March 6
Darwin
First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! Yeah, technically it’s on the 5th, but when I called home today it was the 5th there, so it’s going in this blog entry.
I was in Darwin today, a city known for its crocodiles (among other things I’m sure). There really aren’t many beaches in this area because of the salt-water crocs roaming the shores. I didn’t have too much in mind today, and after an 11:00 rehearsal, I didn’t have a ton of time. I was hoping to meet up with another local via Couch Surfing but was unable to elicit a response from anyone, so instead I got of the ship with Terry (who was doing his show tonight) and we just started walking through the city.
The shuttle dropped us off near the main pedestrian area, or The Mall, where the majority of the shopping was located. We walked through there for a bit, walked a good deal past it, figured out we hadn’t had lunch yet, and turned around to find something. We ran into some guys in the band who are notorious for getting off the ship at each port and finding fish and chips (by chips, they mean fries), and after a quick stop to talk, they pointed us in the direction of a fish and ships place that they decided was in the top 3 of all time fish and chips they’ve ever had. Now even me, not being a fan of fish, couldn’t pass up a recommendation like that, so we found the fish and chips place, a small outdoor place, aptly named “Chips & Fish” (those Australians are a creative bunch).
So we went up to the counter and ordered our lunch. The recommended fish that our friends spoke so highly of was barramundi, apparently some freshwater fish native to that area and not really anywhere else. Anyways, it was just as good as promised, and me not being a fish fan, ate absolutely everything on my plate. We also ordered ginger beer, a non-alcoholic beverage that tastes strongly of…ginger. It was pretty good I guess, carbonated ginger drink, but another one of those things you don’t really see in the states. But all in all, it was a successful lunch!
We left, Terry headed back to the ship, and I tried to walk down to the water. I made it to the shore only to find everything fenced off due to the crocodiles, which was kind of a drag seeing as I had my bathing suit on and it was 100 degrees outside. After a quick stroll through the park, I returned to the Mall to get internet access, made the “Happy Birthday” phone call home, and then meandered my way back to the ship.
I guess it wasn’t as exciting as 4 paragraphs might necessitate, but whatever, there’s my day. Darwin was nice, hot, had great fish and chips, and beach use was subject to crocodile attacks. And there you have it – Darwin Australia – Seeya!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
At Sea
March 4-5
At Sea
Both days were spent at sea, and both offered fairly light work days. Really, most of the day was spent online or trying to amuse myself other ways. I’m working on reformatting my website though, which is about as much excitement as I’ve had these past two days. However, the 5th was met with some of the nicest seas I’ve seen. The water literally looked smooth, completely without texture. I’ve seen computerized oceans that look more real than what I saw on the 5th. This was followed by seeing a sunset, something I really don’t see enough of on ships. The 5th is also Mom’s Birthday, but I’ll include that in with the 6th seeing as the 6th where I am is much closer to the 5th back at home. Thanks!
At Sea
Both days were spent at sea, and both offered fairly light work days. Really, most of the day was spent online or trying to amuse myself other ways. I’m working on reformatting my website though, which is about as much excitement as I’ve had these past two days. However, the 5th was met with some of the nicest seas I’ve seen. The water literally looked smooth, completely without texture. I’ve seen computerized oceans that look more real than what I saw on the 5th. This was followed by seeing a sunset, something I really don’t see enough of on ships. The 5th is also Mom’s Birthday, but I’ll include that in with the 6th seeing as the 6th where I am is much closer to the 5th back at home. Thanks!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
March 3rd
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Today was an exciting day for a number of reasons. First, it was a new country that I’ve never been to, always a good thing. Second, when you look up the city on Wikipedia it has been deemed the “least livable capital city in the world”, and boasts and murder rate 3 times that of Moscow and 20-something times that of London – wow. Third, I had decided to meet up with some locals I’ve never met before! Before you get too upset by what seems to be poor decision making, let me explain how this all worked out…
Thanks to the rafting trip with Aaron, he let me know about a website named couchsurfing.com, one in which the members host travelers by letting them sleep on their couch or meeting for lunch and showing them the city. The premise is that travelers help out other travelers, and when you aren’t somewhere in the world you put up your couch, though there is no obligation to do so. Anyways, I registered on the site, instantly looked up Port Moresby, and contacted one of the two people I saw listed. After a few emails back and forth we’d worked out a meeting time and place.
I’m sure you’re asking “how can you trust the people”, and there’s really no sure fire way of being totally sure what’s going to happen, but from looking at my hosts profile and our conversations, I had a decent feeling everything would be fine. Also, she was to meet me at the pier with one of her friends, and had I not liked the look of her or her friend I’d have turned around right there and gone back to the ship – so don’t get too worried about me, I’m doing my best to minimize risk :)
So I get out to the pier at noon and find my host, Musy and her friend Shannon (a large Australian guy) waiting for me at the pier. Musy approached smiling, introduced herself and Shannon, and feeling pretty confident in the situation I hopped in the back of their Nissan and we set off for lunch. I was planning on bringing a friend with me just for the sake of not being alone, but due to a late rehearsal for a production show, I couldn’t find anyone to go with, so I just went myself.
