I love what my co-worker said today: "I think its so disgusting that we feed so many guests good food but when it comes to the crew, norwegian just feeds us slob. That is so cruel!" I totally agree-I feel that not getting good food on this ship keeps everyone on edge and a little grumpy. Not good for moral! Other than terrible food, the other big thing here is that the mail is evil! I bought an ipad and the mail people are holding it...its just sitting in california doing nothing...its been four weeks already...I am so annoyed! I can't stop thinking about it and how mad I am about the whole terrible situation! If I had just paid more and bought it in the store, I would be so much happier! But there are a couple cute guys here who are making life a whole lot more interesting which is cool. More to go on that later! :)

Some co-worker of mine just chased a turtle around trying to get a picture of it with my underwater camera. He is so crazy! After working since 5am this morning, I got to go snorkeling in kona for a bit. It was so pretty-super colorful fish, the water is clear blue and really warm. If I get to keep doing things like this, i will be living the life. Ha ha. Well break time is over. Time for work.

So I've been trying to blog using my phone, because then I can actually blog on the ship instead of having to wait until I have a few hours off and get somewhere with Internet where I don't have to pay 10 cents a minutes, like on the ship.  Well…I just realized that it HASN'T been uploading my blog entries like I thought, so I do apologize for no entries for a while.

For the past two weeks, no scratch that, for the past THREE weeks, I've been working basically the same schedule. That means my boss keeps putting me on gallery shifts and taking pictures in all the restaurants. That wouldn't be so bad, but I'm getting really bored, which lately has made me extremely grumpy. Several people have come up to me to ask what is wrong and to see if I'm okay.  Not all of the problems is work related, I am having a lot of personal issues since I found out that my brother has cancer and is getting his leg removed.  I decided I should finally tell everyone, because it will explain why I'm kind of faking it. I mean, usually I'm naturally happy, but lately, it's been a struggle.  How do you fake a smile at an angry guest complaining about a photo that costs $12.95 (who is VIP, by the way, meaning they spent thousands of dollars on their room) when your brother is struggling to support a family of five and have his leg removed? I mean, really, is it that big of a deal that the photo is almost $13 dollars? I'm not shoving it down your face-you don't have to buy it. And you certainty don't have to  scream in my face like a big baby. Really lady, really? Just because you think the world revolves around you does mean it does. Get over yourself.

That's what I'd really like to tell these people. Instead, I have to try and smile and say, "I'm sorry, miss, but that is the price." Or something like that. No wonder people are becoming fake. It's what we have to do to survive. "Be yourself." Sorry, but I can't be myself if I'm going to get fired.

Now…it's time to list all the crazy responses people have given me as to why they can't get their picture taken….

"Sorry, I'm running from the police"  (really, did you know we have tons of cameras on this ship? Cause you are going to be in trouble now)
"My husband or wife might find out" (both you and the women across from you sir have the same matching rings, can you explain that?)
"I'm part of the mafia" (I thought the mafia just kill people, not tell everyone)
"I'm allergic to cameras" (I'm the one who is allergic to everything, and even I'm not allergic to cameras, so nice try)
"Your stupid flash is making it hard for me to eat, just get out of my face" (okay, that was just mean)
"I look ugly today" (Sorry lady, I don't think it's just today…)
"Really? Do you know who I am?" (no, and I don't really care)
"You have to talk to my agent first" (my co-worker thinks this is original, well..no)
"I'm on the FBI's Most Wanted List" (is your wife aware of this? cause she is staring at you like you are an idiot)


List to be continued next entry…we've been keeping track at work. Most people use the same excuses and think they are so original and they start laughing like they are sooo funny. Why can't you just say "No thank you"? Really, is that so hard?

I'm sitting at the beach right now, chilling with some people. A bunch of people are drinking, which of course I'm not doing. But there are a few sober people and we are all on our phones texting. Lol. This past week was super annoying because the people were just plain mean. You'd think that people would be nice during thanksgiving but nope. One guy called me worthless, another told me I was mean for taking their photo and some asian guy made devil horns at me. So I'm very excited that the group is gone. Gone. Lol new group and so far they seem nice for the most part. A bonus!

