Well my last cruise for this contract has started. My replacement is
onboard, and the handover has begun. It should be an easy 12 days. I
still don't have flights yet, hopefully tomorrow.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Friday, September 04, 2009
What a cruise
Well it's been an interesting cruise. I had a visit for a few days
from some of our Miami Office staff and some contractors. They were
inspecting the ship to find out what needs to be done at Dry Dock in
January. Overall they were very pleased, and things were better then
they expected.
from some of our Miami Office staff and some contractors. They were
inspecting the ship to find out what needs to be done at Dry Dock in
January. Overall they were very pleased, and things were better then
they expected.
Then we had our drummer get sick and had to have a fill in for a few
days. He is back now, and feeling much better.
We also had one of our singers resign, but that's a story I won't go into.
I have two more cruises left, then it's back to the states. I can not
wait to meet Izze my niece. See my cousin's wedding. Spend a few
days in Vegas, and be home for the holidays.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Very Busy
Well first of all I apologize to all of my family for having not
posted in almost 2 months. I noticed a few changes to where I post my
blogs, I can now update my blog by just sending an email. Not that
this will get me to post things more often, but it is nice. Also I
have added my family to a new feature that will automatically send you
an email when the blog is updated, no more emails from me.
posted in almost 2 months. I noticed a few changes to where I post my
blogs, I can now update my blog by just sending an email. Not that
this will get me to post things more often, but it is nice. Also I
have added my family to a new feature that will automatically send you
an email when the blog is updated, no more emails from me.
Well when I last wrote I was at then end of the cast change. A lot
has changed since that time. The cast are settling in.
Soon after the cast change finished we finally got our new sound
console installed. It was a lot of work for about 3 days. The
installers weren't expecting so much help from me, but they loved it.
I did a lot of the wiring and soldering of new cables, things I love
to do.
About 2 weeks ago our lounge tech left, so that means that I was now
the senior tech and with that comes the responsibilities of all the
techs. Currently I am Head sound and light tech as we call it.
Last cruise we also changed sound techs. the new guys is American and
is doing a great job and has been around ships for a couple of years.
I can't believe it I only have 4 more cruises after the one I am on.
Time is going to fly and I will be home seeing my new niece. I can't
wait.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Welcome back to Europe
Well we arrived safe and sound in Europe once again. Sorry to say the Pirates didn't get us this time. Legend 2- Pirates 0.
We arrived back in Rome on June 1st. That same day our cast of the past 9 months finally went home, and a new group of kids signed on. We have been in Cast change ever since. The first cruise was our 12 day Greece, turkey, and Egypt cruise, and we opened our first 2 production shows. They are a very young cast, but are doing very well. We are almost to the halfway point of the second cruise of cast change. The cast has done a repeat performace of the first show last night, and will do the second show tomorrow. Then towards the end of the cruise we will open the last of the three shows.
It will be nice when the install is over and we aren't stuck in rehersals all day. I have been to almost all of the ports we go to before, but it nice to find new things, and having a new camera always helps.
Well that's about all, not much is going on right now, but at least you have had something new to read, even if it was short.
We arrived back in Rome on June 1st. That same day our cast of the past 9 months finally went home, and a new group of kids signed on. We have been in Cast change ever since. The first cruise was our 12 day Greece, turkey, and Egypt cruise, and we opened our first 2 production shows. They are a very young cast, but are doing very well. We are almost to the halfway point of the second cruise of cast change. The cast has done a repeat performace of the first show last night, and will do the second show tomorrow. Then towards the end of the cruise we will open the last of the three shows.
It will be nice when the install is over and we aren't stuck in rehersals all day. I have been to almost all of the ports we go to before, but it nice to find new things, and having a new camera always helps.
Well that's about all, not much is going on right now, but at least you have had something new to read, even if it was short.
Monday, May 18, 2009
“Somewhat” Incredible India!
Well as I finished the Beatles show tonight, and made my way to the bar I wondered what I should do with my extra hour and a half of time. We are heading toward Dubai from India, and it’s time for yet another time change, I figured I should write down a few thoughts before I forget them.