Anyways, Musy is from Malaysia, studied law in the UK, and now works in Port Moresby. Shannon was from Brisbane and also had a job that had him working in the city. We talked during lunch about the city and their lives there, along with what I do on the ship. Both Musy and Shannon were extremely friendly and were great to talk with, I couldn’t have had two nicer hosts. We finished up lunch, they picked up my bill (thanks!) and we went out for a driving tour of the city.
It was really quite a place and did justice to what’s written on the always trustworthy Wikipedia (ha). The roads of the city weren’t in the best shape, the residential communities looked like they were straight out of one of those “help the children” commercials, and there were dogs everywhere. There was an entire residential area of metal siding huts up on stilts out in the water, just waiting for a large storm to come by and knock them down. It was really amazing to drive through the area and see how unfortunate it was, especially considering that I’m sure I didn’t even see the worst of it.
This “least livable city” is also plagued by gangs, or what they call Rascals. Shannon said his business was held at gun point on New Years by four Rascals, certainly not something you hear about all the time in the states. The ship had been warned against traveling alone through the city for just that reason, and there was even a BBQ thrown for the crew to try to keep us on the ship. But it’s because of the desperation and low employment that these Rascals exist. Meanwhile, housing costs are extremely expensive. A house around the city would rent for over $2000 per week…yeah, per week. Considering you can get a decent place in Chicago for half that per month, this was really amazing to hear.
My hosts had to return to work though and I was soon dropped off at the pier, more than excited about the day I’d just spent. I thanked my new friends as much as possible, tried offering some money for lunch (which was promptly refused), and headed back to the ship with a huge smile.
I then ran into some friends on the ship (the dancers) and I joined up with their group to head out again into the city, this time for a walking tour, We didn’t get very far, everyone was a little nervous about doing too much exploring, and first the girls returned to the ship, followed by me and two other dancers 30 minutes later. It was funny walking through the city with the dancers though because with the temperature being as hot as it was (must have been 100+), they had their shirts off. Well, nothing sticks out more than three white guys walking around, two with their shirts off. But the locals were all very nice and welcoming, they’d wave or even come up and shake our hands, and though I was initially concerned that they were looking to sell something, it seemed as if they were legitimately welcoming us, which was nice. Also, walking through their having everyone looking and waving kind of makes you feel like a movie star, so that was fun.
And now I’m back on the ship writing this blog while I wait to go watch the production show tonight. I’m looking forward to up coming ports when I try to do this again with other hosts, and I’d be more than happy if they turn out to be half as great as Musy and Shannon. One more big public thanks to them as I wish them all the best in their jobs and life in Port Moresby. I’ll be looking forward to more such adventures and as always, thanks for reading!
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Today was an exciting day for a number of reasons. First, it was a new country that I’ve never been to, always a good thing. Second, when you look up the city on Wikipedia it has been deemed the “least livable capital city in the world”, and boasts and murder rate 3 times that of Moscow and 20-something times that of London – wow. Third, I had decided to meet up with some locals I’ve never met before! Before you get too upset by what seems to be poor decision making, let me explain how this all worked out…
Thanks to the rafting trip with Aaron, he let me know about a website named couchsurfing.com, one in which the members host travelers by letting them sleep on their couch or meeting for lunch and showing them the city. The premise is that travelers help out other travelers, and when you aren’t somewhere in the world you put up your couch, though there is no obligation to do so. Anyways, I registered on the site, instantly looked up Port Moresby, and contacted one of the two people I saw listed. After a few emails back and forth we’d worked out a meeting time and place.
I’m sure you’re asking “how can you trust the people”, and there’s really no sure fire way of being totally sure what’s going to happen, but from looking at my hosts profile and our conversations, I had a decent feeling everything would be fine. Also, she was to meet me at the pier with one of her friends, and had I not liked the look of her or her friend I’d have turned around right there and gone back to the ship – so don’t get too worried about me, I’m doing my best to minimize risk :)
So I get out to the pier at noon and find my host, Musy and her friend Shannon (a large Australian guy) waiting for me at the pier. Musy approached smiling, introduced herself and Shannon, and feeling pretty confident in the situation I hopped in the back of their Nissan and we set off for lunch. I was planning on bringing a friend with me just for the sake of not being alone, but due to a late rehearsal for a production show, I couldn’t find anyone to go with, so I just went myself.
Anyways, Musy is from Malaysia, studied law in the UK, and now works in Port Moresby. Shannon was from Brisbane and also had a job that had him working in the city. We talked during lunch about the city and their lives there, along with what I do on the ship. Both Musy and Shannon were extremely friendly and were great to talk with, I couldn’t have had two nicer hosts. We finished up lunch, they picked up my bill (thanks!) and we went out for a driving tour of the city.
