My post from yesterday, Friday, August 24th:
Well, it's the beginning of our 5th cruise! Today marks my 50th day at sea on Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam. Today is also the first day after embarkation day which means it's Cantare day. This will be my 9th and 10th time to do this show for a "paying" audience and it is our new cast member, Casey's 1st and 2nd - so happy opening to Casey! We have been in install mode with him for the past 10 or 12 days and this is his 5th of the 6 shows that we do - all we have left is to do NYC with him!!
As I said 2 posts ago, I wanted to write a blog about what traveling and performing has taught me. Just a few life lessons:
I think one of the 1st ones would be that as important as it is to plan, set goals, and have an idea of what you want to do and where you want to go, it is equally if not more important to realize that you are never completely in control and that you should keep an open mind and be able to go with the flow. This can be applied to many things - travel/vacation, your day to day life's itinerary, and your life/career path over time. It is important to strive for things and have a goal to focus on, but the path that leads you there is never as straight and clean cut as you might imagine or hope for. To say it one other way - with an actor's slant - from your own individual perspective and personal interactions, life is an improv game and not a script.
This leads me to my next point: Detours are okay. You never know what you might find, who you might meet, where it will lead. If you keep your loose goal or plan in sight, you will always find your way back, but you will be richer for having taken the detour…even if it is to learn that there is nothing down that road but houses and a small park or a dead end alley-way. Who knows though - maybe you'll find an awesome shortcut!
I've learned, personally, that you really don't need a lot of things in life. Moving to Japan and living on a cruise ship (twice now) has taught me how to whittle my life down to 2 suitcases under 50 pounds, a carry-on, and a personal item. We truly don't need more! Sure, it's wonderful to have comforts and to build a home and have a personal space that you feel comfortable in and I'm not saying comfort and small luxuries are bad…but you don't NEED more to live. It's taught me to be a bit more on the frugal side and to focus more on life's experiences than the material things of this world.
As important as it is to have a (loose) itinerary in travel and goals to accomplish in life, accomplishing them or following that itinerary and seeing the things you want to see should never afford you the notion that you have "arrived" or that you have seen/know everything there is to know about a place. I suppose what I mean in a career/life-goal-oriented sense is that you will never know everything there is to know about a subject or be perfection at whatever it is you are trying to accomplish…there is ALWAYS room for growth and lest you become stagnant, you should always try to better yourself and strive for a more perfect form of that goal. I guess when it comes to travel, don't assume that you've seen it all or the best things or know everything there is to know about a culture or place or people. Not until you've lived there for years can you truly understand and claim "expertise" on a destination.
Finally, as I've said in another post, so much of this stuff is about perspective. If you choose to have a positive and healthy perspective, humble confidence and striving for more should follow.
…In hindsight after writing this blog, a lot of these life-lessons are fairly performer oriented. I think a lot of performers can get a big-head and think they've "arrived" if they get a big job and then become divas (or divos) and also become stagnant. Much of these learnings, of course, come from my perspective as a performer who travels a lot. The travel tips and musings can apply to anybody though, for sure! See some of the popular things when you travel, but give yourself time to detour and get lost and discover something new and you! And NEVER overpack. Baggage fees stink, plus you leave more room in your suitcase in case a souvenir strikes your fancy. Most places have laundry and in most places, the people you are around won't see you enough to know that you rotated the same 3-4 outfits for 7 days :)
Next post, look for pictures and captions and perhaps a brief update of some comings and goings! As always, feel free to subscribe, leave a comment, and share with friends! :)
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