| Things are finally starting to
settle down here, so I have time to let everyone know how things are
going. Here's a quick recap of events so far: Friday Aug 20th Even though my flight was scheduled to leave at 7:30pm, I didn't actually start packing until around 4:30. I ate dinner and took a shower, and managed to make it to the airport before it was too late. At the airport, screening went smoothly (regardless of my appearance), and I boarded the plane. I think I actually slept more on the flight to Seattle than to Philly, partly because some guy was snoring pretty loud. Saturday I arrived in Philly at about 6:30am and made my way to find a cab. The guy that drove me was kind of a leadfoot, driving and accelerating quickly at every light. The directions/address that the agent gave me wasn't right, so we ended up going the wrong way. To top it all off, I realized the next day that I had forgotten to get a receipt, so I have to foot the $35 cab ride myself. The cruise ship terminal is at an old navy yard (possibly from WWII), which has been partially converted for commercial use. The buildings near the terminal were actually pretty run-down looking, with bricks that were really worn or missing. There were also various derelict navy ships around everywhere in variuos states of disrepair. There was even an aircraft carrier next to the cruise ship (with a big # 66 on the side, if that means anything. I'm curious what the name is). There was also a showed up to play for exiting/entering passengers, wearing kilts and featuring sax, snare, bass, and accordian. My cab got there at around 8am, and after wandering around a little and being misdirected a few times I got to the waiting room. Although the ship was already there, we couldn't board until al least 11. There was one other new crew member there, and he turned out to be the drummer. His name is Joe, and he's from L.A. We stood around and talked for a while, along with a security guy. After a while (maybe an hour or two) we got bored and walked over to a nearby cafe and ate some food. We went back and waited some more. I think I napped a little (which I did frequently for the first week or so), and finally after 1pm we went over to the ship. Handing in and signing papers, x-raying our bags and suitcases and such ensued. We waited around some more to get our IDs made, and then we met the musical director/pianist. He's my age, and pretty laid back. After that I went and found my cabin (5207) and unpacked all my stuff. My first impression of the ship is that all the people seem really friendly and helpful. For me personally the whole signing-on experience was familiar, so it wasn't very stressful, but everything happening could easily be a bewildering experience. I had to go to a meeting for new people, and then I went back to the cabin and met my roommate. His name's Jason, and he's a trombone player from Colorado. Then we had a rehearsal for the show that night, dinner, and then two shows. I didn't play so well for the shows, and I was so drained that I crashed at 9:30pm. Sunday Sunday began a string of exciting meetings (aka brainwashing). For some reason all these meetings take place at around 9 or 10 in the morning, so I was mostly out of it during them. But we managed to have some fun. The videos they showed were really stupid and (unintentionally) funny at times, and me and the MD (musical director) got dirty looks or comments a few times. The safety meetings are conducted by the officers, who are Greek and Israeli for the most part. The stupidest thing is that most of us can't even understand or hear half of what they are saying. But it's not a big deal because everything was in handouts, not to mention the fact that they repeated everything in at least three different meetings. At this point (Monday) I only have one meeting left, so it will be happy times when it's over. Anyway, that's enough typing for now. I'll keep emailing perodically with goings-on on the ship and such, along with what kind of shows we're doing, about the band members, and about where we're sailing to. Plus, if (for some reason) there's anything you need to send me, here's my mailing address: Also, my cell phone still works on the one day a week we're in the US (usually Saturdays). Brian Einstein Lassiter |