"It's a Wonderful Feeling…"

‘Tis the season, folks!  I know, I know.  It isn’t even Thanksgiving yet, but I have been in full Christmas spirit since the beginning of November.  I realize that many of you out there are not so keen on the holly and the ivy just yet, but this is my blog and I shall do what I want.  All of that to say that I hope this finds you in festive spirits, surrounded by those near and dear to your hearts.

In shortly over a week I am heading back to Los Angeles to begin rehearsal for the Nieuw Amsterdam.  Yes, that is a cruise ship, and yes, I have been on it before.  It was, by far, my favorite contract to date and I am very excited to return.  (Sidenote:  there are people from all of my previous contracts that I love very much.  The Nieuw A was the best due to the combination of shows, cast, and itinerary.  Also, it is simply my personal opinion.)  The itinerary for the ship will be a bit different this time.  We will be starting in the Caribbean before crossing the Atlantic to the beautiful Mediterranean, where we will enjoy several overnights in ports such as:  Barcelona, Venice, and Istanbul.  Buh-leh-sing!  I will update you on the full itinerary in a later post.  Let me just say that these ports of call are fantastic!  If anyone is interested in taking a free cruise, do let me know.  You just have to cover your airfare to Europe.  E-mail me for more information:  j_kuba@yahoo.com.

Before all of that excitement, I will be in L.A. for six weeks of intense rehearsing.  I do have the added benefit of knowing all of the shows, but a brush-up never hurt anyone, right?  I am very much looking forward to this time of reunions and, after the past few weeks, activity.

What are you up to?  Tell me everything, darlings!

I will post more about rehearsal and my time in LaLa Land as it happens.  (I know, you’ve heard that before.)  Okay, I cannot promise that it will be timely, but I promise that it will happen…eventually.

 For now, take care of yourselves.  Enjoy all the joy and blessings of twerking your turkeys while having a kiki with your loved ones.

Muah!

Making Over the Soul

makeup, n. cosmetics such as lipstick or powder applied to the face, used to enhance or alter the appearance.

I begin each day by putting on makeup.  If you have ever met me, or seen me up close, you will know that I do not actually wear lipstick, blush, eyeshadow, or mascara.  I do, however, wear many layers of what I call, emotional makeup.

I start with a solid foundation of confidence.  I believe it is best to choose a shade of confidence that is not much deeper than the shade that you naturally possess.  I do not want to put forth an air of complete confidence, for what if someone were to challenge it too harshly?  It is only cosmetic after all.  My goal is to establish that I have an adequate amount of confidence.  No more, and certainly no less.

The next step is the application of optimism on my eyelids.  This is done so that when people look at my eyes, they see a glimmer of hope.  I have deeply-set eyes, so there is not a lot of room for the eyeshadow, but it is the most important step in the emotional beautification process.  I fancy myself as an optimist, but there are days when the belief that good will ultimately triumph over evil seems to have set sail, slowly drifting away over the horizon.  On days such as these I apply two different shades, one for the hope in the present, and one for the hope in my future.  If it is a particularly wonderful day, I may add a layer of shimmery bliss.

The lips can be quite difficult.  I adorn my lips with a subtle shade of kindness.  I find myself having to reapply this kindness many, many, many times throughout the day.  There are the obvious culprits, eating and drinking, who slowly remove the color, but there are other factors that contribute to the demise of kindness.  The world we find ourselves living in can be anything but kind, so I find it paramount to keep an extra tube of kindness on your person at all times.  There are many times when it is difficult to reach or the moment is simply inopportune, but I put more on as soon as I can.  I am working on my own brand of kindness that acts more like a lipstain.

I conclude my emotional alteration by applying a layer of finishing powder known more commonly as empathy.  I am sure you have heard the saying, “Never judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.”  Boy, I wish that were an actual practice in our society.  Could you imagine having to physically put on someone’s shoes and walk a mile of their life for them?  How many grudges would never be held?  How many feuds would never ignite?

I am not saying or admitting that I am not the person I purport to be.  For when people use actual cosmetics, they are still themselves…just enhanced.  The attributes, skills, talents, and capacities for confidence, optimism, kindness, and empathy are already on my face.  I simply enhance them in order to shine brighter in this often arduous and unjust world.  I also just want to be pretty, but I digress.

What is the reason for this nonsensical journey through the Mac counter of the soul?  At a very base level, people should focus more on their emotional appearance.  We are incredibly complex creatures, often wonderful and even magical.  However, all of that wonder and magic are too quickly stripped away by war, greed, jealousy, insensitivity, and self-loathing.  The time to paint your soul is now.  Let us stand together in a united front of beauty, justice, hope, strength, compassion, and joy.

Maybe you’re born with it…maybe it’s Maybelline.

This Is Supposed to Help?

What did you really want from me?
Were you seeking connection or just fulfilling your own selfish desires?
What happened?

When did you know that you didn't really care about me?
When you told me that you were done being concerned about my feelings, did you not realize that that fact had been clear for quite some time?  Jerk.

How's your new quest to collect shiny people going?
Are you too obsessed with yourself to realize that I'm still here?

Do you remember how you treated me like a burden?  Fuck you.

(Why do I still care?  That's the worst part.)

I was hoping that this might be cathartic, but it's really just reignited my anger.  Wait, maybe that's part of the process.

In any event, fuck you.

The MS Narnia?

"It's okay.  Things work differently on ships."

I would like to clear the air on the validity of the above quotation.  I believe it to be one hundred percent false.  Please allow me to explain and, in the process, vent my frustrations.  You may feel free to bail now should you so choose.

