another day in the life

Yesterday I met a freshman trombone major, he introduced himself to me after the set. I talked to him for a little bit then, and then we decided to meet today so he could pick my brain about my job here. It was really neat to talk to him, especially because I know what its like to be where he is, wondering what's next and what the cruise ship gig is about, and I was really happy to help and give him some advice.

Tonight we performed with Kenny James, a vocalist who won the old tv show Star Search some 13 times or something. His show was fun to play, and he is really good at what he does. His 17 year old son was on board, and is actually a bass player, so he sat in for the show. He was a great player. Probably my favorite song in the show was a duet between him and his dad, just bass and voice, with a grooving, slap-bass version of Misty. You'd probably have to hear it to understand, but take my word for it, it was pretty cool. Tomorrow we have the day off, except for the shifts of new-years-balloon-inflating that we have to cover. Seriously. Everyone is helping - we need a LOT of balloons. Just another day in the life....

Christmas at Sea

Hello everybody! I know it has been a while since I've updated, and the readon for that is that I got to enjoy Christmas here on the ship, with my parents and my sister Chelsea on board with me. We had a little bit of stress trying to figure out how to get them on the cruise with me this busy time of year, but in the end everything worked out wonderfully. It was definitely a strange experience to be in the warm Caribbean instead of snowy Lake Arrowhead, but having a little family there made the day nice instead of lonely. We toured Jamaica on Christmas Eve, and had our Christmas morning in my parents' guest stateroom with the balcony door wide upen to let in the warm sea air. Other highlights were being able to call room service for breakfast....and singing Christmas carols on the promenade with hundreds of other guests. It was such a neat experience, but of course nothing will ever beat being home for Christmas.

This week is officially the most popular and most expensive cruise of the year - New Year's Cruise!! Our ship is completely packed, and all kinds of events are planned, including a special guest act that Royal Caribbean payed a lot of money for. Seeing as how we are sailing out of Galveston and have mostly Texans on board, we are having the Texas Tenors, a finalist group from America's Got Talent, coming to perform on New Year's Day. I must admit that I am excited to work with them - it will be the first time I have played an act on ships that I had actually heard about before I met them. I saw the Texas Tenors on this show months ago, so I know they actually are a bit famous. How neat to get to rehearse and perform with them! I'm really looking forward to it.