Secret Admirer.

So the "Week Ten Part Two" blog post isn't ready yet...but I know that if I don't upload something soon that Mama Stoney is going to lose it. So here is a funny little story that just happened yesterday!

January 30. Wednesday.
I checked on the laundry before the Shout tech rehearsal that afternoon & then locked the dressing room back up. Later on when I arrived an hour before the first show, everything was unlocked and Hannah (the new singer dancer) was there doing her make up. I sat down at my desk and noticed a strange envelope with my name on it. Taped to the envelope was a package wrapped in a plastic shopping bag.

Hannah had no idea what it was & neither did I. I opened the letter first and read the poorly written note aloud, which was greeted by Hannah's howling laughter. I proceeded to open the strangely wrapped package to find a fish paperweight. Literally a small dead fish in a block of plastic. Hilarious. And pretty gross. For obvious reasons, Rosie & I agreed that this guy should be named "Fish Man".

Who was this mysterious gift bearing secret admirer? Was the fish a hint that he worked in the sushi restaurant? Since he apparently likes the top of my head, does that mean that he is taller than I am? Is this actually a foreign secret admirer or just James playing a prank? We may never know.

But I will certainly keep you all informed if any new developments occur.

Week Ten.

PART ONE of CHRISTMAS WEEK!
You better go fix yourself a beverage and a snack. This is going to be a long one, ladies & gentlemen.

December 23. Sunday.
This was the day I had been anxiously waiting for! The Dvornik clan was about to take over the Norwegian Star for the entire week! That morning i could hardly contain my excitement, so I didn't even try. I hopped off the ship & over to a fabulous restaurant for breakfast and mimosas with James & Rosie. (Yes, I spend every Sunday with them. They're pretty neat.) Then we got some shopping done in the French quarter, all the while I was receiving excited text messages from my mother on the clan's every move as they got closer to the port. Stone said everyone was annoyed with her because she couldn't stop squealing. Hilarious.

I couldn't wait any longer so I headed back to the ship. I was so excited I didn't even put away my shopping bags before planting myself at the gangway to wait for them. The whole family had to wait in a security line before boarding the ship that rivaled an amusement ride line at Disney. I passed the time by dancing on the gangway with some Youth Counselors dresses as elves for about an hour. Suddenly, in the glass tunnel bridge that connects the seventh floor of the ship to the port, I spotted a curly haired bouncy woman waving ecstatically at me. THEY WERE FINALLY HERE!! Stoney half pranced, half bounced down the gangway into my arms while screaming and clapping the entire time. The elves got out of the way. Patrick was there in his sailor costume & got hugged too! Gracie, like a gentle little puppy, and Carter, like a young politician, enveloped me in hugs next. Daddy Skip filmed the whole thing and then took his turn. GrandMother and GrandDaddy brought up the rear poised and elegantly, of course. It was so exciting to finally be surrounded by my beautiful family!

I helped them find their rooms where plates of chocolate covered strawberries were waiting since they were on the VIP list. Later, I met them on the pool deck for the "sail away" performance. Stoney bounced into the library where the cast was waiting & hugged James and Rosie immediately. After they performed, we ate a late lunch in the buffet which GrandDaddy promptly renamed "The Trough".

That night we had two "Welcome Aboard" shows because the ship was at full capacity & my family came to the second one. Throughout the show the Cruise Director involves different audience members and in typical Dvornik fashion, they stole the show. The "Grands" had been married the longest out of all the audience members & GrandMother was given a diamond pendent necklace. When GrandDaddy was asked what the trick is to staying married for 53 years he responded "keep the champagne cold!" He couldn't have given a more perfect answer because they then gave him a bottle of champagne! Later, at the end of the welcome show Carter was brought onstage as part of a funny trick. The cruise director puts four guys from the audience in chairs arranged in a square. Each guy is facing a different direction and they all lean back so their back is on the lap of the guy behind them. Then the chairs get taken away & they're stuck in that silly position. The clan went to bed after the show & Daddy went with me to the midnight buffet. We talked up there for a long time. It doesn't quite compare to our kitchen in Florida but we made it work. Overall, it was a funny & random first day.