It was really quite a place and did justice to what’s written on the always trustworthy Wikipedia (ha). The roads of the city weren’t in the best shape, the residential communities looked like they were straight out of one of those “help the children” commercials, and there were dogs everywhere. There was an entire residential area of metal siding huts up on stilts out in the water, just waiting for a large storm to come by and knock them down. It was really amazing to drive through the area and see how unfortunate it was, especially considering that I’m sure I didn’t even see the worst of it.
This “least livable city” is also plagued by gangs, or what they call Rascals. Shannon said his business was held at gun point on New Years by four Rascals, certainly not something you hear about all the time in the states. The ship had been warned against traveling alone through the city for just that reason, and there was even a BBQ thrown for the crew to try to keep us on the ship. But it’s because of the desperation and low employment that these Rascals exist. Meanwhile, housing costs are extremely expensive. A house around the city would rent for over $2000 per week…yeah, per week. Considering you can get a decent place in Chicago for half that per month, this was really amazing to hear.
My hosts had to return to work though and I was soon dropped off at the pier, more than excited about the day I’d just spent. I thanked my new friends as much as possible, tried offering some money for lunch (which was promptly refused), and headed back to the ship with a huge smile.
I then ran into some friends on the ship (the dancers) and I joined up with their group to head out again into the city, this time for a walking tour, We didn’t get very far, everyone was a little nervous about doing too much exploring, and first the girls returned to the ship, followed by me and two other dancers 30 minutes later. It was funny walking through the city with the dancers though because with the temperature being as hot as it was (must have been 100+), they had their shirts off. Well, nothing sticks out more than three white guys walking around, two with their shirts off. But the locals were all very nice and welcoming, they’d wave or even come up and shake our hands, and though I was initially concerned that they were looking to sell something, it seemed as if they were legitimately welcoming us, which was nice. Also, walking through their having everyone looking and waving kind of makes you feel like a movie star, so that was fun.
And now I’m back on the ship writing this blog while I wait to go watch the production show tonight. I’m looking forward to up coming ports when I try to do this again with other hosts, and I’d be more than happy if they turn out to be half as great as Musy and Shannon. One more big public thanks to them as I wish them all the best in their jobs and life in Port Moresby. I’ll be looking forward to more such adventures and as always, thanks for reading!
Cairns/At Sea
March 1-2
Cairns/At Sea
The ship tendered outside of Cairns on March 1st, the port in which my original plan was to try to get off the ship and go diving at the Great Barrier Reef. Well, after a few emails to dive companies and after finding out that we were both a tender ride and a bus ride outside of the city, the diving thing just didn’t look like it was going to work out. All the dive trips leave before 9am, which doesn’t do me any good when we don’t start the tendering process till 10:30. So I needed a new plan…
My search quickly came to an end when my friend Aaron told me he had an extra ticket to go on a rafting tour – lucky me! Aaron is a Broadcast Technician, meaning he often gets free tour tickets for him and a friend so that they can shoot video for the company. Today I was that friend.
It worked out where he didn’t even bring his video equipment and we simply loaded onto a bus like any other passenger heading out for an afternoon of rafting. There were about a dozen of us in total from the ship, kind of low for 2000 total passengers. Anyways, we drove up the mountain, were given the safety speech and an overview of the grade 3 river, helmets and life jackets were distributed and we set out.
My raft consisted of my friend and me, a couple from Addison IL, and another couple from California…the raft was promptly named “Team America”. Our guide was some Japanese dude with sketchy English, but he did a great job none the less. The river (Barron River) itself didn’t have any 7 meter water falls, but was much more technical than the NZ river, meaning more work navigating through the rocks, and as I see it, more dangerous. The entire trip lasted about 90 minutes traveling down a picture perfect river cradled in some valley running down the mountain. The water was the perfect temperature, meaning some of the time was spent off the raft swimming around till the next bunch of rapids approached, meanwhile we were assured that the salt-water Crocodiles never venture as far up the river as we were rafting…luckily that was true during this trip. I got some more photos from a photographer that traveled with the rafts, along with the picture Aaron took with his waterproof camera.
We landed the raft at a pub where we were given some drinks and potato wedges, which were great. We could also buy ice cream or drinks. The coolest thing about the outdoors pub, however, was this huge golden orb spider that had set a gigantic between the roof and a crossbeam. The web was the largest I’ve seen in the wild, and the spider was by far larger than anything I’ve ever seen roaming around. The best part was that the guy selling snacks said it was only average sized, as if it needed to get any bigger than the size of my hand. Anyways, I thought it was awesome, the women who saw him usually screamed.
We took the bus back to the ship, and not having any more time to get into Cairns, we just hopped on the tender. All in all, I’d have liked to see Cairns and would have loved to go diving, but would I trade that option for a free day of rafting, you betcha!
March 2nd was a sea day sailing to Papua New Guinea, and that’s all I have to say about that.
