You know it's been a GREAT day when...

...your most noticable tan lines are the laugh lines on your face(not unlike the all too common racoon tan)!

Soo it is yet again time for my (monthly) blog update.

They say time flies when you are having fun, I can't believe that it is only 1 more week until my SA holiday!

With the yacht being back in the yard, we are finally in one place for a fairly extended period of time. Summer has come to an end and everyone(a huge percentage of them SAFAS) are returning to Fort Lauderdale. With the boat show and Halloween next week everyone is in full swing.

We are currently recarpeting the boat. The yacht looks like a cross between a crime scene and a smurfs tea party. Last week Lindsay and I covered the entire interior of the boat with blue-diamond(a protective plastic covering). No one can live onboard for the time being, so Tiem, Dave, Fish and I have moved into a house just a few blocks from the yard. It is such a treat to have my own room and a massive bed so I can starfish to my hearts content!

I recently spent a weekend in Miami visiting a friend I haven't seen in months. My time in Miami consisted of days of lazing on South Beach, and evenings in some of the most exclusive clubs in Florida. My last day in Miami I went to a regatta. Basically what this means is hundreds of boats head out to a sandbank anchor off and tie up to one another, and you can swim and walk from boat to boat. Everyone jams out their music and the beers are cold and endless. Needless to say the next week was spent recovering from too much sun and too many late nights.

The following weekend a bunch of us stinky SAFAS rented a car and drove up to Sebastian for the weekend. We spent a super mellow day hanging out at the airport where we later proceded to jump 13500ft out of an aeroplane. Experience of a life-time, but never ever again! I was so frightened that I felt like I was going to throw up! I don't think Mark, my tandem partner, would have been to pleased.

This weekend began on Thursday, with a Chandlers Pre-boat show party at the local pub Waxy's.

Friday night we rented a black Hummer limo. We started the night off with oversized(aka american sized) margarittas at the beach front, then onto Downtown for some live music, and ended off at a techno dance club and some gambling at the Hardrock Casino-what a night-thanks Linds for organising!

I was in retail heaven on Saturday. Tiem and I drove out to Sawgrass Mill Mall, which is like Access Park on steroids! Some of the outlet stores included Gap, Lacoste, Guess, Michael Kors, Tommy Hilfigure, The Body Shop...I could have spent three days there had it not been for a phonecall from a friend saying a couple people were heaeded out the the Florida Keys for 2days. The conditions there are not unlike Shark Bay Langebaan. A narrow beach stacked with kites and calm shallow warm water. The wind was steady and fairly light, so perfect for me to get a lesson in. By the end of the day I was up on the board and tacking up and down the beach for a solid 25min. It gave me more of a rush than skydiving.

Back at the house now and feeling sunkissed and sleepy. It has been such a great weekend, and I'm greatfull that the time is nearing for home.

See you all SOON :)

What goes up...must come down!

Today, October 2nd 2010, marks the first day of the LAST trip of the season, and most importantly one month until my arrival at Cape Town International Airport:)

I am happy to report that I am feeling alot more positive since my previous entry. Every day I am learning and growing and am better able to take on new challenges.

After an extremely busy, and exciting, season in New England, we are back in Florida.
We had a fairly challenging trip, dancing with the hurricanes, on our way back down the coast. We embraced every day (and every huge swell) with brave faces as we slowly but steadily made our way back to Florida, knowing that with each mile we were all nearer to "home".
At times we had to duck off into docks away from the rough seas which further delayed our journey-this proved to be a blessing in disguise, as we were fortunate enough to spend a few days in Savanah Georgia where I delighted in all the antique shops, beautiful weepy trees hanging over the side walks and cobble stone streets. Of all the cities I have seen over the past 8months Boston and Savannah are closest to my heart, and I hope to return there someday.

On September 24th we reached our final dock at Bocca Raton, Florida. We arrived in the rain- everyones children and wives were on the dock to welcome them home - I suddenly felt a little less excited, and I little more lonely.
What better cure than spending the weekend in Fort Lauderdale(the town where I started my journey in March) with a bunch of South Africans....so that is exactly what I did!
It is amazing how a combination of good company, biltong and retail therapy can soothe the soul! Thanks Lindsey, Kylie, Pat and Breeny for a great weekend, and welcoming me into your home.

