day 54 – at sea

it’s another lovely day at sea… nice and swoopy, too, with large, undulating type of waves instead of the small, choppy sort… though it makes it impossible to walk a straight line down the hall, it is fun, and you are certainly constantly aware that you are at sea (i find entirely smooth sailing a bit boring, especially on a long sea day)… it took me awhile to blog yesterday’s news this morning, and madang was still very much with me in my mind when i woke up and continues to remain prominently in my thoughts…

after doing all my typical, daily sea day stuff, writing, set prep for evening, stopping to chat with folks as you go throughout the day (and when you add it all up, it’s quite a bit of shmooze time just walking from one end of the lido to the other), going outside to feel the weather and hear the water, having some starbux instant coffee since the coffee here is terrible, calling home to chat with the fellas, having lunch, it was time to try and grab a nap before getting ready for work…all attempts, however, at having a nap were thwarted today… the first try was when the plumber showed up to not actually fix my leaking toilet, yet make lots of noise anyway while not actully fixing it for the second time (i’m not sure how just banging on it is really supposed to help…).  the second try was when the captain came on the public address system to let the entire ship know that he regretted to let us know that we would not be able to make our next scheduled port in koror, palau since they had no safe and available tendering facilities at present.  i know many including myself were disappointed to hear this, but then he said we would instead arrive in manila a day early. 

apparently, a small but happy riot ensued in the crew mess, and there was a good deal of jumping up and down throughout the ship… you have no idea what a happy bit of news that is, since about half of our ship’s crew is filipino, and they were already eagerly looking forward to a visit (although way too short because they still have to work) with their families.  i think this was an excellent and compassionate call on our captain’s part, and the crew is pretty ecstatic… i’m sure there will be the odd person who grumbles about this change, but mostly all the guests and other crew seem genuinely happy for our filipino pals.  i am also glad, because originally, bob was set to arrive in manila to join the ship, and so i volunteered for in port manning that day and it was scheduled.  i only recently learned, however, that they are instead embarking him in hong kong (aaaargh!), so now, with arriving in manila a day early, i will be able to get to get off the ship there at least one day instead of missing it entirely.  and hong kong is just two days after manila, so i think i’ll make it, but only just barely… (can’t wait to see you, bob!)

i did volunteer to assist on my ipm day to help board (check in) our visitors (enormous contingency of wives, children, husbands and parents) who wish to come on the ship, and i know that will be a happy day, indeed, for so many folks here.  after the gig tonight i went to the crew mess and found my bar guys and congratulated them on the lucky turn of events and we hung out for a bit.  i asked for the 411 on where to go in manila to get a few souvenirs and a great non ship lunch 9preferably spicy!) ; they said to take the shuttle bus from the dock that goes straight to the very modern and enormous mall of asia.  they said it is a free ride, and safe, with security personnel there, and that i could find good souvenirs as well as some excellent pan-asian cuisine… i think i will go and do just that… i would like to go ashore with my bar guys, but i know they will be quite busy with their friends and family.  hooray for them!  they deserve something extra… you have never met harder working, yet unfailingly polite people in your lives as our filipino and indonesian crew members… completely different work ethic and a sense of pride about being in a guest services profession and doing a good job of it… i adore my bar staff and my cabin steward… they treat me as well, probably better, even, than the guests, and i try and take good care of them in return.  

the crow’s nest was closed for a private party, so we got to have the 7-8 happy hour in the piano bar as well as the usual 9-10 happy hour, so my bar was pretty damn happy tonight!  my 7-8 set had a great turnout, as did my 9-10.  tonight’s theme was “between the devil and the deep blue sea.”  this was a good one since i could do devil songs (‘old devil moon,’ ‘devil went down to georgia,’ etc.), blue songs (‘nothin but the blues,’ ‘blues in the night,’ etc.) and sea songs (‘how deep is the ocean,’ ‘sailing,’ etc.)… lots of possibilities!  we had a good crowd and even though i had no nap, i made it through just fine… i went upstairs to see what kind of soup, etc. they put out and hung out with the sax player for a bit… he has been with our company a long time… forever, apparently! he is 71 years old, and used to play in the resorts in the catskills and stuff, so has played with some interesting folks over time… i can ask him a question and he’ll tell me stories, so we hung out for a bit and had storytime and solved the world’s problems over some late night fare. 