Cairns/At Sea
The ship tendered outside of Cairns on March 1st, the port in which my original plan was to try to get off the ship and go diving at the Great Barrier Reef. Well, after a few emails to dive companies and after finding out that we were both a tender ride and a bus ride outside of the city, the diving thing just didn’t look like it was going to work out. All the dive trips leave before 9am, which doesn’t do me any good when we don’t start the tendering process till 10:30. So I needed a new plan…
My search quickly came to an end when my friend Aaron told me he had an extra ticket to go on a rafting tour – lucky me! Aaron is a Broadcast Technician, meaning he often gets free tour tickets for him and a friend so that they can shoot video for the company. Today I was that friend.
It worked out where he didn’t even bring his video equipment and we simply loaded onto a bus like any other passenger heading out for an afternoon of rafting. There were about a dozen of us in total from the ship, kind of low for 2000 total passengers. Anyways, we drove up the mountain, were given the safety speech and an overview of the grade 3 river, helmets and life jackets were distributed and we set out.
My raft consisted of my friend and me, a couple from Addison IL, and another couple from California…the raft was promptly named “Team America”. Our guide was some Japanese dude with sketchy English, but he did a great job none the less. The river (Barron River) itself didn’t have any 7 meter water falls, but was much more technical than the NZ river, meaning more work navigating through the rocks, and as I see it, more dangerous. The entire trip lasted about 90 minutes traveling down a picture perfect river cradled in some valley running down the mountain. The water was the perfect temperature, meaning some of the time was spent off the raft swimming around till the next bunch of rapids approached, meanwhile we were assured that the salt-water Crocodiles never venture as far up the river as we were rafting…luckily that was true during this trip. I got some more photos from a photographer that traveled with the rafts, along with the picture Aaron took with his waterproof camera.
We landed the raft at a pub where we were given some drinks and potato wedges, which were great. We could also buy ice cream or drinks. The coolest thing about the outdoors pub, however, was this huge golden orb spider that had set a gigantic between the roof and a crossbeam. The web was the largest I’ve seen in the wild, and the spider was by far larger than anything I’ve ever seen roaming around. The best part was that the guy selling snacks said it was only average sized, as if it needed to get any bigger than the size of my hand. Anyways, I thought it was awesome, the women who saw him usually screamed.
We took the bus back to the ship, and not having any more time to get into Cairns, we just hopped on the tender. All in all, I’d have liked to see Cairns and would have loved to go diving, but would I trade that option for a free day of rafting, you betcha!
March 2nd was a sea day sailing to Papua New Guinea, and that’s all I have to say about that.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Hamilton Island
February 28
Hamilton Island
Today was a gorgeous day at a tropical island, exactly the kind of day you go on a cruise for. I got off the ship with Terry and ended up running into a youth staff friend (Keely) and the three of us set out for the recommended activity, rent a golf cart and drive around the island. So for $60 Australian (about $40 US) we split the “buggy” as they called them, and set off for whatever we could find. And being the responsible driver that I am, I was the chosen chauffeur as I took my group in whatever direction caught my ever changing fancy. Let me mention these are usual carts with the usual driver’s seat on the left, yet the law dictated that we drove on the left side of the road…so that was all good fun for me (and totally disorientating).
So we drove up and down hills, anywhere the roads could take us on the island resort. And really, that’s all the island was, a large resort that also held private estates. And the lack of power and un responsive brakes aside, we had an nice time driving in the 95+ degree weather.
Me, driving as frivolously as possible, once decided to make a turn down a little used road that caught my eye, taking us to a dead end that seemed to have a trail down to the water. Following the resemblance of a path, I got down to the shore (comprised of a large, black rocky formation). It was gorgeous and inaccessible any other way, always the sign of a good find. So after proper appreciation of the site I turned to head back, where suddenly, a gigantic lizard crosses my path. Now I don’t mean one of those tree lizards you see in Florida, but I mean a 4-foot long Godzilla lizard like I’ve never seen in the wild before. He must have been sun bathing on the rocks and I spooked him enough to send him back to his den, which I followed him to. Anyways, point is that I saw Godzilla and it was really cool. My friends, afraid of making the climb down, missed the Lizard King, but fear not, I did take pictures.
The next highlight was just a stop at the beach. My group walked on the beach or a while, which was actually really nice because believe it or not, I don’t get that many chances to just go to a beach and relax, I’m usually exploring some sort of city. But it was great just being able to take my shoes off and walk in the perfect water. I eventually did dive in, not wearing a bathing suit and thus sacrificing my future comfort in wet cotton shorts, but it was totally worth it.
We eventually headed out, dropped off the “buggy” and headed back to the tender for our return to the ship. It was a great day though, for not only could I amuse myself in a golf cart, but I got to go swimming at a lovely island beach. As always, thanks for reading!!
Hamilton Island
Today was a gorgeous day at a tropical island, exactly the kind of day you go on a cruise for. I got off the ship with Terry and ended up running into a youth staff friend (Keely) and the three of us set out for the recommended activity, rent a golf cart and drive around the island. So for $60 Australian (about $40 US) we split the “buggy” as they called them, and set off for whatever we could find. And being the responsible driver that I am, I was the chosen chauffeur as I took my group in whatever direction caught my ever changing fancy. Let me mention these are usual carts with the usual driver’s seat on the left, yet the law dictated that we drove on the left side of the road…so that was all good fun for me (and totally disorientating).
