Sunday, December 27, 2015

2016

I think 2016 needs to be a selfish year for me, a year for myself. I am tired. Tired of supporting everyone emotionally in my professional and personal life. I am drained and I need to start thinking of myself first instead of last.



Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Merry Christmas

This Holiday Season, please remember peace on earth weighs more than gold and silver.

Wishing you and yours the best Holiday gifts around your Christmas tree; Health, Peace, Joy, Prosperity, Gratitude and Happiness. 

Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad & Wesolych Swiat!
Natalia


Saturday, December 19, 2015

Great message from Michael Moore: We are all Muslim

By Michael Moore

Today I went & stood in front of Trump Tower & held a sign until the police came. Then I went home & wrote Donald a letter. Here it is:

Dear Donald Trump:
You may remember (you do, after all, have a "perfect memory!"), that we met back in November of 1998 in the green room of a talk show where we were both scheduled to appear one afternoon. But just before going on, I was pulled aside by a producer from the show who said that you were "nervous" about being on the set with me. She said you didn't want to be "ripped apart" and you wanted to be reassured I wouldn't "go after you."
"Does he think I'm going to tackle him and put him in a choke hold?" I asked, bewildered.
"No," the producer replied, "he just seems all jittery about you."
"Huh. I've never met the guy. There's no reason for him to be scared," I said. "I really don't know much about him other than he seems to like his name on stuff. I'll talk to him if you want me to."
And so, as you may remember, I did. I went up and introduced myself to you. "The producer says you're worried I might say or do something to you during the show. Hey, no offense, but I barely know who you are. I'm from Michigan. Please don't worry -- we're gonna get along just fine!"
You seemed relieved, then leaned in and said to me, "I just didn't want any trouble out there and I just wanted to make sure that, you know, you and I got along. That you weren't going to pick on me for something ridiculous."
"Pick on" you? I thought, where are we, in 3rd grade? I was struck by how you, a self-described tough guy from Queens, seemed like such a fraidey-cat.
You and I went on to do the show. Nothing untoward happened between us. I didn't pull on your hair, didn't put gum on your seat. "What a wuss," was all I remember thinking as I left the set.
And now, here we are in 2015 and, like many other angry white guys, you are frightened by a bogeyman who is out to get you. That bogeyman, in your mind, are all Muslims. Not just the ones who have killed, but ALL MUSLIMS.
Fortunately, Donald, you and your supporters no longer look like what America actually is today. We are not a country of angry white guys. Here's a statistic that is going to make your hair spin: Eighty-one percent of the electorate who will pick the president next year are either female, people of color, or young people between the ages of 18 and 35. In other words, not you. And not the people who want you leading their country.
So, in desperation and insanity, you call for a ban on all Muslims entering this country. I was raised to believe that we are all each other's brother and sister, regardless of race, creed or color. That means if you want to ban Muslims, you are first going to have to ban me. And everyone else.
We are all Muslim.
Just as we are all Mexican, we are all Catholic and Jewish and white and black and every shade in between. We are all children of God (or nature or whatever you believe in), part of the human family, and nothing you say or do can change that fact one iota. If you don't like living by these American rules, then you need to go to the time-out room in any one of your Towers, sit there, and think about what you've said.
And then leave the rest of us alone so we can elect a real president who is both compassionate and strong -- at least strong enough not to be all whiny and scared of some guy in a ballcap from Michigan sitting next to him on a talk show couch. You're not so tough, Donny, and I'm glad I got to see the real you up close and personal all those years ago.
We are all Muslim. Deal with it.
All my best,
Michael Moore
P.S. I'm asking everyone who reads this letter to go here (http://michaelmoore.com/weareallmuslim), and sign the following statement: "WE ARE ALL MUSLIM" -- and then post a photo of yourself holding a homemade sign saying "WE ARE ALL MUSLIM" on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram using the hashtag‪#‎WeAreAllMuslim‬. I will post all the photos on my site and send them to you, Mr. Trump. Feel free to join us.
P.P.S. - To sign my statement for #WeAreAllMuslim, go here on my website:http://michaelmoore.com/weareallmuslim

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Contract Number 13, 9th year in the Caribbean -- Part 2

Alright Part 2 of my Caribbean adventures.

