on schedule til 4pm... guess who is sleeping in? ME! yay!

Summary: Coral-amazing atrium, amazing crew, amazing stabilizers (we arent moving that much side to side), shit crewbar (come on guys...knock a few walls down), and one really hot new photographer...who just joined today... me! lol

oh oh oh, another good thing...msn in the internet room, PLUS a card reader for pics... i can update all the time with pics now!

Getting Grit here in a few weeks or so... and this will be one helluva ship!

see you all in the next cartoon!

-M-

Ok...Calgary update...and my new ship!

2006-10-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

Wow, its been a while? (cracks knuckles, clears throat...)

ok...

I came to Calgary last Thursday... guess that would be a week ago already. I stayed with good buddy Graham from FS (aka. retail hell), and saw most of my friends, which was really really good. I took a 128 block roundtrip walk from Marda Loop up through downtown then up through my old stompin grounds north of downtown , stopping for a bite and a Cherry-Rootbeer shake at Peter's Drive-In, and finally back from whence I came (feet didnt even hurt the next day, so nyah!).

I also heard back from Princess Cruises Head Office saying that I can switch from the Star Princess to the Coral Princess for my next ship so that Grit could get on with me, so I gladly accepted it and immediately called everyone I know shouting with glee (I think I actually did shout the word "Glee"... who does that? I do!) So now that I accepted it, I had to cut my Calgary trip short and make a B-Line for Brooks so I could at least see my dad for the once small now smaller period of time... oh, and about to get smaller...read on...

I get to Brooks yesterday, everything goes perfectly, I set up my Dad's stereo system and all the trimmings in his new place (huge and so nice), and then I get an email from Head Office about my flight details....

Now I leave Oct 28th 7:48pm from Vancouver to Vegas, have a 1 hour stay in Vegas, and then fly to Miami, watch the sunrise and chill for a few hours, and then fly to Grand Cayman Island for noon on Sunday the 29th... good news is I get a full day, night, and overnight alone and unsupervised in Grand Cayman to do whatever the Hell I want (pun intended, click on link). Bad news is now my trip visiting my Dad and Anne (whom i have not seen since January) has gone from a pathetic 5 days, down to 3.5 days, to a soggy and under par 2 days...

(I know I know, most of you are probably thinking "wow, such a rough life you lead Mike...poor world traveller")

Screw Grand Cayman, I want time with my dad...

I think I'll just have to plan a much better visit next time I am back. I am spending a month at home next time, and then Grit and I are gonna find an old VW van and tour Europe for a few weeks (Josh and Graham, are we meeting in Rome or Naples?) :)

ok so... everything is going good, but everything is stressfull and I guess I just gotta make the best of what time I have with my friends and family... which is kinda what we all should be doing anyways...

K, I am gonna go for a run to my dad's work and then run to have lunch with him.... ciao!

love,

-M-

Calgary Trip Possibly this Week!

2006-10-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Grit left yesterday for home (Germany) and I got a call today at 4pm saying she made it home safe....her luggage though, is still either in Vancouver or London.... the funny thing is, so is everyone else's luggage from that flight lol. Go British Airways Go! They must have found some Atomic Toothpaste or maybe some Explosive Water....sheesh.

Ok so now the house is VERY empty and boring, but its giving me time to get certain things done, and plan my trip to Calgary! I am thinking of coming this Thursday or so, and maybe spending a few days in Brooks with my Dad, and then Monday or so coming back to Calgary to visit for a few days. Is anything going on in Calgary in the next week or two? Anyone wanting a coffee or a pint O' the good stuff? A few of you I already have spoken to, and some want coffee, some want clubbin, either I am ok with. I just want to BE in Calgary for one. I haven't been there since the first few days of January, so I have quite a few things I have planned for just me walking around alone. I might want to do an Elbow Falls run if anyone is interested. This year was the first Canada Day that I haven't gone to Elbow Falls for sunrise pics in...4 years is it? Correct me if I am wrong for those of you who know lol.

It will be nice to just BE in CowTown. Walking around Chinook Mall, Jogging down Centre St Bridge, Sayin Hi to the gang NorthLand Mall Future Shop, Delivering Pizzas around the University (ok maybe not the last one lol). I probably wont see Calgary for another 6 months to a year because I am heading out back to the ships in November so I gotta make it a good trip :)

Lookin forward to seeing you Calgary!

My last view of Calgary as I was on the plane for White Rock BC in January 06.

-m-

One Less Fear...

2006-10-13T03:59:00.000-07:00

I have a fear. Well...HAD a fear. This is going to sound funny. I went swimming tonight with Grit, Hill, and Kaia, and it occured to me that I have never actually DOVE off of a diving board. I have JUMPED off a diving board many times, but I have never done the typical 'head first arms stretched' kinda dive. When asked why not by my sister, my only reply was "I dont really know". I think I was scared at some point in my childhood and then never really had a NEED to dive into water before (funny, I work/live in the middle of the ocean). Anyways, so I kinda chuckled to myself and said "well, I guess a fear is a fear is a fear, so lets get this FIRST dive over with just to get it out of my system"...

so up the diving board I went (its only 2 feet off the water)...

and when I got to the end...

(dare i say this. stop reading now please)...

I froze.

what the hell?!

27 years of NOT diving and now I simply CANT.

Long story short: A lot of time passed, I felt like a total puss and finally did it and (to my own accord) after many attempt I also perfected it...sorta.

Moral of the story: I said it before..A Fear is a fear is a fear.... it doesn't matter what degree it is, it can be overcome.

I have many fears, but what I am slowly finding out in life is that I am growing less afraid to overcome them. Today I overcame a fear, and as silly as it was, it felt so good beating it. I am asking you (yes I am talking to YOU) that the day you read this, whatever day TODAY is for you....TRY to overcome a fear. Even if its something childish like mine was....just go ahead and fight it.

There's a lot of things in life to be afraid of, erase one of them today.

quotes on fear:

"Fear is that little darkroom where negatives are developed." (har har)
Michael Pritchard

"You don't face your fears, you stand up to them."
Anonymous

"Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared."
Eddie Rickenbacher

and my personal favorite:

"He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; but he that loses courage loses all."
Cervantes

-m-

A Pirate Looks at his Logo...

2006-10-05T23:47:00.000-07:00

Decided that I would throw some color onto my blog, so I started making a logo in photoshop... I found an older photo of me sitting atop a cliff in Banff with my hand in the air (most of you know it as the splash screen on my photography site), and then found a free world map photo online... after that I started thinking it looked somewhat like a treasure map.... and seeing as how I have dressed as a pirate on the ships quite a bit (and will continue for who knows how long) and actually kinda feel like a pirate sailing the seas quite a bit (and will continue for who knows how long)....it kinda fit. So i played some more.... then i wanted fire.... so i played some more....

3 hours go by....and voila.

please let me know what you think. personally, and i dont really like to beep my own horn...

...but beep beep! i REALLY like it :)

"Yes, I am a pirate, two hundred years too late
The cannons dont thunder, theres nothin to plunder
Im an over-forty victim of fate
Arriving too late, arriving too late"

-lyrics from Jimmy Buffet's "A Pirate Looks at Forty"

-m-

Holiday = no brain stimulation = me got no words

2006-10-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, I have stared at the screen for 5 minutes and nothing has entered my mind that is even REMOTELY worth writing down.... I hate being sick...

so...just some random babbling ok? ok:

Victoria was amazing, I will post photos tonight probably. Didnt really do much, got a hotel, went to 'YE OLDE SPAGHETTI FACTORY', had a few pints at Cactus Club, and wandered around aimlessly. While eating dinner (i have to mention this), there was a party of ....50 or so people that came in and sat right beside us...all German Speaking.... Grit's eyes lit up like a cat biting through an extension cord! She didnt talk to them, she only listened. At the time, I thought she should say at least something, but now that I think of it....they were just there eating....just like us... I would find it rude if someone jumped in while we were eating.. (*cough* just like taking photos of people in the restaurants on the cruise ships *cough*) =)

Didnt go to Buchart Gardens. Too expensive. I know I know...I regret it, but hey...40 bucks for us to walk around flowers....yes its beautiful I know, but I can think of at least 5 or 10 places around White Rock that is just as beautiful.....and free!

Last night we rented X-Men 3 and The Lake House. HUGE contrast lol! my mom and Grit wanted the Lake House for its romance, and X-Men 3 just so i can pause it and show them where I am in the movie (yes I am in the movie..check out my blog entry from Decemebr 19th, 2005). I personally didnt care, I just wanted to chillax (love that word). Its the small things in life that I love.... like watching movies with Grit with the subtitles on so she can 'learn' while she watches... in my opinion she understands the movies perfectly, but I can just imagine her checking how words are SPELLED while she watches......foreign women rock haha. Next holiday is in Germany, I'll be doing the same....but with a more spaced out look I imagine.

Today we crossed the border to the states and did some shopping with my mom. Only a few hours, but Grit's passport does now officially proove that she has BEEN to the USA.

Photos for Sale:
I have quite a few people from the US checking out my blog regularily (hi! welcome!). I just wanted to mention a shameless plug for myself to those of you that might not know, and refresh the minds of those who do: if you like any of my photos that you see on www.michaelwachniak.com you may purchase them from myself anytime you want (although it is easier to get a hold of me while I am on holidays, I also sell them when I work on the ships, but I have to wait until turnaround days to send them via snailmail). If you would like to support my work in any way, or have questions about my photos, please email me.

Coming to Calgary:
I am coming to visit Calgary for REAL this time!! Oct 15th or 16th I will be flying out and staying for 2 weeks or so. Anyone wanting to chill/have coffee/ throw something at me/ wander around late at night jumping from building to building/ roadtrips/ all of the above please let me know via email.

thats it methinks...

time for tea. Ciao!

-M-

Doing so little its borderline scary...

2006-10-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, just a quick update as to whats been goin on in the past little while.

NOT MUCH!

Grit has been here with me for about a week now, and we have been living every day to the fullest.... sleeping in til 1pm or so, sitting on the couch with a coffee till about 3pm, maybe make some toast (she loves peanut butter...i swear having her here is like when Drew Barrymore brought ET in the house...everything is NEW and exciting!!). Last week we went out for supper at Semiahmoo beach with some buds from the Crown (Chantel, Sarah (crazy cat lady hahahaha), Sarah (Flamingo Sarah), Kim (vaguely remember her from the crown), and a few others that came along). It was great, had a beer at "Charlie Dont Surf" and a quesadilla and then walked the pier with some Dolce Gelato....damn good stuff... we also went to a birthday party in Vancouver and saw some old friends from the Pacific Sky (Amber and Kristen). Went to a cool place called CHAI on West Broadway...very very amazing atmosphere...so warm. Aside from those things we have basically just been goin for walks and hanging out... its been sooooo good just to do nothing!

TOMORROW, HOWEVER:

We are getting a ride to the ferries and the two of us are heading out (on foot, no car) to Victoria! We're gonna get a hotel and basically continue our "doing nothing" there for a few days....but we are also hitting up a few castles, walks, and *cough* have to mention *cough*....BUCHART GARDENS!!!! I have heard this place is amazing in the fall, so we gotta go....

as for the next contract... probably November i am thinking. We might request the crown again hahaha. its got a good itinerary then because everything changes in november... turnover day is no longer in New York, it goes to San Juan... (damn good place to be!).... plus, who wouldnt love spending Christmas and New Years in the Caribbean??? :)

Until then though, I have 2 more weeks with Grit and then I am off to Calgary to visit....whoever!!! Which, by the way.... anyone have a place I could crash at? hahahaha

See you all in the next Cartoon!