So as some of you know I have a friend that lives in Mumbai, India that I used to work with on Carnival about 9 years ago. We lost touch over the years as our emails changed, but thanks to Facebook we have found each other again. I was supposed to see him last November when the ship was going to India, but a few terrorists put a stop to that plan. I arranged via email when we would meet.
When I finally could get off the ship, we had boat drill, captains meeting, and liferaft training, I made a quick call to see if he was on his way and with in minutes we were talking like the years were nothing.
As I waited for him to arrive I started to notice all of the taxis and the poor people begging for money. The taxis are black and yellow just like you see in the movies.
We headed off toward his place to catch up for a few hours before I had to be back on board for a rehearsal.
On the way to his place he asked if I wanted to go out to eat or have something at his place. I didn’t care, so he called a place he knows and had delivery waiting for us when we arrived. His place is a good 45-minute drive from the ship depending on traffic.
I also meet his new girlfriend on the drive. She was a very nice Indian girl (as opposed to someone from outside India, like his ex-wife) I don’t recall her name [sorry] but I do know that she works for Chase bank.
After showing him some photos of the past few years, we had a very nice lunch. I don’t know what it was called but it was a favorite of theirs. A very mild curry, kind of sweet with a little spice, rice, chicken and a bit of potato.
After we finished lunch we headed out into the neighborhood for the main goal of the day, besides seeing each other, to get a baby blanket for my niece’s baptism. We went to a few baby stores and finally found what I liked. Then I changed money at a western union, and got the blanket. I think my sister will be very happy.
He didn’t want to drive back to the ship so he ordered me a air-conditioned taxi (they are blue not black and yellow, and have digital meters). We then took a tok tok or rickshaw, don’t remember what they called it back to his place to wait for the taxi.
I had to be back on the ship to get ready for an Indian Folkloric show. I won’t go into much about the show.
I had wanted to get back together with my friend but for some reason he couldn’t do anything, I didn’t really want to know. I did ask him if he could get together the next day, he would see what was going on and email me.
The next morning I had another rehearsal, for our production show this time, and then was able to get off the ship (we were in port for two days). Anyway after some convincing by his girlfriend that we hadn’t seen each other in years, and it would years before we see each other again, he drove across town to see me.
He took me to a very nice Chinese buffet type place that he used to work at. Kind of like a Mongolian Grill that we have in the USA, but more like a stir fry. It was very nice. We then walked around and saw the Gate of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel. This is the hotel that got attacked.
We said our goodbyes and I headed back to the ship. Good By India.
So as some of you know I have a friend that lives in Mumbai, India that I used to work with on Carnival about 9 years ago. We lost touch over the years as our emails changed, but thanks to Facebook we have found each other again. I was supposed to see him last November when the ship was going to India, but a few terrorists put a stop to that plan. I arranged via email when we would meet.
When I finally could get off the ship, we had boat drill, captains meeting, and liferaft training, I made a quick call to see if he was on his way and with in minutes we were talking like the years were nothing.
As I waited for him to arrive I started to notice all of the taxis and the poor people begging for money. The taxis are black and yellow just like you see in the movies.
We headed off toward his place to catch up for a few hours before I had to be back on board for a rehearsal.
On the way to his place he asked if I wanted to go out to eat or have something at his place. I didn’t care, so he called a place he knows and had delivery waiting for us when we arrived. His place is a good 45-minute drive from the ship depending on traffic.
I also meet his new girlfriend on the drive. She was a very nice Indian girl (as opposed to someone from outside India, like his ex-wife) I don’t recall her name [sorry] but I do know that she works for Chase bank.
After showing him some photos of the past few years, we had a very nice lunch. I don’t know what it was called but it was a favorite of theirs. A very mild curry, kind of sweet with a little spice, rice, chicken and a bit of potato.
After we finished lunch we headed out into the neighborhood for the main goal of the day, besides seeing each other, to get a baby blanket for my niece’s baptism. We went to a few baby stores and finally found what I liked. Then I changed money at a western union, and got the blanket. I think my sister will be very happy.
He didn’t want to drive back to the ship so he ordered me a air-conditioned taxi (they are blue not black and yellow, and have digital meters). We then took a tok tok or rickshaw, don’t remember what they called it back to his place to wait for the taxi.
I had to be back on the ship to get ready for an Indian Folkloric show. I won’t go into much about the show.
