Lately life has been running pretty smoothly.  Every day something new happens that I want to write about but time passes so quickly that I never have a second to take a breath and write it down.  As of late my emotions have been pretty leveled out which has enabled me to get trough the day a little smoother.   I met a really nice couple last week from Australia who needed some help with their camera. I was partly able to help them and my manager was actually able to solve their problem, but apparently they really loved out help and the fact that we devoted time to them and they generously left us a pretty hefty tip.  The tip was completely unnecessary because I would have been glad to help either way, but I though it was very nice of them to not only do that but the appreciate they showed towards my manager and I really made me feel like I do make a difference in peoples cruises out here in Hawaii.  Last weeks cruise actually went very well and the team and I did an awesome job and all received a bonus because we made higher than our sales goal….so that’s a little extra in my pocket.  Every time we get a bonus I put that portion in a special account that is specifically for saving for a Canon G12 with an underwater housing!! Haha silly sure, but it will be totally worth it.

The U.S. Coast Guard will board our ship in the morning to see that we preform out drill correctly and up to U.S. Standards.  The Drills are done weekly, one is always schedule and there is a random one.  Basically this is when all the crew members are to report to certain stations on the ship and practice what to do in the chance of a fire, man overboard, medical emergency, chemical spill/pollution, abandon ship, or a missing child.  We mostly practice abandon ship and when we do we actually get to lower the lifeboats as if there was actually a threat to the ship.  It is a very interesting process to watch and even though it is slightly annoying to have to do, I know that it will save a life one day.

Last night I went out with some friends for dinner and actually had a really good night.  I met one of the engineers on board, who is dating a girl I am friends with, and got to pick his brain a little bit on the inner workings of the ship.  He has offered to take me on a tour of the engine room and let me see the engines and such.  For those of you at VI, the engines here on board are roughly the size of the Student center…..  The man that I was talking to has the nice job of putting them together and maintaining the operation of each engine on board, which is really not a job I would want, but very intriguing to hear about.  I try to meet and talk to as many people on the ship as possible to hear their stories about working here and the different jobs they do.  The other day I was able to meet the Captain and have a little chat with him, which turned out to be very informative.  He is a military man and has been so for a good majority of his life, until he got into the cruise ship business.  He will be retiring in a month or so, but it sounds like he has lived a great live at sea and his stories reminded me a lot of the ones my grandfather has about he military and all the adventures and awesome things he did while he was in the service.

This past cruise had quite a few interesting people on it.  I try to pick what I call the “Couple of the Week.”  Each week I pick a group or couple who really makes an imprint on my brain.  This week I had two.  There were the Australians whose generosity and kindness made me think of my wonderful grandmother at home, who no matter how bad the situation is, constantly makes the best of it.  The second couple were my Wade Hampton Blvd. Couple because they literally lived off Wade Hampton Blvd. in Greenville, S.C which is the main street that I live off of.  This was a family of four with two grown sons.  They knew everything about Greenville, and the wife graduated from my high school, Wade Hampton High School, in 1971.  This family was not only super nice but they really made me miss home.  I wish they could have just packed me in their suitcase!  The mother left at the end of the week with a picture of me and a smile on her face after meeting another person from her hometown.

All people leave some sort of imprint on each others brain.  It is my hope that that imprint is always a positive one and maybe one day we will not think so negatively of others.

If I could keep up with the daily trials that I go through here in Hawaii I would for sure have super powers.  I already feel like an unstoppable work force, like that little train that could.  Well I am a constant fireball until midnight usually.  Every second of my day is going going gone and I don’t think that there will ever be a moment here that I find myself bored, or wondering what to do.  My mind has no space for trivial matters of wandering thought, which is really a blessing in disguise.