we set our clocks back another hour tonight, so i’ll be up early tomorrow.  i had a note that there is a cabin inspection and a fire drill anyway, so i guess sleeping in would have been out of the question anyway.  maybe a nap tomorrow then… 5 or 6 hours in a 24 hour period just isn’t quite enough, so i hope i can catch up soon… no port of koror means 3 sea days til manila, so i’ll surely find a snooze somewhere… isn’t it funny how when you are a kid, you hate taking naps, but when you have to work 7 nights a week, they become more important than a social life or food or anything else… crazy!  ciao for now… xoxo, di

day 53 – madang, papua, new guinea

band greeting us shoreside...
those tube things they sit on are pitched drums

today was an amazing day…  where to even start… i guess at the beginning.  i got to do the ship’s good morning show from one of the larger lounges with a piano in it, and had a nice coffee talk interview.  more painless than i thought it would be!  it wasn’t really what made the day amazing, though…

lush greenery everywhere

the best part of the day, was getting to escort a highlights tour of today’s port, madang, papua, new guinea.  it is hard to put into words the kind of an impact this day had on me, but i will try… i met our tour guide, a young university student named dorris.  she is from the highlands, and in her 3^rd year of school in madang.  she is studying tourism and hospitality/guest services, as she hopes to foster tourism in her country.  we left the port area, and suddenly felt like we were visiting royalty, or like the beatles… everywhere our small vans went, the streets were full of people waving and smiling at us… i noticed, at first with alarm, that their smiles were all red and bloody looking… all the cannibal lore had me a little spooked, and i asked dorris, and she laughed… it was because everyone here chews betel nuts, which turns their smiles red… i relaxed and smiled back, and the greetings from them seemed so heartfelt.  i have never felt so welcomed anywhere.  it was not the grasping, predatory type of sensation i had in fiji or parts of central america on other travels, they had no hands out, not clutching at us, though desperately poor, they weren’t asking for anything, and they had no shame i’ve seen other people exhibit about their mean conditions; they seemed a happy people, even though very poor by american definitions; but they don’t consider themselves poor, because they have fish in the ocean, and can grow fruit and vegetables and the land provides them with materials for shelter.  a true subsistence way of life for so many in the bush here… it was inspiring and humbling…

simple raised structures of wood and leaves

our first stop was a ride into the rainforest lands and off the paved roads, to a small traditional village called bilbil.  here, the women make clay pots in the fire with a clay and sand mixture, and the children (who are beautiful) shyly grin at us and pose for pictures… i gave the children all the australian one and two dollar coins i had left… they seemed thrilled to receive american or australian currency, which they can use here in addition to their island notes… a policeman was explaining the whole betel nut thing, and his helpful friend opened his mouth full of crushed up betel nuts with powdered lime and mustard plant for a helpful visual aide… too funny!  there were native dancers who came and performed and sang, and it was incredible… the costumes were adorned with bright feathers and leaves, boars tusks; it was among the few most non-modern and non-western cultures i’ve ever observed up close.  the homes are on poles and platforms off the ground, made of wood and leaves, and they cook on open fires.  i spoke with one woman named gabi who linked arms to walk around with me, and was thrilled when i told her i play music on the ship.  she said she wished i could come back someday to help the children in her village to learn music… wow… i swear after spending some time here, i never wanted to do anything like that more than i did at that moment…

in village of bilbil

flora and fauna is stunning

typical stuff growing everywhere

it is hard to transmit the entire experience and the feelings it stirred up in me, but i could sum it up by saying it made me feel like doing something important to help people at a very basic and human level… someday, when i have put my son through school and have time in my life to give a month or two to volunteer somewhere, i would come here first… the people were lovely to us… gabi asked if we could write letters to each other because she knows english and can write, and i said absolutely yes… there are hundreds of dialects of language on this one island, and the bilbil language is colorful… when gabi told her friends what we had talked about, i could hear the words ‘piano,’ ‘keyboard’ and the other ladies ‘oo!’  and ‘ah!’ in appreciation of music; they seem a very musical people… she gave me a big hug and said she hoped i could come back someday… as our van pulled out, she ran up to my open van window and said, “you will have a letter waiting at your home for you!”  i was really moved by the people here and their simple life in the rainforest… bora bora was beautiful, and flowery, and lush, but this place was more wildly beautiful, more flowery, more jungly and even more lush…