December 24. Monday.
Christmas Eve & Sea day! I worked at the shopping talk & half of the family found me there in the theater. Stoney walked in because she heard my name over the microphone & there aren't usually many other Teale's running around. Afterwards we woke up the three sleeping bears & grabbed lunch. The whole clan wanted to catch the magic show that afternoon & then I gave them a tour of my domain, the dressing rooms! Grace & I stayed for the Xmas show rehearsal while everyone retired to their cabins for a nap.

That evening the whole family & I dressed up and went to a VIP reception the Captain had invited us to. I love showing off my clan! Afterwards, I ushered them into the theater for the spectacular Christmas show! It was a special night not only because it was Christmas Eve but also because they got to see a show I'd styled & costume designed. I love sharing my creative projects with my family. The theater was standing room only and received a standing ovation! After the performance, all seven of us piled into the Grands cabin to exchange gifts! It really was gift enough just to have everyone there.

I hated leaving them, but I needed to head backstage to check on everything before the final show. Some of my family came back for the second performance. Another packed house & standing O! It really was a beautiful show. James & Rosie did a phenomenal job creating something that touched so many people. After the show the cast had a Secret Santa gift exchange outside the dressing room. Lots of screaming & flying wrapping paper. Then I ordered room service in my parents cabin and de-briefed with them about everything. It was a wonderful night.

December 25. Tuesday.
Christmas Day in Costa Maya!!
The cast had all made plans to go to Forty Cannons, the beach front restaurant we always go to. James previously arranged for a giant table to be set up for our Christmas lunch there. The Grands stayed on the ship but the rest of my family & I met on the gangway and headed into the port to grab a taxi. Normally that's no problem but this week with our ship at capacity and a Disney ship docked next to us, the line to get into a taxi was insane. We were finally able to pile into a charter bus so full that we had to stand in the isle. I felt like we were back in Bangkok. Plus I was carrying a giant wrapped box for another gift exchange which just added to the humor of the situation.

The five of us finally made it to the restaurant and settled in for lunch with the entire cast. I love watching my worlds collide, especially since my family always makes such an effort to connect with the people I'm with. This specific instance was extra fantastic because my cast is extremely rambunctious and full of strong diverse personalities. I don't think that when I was younger and Daddy Skip would encourage me to always surround myself with interesting people that he was imagining one day spending a major holiday in Mexico with a group of eccentric entertainers. Actually, never mind. Have you met my family? He's with a group of eccentric entertainers everyday!

Lunch was delicious and full of love & community. Mama Stoney hugged and made friends with everyone. Grace & James enjoyed making fun of me together. Carter was confused as to why two of the dancers were wearing heels at the beach. Daddy engaged in a deep conversation with two of the ship's engineers. The white elephant gift exchange was hilarious & I got a three foot, 3D, cardboard build it yourself shark from Patrick!

Earlier in the month Rosie had the idea for us to decorate this big dead tree in the beach with little ornaments. So after lunch we climbed the tree and hung our little decorations. Then a group of us played catch in the ocean for awhile. On our way back to the ship Daddy bought us ice cream & it felt nice to be taken care of again. It was a perfect day in paradise.

That evening we joined GrandMother and GrandDaddy for dinner in the Aqua restaurant. Family dinners are always hilarious, especially this one as we debriefed about the day we'd just had. Afterwards, stuffed and happy, we went to the theater to see the Russian aerialist couple's show.

I don't usually slow down long enough for reflection, but this Christmas season I paused and tried to absorb it all. So much has changed in my life this past year and its amazing to see how God's plan has unfolded. I am thankful for the creative people I get to work with and for my budding career. I am also extremely thankful for my community and unceasingly supportive family. This life is pretty beautiful!

& Stay tuned for part two of the Dvo family vacation!

Tree-Gate.

*The pictures documenting this night are all on Rosie's phone & will be added in later.

Back in October Rosie put in a request for two Christmas trees to be ordered for the Holiday show. Other than these trees there was no set or scenery. They just utilized the fog machine, lights, & electronic lifts on the stage to make each number diverse. Rosie continued to put in requests and reminders about the trees and was assured they would arrive. Guess what? The trees didn't come.