After a great weekend in Lauderdale I returned to Moonraker and we all set out in full force to get the boat in supreme condition for the bosses arrival at 2pm on Saturday....well today is Saturday... and it is 6.30pm now, and no one has been able to contact the boss man, and we are all somewhat concerned???

That aside, we are all excited for the upcoming "yard time" where we will be "dry docked" for 6weeks. We will be replacing carpets, and having other work done on board. Our girl is a little tired after the long season and is in need of some TLC.
During this time, we will be staying in a cute house in Lauderdale. This will be great as I will be closer to friends (currently it is a $150 cab ride to from Bocca to Fort Lauderdale-ouchie!).

With all that said, there is much to look forward to in the near future...top of the list being my visit home in November. I often see names of restaurants, eat foods or have experiences which trigger memories of home, and bring to mind family and friends, and each night when I monkey climb up into my bunk and look at your faces collaged on my wall I am at peace and know that no matter how lonely I feel at times I am never ever truly alone.

See ya soon amigos!

Love love love X

"If you didn't have badluck, you'd have no luck at all"

"Kayleigh, if you didn't have bad luck you'd have no luck at all" a good friend recently told me.

As I stood earlier today, it was hard to argue this point.

After a long month of 18hr work days and very little sleep, I was excited to be going to the Bahamas to spend time with myself , reading, sunning, swimming and relaxing...

Apparently only I could go to a 3rd world country and start off my vacation by:

Losing my debit card(the 2nd one in that week( note to anyone planning to visit the bahamas, the locals do not take kindly to people who can't pay for their hotel room, they will make you sleep on the street!!! Thanks for saving me dad!),

Be bitten by a FISH while snorkeling in shark infested waters,

Be conned into paying for an expensive meal I did not order,

And contract a bacterial infection, all in a 4 days!

On returning to the safety of the USA, I find that someone has hacked into my bank account and taken out all my money. SA banks are closed, so that is another challenge for tomorrow.

The work day is done and the New York streets are a rat race of people leaving work.

I was walking back to the boat with my newly developed underwater shark pics in hand and I felt cold water from a leaky aircon drip onto my knee. When the sensation occured again I realised there was no dripping water, and that my pelvis has started to rotate again and was pressing on a nerve which is causing the feeling.

I felt angry with the world and was at a point of near meltdown right there on the sidewalk, when a rather rotund lady walked by me. She looked tired yet light on her feet, the energy she gave off was contagious as she happily sang to herself. I took a detour back to the boat just so I could walk inconspiciously behind her, I couldn't help but smile when she was near me.

I remembered a story Kristen had told me about how some people are like rays of sunshine, they are so radiant that everyone can share in their warmth.

There are days like today when I find it hard to smile and be positive. I am lonely, scared and feel like everything is a struggle. But when I think of my the people I love and the big man who watches over me, I believe I will wake up tomorrow with renewed strength, when hopefully I can be someones sunshine...maybe even a stranger on the sidewalk.

As my wise mummy has always told me, "little girl...as you sow, so you shall reap..."

In times like these I am thankfull

I wrote this entry in my sketchbook after my final dinner at Ciao the local Italian restaurant, which I frequented(5 dinners in 7days to be exact!) while in Myrtle Beach:



After slowly working my way through a delicious pot of mussels and the BEST cappucino in the entire US, I sit outside with my feet in the more than tepid water of the pool, and listen to the rolling thunder. As I reflect on my week in Myrtle Beach I bring to mind all the extremes of emotions I have recently been through.



To be in bad health is not an easy thing when far from home.

The decision to spend my 7days leave in a southern, sleepy, seaside town with no internet, tv or familiar faces, was not the easiest decision to make.



My vacation began with a 2 hour flight, which turned into a 5hour pain in my ass-literally! 11days prior an unexplicable pain had started in my lower back and within a couple days had radiated down my legs and into my feet-the pain was relentless even with paikillers. The extended flight didn't help, on arriving at the condo I took a long bath and called it a night. The next three days were spent relaxing, sketching, reading and physio appointments.