traditional dance

beautiful flowers, clay pots in corner

lots of cute dogs

bilbil policeman is showing me a betel nut - not red in shell

women making clay pots

more beauty

beautiful children of bilbil

typical bilbil home

our next stop was a butterfly farm, where we didn’t see too many butterflies up close; some giant ones flew over, as big as birds, but none landed to get a close up… there were a few inside a netted shelter to snap pics… the flowers were breathtaking, though… the day was in the 80’s, overcast, very humid, with occasional lovely breezes… and though hot and sticky, i don’t recall really feeling uncomfortable except when our van was stopped for someone with a flat tire ahead of us… it was rather still and began to feel a bit sauna like… i’m sure if i do go back someday, i’ll want to go in the rainy season…

swoon

large butterfly on leaf under netted tent

layers of glorious color everywhere

we visited the madang cultural center where there were more dancers, and many arts and crafts on the lawns for sale… i got some wooden hand carved piglets (they reminded me of gimli) and watched the giant bats in the trees overhead fluttering, swooping, squabbling… our next stop before returning to the dock was a beach with a lighthouse and giant banyan tree… it would be fun to live on that tree! 

the dogs really do look like this painting here

colorful artwork at cultural center

this is, like, 10 bucks a stem back home and grows in ditches here

giant bats in trees by the cultural center

giant banyan tree... those are people on the right
 it is all one tree except pale tree in foreground

i noticed some hotels and resorts that looked a bit simple, not like bora bora… apparently a cruise ship only comes once or twice a year, so it is very exciting for them… dorris told me they have many tourists from japan, mostly… she also asked if we could be penpals, and i said sure, so, for me, a cruising first: in two years at sea, no one has ever wanted to write letters, yet in one day in new guinea, i have two penpals!  a poignant part of the day, after returning to the ship, was watching the guests (we’d get fired if we did this) chuck apples, chocolates, potato chips, money in ziploc bags, toys, off the lower promenade deck over the side to the children gathered below alongside the ship in their homemade canoes… one friend bailing a leaky canoe while the other jockeys for a better position to grab goodies…all in all, the whole day has felt like a national geographic special, and i got to be in it… it was utterly fascinating!  i hope you enjoy the pictures, and if you ever get the chance to come here, you absolutely should.

children of madang collecting goodies thrown off the ship at the end of the day

lovely papua new guinea

didn’t get back til 4:30, had to write a song, get a shower and get ready for work… no nap today… that’s ok, though… it was a memorable day.  my theme back on the ship was “can i get a yeehaw!?!” which is country music, a little folk and a few bluegrass tunes… always a well attended theme, so this jazz baby has had to just go ahead and embrace a little bit of country along with everything else… some of it i actually even like (johnny cash, hank williams, sr., patsy cline)… missing everyone and i so wish i could bring nino and his pals here so they could see what teens in the other parts of the world live like… it would blow your minds, guys!  xoxo, mama

port song for madang, papua, new guinea

(to the tune of carole king’s “you’ve got a friend”)

when you’re down near australia, and you seek exotic lands

you go a bit north, up around and over to the right

and you’ll open your eyes in new guinea, and you’ll be glad you’re there

cause the children’s smiles could brighten up the darkest night

we went out to bilbil

a little village way out over the hill

the little kids come smiling, and the dancers begin

things out here they don’t cost a lot

a wooden mask or fired clay pots

and i made a penpal there

now i’ve got a new friend

if the sky above you should grow dark and full of bats

close your eyes, and feel the breezes begin to blow

just keep your head together and hold each others hands

and soon i’ll be waiting for you by the van

i bought 3 little pigs made of wood

i thought the prices there were so good

compared to australia where things cost a lot

our tour guide wants to write to me too

now my new guinea penpal tally is two

they’re such friendly folks out here

now i’ve got two new friends

ain’t many butterflies at the butterfly farm

but the flowers were something to behold

and a light house and a ginormous banyan tree

that i can see would make a hell of a tree house

i got hugs and pictures galore

an invitation to come back for more

and to teach some piano to the children out here

as long as cannibals are further away

i think in new guinea i could stay

for a week or two or a few 

here with my new friends

day 52 – at sea

balmy and breezy day today, in the 80’s, but in the breeze it feels good… went up to the top of the ship, and there is barely anyone out there… took a few pics of the changing sky…