So we drove up and down hills, anywhere the roads could take us on the island resort. And really, that’s all the island was, a large resort that also held private estates. And the lack of power and un responsive brakes aside, we had an nice time driving in the 95+ degree weather.
Me, driving as frivolously as possible, once decided to make a turn down a little used road that caught my eye, taking us to a dead end that seemed to have a trail down to the water. Following the resemblance of a path, I got down to the shore (comprised of a large, black rocky formation). It was gorgeous and inaccessible any other way, always the sign of a good find. So after proper appreciation of the site I turned to head back, where suddenly, a gigantic lizard crosses my path. Now I don’t mean one of those tree lizards you see in Florida, but I mean a 4-foot long Godzilla lizard like I’ve never seen in the wild before. He must have been sun bathing on the rocks and I spooked him enough to send him back to his den, which I followed him to. Anyways, point is that I saw Godzilla and it was really cool. My friends, afraid of making the climb down, missed the Lizard King, but fear not, I did take pictures.
The next highlight was just a stop at the beach. My group walked on the beach or a while, which was actually really nice because believe it or not, I don’t get that many chances to just go to a beach and relax, I’m usually exploring some sort of city. But it was great just being able to take my shoes off and walk in the perfect water. I eventually did dive in, not wearing a bathing suit and thus sacrificing my future comfort in wet cotton shorts, but it was totally worth it.
We eventually headed out, dropped off the “buggy” and headed back to the tender for our return to the ship. It was a great day though, for not only could I amuse myself in a golf cart, but I got to go swimming at a lovely island beach. As always, thanks for reading!!
At Sea
February 27
At Sea
Nothing to say, just another sea day…though I did have some new reading material to hold my attention thanks to yesterday…ha
At Sea
Nothing to say, just another sea day…though I did have some new reading material to hold my attention thanks to yesterday…ha
At Sea/Brisbane
February 25-26
At Sea/Brisbane
*****Parental Guidance Recommended for following post*****
(I feel so official putting that there – ha. But seriously, younger readers, ask Mom or Dad first)
The sea day was nothing unusual, just hanging around the ship and a show at night. The next day in Brisbane, however, was a little more eventful.
First, we got our new guitarist on the 26th (we did last night’s show without a guitarist). And oddly enough, the new guitarist is not only from Chicago, but is actually an old friend who went to Roosevelt with me! His name is Austin, and though I didn’t play with him much in college, I certainly knew him well enough. Furthermore, he’s originally from Cary, so imagine that, two guys in the same band from practically the same city meeting up totally by chance in Australia. Anyways, he’ll be a great guitarist for the band and I’m excited to have him here.
Next, my day in Brisbane! I got off the ship as soon as I was released from boat drill and had some food, which after a 40 minute bus ride into the city, got me in at about 1:00. I got off the ship with two of the photographers, Janusz (who went rafting with me) and Matthew (a Welsh guy who I can barely understand). The first hour or so was spent walking down to the gardens and through the mangroves, until we crossed the river that the city is built around and continued walking. This eventually brought us to a beach, which was actually just a huge pool with sand brought in to imitate a beach, situated right next to the incredibly dirty river with perfect views of the city. Additionally, there were nice views of the beach goers, 3 out of 4 of which were female (my perfect beach). But seeing as neither my friends or I brought bathing suits, we just sat around for a while enjoying the favorable vantage point.
As we sat at the beach, two friends happened to wonder by and stopped to chat, informing us of an event going on a couple blocks away that we just couldn’t pass up – the Sexpo (and expo about, well, you know…). Janusz, for whatever reason, decided to stay behind while the rest of us made our way to the convention center for what we were sure would be a good time.
We arrived and after paying our $25 entrance fee (about $15 US), we were greeted at the door with a goody bag containing a few magazines, a video, and a couple other fliers all of a nature I’m sure you can guess. We walk in, get on the other side of the black wall, and are found looking a convention hall filled with odd toys, events, rides, services, and strippers. The place was very clean, let me make that much clear, and people weren’t running around topless or anything, but some tried to get as close to it as possible. Anyways, the best part of the story begins with the 2:45 performance on the main stage – a full on poll dance.
The girl performing did a very nice job, and I’ll leave all other details up to your imagination, but I do have pictures if anyone’s dying for more info. Her 10 minute dance was followed by an announcer who asked for volunteers for the next show – volunteering that would include hypnosis. And you know me, so I immediately went into the tent indicated to be prepped for the hypnosis thing, something I’ve yet to experience.