In order to half-heartedly, quickly fix this problem, two trees that had been in officer cabins were delivered backstage. They looked like a 5year old boy had decorated them by using a slingshot to launch tacky ornaments and garland randomly around the trees. The strings of lights on the trees were multicolored and blinked so much they could probably induce a seizure. I'm not even being dramatic for once. That's literally what we were given to use on stage.

For opening night Rosie literally had no choice but to use them. But for the following week something had to be done. So the night before the show the two of us tackled the impossible armed with craft supplies galore, christmas music, & wine. First we half drug, half carried the sad trees into the stairwell so they'd be next to each other. Then I channeled Edward Scissor Hands and groomed the trees branches into submission. I cut branches from the back to make the fronts appear fuller. We used super glue and elastic to attach red & silver bobbles, sparkly leafs, and glittery holly spriggs. Thankfully Mama Stoney had sent me lots of cute red holiday ribbon which was a nice added touch to the tops of the ornaments and made them look less like cheap products from a Mexican Walmart.

Even though it was a stressful situation, Rosie & I ended up having so much fun creating something beautiful from a pile of glitter on the floor. The next day I added classy white lights to the trees, courtesy of mine and Rosie's bedrooms. For the final finishing touches I draped white fabric to create tree skirts, put rope lights over that, and then sheer gauzy fabric over the lights to create a softer look. Once again, I am thankful to be a Southern Living at Home protege.

I wish I had taken before and after pictures! This silly Tree-Gate situation is just another example of why I love live theater. You have to create something that will look beautiful onstage. It doesn't matter if the back is being held together with tape and paper-clips as long as the front is ascetically pleasing. Sometimes I feel like a fairy godmother waving my magic wand. You'll never have all the supplies you need but you have to utilize what you do have and make it work. GrandMother always said that there is always more than one way to solve a problem!

Week Nine.

This wasn't a super crazy week. Mama Stone keeps saying I don't have to do a play by play of every day but I'm this far in and I just have to continue now! I'm not OCD...just enthusiastic about organization & chronologically logging events. Nerd alert.

By the way, the previous week the Hotel Director & Cruise director watched a dress rehearsal and liked the Christmas show so much that they canceled Shout & gave "A Holiday Wish" the two evening main stage time slots! Exciting!

December 16. Sunday.
Every few months the entire crew has to go through US Immigration. Since my last name is at the beginning of the alphabet I had to roll out of bed at 6:45am and report to one of the dining rooms. I proceeded to wait in a crowded line for over an hour until I finally made it to an immigration officer. Not a happy camper. By the way, out of the whole crew I have the cutest passport cover thanks to the Bouchard family. I finally made it through & ate breakfast in my super attractive sweatpants by the pool while talking to my mom. It was one of those "wow, I live on a cruise ship" moments.

Rosie, Martina, & I then made the trek over to Walmart. I bought two little Christmas trees! Usually I am not a Christmas fanatic but this year because we had to make the holiday great for ourselves, I loved getting in the spirit! Rosie's obsession with the holiday also helped. Anyways after shopping we waited for a taxi outside that never came & then the wonderful Kaci came to the rescue again and picked us up! We had todo some more shopping in the French Quarter and then went to lunch at a fabulous restaurant off canal street called The Ruby Slipper. I love shrimp and grits!

Kaci dropped Martina & I off near the port to wait for James & Rosie as they ran one final errand before we boarded the ship. We looked ridiculously comical sitting on a bench by the side of the road with all of our Walmart bags piled high around us. Basically we looked like weird hoarder homeless people.

Between the four of us we managed to get all the packages back to the ship & headed up to tech rehearsal. Everyone was happy to find out that our new cruise director Pedro had canceled Latin night so they didn't have to preform that bumper any longer. Apparently "South Beach Night" doesn't work with this Southern passenger demographic. & I was overjoyed to receive two big boxes full of Christmas goodies for myself and treats for the cast from Mama Stoney!

December 17. Monday.
Sea day. The usual activities occurred: shopping talk, art auction & Band On The Run. Things in the art world changed a little bit though because the auctioneer, Luke, left & a new art auctioneer started. His name is Urgan, he is from Austria, & really likes doing Terminator impressions. So original.