hmmm... what else did i do today?  blogged, lunched, negotiated a few in port manning trades with my pals to ensure that bob and i will have our ipm days together (which turns it into ips: in port snuggling – much more fun…).  i got asked today do the good morning show on board tomorrow, it’s like a coffee talk time with the cruise director and hostess, and they will interview me in one of the roomier lounges with a piano instead of their usual taping spot… it then goes on the in-house channel… so i wrote a little tune for that… i went to the writing group and got some tips on writing articles and how to submit them… i used to write for an entertainment paper in ak, interviews, concert reviews but haven’t submitted anything anywhere for awhile, so i may do some of that as a precursor to attempting to get something larger published…

slept through dinner (will get soup after the gig) and got a nice shower.  great classical pianist as guest artist tonight, didn’t catch whole show, but she will do another show this week… tonight’s cocktail hour was well attended.  it was formal night tonight, and my theme was ‘great american songbook’ (george gershwin, irving berlin, cole porter…)… some good stuff!

got a note under my door that i have been selected to do a crew escort gig in new guinea tomorrow… watch out for cannibals!  no steak diane!  no fast food!  hee hee… more later…  xo, di

day 51 – at sea

what a day!  seas were fairly calm, i met a couple of the new guest entertainers (a couple are nice, one seems like kind of a tool), and getting to know some of our new guests who embarked in sydney… fun people!  don’t know what it is about the aussies, but they like to have fun and seem most of the time to have a great outlook in general and are quite pleasant to be around.  lucky for me! 

after speaking to my boss about the touching thing, he sent them in tonite during my 8 o’clock break to unbolt and move the bandstand and piano around til i could see the bar entrance that was allowing folks to enter previously unseen (underscore here with song ‘night and day’)… what a difference about a foot and a half makes!  i am grateful they took this issue seriously enough to make a concrete environmental change that would effect a cure… they can’t sneak up anymore!  you have no idea how relaxed i was during my main showtime, and i know now precisely how tense it was making me, because i am now feeling so much more secure… yay!!!  i feel a burden has been lifted and i can move on from this issue (underscore here with song ‘at last’)

my theme tonight was ‘piano bar legends,’ featuring the music of elton john, billy joel and ray charles.  no way could i get through that play list in less than a week, but i just picked highlights and stuff i thought folks would enjoy most.  in music, a few classic preference wars would be like, beatles vs. rolling stones, you usually like one better… between elton and billy (ray gets his own category with a shrine and chorus of angels), no contest for me, i am such an elton fan… i mean, i will always do a bunch of billy joel and i genuinely like only a few of his tunes, as most of his stuff, to me, often comes across as a bit contrived and as if he likes himself way better than most other people do, but mostly i do his stuff because it’s expected… but in my book, elton john, excuse me, sir elton john is just way way waaaaaaaaaay better… if i have to play stuff that’s not jazz, and you said what’s your favorite of those tunes, i’d have to say elton is right up there.

the thing that’s great about playing these guys is that when anyone asks for one ‘em, you can say, “do you want pretty elton/billly/ray or rockin’ elton/billy/ray?” and there’s a song for every occasion…

i still owed everyone a port song from cairns (see previous entry for explanation), and did take the liberty of writing a public service announcement song in lieu of an actual port song, and i went for it… it required a few edits throughout the day and up til performance to tone it down a little and as not to be too harsh… enjoy… - df

port song for cairns pronounced like cannes 

(tune is made up in my head… same chord progression as ‘Plenty of Money and You’)   

(intro)

i hope you had a good time on a rainy day in cairns,

but what i want to talk about right now is wandering hands  

you can consider this a public service announcement                                           

an official proclamation, a piano bar pronouncement                                     

no one likes to be with you each night as much as me,                                   

but that’s not an invitation to go a-touching me!                                              

so we can all keep on a-happily singing along                                               

please listen very carefully to my heartfelt song                                             

(tempo)

it seems that some folks seem to think that i won’t mind                 

someone sneaking up on me from behind,                                       

and grabbing my shoulder or putting a hand on my head                             

but i’ve got an idea you could employ instead                                               

don’t touch me!  not when i am up here on the band stand  

i’m trying to entertain and a panic attack makes it pretty tough                    

don’t touch me, and you and i will get along just fine, man               

if i can see you i’ll be glad to shake your hand or maybe even give a hug   

i’ve tried to let you know by saying it out loud                                    

i even put a sign up for the back door crowd,                                                

there’s lots of room in front and on the sides where i can see                     

but if you sneak up from behind it scares the heck out of me                       

don’t touch me!  not when i am trying to make music                                         

i’m playing my gig and an anxiety attack makes it pretty tough                          

don’t creep up on me, it always scares me and i don’t wanna lose it                

this job requires concentration, i’m not just up here sitting on my duff              

i finally reached my limit and i talked to the boss                                          

he said he understood why i might feel a bit cross                                       

he ok’d a rearview mirror and a work crew too                                             

to unplug and turn the whole darn stage to keep my eyes on you!               