Since it is not possible for me to record every waking moment I choose to highlight on the major key points of my time out here.  I hope that when something pops into my mind during the day I will remember it with the hopes of adding it to my blog but I usually forget.  Anyways, so its Saturday which means we received a new group of passengers who want to experience another week in Hawaii.  Today in itself has been pretty normal, which is rare.  I worked a few hours in the early morning and spent the majority of my afternoon walking around downtown Honolulu, which has proven to be quite interesting.  The population here is obviously Hawaiian but there is a strikingly large population of Pilipino and Japanese.  Unfortunately the Hawaiian economy is not well, like every where else, but there is a very large and dominant population of homeless individuals that live on the main streets of Honolulu.  Most Hawaiians are open to the idea of Hawaii being a part of the United States but there are some who still wish for Hawaii to be independent from the U.S. and seem to regret our presence here.  I cannot completely disagree with their feelings, especially in the more local islands, it is a known fact that tourists are a pain, and that the crew members are not really welcome.  This hostility has increased in the past few months apparently with the most recent incident-taking place in Wiliwili, where one crew member had his face smashed in and had to be medically disembarked from the ship in order to reconstruct his face.  This incident occurred late at night and I’m sure both parties were involved.  I would compare the hostility to that of the feelings of the French majority towards Americans.  Pretty self-explanatory.

I have recently picked up reading Jane Eyre by Charolotte Brote and have fallen in love with the story.   This is the main reason why I have not written in a while, plus the fact that I’ve been pretty much emotionally tapped out and when it comes time for me to write, I just cannot form a sentence.  Even with photography I feel this ways sometimes.  I really miss doing my own personal work and working on big projects…..people pretty much bore me at this point.  The people begin to run together and I realize how similar the billions of people in this world are.  When you break humans down into groups of nationality or race, they pretty much have the same personality traits.   It’s sickening how much a like we are and I hate that we are so unoriginal as a species.  The most common thing I have found is the fact that humans are PREDICTABLE and DISGUSTING.  It’s really simple.  Think of all your nasty little habits, and all the things that you think no one notices you do,….. a lot of things come to mind right?  Well your habits are extremely noticeable and when you think no one is looking, they are.  Every morning when you wake up there is someone out there that expects you to do the same thing every day and your routines are unavoidable.  If you ever wanted a reason to be thoroughly repulsed by the human race, look at your self and then compare your traits to 100 other people.   You’ll see that we do all the same things, yet we want so badly to believe that we are all different.

Pineapple in the morning.  Time to get my dance on.  If my friends and family back home could only see me in this damn suit.  For one, the face of the pineapple is actually in the middle of my stomach and my head is covered by the top of the pineapple which is a bunch of leaf looking things, which one guests referred to as my “BABIES” one day…. Not sure how that made any sense.   Anyways so a week ago some little kid tried to suck my pineapple thumb off so I had to yank it away from him.  Most people are generally waving at my stomach, poking me, punching me in the boob, or trying to yank my head off.  This is probably the most interesting four hours of my job and at then end of it, I get out of that freakin suit dripping with seat, like I just jumped into a pool with all of my clothes on……DISGUSTING.  However, seating is apparently good for you, from what Taylor’s mom told me, and my body does feel pretty good afterwards so I cant really complain!  Plus Taylor sent me some really good Dubstep and I made a special Pineapple playlist just for Sunday mornings!

Yesterday I was in the gallery selling photos to the previous cruise guests and a woman came up in my line.  As soon as I looked at her I thought I was looking at my mom.  This woman looked exactly like here.  The same teeth, the last haircut I remember my mom having, really tan skin like my, and even the big cheek bones.  I didn’t say anything to the woman but as she signed her receipt I realized that her signature was the exactly same handwriting that my mom had.  I was freaked out, but I felt so good in her presence.  Like my mom might have been actually right there next to me, telling my ass to the through the next 4 months with a smile on my face.  It was so refreshing to have this woman come through my line and its moments like that, or even when I see a rainbow or and Eiffel tower, and even a panda, that I know there is always someone watching over me, probably more than I even notice.  Those moments always come when I am at the lowest of lows and every time I get to experience something like that I can help buy cry tears of joy.  I hate to say that I don’t remember a lot of things about my mom, except for mostly the bad things, but I do remember that she loved my sister and I greatly, but that sometimes the love we have for one another is not nearly enough for us to love ourselves.  Tricky metaphor isn’t it, yet it feels like the more we love others, the less we love about ourselves.  Like a math equation, we are always trying to make up for a lack of something and the lack of love my mom had for herself, she surly spread to others.  I wish she could of loved herself more so that I could still see her, but I thank God for giving her a better option to live.

