6/5/02: Your Majesty

It makes me sad to think about not returning to the Majesty, after having spent my first two contracts there. But I'm eating great food and sleeping a lot. It was so great to lay in bed for as long as I wanted, get up for breakfast, then slide back into bed. I got about six hours of sleep each night for the last week I was on the ship. I was wiped out last night, and went to bed at 10:00. I woke up at 4am to pee, and my body seemed to be saying, "Well, it's been six hours; are you getting up?" Ah, simple pleasures.

You all will have to take care of the ship for me. Have a stupendous summer in Bermuda (David, have a wonderful last week). Please do keep in touch, and maybe our paths will cross again.

Thanks for the memories, Genoa

5/30/02: Last Week in Bermuda

Well, here I am in my last week in Bermuda, my last week on the Majesty. I've spent two contracts here, for about 8 months total. I know this ship and these islands very well, and I'll miss them. I've had a great time here. I'm scheduled to go to the Star in Hawaii next, although I'm still hoping for Alaska.

I've met such wonderful people here and I've learned so much about myself and other people. I've had messy roommates, roommates who smelled weird, roommates who slept all the time. This last week, I have a roommate, Lidia from Romania, who is noisy and turns on the big overhead light when I'm trying to sleep. But I am learning to accept other people, and I'm surprising myself.

I'm pretty good with the kids, too. This week, I'm working with 10-12 year olds. We have our seasonal Youth Counselors, and Amy is working with me. She has less experience, and is learning a lot from me. I'm flattered to hear that I have skills to pass on to someone else.

I've made friends with people this whole time, and I've seen many of them go. There have been times when everyone I knew was little more than an acquaintance or a social friend. The people I call friends now I will miss, and I really hope to keep in touch and see them again. And that's the beauty of ships; I likely will. It's hard to leave great people, but at the same time, it's nice to leave on such a good note.

So all in all, I'm in a great mood. It's raining a bit today, and the winds are blowing. We had boat drill this morning, followed by the monthly Captain's meeting. For boat drill, the emergency alarm goes off over the whole ship (after announcements to the passengers, telling them it's only a drill) and we put on our life jackets and go to our emergency stations. When the abandon ship alarm goes off, we go to our muster stations, alongside our life boats. Big fun; this is done every Thursday. The Captain's meeting is held in the Palace Theater, with all 650 crew members piled in with our life jackets on our laps or on the floor.

We're having a crew party tomorrow night. (For me? They shouldn't have!) Tonight, after the Pajama Jam with the youngsters, I'll go to the Waterfront. It's a bar just off the ship, and it's like the crew bar ashore, because all of the crew goes there. Tomorrow around noon, we'll sail out of St. George's Bay and back to Boston. We'll sail all day Saturday and I'll disembark early Sunday. I'll fly home Sunday, then up to Seattle on Monday. I'll spend the night with my aunt, uncle, and cousin, then travel on Tuesday to Victoria, Canada for about 10 days. I'll be in San Diego on Friday, June 14th, just in time for Father's Day. I'll be home for about a month.

Life is sweet to me. Good fortune always finds me, and the heavens seem to smile down on me. I hope life is as peachy for you right now as well.

Much love and hugs galore,
Genoa

5/21/02: Raining in Bermuda

Summer doesn't actually reach Bermuda until July or August. It's raining and not very warm. Maybe I'll do laundry today. It's nice having only one port, because there's not as much pressure to do big stuff. In the Caribbean, when we were hitting each port once every two weeks, we wanted to do something every day. It's more relaxed here.

I have my own cabin for the second week in a row. I love it. The two guys who live next door come over and we watch tv. And I can leave the bathroom door open and listen to music while I shower.

I'll be home Friday, June 14th, for about a month. Right now, I'm scheduled to go to Hawaii for my next contract, but I'm requesting Alaska. We'll see. I'll be home for Father's Day! After spending so many holidays away from home (except for Valentine's Day, but my Valentine was on the ship, so that wasn't so much fun!), it will be great to celebrate a family holiday with my family.

I'm starving, so I think I'm going to venture into the staff mess. Wish me luck; it's been pretty foul lately. I can't wait to have good food!

