Lieutenant's Log # 3

February 15, 2017

Lieutenant's Log # 3

 I quickly indulged in my favorite pastime when in Kiel, which is going to "Grossman's", the area's version of CVS Drugs in the US. I had to replace the deodorant I purchased at home. It's amazing all the fancy deodorant items you can buy. The packaging and marketing is impressive, although I think there are way too many choices. I decided to try Mennen's (I think) 'Extra Fresh'. It was in a great looking box. When I got around to using it, I noticed that the smell was familiar but horrible. I recognized the scent but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then it hit me. It smells like Upstate, NY horse manure. There's no mistaking it. So I've been walking around on the ship smelling like horse crap. I'll say one thing, the smell was most certainly 'Extra Fresh.'      

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  It was arranged that I would board the ship a day early before my contracted schedule. So the agency put me up in a passengers cabin for a day.   As you'd expect, the passenger cabins are extremely nice compared to the spartan, efficient cabins of the staff.  On my first trip, I thought the cleaning staff had forgotten to put a shower curtain in the rather small bathroom.  Nope. The toilet is inches away from the shower. So yes, the toilet gets wet when you shower. 

I don't mean to be gross, but there's nothing like being able to take a dump while showering at the same time.  Yes I know, that sentence could have been prettier.

 

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 In theory, after ten weeks I should be in much better shape than I am at the moment.  

 The last two days have been exhausting. My cabin is on the third level.  You can only get to it via stairs. The "mess (cafeteria)" and crew area is on the fifth level.  I have to go to the mess area to gain access to those particular stairs to the third level. The performance room is on the promenade, seventh level.  So several times a day it's up and down the stairs, back and forth across the promenade. From the fifth level I can use the elevator to the promenade, but I'm trying not to. If I can just control the urge to eat 24/7, I should be in good shape by the end of my contract.  

Lieutenant's Log #2

                                                                     February 13, 2017

                                                                    Lieutenant's Log #2

Well I'm back aboard the cruise ship. It was fortunate to run into "Choko", the band saxophonist. I arrived at the terminal about 10:30am. We couldn't board the ship until 1pm. So there was a lot of time to kill which was great, because hauling my bags from the hotel to the terminal was indeed a workout. Sitting down was a great idea.

 Choko is from Bulgaria. As I was walking into the terminal, he recognized me from the internet. He's tall and looks like Colin Hay from "Men At Work."  From my observation, men from Eastern Europe make the best looking B-movie bad guys. Their faces usually have so much character. Like a lot musicians on cruise ships, Choko has been working on ships for decades. A veteran for sure. 

We talked for quite a bit. Well I should say, I listened for quite a bit. Even though I could hardly understand a word he was saying, his stories seemed fascinating. At least if I was hearing what I thought I was hearing. Interestingly every story ended with someone dying. To be fair, he's older than me by 11 years, so I suppose he's very acquainted with mortality tales.  

This band is going to be extremely different than the last group. It's still a trio, but there's no bassist. I have no idea why there would be no bassist and no idea what to expect. Couple that with the fact that not only do I have a hard time understanding Choko,  I also have a hard time understanding "Doru" the pianist. He's from Romania. They both have very thick accents. The only language we have in common is music. I hope we're all fluent. 

*I can't think of the last time that I was the youngest person in the band.  :)