Take Log
I'm Back (on the internets)!
Sunday 16 March 2008
Greetings
from Downtown Miami!
[No picture because I forgot my camera on the ship. Sorry.]
I have a lot to share with you but I've been waaaaaaaaaaay too busy to write any new entries. Thanks to all of you for being patient while I got my internet issues taken care of, and thank you Nancy for keeping everyone up to date in the comments while I've been unable to log in. I heard an interesting rumor that Carnival Entertainment may be moving to L.A. and taking over the building occupied by are sister companies Cunard and Princess... needless to say I'll be excited if it's true. More on this later.
I hope all of you are well, I should have some new photos for you soon.
Ventura Highway by America
[No picture because I forgot my camera on the ship. Sorry.]
I have a lot to share with you but I've been waaaaaaaaaaay too busy to write any new entries. Thanks to all of you for being patient while I got my internet issues taken care of, and thank you Nancy for keeping everyone up to date in the comments while I've been unable to log in. I heard an interesting rumor that Carnival Entertainment may be moving to L.A. and taking over the building occupied by are sister companies Cunard and Princess... needless to say I'll be excited if it's true. More on this later.
I hope all of you are well, I should have some new photos for you soon.
Ventura Highway by America
Second Week: In Review
Sunday 02 March 2008
Greetings
from my office!
It's been another fast pace week here in the M/S Victory as I have finished editing and mixing my stage first show; I have another show to complete next week, and this one is going to be 10x harder than the first. I seem to have impressed the rest of the technical and creative staff, and more importantly, my new boss to the point my probationary period may be coming to a short end (woohoo!). Unfortunately for me, I haven't left the ship for a few days missing Grand Cayman and Jamaica. Supposedly I've been told I didn't miss much and was warned that if I ever get off the ship in Jamaica that I should travel with a large group of crew members, apparently Ocho Rios isn't a very nice place... duly noted. Most of this week has been spent in my "office" seen above, as will next week; we're back on the Eastern route, so it'll be take two of San Juan, St. Thomas, and St, Maarten.
Sorry for the lateness of the blog entries, stable internet hasn't be easy to come by.
Jamming by Bob Marley & The Wailers
It's been another fast pace week here in the M/S Victory as I have finished editing and mixing my stage first show; I have another show to complete next week, and this one is going to be 10x harder than the first. I seem to have impressed the rest of the technical and creative staff, and more importantly, my new boss to the point my probationary period may be coming to a short end (woohoo!). Unfortunately for me, I haven't left the ship for a few days missing Grand Cayman and Jamaica. Supposedly I've been told I didn't miss much and was warned that if I ever get off the ship in Jamaica that I should travel with a large group of crew members, apparently Ocho Rios isn't a very nice place... duly noted. Most of this week has been spent in my "office" seen above, as will next week; we're back on the Eastern route, so it'll be take two of San Juan, St. Thomas, and St, Maarten.
Sorry for the lateness of the blog entries, stable internet hasn't be easy to come by.
Jamming by Bob Marley & The Wailers
Runnin'
Wednesday 27 February 2008
Greetings
from Grand Cayman... kind of. Truth be told, we
haven't dropped anchor yet, but due to possible
weather issues, the Captain decided to test all four
engines that drive this ship and we got here in a
hurry. However, due to local regulations we're not
allowed to dock until our scheduled time, so the Vic
is doing laps around the Caymans until morning.
Today's picture is of our almost daily drag race with
Royal Caribbean (we're 0-5 in case you're
wondering... they're always in such a rush to beat us
to port).
Runnin' by Earth, Wind & Fire
Runnin' by Earth, Wind & Fire
Laundry Day aka "No Internet... Day 10"
Tuesday 26 February 2008
Greetings
from Deck Zero Forward, The Crew Laundromat!
What? Did you really think I was going to post a picture of the washing machines? To be honest, I'm getting a little worried that I'm writing a blog that no one can read... does this count as talking to myself? Probably, but doing laundry isn't fun, and I need something to keep my mind off the fact I'm currently sitting a few yards behind the bow (just above the bulb) in an area called "the whale catcher". Of course it isn't what it sounds like, but we've hit a few "bumps" that has made me wonder... I'm just sayin'...
