It's been one month!

I bet you thought I'd forgotten you, right?

Well, news flash, I didn't! I just had a LOT going on in the last month, so, I haven't sat down to blog.

I got home on Monday April 23rd and immediately started unpacking and getting my life organized for the next chapter: Find an apartment, move out and start work! So, that's exactly what I did.

Erica and I were really lucky, we looked around online, scheduled some viewings, and found a place on our first time out together. It all just seemed to fall into place and by now we have pretty much completely moved in and our house is really cute and I think it's going to be a great year.

I also went to Meadville for a weekend to see a number of friends up there. I think it was my last trip for awhile, all of my closest friends have graduated now and it's a bit weird now that I don't know as many people. But, that's the natural progression of life, isn't it!? Then I went to Pittsburgh for several days and had a FABULOUS time with Cathryn, Daniella, Margaret and many others :)It's always a pleasure going down there, I'm never disappointed!

I started my job at Cain Park on Monday and it's going well so far, just getting everything set up for the season! Avenue Q tech runs will start around the 8th or so and then we'll have 3 weekends of performances for that and all of the other things going on around the park, including Seal (!!) and Macy Gray, Counting Crows, Fiona Apple and other great concerts. I am really lucky to be working here this season! :) I have also decided that I will be sporadically helping out at the country club, per my usual MO, because they will need lots of extra help at times over the summer, and I could always use the extra money!

Other than all of that, life is what it is. I've had a lot of emotional ups and downs in the last month, all related to a million different things, but, mostly that's neither here nor there. Life moves on, right? We (I) just have to learn to keep up!

I know this is a short-ish post for a month's worth of updates, but, it's late and I do have work in the morning. Although I must say I cannot wait until I am back on a normal theatre schedule (meaning not working in the mornings!!!) because that will be glorious. I don't like this 9-6 stuff!

Until next time my loves,

B

12 days, but, who's counting?

April 11, 2012

                12 days, y’all!!!!

                I posted on my sister’s Facebook wall that it still doesn’t feel real to me, it seems like there are so many days between me and the terra firma of the Cleveland airport! 12 days…that’s not too long, but, it’s long enough, especially when we have 5 sea days at the end of the cruise and sea days go by so slowly because you can really run out of things to do!

                Let me think about what has been going on! We had our last day in Sydney on the 5th, which was bittersweet. I had half of the day off, so I got off the ship in the morning and went to grab some brekkie (that’s breakfast in OZ-speak) and made my way to the Sydney Opera House for the last time to get some free internet. It was around 9:30am, the city was bustling with people going to work, school, touring the streets and buying souvenirs and the sun was shining down, puffy white clouds lined the sky, and the warm breeze made me feel insanely happy. I walked around the harbor to the Opera House, listening to music and soaking up the atmosphere surrounding me, feeling truly blessed to be able to say that I’ve been to this magical city more than once—which is something most will only ever dream of. I said goodbye to a guy who had become a really good friend since I signed on, Nick, and when I got back on board I had two free treatments (a skin detox and acupuncture) from the spa on board because they needed people for demonstrations as guests for the next cruise made their way around the ship.

                I went up to the outer decks that night as we sailed away from Sydney around 6:30pm and the sky was already dark and the lights of the city were sparkling. Nick and Mark (the PM fill) were on the pier waving goodbye as the ship pulled away from the dock, and I will admit that I did cry a little bit, saying goodbye to Nick and to Australia, a place I’ve more-or-less called home for the better part of 6 months. Nonetheless, the ship carried on sailing, and after two days at sea we arrived in Auckland, New Zealand on Easter Sunday to stay overnight.  I got off in the morning, found some internet, but nothing too exciting happened because most things were closed due to the holiday, but on Monday I went back out, did some more “interneting” and some last-minute retail therapy—including buying the 2^nd book in the “Hunger Games” series. I know it’s for young adults, but, just like the “Twilight” series—it’s an easy and entertaining read!