I had wanted to get back together with my friend but for some reason he couldn’t do anything, I didn’t really want to know. I did ask him if he could get together the next day, he would see what was going on and email me.
The next morning I had another rehearsal, for our production show this time, and then was able to get off the ship (we were in port for two days). Anyway after some convincing by his girlfriend that we hadn’t seen each other in years, and it would years before we see each other again, he drove across town to see me.
He took me to a very nice Chinese buffet type place that he used to work at. Kind of like a Mongolian Grill that we have in the USA, but more like a stir fry. It was very nice. We then walked around and saw the Gate of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel. This is the hotel that got attacked.
We said our goodbyes and I headed back to the ship. Good By India.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Bye Bye China
Well sorry to everyone that has been waiting for an update, now that we are back to normal cruises finding time isn’t as easy. Sitting here waiting for Love and Marriage to start I couldn’t think of much to do so here I am writing.
Well I know I said in my last post about Japan that we would have boat drill, well sometimes things go the right way, they postponed it to the next day.
Now that we have been to Japan I want to correct what I said last time. What actually happened with the port was this. All of the passengers had to take a shuttle from the ship to immigration in the terminal, about 200 yards. I don’t know exactly what went on at immigration (we didn’t have to do it) but what friends told me was it was a long line and yes they did fingerprint all of the passengers. Once all of the guests were off the ship, they finally let the crew off. We walked right by the buses to the gate, and meet in front of the terminal. I don’t see what the big deal was in making us wait.
We didn’t have much time in port, but we did get to walk around for a bit. Japan seems nice, but I really can’t give a good answer.
The next day we were in Busan, South Korea. Now let me start by saying I wasn’t expecting much. Once boat drill was done, we headed off. The shuttle buses that we had to take us into town have got to be some of the nicest buses I have ever seen. Once downtown, a quick fill up at Starbucks (yes they are everywhere), and then it was off to find the Red City bus tour. Oh let me interject and say that when you change dollars into Korean Won, you feel rich! 1 – 1,300. Starbucks was about 8,000. Anyway back to the bus, it was a very nice hoop on hoop off type of tour. We stayed on the bus most of the time. The only stop we did make was to see the APEC conference center. It was very interesting. Busan was a very pleasant day.
After Busan we headed back to Singapore for the last time. I can’t hold it in any longer, yes I have been getting things to spoil my niece. Mary when you read this, hopefully I will get a box off to you in a couple of months. Things should still fit her. I might send you some photos to peak your curiosity. I expect videos and photos.
The next real port to talk about was Hong Kong. Before you ask, yes I did get my new camera. Hong Kong is great, it’s like China but western. The only bad part is they don’t bargain as much, they do bargain but you can’t get the prices as low on some items.
I guess that basically brings things up to date.
Well I know I said in my last post about Japan that we would have boat drill, well sometimes things go the right way, they postponed it to the next day.
Now that we have been to Japan I want to correct what I said last time. What actually happened with the port was this. All of the passengers had to take a shuttle from the ship to immigration in the terminal, about 200 yards. I don’t know exactly what went on at immigration (we didn’t have to do it) but what friends told me was it was a long line and yes they did fingerprint all of the passengers. Once all of the guests were off the ship, they finally let the crew off. We walked right by the buses to the gate, and meet in front of the terminal. I don’t see what the big deal was in making us wait.
We didn’t have much time in port, but we did get to walk around for a bit. Japan seems nice, but I really can’t give a good answer.
The next day we were in Busan, South Korea. Now let me start by saying I wasn’t expecting much. Once boat drill was done, we headed off. The shuttle buses that we had to take us into town have got to be some of the nicest buses I have ever seen. Once downtown, a quick fill up at Starbucks (yes they are everywhere), and then it was off to find the Red City bus tour. Oh let me interject and say that when you change dollars into Korean Won, you feel rich! 1 – 1,300. Starbucks was about 8,000. Anyway back to the bus, it was a very nice hoop on hoop off type of tour. We stayed on the bus most of the time. The only stop we did make was to see the APEC conference center. It was very interesting. Busan was a very pleasant day.
