Moving on Up

So the first week on the ship is officially over and now we are the ones running the show…..literally. The last cast is done and off the ship and we are having our opening night tomorrow. Which is August 22. I am really nervous about doing this for a live audience. It is one thing to sing out of my comfort zone in front of fellow performers in my cast, but in front of an audience is another story for me. I am sure it will be a blast because the energy of doing it in front of that many people will get me going. We have a tech run and then 2 shows after that. It’s so exciting! As of right now though we are trying to work out any little glitches. It seems like everything is just being thrown at us right now. I think that is the theme of this contract though. Roll with the punches. You do what you have to do and you make it work as Tim Gunn would say ( tv reference for those who don’t know). This week has been crazy because we have literally been rehearsing almost non stop. Trying to make costume fitting and then have meals and then chat with my love when I can on face book or random phone calls when I get reception. We weren’t even allowed to get off the ship at ports until today for about 2 and a half hours. So, needless to say I am very tired. Right now I am about to go and do a costume fitting for our 2nd show, Cirque. I will return with more news in a bit. Alright, I am back. So, random funny story. For the past week and during rehearsals I have been rooming with the other singer…Max. Well, for this past week on the ship I was rooming with him as well. One morning when I was getting ready in the morning I was being quiet and respectful trying not to wake him up as I bustled around. I grabbed my shorts and stuff to take into the bathroom and I was going to shut the door behind me and turn on the light. Well I go to put my things down on the toilet seat and I notice that I hear a little splash noise. Max had forgotten to put the lid to the toilet down. I was a little upset that this had happened so I quickly got the rest of the way in the bathroom and turned on the light. Well, to my surprise and utter disgust there was pee in the toilet, not just water. I had placed a small part of my shorts in Max’s urine!!!!! At this point as was really cranky. I went back into the room and stopped caring about being quite and grabbed a new pair of shorts. I quickly shrugged off my frustration over a delicious cup of coffee that was made in the ship hospital where they make real coffee that tastes good. Not the commercial stuff in most places on the ship. That is my funny story for this blog. We have been doing runs of the show trying to get ready for opening night tomorrow. We had a bit of a crash and burn rehearsal yesterday where we were thrown into mics, costumes, and had a bit of an audience watching us. It was a bit stressful considering we were not planning the audience and, for singers, our mics were not set for our voices , and neither were the monitors. It was rough. I felt like everything was being pushed in my voice. Who know what notes were hit. For what we were told it was a good run, it just didn’t feel like that for most of us in the cast. This morning we had another run and it went a bit better. Costumes changes are still being a bit of an issue, but it will work out in time for sure. It kind of has to. Today after our run we were able to get off the ship for about 2 ½ hours. I quickly got off and booked it to the nearest start bucks in order to skype with my sweet heart. It was so good to be able to see that face again!!! I chatted for about an hour on skype and then talked on the phone while I did the rest of my errands. It is amazing how much talking for just a short time like that can make your entire day. Long distance is such an up and down thing. Some days are great and you feel good and content, others you feel so overwhelmingly lonely that you just want to sit in your room and cry. I am so fortunate to have such an amazing other half to share this experience with. What a journey it is, both rewarding and painful. I guess this is like working out. Your muscles are sore after you lift weights, but in order to grow them they have to be ripped up a bit. Right now, I am working out just another part of my relationship muscle. By the end of this contract it is going to be chiseled to perfection. Haha. I love you baby! I love your heart and I miss you like crazy! Oh, I almost forgot. We moved into our own rooms today! Mine is so nice. I love it. I have a double bed and a port hole that I can look out of. The bathroom is small but it will work for just me for sure. I have a full desk and a surprising amount of space to store things. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice they were. It is so relaxing looking outside at the ocean from the porthole. Today, it was a bit foggy and cloudy outside so watching the water and the fog coming by my window just made me feel cozy and ready for a cup of coffee or a nice glass of wine. Attached are some photos of my room. Enjoy!