Over a year ago I was released from my grown up job too exhausted and burned out to know what I wanted to do next. I vaguely remembered that traveling and acting were the things that made me feel most alive, but I didn’t know quite how to incorporate those things into my daily life style while also providing an income. I asked my gut, the universe, my inner being, my angels to light up the path in front of me. The voice said rest. My lease was up 6 months after my job ended. I thought I would get stir crazy or ready to do something in that time, but I didn’t. I had wanted to go back to Europe since returning from Italy broke. The grownup job was meant to pay off my debt and create a financial cushion to go back to the other side of the Atlantic. I didn’t need the voice to tell me that it was time to manifest the trip that had been building in my imagination over the last 5 years. I bought a one way ticket to London and put my stuff in storage, unsure of how long it would be there. At that point I saw a three-pronged fork in the road. I had an audition for a theatre company that tours Germany (acting and travel). I had scouted out Baltimore as a place where working in the theatre would be more accessible than in Denver or New York (acting). Or something else might come up.
In Paris I got an email from a travel blogger I follow to buy a package of web tutorials on a variety of ways to live a location independent lifestyle. One of those tutorials taught ways to get a job on cruise ships. The package only went on sale once a year for a couple of days (I’d been notified about it before, when it didn’t quite make enough sense for me to make the investment). I bought it. The more I traveled, the more the voice told me I was on the right path. I loved being in a different place every couple of days. I didn’t mind sleeping in bunk beds with other people in the room and only having access to the stuff that fit in my backpack and carryon suitcase. Getting a job on a cruise ship seemed like the obvious next step.
Back in the US in July, I devoured the advice on Get a Life at Sea. I adapted my resume, wrote killer personalized cover letters and applied to every cruise line on the list. At the end of August I got an interview with Royal Caribbean. Then a hurricane hit Florida and I never heard back from the guy who was supposed to get in touch with me with the next steps (the guy who interviewed me said he would pass me up to the next level).
When nothing was happening I contacted Amanda from Get a Life at Sea for extra coaching. She gave me some pointers for my resume and cover letter and passed those on to a Canadian recruiter for Princess. In October I was filming my video interview for Princess from the hotel room in Boston before we hit the town.
Then, back in Sacramento I heard from a recruiter I had contacted from Carnival. I went through the process and was offered a job! The pay was high, but Carnival mainly works out of US ports. I had been to roughly 80% of the places they went.
I continued going through the interview process with Princess until I received an offer from them as well. Princess ships go all over the world. Both companies require a medical exam with a strict BMI (body mass index) policy. To work at either company I would need to lose 25 lbs to be considered ‘fit’. This challenge (which I’ve written about previously regarding my choice of attitude) has given me the priceless opportunity to hang out with my Aunt Wendy and Uncle Stu. Right after my sister was born, my mom convinced Wendy to quit her job and start a day care business. Wendy was like my second mom, and I liked it at her house so much that I didn’t see why my parents should pick me up in the evenings just to bring me back in the morning. I suggested they leave me with Wendy and just pick me up on the weekends. My mom didn’t think that idea was as cute as she does now. When I graduated from high school I took off and haven’t gotten to spend enough quality time with my second mom. There’s something about the day to day updates that have a different quality than the stories you get when you call to check up on someone you love.
So for the past few months, I’ve been walking around the vineyards and weaving through the streets of Clarksburg. I’ve been sneaking more plants into our meals and eating fewer of Wendy’s cookies than I want to. Wendy loves to play with her horses, but she is drawn to helping the kids who struggle the most in school. I was even able to help a couple of kids who were having a hard time with English– I had a blast helping them interpret poetry and scenes from Shakespeare plays. I joined Stu at the local bar for Happy Hour (he had to convince his buddies that I was really his niece and not his mistress). On Wednesdays we help feed the homeless at Loaves and Fishes.
I’d been losing about 4 or 5 lbs a month, when suddenly I got an offer from Princess to join a ship that went to Australia, New Zealand and Asia! I still had 10 lbs to lose! Some people in the know told me to go for it, so I scheduled my medical, took some laxatives and cut out everything but plants and lean protein.
Three days ago, I got the email saying I was ‘fit’ for work at Sea. The next day I was offered a contract to Hawaii, California Wine Country and Alaska from March 19 to September 15. Today I received my joining paperwork and flight information.
At first I was disappointed that I wasn’t going to New Zealand just yet. I am glad, however, that it lit a fire under me to complete that last step. As the news has settled in, I’ve felt relief knowing that I’ll be able to call my friends and family from US ports without having to search for wifi hoping that it isn’t the middle of the night on the other side of the world. I know I will have access to Walmarts if I need anything I didn’t anticipate. I won’t feel the pressure to give up needed rest to see a port since I’ll be visiting the same ports a couple (or several) times. Plus I’ll be able to wave to my mom as she watches the cruise ships sail past her house!
With 10 days before I leave, I’m packing my bags, perfecting my Zumba routine (Princess paid for me to be certified as a Zumba instructor!) and soaking up my last bit of this home before I go off to sea. I have more vitamins and medicine in my suitcase than I ever kept in my medicine cabinet, more convenient travel knick knacks than I’ll probably use, and I’m still finalizing which shoes will make the cut.
I’ll let you know how it goes!