Sammy had her little baby Savannah and the day she did I walked into work and immediately showed my coworkers the picture of our little new addition.  I sent the photo to taylor and a few other friends and felt so happy and proud to have little Savannah join our family, but sad that I will not be able to meet her for a few more months.  She is a beautiful little girl and I am so proud of my sister and all that she has taken on and accomplished, and the beautiful life she is providing for her family.

I like being far from everyone almost.  I like knowing less of what is going on back home.  I only want to know the pertinent details and I don’t like to have the conversations of specifics.  I like to think of the happiness that I only know of life back home for everyone and when I know of their struggles, it makes being out here very hard to handle.

I saw the greatest sunset tonight.  I was photographing one of the outdoor restaurants just as the sun was setting behind the port of Honolulu.   I have never seen something so pure, and pristine.  I don’t know that when I come home I will want to stay.  Life out here is not that bad, but I want to be more established at home with a job that will offer me more and will have room for me to grow career wise.  Here is fine for now, but there is not much room for me to grown into and I wish I was in a more permanent job.  Yet, it is indeed good out here.  I mean we work long hours and are constantly working our butts off to made the unhappy, happy, but its not so bad.  However I’ve been thinking more and more about grad school lately and I really want to go.  Part of me wishes that I would have just gone right after VI but financially it would have been really really hard.  I have looked into a few more schools and I think I am going to apply for Fall 2012 and maybe begin then, and also keep looking for that awesome photo job!  I know that something will one day fall into my lap that I probably never expected, just like this job did.  I have no idea where I will end up but I am enjoying the idea of throwing myself into a completely different atmosphere than what I am used to and climbing my way up.

I do feel the mountains calling my name and the crisp air that flows through the Appalachian trail is missing my lungs.   I want the nip of fall fighting against my uncovered legs because I am too stubborn to put on pants in the colder months.  I want to look out and see the orange, red, and yellow leaves that rise up and down over the mountains and most of allI I want to make the drive up to Asheville, through Buckner Gap, down into Unicoi and end finally at 927 Russell Street.  I miss fall, and I really miss the mountains.  Funny statement isn’t it.

If I were to state how I was feeling as this exact moment it would be blissful and sad.  The past few days have been a whirlwind of emotions, mostly stemming from the idea of another birthday.  I am very fortunate to have met some wonderful people aboard this ship that made my birthday not seem so lonely considering I am away from all my normal friends and family.  Most days I wake up in the morning shaken at the realization of another day missing some really great people, but then I wake up, take my shower, eat some seriously nasty food for break fast and coast through the day relatively happy and upbeat.  Have you ever noticed that most people who are sad are only sad at the beginning and end of the day, when actions are still and life slows down.  Well I attribute loneliness and sadness to a lack of business.  It makes complete sense and I know for a fact that the less busy I am, the more time I have to think about how much I wish a situation was different, or how much I miss the people I love.

Its best to go day by day and Thursday began the insanity.  Thursday’s are good on the boat because we over night in Nawiliwili, Kauai’i.  This is one of my favorite places and has a really nice beach to just sit and relax on.  So every Thursday I sleep in a little and then go out to the beach before I go into work in the late afternoon.  Since this past Thursday was my birthday I decided to do what I wanted to do.  I wanted to get some toe shoes and eat some Mexican food.  Seems small but that’s all I wanted for my birthday that was actually achievable so I splurged and took myself out.  When I got off on the island I was luckily joined by my friend Alan who also works on the ship, but as a cook.  He is from Texas and is one of the few normal crewmembers.  It is a rarity when one can find a normal crewmember.   One who is not constantly gossiping, or extremely eccentric, or even too upbeat for their own good.  I am a fan of calm people and I enjoy Alan’s company because he is very even keel.  Anyways so he joined me on my birthday adventures and we traveled to a local shop called DA LIFE, where I purchased a pair of toe shoes.  After making this grand purchase we went over to Mariachi’s and enjoyed a Mexican lunch.  Alan and I shared in some great conversation and it really lifted my spirits on my birthday.  That night I went back to the ship, like always, and continued my general work shift.

Starting from a new day and it seems the more I try to write, the less I am able to.  Currently I am at starbucks enjoying a green tea and blue berry muffin, but back to the birthday festivities.