One of my craziest weeks on board when my very first roommate from nearly 10 years ago came to cruise.  Emily and I were a disaster together then and we are a disaster together now, haha but I had a blast. We did a lot of excursions and I was running on very little sleep but it was worth it.

Off roading in La Romana

Off roading in La Romana

Off roading in La Romana

Off roading in Aruba

Off roading in Aruba

Off roading in Aruba

Off roading in Aruba 


Off roading in Aruba

Off roading in Aruba

Emily and I are planning to go to Vegas together. It's going to be a disaster!

Now I don't know how I ended up with so many South African friends but South Africans and Canadians always seem to get along. And one of mine and my  friends' favorite ports is St. Maarten, this time around we found a new spot for food and drinks.






Also had a chance to catch up with one of my dear old friends in Ocho Rios, Jamaican (his home town) when we were in port. Invited him over to tour the ship and I got these awesome shots.




And of course we can't forget the crew favorite of Cozumel, Mexico.  We haven't been there in 6 months and the island has grown significantly; new businesses, restaurants and more cruise ship traffic. The owner of Fat Tuesday was nice enough to throw a Thanksgiving Party for us when 4 of our ships were docked, it was so nice to catch up with old friends.




We had a rare late night call to Aruba just before holidays and we had an opportunity to wonder around. It was lovely to do some shopping and to watch the day into the night. The island was already  decorated for Christmas and it looked lovely!










And in the spirit of the holidays, we also had our fabulous Christmas Tree up in the lobby.


 I had one last opportunity to hit the beach before going home. Grand Turk is wonderful as the beach is right off the pier. Chanel and I brought our adult sippy cups and off we were.

Yoga on the beach


Adult sippy cups


I was due to sign off on my birthday which in a way is nice but in a way is not as you spend your special day traveling. We went to steakhouse a  few days before my actual birthday. We all met up at our favorite bar and funny enough, all the girls were in black and if I must say so myself, we all looked stunning!




My actual birthday I spent with a few good friends in Miami having unlimited all you can drink mimosas. It was a perfect and lovely way to finish off my 13th contract.








Even though I consumed bottomless mimosas for 5 hours, I still managed to get to the Miami airport on time. I didn't get a chance to eat and there was no food on the plane so I did what every reasonable person would do, I kept drinking ;)

I arrived home safe in one piece, filled out my immigration paperwork all wrong, got my luggage, had my bestie pick me up and rolled up in my warm and sweet home. The next day my niece, the love of my life woke me up.  I unpacked, did my laundry, packed again and made my way to Poland.

Oh the life of a seafarer :)






Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Contract Number 13, 9th year in the Caribbean -- Part 1

Things happened so fast and my contract was over before I even knew it. I was at home for a few day and didn't get a chance to catch y'all up before I took off to Poland. Imma do my best to do that now.

This contract I was a lot more social. Spend some time making new friends and building and strengthening old friendships. Managed to see a few more new places and revisit some good old favorite spots.

One new one was Altos de Chavon in La Romana, Dominican Republic. It's a cute little place fashioned after an old town.














Like I mentioned, I rekindled old friendships and made new ones.  I have always said and always will, the best thing about ships are the people. Here's a shot of my favorite ladies and I on a crew party night.

Isn't this a gorgeous photo?



I have to say that I had a very hard working team this contract. These guys work around the clock to make everyone happy and sometimes it was impossible to get them to take a break. We did have some fun though and I managed to sneak everyone out for a beach date.  Kind of hard to do so as one of us always has to stay on the ship in case of emergency.

HR at the beach in Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos

One of the things that us seafarers have that land folks don't have is the abundance of themed parties and I just LOVED getting into the themes.  This one was Bollywood and I ordered a Saree and had one of the Indian ladies help me out. My makeup took me forever but I absolutely loved the effect when it was all done.






Courtesy of our wonderful Shore Excursion department, we also do crew tours from time to time. This time they took us to Gibbs Bay in Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos. Just gorgeous!




















And who can forget Halloween, my favorite holiday. The best holidays to be on the ship is Halloween and New Years, the best parties ever!  And of course we went all out.













 End of Part 1.....more to come soon.....