Well, let me just start by saying I have been a little more than busy lately. Not as busy as I am during Ohio Bike Week, but probably twice as busy as I was with IN THE MOOD.
Let me also start by saying that change is really really good. I am VERY happy with this change in my life. Even though I miss family, friends, and Brian (who deserves his own category of miss-age).
Erin Heare, the girl that I am replacing, will leave early on the 29th, so after that date I will have the computer to myself and will be sure to do a much more extensive post (with lots of pictures) than I am doing right now.
Currently my daily schedule has been something like this:
9:00-12:00 TRAINING (Safety, Human Resources, Policy, Management, etc.)
12:00-13:00 LUNCH
13:00-16:00 TRAINING (On the job, administrative, planning, etc.)
16:00-18:00 BREAK
18:00-24:00 PRODUCTIONS/EVENTS
As you can see... busy busy busy. Sometimes training doesn't start until 10:00 which is incredible. And sometimes the administrative stuff is a little lighter.
Do note the use of military time. Welcome to one change in my life.
My cabin is small. My shower is impossible. To shave I have a special manuever involving both the toilet and the sink. But I get turndown service every day which is nice. I am only in a temporary cabin right now, too. When Erin moves out I will take her cabin which has more space and a much larger bed.
I have already started picking up tagalog (the primary language of the Phillipines). Most of the AV staff (more commonly known as stage crew) is Filipino. I have to stop treating them like UmpaLoompas (sp?) because they are small, cute, and smiley. They are people, too.
Mostly right now I am trying to find any kind of rhythm (yeah, right) and get a bit caught up on sleep. I have certainly been burning the candles at both ends trying to be sociable at night and diligently attending trainings in the morning. I don't want to be friend-less once Erin leaves, and I certainly don't want to get any counseling or warnings for missing training.
The ship is VERY strict with policies and regulations. If you slip up once... on anything... enough for your manager to feel that discipline is necessary, you get a verbal counseling. After a verbal counseling, there are first, second, and third warnings. A third warning results in a masters hearing with the captain, and likely termination. First and second warnings mean that you cannot get promoted, or receive a bonus or a raise for one full year (all warnings expire in a year).
For an example:
You could get a verbal counseling for being out of uniform in a guest area. If an officer sees you in a guest elevator, it would escalte to your first written warning. If you forget to punch out your time card, then you could be issued your second written warning. Then if you are violating safety procedure by wearing flip flops onboard, you could be issued your third warning and terminated. Violations can be in ANY AREA of policy.
I find it nerve wracking that not only could I be disciplined this way, but I have to discipline my cast and team this way if any chronic or serious issues arise. It will certainly have to bring out a different side of me.
I did find out about family/friends on board. I can sign anyone on for a day in almost any port (meaning you could come on and visit while we are at port, but would have to leave before the all aboard call to sail). Once I have completed 6 months of employment (which I will by the end of this contract) there are two options. A guest can come on a cruise and stay in my cabin with me - probably only an option for Brian - at a rate of $10 a day. You get full guest benefits (like free food and non-alcoholic beverages). Anyone else can stay in their own guest stateroom for $40/day. Pretty incredible. So let's hope for everyone's sake that I manage to not mess things up in the next 6 months.
The ship is still in Norway. It is STUNNING here. I have only been able to get off one time - in Flam. It was a cute little town. Outside of that my training schedule has been too demanding to allow for more than meal breaks during the day (we are usually at port from 8am-4pm).
As I get more of a flow for my job, I have no fear that I will be getting off of the ship with more regularity. Though, you have to be careful, because ports of call is where you will spend all of your money. Well, ports and the bars on the ship. Though at the crew bar a beer is only 90 cents. Not too shabby.
And yes. I do lots of stairs. Lots and lots of stairs. I would guess next to 40 flights a day. It's rough stuff if you want to dine in the guest buffet (deck 10) and you are on the crew deck (deck 1).
More information and pictures to come. Your patience is greatly appreciated (that's the saying of my life as all of my coworkers accept the fact that I have NO IDEA what's going on some of the time).
Ciao!
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