Black Friday…Black Friday…

Every year, I have always went shopping on Black Friday. It has always been an exciting day-searching to get the best prices, looking through all the newspapers on Thanksgiving with my family trying to figure out what we want.  It was one thing as a family we all agreed on-my mom and I would adventure out at 3, 4, or 5 am and try to find everything we want at the best prices. Yes, I was one of those.  But this year…I'm actually going to be WORKING a Black Friday sale…on a ship!  Our ship is holding a big Black Friday deal in the photo gallery, and from what I hear, it's going to be NUTS.  The bad thing…no shopping for me. The good thing? I guess I'll be saving myself some money, right? lol

Thanksgiving is also going to be really weird.  It's strange to be in such a warm place for the second time in a year celebrating Thanksgiving away from my family.  Holidays have always been a bit of an issue for me  because my family is…special. I'll just leave it at that.  I know that the people reading this are my friends (because you had to get the special invite from me) but I still don't want to blab about my family issues on here. You can ask me personally if you want to know about that. It's a long story anyway.    Still, despite holidays not really being my favorite thing, it's kind of strange to celebrate them on a ship with a lot of people who don't believe the same things that I do. Christmas is very special to me…there is a lot of meaning behind it. There is no one else on the ship like me-or in the world for that matter-but there are many people with completely different values and morals than me.  I have had some great talks with people about life, heaven, etc. and for that, I am very thankful.  However, I haven't had the same talk with someone like I could have back home, and I desperately miss it. I miss having Bible study, I miss going to church…there is nothing on the ship except one group who gets together when I'm working!  I did find two guys who wanted to do a Bible study with me maybe, but we have such different schedules, it hasn't really worked out. And with all the bad stuff happening back home right now, I really just need a group of people who think like me…

The cruise this week is full of families, and they have all spent a lot of money to get here. So they are very crazy about their money, and a little snippy.  They are always ready to complain if something isn't the way they want, and one lady tried to kill people yesterday!  Let me tell you what happened…

When we set up for a photo shoot, there is a green screen, and then two light stands on each side with a stand, light and umbrella.  We nicely ask each person to walk around the lights so they don't hurt anyone. This lady came up and tried to skip the line. I said to her, "Miss, you are able to skip the line, but I just need you to wait until your turn and then you can just go on right through."  The lady looked at me, saw me setting up the next family on the green screen, and decided to plow right through, cutting across the light stand.  The light stand tipped over, and almost hit a lady in a wheelchair. I caught the light stand in my hand and said, "MISS! MISS! You can't do that!"  The lady turned around, glared at me and snapped, "YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER" and then kept going!  As though it was my fault she skipped the line!  That's just an example of some of the crazy things people say.

I have to go and pay some bills now, and I'm running out of time. I only have a two hour break all day today, and I spent some of it eating, and I'll have to walk back soon to the ship (we go across the street to Whole Foods to get Internet) where I have to send all my stuff through a x-ray machine and wait in a super long line (there are about 2,400 guests this week or something like that, so the lines are nuts).

Wackiness at its best! I am currently sitting on another photographers lap as we ride to the luau to take pictures. There are so many photographers now that we can't all sit in the car without putting me on someones lap. And I'm in a dress!

"Excuse me miss, please come this way."
"NO! I don't want my picture taken!"
"You don't have to get your picture taken. But you do have to come this way!"
*lady comes at me* "I'll come this way!"

People can be so mean! It's all about them on this cruise-they want everything handed to them. I am still a human being and you can't just shove me because you feel like it. That is so horrible! I like taking pictures but this job makes me see humans in a new light and I don't like it. On the other hand, I'm learning new poses and how to work in a studio which is pretty awesome.

One word. Tired. As I sit in Starbucks typing this, my body is aching. It's screaming "Help me!"  My nose sniffles with the horrible cold I've caught, letting me know it's not a fan of Hawaii right now.  As I try to keep my eyes awake, I wonder how I got myself here. I'm working on a cruise ship, taking pictures, and running around in a parrot costume. This past week, I've gotten maybe six hours of sleep a night, and been working on and off since six or seven in the morning.  Any free time I have, I can hang out in my freezing ice cold room, sit in the smelly mass hall, or lay out up on the top deck where you can sweat your butt off.

The above is a post I started to write about three or four weeks ago, when I had some free time.  Since then, not much has changed, except I'm trying to keep a positive attitude (although I often find myself failing when I'm off duty).  You may be wondering why I made this blog private-well, I had many requests to write about how life is really like-and I want to.  However, if I make the blog public, I could get fired for writing about situations with guests.  Therefore-you are now going to get the uncensored Kristine-ha ha.

What is life truly like on a cruise ship?  Well, it's kind of like High School-you have rules you have to follow, and people you always, always have to be nice to. For example, the "officers" would be the teachers in a typical school situation.   The crew is divided, with those who have special privileges (me) and those who don't (my friends).  Those with privileges would be like seniors in High School, who sometimes could leave school early or come late and the others would be freshmen, who can't do as much.  Your job determines your privileges, and everyone thinks that our job is the "golden job". They may think so, but most guests don't really like us. They seem to think that shoving a camera in their face is the cruelest, meanest thing you could ever do.  While I understand that some people don't like themselves and therefore don't want to ever see pictures of themselves, getting mad at us is not going to change who they are or what they look like!