-M-

Grit and I beside the infamous WHITE ROCK, in White Rock BC :)

Kristen, Amber, Grit & I at Chai for Amber's birthday!

Grit striking a pose on the pier.

Bright...Light....Bright...Light....Can't...See....

What would you do if I sang out of tune?

2006-09-16T12:37:00.000-07:00

There are many times when I write in my blog that I feel like little Fred Savage from The Wonder Years. When I proof-read (yes i do that...sometimes), when I type it out for the first time, and even when I think of what to write, I always get that 'aw, my baby is growin up' kinda feeling lol...and in a way I am. 27 but still growin up. I will probably have this blog when I am 80 and still be 'growing up'.

Anyways, the point of today's entry is that I found a few quotes from the tv show "The Wonder Years" and some of them really sum up feelings I have had over the past year or maybe even longer, but never really had the words... If you listen close enough, I am sure you can hear Joe Cocker's voice trippin' and scratchin' over the bassline:

"I never knew until that moment what it was like to lose something I never really had."

"Love can tear and rip you apart. It can kill you. But if you’re lucky, it can put you back together."

"Change is never easy. You fight to hold on. You fight to let go."

"In your life you meet people. Some you never think about again. Some you wonder what happened to them. There are some that you wonder if they ever think about you. And then there are some you wish you never had to think about again; but you do."

"All we could do was close our eyes, and wish that the slow song would never end."

the list goes on...

-M-

Another Crew Home Safe...

2006-09-13T04:53:00.000-07:00

4:30am. home. 7 hour wait in jfk earlier. hungover (dont mention any alchohol for at least a month or two). miss the ship. miss the friends. already showed my mom the buffalo dvd. already had timmies. goin to bed now.

waking up....whenever i feel like it.

vacation starts...... now.

-m-

Damn Tropical Storm...I am packing!

2006-09-08T15:57:00.000-07:00

ok, so no Bermuda on my last cruise... how pissed am I? Today I was supposed to have a full day off in St Thomas, but the new guy Paul (God Rest his soul lol) didnt have a laminex and therefore couldnt not leave the ship, and therefore I had to do his fire course... which really threw off my groove. It was however a great day because i spent the morning putting massive fireballs out with various extinguishers on a hill overlooking the ocean. I am glad that tomorrow is my last formal night (yay!) and I will be home soon, but DAMMIT do i need to have a fucked up Bermuda too?! So instead of seaday, Bermuda, seaday.... its Seaday THRICE!!!!!

(not impressed)...

Hurricane season really chaps my ass...ya know?

oh well.

I am glad that I have to pack now though. Yes i said GLAD to pack. I have never really hated packing, as I think I am used to it by now.

(insert Littlest Hobo theme song right about...... now)

I move. We all move. We all change. Change is good. Change is bad. But Change is necessary. I dont expect to stop anytime soon, I dont think lol.

Things I am looking forward to in the next 2 weeks:

- first bath since May....mmmmm.
- walks with sister Hillory, niece Kaia, and dog(s) Adobe, Reuben, and Ava (mommy doberman and the kids).
- Grit coming to visit sep 22nd. (so happy i just peed a little)
- Moby Dick fish and chips on the beach in White Rock (and the gang from the Crown that lives in Lower Mainland, you are all comin with me... this shit is addictive!)
- chillin with my mom (hey shut up lol)
- planning on my trip to calgary (best time to visit, please email me!)
- planning ANYTHING with my dad.

....but the one that beats them all out for the number 1 spot... (sorry Grit):

Tim Horton's Coffee. XL 2c 3s.

God Bless us, everyone. =)

-M-

Random Pics whilst in BarefootBar in Grand Turk

2006-09-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

ducky ducky what?

there, i said it. for those it makes sense to, i love all of you and miss you terribly. for everyone else, wait for the dvd lol.

now for some random pics....

Grit and her best friend on the Star Princess, Natalia... 15.5 more days til i am with her lol

ok...um....this...is....um.... me and maggie, and cruise staff: jacinta and cameron

i....er.....um...

this was the night before the youth staff left last cruise... this is on dvd and i can tell you its amazing lol.....

ok, this is bermuda. aside from that, this pic is just a cool picture.

some of my best friends. they will always be with me.

this is the buffalo crew. where do i begin. buffalo is: drink with your left hand all day except for 1230am-1am then you go to your right. if you get caught in the wrong....you finish your drink. thus, best friends and worst enemies lol.

Re: whats up

2006-08-30T23:48:00.000-07:00

This is a reply to an email my dad sent to me and my sister today. Just a basic "how ya doin?", and when i started replying, it almost turned into a blog entry...

so lo and behold:

hey guys!

emailing you both as well :)

things are good! i am proud of myself that i didnt give up and come home after the list in july, but everytime we move (even rocking quite a bit as we speak) my knees give out... its to the point now where i am getting giggles from friends and stuff and thats a good thing because when i was at my worst they really respected my space and helped me where i could... we all get a little queezy at the knees when we roll every now and then... but i am proud to say that none of my friends left because of the list on july 18th. and now also that my contract has been shorted from november to september 12th, i am happy but now also very sad... i have made amazing friends here, i cant even explain it and i wouldnt even try. just know that i have reached plateaus of love and friendship on these ships, this ship especially (aside from my little schatzi who i obviously met on the first ship, Grit lol) that i never thought possible... we have a posse here of about 20 i would say...20 CLOSE friends... some dont reach that in a lifetime, and we've achieved it in less than 4 months... we have laughed we have cried, we have been on every end of the spectrum... and its to the point where i have friends from every area in the world... south africa, poland, hungary, germany, england, usa, mexico, ukraine, scotland, ireland, thailand, phillippenes, canada.... the list goes on... i literally have a home in everyone of these places. love, its infectious. we spread it and it keeps on going.
i cant wait to get home, i cant wait to see Grit, I cant wait to see my family, I cant wait to see my friends again somewhere, i cant wait to get to my bed....
and i cant wait to wake up tomorrow.

love

mike

p.s. its grits birthday today! sent her 6 roses from this ship to hers...saying 'here is 6 now, and there will be 6 more at the airport with me in september' :) awwww

How Come? Just Add Water.

2006-08-23T01:41:00.000-07:00

This is going to be simple. This is going to be real.

I am sitting here in the internet room of the crewbar at 4:30am (yay i can sleep til 11am). I just finished a round of toasted prociutto and mozza panini's and chicken salad from the international cafe, on my way back from Skywalkers Bar with Chris (we went up for ONE.... thats an inside joke by the way.) I said my goodnights as we sat down in the corridor and smoked a cigarette (hey...shiplife) and then as i ran my ass up to drop off the dishes, I thought that I am in the perfect state of mind to just ramble on in my blog and hope something of value pops into place (my sincere apologies if i am unsuccessful). I am gone in 2 cruises. plain and simple. i can honestly say that i have no idea what i am going to do until the next ship calls for me.... yes i am doing another ship, but only if Grit and I are together... you have noidea ho hard it is to hold a CROSS-PLANET relationship.... i seriously think parts of me (referring to heart, thank you) no longer work like they used to. these people i meet on the ship: passengers and crew, are some of the most amazing things that have ever happened to me. sometimes i want to strangle BOTH of them, but when it all simmers down and i am at home in my room ON LAND... i will miss them both terribly. I remember only now, how i felt the last time i left a ship. I have made the best friends I will ever meet on these ships (if you were offended by that comment, i still hold you closer to my heart than these ones, and I know you will understand how I am feeling). I strongly feel at this point in time, that at home on land...I am nothing but a passenger. I have seen it with my own eyes. I will be forgotten to the point that only pictures and very strong feelings of the past remain. Life moves too fast here on the ships. One day is a week. One week is a month. One month is a year. (again re-iterating that this is a random rambling). How come it was so hard for me to see the world for 26 years of my life, and yet now all i have to do is press my finger down on a camera and sleep? ya know what i mean? i fall asleep and i am in a different country, and 2 times a week i am in a different time zone. the ship life is so random at every moment, anything could happen and 11 times out of 10 it usually will... i am 27 and i am still growing up. there is no fear here, and yet there is so much (but not what you ever think). things you never want to feel emotionally, whether its about family, friends, life in general... you will feel, every single day. tomorrow also, is the 1st anniversary of Port Canaveral since the list. we all know it. i remember setting up formal night and eating in Horizon Court before it happened. Tomorrow, i am sleeping in, setting up backgrounds, skipping food altogether, and wrapping myself in bubblewrap on by bed until i absolutely have to get up for portraits. to each his own.

i am still here, i am still very much alive (i am not talking about my therapy anymore... this is a general life statement now... probably only the ones who really know me will understand... the rest of you will just simply flood my blog with useless banter and shit...again)

this is just a random entry on a random blog about someone who really is happy with his life. i am struggling every day, and i never know what the next day will bring... even beyond this life. but the thing is I am happy. I am home in 21 days, long enough to enjoy my family aboard, but short enough to enjoy my family on land sooner. my love is coming to me in 1 month and 5 days, that says it all.

i strongly reccommend to everyone who loves LOVE and is not afraid of being afraid, to try working for the ships. everything you need (and i mean really really need) in life is there waiting for you.

all you have to do is just add water... (looks around all sides of the ship) ...

Literally.

-M-

Ok, now we plan!

2006-08-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

Alllllllrighty then!

I found out today that sadly Grit is NOT coming to the Crown Princess. The funny thing is that it really did not phase me, because it actually turns out better this way! Its probably too late to extend my contract past September 12th, so if she was coming then i would be leaving right when she got here i bet... also, she can now shorten her contract back to September 28th, and she was checking prices today for flights from London to Vancouver (dammit, the girls always one step ahead of me lol...next time, Gadget!!!). So I have 3 cruises left here on the Mighty Crown Princess (starting tomorrow in New York)... which reminds me: Guess where I am going tomorrow?

- some Youth Security, Photogs, and Cruise Staff are taking the subway from Brooklyn to Manhatten and then from there some are breaking off to Times Square and some are going with me to ....... NBC Studios!! I am going to see the Saturday Night Live studio!!!! and God Dammit, I ain't walkin out of there without a Conan O'Brian Coffee Mug, neither! We are also heading to Rockefeller Center, and perhaps a quick jaunt around Central Park again. i love how i can say AGAIN... What a life...

Oh, one more thing: I am also 90% sure that I am switching away from the Photography department for my next contract(s) (at my own will). I have been thinking about it for some time now and I think that I am much more suitable for Cruise Staff. Cruise Staff are the people on board that host the entertainment/games/dances etc... and dress up as cowboys, 50's era, 70's era...etc..and basically entertain the people throughout the ship. So many people have told me over the past few weeks that they have thought the same thing for me... Cruise Staff is the heart and soul of the ships (in my opinion)... Its a lot of work, but i really do think that if i do one more contract as a photog, i may very well never pick up a camera again... pardon my french, but i am sick and fucking tired of taking Sears type portraits.... if the photos arent spontaneous, they arent me, and those of you that KNOW me.... you know i am right on that one.

so, there we go. Some more stuff to chew on.

See y'all in the next cartoon!

-M-

You don't have to go far...

2006-08-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

The title is completely random, so don't read too much into it lol. I have found myself sitting in an internet cafe in Bermuda. Inside the airconditioning is maintaining a steady cool breeze, the radio is playin Joe Cocker, and the occasional gaggle of passengers waddle by me, each holding bags and bags of useless souveniers. Outside however, the weather is sunny but not HOT like you would expect in Bermuda. The sounds of waves crashing alonside the dockyard, and the occasional flock of crewmembers on scooters screeching by can be heard.