December 18. Tuesday.
Costa maya! James & Rosie finally got off the ship for the first time that month! I was so happy. The first thing James does when he gets to the hotel is order a giant Anthropologie style cup of coffee.

That night the Captain invited the three of us to dinner! We went to the steakhouse on the top floor of the ship, Cagney's. Amazing. I had a food hang-over the next day.

December 19. Wednesday.
Belize. J, R, & I got off for the first time! The water is too shallow for ships to dock there so they have to anchor out in the ocean & then smaller tender boats shuttle people to shore. We wandered around the city for a little while & then ended up at the good old Radisson hotel for lunch & wifi. That night the crew put on a Christmas talent show in the theater. There are no words to describe it. My favorite quote from the evening was when a guy walked out on stage with sheet music and Caleb exclaimed, "he's not even off book?!"

December 20. Thursday.
Roatan. I will never get used to being woken up by blaring sirens signaling that boat drill is to begin. But I guess that's the point. Sophie had to be a pretend casualty passenger. After standing in the heat while wearing life jackets for 45minutes, Sophie, Montana, Jess, & I headed to the freezing theater for an Entertainment department meeting. And thennnn we had to leave that meeting early so we'd make it to a new crew member orientation class. Um, it's been nine weeks. I may have grumbled a bit..

After class, Jess & I layed-out on the top deck to thaw our freezing bodies. Then right before the ship set sail we got in the crew jacuzzi in the bow of the ship. That's my favorite thing to do on Honduras day. It's absolutely gorgeous looking up at the rainforest mountains as we cruise away into the sunset. My life really is a roller coaster of one extreme to another.

That night we went out for sushi with James & Rosie. R and I devised a plan on how to resurrect the two Christmas trees we had been given to use for the show. And so began fixing the situation known as "Tree-Gate 2012." Stay tuned for the full story in my next post. Unfortunately it's not as dramatic as Flood-Gate, but it's still ridiculous.

December 21. Friday.
Cozumel. In perpetration for my family being on board the next week I didn't get off the ship and worked all day. I got so much work done so that I could spend as much time with my fam-jam as possible & wouldn't have to worry about anything. Then I blogged on the upper deck & went running.

When Rosie returned to the ship I helped her set up the trees on stage before the tech rehearsal. The trees looked great but needed a little extra touch so I snuck around the ship and "borrowed" two big poinsettia plants. It's all for the art, people! The Southern Living goddesses would have been proud of my final product. & Both shows went great that night!

December 22. Saturday.
Sea day. Art auction & Elements. Can you say Groundhog Day? So I let my girls do my make up really silly. Every color of the rainbow was on my face and I looked like a beautiful fairy princess. Obviously.

Never Never Land.

The day my family left the ship after cruising with me the week of Christmas I was very sad. Christmas was over and they were gone. We had such a fabulous time together & I've never been good at goodbyes. One time I read somewhere that I miss you" in English translates into "you are absent from me" in French. I don't know if that's grammatically correct, but it's true in my life.

Anyways, I just found this paragraph I'd written that day when I returned to the ship. I'll admit that at the time I was listening to Taylor swift and crying. Not dramatic at all.

December 31.
When I told the captain I was sad because my family was gone he replied with "you aren't a little girl anymore. You're a woman now." Wow. At first I was like, I guess he's right. They didn't drop me off at summer camp..this is my job and I need to get over it. Even though I don't feel like an adult and still don't really understand the whole 401K thing, I am a "grown up" now.

But then I decided that is total baloney. I accept that I have entered a new chapter of my life and I suppose I'm technically an adult but I will never let go of the little girl inside of me. I never want to grow out of the way my eyes get ginormous when I'm excited, or how I adore the Disney Princesses.

My mom will always be the most beautiful woman and my dad will always be my superhero. I'll never be too old to hold my granddaddys hand on a walk or to let my grandmother take me shopping. I'll absolutely never be to old for movie marathon sleepovers on the couch with my siblings.

I will never stop being amazed by the simple miracle of getting to live a life I adore for another day. And I hope I'll always be able to love the people I'm surrounded by so fiercely that I just can't help but cry when saying goodbye.

Flood-Gate.