So after purchasing my wonderful toe shoes and eating Mexican food, I went back to the ship to work.  I work with two really nice women, Melissa and Robin, and they always put me in a good mood.  Some of my  co workers were really nice and got me a little gift for my birthday and we all went to the Luau to photograph the guests that night, so it was relatively calm.  This cruise has some very interesting passengers on it including the James Bond couple who I want to sincerely thank for their constant smiles and good attitudes.  Mr. Bond was from South Carolina and his wife was a dentist and both of them were two of the happiest people I have ever encountered.  This couple never stopped smiling, or saying thank you, or spreading their happiness and I was thankful for their upbeat personalities because happiness is contagious and I was happy to receive their happiness.

The weeked was generally calm, not too much happened, but last night( Saturday) started a new cruise.  I spent the day shooting all the passengers boarding the boat and it was a pretty calm day.  I was fortunate to have the night off so my friend Jen and I decided go eat dinner up in the passenger areas.  We dined in the Lazy J Steakhouse and enjoyed every bite of the food.  The wait staff was wonderful and found out that I had just celebrated a birthday so they came out and sang to me and brought a little cake out.  It was such a nice gesture and it felt nice to be apart of a familiar birthday experience.  After dinner Jen and I did some shopping onboard and I got a birthday present for my sister whose birthday was yesterday.  I need to mail it to her asap since I’m already behind.

Today I was a pineapple, which was not that bad.  I was pretty sleeping this morning when I woke up but I guess I got a good little work out in that costume.  I sure did sweat a lot in it.  Tonight is another night of shooting the restaurants, but this time a new photographer will be joining me.  I am glad to have another photographer join our team and she seems to really know what shes doing so fingers crossed!

Guests ask me every day if I enjoy my job, and I always reply “Yes, I love it here.”   At the end of the day, I do love it here.  I do not love missing Taylor, and family but I really have a great job and there is no denying that part.  Taylor sent me a care box through the mail and I received it yesterday.  It was a box of birthday presents and as soon as I opened it I started balling.  He sent me a lego Harry Potter set to build, a book based on the Third Reich, Gummy bears and white chocolate, his Bible…which will help when I at a low, and two cd’s full of thousands of songs from his music library that I LOVE!  I am so happy to have new music, but the gift all together was so perfect and is exactly what I needed.  Oh and Tay, I wanted to tell you that I watched GNOMEO AND JULIET…….and it was AWESOME!!!!!! Lol so you now need to go watch it, just cause I said so J

That’s basically been a short recap of the past few days, yet I feel like ive left so much out.  Every day I look forward to getting into my bed at night to write down my thoughts for the day, whether to blog or email, or just to get it out of my head, I have found a love for writing my day down and deciphering every little bit of it.

The past few days have been very high, and quite low.  Like I said, not every day out here for me has been easy.  Some mornings I wake up in a panic almost, really wondering why I am here, and if I really want to be.  Even though I know I am here till December either way, my mind always wonders on life back home, and that makes it really hard to buck up and live life aboard this ship.  Then there are always the really good days.  The days where I can hold back tears every time I talk to Taylor or my grandmother, the days where I’m so upbeat and positive, that I wonder where the pessimistic Aimee is.  I love these days.  Today was a really good day.  I got off the ship for a while to pick up some batteries, met some of the photo kids for a lunch of fresh fruit in the PAX (Passenger) areas…….which I will add is not a privilege to all the crew members aboard.  I am one of the luck few who has access to all of the passenger restaurants, entertainment shows, and bars and lounges.  However not all crew members have this privilege but our small group of photographers do and honestly being able to eat fresh fruit is just like getting a letter in the mail…simple and amazing. Ah well……….

Moving on.  Sometimes I wish I could put a lid on all the excess noise around here.  I cherish the times at night where there is complete silence.  No questions, No answers and no noise from other crewmembers.  I enjoy this time and am very happy when I am able to come back to my room at night and just climb into my bunk and close the curtains.  I feel completely shut off from the world, nestled into a cocoon.  The sounds of the day are enough to mental debilitate one, but the amount of talking I do every day will make me occasionally hoarse.  There are constant “Alohas” or “How are you today?” and never ending smiles.  All with great intentions of course, but very tiring at the same time.