I woke up this morning at 8:30 to clean the lab printers up on deck 7 with Chris, Adrian, and Jillian. We finished surprisingly quickly, and so we went up to eat at horizon court (deck 15). Afterwards, Jillian and I went up to entertain Chris as he was getting his hair cut in the spa. A few goofy faces and we were off, but as we left the spa, Leona (spa manager) requested Grit's full name so she could send it to Steiner's head office... hmmmm... perhaps she IS coming!

Oh, by the way... did i mention that I found out 3 days ago my contract has been shortened (yet again) to Sept 12th?

So now, the same guy who was dying to get off the ship only a month ago is now trying his damndest to lengthen his contract... hrmmm...

I smell freshly cut grass.... sorry, but i am inside a mall and i smell freshly cut grass... weird.

ok well, my time is running up here... I just wanted to write something completely random, but also to keep you guys up to date as to whats going on. For all of you 500+ people who have found my blog over the past 3 days (you know who you are, and why): if you are coming onto the Crown sometime soon, stop by the gallery and say Hi ok? and let us take your pictures even if you dont buy them lol even if you dont want to, if you have the time then do it, cause it helps us a lot :) we ARE talented you know :) we arent just retards with cameras...

well, not ALL of us.

-M-

Update with pics, and I am in San Juan

2006-08-11T12:29:00.000-07:00

I know i havent written a lot lately, and I know i have much to say.... but really .... i just want to update the blog with photos. I am still hanging in there... i am still suffering occasionally from the listing, i crumbled to the ground yesterday out of nowhere because we listed just as we left Grand Turk...it was pathetic, but shit happens, and i wasnt the only one. i still hang out in the crew bar. I have NOW been given the OK from the spa manager for Grit to come here BUT we are waiting on Steiner to email everyone to find out when... I think my contract has been shortened to sept 10th but i am lengthening it to stay a while, for me & Grit and also so i can stay home for Christmas. Grit and I are still steady and strong, she saw her mom today in Germany for the first time in 6 months, i am so happy for her! Chris, myself, Rory and Cameron still sing every once in a while in the crew bar and we always get a crowd of about 40 or so singing to tunes we write, its such a feeling of pride. I bought a G Blues Harmonica in St. Thomas. I now have a "Jummy Buffet's Margaritaville" shirt. i STILL wear my happy face necklace. and I still miss everyone.

But this is my life. and i wouldnt change it for the world. i will see everyone again. everyone. and we will share stories. and we will laugh. and we will cry. but we'll be there together.

john lennon IMAGINE memorial in central park.

the beach party held by the bar staff a few weeks ago. we had to limbo just to get in hahaha

White Light

2006-08-01T21:41:00.000-07:00

Ok everyone, I need some serious White Light here. I was in the gallery today and 4 Steiners at different times all came up to me and said "Did anyone get a hold of you about your girlfriend coming here?"

....what?....

I have been asking around DAILY with everyone I could to see if there was any way to get Grit trans-shipped here to the Crown from the Star, and with no luck....

...until today...

Apparantly the spa manager here said that if Grit emails Steiner Head Office and requests the Crown again, the spa manager will request her to come here, and the only remaining factor is that Grit will have to pay her way here...

...not a factor... signed sealed delivered.

So i just called Grit and woke her up in her cabin..woops.. oh well its 6am there. The satelite was screwy so she got all my information that i had spewed to her, but i couldnt hear what she was saying, so up to the internet room i went to email her the goodies...

...now its a waiting game...

white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light Grit & I white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light white light

its really the only solution/therapy that I can think of at the moment.

Listing sucks.

-M-

Imagine...with my own eyes.

2006-07-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

Well... we got to New York just fine, no problems (other than my problem sleeping, which seems to be fading).

I had a day off today, and Chris Jenny and I went hellbound all over manhatten....

we saw:

1) world trade center site... its jaw droppingly big, and empty... it just makes you feel so small, especially when you see the surrounding buildings and how big they are and then look at the photos posted everywhere of the twin towers, and how they stand 4 to 5 times larger, if not more. i saw the cross (the 2 welded i-beams with the names of all who perished)...i cant express the feeling that gave me, but what really hit home were the painted signs along the fence that said "post no bills" in white... all over these signs were little messages written in memorial... and one particular message along the "N" in "NO" was this:

"I miss you Dad"

tears rolled. I think it was the DAD part.... DADDY is something you usually see when it comes to situations like this, and its a little child... but DAD. I got this sensation of a full grown man writing about his father, maybe an office worker or something... i dont know, i am probably not making much sense but it really pinned the emotion for me. quite an experience to see it with my own eyes.

2: central park: oh my god i can die now. today i actually walked through "Strawberry Fields" (beatles lovers) and saw the 'Imagine' John Lennon memorial with my own eyes. After that we walked to the giant fountain (the most recent thing i can think of is in the movie 'the producers' where matthew broderick and nathan lane have the singalong in front of a big fountain... well i have seen it, with my own eyes). then we got caught in a terrential rain shower and NO cover.... after about 2 minutes of being raped by raindrops we finally said Fuck It and danced around... of course, 2 minutes later we grabbed a carriage (not horse drawn) and went back to the subway.

3: Times Square: i have seen this a few times before now (with my own eyes), but it always pleases me. so much aggressive advertising, so little money to give a shit. c'est la vie!

and now, back on the ship... we already have passengers on board, and instead of our typical 9 day cruise, we are on a 7 day 'recovery' cruise: sea day, seaday, grand turk, seaday, bermuda, seaday, seaday.

rivotting, isnt it? :

2800 passengers, 1200 crew, terrential rain...

but the statue of liberty is, at this very moment, giving a wave to me through the starboard side window (or LISTING side, as i like to call it)....

ok, its work time... i have filled you in enough. anti-climactic i know, but hey... i did a lot today. brain doesnt have to work 24/7.... if it did, there would be no time to imagine, would there?

-M-

...Ghost Ship...

2006-07-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

hello all. just a recap finally as to what happened a few days ago. it is now 430pm july 20th and we have now been ok'd by US coast guard to hobble up to new york. we are actually JUST leaving right now, and there are some seriously 'different' vibrations to the ship as we are going, of course i am making small jokes with the shoppie Kim on the computer next to me, but we both kinda have this look in our eyes.... we do now have Crisis councellors on board for the crew as of today, and yours truly is making his way down after this. everytime i close my eyes at night, i get phantom 'listing' or 'leaning' and my heart starts to pound. we were told the night of the incident that if we listed 5-10 degrees more, we would have capsized.... this is NOT a fact, but its not something you need to hear.

there are only crew members on this ship... what was once a floating majestic hotel of close to 5000 aboard, is now a hobbling, ghost town of 1200. it is in fact a ghost ship.

on the bright side, all 8 crew members who were treated ashore have now joined the ship and are doing well. all passengers treated ashore (i dont know the numbers, but its 100-200) have all been let go from the hospital except for 2, but we have confirmation that neither one of them are in critical condition. You have no idea how bad this was, but NOBODY has any idea how bad it could have been either.... everyone is ok.

I have decided that I am not going home. I am, however making a request to transfer to the Star Princess (Grit's ship) tonight. I figure that leaving one ship that almost tipped over, and joining another ship that had 4 decks burnt to a crisp only 4 months ago... makes sense eh? Grit and I have been speaking about this and she said that she has been talking with the photomanager since the 'incident' here on the crown... the manager said that he was putting in a request for me. lets hope he sticks with it.

i have 2 internet cards now, and 1 phone card so i can contact everyone soon... that was the only thing holding me up before, crew office was closed (no internet cards) and phone cards were sold out..

see you all in the next cartoon! (not leaning to one side)

-m-

Damage Everywhere PLEASE READ ME

2006-07-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

ok people, this is a serious post. I am 100% ok, I just want to tell everyone that. The Crown Princess today, at approximately 4pm just coming out of Port Canaveral Florida leaned about 15 degrees to one side and shit hit the fan. The clinic looks like a war infirmery, literally millions of dollars in damage has occured.... floods from busted pipes, marble tables smashed in millions of pieces, people were thrown around, pools on deck 15 emptied onto the surrounding deck... this is serious shit. our whole team is ok, adn there are smiles now finally... everyone is still in shock though... we are back in port canaveral and i think we will be wet docked here for a few days... i will be in touch with everyone soon, i am ok.... it was the freakiest thing that has ever happened to me.....i saw people flying past me and things smashing and screaming everywhere... i dont think we will be sent home, but literally 30% of the ship or more is a complete write off...

the spa.... oh Thank Christ Grit wasn't here with me for that.... people were smashing up along windows and massage beds were flying everywhere...

a $50,000 grand piano in the Princess Theatre literally went THROUGH a wall....

and on top of that... its Formal Night.

I hate Formal Nights...

all is well with me once again everyone... stick by the phones tonight, i have stories :)

and a SHITLOAD of pictures...

-M-

Sweepin', Cool Bob, Margaritaville, and everything else in between...

2006-07-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Day off. Chillin' out at an outdoor internet cafe with a Red Stripe Lager. Clouds in the sky. Very Humid. Margaritaville meal still sittin uneasy-like in my stomache. Out of breathe from chasing after some customers to return a bag they left on the table next to me. Smiling at the sight of homeless people cleaning the streets with brooms and picking up garbage, while asking for money, rather than sittin 'round expecting change to fall from the sky. Probably the only way to keep the streets clean, the rest of the world should do the same. Everything in their path that they find while cleaning is theirs. Finders Keepers. Sippin' the lager again. Cringing at passengers that just do not know when to stop eating. All you can eat buffet on ship, and then 'lets go ashore and have a quick bite'. More Lager. Thinkin about 'Cool Bob' and all the other locals askin' me and Chris if we want 'smoke'. Jamaica. ya man. but no man. Thinkin about the crew disco last night. "White Night" sponsered by the Pursers Department. Wear only white. Photogs in Togas. Mike in White Pirate Pants and bedsheet around his neck like an aviator scarf, hair Ace Ventura'd and sunnies. We won. Go Team. Scotiabank next to me. Odd to see in jamaica. Rastafarian on other side. Thats better. Thinkin about what cool thing to buy here.

Should go now, runnin out of things to say lol. When I weed through the 300+ photos takin from the disco last night, I will throw a couple on. Theres a video round here somewhere too .... should be interesting :)

Tomorrow is Grand Cayman, then Seaday, then Port Canaveral FLorida, then seaday... and THEN (pray to the universe) I get a chance to FiNALLY take on New York...bloody hell.

Calgarians who went to Our Lady Peace at the Stampede (Ben you MUST have)...fill me in... everyone here are not fans... but i will throw in a little "4am" when we jam in the crewbar... they dont seem to mind too much, but its usually just a solo-effort :)

p.s. Blood on the moon the other day, hope everyone is doin good.

Namaste

-M-

July 6th, in San Juan, Random Photos thus far...

2006-07-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

This is the crew bar. This is my birthday. This is my Birthday Cake hat.

The Crown Princess in Grand Turk... so majestic.

This is the Piazza in the Crown Princess. I still rub my eyes everytime I pass it to make sure I am really seeing what I am seeing. The entire ship looks like this. Its quite humbling.

This is the gang. I can name all of them, but really...all they are is strangers to anyone who sees this lol so hey... friends and family, this is my team... my team, these are my friends and family. There. You all know one another.