Love always, Genoa

5/11/02: Another Day on the Ship

My roommate, Mihaela from Romania, leaves today. I wonder who my next roommate will be. Jessy, Heather, and I had a full week with the kiddies. We had some kids with serious listening problems. Time outs and parent discussions aplenty. There were two brothers who were such pills. I don't know what I'd do if they were my children. The great thing about being out here is that they're only here for a week, then they leave! As bad as it is, it only lasts a week. The Assistant Cruise Director quit. Her parting advice to me was, "When it's not fun anymore, stop doing it. At least take a break." Good advice to you all, too.

It's still only mild in Bermuda; probably much like San Diego right now, except without the gray. I haven't gone scuba diving, but a night dive is in the works. I'm so spoiled having been certified in the Caribbean. I don't know how I'll manage diving in Canada in a few weeks. I go on vacation three weeks from today. I've re-requested Alaska or Scandinavia for my next contract.
More to come,
Genoa

5/2/02: Bermuda, Baby!

It's so cool to be back in Bermuda. It looks exactly the same, but it's been six months, and I'm with different people. It's still chilly here; it should warm up soon. Boston is freezing, and I don't have enough layers to combat it. I'm making lots of cool friends on the ship. Everyone's new, since we just finished dry dock, so the social links are all new. We're all gelling well, and we go out a lot. The people are all very cool. Fellow Youth Counselor Jess and I are working very well together. We have 60 kids registered in the program, between just the two of us. Usually we get about 35. The Kids Korner isn't big enough to support all of them, so they turn into monkeys! It's a challenge, but I think we're doing a great job anyway. My sprained ankle is fine now; thank you to all who were concerned. I'm going to try to snorkel and scuba dive as much as I can. I've met some other divers, and the mood on the ship is just great. Everyone's friendly, and that's not always the case, even though we're in the hospitality industry. We had a Captain's meeting after boat drill today. The captain, who's leaving for vacation on Sunday, commended us on how happy an environment we make here. He's very sweet. I'm having a great time. My last month will fly by; I need to grab every opportunity for fun and exploration.

The sunshine beckons.
Love always,
Genoa

4/28/02: I Saw It Snowing!!!‏

For the first time ever, I saw it snowing!!! It was Thursday night in Boston. They've been having both extremes with their temps. I'm so thankful I wasn't here for dry dock. Anyway, I flew out, had dinner at a restaurant with a couple guys I knew, then went to the Purple Shamrock, whick is supposed to be Boston's oldest bar. But the highlight was waiting on the gangway for everyone, as IT SNOWED!!! It was beautiful. Then it started raining again.

The other Youth Counselor is Jessy. She's really cool, and we've decided that neither one of us will be lead, since she was also told she'd be it until Heather returned. So we're sharing the responsibilities.

The new crew is really cool, and there are also lots of familiar faces. The two day cruise to nowhere was full of drinking Bostonians. I led karaoke, which was a blast. One woman was sitting on the piano the whole time. Then she fell on me!

Last night, I led four passengers in a choreographed YMCA in a packed disco. I learned it at the same time as them, having never participated in 70's night before. It was way fun, and I only messed up once!

I slightly sprained my ankle stepping down from a stool, but I'm fine. I went to the ship doctor and he said just to ice it. It only hurt after standing on it all last night. No biggie, but it's the first time I sprained anything. I also ate a mussel in the restaurant on Thursday, so between that and the snow, it's been a week of firsts.

It's really cold here, and Bermuda is supposed to be only into the 70's during the day, but it's cool to feel real weather. Maybe it will snow again...

Gotta run; all-aboard is in a few minutes. My best to you all.
Love, Genoa

4/20/02: Ah, Relaxation

So, the Majesty's in dry dock, getting all prettied up, and I'm sitting in my parents' house in San Diego. I've been granted a bonus vacation of ten sweet days. Sure, the breeze here is cooler than the Caribbean, but it's very nice still. The sky is blue, the sun is shining. After a few more days of catching up with friends and family, I'll go back to the ship, now in Boston. I'll be the lead youth counselor, at least to begin with. It's the same money, but it will give me some managerial experience, and I'm looking forward to the challenge. I haven't been to Bermuda in six months, and this time it will be really different, since most of my friends have signed off. On the plus side, now that I'm scuba certified, I can enjoy a whole new side of Bermuda, and hopefully try night diving. I'll keep this one short; I just wanted to drop a quick line.

Live in the moment, shower the people you love with love, and try something new.
Love always, Genoa