back from busy... for a minute!

so… last cruise was very different from the one before – i still had late nights and a good party crowd and nice folks and all, but i did miss my bears – so friendly and fun!  florida was a flurry – we had a full coast guard inspection and couldn’t get off til 11:00… when we finished, i went straight out to take the crew shuttle into town to run errands and make phone calls only to discover i had left my phone on board – frantic, knowing bob was trying to call me from halfway round the planet, i turned right around and went back to the ship only completing one errand for a friend who was stuck on board, and not getting to do any of my own errands, but i knew i would be crazy if i didn’t get to talk to bob, since we only speak every 10 or 11 days… yikes!  we have tried the skype thing, but the latency is terrible and the voices turn robot-y and indecipherable, so we sometimes have the picture on but just type msgs to each other.. being apart this way has been brutal this time… each day lasts about a year and a half, and i am feverish about getting home in a few weeks and preparing for his arrival… i probably will cling to him like a marsupial for days… at least i get to speak to nino almost daily, and that is about my only real relief…

i have a few pals out here, people i have met on other ships and we keep crossing paths, but i am fairly solitary out here a good deal of the time… not that i am not charming company for myself, i do enjoy some solitude now and then, but i am burning to get home and get back on the schedule bob and i had planned… we had one small monkey wrench in our new year, but it has a silver lining – bob will have to go out a few weeks ahead of me on our 1^st contract of the year, but at least instead of both of us not gigging in january (which is typically a very dry month for most musicians) at least bob will have a full slate and then i’ll join him beginning of february… and i’ll be honest - i think i am also a little freaked out that when i do finally get home, my folks won’t be there anymore… i know how much they have been excited to get back to their roots in colorado, but i don’t think they know how much i have been dreading them not being around… and as much as i am a sea level kind of gal, i can see that i will have plan to spend a little more time at higher latitudes on my breaks…

this 3^rd cruise has been strange in that we had the 1^st nite, typically quiet as people are tired from traveling, 1^st day in an all day port, so people were tired, 2^nd day was great, 3^rd day was a late night port in aruba til 11, so people were tired, and we’ll see how tonite after a day in curacao goes…

i have been determined to find something to enjoy in the caribbean since i am not a huge fan so far, and i had a pretty nice tour today in curacao; we went to an botanical herb garden where we were led around by the son of the owner, a 73 year-old woman who knows all the ‘old ways’ with herbs and plants… at the end, i was the last one (since i am the escort, i let all the guests go first) and i hung back in the shop while people were taking pictures outside, and i got to talk to her and take a picture with her… i told her about my nana and her work with music and plants, and she was excited to talk about it – she sings the old songs to all of her plants to help them grow… very cool!  we then went to an art gallery where the artist works with homeless women to paint the statues she makes and they were really wonderful… a nice day and good to get away and drive throught the country a little – so many cacti in curacao!  who knew!  will work on doing new picture format bob told me about so i can post some visuals for you...

a-b-c islands (aruba, bonaire, curacao)

aruba

so, aruba was, well, aruba… let’s just say thank god i’m not young and blonde… i don’t know… i have already made it clear i am not a real island-y type of gal, but i loved bora bora, i loved pago pago: there is something in the south pacific that is so lush and gorgeous and larger than life, like a gaugin painting, but places i have been so far in the caribbean seem pale, dusty, trashy, worn out, sleazy… i guess some folks like that, but if i never get a caribbean vacation i will really be ok with that – if someone said, you don’t have to work, you can just spend two weeks in the dutch antilles or you can spend two weeks at home, i would spend two weeks at home… so for those of you hating on me for the job i have, don’t… i would trade 6 weeks in the caribbean for my washington gloom any day if it weren’t for the fact, and i am grateful to have it, that i need the work!  thank god for the work!  it saves me out here – it is my job and my social life and my enjoyment every day… it gives me a point of focus and stuff to work on and a chance to continually challenge myself and improve… 

i am still getting to know my camera – my aruba pics turned out crappy cause i think i had it set wrong for the light… they all look washed out, tho it may indeed be a more accurate metaphysical representation of the environment… i have to get a tour next time that will take me somewhere to do something cool…

on a happy note, i had dinner at a great little indian restaurant run by people actually from india with my trainer, angie… i let her order our food so she wouldn’t yell at me for what i ate – hee hee… she is a vegan, but that girl can eat!  man!  but she exercises all day, so i guess she has to… anyway, the food was great and we had fun.  it’s nice to get to know another gal my age out here who understands life on a ship… anyway, we had a great dinner and a good time.