Martha Stewart at the Christening of the Crown Princess. She dropped the bottle, it broke. Its a good thing. :P

100 People: Deep Blog Entry in Progress...

2006-07-04T09:38:00.000-07:00

This entire entry probably won't come out the way I originally planned it to... I have been toying with this entry in my mind since April on the Pacific Sky when I was in SouthEast Asia. I thought about it during one of my meditation moments (dont picture me droning hums sitting cross-legged with incense burning. My meditation moments are usually any moments where I get a chance to breathe during the day). You will really have to go with me on this one, as it may not really make any sense, but in any case its something worth trying whenever you have a spare moment or two:

Grab a piece of paper and a pen. Sit somewhere that you won't be bothered, much like that of a meditation area. Take a few minutes to breathe, maybe toss on a tune or two, and begin to write down the names of 100 people you know. Randomly, just quick people off the top of your head, list 100 people you have known during your entire life. Friends, enemies, lovers, employers, friends of friends, mailmen, teachers, it doesnt matter. If you have met them and know them well enough, throw them onto the list. Everyone technically knows thousands of people in their lifetimes so it really isnt that hard when you think of it, you just have to be without prejudice (if a name comes up, throw it on regardless of why)....

now, take a look at it.

Repeat this somewhere down the road, be it a week, a month, a year, or even just a different state of mind....

Did new people get onto the 2nd list? Why?
Did people from the 1st list get removed? Why?

It sounds kinda lame maybe at first, but really... as random as your list may be, there are reasons as to why everyone is on there... and the same person that added people onto the first list, has forgotten them on the second... Oh sure, when you get to 75 people I am sure there actually is a fight as to think of who goes on the list... but what if someone in the top half of the first list didnt even make it to the top OR bottom of the 2nd?

Try it twice in one week.... notice the changes if any... now imagine 2 lists one year apart. Two years apart. Ten Years apart. I bet over 60% of the list will remain the same forever, while the other 40% is fizzled away with people that are in our lives one day, and out of our minds the next.

....

I brought this up now because I have noticed something. A photographer here quit 2 days ago, one more is leaving in 6 days, one more is leaving to another ship probably in 6 days as well... we're dropping like flies, all for unrelated reasons mind you... People come and go in our lives, its a fact of life. I have met so many new friends at this job. We have laughed, cried, shared so many of our intimate and darkest secrets. But time goes on. Friends do drift further away, maybe not all the way, but sometimes it does happen. Its nice when we get the ones that stay in the top half. Likewise, the ones that leave the list have at one point touched our hearts in some way... but... (and this is going even deeper now).... would the list be any different than it is now if we didnt ever know them? Even though they are now no longer on it?

****

Anyways, that was my deep topic for the day. Nothing really ship related, but I am well, happy, and content otherwise. Things are good here :)

See you all in the next cartoon!

-M-

O' Canada, Lets sing together!

2006-06-30T23:18:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Happy Canada Day! I am in the crew bar and about 300 canadians and non-canadians are celebrating Canada Day! Nothing but Candian Music (Great Big Sea, Tragically Hip, Our Lady Peace, 54:40, etc)... could be the best night on the ship so far hahaha

We sang O Canada, followed by Tragically Hips "Courage" and then ..... Stompin Tom Connors - Good ol' Hockey Game.... imagine 50 phillippeno's staring in absolute puzzlement.... funniest fuckin thing i have ever seen. anyways i am still in the crew bar and I not only am I having a great time, I dont have to be awake until 11am, and I had a very productive "mike you are the GO-TO guy" day, but I am finally back in my "absolute-contentment" stage again.... I have things to work towards, things to fight for, and things to keep me happy in the mean time... passengers are happy with me at a personal level (cause 'work-level' is just me doing my job) and also getting quite a few manager 'pats on the shoulder'...

wow, this entry has a lot of 'quotation marks'

happy canada day everyone!... tomorrow is a seaday and then the next day I am going to do something I have been wanting to do for a few years...

I am walking the site of Ground Zero in New York.

Jenny (photog) went last time, and couldnt stop crying. I expect to do the same. Nevertheless, pics will follow.

Here's to Canada, and the rest of the entire world. Non-Tragically Hip fans and others included.

-M-

My heart was fine until just before midnight...

2006-06-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

...and then it stopped...

I will be 27 years old in 10 minutes.

*gulp*

actually, if it wasnt for Rory running in front of me into the crew bar, shutting down the DJ, yelling out a birthday announcement to 100+ people, and getting every single person to sing to me.... my heart may have not started again at all...

last night was the calm night, tonight is the party night (apparantly). Put it this way, I had 2 drinks and spent about 45 minutes having staring contests with Jenny (scottish photog) trying to see who would laugh first. Its very easy to get this girl laughing, so we decided to change it to the first person that would cry... so we would stare at each other and think of sad things and the first to shed a tear would win... ya, we are fun... it ended after 15 minutes by me secretly telling Chris to blow smoke in my face... Jenny still doesnt know how i won hahaha. Cheating at crying contests is allowed on your birthday.

We're heading up tonight to "stalkers" (Sky Walkers Bar on deck 17) and getting 'jiggy' with it (as it were).

Went to Bermuda yesterday, it was so hot and beautiful... Hamilton, Bermuda is now on my list of 20 places to live...

Tomorrow is San Juan ... should be nice, I am going to find a beach and sleep for a few hours... thats all I want.

A final thing before I go: Some of you I might not be able to talk to today, and some of you may not be able to talk to me today, so as long as you sing this as loud as you can, it will be ok.

Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Michael, Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

Many Happy Returns.

-M-

A very random look at life on the Crown thus far...

2006-06-19T10:24:00.001-07:00

Just before I took the tender boat to Grand Cayman Island today I ran to the photo lab and threw random photos onto a CD in hopes that I would find an internet cafe... and now I have, and now that I finally looked at the photos... I am kinda disappointed haha... these are VERY random photos, and none of them really have any kinda meaning, BUT i will show them to you anyways... Next time I will show you some of our stock shots of the ship, like the Atrium (Holy Beautiful, Batman), and the dining rooms, and my cabin (meh, its aight)... that kinda stuff...

But for now, enjoy some completely random photos:

ok Update: the internet is slow and I have been trying to upload 10 photos for 45 minutes...looks like 2 is all we are gonna get today:

This is a picture of Chris (photog from England) and myself jammin with everyone in the crewbar... Probably Pink Floyd or Tom Petty or something, not my taste in music but easy to play lol

This is a picture of Adam (Aussie Videographer) in a Brookyln subway station at around midnight... no signs of ass-raping.... yet!

....breathing again....

2006-06-17T23:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, woke up at 7am, in Grand Turk. Took gangway photos, went and had nachos with Jenny at "Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville", and then came back to the ship and slept from 1-5:30pm (god i needed that). I listened to my ipod, watched movies, and relaxed all alone in my cabin... and then I started breathing again...

I needed that little explosion last night to remind me that I am human... I think.. although, the gang are beginning to NAME my personalities... we wont get into details lol.

Tomorrow is Ocho Rios, Jamaica (hey man! my first time!)...and I am IPM (DOH!).. at least I can leave the ship to photograph the passengers lol... and then its back to the ship for yet another bout of sleeping/movies/relaxing...(it wont always be like this... its the calm before the storm), and then I have the privelage of being a pirate in the pm....and then after that its Disco Night in the crewbar, so there will be about 700 people in a space the size of a single floor "Gap" store....so I gotta prepare.... laundry time... can't smell like a photog at disco nights... we'll have none of that! There's something with dancing with two women at the same time, and then turning around and faux-grinding with flaming homo-sexuals that just screams out "mama-mia! Crank the ABBA!"...again, not going into detail lol...no dad I am not gay...

Oh one more thing... JON PINETTE.

If the name doesn't ring a bell, it should. Whoever is reading this, if you have ever watched JUST FOR LAUGHS, and seen a REALLY fat white guy that made you laugh your ass off, OR if you have ever heard me say things like "You eat like fee-weeeeryyyyyy" (japanese man saying "you eat like FREE WILLY!").... ya, i figured you would know that one..

well, he is on my ship right now as a guest entertainer, and i only found out when it was too late. he is no longer doing shows and is leaving tomorrow... that made my heart rip just a little... BUT there is a happy ending...sorta... i was up on the open deck (Deck 15) grabbing a burger before Gallery tonight, and guess who was there (not surprisingly)... this man makes a 20 minute skit about eating at buffets and people being afraid of his size and closing business when they see him, and he is eating at a buffet....with me! I am jealous of MYSELF!

Ok, its 3am...I should get to bed... But alas, its 1 hour back tonight so I just gained an hour of sleep haha. I have been given the thumbs up to use the internet anytime I want until they get the wi-fi up in my cabin (which should be when we get to St. Thomas June 28th). Let your emails flow like wine, and I will finally have time for you guys lol. (just remind me that you still know i exist first, its been a while since I talked to some of you)

*cough* Dana/Amber/Graham/Josh *cough*

Songs on heavy rotation on ye olde ipod:
- Yoga Meditation - "Sleeping through the rain" - (30 minutes of rain, and soothing sounds)
- Amos Lee - "Colors" - (from "Just like Heaven"...finally saw that today...corny but good)
- The Watchmen - "Beach Music" - (Danny hasn't done me wrong for 11 years and he isnt going to start now)
- Billie Holiday - "Them There Eyes" - (among the other 20 of hers sitting strongly on my list)
- Jamie Cullum - "All at Sea" - just listen....or check the words here
- Counting Crows - "Millers Angels" - if i write a movie, this will be in it.
- Misc Rock songs sung while jamming on guitars in the crewbar with Rory, Chris, and about 15 Steiners (spa people), 5 dancers (gay and loving it), 5-10 shoppies (cause hey, shoppies are people too), and the occasional Purser or Officer of the Bridge.... 2 acoustic guitars, Chris usually plays lead, Rory or myself will play when we can, or Rory will just hit the back of his guitar like bongo drums... we do everything from 'Hotel California', to Jack Johnson, Green Day, Dave Matthews Band and even Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' (with 35 of us headbanging a la 'Waynes World'). I have movies, i will try to link one up to the blog sometime... either those or a 30 second clip of the photogs constantly laughing at me and my typical physical 'schitzo-humor'... honestly, isn't it wrong for that many people to pee at the same time?

-M-

First Cruise, and first bump in the road...

2006-06-17T00:23:00.000-07:00

ok... so many things to say, not enough time to say it.

- First port of the first cruise tomorrow, Grand Turk.
- I saw Martha Stewart with my own eyes a few days ago, she is the Godmother of our ship. Its a good thing.
- I am melding with everyone nicely, finally...good friends come in bunches.
- Its 3am, and I have to be awake in 3 hours to shoot gangway. Ugh.
- Going to the Caribbean! yay!

having said that...at this very moment anyways, i havent been this depressed and alone for a very long time. there ya go, i said it. first REAL negative comment on this blog for a while. I cant get into it too much, and i dont really want to. Everything is fine, but the main thing is this: out of nowhere today, i got this uncontrollable feeling of being utterly alone. wah wah, i know, fuck off... i am sure its just temporary, maybe its the 3080 passengers giving off negative energy, who knows. Maybe I have a negative-genie-in-a-bottle, and i rubbed it the wrong way when shooting ressies today....who knows? it rarely happens but it does happen...I miss Grit so much. I have photos taped up above my bed of her and every night just before i go to bed i turn on the ipod, and look up at her... i tell myself that i am here for me........and her.... and no-one else (besides the creditors)...when it all boils down to it, I need to be happy. that can be argued til the cows come home, but thats the answer when all is said and done. I need to be happy, no matter what. She made me happy. She made me feel things that i HAVE felt before (everyone says HAVENT felt before....but i am changing it). I HAVE felt love, I HAVE felt peace, and I HAVE felt like every day should be a Sunday morning in bed with the woman I love.... and now, I really can't picture anyone other than her to be sharing that with. And now, I am here... in the middle of the ocean, with good friends (granted), and a good job (ditto), and i have NOW been to Venice (alone...but fuck it lol).... and I want some fairy to come down, wave the wand, bring my debts down to zero and throw a one way ticket to Germany in my hand, and I am not talking about going to see World Cup.