Today's port was the island of Cozumel, Mexico. Not much to speak of unless you rent a Jeep and tour the island, or go snorkeling, otherwise, it's no different than parts of L.A... well, except for the lack of smog and the tallest building in town is parked at the pier. My boss is on the ship this week, so I actually have to "work" now; It's easy to forget this isn't a travel blog.
For Da Love of Da Game by DJ Jazzy Jeff
What? Did you really think I was going to post a picture of the washing machines? To be honest, I'm getting a little worried that I'm writing a blog that no one can read... does this count as talking to myself? Probably, but doing laundry isn't fun, and I need something to keep my mind off the fact I'm currently sitting a few yards behind the bow (just above the bulb) in an area called "the whale catcher". Of course it isn't what it sounds like, but we've hit a few "bumps" that has made me wonder... I'm just sayin'...
Today's port was the island of Cozumel, Mexico. Not much to speak of unless you rent a Jeep and tour the island, or go snorkeling, otherwise, it's no different than parts of L.A... well, except for the lack of smog and the tallest building in town is parked at the pier. My boss is on the ship this week, so I actually have to "work" now; It's easy to forget this isn't a travel blog.
For Da Love of Da Game by DJ Jazzy Jeff
First Week: In Review
Monday 25 February 2008
Greetings
from Deck Four Forward, aka The Crew Bar
[Note: No pictures allowed to protect the guilty]
OK... you're probably wondering what has happened, no I haven't forgotten all of you, I just underestimated how ridiculously slow the internet is on the ship. Seriously, I've tried to upload new entries and ran of minutes halfway thru... not... good. Here's a brief recap to bring you up to speed:
Training... and lots of it. The good news is if the ship has an emergency, I'm competent enough to guide guest to their muster (emergency) stations. The bad news, I highly doubt I'll get a comment card stating the following: "Ranking our vacation using '10' as the best and '1' as the worse, the ship sinking was a '0'... but the Audio Tech kept us all entertained in the life raft. If we ever have another life threatening experience, we hope it's with Bryan."
People have been asking whether I've gotten sea sick yet, no haven't but I did catch the flu; with over 3500 people onboard and a useless flu vaccine it was unavoidable. Having the flu on dry land sucks, having the flu while out to sea... really sucks. Other than training, sleeping, and being terribly ill, I've enjoyed my first week going to destinations I've only seen in pictures or on TV, and as I type this, I'm on my way to a couple more!
Sailing by N'Sync
[Note: No pictures allowed to protect the guilty]
OK... you're probably wondering what has happened, no I haven't forgotten all of you, I just underestimated how ridiculously slow the internet is on the ship. Seriously, I've tried to upload new entries and ran of minutes halfway thru... not... good. Here's a brief recap to bring you up to speed:
Training... and lots of it. The good news is if the ship has an emergency, I'm competent enough to guide guest to their muster (emergency) stations. The bad news, I highly doubt I'll get a comment card stating the following: "Ranking our vacation using '10' as the best and '1' as the worse, the ship sinking was a '0'... but the Audio Tech kept us all entertained in the life raft. If we ever have another life threatening experience, we hope it's with Bryan."
People have been asking whether I've gotten sea sick yet, no haven't but I did catch the flu; with over 3500 people onboard and a useless flu vaccine it was unavoidable. Having the flu on dry land sucks, having the flu while out to sea... really sucks. Other than training, sleeping, and being terribly ill, I've enjoyed my first week going to destinations I've only seen in pictures or on TV, and as I type this, I'm on my way to a couple more!
Sailing by N'Sync
Training Day
Monday 18 February 2008
Greetings
from Deck Six Aft!
The day started with the painful realization that ship is moving... I mean really moving! Enough for me to hit my head on the top rack. Lucky for me I don't have a cabin mate so I have a little extra space... little being the key word. That's it folks, other than the bathroom on the left (off camera), that's all there is to my cabin... I have to step outside to change my mind. Training started today: we toured the ship, watched the usual corporate videos about sexual harassment and workplace safety, and learned about the history of the company. Since the ship is at a maximum cruising speed of 21 knots, or 24 mph, we've been rocking and rolling (literally and metaphorically) all day long on our way to San Juan P.R. I'm feeling a little wobbly... but I'm sleeping like a baby.