After Busan we headed back to Singapore for the last time. I can’t hold it in any longer, yes I have been getting things to spoil my niece. Mary when you read this, hopefully I will get a box off to you in a couple of months. Things should still fit her. I might send you some photos to peak your curiosity. I expect videos and photos.
The next real port to talk about was Hong Kong. Before you ask, yes I did get my new camera. Hong Kong is great, it’s like China but western. The only bad part is they don’t bargain as much, they do bargain but you can’t get the prices as low on some items.
I guess that basically brings things up to date.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Off to Japan, Sort of!
Well the start to our only cruise to Japan isn’t off to a very good start. Come to find out we didn’t leave China till 5am, we should have left about midnight. Not sure why yet, but I bet it has something to do with the tides again. That being said we aren’t going to arrive in Japan until around noon, when we should have gotten in at 6am. Also from what I am hearing the port only has 3 shuttles to take people the 1.5 miles out of the port, and too boot the passengers all have to go through a lot of immigration and have to be fingerprinted (so I have heard). Also we have a boat drill scheduled, and due to a DNV inspection we are having, they won’t change it. So once we are done with drill hopefully most of the passengers will be off and we can have a few hours to see Japan. Wish me luck.
Also due to the weather we are rocking too much, so we canceled the show tonight.
Also due to the weather we are rocking too much, so we canceled the show tonight.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Amway is over!!!
Well once the road cases were finally off the ship today, I finally felt like the charters were finally over. We got in a bit late today, but not for any delays, it was just when the tides were right. It really wasn’t that bad, not like last time when we arrived at 6pm, this was only 11am.
Because of the offload and the fact that we had rehearsal at 5:30 I wasn’t able to get off. It’s all good though because it rained all day, and it would have been a crappy day anyway.
It felt a bit weird doing a welcome show and still being in port, but the show was well attended. It’s also a bit strange to be seeing kids again, we haven’t had any for the past 6 weeks.
So I guess things are getting back to normal.
Because of the offload and the fact that we had rehearsal at 5:30 I wasn’t able to get off. It’s all good though because it rained all day, and it would have been a crappy day anyway.
It felt a bit weird doing a welcome show and still being in port, but the show was well attended. It’s also a bit strange to be seeing kids again, we haven’t had any for the past 6 weeks.
So I guess things are getting back to normal.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
As the Tide Turns
Well although a bit late we have started our final Amway Charter cruise. You might be a bit puzzled by how a cruise could start late, well let me see if I can explain. The weather on the last day of last cruise wasn’t the best, we had a lot of fog. When the ship goes though Fog it can’t go as fast as normal for safety. I am not sure of the particulars, but the speed of the ship and the timing to get into port is very important in Shanghai.
If you are unfamiliar with the geography of Shanghai, China, the port is actually up a river. I don’t know of the name of this river, but I will look it up on Google Earth when I remember. To get up the river to the terminal that we dock at we have to go under a few bridges, and if the tides are not correct we will not fit. I have also heard that the river was closed to traffic because of the fog, about this I know very little. So needless to say due to speed we did not make it to the river in time for the correct tide. We should have arrived around 7am but instead we docked around 5pm. I think the new passengers were allowed on by around 7:30pm. We were still able to leave port on time at around midnight to make the tide again, but it was a frantic few hours for many departments. I certainly glad I don’t have passenger boat drill, as it took place at 11pm.
On a different subject, my niece has a very nice first Easter from what my sister tells me. I will add the photos to facebook soon. She was so cute in her 1st Easter outfit (it actually said Baby’s First Easter), she had bunny ears on her feet, and was able to hold a big pink plastic egg. They went to the in-laws house for dinner, and she sent me great photos of her with her grandparents. It looks like her grandpa really like to give her, her bottle. I look forward to seeing photos of Izze with my Father and Step mother. They live about 2 hours away, so it is harder for them to see her as often. I know my mother will be visiting soon, so that is good. I really can’t wait to see her for her first Thanksgiving and Christmas. I don’t know what my job plans are for that time but fingers are crossed.