I think I just twisted the knife. I am halfway across the planet from my real home.

diese Frau ist mein Sonntag Morgen
(this woman is my Sunday Morning)

blah. bedtime.

-M-

Cruise cam!!

2006-06-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone just a quick note, you can see where I am on this website!!
http://www.kroooz-cams.com/Princessindex.html

Start Spreading the News!!!

2006-06-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!!! Greetings from New York! We've been here for 2 days now and only NOW am I having the chance to Blog lol.

First things first:

LANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNND!!! I am so happy to see land! The Atlantic Ocean crossing was an amazing experience, and so beautiful....but Holy God! At times it felt like a prison drifting at sea! The days pretty much consisted of training/gallery shifts/labwork...and the nights consisted of discos/movies under the stars/crew IDOL (A Steiner won it... not surprisingly)/walking around the ship/going to gym... A few things to note: Adam (videographer) was up on the top decks halfway through the journey and saw whales along the ship, and the day before he saw a..flock? of seaturtles along the current we were crossing. I saw....nothing.

2nd thing: New York.

Holy Fucking Shit. Nuff Said. We woke up on the 8th at 5am, threw on our red Princess Cruises 'Photo Staff" jackets (I'm officially cool now by the way), and ran upstairs to stand ON TOP of the bridge (yes...on top of the bridge...if you see pics of the Crown Princess, the bridge is the 'sunglasses' of the crown..you will know what I mean). The weather was Shite. Jenny (Scotland), Jacek (Poland), Adam (Aussie) and I (Canada...Word.) had to form a "Photo-Cuddle-Puddle" in order to survive...

Then we saw her. Torch and book in hand, and an outfit accented with the finest sandals and tiera money can buy. The Statue of Liberty.

(Smaller than in the movies by the way, but twice as beautiful)

The next day and a half was a blur of constant work...there was even a time where all of the photog team were hanging out in Mark's cabin (Head Office trainer guy) and 17 of us drinking and then all of a sudden boss gets a page and at midnight we all have to stumble down to the M-1 (long hallway from one end of ship to another in crew area) and move 30 boxes of product around.... it was a GONG show!!

Then last night Jacek, Adam, Jenny, Dagmara and I had time off so we took the subway (yes the subway...from brooklyn) to manhatten, and what happened next will always stay with me. We went to the Empire State Building and I froze my ass off on the 86th floor looking over New York... But i have now been there. Then after that we walked to Times Square and everyone was like a kid in a candy store... everywhere you could look, you could see broadway shows! Lion King, The Producers, Rent, Phantom, Mama Mia, The Colour Purple, Dirty Rotten Scoundrals, The Wedding Singer (Stephen Lynch as Robbie Hart haha), Chicago (God dammit i gotta go!), and a hot dog stand at every corner!!! We had a beer at the Havanah Central bar and then headed back tothe ship. Today however, Jacek and I had to run and find a pharmacy to get a few personal things (9 days on a ship without many essentials is a bad thing), and we couldnt think of a better place to go than ...where else? Times Square! again! I walked around quite a bit more and even found the Ed Sulivan Theatre (Hi Mr. Letterman!)....

then we took the subway back (so i could work a few hours), and now we are in an internet cafe in Brooklyn, only minutes away from the ship... It is now time to find a convenience store, grab some munchies, and head back to the ship (our feet are KILLING us!!)....

I hope that is enough info to fill everyone in on for now... I had pictures to show, but today when i first checked internet, there was no usb connection on the pc, and now I didnt even bring the fuckin thing and of course there is a usb port... ack!

See y'all in the next cartoon!
-M-

Algeciras, Spain...Refuel for 2!

2006-05-31T08:05:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Still no internet on the ship as of yet, but we are now in Algeciras, Spain for a few hours refuelling so I thought I would recharge and refuel myself by hitting up an internet cafe and supermarket. I was going nuts without contact from the other world... and its only been a few days haha I have to get back into the schedule again. I had some nice emails from people saying they miss me and wish me luck across the might Atlantic...almost as if its ME who is driving the ship lol. All I can say is 'i will try to do my best'.

Its relatively boring here...but the cool thing is this:

one side of the ship has Spain.... behind us is Jabralta .... and to the other side in the distance is Morocco!!! Africa!!!

All these places, amazing as they are however.... Grit I miss ya so much, we gotta come back here haha! and THEN everyone else can come.... heehee

If internet comes up on the ship on the crossing, I will update y'all, but if not...talk to you in one week in New Yawk lol

Oh, Finally saw the movie Crash last night on the Movies under the Stars... god what a good movie...

anyways, see ya soon!

ciao!

M

Update to schedule

2006-05-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

One more thing to add before I go drown my newly received cold with tea.....(got it 5 hours ago by the way...cant stop coughing)....

As we are leaving for New York tomorrow, and there still isn't any word of internet on the ship... I am unsure as to when I can talk with anyone next. The good news is that there is wireless internet pumped into each cabin and therefore I will have 100% usage of my own laptop on the internet while I am far and away..... translation: you want photos, you can have photos. you want msn, you can have msn.... Dad: you want Skype? you can Skype the shit outta me (haha).

So, to recap my schedule... tomorrow (27th) we sail for the first time at 4pm, at sea for about 4 days and then we refuel in Spain... still not sure as to whether or not we will be able to get off the ship in spain but nevertheless: I will be in Spain in a few days. After that we sail across the Atlantic and no word of a lie, as we are taking the same voyage as the Titanic did (around this time of year even), we will be passing within a short distance of the flippin' thing as well.

Then we get to New York I think June 8th or 9th, and land in Brooklyn haha no kidding. We are there for 5 days or so doing odd jobs here and there, and then on the 14th we go crazy to the Caribbean for the rest of my contract.... good times.

hope to talk to everyone soon, keep those emails a comin' in the mean time!

arrivederci!

M

Arrivederci l'Italia!

2006-05-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

31 hours left until we leave Italy, and its no surprise that nobody wants to go. Its too kozy here. Every night has consisted of not one, but usually two different patios with gelatto's and cappucino's as far as the eye could see.... and every time you walk down the street and you hear folks speaking italian, or smell the bakeries and restaurants and coffee shops, or hear the music playing (usually Live and involving accordians) in local pubs....you are instantly transformed into this person that quite simply doesn't give a shit about anything negative in the world. You cant help but feel .....content. Not just content....but like 'just got out of a 45min soak in a hot bath with candles and bubbles and Jack Johnson playing softly and...oh and all my bills are paid' type of Content.

ya. I'm taking Italy with me.

Go Rocky. Go.

M

Photos from Venice!

2006-05-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning with an itch to explore...

2006-05-22T04:31:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I can't talk for too long, but I just had to mention this because I am about to explode...

I had a day off today in Trieste, Italy...so I woke up, and decided at the spur of the moment to go siteseeing...so i walked around, decided to hop a train... and two hours later:

I am in Venice Italy.

Right now.

I have 7 hours before my train leaves for the ship, its 1pm, i have TWO cameras on the go, about 3 cappucinos in my system (going on 4 in about 5 minutes), and I can't wait to go exploring.

In fact, I'm outta here! I'll be back in a few hours!

Ciao!

M

Crowned in Italy!

2006-05-20T10:01:00.000-07:00

I have arrived! Trieste, Italy.... damn. I never thought I would see the day where I would be Michael Wachniak: World Traveller.

Ok so a quick note to bring everyone up to speed. I flew from Vancouver to Frankfurt, Germany yesterday, then to Milan, Italy. In Milan there was a 9 hour wait, so I hopped on the internet, ate at Burger King (ya.. i know), and slept for a few hours. When I finally took off to Trieste, it was all starting to sink in. I am in Italy...

I arrived in Trieste airport at about 11pm, and by 1115pmI was at the ship. The ship....the CROWN PRINCESS... is .... the biggest fucking thing I have ever seen in my life. The gangway is on 4, so when you stand there, you have this white...WALL standing another 15 stories above you. The Pacific Sky had 11 decks... The Crown has 19. Do the math. You cant help but just stand there with your jaw gaped wide open. Anyways when I got there, there was about 20 people outside drinking beer, smoking, sitting on crates. I walked inside and immediately smelled 'new ship'. The guys gave me my cabin cardkey and then said 'ok talk to you later'... nothing about when i start working, nothing about what i should do, i still dont even know if there are any other photographers on the ship haha. So, I went to my cabin 4209 (deck 4 baby ya!) and its simply amazing. Clean, new, has a TV and a DVD player... oh ya, and no electricity. So, i had to run over again to tell someone.. and today its still Powerless (just like Nelly Furtado).

Today I woke up at 1pm, went to a safety induction, went back to bed, and now Matt and I are walking around Italy and going to find food...

I will keep everyone posted, but I just wanted to tell everyone I am ok.

Miss you tons!

see you all in the next cartoon,

M

Update: www.michaelwachniak.com

2006-05-17T16:26:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce that I have finally added all my new photos to my site. Australia, New Caledonia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia... its all there. I strongly encourage you to visit it and please let me know what you think. I want everyone to see what I saw, as it was a very big part in my life.

www.michaelwachniak.com

(photo above: sunset on my last day in Langkawi, Malaysia)

Bon Voyage, Amber!

2006-05-15T23:16:00.000-07:00

I took the bus down to Port of Vancouver today, in hopes I would see a buddy of mine from The Sky. I didnt get a chance to see her but I did see my first sail-away FROM LAND lol

have a good trip Amber! Be nice to the guys, aight!?

Ah, The Island Princess

Oh God I hope he read the sign!

Look at that ASS! (Although I musts admit, the Pacific Sky's was better lol)

Ahhh, vacation at last...

2006-05-15T22:32:00.000-07:00

Well... it was fun while it lasted, but today (day 6 of my vacation) i got a call from Princess Cruises head office... Turns out I am NOT off for 1 month lol... I knew I wasn't going on the Diamond to Alaska when I got here to Vancouver, and after a few days of fighting to get onto Grit's ship (Star Princess in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, etc.) I knew that was a NO-GO as well....then came the "but you might go to the Grand Princess in the Mediterranean Sea June 21st".... TODAY I found out (in fact 4 hours ago)...."Mike, pack your stuff, you are heading to Italy in 3 days onto the Crown Princess for its maiden voyage!"....

What...The....Fuck....

hey its all good, I am just totally surprised. In a perfect world I would have jumped onto Grit's ship, but hey... I'm not going anywhere anytime soon (well...except for Italy).

So.. Dry-docked in Italy for a week or 2.. then a big swim across the Atlantic to New York, and from there we do 9-day roundtrip cruises from NewYork to the Caribbean and back. (check www.princess.com for proper itinerary)

Go Flames.

M

Reincarnation

2006-05-13T04:07:00.000-07:00

Just before I went to bed tonight, I thought I would see if there was any information on the world wide web about The Pacific Sky's new identity: "Sky Wonder". So, onto Google I went.

http://www.pullmanturcruises.com/sky.html

There she is folks. Sky Wonder. A new change of clothes and voila!

If you have a few minutes, click on "ver video" on the bottom left corner. Its dull at times, but you get a few good shots of the interior and what they plan on doing with the exterior. After that there are a few nice pans of the ports she will be visiting. Not too bad, looks like the white lady still has it!

M

Back Home

2006-05-10T02:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I am home now, and I finally remember how to breathe.

