What would you do if I sang out of tune?

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...

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!

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

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

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.

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!

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...

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

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

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.

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

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!

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...

...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...

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....

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...

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!!

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!!!

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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!

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

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!

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...

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

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

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...

This is what I have to go home to:

I'm gonna miss this place!

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...

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

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!

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...

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.