Story time!  One of our jobs is to walk around the restaurants taking pictures of people while eating. These actually sell really well, but people don't like you very much while you do it.  Anyway, I went up to this one couple and started on my typical talk: "Aloha! How are you guys doing tonight?" -wait for answer "Great! Well, my name is Kristine and I'm going to be your photographer tonight.  I'm just going to take a couple quick photos."  -now is when they either smile or they get angry, but in this case, the lady cut me off after my name and said rudely "I never want to remember this cruise EVER again. I don't want any proof of this and I can't believe you'd even try to get my picture!" then she started on another rant, but I quickly said sorry and tried to run away.  That was my first week, and I'll never forget how rude that angry lady was.

Another week,  I had a couple come up and try to weasel something free out of us.  I understand that they paid a lot for the cruise, but just because you have a big mouth and like to complain doesn't mean that you should always get something for free!  "I really think you have to give me that picture," he said, pointing to one, "because I don't like it enough to buy it." What? Explain that logic to me again-because you don't like the picture, I have to give it to you for free?  Oh my, oh my…

Doing laundry here is awful. You don't have enough time on your free time to do it, because washers are often full (there are only three in a room, and that's for about fifty to a hundred people to share) so you do it right before you go to work. When you come back, people have usually dumped your clothes. If you do it on your free time and wait for that hour, you can still come back to find that halfway through your load, some jerk dumped your wet clothes on the floor to put theirs in.  Annoying!

On the other hand, I know a lot of the crew now, since I run all over the ship.  Everyone seems to know me, which is really cool. I have some people I hang out with a lot, and others when I can. We all have different schedules, so sometimes you might see someone only once a week, which is really sad. My schedule changes almost everyday, but I have a friend who is a Junior Waiter (you deliver the food that the head waiter gets from their order) and she works insane hours.  Any free time she has, I'm usually working then.  It really stinks.  But we usually all have time at night to hang out, so we stay up late just to talk.

I have to go but I will write some more later.

I've been so busy studying for this firefighter's test that I haven't had a chance to really write a blog entry (which I could then quickly upload when I was off the ship and around Internet...looks like it will only be once or twice a week).  I don't have too much time, as I have to get back to the ship soon for class again...I feel like I'm in school again! 

We had a big test today that determined if we would go home or not. Thankfully, I pass the test, so I don't have to worry about that "part" of the whole thing. But I still have a movie to watch today, more tests tomorrow and on Saturday, I have to put on a big fireman outfit and put out a huge fire! I also have to go through a huge maze without any light (and two people). Finally, I have to jump into the water and flip over a huge raft. (I'm not too worried about that)  It sounds hard...but I also think it will be fun too. I think I tend to over-think everything, and freak myself out for no reason.

I'm starting to understand the layout of the ship, but only the crew areas. We aren't allowed in the "passenger" areas yet, so I have only seen part of the ship so far. The crew here is very...interesting. There is a type of every person on this ship, and I've already seen some pretty crazy stuff.  I'll tell some stories next time, when I have more time to write.  Let's just say that the guys like to stare..a lot. The girls here are considered "fresh meat" because we don't know their history with girls, and they like that thought. Um, creepy.

The food here is so gross. The crew food, at least, is just not good. It's always the same thing every day, and it depends who makes it on how the taste will be.  I've found that salads, fruit, potatoes,  and ice cream are good, and everything else is iffy.  All the people who said I would be getting fat....looks like I'll be in tip-top shape. I'm eating healthy (super healthy), walking A TON (and I haven't even started my real job yet) and the thing to do when you are bored is work out.  Maybe I'll get some nice abs now. Ha ha.

Well, it's time to go for now. I completely UNDERPACKED and need to purchase some more stuff (more? ahh!). I'm going to make a fun list of all the LIES the recruiters told me...and everything I forgot/needed but wasn't told.

