another sea day down… it was so calm today that it hardly seemed we were moving. the water was so still and glassy; at lunch i told bob i thought we had slowed way down, as it seemed we were practically drifting… he assured me that, no, indeed, we were clipping along – i just couldn’t feel it. after lunch, we looked at the navigation screen, and sure enough, we were almost at 21 kts! i couldn’t believe it! we average about 500 nautical miles a day, give or take, and traveling at this rate is the most fuel efficient (cheapest). we went faster through pirate waters just so we’d be too speedy a target, but this is our usual rate of travel.
not much doing today, and yet the day zooms by – how is that?! i had to do yesterday’s blog, do a little more organizing/packing, start my paperwork for debark (an umpteen step process – they do love a little bit of paperpushing and signature gathering with no purpose here!), and it was the last lunch date with a guest for this voyage, as i won’t make any more – this was with my friend sharon, the sweet lady we try to have lunch with at least once every week to 10 days on a sea day… i have mentioned her before, sings like a bird, had her 80th birthday last summer here with her fam when i was on, suffered a broken pelvis last year and has to use a walker… anyway, she is a real sweetheart, and gave bob and i birthday cards and a coupe of trinkets… a very nice lady, and is living in new hampshire now, bob’s old stomping grounds. she always has the sushi and seaweed salad every day at lunch – i may have to start having that, too, if it will keep me cheerful and spry into my 80’s…
i had to write the last episode of piano broad and get the next batch of port songs for review ready for tonight. on the gig, i was almost all the way through the set and couldn’t remember what my template song was for the singapore port song, so i had to skip it and said i would do it tonight once i remembered… i have had a couple of drawing blank moments like this week that make me think i must be losing it… i think i have just hit my wall of maximum saturation for music in my head and can’t fit anything else in my brainpan at the moment – it seems if i stuff one more song in, something else comes out… i know it’s not literally true, but my brain definitely feels full, and i look forward after this journey to only listening to or playing stuff that i want to for my own enjoyment and not work related – or listening to nino wail on his guitar or blast tunes from his room - i also look forward to long stretches of silence with no music at all and not hearing all kinds of other conversation going on… you learn to enjoy a social way of life while you are here and being in a constant community, and you learn to relish privacy and quiet time when you go home for your breaks…
i am truly glad my life is certainly not boring, and that i get to enjoy a variety of experiences with a wide range of people from everywhere while traveling… life is very rich – and after 110 days, in moments, it sometimes seems almost too rich – the rich food, the opulent settings, the events, the whirl of it all, and i can really look forward to the simple life again… i am very blessed to experience such a range of situations and to meet so many interesting characters – i wish i could detail more about individuals and dish a little, but i feel i have to repect others’ privacy and can’t share some of the more colorful stuff in this format, but suffice it to say, it takes all kinds to make a world and i think i have met them all! this is definitely our own little community we’ve made here at sea, and i can feel good about the contributions to that community that i have tried to foster in my small corner of it from the piano bar… more later… xo, me
piano broad, episode 4 – petra
(to the tune of billy joel’s “piano man”)
well it’s ____ o’clock on whatever sea day it is – the regular crowd shuffles in
& I plug in my mic & get a beverage, another piano bar evening begins
i can’t believe it’s our last week here, we’d better get the most from each day
cause next week there’ll be somebody new playing here as most of us will have gone away
now don at the bar is a friend of mine, he gets my ice water for free
he plays the martini shaker like percussion, & sometimes he’s louder than me!
and hermi has been your charming server, this room wouldn’t run w/o those two
w/o them we’d all go quite thirsty, so w/o them what would we all do?!
our last episode left off in petra
most of our aussie friends left us in europe , guess it was time to say g’day
from jordan
i can’t believe we saw jerusalem ephesus
getting to the mediterranean was lovely, european charm and history abounded
and with all the excellent restaurants we’ve been to, you could say traveling has made us well- rounded
we’ve had a few awesome open mic nights, and we’ll have one more before we go home
so i encourage those of you who haven’t taken part yet, to get ready with a dance, song or a poem
la la la la de da… la la la de da da da
sing us a song, you’re the piano broad, here on the old amsterdam
and we’re all in the mood for a melody, so sing us a song, won’t you ma’am
i’ve got to say thanks for that birthday soiree, it was an awesome night here in the piano bar
the decorations and cakes and well wishes, well they made me feel like a big star
for all of your organizing efforts, i’ve really got to give you a hand
and hey, since i played my own party, i saved big time on hiring a band!
we’ve been recapping all of the port songs on the way home with a recorder with built in mics
and i’ll upload them to an internet site soon, so you can download the ones that you like
if you want to get on my mailing list, leave your email or your business card
or you can always find me on facebook, ask your kids how, it really isn’t hard
when i am home this time next week, seven o’clock will feel different and odd
in sweats and no makeup i’ll be cooking away and singing for my kid and my dog
and college tours will be my new excursions, which i can’t wait to do with my son
and i’ll have as many nights off as i want to - to go out to the movies and have fun
but there will be more moments than you can know - when i’ll think of us here and i’ll smile
and i hope i’ll see you all somewhere down the line, ‘cause i’ll be working at sea for awhile
it’s nice to live a life compartmentalized, working away while i’m at sea
and at home i mostly just enjoy being mom and cooking dinner for the family
la la la la de da… la la la de da da da
sing us a song, you’re the piano broad, here on the old amsterdam
and we’re all in the mood for a melody, so sing us a song, won’t you ma’am
and now for some shameless self promotion, please don’t forget to go buy my cd
it’s in the gift shop down the hall where the booze is and if you just go look then you will see
that it’s cheaper by 5 dollars than all the others, that’s a value, now you can’t deny
and it’s small and flat and fits well in your suitcase, so go get one, they’re in short supply!
i don’t want to take any home with me, get one last souvenir before it’s too late
if you loved me go buy a copy for yourself, if you didn’t get one for someone you hate
110 nights is quite a challenge when you’re with the same folks the whole way
i hope y’all didn’t get too tired of me, cause i’ve enjoyed being with you every day
i’ve so enjoyed your support and friendship, and your company here every night
i can’t believe we’ve gone all around the world, these adventures have been out of sight
at the end of the day i hope that you felt you had a place to relax and unwind
and have a drink or a song before dinner or a show, your happiness was uppermost in my mind
i wish i knew every song ever written, i know lots but i can’t know each composition
i learned several new ones, though, because of you, and i thank you for these great additions
your crowd participation was lovely, your clapping and singalongs were a hit
without your cheerful participation, my songs would have sounded like -
sha… la la la la la sha la la la de da da da
sing us a song, you’re the piano broad, here on the old amsterdam
and we’re all in the mood for a melody, so sing us a song, won’t you ma’am
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