This event occurred on December 15, 2012 & will forever be known as Flood-Gate.

Four days earlier water started appearing backstage stage left in the stairwell. I figured it would have been fixed by the time Elements day rolled around. I was wrong. And it had only gotten worse. Instead of a puddle it had grown into a full blown flood & none of the other tech people seemed to be concerned. I lost it. When I get mad it's really frightening. I kind of jut out my jaw like a bulldog and growl like an angry Soprano mob member when I speak. Super attractive. Most of the time I don't even realize I'm doing it. So when I charged into the theater where the cast was gathered for a meeting, everyone froze.

In a low chilling voice, much like Meryl Streep's in The Devil Wears Prada, I asked the production manager if she was aware a monsoon was occurring backstage. Not only would the mysterious pipe water hurt my already delicate costumes but it was a major safety hazard for all the performers. She replied that yes, she'd called the plumber again. Plumbers on ships are the same as plumbers on land. No one knows when they'll actually show up.

As you can correctly guess, I took action myself. I was always taught that if you want something done then you should make it happen and that true leaders are the first ones to pick up a broom. So collected as many towels as I could carry and ventured down into the newly formed lake.

*Side note: when you exit stage left you walk into the wings and then through a door onto a landing with one staircase leading up to the dressing rooms, one leading down to a small storage hallway that enters into the theater and one that is 3 flights tall and takes you down to the I-95.

I began to mop up the water and to my horror discovered it had stared spilling over the landing & down the stairs to the small hallway. As I was soaking up that water I was completely enraged to find the water had further flooded underneath the stairs and the landing. I retrieved a headlamp and maneuvered my way underneath the stairs to clean up that mess. This was a challenge not only because I was now in the dark but because 5 large ladders were being stored under there. I felt like one of those little Disney mice that looks adorable but is hanging out in the underground sewer system.

I finally finished drying the floor and lugging two baskets full of soaking towels up the stairs when sweet Elyse timidly informed me the flooding had started again. Fury. This was not my job and none of the stage techs had even offered much less tried to help me but I was going to fix this problem. And that's when I broke. I started crying and questioning my career choice as I knelt on the cold floor surrounded by wet towels. It was a sad, frustrating, & pathetic moment. The dancers were scared.

Finally the "plumbers" arrived. First they stared at the crime scene, they proceeded the investigation by knocking on a few pipes, one of them crawled into the wall, and then they talked to each other in another language. I didn't yell, but I sternly said that the show starts in 10 minutes and I will be kicking them out soon. Finally someone had the genius idea to turn off the water.

In conclusion, the show went fine and I would not let anyone put their costumes on the floor. I learned that not everyone is going to care about certain things as much as I do. Life is hard. & Sometimes you just have to strap a flashlight to your head and fix the problem yourself.

Week Eight.

This was a really crazy, busy, fun week. I worked 94 hours total. There is this saying that if you do what you love you'll never work a day in your life. I don't think that's really true..I mean, even a surf instructor is going to have hard days. I am blessed though that I'm passionate about what I'm working hard for.

December 9. Sunday.
James, Rosie, Jess, & I got off the ship early and got breakfast in the French quarter to kill time since the mall didn't open until 11. Then we went back to the port and waited for the crew bus to the mall instead of taking a cab. That was a mistake. It took forever. We finally made it to the mall at noon and discovered it opened at 9am for holiday shopping. Annoying. Our time is precious people! Anyways, we all got most of our Christmas shopping done in a few hours & took a cab back to the ship.

Kaci met us by the port to drop off some mail and packages that had been delivered for us that week. She's literally the sweetest. While the cast was in their tech rehearsal I had a fitting with the replacement singer that was sent to cover Jenna's spot in Shout. Her name is Jacqueline & she's a ship veteran. Lucky for me she fit into everything! & Later that night after all the performances I had fittings with the cast for the Christmas show. So many sequins!

December 10. Monday.
Sea day. Jess & I worked the shopping talk and then I went to the art auction. I've never worn heels this much in my life! That night we had two successful Band On The Run shows.