back on board after dinner, i got ready and went to work, and my featured set tonight was “come rain or come shine.”  i had some great folks in, tho, since it was a late port (we sailed at 11 pm), it was a quieter night in general around the ship.  without a nap today, that was ok with me!  more from bonaire tomorrow…

bonaire

so, bonaire was, well, bonaire… it’s kind of aruba-like tho the water seemed a bit more blue… no tour today, so i wandered around the port area, looked at the typical knick knacks, sunglasses, t-shirts… i know i will dig these little places more when i can get out of the port area and see some actual history or scenery and stuff… i did have a nice lunch of roast chicken and salad near the beach… it was so hot i was almost lightheaded.  getting back to the ship and climate control for an afternoon nap felt great…

my set tonight was the band-stumper american pie game, and i was stumped by guest vicki, with the genre of renaissance music… i could have b.s. nonnny-nonnied my way thru something, but it didn’t occur to me in that moment… nice crowd, tho.  i have a few pics which are better than the aruba ones, i think…

curacao

i finally got a tour!  it was just a little trolley tour (at 8am! yikes!) of curacao, and was at least a way to see something further away than walking distance from the ship!  we took a taxi to a place in town where we picked up our trolley – the ship was still nearby, but the only way to get to where we started from was to drive the long way round or walk the footbridge, which they had not planned on for this trip.  we did get to stay in town and walk back if we opted to not get a cab back after, which is what i did.  i have a day off from the gym, and am supposed to be restful, but i don’t think a short walk will hurt me… anyway, we saw some old churches, all the brightly painted houses, many in ruins, and the floating market where fishermen sell fresh fish right off their boats… then there is a produce market, and many little shops and cafes.  i saw a piano bar that was advertising a sunday jam where you could win a 6-month contract, and i thought i would rather shoot myself in the face than live here for 6 months… it would be fun to go to the jam and kick some local butt and then turn it down!  hee hee!  i spent a lovely morning and then returned to the ship for lunch, gig prep and rest… tonight’s theme was “island time” so we got our belafonte on and then did requests… i cannot write about everything on this blog, but someday i will have some good stuff for the book… there certainly are some characters out here!  ciao for now…

catching up the last coupla days...

well, the first day of this run was half moon cay, on which i had in port manning… it was a quiet night, and without my bears and canadians i hardly knew what to do with myself!  off at 12:30?!?!  unbelievable!  the next day was still a bit quiet, although i met some really nice folks and we had a small but happy core group stay til about 1… finally, last night we hit a stride and i found my party people – i won’t lie and say it was anything like the last cruise – nothing will ever be like the last cruise!  but at least we had some fun and were rockin in there til 2… at the end of the day, i am a bottom line kind of gal – i want the guests to have fun, i’d like it to be in my bar, and i’d like my beverage staff to make some money!  i know that i will be fine whether it’s busier or a little sleepier, and i always do my best regardless… i am happiest, tho when the bar crew and the guests are happiest… i think we will achieve that on this cruise as well… each different cruise is like getting dealt a hand of cards, and every hand can be a good one if you know how to play it… (but you never forget a hand like the 4 aces i had last run!) 

anyway, we did frank sinatra and then request time, and we had a real lively singalong bunch!  i think they will be back each night!  i think i also got a holiday gig out of it from a nice portland couple who wants me to come break in their new baby grand with a party at their place… sweet!  i told them i could throw in a fabulous bass player, too, so it’s all set!  i am missing my fabulous bass player and my favorite artist and my favorite dog pretty fiercely, but i am already a third of the way thru this very short contract, so i am hopeful it will fly by.