I was fortunate enough to be able to go to one of the entertainment shows onboard the other night.  It was a group of entertainers that did a show called Second City.  It was completely improvisations and very hilarious.  It was a lot of fun to see and it was really nice to go out with a few of the photographers and have a good time outside of work.  I had a great time and its nights like that, that make living here seem like I am actually building a life…not just trying to figure life out.  Tomorrow we will be tendering to Kona, which is one of my favorite places.  I have to be up by 5 am though, and then tomorrow night I have the please of photographing people at dinner.  This is probably my least favorite part of the job, just because so many people do not want their pictures taken when they are stuffing their faces, so its hard when you walk up to them and start flashing your camera in their faces.  I always feel bad when guests say “No, we don’t want any,” even though I know they are just saying what the feel, it does make me feel like I am imposing on their well earned vacation.  To bad though, I have to do it anyways!

I am also celebrating a birthday on Thursday.  Twenty-two years old, yet I feel like I’m in my forties.  I have always felt older than I am, and I have never been happy about that.  All my life I have felt severely ahead of my age group maturity wise and I have noticed that I am not able to relax, let go, and have fun like kids my age do.  I think that this is because I was forced to grow up so quickly.  Even though my grandparents did a wonderful job raising me, they had no control over my mother’s alcoholism and how it would affect me.  In the end it make my sense super aware of how I did not want to be or feel, so I made choices that would generally leave me at home on a Saturday night, while all my friends went out carousing around town.  After my mother died, I realized that I would never be like the other kids, and I would have to deal with the fact that my maturity level did not meet three-fourths of my generation.  In the end this is probably for the best, but I wish I didn’t feel the need to be in bed by 10 at the latest, and could simply go out and have fun and simply “let loose.”  Since this has never been my personality I truly don’t think it will be, and with another birthday coming up my mental age becomes even more present.

Well, in the end life out here is normal and trucking along smoothly.  It is funny though, because every day I think about what I know about life and work onboard this ship, and what the current/future guests do no know about how we as crewmember operate on this ship…or any cruise ship for that matter.  I will say that if you can imagine it, than it is probably true about this place, but in the end it is a job…a well paying job relatively…and I’m touring Hawaii for free…..So is there really anything I have a right to complain about?  No, there isn’t…and at the end of the day I thank my lucky stars for not only a job, but the chance of a lifetime as well.

We’ll let’s begin.  So if there is anything that I know for sure about surviving life on board, it would be that constantly having a positive attitude is the only thing that gets one through the day.  The more down and negative a person is, the less hope for anything good to come out of a situation.  Test the theory, and let me know if you can find any way to disprove it.

Anyways….the past few days have been very busy…working around 10 hours a day, wearing the worst shoes known to man (i.e. anything but tennis shoes) and constantly talking.  Now when I say constantly talking I mean every second of the day I feel I am either conversing with a guest or speaking to a co-worker, no matter the situation communication here is definitely not a minimum.  When I come back to my cabin at night I enjoy the dead silence, and the creaking noises of the steel bulkheads of the Pride of America.  The constant chatter that goes on with crew and then the conversations that I hold with guests on a daily basis are more tiring than the physical work I do.  Language and verbal communication in excess amounts really wears me out I will say, but occasionally I will converse with a guest that is so nice, upbeat and genuinely happy that it rubs off on me and really makes me a happier person.

So here lately I’ve been getting into the swing of things as a photographer on board.  The first 4 days of working as a photographer have been great, exhausting and exciting at the same time.  I’ve started with walking up to people’s tables at dinner and flashing my camera in their face, to posing people in front of a green screen, and general studio backgrounds.  Learning all the different poses specific to male, female, children, groups, etc has been very intense and for 5 hours straight im photographing studio type portraits for families and couples.  Everything I spent the last 4 years learning from the professors at VI has completely helped me do well this week as a photographer and without that knowledge I gained I would not be doing so well in this job.  Now I know that this job is not the most glamorous and there are definitely days where I just want to throw my hands up in the air and scream but overall I really have no room to complain…about my job…or any aspect of my life.  I am so blessed to have come across a job that is even remotely close to photography and get paid pretty well to do it, no matter how much some days suck, there is always a good day right around the corner.