Due to my gimpy hip and lack of transport, I wasn't able to see much of Myrtle Beach, so my fond memories were formed by the people I met



In times like these I am thankfull for the simple things:



The loan of a house from a generous friend



Sleeping in until 6pm



Sitting inside in the coolth of the aircon and seeing the turtles in the lake below basking in the midday sun



Having a neighbour use a credit card to shimmy my door open at 3am because I'd locked myself out



Being taken under the wing of a cab driver so selfless and empathetic that he was willing to lift me after hours at no cost



Spending an entire day reading a cheesy romance novel



The appreciation I felt for my massage therapist, who though clumsy, has the most intuative and healing hands I have ever felt. I wish her the best health with the birth of her first child in November.



The comfort in knowing that no matter where in the world you are you can always phone your mum for the best advice.



Spending half an hour infront of the cracker aisle in the Hungry Lion with 2 store assisants and a friend on the phone trying to select the best crackers for cheese. Needless to say I walked out with 4 different varieties



A night and sunrise spent at a cabana on the beach listening to universal music and talking about cheese-I like unusual food, but am yet to try some of these ethnic treats: melted cheese in hot chocolate, feta roll dipped in coffee. A Russian, a Lithuanian, a Libian , a Puerto Rican , a Yugoslavian and a South African, all sharing cheese and a Southern sunrise together



Sharing a meal with a new friend



Winning a monkey bigger than myself at a funfair



Chatting to a newly retired couple at the pool about their completely different upbringings, and how they had met and fallen in love



The comfort of knowing that on return to NY I have a home and a family I have quickly learned to love.

I will never forget the time I spent in Myrtle Beach and the wonderful people I met...
I am back home now, and my hip is doing much better.

The boss arrives onboard tomorrow and we will be heading up to Marthas Vineyard, Nantiket and Boston...new places, new faces andnew memories. Life doesn't get much better than this. I lost my cellphone on the way home from the airport yesterday, so facebook and email are my only means of communication for the next couple weeks.

Sharing is caring

Sharing a bunkroom the size of a walk-in closet doesn't only mean; sharing clothes, scheduling showertimes, deciding on movies together, you even get to share hormones...imagine this...2girls who both get pms twice per month! It's pretty scary stuff. I almost took our chefs eye out last week by launching a toothbrush at him because he teased that the boss was coming in early (and it wasn't soft bristle!).

Our charter guests arrived on Thursday eve. They are such a romantic couple, and lovely to be around.

The husband arranged that a personal shopper, Julie (who dressed the ladies for the 2nd Sex in the City movie) deliver an entire wardrobe of items to the boat before they arrived. The Mrs was taken completely by suprise as she entered the room decked out in designer shoes, jewelry, bags, shoes and accesories.

On arriving in NewPort yesterday our chef took the guests to the seafood market. They returned with nine 3pound lobsters, one for each of us!!!!!!! They are very cute creatures, but too rich for my taste unfortunately.

I am enjoying work more as I get used to routines and procedures, but looking forward to my time off in June. I have started searching for reasonable tickets to Colorado to visit Nikki and her hubby, I am told it is beautiful in the summer :)

I'll bend over backwards for you anyday

We arrived in NY yesterday at 2pm,and after and hour of being interrogated by the coast gaurds(aparently stopping at the statue of libery fo 10 min to take photos is suspicious activity-go figure?) us ladies headed out for some much needed retail therapy , followed by an amazing meal in LittleChina, and a limo trip to TimeSquare to marvel at the lights.

Today was back to reality and getting ready for the bos mans arrival the following day.

After a day of polishing brass and windows until I was literally red in the face, I headed down to the ChelseaMarina Gym to get off the boat and mellow out (I was super cranky hormonal chick today).

I decided on a yoga class and proceded to lay out my brand new pink yoga mat and waited for the class to start. The music began and in walked the instructor...it's obvious why this class is so popular with the ladies-He was tall, muscular with the smoothest foreign accent and stared dirrectly into your eyes when he spoke to you.