tomorrow is aruba, and i didn’t get selected for an expedition, so i will hit the gym and am taking my trainer, angie, out for indian food for dinner before the gig.  that’s my tip for her trying to kill me this last week… hee hee!  actually, i have been learning a lot with her this second week and i am doing well and making progress.  she’s also got me on an herbal cleanse/detox and said we will see a difference in just the 4 wks i have left when she runs my metabolic tests again… i’ll keep you posted – suffice it to say, i am in a bit of pain and sweating a lot, so i must be doing something right!  a few pics from aruba with my new camera tomorrow!!!! yay!

ft. lauderdale 2

wow... i am still sort of recovering!!! i can't begin to even describe what a singular cruise this has been for me... it is so hard to explain, but let's just say a whole lot of wonderful people have really eased the pain of being apart from bob and bean right now by giving so much energy in the piano bar this cruise - it was truly unlike any other!! and i now have a whole bunch of new friends, and tho you may think it unlikely to get real friends out of a brief vacation situation, then you weren't in my piano bar this past week!  wow!  what a lot of great folks from all walks of life, and how much they really brightened me up!  thank you to all my piano bar regulars!!!

i got a camera today and signed up for some tour escort positions - we'll see if i get any of them, but i am hopeful... a big hug and kiss to all the folks who made this last cruise so cool... i will attach the lyrics of my version of piano man from this cruise and you can read about them...

"piano broad" (to the tune of billy joel's "piano man")

Well it’s __ o’clock on whatever day it is – the regular crowd shuffles in

& I plug in my mic & get a beverage, another piano bar evening begins

they said hey girl can you play us a melody & if you’re not sure how it goes

you can add that one to your to-do list & download the lyrics I s’pose

now david at the bar is a friend of mine, he gets my ice water for free

he keeps us all socially lubricated while you party in the piano bar with me

And rhodora has been your charming server, and roland helps out sometimes, too

w/o them there’d be no refreshments, so w/o them what would we all do?!

*la la la

 sing us a song, you’re the piano broad here on the old zuiderdam

well we’re all in the mood for a melody, so sing us a song, won’t you ma’am

We had lots of fun folks from all over, from england to the U S of A

And places like holland and Canada & Australia where they say g’day!

we played piano bar games like American pie; name that tune the other night was pretty tough

the competition was fierce tho the prizes were not but it’s still cool to get some free stuff

and I won’t forget my late night hangers on, I appreciate your nightly support

thanks for all of your awesome additions to my book this cruise really seemed way too short

you all make this gig really so much fun, i hope that’s apparent to see

watching our little piano bar community evolve is especially rewarding for me

*la la la... etc.

there are folks who love to sit round the piano, like pat and bob who come here each night

and anna and sandy from Idaho, and peter who usually sits to my right

yes, peter, who’s also known as steven, by day is a high tech kind of guy

but at night he becomes a great lounge singer… he can hit all the notes that are high

and george and Marylou and miss sandy like to sit around the piano it’s true

and george he can hit all those low notes, so i’m glad that he sings along too!

and sander and frauke come late nights, and my stewardesses from twa

and to all my hard partying Canadian people, i’d like to say, how’s it goin, eh?

*la la la... etc.

and let’s not forget our new yorkers like joan and jack and maureen and sal

and mary and dave and john and Carmen, they’ve all been such great piano bar pals

and all of our florida people, like Helen, connie and caroline,

and betsy and bruce down in boca, all you florida folks sure are real fine

there’s been lots of cool people from the great white north, like stereo Karen they’re so cute

and Susie and all of her sisters, or i guess we should now call her “boots”

we had an awesome guest open mic night with ellen who sang us some blues

and bernie with his guitar and his kilt on singing scots and irish songs about booze

and ann from grenada sang us island tunes and scott threw a fun coffee song down

and peter graced us all with many a swell tune and dan and i with a tv song clowned around

and you know that i would be quite remiss if i didn’t take very special care

to mention a quite singular multiple group, oh, god, how i love me some bears!

from the very first night that you came here, and took over each night after eleven

i knew that this cruise would be special, then, and it has been kind of like piano bar heaven

i know that my beverage manager loves you all, but certainly not as much as me

we had so much fun one night we even got shut down, i will always remember it fondly

you sang along with vigor and we laughed a lot, and tho i didn’t know all your requests

you brought a lot of color to my piano bar, and i think you guys are simply the best

i grew up in the wilds of alaska, and i thought i had seen plenty of bears before

but who knew there were so damn many in the Caribbean, you never seen wildlife like this before!