So anyways it is now 11pm, the general time that I’m able to get in bed.  I have actually had a wonderful day.  Currently I am enjoying some of my favorite bands bursting through my ear buds and that’s just to cap off such a good/relaxed day.  I started the day with training this morning on customer service and as soon as that let out, I booked it off the ship to catch some of these beautiful rays of sunshine that are even better being so close to the equator.  We are currently docked on Nawiliwili, HI, commonly knows as Wiliwili, Kauai.  Wiliwili is a great little place to step right off the ship and hit the beach and that’s exactly what I did this after noon.  I went out to get a few things at the store and afterwards headed to the beach to just lay around for  a few hours enjoying the sun and the sounds of Tay’s voice on the other line.  I was finally able to talk to him in a more private area without crewmembers at ever side of the table.  I cannot tell you how happy I was to just stay on the phone for an hour or so and just talk to Taylor.  Hearing him telling me stories of happenings as of recent and just acting like I was talking face to face with him about every day events.  It was the perfect way to really begin my day and put a huge smile on my face.

After I finished catching up with Taylor, I went to mingle with some of the local surfers.  Awesome guys, but all the locals here are so relaxed and easy going that its hard not to get a long with them.  One of the men, named Cesar, sat on the beach with my for a while just conversing about who both he and I are and we set up a date for me to do some free surf lessons next week when we come back to wiliwili!  Cant wait to do that, not to mention anyways of getting off the boat is super exciting.  So eventually I had to say goodbye to Cesar and go back to the ship to get ready for work at the Lu’au.

Every Thursday night we go and photograph the guests at a traditional Lu’au on Kauai.  I didn’t get to say and see the entire fire show but it was nice to have a little bit more relaxed night photographing and any day I am outside enjoying the beautiful weather of Hawaii is a day that I cannot complain about.  After we finished at the Lu’au the team came back to the ship to finish up our shift of selling the photographs that had been shot at Lu’au…( we waste no time getting those photos out for all the guests)

So a pretty good couple of days that followed a rough beginning of the week.  Im happy to say that life is evening our here on the ship and I’m starting to enjoy it a little more each time I’m able to discover something new, or have a few more hours to myself in a day.  Little things make a big difference in life onboard.  Im sad to say that not everyone is cut out to stay on a ship for 5 months at a time and work the jobs they do…..its not for everyone, but by no means is it unbearable or unlivable.  Life is what you make it, thankfully I’ve chosen to make my life good, and well life is good.

First night of work…..went great!  Haha….Well needless to say it was very intense.

To begin the day I started with training this morning, not feeling all that great about being so far away from home.  Some days are a lot better than others, but today just got to me a little bit and I was already extremely nervous about starting work with new people, new photographers and basically completely blind as to what to do and what to expect.  So on top of my nerves,  being exhausted from yesterdays firefighting training and missing hope, I didn’t have high hopes for tonight.

I spoke to Tay in the late afternoon because I needed someone to reassure me, someone to tell me that in this crazy world of billions of people that my feelings matter as well, especially being out here on this ship where basically everyone fends for themselves, when we are actually expected to save each others lives in case of emergency.  Anyways I slightly flooded Taylor with my emotions this afternoon and he listened patiently like he always does and we say goodbye with him promising to say a prayer for me tonight.  Well I think his faith in me and his prayer to God was the only thing that got me through tonight because I got out there in front of all those guests who are enjoying a very intimate dinner setting and started flashing my camera in their face like I had been doing this for years.  I went out with a fellow photographer tonight to learn the ropes and I got it perfectly, I was so amazed at the fact that the skills I spent four years perfecting at Virginia Intermont College, have really paid off!  Now yes I’m not a photographer at some major sports magazine or photography Pipeline Masters(where I would love to be) but I am here and it feels real good to have gotten this far, with the potential to go even further with this company or at least take the experience and knowledge that I’ve gained here into another job in the future.