Don't Stop Till You Get Enough by Michael Jackson
The day started with the painful realization that ship is moving... I mean really moving! Enough for me to hit my head on the top rack. Lucky for me I don't have a cabin mate so I have a little extra space... little being the key word. That's it folks, other than the bathroom on the left (off camera), that's all there is to my cabin... I have to step outside to change my mind. Training started today: we toured the ship, watched the usual corporate videos about sexual harassment and workplace safety, and learned about the history of the company. Since the ship is at a maximum cruising speed of 21 knots, or 24 mph, we've been rocking and rolling (literally and metaphorically) all day long on our way to San Juan P.R. I'm feeling a little wobbly... but I'm sleeping like a baby.
Don't Stop Till You Get Enough by Michael Jackson
Almost there
Saturday 16 February 2008
After
days in the warehouse gathering and preparing
equipment, it's almost time to set sail. I owe a big
"thank you" to my new coworkers for helping to get me
ready... tomorrow is the big day!
Cruisin' by D'Angelo
Cruisin' by D'Angelo
The Devil is in the Details
Wednesday 13 February 2008
Day
2 was another day at the warehouse, but this time I
got a chance to tour the whole thing: twenty-one
ships worth of EVERYTHING! Audio and video gear,
furniture, canned sodas, etc., I've only seen a small
fraction of what goes onto the ship every week.
Everything that goes onto the ships (except for
obviously the fresh food) goes thru that massive
warehouse.
As the day went on, I began picking up details about what's going to start this Sunday. Not only do I spend a few days of safety training, I have to attend a class on how to smile... yeah, I'm not kidding... thank the Disney Cruise Line for that. To add to the adventure, I have a fresh-out-of-school audio mixer onboard that has been working a grand total of 3 weeks. Oh yes, adventure awaits.
Work to Do by The Isley Brothers
As the day went on, I began picking up details about what's going to start this Sunday. Not only do I spend a few days of safety training, I have to attend a class on how to smile... yeah, I'm not kidding... thank the Disney Cruise Line for that. To add to the adventure, I have a fresh-out-of-school audio mixer onboard that has been working a grand total of 3 weeks. Oh yes, adventure awaits.
Work to Do by The Isley Brothers
Day 1
Tuesday 12 February 2008
Greeting
from
beautiful Miami!
Or at least that's what would say if I weren’t under a tornado warning. Sorry for the lack of pictures, but the weather has been a bit sketchy all day.
I've decided to add a new category for day-to-day entries called the Take Log as homage to my friends on the scoring stages. Also, the format is changing to "top-to-bottom" for new entries from here on.
My first day officially started when I touched down and I got a chance to meet a few of my coworkers for some drinks at a neighborhood bar... it's obvious I'm going to be the "responsible" adult of the team. After a few hours of sleep, my new coworkers and I made our way to the Carnival Entertainment warehouse to begin preparing my equipment and road cases for Pro Tools. It became clear just how massive Carnival's entertainment division operation is; the large warehouse was packed to the ceiling with audio, lighting, and video equipment, while in a neighboring warehouse dozens of workers were feverishly working on show costumes. After gathering the needed equipment, I started on a familiar task: building a Pro Tools system.
Rain On My Parade by Eric Roberson
Or at least that's what would say if I weren’t under a tornado warning. Sorry for the lack of pictures, but the weather has been a bit sketchy all day.
I've decided to add a new category for day-to-day entries called the Take Log as homage to my friends on the scoring stages. Also, the format is changing to "top-to-bottom" for new entries from here on.
My first day officially started when I touched down and I got a chance to meet a few of my coworkers for some drinks at a neighborhood bar... it's obvious I'm going to be the "responsible" adult of the team. After a few hours of sleep, my new coworkers and I made our way to the Carnival Entertainment warehouse to begin preparing my equipment and road cases for Pro Tools. It became clear just how massive Carnival's entertainment division operation is; the large warehouse was packed to the ceiling with audio, lighting, and video equipment, while in a neighboring warehouse dozens of workers were feverishly working on show costumes. After gathering the needed equipment, I started on a familiar task: building a Pro Tools system.
Rain On My Parade by Eric Roberson