White Rock looks just like it should. I saw 2 of the 10 puppies today (Avah, and Reuben), and tomorrow I am going to see the rest...10 puppies......wow!

I really miss everyone from The Pacific Sky. It was a real heartbreaker to be walking alongside the ship 6am Tuesday (Singapore time) with all my luggage and looking up to see all the logos painted over, and "Sky Wonder" in big white letters in their place. When I got home I showed my mom the photos and the DVDs....and just to watch The Mighty Sky alive again with all the crew and all the places she's been.....damn I am gonna miss her....we all are.

Grit isn't coming to the Diamond. She is starting on the Star Princess (emailed me 1 hour ago to tell me she is at the airport in London). We're working on a plan, but for now she is LITERALLY on the otherside of the planet. She will do just fine, I know it. We will see each other again, I know that as well.

Feels good to be back....but for today at least....its hard to feel 100% completely at home. Thats normal I suppose, that was a hell of a ride.

I'll be in Calgary in a week or so if anyone is interested. We should hook up for a coffee at the very least. I have so many stories.

Man, what a hell of a ride indeed.

One last thing...

2006-05-07T22:04:00.000-07:00

This is what I have to go home to:

I'm gonna miss this place!

2006-05-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

Hey all, this is my final internet entry from the Singapore Terminal. I am really gonna miss this place. The Pacific Sky was always sitting out the window next to me, as I would eat my cheesy wedges and blog the day away....and right now the white lady is being repainted. Its kinda depressing, but at the same time, her legacy will continue on forever. I was sitting on Shoppie Street last night with the remaining gang, and we were talking about the amount character that the Pacific Sky has. (Shoppie Street is just the name of the hallway that all the Shop Crew live on...Shoppie Street....). The other ships are so much more extravagent than her, but as you walk around the decks late at night, with no passengers, you get a sense of a living, breathing being. Its almost the feeling of a mother to her child, (i can only imagine). You get this feeling as though you are being nurtured and taken well care of, and then your mind goes "hey, its a ship man....ease off the sauce ok?" but before you agree to that, your mind goes "...but it DOES feel comfortable in here...."

Today Ben, Will and I are going to Sentosa beach for one final day of sand and surf.... then its back to the ship for the final night. I expected huge parties these past few days, but all we had instead were the couples locking themselves in their cabins for one final night of intimacy, and the rest of them sitting around with bags under their eyes, playing scrabble and wandering around the ship in a 'zombie-like' state....looking around with red eyes...I think we are all tired now and its finally catching up to us. There are also quite a few cuddle puddles (i just invented that word by the way)....4 or 5 people lying down in the middle of nowhere in one giant heap of people....either sleeping, or cuddling, or whatever....just being together. You never know when you will see these people again. I saw the diswasher today for example (found out his name is Irwin finally), and he looked at me with his never-sad eyes and his massive ear to ear smile, and he said "thank you Mike. I will miss you. I will pray for your happiness." Perhaps its things like that that give this ship the sense of love and nurturing that we all feel.

The love and friendship of all the people aboard over the last 21 years, echo through the hallways like ghosts.

And tomorrow when the ship sails for Greece to start a new life, the echos of the pacific sky will remain and warm the hearts and minds. And we will walk the halls forever.

-m-

Gone going, gone, everything's gone...

2006-05-06T11:25:00.000-07:00

Well well well... the final cruise is done. Its now 2:30am and I am quite hammered in an internet cafe in Singapore with Szymon beside me, and Will outside using my phone card to call some girls he met on the last cruise. I have worked 17+ hours each day for the past two days packing everything up so we could have the next 3 days off...and holy God was it ever hell.... but now, we are off....Szymon, Will and myself just finished a few beers in Little India, and now we might go for one more and then head to the ship for bed.

Grit went home today. Fucking hell. I don't think I have felt so bad in such a long time. There were so many tears and hugs, more than anyone should handle, yet it was all for love, and only happy tears really....we never said Goodbye....we just said 'see you in 30 days' (we are hoping she gets on the Diamond Princess with me June 10th)...I know most would think its too soon to say this but I really would do anything to be with her. Thats the typical LOVE thing to say I know, but I am sticking to my guns on this one...her and I are so good together. The last few hours her and I spent on the ship was lying in her bed talking about what movies and music and other things we like. She really likes Jack Johnson, James Blunt, mellow music, salsa music (and Damn what a dancer!) and her favorite movie (at the moment) was that one a year or two ago with Richard Gere and JLO when he goes to learn salsa. I miss her so much. Her and I were toying with a few 'lets go move somewhere for 6 months and try things out...' .... Australia and New Zealand were the top two seeing as how we both have 'connections' there. I am all up for that but I really hope that its not 'the ship life' talking and she forgets me the second she got on the plane. Nevertheless I spent my entire free time tonight in Singapore (minus the beers with the guys of course but that was after time with her) going to the airport with Grit and spending the last few minutes with her...(for the time being)

Christ I really hope I see her again.....you know? I'm happy with her, we get along, we work well together under stress, we do things for each other without wanting anything in return (which is very rare nowadays)....we just want each other to be happy..... plus when I saw her cry today...I finally knew she felt for me the way I felt for her. Now, I may or may not read this months from now and go "well shit, what was I thinking then?" but I know how I feel right now, and thats what life is all about. I am being open minded and at the same time I am loving "the now".

I miss her. She's been in the air for 3 hours now....she is going back to London until she finds out whats going on....and I am here ......loving life.....but just wishing she was around, ya know?

Will's back...on the mobile with his woman :) I just asked him to think of something to say on my blog....he said 'gimme a minute...i have to think.' the anticipation is killing me. He always has time for a good laughable story.

In the meantime, lets talk about coming home... I am off duty for the next 3 days and the 9th I leave the ship (Oh, I bought a new suitcase today in Singapore for 30 canadian dollars hahahaha) .....I think we have to be back on the ship at 7am tomorrow so we can sail to another terminal (Star Cruises needs our spot again....damn you opposing company!)

Random thought: I miss speaking German with Grit....yes I am still learning German...
Random thought #2: What is that smell? Diesel? Garbage? at least the air con works.

On the 9th I fly at 11:00am from Singapore to Hong Kong and then to Vancouver. I cant wait to see everyone, and I have started to think of things to do while on 'vacation'..mountain climbing, sleeping on the beach, dancing, meditating....hopefully seeing old friends (but i doubt that), and being with loved ones....

ok Will is back...

Mike: 'so do you have anything you want to say to the blog?'
Will: 'hmmmm.....i dont know. I was just outside a food place and I said how much is this? and they said where are you from? and so i said ....hmmm.....Ukraine? and then they gave me one price....and so I asked the other guy and said I was from England and then they gave me another price.....Singapore....I'm ready for bed now."

thats the humor I deal with every single day.....

Grit gave me her internet card so I can add more tomorrow on the ship...so I think its time for one more beer and then back to the ship.

"To Grit and her safe trip back to London. Please make sure we are happy, no matter what that means. Life will always go on for the best, but I know a part of me died when she left, and I know part of me will grow when she returns...mwa ha ha ha"

Thats something I think only my dad would laugh at....so I am leaving it in. All kidding aside I really hope my future has Grit in it. To the fullest.

See her in my next cartoon.

P615: The Final Cruise

2006-04-28T20:43:00.000-07:00

These are the voyagers of the Pacific Sky. Its continuing mission: to explore strange Southeast Asian Countries. To seek out new massage parlours and ride Tuk-Tuks....

To Boldly go where no one has gone before..

(insert EXTREMELY gay rendition of star trek theme song here)

Well its finally here.... Embarkation Day of the final Cruise. I am sitting in the Singapore Terminal, on the internet sipping my orange juice waiting for my Cheesy Wedges, while Grit is doing the same on the computer next to me. Speaking of which, we found out the day before yesterday that next saturday the entire spa team (Grit included) goes back to the Steiner office in London, and from there they are told what ships they are going to. In a nutshell that means that next Saturday we say Goodbye and we still arent sure if its forever or not..... that is retarded. I guess it doesnt have to be forever, but I think you know what I mean.

This week I am going to try to get as many photos and videos of the ship (i realized last night that I have tons of photos of where I have BEEN but ZERO photos of where I have lived for the past 3 months lol.....go figure...)

So the final cruise consists of this: today Embarkation photos (jesus, not again...one last time, only one more time), then tomorrow Formal day (two more times only two more times) in Mallacca, then Port Kelang (i hope i can Finally see the Batu Caves), then Langkawi (sea eagle feeding and boat riding around the mangroves...what a rush), then Phuket (no time for elephant trekking, maybe a massage on the beach, goodbye Sweetheart), and then Port Penang (i cant get off because we are tearing down the machines), and then seaday (last time to really enjoy the open sea...at least for a while).

My Flight details are as follows: (at least I think.... I seemed to have misplaced my copy...damn spring cleaning!)

- May 9th around 12pm Singapore to Hong Kong
- May 9th around 5pm Hong Kong to Vancouver
its funny because since I cross the International dateline going the OTHER way this time, I actually arrive in Vancouver 3 hours before I leave Hong Kong haha

Alright, its time to head back onto the ship...passengers are coming and I dont want to be late for setting up the embarkation backdrop (ugh, 9 hours straight of hearing (in an australian accent no doubt) 900 "NO, NO NO photos" ..i love the accent but man oh man...900 no's a day in ANY accent....shoot me lol)

I hope to get online in Mallacca or Phuket...or on the ship if it works lol

see you all in next cartoon!
M

More photos!

2006-04-19T23:03:00.000-07:00

Nyamh, Szymon, Will, Grit, and Me (with new gay hat) in Phuket after the Elephant Trek.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from the KL tower. Those are the Petronas Towers (largest twin towers in the world....now)

oh look guys, the guide found a bullet in the forest! lets go now, ok?

Langkawi wild monkey eating a twig....doesn't it look like he is just sitting on the beach, chillaxin' smoking a cigar? Monkeys are as common to see here as gophers in Alberta. Hands up, who wants rabies?!

Grit and Me aboard "Lady", and Nyamh and Will aboard....."Lady". Whoever said Thai people were creative? lol

2 more weeks to go...

2006-04-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

I cant believe there is only a few more weeks to go before I hop on a plane and come home... I miss everyone so much, but this life that I have out here....its just hard to have to walk away. Grit still doesnt know if she is transferring onto the Diamond Princess with me or not either. Ugh.

These last few weeks are going to be spent as best as possible: with my new friends and family. I had some guy whom I only talk to once every few days come up to me in Singapore on Saturday while I was doing embarkation photos, and he asked to have a picture taken with me. When I asked him why, he said in broken english "You are nice to me. I want a photo with my friend." Things like this happen every day, and even though I always take it to heart, it still gets taken granted for. You just simply don't know what you have until its gone. Having said that, I know it doesn't make sense and sounds invalid because I AM feeling it, and I am NOT gone yet...but I think deep down my heart is already starting to break the ties from life out here. I am a cancer, its what I do. I live in my little shell, and I am proud. I just hate having to even think of getting emails from all my friends that I see 50-60 times a day just because I may never see them again. We were in Phuket again yesterday for example, and Szymon and I decided to take some more people back to the Elephant Trekking (photos to be added after I finish this post). So, Szymon, Grit, Nyamh (pronounced 'Neev'), Will, Elise, and myself all marched up and down the hills in two's, with our elephants. I was disappointed I didn't get "Sweetheart" again, but I did ask to see her when we finished. It was like going to visit a distant relative - a quick "HELLO, I miss you, I'm sorry I haven't called..." and then we were gone. She's just an elephant, I only met her once, she doesn't know me. Once we got back to the ship I looked at the photos from the day, and already felt nostalgic.