After contorting, sweating and turning myself into a human pretzel I returned "home" to find a delicious smorgesboard of seafood fresh from the market (oysters, escargo, sole, seafood sausage and steamed broccoli)....aaaah Mikey you always do us proud...it's no wonder my skorts don't fit me anymore!

Boss arrives tomorrow, and we have a charter starting on Thurs with guests I have never met. Season has begun and it is going to be a great one!

Landsickness...are you for real!

So after 8hours of running yesterday, and feeling slightly green, I was only too glad to reach St Augustine and set my feet on stable ground.

While competing in the Moonraker MiniGolf cup I became increasingly aware that the ground was moving...it is a weird sensation to feel "landsick", it's like you can't escape the motion of the ocean no matter what you do. The boys explained that this happens less frequently the more you travel.

In the evening we headed down to Harry's cajun seafood restaurant for dinner, and too present the cup to our new mini golf champion, John. I had fried green tomatoes as an appetizer-tasty little morsels they are!
Dad always says I should write my co ordinates in each entry so ppl can get a feel for where I am, but to me the food I experience defines every new place I visit.

We are running for 6 hours today so should reach the Hilton Head by 2pm.

East Coast Cruising

Today is first of our 9day trip up to Manhattan. We had a little engine trouble this morning, but are now steadily headed our way having spotted 2 sea turtles and loads of dolphins(and no, I have still not seen a manatee, though I do feel like a baby manatee myself at the moment)!

On our most recent trip with the boss we were fortunte enough to spend a night at a very swanky suite at the Westin Diplomat Hotel. We ordered pizza, chocolate cake and milk at 1am and watched chick flicks and woke up the next morning to a delicious spead of pastries, preserves,eggs and cuppachino on our balcony(one of 3) which overlooked both the ocean and marina.

I was on antibiotics last week due to a throat infection, so was unable to join the rest of the crew at Universal studios. I did however have a great relaxing weekend at Orange Lake Resort in Orlando where I lazed at the Cabanas and got some serious napping in, this helping with my speedy recovery.

8 hours since I started this entry and we are just arriving at St Augustine where we will hold the annual Moonraker Mini-golf Cup, better get my game face on haha!

xxx

"I'm on a boat, I'm on a boat..."

Where to start....
Today is my first day "off" since Easter and I've definately made the most of it...slept in this morning and lazily headed to Diamante Day Spa, emerging 5hours later feeling refreshed and revived after after my Sitari package(consisting of a facial, manicure, pedicure, massage and oxygenating bath).

First trip with the big boss under my belt I am feeling far more confident and at ease in my new enviroment. Am pleased to find I don't get sea sick:) There is no better sleep than when the boat is underway. Mr "X" and his wife are such kind generous people. They are canadian, have three sons and spend majority of their time onboard playing gin rummy and enjoying the fresh air on the aft deck.

I'm really enjoy the rotational schedule we operate on when we have guests on board. Myself and Tiem alternate being on service and beds and heads.

Service day- "early" wake up (8am) set the table for breakfast and wait for the guests to surface. Every day without fail they skip breakfast and just have brunch at 2 and dinner around 9/10pm . Service day is often a late night, but the service is casual and the crew have a pretty social time in the galley while you keep an eye on the guests with the "service camera"

Beds & Heads day- late wake up (9.30am) make beds, clean toilets/heads and chamois the showers and change out towels. It's like a workout day really, you sweat like a mofo, but you get to be absent minded all day as the service girl keeps an eye on the guests.

Both of the days have their perks so it works out great with alternating days.

SO much more to tell, but will have to save that for the next entry as Tiem and I are headed downtown for a spontaneous night out.

Till next time xxx


Still hoping to see a manatee

Happy Beaster!

Great way to spend Easter...on the beach....Beaster!!!!!
Frizbee, beers, bodysurfing followed by cocktails and din on the deck with my new fam, best way to dull out the homesickieness from the morning.

Thursday night went to a great Thai restaurant, Coco's, for "the last supper" on land. Food was great, but I was a little sad to leave my new housemate and our cosy little homecooked meals behind.