So there I am sitting in this tent with 16 other people listening to some Australian hypnotist talk to us about what’s going to happen and how he won’t make us do anything compromising in the next show, and that this precursor is to determine who can fall into the deepest hypnotic state (certainly preferable for any kind of public showing). I’m sitting on the floor, there are about 6 chairs behind me, and another decent number of people are standing towards the back. So he turns on some sound track that is blaring “relaxing” music out of a speaker way too close to me and I’m immediately bothered by it. He begins talking, telling us to relax, saying how our eyes are getting tired, our arms feel like led, and all the usual stereotypical hypnosis stuff, and all while swinging a watch from a chain – classic. Then, after a count down from ten, we were told to drop our heads and become totally relaxed, I played along. From this “relaxed” state with our head hanging down we were talked deeper into our relaxation and our trance, till the hypnotist felt confident in asking the group to perform simple activities, which is when the fun really starts.
It begins with him asking to put our arms out in front of us, tells us to pretend we’re a typewriter (which confused me because I didn’t know rather to pretend I was the actual machine or the person using it), and changes the music to sounds that resemble typing. He asks us to imagine as vividly as possible, I can tell the people next to me are getting into it, and I’m still not sure if I’m the machine or the user. But that ended and we went to the next pretend situation – we were now pianists. He plays “The Entertainer” and I pretend I’m playing along, but like actually playing along cause I know the notes. Anyways, that finishes a couple minutes later and I’ve totally messed up the first two role playing exercises (mind you, I did go into this trying my best to help him hypnotize me and am still trying, it’s just not going so well). Next I’m on a bicycle, another activity the girl sitting next to me took full advantage of. This was followed by driving in our dream car – I continued to imagine as best I could. Then he lost me again when he asked the group to milk a cow and started playing “Old McDonald” or some weird tune like that. Then we were to imagine the cow only had one “teat”, which lost me completely. I tried, but was just sitting there thinking this was stupid by that point. We continued on, he asked us to return back to the relaxed position with our heads dropped and the guy behind me slumps so far forward he’s actually leaning on me – jerk. Then we’re back to activities that I didn’t care to remember and eventually return to the relaxed phase again.
Now he says “if I tap you on the shoulder, I’m talking to you.” I figure this is it, he’s going to call me out for not buying any of his tricks, and lo and behold, he taps my shoulder. I start listening for further directions with my eyes closed…nothing happens. He taps me again with slightly more vigor and I look up to see him signaling me to stand. I approach him and find him staring at my eyes with way too much intensity when he asks me my name. “Mike” I say, maybe slightly to jovially. This is followed by him snapping his fingers and waving his hand in front of my face (a little too Jedi knight-ish) while saying “you have no name.” He gives it a moment and repeats the question, “what’s your name?” Again, I say “Mike,” totally unaffected. He thanks me, shakes my hand, and I leave while the remainder of the group sits there in some trance oblivious to the fact that I’ve left. And there ended my scientific study of Hypnosis.
I then found my friends, checked out a couple last minute things, picked up a last minute photo with the sexpo girls, and the group made its way back to the ship. And that’s it for my Brisbane experience, one I certainly won’t forget, and one where the pictures are going to be put in a file where they don’t show up unwanted on my screen saver. Thanks for reading!
At Sea/Brisbane
*****Parental Guidance Recommended for following post*****
(I feel so official putting that there – ha. But seriously, younger readers, ask Mom or Dad first)
The sea day was nothing unusual, just hanging around the ship and a show at night. The next day in Brisbane, however, was a little more eventful.
First, we got our new guitarist on the 26th (we did last night’s show without a guitarist). And oddly enough, the new guitarist is not only from Chicago, but is actually an old friend who went to Roosevelt with me! His name is Austin, and though I didn’t play with him much in college, I certainly knew him well enough. Furthermore, he’s originally from Cary, so imagine that, two guys in the same band from practically the same city meeting up totally by chance in Australia. Anyways, he’ll be a great guitarist for the band and I’m excited to have him here.
Next, my day in Brisbane! I got off the ship as soon as I was released from boat drill and had some food, which after a 40 minute bus ride into the city, got me in at about 1:00. I got off the ship with two of the photographers, Janusz (who went rafting with me) and Matthew (a Welsh guy who I can barely understand). The first hour or so was spent walking down to the gardens and through the mangroves, until we crossed the river that the city is built around and continued walking. This eventually brought us to a beach, which was actually just a huge pool with sand brought in to imitate a beach, situated right next to the incredibly dirty river with perfect views of the city. Additionally, there were nice views of the beach goers, 3 out of 4 of which were female (my perfect beach). But seeing as neither my friends or I brought bathing suits, we just sat around for a while enjoying the favorable vantage point.
As we sat at the beach, two friends happened to wonder by and stopped to chat, informing us of an event going on a couple blocks away that we just couldn’t pass up – the Sexpo (and expo about, well, you know…). Janusz, for whatever reason, decided to stay behind while the rest of us made our way to the convention center for what we were sure would be a good time.