no, don’t touch me!  not when i am trying to entertain you    

i do the best i can, but having a heart attack makes it pretty tough              

don’t sneak up on me, hopefully this song might help restrain you                       

i’m asking from my heart, i’m not trying to be all up here in a huff                

you wouldn’t touch a chef when she’s using her knife  

you wouldn’t touch a doctor when she’s saving a life             

you wouldn’t touch a zoo keeper in a sleeping lion’s cage      

so please stop touching me when i am up on the stage            

you wouldn’t touch a teacher when she’s teaching a lesson     

you wouldn’t touch a cowgirl cleaning her smith and Wesson   

you wouldn’t touch a baker when she’s frosting a cake                

so please stop touching me or i will start taking breaks!             

i’d hate to accidentally knock somebody’s teeth out of place

with a backwards reflex kung fu move right to the face                                

with every subsequent episode my reflexes rise                                          

makes me want to reach behind and poke someone’s eyes            

so don’t touch me!  not when i am throwing down tunes for you                  

let’s all have a good time, oh, feeling jumpy makes it pretty tough               

no don’t touch me, if you need me, on the front and sides there’s room for you 

we can shake hands or a have a peck on the cheek

as long as i can see you we can hold hands all week

i’m not opposed to linking arms when we share a walk,

we can have a friendly hug and i’m always happy to stop and talk

you can catch my eye, but don’t touch me while i’m up here doin’ my stuff!

i really mean it….

you can catch my eye, but don’t touch me while i’m up here doin’ my stuff!

day 50 – cairns, australia

rainy day and sailboats

it’s pouring rain and 72 degrees out all day today… i am on in port manning, so i will be staying on board, and i think i will take some time to hibernate today since most of my recent attempts were thwarted by one thing or another… i was in cairns before with a lovely couple, rob and linda, from victoria.  they rented a car and we went to the kuranda rain forest and the beach and around a mountain… a lovely day and clear as a bell, so i do have some nice adventures in cairns to remember, so i don’t mind staying behind today and laying low…

"messing... simply messing about in boats"
- wind in the willows

taking it easy - awesome choice!  a peaceful rainy day, a little blogging, a few snapshots, a light lunch, a movie, no lyric prepping, no looking up of songs i don’t know, no songwriting, chatted with my pop and my son and my sweetheart on the phone, and then a walk and a nap… i feel re-charged and ready to work… though we are staying in port til almost 2 in the morning, and i didn’t anticipate having much business tonight, the persistent rain has kept many in for the evening, and my 7-8 and 9-10:30 are busy as usual… i (and many others) thought we were in cairns for two days as the schedule shows cairns on both dates, yet i hadn’t looked closely at the times and thought day two of cairns was a full day, not just the few hours beyond midnight… therefore, no port song today, but i will make it up tomorrow…

small boat harbor

my theme tonight was the music of ella fitzgerald and louis armstrong (‘someone to watch over me,’ ‘a kiss to build a dream on,’ etc. ).  i covered many of their solo pieces as well as some that they recorded together, and it was, so far, one of my favorite playlists i’ve done here…

sailboats anchored as far as you can see... it's like tahiti

even with my sign up again, (exasperated sigh) i got touched tonight (hand grabbing shoulder from behind, jumped out of my skin), stood up, told the person she really startled me, and told her firmly but politely not to do that again, and went to the cruise director.  i told him something needs to change.  he is going to have them rotate the bandstand for me so that my peripheral vision can encompass all entrances, including bar entrance, he’s making a more official and laminated sign and gave me permission for a rearview mirror and said absolutely to stop the show and leave the stage if it happens again.… i think the rotation is a great idea and it will give me way more peace of mind, and i’ll still have visual connection with the room and the hall, just a different angle, and at least i can see people coming through that door...  cross your fingers this works, everyone!  hope you are all well…xo, di