Fri was my first official night on board.
I am sharing a cabin with the new chief stew Tiem. Our cabin has just bn completely refurbished-we each have a flat screen tv above our beds and the most comfy matresses ever-heaven after a long day of work! And long days they have been...the boss arrives on Wed and we have totally transformed the interior from a cluster of bluetape into an actual living space with polished marble and shiny stainless...

About to sit down to "Where the Wild Things Are", got a sleepy, sunny head so will prob pass out soon. Lots of love to all. Miss you madly.xxx

The grass couldn't be greener...

It is Sunday eve and I'm finishing off yet another tin of apple pie.

Sorry for not getting back to emails and messages, it has been a crazy week!

On Monday I started off dayworking on Moonraker, by Wed I was permanent crew. To go through the sequence of completely random and seemingly coincidental events that landed me at this point is just ridiculous. All I can say is karma is definately on my side this week...must be those girl scout cookies that I bought. (Thanks mum and everyone for all your prayers and support).

My new onboard family consists of 3 big brothers Mike, Dave & John, Kristen chief stew and the boss man, Captain Matt (aka Mr Nut/Mutty), and Tiem a beautiful bubbly asian girl who is soon to join. I will be moving onboard on Fri, the bedrooms are currently being refurbished, so currently enjoying starfishing in Jax bed as our sleeping quarters are rather tight onboard:)

Soon we(crew only) are taking a 10day trip up to Manhattan, Matt plans to stop at a new historical village every day. The owner-who I am told is a kind, humerous and warm man-lives in Manhattan, and will be onboard regularly while we spend 3months there. This time round
I plan do do some proper NY shopping:)

After one day of having joined Moonraker, and thus finally having found a place of comfort, I get a call from Jackie, to say that her and Patrick have been offered a job in St Lucia and will be flying out the very next morning. It couldn't have happened at a better time, we are all so very lucky.

I have a new house mate, Sam. I am so glad to have her company for my last week here. We took a trip to the beach on Sat(where I fell asleep and roasted myself, as you will see in the pics) and we have a great time cooking meals together, she also loves fresh light foods.

Fri was a fun day at work. Kristen and I spent the most of the morning shopping for my uniform- everything is super cute. Loads of golf t's, strappy tops, skorts and my favorite, a 1950's style swim suit with overskirt for beach picnics, hehe. After our shopping extravaganza we met up with the crew at the Samba Room for lunch to celebrate Kristens birthday...beautifully presented food and wicked margarittas!!!!!!

Saturday night was madness...myself and 8 others took a limo down to Miami to celebrate Craigs birthday. The first club we visited was fairly upmarket with pools and palmtrees and various levels with different djs, later we went to Mangos,(more my scene) a salsa club with professional dancers on the bar, and the best cocktails ever. Ended the night with a mixed lamb and chicken pita at 4.30am, doubt our limo driver was too impressed with my tstsiki spillage!

So thats my week in a nutshell...really the grass couldn't be greener anywhere else in the world....I am happy and strong and looking forward to so many new experiences and adventures!

Tried adding pics, but taking too long...

Big love

Spring Break = Plett Rage on steroids!

School is out and the clubs are raging!

It has been a muggy day, walking home from the pub the clouds were light up by the lightening, followed by the slow rolling thunder, the heavy raindrops started to fall just as I reached the front door... a nice relaxing end to a fairly manic weekend.

Headed tp Miami on Fri. Noel took me on a tour of South Beach on his scooter, it's like the Camps Bay of Miami. Drove by crazy exculsive islands, took a walk on the beautiful beachfront & watched the surfers, witnessed crowds of people desperately trying to get photos of the Kardashians, ate Mofango at an awesome little restaurant(if you don't know what that is, don't worry, nor do I, but it tastes SOO good:)). Our night really began shortly after 12pm, we took a cab downtown to meet up with some girlfriends at an exclusive club called FloridaRoom. Here you don't pay money to enter a club, you pawn off beautiful girls. The bouncers literally sift through the line and let all the trendies in, if each guy doesn't bring at least one pretty girl with they wont let you in. Danced alot and had a great time.