                We left Auckland and we’ve been at sea now for 2 days, going on our third. We have one more to go after this (making 4 total sea days) until we get to Papeete, Tahiti where we stay from 2:00pm to 11:30pm. To keep ourselves busy on these long days, we’ve been playing a lot of games (Killer Bunnies) and watching lots of TV. A bunch of us from the Cruise Division actually ended up playing in an all-crew game of “The Amazing Race” tonight, which was really fun but too short-lived. Later in the cruise (the night of Papeete) there’s a tug-of-war game organized and our team is going to be AMAZING, then after the Tahitian ports the Cruise division is responsible for putting together an all crew party on the sports deck which will include the Rockwall, the Sports Court for basketball/hockey/soccer and then after midnight it will be a dance floor, and I think we will also have the kid’s water slide open. Gonna be awesome!

                So, hopefully this time will all fly by, I just need to keep busy. I’ve put my big duffle bag up in the dressing room and have been throwing things into it that I won’t need for the rest of the cruise (like long-sleeved shirts and such) and I have no clue how I am going to fit everything!!! It is going to take some creative packing and probably a lot of “does anybody want this?” in order to make it work, but, it has to, so, it will!

                In the meantime, while I slowly pack and organize things, I am fighting a wee cold, which will hopefully quit me before I get on a plane to come home. Fingers crossed!

I love you all very much!

Xoxoxox

 B

Reflection

April 2, 2012

                I warn you all, this post is in regards to what happened to me a year ago today. If you don’t want to read it, I understand, so, I thought I’d give you a spoiler alert and give you the chance to escape now.

Everyone still here? Good. Welcome!

                So there’s this show that I’ve been watching again just for fun called “Nip Tuck” and it’s about two plastic surgeons in Miami. In the episode I watched today, the one doctor, Sean, was driving and he was hit by a guy running a stop sign. In the rest of the episode he dealt with PTSD and the challenges of choosing a new car to keep him safe. I am reminded that it was almost exactly a year ago that I nearly lost my life in that car accident that is nearly the same as the one this fictional character went through. Sean tells his partner, later in the episode, that he got into a rental car and couldn’t even start the engine, he was so terrified, and his partner says to him “Post traumatic stress disorder” and Sean replies, “I didn’t go to war, Christian, I had a car accident” to which Christian says “Your brain doesn’t car if it was a bullet or a car, you faced death.”

                Now, I know that I didn’t really come close to death per se, but, I would certainly label it as the most traumatic thing that has happened in my life. I’ve been reflecting on what my life has been like since that night, and how I’ve changed in the year since the sounds of crunching metal and shattering glass became the most terrifying sounds to my ears.  Part of me wants to focus on the negatives of what happened, like the way I seem to walk with a limp that I don’t notice but others say to me “are you limping a little, Brit?” or the way I can be going about my day just normally and then get a shooting pain from my hip down to my kneecap that makes me momentarily swoon and grab on to the nearest structure. I want to focus on the way I can’t itch my right thigh the way I can itch my arm when I need to, but instead, when I have an “itch”, I have to smack my thigh several times in the right spot in order to feel relief, how when a friend gave me a massage and brushed over my collarbone his hands recoiled in shock at the weird bump he felt, or how one of the singers on board said to me “I have screws in my ankle, and when it’s cold out and I come inside, my ankle still feels cold on the inside where the screws are, the way metal stays cold when it’s been outside.” And I wonder if I’m going to have the same sensations in my pelvis when I’m hunkered down in the Cleveland winter.

                 It’s easy to focus on the negatives, and I could continue listing them here, boring my poor readers to death with tales of the woes I face with my jacked up right side and the occasional PTSD dreams and episodes like Sean’s. Instead, I want to focus on all the good that’s happened in the last year. I know people usually do this reflection on New Year’s Eve/Day, but, April 1^st/2^nd is more significant for me than that, so, come with me as I wax nostalgic about the past year.

                I feel like I should start with the relief I felt when the doctor finally discharged me and sent me home from the hospital, 2 weeks after I’d been admitted. The flat layout of my house and the fact that my amazing mother was able to alter her whole schedule in order to stay at home with me are two things for which I am eternally grateful.  And now, in the interest of making the rest of this post as un-boring as possible I shall bullet point some of the good things that come to mind post-accident. These are in no specific order, folks, just so you know.