When you embark on a contract working on a cruise ship, you do not pass through any type of Narnian wardrobe or threshold where all current relationships, problems, fears, aspirations, or general sense of decorum disappear.  The latter only applies if one begins with a sense of decorum; that is a topic for another blog.  For example, if you are in a romantic relationship while your feet are on dry land, that relationship does not disintegrate once your feet are on a structure that is floating in the water.  Now, if you and your significant other have discussed taking a break while you are away, so be it.  However, you can not issue a blanket statement of how "things work differently" as a sign of carte blanche to gallivant through the world of, ahem, extracurricular physical activities.  In short, you should not feel free to be reckless with the feelings of others just because you believe you are in the magical land of "ships."  Your current situation may have been altered in terms of geography, but, at the core, it has not changed.  Does your relationship or friendship evaporate each time you head out of town?  I pray that it does not.

I have also met too many people that seem to entirely give up any hope for the future while working on a ship.  Emotions do tend to ebb and flow like the tide in day to day life.  This is not a unique experience to seafarers.  I understand that there will be times when one feels down in the dumps, but you can choose to do something about that.  You have the choice to rise above whatever is getting you down and to seek a sunnier plain, for lack of a better term.  There are so many people that I have worked with who form an apathetic shell around themselves while at sea.  Why is this?  Perhaps I should plainly ask, "Why do you not care about anything anymore?  Do you need to talk?"  That would only work if the other party is interested in speaking about subjects that move past the usual, "How many contracts have you done?" type of conversing.  Take heart!  We, as human beings maneuvering our way through life, are all in the same boat…in this case, quite literally.  I have troubles, too!  How about talking it out?  Let us help one another on the journey of living rather than metaphorically donning the life preserver, jumping overboard, and silently riding out the storm.

I would want people to realize that this life at sea is still life.  It is a very real, very tangible, very live life.  How exciting to remain engaged with the "outside world!"

So, the next time someone approaches me with a lewd comment or apathetic view joined with an obligatory "Oh man, ship life."  I will smile and say, "Life is beautiful, if you want it to be."

I Can't. I'm In Tech.

The summit has been reached.  After a week of early mornings and late nights, the cast of the ms Amsterdam is finally up and running with four production shows.  The long hours of rehearsing and implementing all of the technical aspects were validated by an overwhelmingly positive reception from each audience.  They like us.  They really like us!

Performing three shows a night has taken quite a bit of getting used to.  I have found that taking a vow of silence between each show to be incredibly beneficial.  I have given thought to learning sign language for such situations, but, in the interest of time, I have decided to wear a small chalkboard around my neck.  Incidentally, I have become a master of writing upside down.  This will make me a better person, right?

I was fortunate enough to get off of the ship in two ports last week.  However, now that there will be less rehearsing, I will be able to take full advantage of my time in all four ports.  I am certainly looking forward to exploring Vancouver again.  On a side note, if you ever get the opportunity to visit Vancouver, do it.  I look at this amazing city as the child of Seattle and New York City.  Could it get any better?

Pictures and further updates on my Alaskan adventures will follow, so please prepare yourselves.  I will assume that your breath is bated.  :)

I pray that you are thriving and surrounded by laughter, love, and goodness.

Until next time…

J

Taking Time and Seeing the Good

Well, the time has come to set sail once again.  I am headed back to the MS Amsterdam for four months in sunny, summertime Alaska.  I am anticipating many hikes or simple journeys into nature where I can decompress and try to slow down all the frenetic thoughts that have been swirling through my mind for the last few months.  There is nothing quite as refreshing as taking the time to check in with yourself and allow your brain to recharge.  This is something I do not do as often as I should.  However, it is a new year.  Well, it was a new year not too long ago, so why not make a new start?

I look forward to providing you with updates from the heart and mind of a man traveling with little more than his hopes, dreams, fears, and ambition.  To those of you who have contributed to my journey thus far, thank you.  Your support and, in some cases, disapproving energy have been exactly what I have needed.

Until we meet in this virtual cafe again, allow me to give you a challenge; a challenge that I will also be taking on.  I urge you to find the goodness in every situation.  I do mean in EVERY situation.  Go ahead, give it a shot.  When you find yourself starting to complain about something, take two seconds to fish around in your brain and extract a ray of sunshine.  I am not saying it will be easy, or even possible in every circumstance, but what if you find that it could be?  You will never know until you take a chance to surround yourself with the good.  

I pray that you will be well and feel blessed.  

Until next time,
Joey

Back In L.A.

Well, it appears that I was horrible about keeping this here site up to date. Allow me to summarize everything that happened in the space between my last post and now with the word amazing.

I could not have asked for a better group of people to frolic in Europe and the Caribbean with. I just finished my time with them a mere ten days ago, but it feels like much longer. Upon completion of my contract on the Nieuw Amsterdam, I joined two of my cast mates for a trip to Disney World and Universal Studios in Orlando, FL. It was an absolute blast. After that, I traveled with one of them to NYC for six days of merriment in the greatest city in the world. I was fortunate enough to see "The Last 5 Years," "Cinderella," "Pippin," and "Fuerza Bruta." All we fantastic in their own way. However, I must rank "Pippin" in a class of its own. If there is ANY way for you to get to New York to see it, do it!

I am currently sitting at the apartment complex where I've been put up for rehearsal for another ship. This time I'll be heading back to the Amsterdam on a four month contract in Alaska. Today was the first day of rehearsal and it went pretty well. We are starting to learn our "welcome aboard" show called "Listen to the Music." I performed this show on my last ship, but there are parts that are different as cast size and makeup is different. Fingers crossed for a mostly stress-free process.

I hope that this finds you well and in good spirits. I will attempt to be better about keeping you up to date with what is going on, but...well, we saw what happened last time.

Sending love to you and yours.

Until next time,

J