If you are unfamiliar with the geography of Shanghai, China, the port is actually up a river. I don’t know of the name of this river, but I will look it up on Google Earth when I remember. To get up the river to the terminal that we dock at we have to go under a few bridges, and if the tides are not correct we will not fit. I have also heard that the river was closed to traffic because of the fog, about this I know very little. So needless to say due to speed we did not make it to the river in time for the correct tide. We should have arrived around 7am but instead we docked around 5pm. I think the new passengers were allowed on by around 7:30pm. We were still able to leave port on time at around midnight to make the tide again, but it was a frantic few hours for many departments. I certainly glad I don’t have passenger boat drill, as it took place at 11pm.
On a different subject, my niece has a very nice first Easter from what my sister tells me. I will add the photos to facebook soon. She was so cute in her 1st Easter outfit (it actually said Baby’s First Easter), she had bunny ears on her feet, and was able to hold a big pink plastic egg. They went to the in-laws house for dinner, and she sent me great photos of her with her grandparents. It looks like her grandpa really like to give her, her bottle. I look forward to seeing photos of Izze with my Father and Step mother. They live about 2 hours away, so it is harder for them to see her as often. I know my mother will be visiting soon, so that is good. I really can’t wait to see her for her first Thanksgiving and Christmas. I don’t know what my job plans are for that time but fingers are crossed.
One more to go
Well as my loyal readers know, for the past month of so I have been doing the never ending Amway charters. Well starting tomorrow the end will finally be in sight, the last of the six cruises will be at last. The rest of the contract should go a lot faster one would hope. After the last Amway cruise we will finally be able to go to Japan for the first time. We will be doing a 5 day cruise from Shanghai to South Korea and Japan. After that we will start our cruises that will bring us to Europe. We have a two week cruise from Shanghai to Singapore, then the repositioning cruises start. The first is from Singapore to Dubai, then Dubai to Rome. We aren’t going to all of the places that we went when we went from Rome to Singapore, but most of the stops are the same. I think the only places that we are not going this time is Sharm El Sheik, Egypt, and Aquba, Jordan. We are heading straight from Safagga to the Canal then to Alexandria. Fingers are crossed that I get to see my friend in Mumbai this time. We had to skip the port the last time due to security risks. Also this time with the planned overnight in Dubai I hope to be able to get off and go to Ski Dubai. I went to the mall where it is at last time, but was alone and didn’t have time, but it shouldn’t be a problem this time.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Tug of War
Well yesterday I got a lot of maintenaince work done, cleaning lens tubes and scrollers. But in the middle of the day I went to the inter department tug of war. I was a great time and a lot more people showed up then I would have thought. The cruise division came in 2nd. We lost to the deck dept. We knew we had no chance so on the second try in the finals, we let go of the rope. The officers all fell on their butts, it was very funny.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Sorry for the Delays
Sorry everybody if you are reading my posts and you thin we are just finishing two Amway charters. I have been really busy, and we are starting our last of two more charters tomorrow. Let me see if I can sum up some of the things that have been happening lately, in no particular order.
If this isn’t on the top of the list my Sister will have my head. I am pleased to announce the birth of my Niece, Izabelle Louise Glaze. I am so proud of my sister and her family; she is a perfect little angel. I have photos on my facebook.
Our Adagio Act took all the techs out for Korean BBQ the other day, it was a fabulous dinner.
The Techs for the Amway Charter thanked us all, and we had a group photo taken (by them, not us) and we were all thanked with very nice gifts.
If this isn’t on the top of the list my Sister will have my head. I am pleased to announce the birth of my Niece, Izabelle Louise Glaze. I am so proud of my sister and her family; she is a perfect little angel. I have photos on my facebook.
Our Adagio Act took all the techs out for Korean BBQ the other day, it was a fabulous dinner.
The Techs for the Amway Charter thanked us all, and we had a group photo taken (by them, not us) and we were all thanked with very nice gifts.
Two down more to go.
Well we have now finished two Amway charters, and still have four more to go. I am so board I can’t even tell you. I know some people onboard would kill to have two days off a week, but let me tell you, when your not used to it, it is very boring. Now granted I do get a lot of time off, but I need to work a few hours a day to feel productive. I would be getting lots of maintenance work done, but I have everything working and in good shape. I think I am going to get some real deep cleaning done, work I would normally do during a dry dock, like taking all of the conventional lights apart onstage and cleaning all of the lenses. They get covered in hazer fluid, and you loose a lot of the output of the light from this. When I did it on the Jewel, the overall brightness of the stage increased about 30%.