*la la la... etc.

and everyone in the piano bar has been so darn swell…like Natalie and gur,

 Lloyd and Melanie, jane and judy, john and Kathy, 

beth and david, Susie and bill, judy and prentiss, 

mel and Irene, pat and jack, ray and gladys, mack and danny and dana, lori and ed, 

jim and judy, Irwin and bill, mary and mike, Barbara, bob and Kathy, coreen, 

Christine and tom, mel and judy, mark and amy, Samantha and liz, Scotty, 

wanda and dick, jack and pat, sally and marvin, dan and joe, dave and ted,

 tom, dan, laz, randy, rene, vinnie, mark, charles, rob, pat and marilyn, Sylvia and patricia and 

mike and john, Dorothy, donna, lorraine, michelle, Cyndi, ken and Elaine, joe and Florence, 

fred and lee, larry and Kathy, ben and Sandra, and 

oh! i know i still didn’t get all of you, but if i keep going, we’ll be here all night!

yes, I wish I could write a verse for every person and include it in this tribute song

But this is already as long as billy joel’s version & his version’s way too damn long

Tomorrow our cruise will be over, and I’ll miss you all more than I can say

And if it could happen, I’d stash you all in my cabin, and we’d all go sailing away!

I was blown away by this crowd’s singalong talent, your backup vox really were a hit

Without all your crowd participation my songs would have just sounded like… 

sha la la la... etc....

curacao

yes, this is the island where the weird blue liqueur of the same name was invented… many of the islands we travel to on this cruise are under the dutch crown, so there is a caribbean flavor of the indigenous peoples and then there is the dutch influence in the architecture and language also… a cultural mash up of sorts… very quaint looking place! can’t wait to do some tours next cruise! only a coupla more days til ft. lauderdale and the sign up sheets will be out… i am also getting a camera and a new ipod charger cord… thank god one of the showgirls, chelsey, is letting me share hers as my ipad (louise) is my brains, basically! i now know to get a charger cord and a spare!!! living and learning… my setlist tonight was called “island time” now that we have hit some actual  islands! there was some bob marley, some ub40, some harry belafonte, some jimmy buffet… pretty relaxed set! we only went til 1:40 cause folks were a little tuckered out… me, too!  more soon!

sea day 10.19

fairly uneventful day at sea, except i guess we were having too much fun in the piano bar, as we got shut down at 1:40 for boisterousness (not me, the guests!)… i shut down my gear and went across the hall to the disco with my adventure bears and had an adult beverage and retired for the evening.. this has certainly not been my typical experience with people keeping me up partying so late in the piano bar, but i am so happy everyone is having fun – i am sure the bar manager will enjoy the numbers this cruise… next time the people with the room below will probably look at the floor plans available online a little closer before booking their room right below the piano bar! tonight’s theme was “great ladies in song,” and we did them all i think! from every decade! too much fun…

panama canal

today i went back to the gym… hooray for me!  yes, i put it off a few days, but it’s like having a free health club out here, so i don’t really have an excuse not to go… angie is the trainer here and i sailed awhile back with her – crew gets half off of spa/gym services, so i am going to do a few sessions with her as a gift to myself in lieu of a lot of tacky souvenirs…

we began going into the first lock of the panama canal at about 7:30 am, and then we hung around in gatun lake for awhile as some guests took excursions… we then turned around and went back out… next cruise is when i will be adventuring and when i will have a new camera from ft. lauderdale, so i won’t wax too poetic about the places just yet – next week! 

the cruiseship marketing team came and hung out in the piano bar last night – that was nice!  also had visits from my canadian good time sisters, the twa 70’s stewardesses, and of course, the bears!!! i love them… not to mention the many, many, many other lovely folks on this trip – i don’t have any hecklers or cranky people anywhere!  this bar, unlike the last ship i was on, also has the bar stools right around the piano bar, so people can sit right there… 

tonight was the official round of “american pie” stump the band game, and it went for an hour… we wrapped up about 1am, and i hung out with a couple of the bears after for a chat… everything’s going well here!  can’t wait to get a camera tho and do some tours next round!