All of the other photographs are straight Nikon shooters so when I came on board they were all in a bit of shock I didn’t shoot Nikon, but we all get a lot really well and I look forward to working with them as a team.  Well anyways so we did a little bit of a tour of the areas that I would be shooting for the night which are referred to as RESIS(Restaurants.)   This is the part of the job that I was almost having a panic attack over, well not really but close.  I was so nervous that I wouldn’t be able to walk up to these people and interrupt their peaceful dinner with family or friends and stick a camera in their face, but I did, and I did it very well.  I jumped right in there and started clicking away like a mechanical photography machine or something.  It was great.  I got compliments from all of the other photographers and the managers seemed happy with my first day progress and it feels great.  I almost feel like I’ve conquered Mount Everest or something.  This first impression was so important to me and I didn’t want to preform anything less than 100 % and I think I did 100 % of what I was supposed to do.   Well anyways I feel really good about my skill set compared to the work that we are doing here and where I fit in with the other photographers.  Its really a team unit and they all have the knowledge required to do their job.  Im really thankful that not only my first night of shooting people and restaurants went exceptionally well, but that I even have this opportunity to live Hawaii, be a full time photographer, and make some serious amounts of cash.  I mean I’ve got it made as a recent college graduate,  and I’m happy, and life is good.

I have some good days and some bad days though and I know that the work load will build and get a lot more crazy but if I know one thing for sure its that this place is as best or as worse as you let it be and I’m letting it be the best because that keeps my spirits up and I cant wait to get paid and be able to support myself.  Harding part is leaving Taylor, especially since we just announced that we are engaged.  It hurts to not be near him now but his faith in me just lifts me up and I know that no matter how far away I am from him, he will always be mine, and I will be his.

I’m so happy that work to be exactly what I thought It would be.  It was great picking up my camera again for a job, not just my personal work.  I felt great directing people in poses and using/bouncing my flash…and the technical aspects were great as well.  Tonight was definitely a success in my book and I would highly recommend working on the Pride of America to any photography currently seeking employment.  Its hard to leave home but the benefits here are excellent.  If any of you guys are interested just send me a text, or email, or even comment below and ill get you all the info you would need.

A few photos taken at Kuwaii while we were in port.  Currently sailing back to Honolulu to drop the passengers off and to embark on another week of cruising.

Just changed the clock on the mac to Honolulu time.  Interesting day two, much better than day one.  I did not spend the day sad or nervous, no crying today, but still pretty skeptical of what I’m getting myself into.  So far I feel like there is a very huge turnover rate aboard cruise ships and that most of the people work one 5 month contract and then never come back.  My roommate (Crystal) has been on the ship for at least 5 years and is like me, in the fact that this is good money and when the money is good why would one walk away from it.  She says that most people don’t cut it working on the cruise ships and she has seen many people quit because they could not handle the demand of life aboard.  I hope that my three year plan works out.  Im nervous that it wont, but in reality I don’t have another plan as for work.  I am extremely skeptical but I think that is mostly due to the fact that I really know nothing about life here……I hate not knowing.

Mostly everything reminds me of home.   As I lay here each song that plays reminds me of something back home, a time, a place, or even worse a person.  I can see how hard it is to go away.  I did no prepare myself to miss home/Taylor/family this much, I really thought I would be so distracted that the pain of being approximately four thousands miles away from the people I love would not bother me that much…….well I was wrong.  However it makes it a million times easier having such great support and love from people back home.  Everyone is so excited for me and keeps an optimistic outlook which really makes being here a lot easier.  Its better to not talk about how much we miss each other, it just makes me break down into tears and then I start to analyze life here even more.  So thanks guys for being so supportive and loving, I feel so blessed to have such great people in my life.

Today, on a lighter note, I spent exploring MAUI!!!!!  The island is so beautiful, I mean I’m not really sure If I have appropriate words to describe how amazing the landscape is here.  Ill add photos and videos as I make them.  The mountains are simply stunning and are gigantic.  The skies are blue and the ocean sparkles like diamonds.  I hope that in the future months I will find time to explore this great landscape and discover all it has to show me.

Training resumes tomorrow with a first aid class.  Im still adjusting to the 6 hour time difference, right now back home its 2 am and I am pretty exhausted.  Sleeping situation is not bad at all and there is plenty of space in the room.  The bathroom is small, but completely doable.  I am really lucky to have a good room with only 1 roommate so no complaints there.  So say a prayer that life here works out for me and that the experience is one worth making!