We arrived and after paying our $25 entrance fee (about $15 US), we were greeted at the door with a goody bag containing a few magazines, a video, and a couple other fliers all of a nature I’m sure you can guess. We walk in, get on the other side of the black wall, and are found looking a convention hall filled with odd toys, events, rides, services, and strippers. The place was very clean, let me make that much clear, and people weren’t running around topless or anything, but some tried to get as close to it as possible. Anyways, the best part of the story begins with the 2:45 performance on the main stage – a full on poll dance.
The girl performing did a very nice job, and I’ll leave all other details up to your imagination, but I do have pictures if anyone’s dying for more info. Her 10 minute dance was followed by an announcer who asked for volunteers for the next show – volunteering that would include hypnosis. And you know me, so I immediately went into the tent indicated to be prepped for the hypnosis thing, something I’ve yet to experience.
So there I am sitting in this tent with 16 other people listening to some Australian hypnotist talk to us about what’s going to happen and how he won’t make us do anything compromising in the next show, and that this precursor is to determine who can fall into the deepest hypnotic state (certainly preferable for any kind of public showing). I’m sitting on the floor, there are about 6 chairs behind me, and another decent number of people are standing towards the back. So he turns on some sound track that is blaring “relaxing” music out of a speaker way too close to me and I’m immediately bothered by it. He begins talking, telling us to relax, saying how our eyes are getting tired, our arms feel like led, and all the usual stereotypical hypnosis stuff, and all while swinging a watch from a chain – classic. Then, after a count down from ten, we were told to drop our heads and become totally relaxed, I played along. From this “relaxed” state with our head hanging down we were talked deeper into our relaxation and our trance, till the hypnotist felt confident in asking the group to perform simple activities, which is when the fun really starts.
It begins with him asking to put our arms out in front of us, tells us to pretend we’re a typewriter (which confused me because I didn’t know rather to pretend I was the actual machine or the person using it), and changes the music to sounds that resemble typing. He asks us to imagine as vividly as possible, I can tell the people next to me are getting into it, and I’m still not sure if I’m the machine or the user. But that ended and we went to the next pretend situation – we were now pianists. He plays “The Entertainer” and I pretend I’m playing along, but like actually playing along cause I know the notes. Anyways, that finishes a couple minutes later and I’ve totally messed up the first two role playing exercises (mind you, I did go into this trying my best to help him hypnotize me and am still trying, it’s just not going so well). Next I’m on a bicycle, another activity the girl sitting next to me took full advantage of. This was followed by driving in our dream car – I continued to imagine as best I could. Then he lost me again when he asked the group to milk a cow and started playing “Old McDonald” or some weird tune like that. Then we were to imagine the cow only had one “teat”, which lost me completely. I tried, but was just sitting there thinking this was stupid by that point. We continued on, he asked us to return back to the relaxed position with our heads dropped and the guy behind me slumps so far forward he’s actually leaning on me – jerk. Then we’re back to activities that I didn’t care to remember and eventually return to the relaxed phase again.
Now he says “if I tap you on the shoulder, I’m talking to you.” I figure this is it, he’s going to call me out for not buying any of his tricks, and lo and behold, he taps my shoulder. I start listening for further directions with my eyes closed…nothing happens. He taps me again with slightly more vigor and I look up to see him signaling me to stand. I approach him and find him staring at my eyes with way too much intensity when he asks me my name. “Mike” I say, maybe slightly to jovially. This is followed by him snapping his fingers and waving his hand in front of my face (a little too Jedi knight-ish) while saying “you have no name.” He gives it a moment and repeats the question, “what’s your name?” Again, I say “Mike,” totally unaffected. He thanks me, shakes my hand, and I leave while the remainder of the group sits there in some trance oblivious to the fact that I’ve left. And there ended my scientific study of Hypnosis.
I then found my friends, checked out a couple last minute things, picked up a last minute photo with the sexpo girls, and the group made its way back to the ship. And that’s it for my Brisbane experience, one I certainly won’t forget, and one where the pictures are going to be put in a file where they don’t show up unwanted on my screen saver. Thanks for reading!
Sydney
February 24
Sydney
Another day back in Sydney and another day that I was able to meet up with my friend Belinda. This was the same friend who I met the first day that I flew into the city, and seeing as she lives there, I figure there’s no better guide to walk around with. I found her around 10:30 at the pier and we set out into the city. We did some meandering, the weather was perfect just to be out walking, and eventually made it to a harbor area where we could sit down for a bit and order smoothies. We left from there for a walk down to china town, found a cool little book store, and then returned to the pier. Belinda had a party to go to at the hotel where she worked and we separated just before 2:00. The highlight of the day, however, was that I finally found decent hat to wear. After searching for the past month for a cool fedora styled hat, I got one, so I guess that’s exciting – totally frivolous, but exciting none the less.
That excursion was followed by me finding my free internet area, making a phone call home, and eventually returning to the ship for departure. The rest of the day on the ship was pretty laid back. But today we leave for our circumnavigation of Australia, a 35 day trip that takes us around the entire continent, and one more thing to impress my friends with, ha. Anyways, stay tuned for more posts, thanks!
