Bosphorus straights!

The past week or so since I wrote my last post has really been a lot of fun. I’ve spent a lot of time with the guys in the band and with my other friends on board. I am really comfortable with everyone now, and with myself, so I’m able to be more relaxed and just enjoy being around them. I recently found out that Hayden (tenor sax) is a Christian, which has been a huge blessing. We’ve had some great conversations and we really get along well, so in a lot of ways he has filled the hole that Marie left. We usually end up spending a lot of our off time together. Yesterday we kept each other company during almost 6 hours of using the free internet in Istanbul (I had a lot of catching up to do!), and then we managed to get into the dining room since pretty much all the guests were off the ship and didn’t turn up for their dinner seating. Ben came along with us for that, and the three of us enjoyed another amazing dining room dinner. I’d like to do that just one more time next cruise, hopefully with the whole band, to celebrate the end of my contract.

Tonight we are playing another guest entertainer’s show – his name is Ralph Heid, and he plays xylophone. Bit of a novelty show, you might say. Honestly, the show isn’t designed very well, but he can sure move his hands fast. He is very technically proficient, I suppose - as he can hit a lot of notes with accuracy. But having a percussionist brother makes me a little skeptical of him...he plays from the wrong side of the instrument (on the low end, with the keys stacked away from him, lower to higher – instead of on the side of the instrument), plays with what looks like wooden spoons wrapped in masking tape, and his xylophone itself doesn’t look normal to me. Tyler, I wish you were here so I could hear your evaluation of this guy. :)

Lisa is making a really great roommate. She and I are both pretty clean (stop laughing, I really am!) and conscientious of each other. I like living with her, and it has been fun getting to know her better. Her English is really improving a lot. We have a couple of inside jokes now. Last night while she was out I cleaned out one of the storage areas in our room, and to my surprise found some Christmas lights! Who knows how long they’d been buried back there. I got excited and put them up in our room, along with 5 fake candles that I also dug up. I left Lisa a note that said “Surprise!” and told her where I found them, and then just left everything on to surprise her when she came back. I heard her come in and laugh when she saw them. She loves them as much as I do. I figure that the rule for Christmas decorations going up hasn’t been broken – I waited until November started and Halloween was over. :) Plus, I’ll be gone long before Christmas, so this way I can enjoy the lights while I’m still here. They are exactly the same small colored bulbs we always use at home on our tree, so they give me lots of warm fuzzies. :)