Earlier that day I complimented a passenger on his Big Bang Theory t-shirt. (Its a popular tv show) It turns out this mans name is Professor Tony & he has like a five hundred doctorate degrees. He is friends with the guy who invented the Butterfly Effect and Chaos Theory. Seriously. He is the most intelligent human I've ever encountered. I am the queen of ADD & I even had a hard time following his train of thought. After talking to him I felt like I'd been hit by a train. I just love making friends with strangers!

December 11. Tuesday.
Costa maya! It was a rainy day but Patty, Jacqueline, and I had fun on the beach at Forty Cannons. Some of our Second City friends were there too & through email I meet two of their famous friends! First, Megan told YouTube comedy sensation Brian, The Sassy Gay Friend, that I was a huge fan & he said I was cute and called my a stupid B! Don't worry, that's his tag line. I died. Then Brett emailed a dorky picture of me waving to his friend TJ, also known as the guy in the passenger seat of those funny Sonic commercials. Too funny.

My hilarious day just kept getting better. That evening I was going out to dinner with the captain! As in the guy who is in charge of our entire vessel. Unreal. A highlight was walking past the art gallery with him and watching all the silly art boys jaws drop. (Insert hair toss here.) He took me to the French restaurant La Bistro. Fantastic food and great conversation. Captain Kostas is from Athens, Greece, has been a captain for over 14 years, and adores traveling. He also thinks I'm hilarious, but who doesn't?

December 12. Wednesday.
Belize. I stayed on board because I had to be at the Shout tech rehearsal. Jacqueline, the new replacement, was doing the run in her costumes so she could practice the quick changes. Afterwards Jess & I worked on the Christmas costumes until show time. We put rhinestones on everything possible. It's my latest obsession.

December 13. Thursday.
Roatan. I slept in and worked for a little. Patrick & I went to the gym together that afternoon. He is so fun to do activities with.

That night James, Rosie, Martina & I made plans to dine at the Japanese steak house restaurant. I called the captain to invite him to join us but he declined. When the four of us arrived at our reservation time the hostess said there wasn't room for us. Right then the Captain showed up! He went up to the manager & suddenly there was room! We couldn't believe what was happening. Kostas didn't join us for dinner but he sent over a bottle of wine AND picked up the bill. Talk about feeling like Cinderella!

After our delicious dinner we wandered downstairs into Gatsby's lounge where the art guy were hanging out. James & Rosie went to bed but I stayed with the silly boys. Luke, the English auctioneer, gave me a hilarious compliment: "You're hair is looking like sleepy golden ribbons of awesomeness." Everything really is better with an accent.

December 14. Friday.
Cozumel. Patrick & I went to breakfast & then spent the rest of the day lounging in the sun at the No Name bar. After an hour we got bored and decided to take a walk. We stumbled upon a little park with a ton of strange woodland creature and disney character mannequins. It was so random. I wanted to steal a penguin but patty said he'd be mad if he had to bail me out of a Mexican jail.

Back on board we had the final dress rehearsal before the opening night of "A Holiday Wish". Both performances that night went great! I was backstage during the first one to work out any kinks with the quick changes & I watched the second show from the house with patty & Jess. & The Captain came and sat next to me in the front row. During Dana's number "Santa Baby" she came off stage and sat on his lap! He turned red. Too funny.

Everyone was so happy the show had opened successfully and James led a toast backstage. There wasn't much time for the cast to relax because everyone had to go get ready for the midnight Burlesque show. But the celebration continued in the Spinnaker Lounge afterwards, then made its way down to crew bar. At the end of the night a handful of us ended up in James & Rosie's cabin. Nothing bonds people like eating room service pizza and chicken fingers on the floor at 3 in the morning.

December 15. Saturday.
Sea day. I got to sleep in! I headed up to the art auction at noon. & I just love the passengers. There was this spunky 40 year old Baton Rouge lady named Kathy who was there with her mom & 6 year old son. They met me at the beginning of the week & greeted me with big smile and hug every day after that. They adored all of the costumes. I also met a lot of Alabama fans that week including a couple from Boaz! (I have family that lives near there.)

That afternoon I went to work & to the gym. I was calm and ready for Elements that night, but when I arrived in the theater all hell broke loose. Stay turned for the full story in my next post about Flood Gate 2012.