day 49 – at sea – coral sea

happy piano bar regulars at aussie wine hoe-down

happy aussie party-goer and piano bar friend with cork hat -
(i'll call him bushwhacker bob)

much warmer outside and a bit more humid as we head north over the coral sea to cairns (pronounced ‘kaenz’ in australia, almost like ‘cannes’).  i received an invitation to attend the huge mariner appreciation event (our most traveled guests) between 5 and 9pm, and the lido crew worked round the clock transforming the forward lido deck into an australian vineyard paradise… lots of cushy seating areas, mood lighting, many aussie wine tasting stations and designer aussie nibbles: meat pies, mudbugs (crayfish), shrimp, crocodile, emu and kangaroo even! 

aussie "bugs" (crayfish)

walls of fresh fruits

also a real aussie band embarked in sydney for this event specifically… so nice that we were all included!  since all my beverage staff was busy for this event, i didn’t have to do my 7-8 hour… i went up to the shindig around 6 and stayed 'til it was almost time to work… great get together; i am definitely a shiraz fan!  the wine and bar were hosted all night for everyone which must of cost a mint!  my boss was standing in a barrel of grapes for nearly 4 hours (i don’t think I’ll be having the grape juice tomorrow!  hee hee!)… the aussie band was great and traded sets with the didgeridoo guy who was also quite good.  everyone had a blast and complimented the crew who had worked overnight putting everything together… 

aussie pub band (you could hear irish roots)

didgeridoo man

my shipboard boss stomping grapes

i finally went to work full of wine, chocolate, shrimp, and just a wee bit of kangaroo... i practically hopped... did my nine o’clock set, featuring novelty songs (i.e. 'mairzy doats,' 'three little fishies'…), so it was a lot like summer camp... for people who drink!  the people who did come were, indeed, pretty happy from the hosted party earlier, so everyone had fun…

staff were also invited to a private staff and officer appreciation party hosted by our ceo and wife on the lido deck from 10 – 11.  i broke my ‘no break’ policy to at least make a brief appearance there… mr. and mrs. ceo were very nice – they apologized for not coming to the piano bar (accordng to her, their typical hang) but every moment had been so very scheduled… they live in bellevue, it turns out, and have a 16 year old learning piano with a teacher… i told them i have a musical teenager too, and, when in town, would be available if they ever needed someone else to give him any perspective or drop a lesson or two for whatever i could show him about chords and stuff, so they gave me a card to email them… it was exciting to find out (and meet the honchos from) that one of our sister lines, a smaller and more exclusive all yacht all suite line, are merging offices and some staffers (including my boss), which might open a little booking diversity into the mix… chatting with ceo of this line, who was also there, he said they do look for duos and solo pianists, and he said he had heard me play at the private party earlier and gave me a thumbs up… i told him bob and i might like to discuss doing the occasional duo gig between larger ships and got his name and will contact my seattle boss when i return… this is exactly the sort of chance bob and i are working towards, so once we have a grand world under our belt (the best our company offers), we will talk with the home office to see what type of possibilities exist to get at least some time out as a duo… maybe we can alternate big and small ships... i feel lucky to maybe have really been in the right place at the right time! stay tuned to see how it turns out… cheers! -di

day 48, part 2 - at sea, other stuff...

note: this is second post of the day, because i wanted to give christchurch it's own space today apart from my other ramblings... if you missed it and went straight to this entry, please check out today's other entry, day 48 - at sea, thinking about christchurch, where there are some more pics of my recent visit...

it’s a grey sea day which seems appropriate in response to the sad news about lovely christchurch… i was on the promenade deck taking a few pictures of the ocean spray and i nearly dropped my camera in the water when someone (i can’t freaking believe it!) came up behind me and (you guessed it!) tapped me and then, moving to my side grabbed my forearm (aaaaaaaaaagh!!!) to tell me how much they enjoy what i do… i even said, “omigod! you just really startled me! i am so glad i didn’t drop my camera in the ocean!” and they just chatted on about how good they think i am without acknowledging that i was now busy having a mild anxiety attack… i would never be rude with guests, even if i am upset, so i tried to speak my truth in a non-confrontational but clear way, yet many people, as in this case, still seem to prefer to not receive it or even tune in, usually… i wish if people appreciated me so much, they would stop scaring me to death and quit touching me… what is the deal?!?