As I sit here in my light booth waiting for another Amway Talent show to start, I am dreading what the acts will be like. I wasn’t needed for rehearsal, so I went to lunch. What I did see well lets just say it’s a Talentless show. The main problem with the Talent shows that these people do every week, isn’t the fact that most of them are bad, or that they are very disorganized, it is the fact that there are so many acts. The show is usually 2.5 to 3 hours long. I don’t even understand a word of it, but trust me a bad singer in any language is a bad singer. Oh geese, there they go again taking photos of themselves, they don’t listen!
Well after trying to stay awake enough to do the talent show, two and a half hours and twenty five + acts, it is finally over. I think I will forgo the coffee next time, and just find a couple of red bulls. I think all the hot milk is what put me to sleep.
As I sit here in my light booth waiting for another Amway Talent show to start, I am dreading what the acts will be like. I wasn’t needed for rehearsal, so I went to lunch. What I did see well lets just say it’s a Talentless show. The main problem with the Talent shows that these people do every week, isn’t the fact that most of them are bad, or that they are very disorganized, it is the fact that there are so many acts. The show is usually 2.5 to 3 hours long. I don’t even understand a word of it, but trust me a bad singer in any language is a bad singer. Oh geese, there they go again taking photos of themselves, they don’t listen!
Well after trying to stay awake enough to do the talent show, two and a half hours and twenty five + acts, it is finally over. I think I will forgo the coffee next time, and just find a couple of red bulls. I think all the hot milk is what put me to sleep.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Amway Charters Blog
Well one charter is over, and we are onto the second of six charter cruises. These charters are now on what one could call autopilot.
There was a lot of extra work on the first charter for the tech team that is onboard from Hong Kong that does most of the technical work. On the first charter they had to deal with a large number of plasma screens on the pool deck to show the ceremonies that were happing on the pier, putting up search lights on top of the ship, and hanging banners and LED lights all over the outside of the ship. Most of that was only for the first day or first cruise. The searchlights are used only on day 1 of the cruises but they stay setup, and just have to be turned on.
The setups in the theatre for the large business meetings on Day 2 seem to be running themselves. None of the long setup hours that we had the first time. This time the team just came in setup the screens and projectors, checked the sound and lights, and we called it a night. It was still a long day for the meetings, but none of the headaches.
It has been interesting seeing what the Chinese people have been like. The first thing that you notice right away is they love to take photos of themselves, and each other. I did very good avoiding having my photo taken all cruise, it almost happened once, but I avoided it.
They really don’t come to the shows in large numbers, except for our Acrobat/Adagio act; they really love them. Our shows never start on time, because very few people are here when we want to start, most shows start 10-15 minutes late, they don’t care. This cruise we are trying out doing only one show per night, well see if this increases attendance.
I haven’t experience this personally but I have been told by others, that they tend to be very rude at times. I think this is more a cultural thing. They don’t think they are rude; they just act differently from “Westerners”. Did I mention they take photos all the time?
If you are wondering how I am able to make such long blog posts lately compared to my normal short and too the point blogs, it is because I am very board during their business meetings. I write them on my computer then just copying the text to the Internet.
During the business meetings all I have to do is shadow the lighting tech they have, so I have lots of time to do nothing. I have been spending a lot of this time learning the new Photoshop I got from a friend, and a lot of time learning Final Cut Pro, and DVD Studio Pro. I know most of the people that read this are not Mac users, so you might not be familiar with Final Cut and DVD Studio. Final Cut is a video-editing program, you might have heard of iMovie, this is the pro version, and the same goes for DVD Studio and iDVD. Photoshop is the same as on a PC, and is self-explanatory. I have been learning Photoshop from a DVD Tutorial I got from a friend, and the Pro programs from books I received at Christmas, thanks DAD! I really like the books, they are very hands on. I have finished the DVD Studio Pro and the Basic Final Cut, and am about a third of the way through the Final Cut beyond the basics. I will have to get the rest of the book in the series at a later time. They have books for Motion, Color, LiveType, Soundtrack Pro, and Compressor. All of these programs are part of Final Cut Studio.