-- I lost a good amount of weight since the accident, and by no means am I a spring chicken, but, I know that I’m still smaller than I was last year

-- I landed the job with Royal Caribbean International from my kitchen table, swearing sweatpants and a pretty top, sitting in a wheelchair

-- I attended the college graduation of a number of my close friends a mere month and a half after the accident

-- I gained a new appreciation for people with chronic pain and am now prepared for the physical therapy I will face if/when I have my hip replaced later in life

-- I came out to work on the high seas and met tons of people from all over the world, most of whom I know I’ll stay in touch with after I leave

-- I reconnected with a woman I hadn’t seen since childhood

-- I strengthened relationships with old friends and formed closer bonds with new friends

-- I walked down the aisle in June at one of my best friend’s weddings using a cane and made it look good

-- I semi swing danced at the reception of one of my other best friend’s weddings in July

-- I made good strides towards mending my broken heart

-- Through the accident, clearer lines have been drawn between what/who is real and what/who is fake

-- I’ve seen places that I never dreamed I’d see, like the glistening white “sails” of the Sydney Opera House and the quaint, romantic water bungalows of Bora Bora

-- This one is kind of positive and negative, but, I spent most of my favorite days of the year on this ship, floating around the southern hemisphere

-- My brother asked a wonderful someone to marry him, and she asked my sister and me to be a part of the bridal party in August

-- I erased all of my college debt

-- I now understand how fleeting life can be, how nothing is guaranteed

-- Along those lines, I think I’ve been more self-assured when it comes to grabbing life by the horns, and not waiting for something to come to you: if you want it, go after it!

As it nears 1am for me, my brain is running out of creative juice, so forgive me for cutting this list short. Just know that there are a lot more things that I am thankful for, and things that are positive that came out of the horrific accident that night. I am so thankful that God allowed me to live through that ordeal and that I had so much support, then and now.

You are all a dear part of my life, and you will be forever.

I can’t wait to see you all this spring/summer!

Big hugs and kisses

B

Happy Birthday to me!

March 31, 2012

                So here’s what’s been happening since I posted on the 23^rd:

                On the 24^th, Sydney turnaround day, I went with a  number of people from the cast and we saw the movie “The Hunger Games” which is based off of a book that I may or may not have mentioned purchasing in my last post. I finished it in 2-3 days so that I could see the movie with the group. It lived up to my expectations though I will say, like most movies that are based off of books, they cut a lot of the good details out. In short, I was happy that I read the book first, after several friends recommended that I do so.

                After we left Sydney, we set sail for the islands of Vanuatu, where we were just after New Year’s and I visited all those beautiful places like caves and waterfalls. We had two days at sea, during which we found out that there was a very dangerous weather pattern near the islands, including two cyclones that were threatening to meet up over the top of the island chain and possibly cause the Captain and his team to reconfigure the itinerary for the voyage. But, despite all that, we arrive on schedule in Nouméa, New Caledonia, where I was finally able to buy the wine that I couldn’t buy last time, as some of you might recall. I bought two bottles of “Anjou Rose”, wine that comes from the region of France where I studied abroad, and I am going to try to bring one home if I can pack it in my duffel. It was a really rainy day though, thanks to the weather pattern, so I didn’t stay out long, just ran into the grocery store, bought the wine and a few other things, and went back to the ship. That night, my roommate Melissa and the dance captain, Jess, and some of my colleagues planned a little birthday get-together at the crew bar, which coincided with a “Beach Party” themed party planned by the HR center, so we all put on tropical wear and went out. We had a blast!!!!

                The next day we went to Lifou, where the weather continued to be pretty crappy, but I went out with Melissa, Jess, and a few of the other cast members, and we swam in the ocean, despite the intermittent rain. When we couldn’t take the weather any more, we came back to the ship, showered, I worked for a little while and then I changed clothes and went back to the theatre to watch the evening’s show, which was the hypnotist who has been on board a number of times. I would have had to work but I scheduled one of the guys to cover it for me since it was my birthday and all! The show was hilarious, as usual, and then I went to dinner at Chop’s Grille (a steakhouse on board) with Brian and the folks I’d gone swimming with. I had a delicious meal of shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad and Pancetta-wrapped Chicken breast (I would have had the filet mignon, but, I’d eaten it when I went there with my team earlier in the week).  

