HOME SWEET HOME

For those of you who dont know, I got my ship about a week ago. They gave me the details last Thursday afternoon. The next morning I hopped a train from London to Dover and boarded the Crown Princess. Dover is beautiful...the beautiful white cliffs along the shore and the castles are amazing. I thought my life was crazy in London, nothing could have prepared me for life on ship. Work NEVER ends. If I'm not in the spa I'm in safety training for the ship. I have at least one meeting a day and two classes a day. It's fun, but crazy. After joining in Dover we had one sea day and then arrived in Dublin, Ireland. Unfortunately I had to work this day so I had to admire Dublin from the spa. From there we made our way up to northern Ireland where I was fortunate to get off the ship and see a couple sites. We then set out for Iceland. We should have been there yesterday but due to a bad storm we are being diverted around it and on to Greenland. (Hopefully) Today is my third sea day in a row and being on the edge of a storm i have to wonder if things will ever be still again. Its very rocky. Most crew I've talked to say this is the worst it's been. I cant wait to get to calmer waters. Anyways, after the crossing we end in Florida and for pretty much the rest of my contract we will be going out of Florida and around the Caribbean. Im way excited since this is where the money is made and the sun shines. In December sometime my ship will be at dry dock so I may end up having a couple weeks off before Christmas. Well, I have to get back to work!!! So much to learn so little time! Hope to hear from all of you!

Picture Time!

Finally! Proof that I'm alive. And mom I promise, I never talk to strangers. I promise to get more pictures soon!

London Town

Ok! Let's see if I can get caught up here. I have to apologize, I still don't have pictures up. I have been dealing with some technical difficulties. This last week has flown by. I still cant believe that I have been living in England the last two weeks. This week has been an absolute blast. It started with moving in with the Buckland family. They take good care of me, and Bruce and Barbara are amazing cooks. I share a room with three girls then there is another room upstairs shared between four other girls. We have our own TV room and a pool!!! But that does us no good cuz it's rained ALL week! Maybe before I go to ship I will get to take advantage. Living with the Buckland's is definitely better than having to stay at the Y. I feel more comfortable and at home.
Training this week has been a little bit more intense. We studied stones which is an advanced treatment and had to cram it all into one week. I loved it! Thursday was details day, and unfortunately I didn't get mine. But my two girls did! Brittney left this morning to catch a flight to Denmark to meet her ship. Kim leaves Tuesday for Venice to catch hers. Both girls will be working with Princess Cruise lines. I'm super excited for them.
After a long week of training I FINALLY got a weekend off. I took advantage yesterday and went and toured London! I LOVE LONDON!! We took a bus tour so that we could have transportation to all the sights but still get off and on whenever we wanted to. We started at Piccadilly Circus then headed over to see Big Ben, the houses of Parliament, and the London Eye. We then took a boat down the river and went under the London Bridge and got off at the Tower Bridge where we walked around the Towers and then went to see Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. After that we got back on the bus and rode it to Buckingham Palace. It was all Beautiful. I just wish I had more time to see it all....and more money to tour it all. I have got such the Travel bug. haha. I cant wait to get my ship!!! I hope that everyone is having as much fun as I am, and I will see you all soon. Love you all!!

258 to South Harrow St

Hello! Yes, I am alive over here in London! Just really busy. I have had a very busy week. This will hopefully be quick but let's start with my arrival in London, shall we? I flew into Heathrow Monday afternoon, wow...was it just Monday? This HAS been a long week. Anyways, I never even really got to see London. I got off the plane and went straight to the underground, hauling my luggage all the way! (I have a lot of luggage) I had to switch trains three times before I got to Watford Junction. THEN, I had to haul my hundred pounds of luggage a quarter of a mile to the YMCA where I am staying! It took me three hours to get 25 miles! I was completely worn out. But for the past week I have been staying at the Watford YMCA which is also a halfway house. The common room looks like a room from IKEA but the dorm rooms are pretty ghetto! My roommate was from South Africa and this was her fourth time going to a ship, this time as a manager. She left late last night to get to her ship!!! That's always exciting! Now, the YMCA might be ghetto, but the Steiner Training Academy is wonderful. It's an old mansion that is absolutely gorgeous, and again, the inside looks like Im walking around IKEA. I have already met people from all over the world: Spain, Portugal, South Africa, England, Romania, Ireland, Scotland, and more! I love all of them! Such great people. There are also other Americans here. We have a good time. The training is going good...I am well on my way to becoming "Steinerized." I have to always wear my hair up, and wear a TON of makeup. If I dont look like a hooker, it's not enough. They tend to get upset. ;-) This first week we have been learning the Steiner ways of Deep Tissue and Body care products. I've had to do a lot of memorizing. This next week I will do strictly stone therapy. So by Friday I will be done with my training and eligible for a ship! IF they can find one that suits me. I am excited to get my ship! Tomorrow I have class but after class I will be moving out of the YMCA into the Buckland residence. This is a family that opens their home to Steiner students when the YMCA gets too full. The three Americans just happened to be chosen to move. I am very excited to get to know that family. I will continue living with them until I get my ship. So tonight we went out dancing with everyone since we wont get another chance to see our colleagues other than at the actual academy. This experience has already been an awarding one and also one that wont be forgotten. I know this post is random but I have limited time. I have so many stories but I will have to post them another time. I will also be posting pictures very soon. I love you all!

Where in the World??

So here I am, finally starting my own blog! I know Kay, you're proud of me. I figure this will be the easiest way for everyone to keep up with me...since I'm not even sure where I'm going.
To bring everyone up to date, I have accepted a job with Steiner Spas working on a cruise ship. I am flying out this coming Sunday to London for training. I am way excited!!! (not so much for the 14 hour flight) I will then be in London at the Steiner training center until they decide what ship they want me on....so anywhere between a week and 2 months. They can send me pretty much anywhere in the world! Once I get on my ship, they put me to work and I will be on there for 8 months. I am looking forward to the adventures ahead. So stick with me and we'll go places!!!