I am buying a friends video camera soon, and hopefully will be coming home with some great movies not just still photos from now on. I will also be getting a new Digital SLR when the ship gets back to Hong Kong in a few weeks. If you are into cameras, it will be either a Nikon D90 or D300, I really like the D300 but it might be a bit out of my price range, and the HD movie capabilities of the D90 are also nice. If I get the D90 I can always sell it at a later date and upgrade. I used to have a cannon SLR (not digital) and really liked it. I like the cannon DSLR cameras, but they are way more then the Nikons, and I have also been told that the Nikon interface is easier to use. I will let you know what I end up with.
There was a lot of extra work on the first charter for the tech team that is onboard from Hong Kong that does most of the technical work. On the first charter they had to deal with a large number of plasma screens on the pool deck to show the ceremonies that were happing on the pier, putting up search lights on top of the ship, and hanging banners and LED lights all over the outside of the ship. Most of that was only for the first day or first cruise. The searchlights are used only on day 1 of the cruises but they stay setup, and just have to be turned on.
The setups in the theatre for the large business meetings on Day 2 seem to be running themselves. None of the long setup hours that we had the first time. This time the team just came in setup the screens and projectors, checked the sound and lights, and we called it a night. It was still a long day for the meetings, but none of the headaches.
It has been interesting seeing what the Chinese people have been like. The first thing that you notice right away is they love to take photos of themselves, and each other. I did very good avoiding having my photo taken all cruise, it almost happened once, but I avoided it.
They really don’t come to the shows in large numbers, except for our Acrobat/Adagio act; they really love them. Our shows never start on time, because very few people are here when we want to start, most shows start 10-15 minutes late, they don’t care. This cruise we are trying out doing only one show per night, well see if this increases attendance.
I haven’t experience this personally but I have been told by others, that they tend to be very rude at times. I think this is more a cultural thing. They don’t think they are rude; they just act differently from “Westerners”. Did I mention they take photos all the time?
If you are wondering how I am able to make such long blog posts lately compared to my normal short and too the point blogs, it is because I am very board during their business meetings. I write them on my computer then just copying the text to the Internet.
During the business meetings all I have to do is shadow the lighting tech they have, so I have lots of time to do nothing. I have been spending a lot of this time learning the new Photoshop I got from a friend, and a lot of time learning Final Cut Pro, and DVD Studio Pro. I know most of the people that read this are not Mac users, so you might not be familiar with Final Cut and DVD Studio. Final Cut is a video-editing program, you might have heard of iMovie, this is the pro version, and the same goes for DVD Studio and iDVD. Photoshop is the same as on a PC, and is self-explanatory. I have been learning Photoshop from a DVD Tutorial I got from a friend, and the Pro programs from books I received at Christmas, thanks DAD! I really like the books, they are very hands on. I have finished the DVD Studio Pro and the Basic Final Cut, and am about a third of the way through the Final Cut beyond the basics. I will have to get the rest of the book in the series at a later time. They have books for Motion, Color, LiveType, Soundtrack Pro, and Compressor. All of these programs are part of Final Cut Studio.
I am buying a friends video camera soon, and hopefully will be coming home with some great movies not just still photos from now on. I will also be getting a new Digital SLR when the ship gets back to Hong Kong in a few weeks. If you are into cameras, it will be either a Nikon D90 or D300, I really like the D300 but it might be a bit out of my price range, and the HD movie capabilities of the D90 are also nice. If I get the D90 I can always sell it at a later date and upgrade. I used to have a cannon SLR (not digital) and really liked it. I like the cannon DSLR cameras, but they are way more then the Nikons, and I have also been told that the Nikon interface is easier to use. I will let you know what I end up with.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Back to Asia – Start of Hard work and boredom.
Well as most of you might know I arrived back on the Legend a couple of weeks ago, February 28th to be exact. My journey started on the 25th in Oakland, CA. Being that Royal doesn’t seem to know the difference between Oakland and the San Francisco Airport when it comes to international flights, I fly out of Oakland. Oakland is normally my base airport, and when flying to most places it isn’t that bad, but when you are going international it isn’t the best place to start. Anyway I had to get to LAX before I would start my international flights, and could they send me in the wrong direction, don’t answer that, it’s yes. I had to fly to Salt Lake City, then to LA. From LA I flew 15.5 hours to Hong Kong, then on to Singapore. The flights weren’t too bad, at least I didn’t have any layover more then 3 hours.