        arty sea pics where i nearly lost my camera when scared to death

if you take anything away from this blog, please take this away: be aware that when you approach someone, a bit of personal space is maybe an appropriate thing… i mean, this person is really a very nice person in other situations, but, man, i am getting so sick of having the spleen scared out of me by these touchy-touchy-coming-from-behind kind of people… and i am usually a happy hand shaker, even a hugger, as i can see those coming and either take it or artfully turn to the side for the side arm wrap around if i don’t want a full frontal hug from someone; i can stick my hand out for the shake if i am really quick and don’t want anything resembling the hug, but
PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP SNEAKING UP ON ME AND TOUCHING MEEEEEEEEE!!!!! aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAgh!!! aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!

(if you read about me in the papers or see me on cnn, you’ll know it’s because i’ve finally lost it and sadly taken one of these otherwise very nice people out…)

and the BIG question of the day IS: why is this only suddenly happening now on this gig?  never before on any of the other numerous contracts i’ve done has this ever been an issue… am i simply getting more adorable and loveable?!? (this must be it… quite likely, i think…) or maybe it’s something in the hand sanitizer on every hallway corner everyone is continually applying to combat norovirus that really affects people’s judgement and discretion and sensitivity… any thoughts, people?   i’d just like to know what has gotten into everyone and what i can do without getting fired to combat it… shouldn’t there just be a common sense/common courtesy two foot personal space rule that people should just respect unless you’re family or best friends?  am i just nuts here?

a bit of a weird and stressful day, so i must cling to the good side of things, that i am happy with how my job is going in general (playing music and traveling, nice boss, pleasant colleagues… could be worse, right?), and so happy with the exciting fact that my amazing and wonderful hubby will be here in less than 2 weeks now (he’ll protect me!), ridiculously happy that i have a brilliant and beautiful son who is thriving, a precious dog, a great ex-husband/friend/co-pilot and a wonderful family… think happy thoughts!   breathe deeply, yoga breathing: in through the nose, out through the mouth… ten times… again...

i went to my room and watched the further earthquake coverage for a bit, (not a real stress buster) and tried to rest… they cancelled my 7-8 set because there was a big event for our frequent fliers with the big cheese ceo in the show lounge, so i only did a 9-close set tonight. my happy hour set was “the music of diana krall,” which is, really, mostly music of other people… i get a lot of comparisons to her (another low alto-voiced piano player from the northwest who went to berklee), so her material is an easy grab for me and she has a pretty broad audience… the big enchilada came by w/mrs. enchilada and they stopped to chat for a sec… they were pleasant and complimented the music and singing, and i asked what kind of tunes they like and invited them to come in for a song, and they said they would tomorrow.   i hope they do!   it would really suck, tho, if he came up behind me tomorrow and i gave him a backward kung fu flying fist of doom… i forgot to mention someone had removed my protective back of bandstand sign, presumably to sanitize the visual environment for the corporate honchos on board, and, while i am proud to be a company gal on the corporate gig, doing that thing as right as i can and walking the line, i’m like, “whatevs!” and i made another sign and put it right back up tonight… that camera-almost-in-the-sea episode has rattled me all over again, and i’m taking no chances!   more soon… xo, di

day 48 – at sea, thinking about christchurch

 note:  as i go to post this, i just thankfully got a message from my friend, emma (imma) in christchurch - she sustained a cut on her head that required stitches, but is ok, as is her family and her home, so thank god for that... she is still, however, anxiously awaiting news from some friends as yet not heard from, and the entire town is in a state of high anxiety about further quakes, so please keep all these people in your thoughts and prayers as they wake up to a real heartache and an absolute mess today... here are a few more pictures from inside that beautiful cathedral that i hadn't posted...  

my heart is aching for beautiful christchurch… we were only just there over a week ago - i was in that grand cathedral looking at the amazing flowers everywhere, and now to see the place in a wreck, so much destruction and devastation… truly heart rending… i am hoping to hear from my friend emma, who lives there, tho i believe she was planning on being out of town on business, and i am fervently hoping that is indeed the case right now and have an email and facebook inquiry to her waiting to hear back… i’m sure power and internet and phones may be down for a bit… you just never know what’s going to happen or when or where, and it makes for a few goosebumps at times knowing you were standing in a place where tons of stone and brick walls came down days later at the time of day you were there, a time when so many people would be there… what a loss and heartache for so many people… please keep a continual good thought for those folks and that town…