Sydney
Another day back in Sydney and another day that I was able to meet up with my friend Belinda. This was the same friend who I met the first day that I flew into the city, and seeing as she lives there, I figure there’s no better guide to walk around with. I found her around 10:30 at the pier and we set out into the city. We did some meandering, the weather was perfect just to be out walking, and eventually made it to a harbor area where we could sit down for a bit and order smoothies. We left from there for a walk down to china town, found a cool little book store, and then returned to the pier. Belinda had a party to go to at the hotel where she worked and we separated just before 2:00. The highlight of the day, however, was that I finally found decent hat to wear. After searching for the past month for a cool fedora styled hat, I got one, so I guess that’s exciting – totally frivolous, but exciting none the less.
That excursion was followed by me finding my free internet area, making a phone call home, and eventually returning to the ship for departure. The rest of the day on the ship was pretty laid back. But today we leave for our circumnavigation of Australia, a 35 day trip that takes us around the entire continent, and one more thing to impress my friends with, ha. Anyways, stay tuned for more posts, thanks!
At Sea
February 22-23
At Sea
We had our usual two days at sea as we traveled back to Sydney. There was that much that developed these two days and I spent most of my time with a book or my computer.
On the less normal side of things, one of the dancers was having a birthday and had a cross-dresser-themed party. I went up to check it out, but wearing my tux pants and a white undershirt, was slightly underdressed for the occasion. This was fixed by tying up my shirt around my chest, as I’m sure you can imagine, and instantly I fit right in...which is surely not a good thing. Anyways, I gave some people some great pictures, seriously stretched out my undershirt, and again compromised whatever integrity I have left.
The other development was that Gus, the guitarist, is leaving the ship. He had signed on with me, but after his numerous bouts with seasickness and some unfamiliarity with the gig itself, it had been decided it wasn’t maybe the right fit. Anyways, the actual point is that I lost my Spanish teacher! Gus was working with me a lot with Spanish and was always more than patient with me, which means I’m going to have to find a new Spanish friend. Well, regardless, I’m wishing him the best and hope he finds something that works out better for him the future. And that’s about it, Thanks!
At Sea
We had our usual two days at sea as we traveled back to Sydney. There was that much that developed these two days and I spent most of my time with a book or my computer.
On the less normal side of things, one of the dancers was having a birthday and had a cross-dresser-themed party. I went up to check it out, but wearing my tux pants and a white undershirt, was slightly underdressed for the occasion. This was fixed by tying up my shirt around my chest, as I’m sure you can imagine, and instantly I fit right in...which is surely not a good thing. Anyways, I gave some people some great pictures, seriously stretched out my undershirt, and again compromised whatever integrity I have left.
The other development was that Gus, the guitarist, is leaving the ship. He had signed on with me, but after his numerous bouts with seasickness and some unfamiliarity with the gig itself, it had been decided it wasn’t maybe the right fit. Anyways, the actual point is that I lost my Spanish teacher! Gus was working with me a lot with Spanish and was always more than patient with me, which means I’m going to have to find a new Spanish friend. Well, regardless, I’m wishing him the best and hope he finds something that works out better for him the future. And that’s about it, Thanks!
Bay of Islands
February 21
Bay of Islands
Today was much nicer than the previous rain in Auckland, but due to an afternoon rehearsal and an early crew all-aboard I had been allotted approximately 30 minutes in port after factoring the 30 minute tender ride to the pier. But it was my last day in Bay of Islands and my last time in New Zealand for about a month so I was determined to get off – that and I hadn’t had breakfast or lunch and really needed to eat something. I got off the ship with the trumpet player, who after seeing the pier location and realizing the little time we actually had, turned around and got right back on the tender. Me, on the other hand, started running into the small city where I stopped at the first bakery I could find and bought some large bread thing with cheese and tomatoes and peppers, which was delicious and totally worth the run over there. I ate my lunch quickly and then made the run back to the pier to catch the last possible tender without being late. It was a short time in port, but I’ll take what I can get.
There was a show that night and that’s about it for Bay of Islands. Thanks for reading!
Bay of Islands
Today was much nicer than the previous rain in Auckland, but due to an afternoon rehearsal and an early crew all-aboard I had been allotted approximately 30 minutes in port after factoring the 30 minute tender ride to the pier. But it was my last day in Bay of Islands and my last time in New Zealand for about a month so I was determined to get off – that and I hadn’t had breakfast or lunch and really needed to eat something. I got off the ship with the trumpet player, who after seeing the pier location and realizing the little time we actually had, turned around and got right back on the tender. Me, on the other hand, started running into the small city where I stopped at the first bakery I could find and bought some large bread thing with cheese and tomatoes and peppers, which was delicious and totally worth the run over there. I ate my lunch quickly and then made the run back to the pier to catch the last possible tender without being late. It was a short time in port, but I’ll take what I can get.
There was a show that night and that’s about it for Bay of Islands. Thanks for reading!
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