May 24, 2008

Hello everyone,
We have visited every port that we will visit this summer, and I've gotten a pretty good idea of how the next 12 weeks of my life will go. We get to Vancouver tomorrow, completing our first round trip.
I am able to withdrawal money that I've earned before my paydays, and I can bill anything I buy on the ship directly to my account. It is hard to not buy any little thing that I want, because I usually do not see the money changing hands. I already bought some sunglasses, and I want to buy a nice watch. When I say nice watch, I am aiming for the $100 range, but nice watches on the ship go from several hundred to several thousand dollars. One of my friends has a watch whose hands turn into several things including a compass, a barometer, a thermometer, and several things I don't remember. He paid $500 for it and I am super envious. I have goals for my earnings this summer, and I don't want to get sucked into frivolous spending. I want to pay off a large part of my credit card debt, and I need to buy a new phone when I get back home (I want an iPhone). I need a watch, but I don't need a $500 watch.
I'm still trying to exercise regularly, but I've only actually made it to the crew gym 3 times in 2 weeks. Walking on the Lower Promenade is easier to do, but probably doesn't do as much for me. It is too easy to sleep super late since I don't need to do anything until 7:00 pm. The biggest motivation to get up before noon (yes, I know I have a rough life) is breakfast. I also felt very guilty when I was napping at 2:00pm and my cabin steward opened the door. I don't want my shipmates to be angry because I work so much less than they do.
Speaking of my shipmates, I have met people from US, Canada, Indonesia, Philippines, Hungary, Jamaica, Scotland, England, Jerusalem, Holland, Macedonia, India, South Africa, Italy and Australia. Almost everyone working on the ship has a smile on their face. Sometimes, I'm sure that it is forced, but most of the time, I believe that people on the ship are happy. It's also really fun to meet people who want to talk even if they don't know you very well. Everyone has a story and it's always interesting.
My playing is not always the most exciting part of my day, but there was an interesting moment earlier this week. We were playing a quartet arrangement of the Largo from Dvorak's New World Symphony, when several people jumped up and ran to the window at the side of the ship. I guess that whales were jumping out of the water just a few yards to the side of the ship. I didn't get to see much because I was playing and people were standing in the way, but the music we were playing seemed to go with the situation very well. Because of that moment, I have a new association with this piece that I will remember for a long time.
I just purchased a page of postcard stamps, so I need people's addresses! Send me an email with your address if you want a postcard. Also, I want to know what is going on with everyone that I don't get to see this summer. Please email me to let me know what is happening. Because I have to pay for my Internet by the minute, I am slow to respond (if I do at all), but I read everything I get.