Spent the better part of Satuarday recovering and later did some well deserved retail therapy, got a cutsie dress and a pair of 9West sandals.
Headed downtown FLL, where we started out at Cayote Ugly, then Americas Backyard(which I love, it is open air, and you feel like you are chilling next to someones pool with buxom blondes serving you drinks), next we stopped in at TheBrick where a girl in a g-string and bra danced on the bar and proceded to pour shots down our throats. At 3am we wound down the night with a hubbly at Off the Hooka and peperoni pizza for the taxi ride home...best night out so far, fun people and a good energy.

Today is a very important day as I FINALLY bought batteries for my camera,so no more excuses! We all had a lazy day today recovering from the weekend. Really looking forward to starting work with Cpt Matt tomo on MoonRaker. He reminds me SO much of dad,and I think I will get along well with the crew. Will let you know how it goes!

Sitting on the couch eating a tin of apple pie filling with extra cinnamon and reflecting on my week. The apartment is quiete, Jax and Pat are working, and I'm on standby while they put the boat back in the water, so I get to play on my new toy(my tiny new laptop) and rest my very tired bruised body.

I have been dayworking on MoonGoddess this week, the 120ft tender to PrincessMarianna. I have been doing mans work, and eating like a man to compensate for the heavy load on my body.I am fortunate in that I can save all the money I make-I get collected at our apartment in the morning, and the boat takes us our for lunch at a new restaurant everyday-yesterday we headed to an amazing little deli, know only to the locals, where we had freshly made baguettes with various hams and sprouts and salads, the pertions are always so huge, so I tend to eat my leftovers for din. I truck around the boatyard in overalls, with a massive mexican sunhat(boat owners are mexican). Every day is like a crazy gym session, the guys made me a belt at work yesterday cause my pants keep falling down. As soon as I'm comfy in a size3 I'm taking myself shopping :)I am the official engine room monkey, climbing into the smallest spaces to polish and clean, bumps and bruises are a common injury down there, I find a new blue stamp daily. My supervisor Noel has taught me loads of tricks-of -the trade..."work smarter not harder" he tells me daily. Going through to Miami this weekend where he lives, to check out the lifesyle of the rich and famous and to experience Miami night life.

Wed was St Patricks day, and after a long day at work, I resided to sitting on our green couch and decided that was festive enough for me. Though after recieving a phonecall, from the Captain that had interviewed me on Monday, asking if I would work for them part time so they could get to know me better, I decided a drink down at the local was in order. It is so nice to feel safe enough to go out by yourself, and everything is walking distance for the most part.

I have bought myself a sketchpad, and have started drawing again, don't think I have done so since 2005! It is really helping me to unwind, I found last week to be a little tense, but every day I feel a little stronger and braver than the day before. I can call

I realise more and more how lucky we are with our living situation. After a day of work it is nice to come home to your own space, and a home cooked meal. Jax and I take turns making din, and Patrick does the dishes, and for now we are all happy with that arrangement. We eat well, so far we've made lasagne, stirfry, BBQ, beef stew, prawns with baked jelapenos, chicken schnitzel(Pats speciality dish) food in general is fairly cheap, with the exception of fresh fruit and veg

Just got a call from the bossman to say the boat is in the water, so gota run.xx

Happiness is...

Happiness is...remembering you have leftover chineese in the fridge, rediscovering an old passion, meeting strangers on the train...

It has been a challenging yet fullfilling week. I worked my first shift on a boat on Fri. 6hours of ironing napkins to the sweet sound of your thoughts is a chilling experience to say the least(though the pay was worth the painful boredom). I'm told that polishing engine parts is worse, though I don't believe that engine parts are all the same square size and shape.

I was chatting to a lady on board and she suggested I enquire about work on a boat across the yard, I took the email and contact details and thought little of it until today. I sent through my CV this afternoon and within 10min they called and asked me to come in for an interview.

Saturday night myself Jax and Pat took a trip down to the local Mexican restaurant to celebrate us all working our first day on a boat. Amazing food, the best nachos and margarittas you have ever tasted(Megs it's worth the trip just for them Margarittas!), was a pretty boozy afternoon/eve and we all woke up this morning pining for a slice of Bovril toast!

Headed downtown this eve to Off The Hooka(Cubana style club) with hubbly, couches and cocktails. Spring break has just kicked of and I swear there were bus-loads of schoolkids streaming into that place by 10am! Scary!