                Then I started my duty rotation, which means 5 days stuck on the ship, but Jared traded with me so I could get off two days later in Luganville and go to the French restaurant that Jason and Lauren found the last time we were here. I walked there by myself and had delicious food made by a French couple from Bordeaux who relocated to these islands a while back. The wife was very pleased to hear that I spoke French and we had a lovely conversation for a few minutes and I left feeling stuffed and very content.

                Today we were in the city of Vila and once again I wasn’t allowed off the ship, but I worked in the morning taking guests going on tours from the theatre down to the pier and then I went back to bed for a while (didn’t get a lot of sleep the night before) and when I woke up I watched some TV while I did a little bit of room organizing and throwing a lot of things away. It’s still too early to really think about packing, but, I am anyways. Do you think I’m excited to come home? (that’s a rhetorical question!) I’ve been having dreams about being home, about seeing my friends and family, the plans I have for the summer, using my phone again; all kinds of little things that clearly my subconscious is dying to make into realities through my dreams! Ironically, I haven’t been sleeping well these past few weeks, probably because I’m so anxious to come home. There were two nights in a row where I fell asleep between 5-7am and had to wake up a few hours later to work and then had to try to force myself to stay up all day in order to ensure sleepiness that night…it’s been an exhausting circle.

I’ll blog again soon!

B

Hey folks, it's been a while

What's up everyone, sorry it's been awhile since I blogged!

To be honest, not that much has happened since I last wrote, hence my lack of posts, but, I'll recap for you anyways!

Today is the first day of the next cruise for us, we finished the bottom end of the circumnavigation cruise. It was certainly an interesting one!

In Adelaide I went with Brian, Nick and Emma to a Wildlife park where we pet and fed kangaroos and emus and saw Koala bears and a few other animals. It was so cute, Kangaroos are SO soft!!! I also bought a gorgeous Opal ring for myself in honor of my promotion. Don't judge me! It's pretty simple, just a sterling silver band and an oval shaped semi-black opal in the center, but it's a good-sized gem. Even though it's called "semi-black" it's kind of a white-green color, but the fact that it's "semi-black" puts it in the higher quality of Opals, apparently. Did you know that 90% of the world's Opals come from Australia? I had no idea.

In Hobart a few days later, Brian and I borrowed bikes from the ship (we can get them through our HR center) and rode around, got some wifi and lunch and then went back to the ship. I hadn't been on a real bike in Lord knows how long! It was really nice, except when Brian kept trying to get me to go uphill and that just didn't work out, also we had to be on the streets instead of the sidewalks and biking on the left side of the road what quite an experience. Brian said to me at one point "Are the turning hand signals the same here??" and all I could do was shrug and say "Your guess is as good as mine!"

Once we left Australia we crossed the Tasman sea to New Zealand and we had the second rockiest seas we've ever had, second only to those we had around New Year's. We were scheduled to have our production show on the first of these sea days but we postponed it until 3 days later because the seas were just that rocky! I didn't get seasick but I did take some tablets because I was getting a mild headache from the moving.

The New Zealand ports were the same as usual, I bought a small carry-on sized bag in Dunedin and filled it with the souvenirs and gifts that I have for everyone. It's pretty full, but, I'll feel safer having it with me in the plane than leaving it to possibly get lost in my big duffel bag. In Wellington I talked to many of you online, and finally bought a paper copy of the book "The Hunger Games" which I have heard rave reviews about from a lot of you. I read it in 2 days, so, you were all right!!! I need to find books 2 and 3, apparently someone saw book 2 in the "Crew Library" so I think I'll look there later today when I'm back on the ship.