The bottom line is this:

The next time I crawl back in,
the shell that I live in
I'll see my new photos on the wall,
and all my friends are callin'
and they will come running in
The shell that I live in.

Puppies!

2006-04-08T01:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, after that silly webcam picture I finally thought of something to do lol.....upload the puppy pictures!!! Adobe looks so tired but she makes me so proud and looks like such an amazing mum. I cant wait to see them all in May, I hope they are still there and not with their new familes..... who wouldnt love playing with 10 puppies?!??!?!?!?

Oh, the rain has stopped! I will chat with all of you later! Ciao!

Big Boredom in Little India...

2006-04-08T00:54:00.001-07:00

Hey all, its Saturday so its Singapore time again...it is now 4pm and I have decided to spend my few hours off in Singapore's "Little India". Its....pretty big actually lol. There is a massive rainstorm outside at the moment so I thought I would take cover in an internet cafe. This one has webcams lol but unfortunately there is no one online at the moment to talk to....so here is one for when they ARE online lol:

Hello World!

Elephant Trekking in Phuket..

2006-04-05T22:05:00.000-07:00

You want ME to drive?!

This is our elephant, Sweetheart. She was so amazing, she would flap her ears against your legs and if she felt you were falling, she would hold her ears tight to your legs to make sure you would stay on...she really WAS a sweetheart.

A baby male elephant playing with Szymon, tell me that isnt cute.

Sweetheart and I.

I felt a little like Ace Ventura here.... "Come to me Jungle Friends!"

Yet another goofy face from the ride... hey you cant help but feel you are riding into battle when you are sitting bareback on an elephants head lol

No matter what the fun however, when it all boils down to it, this picture still says it all. Sorry to ruin the mood, but it struck a chord with me too.

In Port Penang for a few hours...

2006-04-05T21:52:00.000-07:00

I have until 4pm off today so i thought i would run ashore and throw some photos online...its so bloody hot here, i got a slight sunburn in Phuket yesterday (yes i FINALLY set foot in Phuket)... we went elephant trekking yesterday and damn what an experience that was.... some of these photos are just random ones that i thought i would share....getting more of a fanbase on the blog so i thought hey....why not show everyone more of what i am doing? :)

This is KohSan Road in Bangkok...this is a giant backpacking area where everyone around the world meets and has a great time... Ray, you were somewhere within a block from me when I took this.... but we never got to meet... so I slept at a prostitutes house with Szymon....long story...but hey, that should shock and awe a few readers hahahah only I know the real story ;)

My feet on Patong Beach in Phuket... where the tsunami hit the hardest on the island....imagine seeing it come in from this view...it hurts the heart. It really does.

I caught this lucky shot as we were doing morning gangway shots in Phuket. I thought it looked pretty neat.

Me sittin on the curb at a 7-11 drinking ChangBeer (bought from 7-11) on the way to Bangkok. I think this was in Laem Chabang...who knows.

Kids in Koh Samui. I thought it would make for a nice pic to get them to make faces at me. They really love seeing themselves on the screen on the camera lol

I AM A GRANDPA!!!

2006-03-29T20:48:00.000-08:00

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...

2006-03-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

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

2006-03-19T22:20:00.000-08:00

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!

2006-03-19T21:54:00.000-08:00

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...

2006-03-11T00:51:00.000-08:00

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

2006-03-08T02:28:00.000-08:00

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

2006-03-07T21:36:00.000-08:00

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

2006-03-07T21:28:00.000-08:00

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

2006-03-07T21:11:00.000-08:00

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

2006-03-05T21:44:00.000-08:00

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...

2006-03-04T22:02:00.000-08:00

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?

2006-03-03T05:37:00.000-08:00

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!

One Night In Bangkok!!!

2006-02-28T03:48:00.000-08:00

Hey all!
I am in Bangkok right now, and everything is so cheap! I just bought a high quality Brazil Soccer shirt for 3 bucks american!!!Grit, Szymon (i couldnt find a way to say 'hey man, i wanna go on a date, leave me alone') and myself have been running around getting VERY VERY VERY lost in Bangkok since 2pm and its now 7pm. We shared a van ride into Bangkok from Laem Chabang with some passengers and it took 2 hours to get here. The cool thing was it cost us 10US each lol. We are all going to get a Thai Massage after this entry for one hour for 200 Baht, which is about 6 bucks US....I think I am in paradise! Then at about 10pm we are going to find (hopefully) our shopping center where we got dropped off, and meet back with the cool passengers and then make it back to the ship (even though its cheap, i dont want to blow my money on a hotel to stay here overnight....).... so I am having a blast right now and maybe tomorrow i will spend 4 bucks and go to Pataya, and see some traditional old places...if that makes sense....

OK I should go now, we are gonna run around Bangkok for a bit and take night shots and get our massages and blah blah blah...the life of a photographer ;)

See you all in the next cartoon!

M

Some Random thoughts of Nothingness...

2006-02-26T22:21:00.000-08:00

Hey all! We are now officially in Thailand! YAYYYYY! Koh Samui looks amazing (at least from the ship it does lol). All my friends are out having fun, and I am walking around the ship looking for things to do. I have 3 hours left until I get ready for my 2nd crusade as a Pirate (yay!) so I thought I would run down here and throw some random thoughts on here. I had a few that I thought of but now...its all a blur (isnt that always the way? lol). Well here goes nothing:

1. "Beetlejuice" was just on in the crewbar. Such a good movie! Everyone sang "Shake Senora: at the end...it was kinda like a big karaoke party.....again....
2. Every single night when you see the sun set from the ship, you are always amazed. I have seen many crew photos but I have only taken a few myself, so you just have to take my word for it. There is a place up on the jogging track (highest place on the ship) that you can sit on this big platform and get yourself in frame with the sunset behind you, its so beautiful.
3. If you are good to crew, they are good to you in return. Its not about what you know in this line of work, its who you know. Be nice to people, and your life will be a whole lot more managable. There is this guy that sits at a table by the gallery once every cruise and has people sign up for wine tasting. We are always nice to him, so every time when he is done, the photog's get the grapes from his display. It sounds weird, but getting 2 bags of fresh grapes every week in a place where you mostly eat fish and rice ....its heaven. Things like that make the world go round.
4. I found out last night that the department that makes the most money on the entire ship is the crew bar. Now lets do some math here. I bought a Red Bull drink at the regular lounge...for 5 dollars!!! Thats not a drink, thats drink MIX, and its 5 dollars! I just wanted something to wake me up (its like Jolt if you dont know what it is...just lots of caffiene). In the crew bar, a tequilla sunrise is $2.50AUS. A Corona is $1.50AUS. Cigarettes in 25s (for the smokers) are $2.50AUS a pack. We arent spending a fortune per item here, and yet every single night 600 crew members spend more there than 1300 passengers at FULL price in any other bar on the ship....isnt there some safety regulation here??? And its not like its some big gong show every night. It may sound like it by the way I drag on, but really its just like a pub with casual drinking and music. Its like a BP Lounge. Weird.
5. Climbing 8 stories of stairs takes only 20 seconds or so, and no one is ever out of breath at the top (unless its a passenger). Going downstairs is just gravy. Thats right, I said Gravy.
6. We have a lifeboat #13. I just thought I would mention that.
7. I still hurt from waking up the other day and ramming my head on the roof. That was like...4 days ago! Still a very funny thing when I think about it lol.
8. Szymon, Kristen, Matt, and myself want to buy a helicopter. No reason.
9. I will be in Bangkok tomorrow :). As a matter of fact I might be there at night. One night. In Bangkok. (i will call anyone who wants to sing with me, just let me know haha)
10. Phuket (next cruise) has an island called James Bond Island. It was in a Bond flick (duh), and also if you have seen The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio, the main scene looking off the beach where you see the two big rocks on either side and the big opening into the ocean in the middle.. Thats James Bond Island, and I will walk there with my own two feet next week!
11. I have gone to more countries in 4 days than I have in my entire life :)
12. I keep forgetting there is a New Zealand Ice Cream shop on deck 10...dammit!
13. No one here ever knows what day it is.
14. I am eating healthy but I wonder what I weigh.
15. I want someone to research for me on the internet places I will be going, so i dont have to spend money looking for things to do for free...if that made sense.
16. My boss Joel dropped $2300S in Singapore and bought a Canon 20D and all the trimmings. He lets me play with it. I love Joel.
17. I am trying really hard to nominate the dishwasher for employee of the month. Next time I can upload pics I will show you all a photo of him and you will see why. This guy works 16 hour days every single day and makes about $300 a month, and I NEVER see him without a smile. he literally makes my day.

ok thats it for now. I am sure i will think of one right when I hit "Publish" but if its important it can wait. Love you all, and when you hear from me next I will hopefully have some cool stories about my trip to Bangkok!

Ciao!

M

Singapore, getting into trouble, and IPM@KOHSAMUI

2006-02-26T11:19:00.000-08:00

Ok...today was a sea day, tommorrow is Koh Samui, and yesterday was Singapore. Thats all I know. Time has flown in the past few days. One minute I am typing in a cafe in Malaysia, the next I am wandering aimlessly around Singapore downtown with Szymon for 6 hours getting lost every ten minutes but loving it, and the next I am stressing out over a Formal night and getting yelled at for the first time. The machines screwed up last night around 2am so I couldnt print off my flyers for the passengers (to let them know about our daily portraits), and so I called Will and he told me to leave it for him in the morning...it was he that was supposed to close the machines down, so when he started getting into sh!t I took the flack (hey, its better to be a new guy and take flack and make strong friends than to watch a guy thats SUPPOSED to know what he is doing get into even worse sh!t). So he got off scott free and I got a beating (they were dangling me over deck 11 and beating me like a pinata)....well not really, I just got told to make sure my flyers were all printed tonight and that was it. BUT, its now 2:30am (actually 330 am but we changed clocks back 1 hour again tonight thank God) and I have to be in the gallery for 7:30am...Ugh. "Will, turn your LOUD alarm on for me ok?!" "3...2...1...wake up!! wake up!! wake up!!" that thing still makes me laugh lol.

So ya, tomorrow we are in Koh Samui, which i THINK is in Thailand, not sure. I am In-Port-Manning so I have to stay on the ship (oh well, its just another beach apparantly) plus I get to see it 10 more times in the next 2 months...no biggie. But the day after we are staying in Laem Chebang for 2 days so I am doing a 12 hour tour with Grit (pronounced Gdit), my new friend. She is this amazing German gal who barely speaks english (which is why i think we get along...she cant understand me lol). Its actually kinda sweet: she stumbles upon sentences to me, i understand her more than anyone on the ship (other than the Germans of course) and she is teaching me German. (for the record, "Lick my ass" is Lech meeham ash....dont ask, its just better that way... its not literal, its how they say Kiss My ass...and I just had to laugh). Anyways, we are spending the day at an Elephant hostpital, and having a traditional Thailand dinner in Bangkok, and then watching a Thailand Dance....Ive seen pics, its amazing!

Ok I gotta go to bed now!

talk to you all later! Oh...actually, Aden left in Singapore and he wont be back for 1.5 months. I miss him, so for Aden's sake, I will once again say:

See you all in the next cartoon!

Oh, and Lech meeham ash! =)

Yo-ho-ho-ho A Pirate's life for me!

2006-02-24T00:58:00.000-08:00

YARRRRRRR!!!!! finally you see what i mean! Don't we look like we just finished our run at the Gay Pride Parade?! This is Matt, Stewart, Morgan (An entertainer, he does Rodney Stewart, and very well too i might add!), Szymon, and some guy we dont know...but he is taking this a little too seriously!