Northbound to West Palm Beach

36hours on planes&airports, 3hours in JFK terminal without passport, 20 min on a scooter, 1hr13min on the train, 5min in a big ole blue station wagon, and I find myself sitting around a BBQ, cold Corona in hand with Jimbo sitting next to me. Happiness is....finally reaching your destination.

So I always try and follow the mindset that everything happens for a reason...the reason seldom being obvious or "reasonable" at the time. I nearly screamed when I missed my train to West Palm last night, Pat and I arrived on the scooter just in time to wave the train off.

While waiting on the station I met friendly Australian, apparently "Australians are awesome", and coindidently he is working on Deniki(the boat I was waiting to hear from). He told me abit about it and said that the position I'd applied for had been filled the previous day. Was nice to have company on the fairly long trip.

My train ride home at 7am was slightly less amusing, had a guy sitting opposite me eagerly telling me about the computer gaming site he works for and repeatedly showing me on his cellphone how to play the games, even though I made it completely clear that I was not into computer games nor chatting about computer games at 7 in the friggin morning!

While queueing at the grocerry store this eve, the young girl infront of me was having trouble carrying all her shopping bags and sleeping puppy. I offered to help her out, carrying stuff to her appartment just up the road. This was purely a selfish act, as I was desperately wanting to cuddle the crystal blue eyed, freckled faced Kiara, the sweetest, sleepiest little pitbull in the universe! Will catch up with Kiaras mum this weekend for a drink. The people here are all so friendly...I love that about this town...I also love that there are no fences around the houses, you can safely walk anywhere even at night, everyone recycles, there are palmtrees that are so green they look fake, our local grocer does 2for1 specials all the time, people drive slowly & when you cross the road cars actually stop for you, the constant hum of V8 engines...so much so much, I could keep going...

Recieved an email from Luxyachts today to say that the chief stewardess of Deniki had requested that they resend her my CV...so we'll see what comes of that...but have my first stint of "Day Work" tomorrow, excited to get onto a boat and get some experience!

XX

Exciting times

Rolled out of bed this morning with a hazy head from a night of eating steak, playing cards and boozing...wow I sound like a man. My head quickly cleared after I got a call from the recruitment agency to say they have submitted my CV for a job they think that I am suitable for.

According to the recruitment agency Deniki has a young vibrant crew, and James has coincidently partied with some of them before while in StMaarten...it really is SUCH a small industry. It is a pretty amazing vessel in both size and design. 171Ft, 12crew, 12 guests, and very interesting interior decor, (check out this link to read an article and see pics.http://www.amels-holland.com/editor/assets/artikelen/Amels171_DENIKI_ShowBoats_English.pdf).The position they are looking to fill is a stewardess/massage therapist and they are looking for immediate start.

Well I have made myself available, so if it is meant to be it will be,but finding it hard to sit back and just wait on a phonecall.

Patrick just called from work to say that the owner of his boat has offered that Jackie join them on the trip to Miami this weekend. It is a short trip(3days), so she can get a feel for the motion of the ocean as well as learn a few tips of the trade from the very casual, friendly lady owner.

Other than that today has been a lazy day for Jax and I. I am lying on the couch updating my blog while Jax gives me a pedi :) Spoilt girl. Enjoying the chilled times cause when we all get to work it is going to be busy busy busy, and am looking forward to that too!

Love to all xxxx

A day of firsts

First time dockwalking

First real american barbeque

First time partaking in a game of Asshole

First time riding a scooter (or attempting to at least, almost took out an unsuspecting bush)

2nd attempt at finishing the 2L bottle of vodka

Had a BBQ with our very friendly neighbours(also yachties...seems everyone here is in the industry).

Pat found day work today and is headed to Miami for 3 days. Have applied for a couple jobs and doing another round of dock walking tomo. Have my heart set on a crew chef job in Palm Beach...fingers crossed. x

Home for now...

So why am I at home updating my blog on a Saturday night??? Was on my way down to the local when I started having visions of that movie "Taken", soooo didn't even make it 10steps out the door.