Yesterday we had some really strong winds at sea that crept up on us and made the whole ship vibrate all day as if we were in an airplane with turbulence. I was laying in my bed so I didn't really notice but at one point the ship listed about 3 degrees to the Port side (I think) and one of the cast members was in the Salon and he said that a whole bunch of products came crashing down to the floor. A few minutes after that the Captain came on over the PA system and explained that we had a sudden gust of wind that nobody saw coming which tossed the ship to one side and that they were doing everything they could to turn the ship so that that wouldn't happen again. He explained that the gusts outside were around 80 knots/113mph/190kph and apologized for any worries or damages that were done by the unexpected lurch. "The wind came up like a car out of the sack" he said, in his thick Norwegian accent. That was the funniest part about it, not gonna lie!

This morning we arrived in Sydney again and I got off with some of the cast members to see the movie version of "The Hunger Games" which recently came out. It didn't disappoint! Now I'm sitting in a cafe just finishing my lunch and enjoying the beautiful weather. I have to work at 3pm on Wheelchair duty and then tonight for the show, after that my team and I are going to one of the specialty restaurants and then we'll set for the production show tomorrow! We've got a 12 day cruise ahead of us, then we'll be in Sydney again on the 5th and then the 18 day cruise to Honolulu via Auckland (New Zealand) and French Polynesia and then I will be home!!!!! If only I could make time go faster :)

Love you all and counting down the days (in case you hadn't noticed)
xoxoxox
B

"This curtain should be open, it's civil rights, this is the 90s."

March 8, 2012

                We’re in the merry, merry month of March! I’m writing from the little town of Esperance, Australia where I am wearing jeans, flip flops, a t-shirt and a cardigan with ¾ length sleeves. This is important because naught 3 days ago, I was sitting in a café sweating my face off in 95* heat and now it’s about 70*!!! YES! The only problem is that with the drastic temperature drop in 24 hours myself and my roommate seem to have come down with scratchy throats…bummer!! Nonetheless, I am eating a delicious piece of Cookies n’ Cream Cheesecake from a local café and loving it.

                I have officially started my position of Head Stage Staff, which is pretty cool. Nothing much has happened so far except more phone calls than usual, which Kerwin had warned me about. Having my own phone will be a blessing and a curse, I think!

                We have loads of birthdays this month! There are I think around 7 people in my division with March birthdays, which is pretty awesome. Though, I’m the only one at the very end—the one closest to me is on the 18^th and that’s our Light Tech, Nick. Speaking of birthdays—if any of you intend to send me a card I would suggest sending it to my house and I’ll get it a month later when I’m home. Miami will send us mail in Sydney when we’re there on the 24^th, but that will be the last time I will get anything since the next Sydney there won’t be any and after that we’re back in the states and I’m home! Yay!

                I’ve had the itch to write lately…most of you will know that I used to write when I was in middle school/high school but it wasn’t anything substantial…but either way I certainly feel like writing something, I just don’t have any clue what to write about. I guess that’s why I decided to blog today, because I just needed to write *something*! 

                Since my last post, we finished the top end of the circumnavigation of Australia, stopping again in Bali, Port Hedland and Geraldton. I didn’t get off in Bali because Jared and I switched Duty dates so that I could see the Great Barrier Reef and he could see Bali. It was a really rainy day, however, so I definitely kind of lucked out. Dave, the Musical Director, and I were talking about how we did so well the first time in Bali it seemed silly to go back out and try to see more, since we saw so much and it was so awesome. So, I worked all day and went out to the covered parts of the Pooldeck and watched some of the thunderstorm that afternoon which was really cool—you all know how much I love thunderstorms! Then Port Hedland was just like it was last time—hot and dusty—but Kerwin and I hopped on the shuttle and went into the “shopping center” where we bought a few necessities and had a quick lunch in a local tavern.  After that was Geraldton which is a small beach town, we were there on a Monday but it was a Public Holiday so almost everything was closed, save for a few restaurants.

                After today we sail to Adelaide, after two sea days, and I am so excited because while I am supposed to be on duty at that time, Jared switched days with me again so that I could go back there since he doesn’t like that city but I do. When we were there last time Brian and I found a place similar to Chipotle and had delicious burritos and I certainly intend to go back and get another!

I think that’s about it for today, I’ll post again soon!

Much love,

B