K, Ali awaits! See you all in the next cartoon!

In Malaysia!!

2006-02-24T00:46:00.000-08:00

hey all, everything is going really well! I have spent the last 2 hours on my own in Melaka, Malaysia trying to find an internet cafe and taking tons of photos and soaking up the local atmosphere.....and i think this time around the photos will work! I will give this a try...but i have to hurry...there is a man on a bike with a sidecar (i forget the name of the bike, but the drivers name is Ali lol)...he is drivin me around the town showing me stuff...all for basically 5 bucks US... it is so hot here but it was raining so much and on my way to the mall here, i had to wait under a canopy with some guy i dont know...but i got his picture lol...

OK the photo works! this is a photo from a few days ago of some of the photogs and shoppies.. from left to right: Szymon, Emma, Anna, Anna, Stewart, Amber (from Vancouver!), Aden (irish guy lol), Kristen (from Vancouver!), Matt, and finally my roomie Will!

Ok I will add another photo here...and then I should run outside. Ali awaits!

The Burial of Kelvin and Maud...

2006-02-21T04:57:00.000-08:00

Sunday: First of all, why me? Why come up to me and ask this? Is it because I am the new guy? Was I destined to do this? Did the universe know this and then chose me to be the first to do this? The answers are all Yes. I swear to you, as I am sitting here right now, the answers are all Yes.

When my boss Joel came up to me tonight as I stood there in my tuxedo by my backdrop, he asked me "Mike, do you want to photograph something special tomorrow?". Being keen on "First impressions are everything" I said "Yes....but what is it?"...something that has never done before.....then he told me: "There is a request by the family to photograph a burial at sea".

I immediately took an indescribable honor to what I had just heard, although I hate to admit that I still joined in on the jokes at the crewbar later on. "Wait! Squeeze in around the urn folks! now smiiiiiiiiiile!" the laughter stopped (at least for me) when it actually hit me: there is a corpse on this ship. My ship. Less than one month into my first contract and I am acting as if its MY ship, yet I laugh at the jokes. Then something else hit me: Sure, there is a corpse on this ship, but there are people here grieving. This isn't a vacation for them. This is a mission. Thats why they are here, no other reason but to bring a loved ones last wish to truth. And I will be there. And I DO take it to heart. And I am honored. Deeply.

Monday: How exactly do you photograph a funeral again? I figured I wasnt really supposed to get amazing angles or anything like that, they just wanted someone to document it, and so I did. Plain and simple. Oh, I also had a feeling the funeral was for a man. Well its not. I soon saw the photo of a woman that could have easily been my grandma's twin. And now, there this woman was, her ashes divided up into three little blue boxes, one for each of her children. The captain of the ship, Stefano Rivera, gave a few words and spoke from the bible, and then stood at attention while the ashes were emptied into the sea.

At the Gallery a few hours later, I was feeling kinda empty, almost like I knew this woman and was grieving as well. I am not afraid to admit that when the ashes were spread, and some people started to cry, I was among them crying too. One of the gentlemen looked up at me and smiled through his own tears. These are people that I have only known a week, and have seen them many times on the ship, but now I almost felt like family. Having said that, when one of the gentlemen came into the gallery later on, I had to ask for the woman's name. "Maud Nielson". I told him that the service was lovely, but I was under the impression that it was for a man until I saw Maud's photo.

"It was, Michael. Her Husband, Kelvin, died twenty years prior and was cremated. Maud and Kelvin had promised each other to be buried at sea together, and so she held onto his ashes for twenty years so that they could forever be together"

Life is a fragile thing, but True Love always holds it together.

Pirates, and then PIRATES

2006-02-17T19:39:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Just a quick recap on the past few days here on the mighty "Pacific Sky - my Home away from Home"... the night before last night was "fright night", so everyone (passengers and crew) dress up as ghosts and ghouls etc... (yes, 1 Halloween every cruise...just no candy...). Having said that, there are also photos taken as well, but this time around, we dress up as Pirates and jump into the photos with the passengers....guess who was a pirate this time?! YARRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!! We're talkin a full blown pirate costume: triangular hat with a skull and crossbones, a black curly "I'm Rick James, Bitch!" wig, a red and black and gold jacket that would make Elton beam with jealousy, white tights (a Freddy Mercury joke should go here), and even a sword, parrot on the shoulder, and golden earrings to match.....but the icing on the cake: the beard....we take a cork from a wine bottle and light it on fire. Then we blow it out and smear it on our faces... I will update everyone with a photo soon (seeing as now there are about 500 photos of me as a pirate on this ship)....Picture Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook in "Hook" and that was me....hell ya :)

Stewart, Matt, Szymon, and myself had a total blast that night, by the end of the photos, we were hoisting up grannys on our shoulders and making the guys wear our hats....and the funny thing? They loved it. I am proud to say that I was even in a swordfight with an 80 year old man with a cane. Boy, did he surprise the hell outta me! A wooden sword versus a titanium cane? And the reach on that thing, my God! We all felt like kids again, it was such an experience. The biggest Gong Show on this ship yet. I mean, c'mon.....how many people can say "hey, I work as a Pirate sailing through the Indian Ocean"....

Now for the other part....of the real Pirates... The next few days we are approaching Asia, and there are threats of Real Pirates boarding the cruise ships. See, what they do is this: they tie two of their ships together with a long rope that floats on the water.....then our ship goes in between them, undetecting the rope, and as we keep going, we basically pull the two boats right alongside us....sounds kinda cool, but really....I dont want to be here if they come around.

However, having seen how that man and his cane fight...I feel pretty safe ;)

Finally, in closing...I will leave you all with a little something Aden (irish guy) says to all of us at the end of every night...

"See you all in the next cartoon!"

Happy Valentine Day!

2006-02-14T10:11:00.000-08:00

So today, I was in Albany. I did my first tour (for free). Valentine's Day, and I was on a tour bus with 80+ old people and my camera. Didnt bother me any, I kinda liked it. For the record, Google "Albany Natural Bridge" and see if you can find pictures. I consider it now, my 2nd wonder of MY world. 1st being a tie with the fact that there is 1km or so of water under me and I am finally doing what I wanted to do my whole life, and the fact that my sunburn (and peeling) is finally gone.

So once I got back to the ship, I started thinking a lot about Valentine's Day. Typical "i am alone and no one loves me in that way and blah blah blah blah"..... so I thought "hey, I cant do anything about that right now, so what can I do to make me happy?". Then it occured to me... what should I be in love with today? not who, but what should be my valentine today? I took pictures all night of other people in love.... then it hit me (many things hit me out here...):

I am in love with....love.

Every single couple I took photos of today were easily pushing 70...and every single one just as much in love with each other than the next. No bickering (well, very little), and everyone had a smile (well, most). I over heard a couple saying this was their 27th cruise, and another couple said it was their 19th. They are still goofing around and flirting as if they were 16 years old. It was such a warm feeling to see everyone smiling and in love through my viewfinder, that I didnt even care that I was alone or yadda yadda yadda.... to hell with it. I dont need it. I want love, but I have it, its all around me. Its all around everyone, and if you dont see it, you are being selfish. If its not the love you are lookign for, its still love. Love is love. There are folks on this ship, sleeping right now, and when they wake up, I imagine them kissing each other, one maybe walking slowly to the door and getting breakfast for the other, and then bringing it back to bed to share it with the ones they love. Valentines day doesnt even matter. Love for these folks (and most I hope, eventually) is every day.

Happy February 14th everyone. To hell with Valentine's Day. Spread it throughout the year, and if you cant for some reason, just listen and watch it around you. Its there.

Glowsticks, a fellow Canuck, an Irishman, and a Drum

2006-02-11T21:22:00.000-08:00

You know those moments in life that are so amazing and surreal that you are in complete disbelief even as its happening? Therefore, you can almost be nostalgic about it while its still going on? Last night I had one of those moments.

I was finishing up some developing in the lab by myself around 1:30am or so (casually, on my own time, its really not like work at all...lots of music playing), and after I was done, I thought I would jump down to the crew bar to see who was there. I knew I didnt want to drink anything but I thought I'd take a looksee before bed. Just a few people, Aden (a cocky Irish man, who really is an amazingly nice man at heart), Amber (new giftshop girl from canada...amazing gal, free spirit...vancouver lol), Ben (One of the head guys from the bridge..29 scottish, great funny guy), and myself (hi.). We got to talking about tons of things, but nothing fantastic. After 30 min or so Aden suggests to go to deck 6 aft and play the drums. I stared at him blankly, but then we all followed. We arrive in the back of deck 6: wide open balcony at the very back of the ship, roughly 20 feet above water....noisy, cold, slight wind, but a 'crew only' area and there is a picnic bench for sitting. Aden has a drum case and when he opens it up I am brought quick memories of Great Big Sea concerts in Canada. its a Barron (sp?). An Irish drum that you hold sideways in one hand and twiddle a little stick on it to get those celtic jig type sounds. (The only person I know that plays it is Shawn McHahn from Great Big Sea...sounds amazing). Then he plays us a tune, and as he does Amber starts a little groove to it on her own (like i said, free spirit). I made a comment to her earlier about dancing like a Rave girl, and so when she came up to the dck 6 with us she must have stopped off at her room and got these two glow balls on chains that you swing around your body like firesticks....my guess was right....Rave Girl. She smiled. Canadians are always right. Unless they are wrong. Then, they might as well be called "Americans". Anyways, she starts to pull them out and swing them around to the beat. So there we are, three guys drinkin beer, one with a Barron hammering out a very earthly beat, and watching this girl paint these movements in the air as if she were creating life itself. She summed up the moment shortly after by saying "when you dance to a drum in moments like these, its Intoxicating". Then ben grabbed the sticks, and I grabbed the barron. We looked like two retards in the middle of a mating ritual. After about 30 min or so of playing around, Aden said "In the 5 years I have been on this ship, no one has EVER come as close to playing the Barron as well as you do, Michael. Good on ya. You make me proud."

By 4:30 am i was in bed, drunk with pride, freedom, and intoxicated by the moment. As I fell asleep I moved up and down with the ship, and remembered how we talked about how certain beats can be summed up as Earthly, and how they make you feel part of the Earth. Then I thought about how the entire ship and everyone on it, is moving the same with me right now. Then I though of how the ocean was dancing with us as well, followed by the rest of the world. Soon, I drifted off to dreams of home and old friends whom I have lost contact thru the years. We are still moving as one.

Adelaide!

2006-02-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

So, we went to Adelaide yesterday. Before this cruise I had never even heard of the place, so I had very low expectations. When I got there, though, my opinion changed. I fell in love with the place. Nothing fantastic about it really, (other than the fact that its in Australia, and everything is new to me), I just loved absolutely everything about it. The trees are different, the birds are different, there are amazing buildings and parks and everything just...fit. Its somewhere where I would be proud to call home. (dont get ideas, I am just making a happy observation).

I found an internet cafe while travelling (and knew I would, so i brought a CD with photos to email), and when I got there, my blog was down for maintenance, and my photo site wouldnt recognize my password....BUT all was not lost, for I emailed myself the photos, so if anyone wants the ones I had at the time (Lifou, Ouvea, Isles of Pines, etc) let me know in the comments here, or email me and I will be more than happy to send them to you.

Today is a sea day, and tomorrow as well, and then we arrive in Albany. Then its another sea day followed by (i think) Fremantle or Exmouth. Then the latter, and then 4 sea days til Asia. This will be an amazing chapter. In the next 3 months, I see Singapore 10 times....ask me a year ago if i would have ever been to Singapore in my entire life and I bet I would have said no. Now I can build a time machine and show myself the photos I will take :)