April 20 (2)

Hello again -

Today is Wednesday, April 20 and I am in St. Tropez, France.  My parents lived in France for 5 years (before me) and it's cool to me that even though I am no where close to where they lived, that I am stepping on the same ground they did about 30 years ago.  Love you Mom and Dad!  And sister too - she was there.

I'll be honest... I am not sure where I was on Sunday (it was Spain) - I had to work ALL day.  Many ship related mandatory meetings (or as they say compulsory) as well as shadowing the other entertainers in their duties as I will have to do them as well.  The interesting part of the day was that there was NO rehearsal for the show that I was to go into TOMORROW!!!  When I brought this up to the ACD and the company manager, there were different reactions... neither what I would have wanted, but I am a team player and will do what is necessary.  I was able to coerce a rehearsal and felt much better about where I stood!  Whew!!!

So far, it has been a daze because I have still not adjusted to the time change... Been sleeping about 1-3 hours a night (ugh)... Not beneficial to a mind that needs focus... ugh...  I have slept more each night and should be up to about normal soon - my normal was about 7, so I am ready!!!

Monday was a full day... tried on all the costumes that had been altered and they were perfect.  Followed by a tech walk though - mostly for blocking, then a full sound check.  We are using in ear monitors and I have never liked in ear, so I had trepidation about it.  The sound check was very useful and I'll be able to live with the mix of the in ear (although the show was different from the sound check - lots of variables). After the sound check we ran the first show (River Rhapsody) and I ran it as a show - with costumes.  It went very well and I felt good about the show that night.  I ran the show on my own about an hour before call JUST to make sure I knew the flow... Those who know me well know this is very normal for me.  :-)

River Rhapsody started at 9:45 and I felt apprehensive for about 20 seconds and then it all came back to me.  It was AMAZING to be back on stage, doing what I love.  Show came down and the cast was SOOO supportive of me (not only after the show, but every second I have been on board!!!).  They invited me to the crew bar for a small celebration.  I gladly accepted and couldn't have been happier to be a part of this team!!!

So... Tuesday... we were in Marseille France.  I had to follow some duties until about noon and got off the ship with Keely and Terra Jo (my Nebraska friend).  It took 1/2 hour to get to the city center and we needed to be back in 1 1/2 hours, so we had about 1 hour to explore.  We found a starbucks - Yup... I'm in France and I am enjoying Starbucks.  Next time in Marseille - no starbucks.  What I did see in the brief time I was there is that the architecture is AMAZING!!!  I want to tour the city to see all the detail, age, etc...   There is a carousel right in the middle of city center (downtown in American).  Something to look forward to!

So... I wanted to catch up and I feel that I may have forgotten MANY details, but hopefully once all the shows are open, I will have more time to post more frequently.

Last thought...  So many of you have been so supportive of me and it has been a driving force!  I can't wait to show you videos of the shows!!!

Love and Peace...  Especially to those who lost someone in the storms that passed though...

Kyle