Weather is starting to warm up, took a walk down to the beach yesterday. Beaches are not unlike Cpt re water temp, but our sand back home is softer and whiter. 

Very happy in our little appartment, we have been cooking loads(jax even baked a chocolate cake yesterday) and experimenting with making cocktails. 

Food and booze is fairly inexpensive at the stores, but going out drinking is rather pricey. The price of 3 drinks could buy you groceries for an entire week!

Trying to eat healthily and walking as much as possible, thinking of buying a bicycle. Saw an awesome pink cruiser online last night:) Pats scooter is such a blessing tho for getting to places that are further!!!  Starting running with Pat & Jax on Monday.

We made the BEST discovery yesterday...the Dollar Tree...everything costs $1 or less...we stocked up our little appartment with $1 pizzas, toilet spray, microwave popcorn, herbs, 8eggs, burgers, washing baskets, toiletries...they sell EVERYTHING! Am yet to try Ben & Jerrys (will remember your recomendations Nix), but the cookies 'n cream from the $1 shop is pretty tasty!

So the question that everyone keeps asking; no I have not seen James yet. He has just finished charter in the BVI's, and should be here next weekend for a visit:)

Well that's about all the news we have. Have taken pics of our appartment, will hopefully post them tomorrow.

Much love xx

Fort Lauderdale

1&2 March

Arrived safely in FLL after a rather bumpy ride. After 5 nights of sleeping on aeroplanes and sofas a bed was more than welcome(tho sharing a bathroom with 4 strangers is an adjustment)! Spent the first 2days signing up at agencies, buying grocceries and orientating ourselves. 

3 March

Just cracked open the champagne & chocolate jello to celebrate-while jax and pat were taking their new scooter for it's maiden voyage they discovered a really awesome appartment for half the rent!!! Our new place is clean and modern and I have my own room with walk in closet:) A good place to call home for now! We have our own BBQ, patio and we are super close to the agencies and shops now! Happy days :)

NEW YORK NEW YORK

Welcome to my blogJ Figured this would be the best way to keep everyone posted, pls excuse all the typo’s, there will be many many to come…

 

Fri 26^th.

We had to circle the airport for over an hour while they cleared the snow off the runway. Very lucky to arrive when we did because the snow stopped the very next day.

Lost my passport in the JFK terminal, kept having the horror image of having to live in the terminal...like Tom Hanks in that movie!

None the less after many hours of tears and police reports they let me leave. Fortunately they phoned an hour later to say it had been handed in. Biggest relief!!! Has made me appreciate being here just that much more!

 

Went to the top of our 51 storey apartment to look over the city all covered in white, it is BEAUTIFUL. Have taken lots of photos and hope to post them soon.

That aside I think I'd find NY pretty miserable without the snow, I'm not a fan of built up areas, if I was keen for that I would have caught a flight to Jbg ;)

 

In the eve Brett, Jackies cousin, took us on a drive by of NY, was amazing to see time square at night!

 

Sat 27^th

Alot colder today as the snow started to melt. My earings literally froze to my ears(I should have listened Meg), pulled the skin right off! Never imagined how cold it could be!!!!

 

Went to Victorias Secret, like 2 kids in a candy store, so many colours and frilly bits!! Then we took Pat to Toys R Us so he could feel “manly” again.

Also visited central park, empire estate, times square, century 21.....7 hours of walking and catching the subway trains, we were all pretty exhausted.

Met up with Ryan (Jax younger cousin) for din and cocktails, pizza was SO huge it could have fed half of Ethiopia(everything here is “super-sized”)!!!!! Then proceded to drink at the Iron Horse, club/bar, Cayote Ugly vibe with skankily clad girlies dancing on the bar counter. Drank some Hairy Beaver local cider stuff. I was convinced that the altitude was effecting my alcohol tolerance, but apparently sea level is the same everywhere in the world…thanks for geography lesson Pat…hmmm blonde roots showing

 

Sun 28^th

Took the Staten Island Ferry to look at the Statue of Liberty today, she looked as green as I felt.

Had a look around china town, awesome lunch there, after lunch back to central park to slide down the hills on a kiddies inflatable tube then a Park tour on a horse and cart thingy with comfy seats and a fuzzy blanket.