After arriving in Singapore, and being meet by some airport official to take crew through immigration we meet our transportation to the hotel. I never really found out what the lady did, but she made things easy. The hotel was alright, nice place for a night. We then meet the bus to take all of the signing on crew at way too early in the morning, 7 am if I remember correctly.
Well after arriving to the ship, going through customs, we waited what seemed like forever before we could get onto the ship. Because of only one gangway, we have to wait till all the passengers are off, before we are allowed on. All that wait time just makes us annoyed with why we have to leave the hotel so early, when they know darn well that we will have to stand around.
After getting on ship, I found my vacation fill, and was brought back up to speed, what changes he has made, what gear arrived from order, what was broken, etc. He was a good vacation fill, good designer, but not the best tech in the world. He was a large fellow, and didn’t like ladders, so most work that had to be done in the air he had the Stage Staff do for him. Well at the time none of the SS were lighting oriented, so a few things weren’t exactly the way they should be, not really wrong, just not right.
So now we have finished a 14 day cruise from Singapore to Shanghi, China. I really didn’t get off the ship much, way too much work to do. I did get off a little bit in Hong Kong, but maily stayed onboard. I was going to meet my friend Rod that used to work on the Jewel with me, but we had to stay onboard most of the first day to help get gear on board for the upcoming Charters. Then I was on Duty the second day, and being that duty starts at midnight, I had to turn off the movie at 1am. So alas I did not get to see him. Maybe next time.
So yesterday the first of 6 Amway China Charter cruises started. We really didn’t have to do much at all. Just a lot of babysitting of our stuff, and helping out where we could. Today they had their big meeting in the theatre, and all we have to do is make sure they don’t break anything. They have their own people to run everything for this big event. From what we are hearing the rest of the events are all ours. Not looking forward to the 3 hour talent show on the last day. Should be a fancy 3 hour Karaoke.
Well that’s about it for now. I have a feeling that these next 6 weeks of Charters are going to be rather boring, The only highlight is going to be when the news comes of my nieces birth.
After arriving in Singapore, and being meet by some airport official to take crew through immigration we meet our transportation to the hotel. I never really found out what the lady did, but she made things easy. The hotel was alright, nice place for a night. We then meet the bus to take all of the signing on crew at way too early in the morning, 7 am if I remember correctly.
Well after arriving to the ship, going through customs, we waited what seemed like forever before we could get onto the ship. Because of only one gangway, we have to wait till all the passengers are off, before we are allowed on. All that wait time just makes us annoyed with why we have to leave the hotel so early, when they know darn well that we will have to stand around.
After getting on ship, I found my vacation fill, and was brought back up to speed, what changes he has made, what gear arrived from order, what was broken, etc. He was a good vacation fill, good designer, but not the best tech in the world. He was a large fellow, and didn’t like ladders, so most work that had to be done in the air he had the Stage Staff do for him. Well at the time none of the SS were lighting oriented, so a few things weren’t exactly the way they should be, not really wrong, just not right.
So now we have finished a 14 day cruise from Singapore to Shanghi, China. I really didn’t get off the ship much, way too much work to do. I did get off a little bit in Hong Kong, but maily stayed onboard. I was going to meet my friend Rod that used to work on the Jewel with me, but we had to stay onboard most of the first day to help get gear on board for the upcoming Charters. Then I was on Duty the second day, and being that duty starts at midnight, I had to turn off the movie at 1am. So alas I did not get to see him. Maybe next time.
So yesterday the first of 6 Amway China Charter cruises started. We really didn’t have to do much at all. Just a lot of babysitting of our stuff, and helping out where we could. Today they had their big meeting in the theatre, and all we have to do is make sure they don’t break anything. They have their own people to run everything for this big event. From what we are hearing the rest of the events are all ours. Not looking forward to the 3 hour talent show on the last day. Should be a fancy 3 hour Karaoke.
Well that’s about it for now. I have a feeling that these next 6 weeks of Charters are going to be rather boring, The only highlight is going to be when the news comes of my nieces birth.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)