I'm in Hawaii! It's really beautiful here!  I've been really busy with training, learning the ship, adjusting to a new time zone (we are five hours behind Wisconsin…meaning that all my friends are "in the future"), and making friends (I made some great ones!).  I'm really excited too-it looks like I'm going to have a fun time here. Some things are a little bit of an adjustment…such as the fact that my recruiters failed to mention things that you kind of need to know…such as the recruiter who told me not to bring my cell phone (um, you really need it here…everyone has one!) or my laptop (really, really need that!).  I'm thinking of making a post telling you what is true and what isn't! (I'll have to do that soon)

As of right now, I'm in "class" for a week because if I fail this test we have on Thursday (and Saturday), I will be shipped home at my own cost from whatever island they leave me at.  Thankfully, I have to get a 70% or higher (that's 15 questions wrong) so I think I'll be fine.  I did really well in school, my mom reminded me, it's just that I hate multiple choice questions. They always have such similar questions, and I get all confused and choose the wrong ones!  But a 70%…I didn't really get C's too often…I'll be fine. I passed the first test already…so that's good!  (oh, these tests are on fire safety, CPR, and other stuff like that)

Friends…so I met a girl named Krystal who is going to be a Junior Waiter…we were sitting next to each other filling out paperwork when we got to the ship and she helped me figure out the tax information (yup, nothing has changed…that stuff still confuses me) and we just "clicked".  :)  I also met a friend name Lady who is Ultility (her real name is Felicia but she asked us to call her Lady). She started work this week (she takes the test next week) so I haven't seen her much.  And then…I met Jessica, who is another new photographer with me!  :) She started work last week and is taking the test this week, so I learned all this cool "inside" info about the photography department. Yay!  Don't worry everyone, I have plenty of postcards and letters coming your way.  AND phone calls and skype dates too! :) (although the Internet is a little slower than I planned…but it's not too bad. And at Starbucks, which Tiffany will love, it's free!)

Pictures…I know that I promised pictures but I haven't really had a chance to take any yet. I'm going to be carrying my phone around with me now, so I'm going to start snapping them and uploading them like my friends have been doing.  Next week, when I have my camera with me 24/7, I'll be able to take more pictures, no worries!

We went walking out last night on the beach, which was beautiful, and there was a full moon…but my camera was dead so I couldn't take a picture!

from google

I hate dead animals. I hate seeing them, thinking about them, I hate it all. Therefore, it only makes sense that I would not like seafood.  I don't mind eating meat, because I can't see the animal I'm eating.  However, when someone eats a lobster, you see the whole animal. You know what you are eating. That's disgusting! I don't want to see some creepy eye staring at me, reminding me of what a horrible person I am.   Ewww.  I can think of a lot of other foods that are just as tasty-and don't make me feel grossed out.  What is the East coast known for? Lobster. Everywhere I go, people are eating lobster!  I understand most people don't think like me, so no one is going to stop eating their food just because I'm grossed out, but couldn't you least not have your dinner's eyeballs staring at me? That would be the polite thing to do, correct? But no, every time we go out to dinner, some lobster is staring at me, saying "They killed me. They killed me. And you didn't stop it!"  Thank heavens that you can buy other food and not have eyeballs attached-or I'd become a vegetarian.  Some leafy green vegetables sound really good right now...

This trip has been fun, but hasn't had as many photo moments as I had planned. I enjoy taking pictures of land and beautiful nature, but I have found that pictures of people are what I enjoy the most. 


People are so interesting, because they make different faces, move around, and are just ALIVE.  Nature is alive too, but you and I can probably take the same picture.  However, I might catch someone laughing, while you catch them smiling. I might zoom in on their face, while you catch their whole body. It's just…more interesting.


I am putting some photos in that I've taken so far.  These are unedited, although there are a few in my collection. I do plan to edit. However, I think there is something to be said for those photos that are great from the beginning, and need no editing. Thus, enjoy! :)

On a different note, I have noticed  that I tend to see pictures everywhere.  It's not as weird as it sounds. When I see someone smile or laugh and tilt their head, I think "click". I often find myself always wishing I had a camera attached to my head and could take a picture as quickly as I think.  I suppose photography is as close as I'll come to having a camera in my head. It's pretty fun to look back at a picture and think "I took that".  I've come a long way from the photographer I was in high school (with a film camera and early digital) to the one I am today. I know I'll become even better in the years to come.

Anyway, trip aside, I wanted to mention that I found a blog of a guy named James who used to work on the Pride of America ship. He worked on ships for 5 years total and now he has some job traveling.  That's pretty cool-I'm excited for my first chance on the ship! I noticed he mentioned what to pack, so I copied and pasted that into my little notes I've created by googling other crew members.  Everyone keeps mentioning, "Pack half of what you are planning!" I know that I better watch what I bring!  I was so worried about having things to do when I'm off-duty, but according to his blog, he likes to either nap (long days) or talk to people. I'm pretty sure (being a social butterfly) that I won't have to worry about finding something to do.  Of course, bringing my laptop along, I will always have something to do!

I'm starting to get a little nervous. I don't know what to expect! I'm currently working on finishing my website, so I can have people look at my work without having to e-mail it to them, and I know that I'm good. I'm great at taking pictures-it's something I love doing!  I'm just worried that I won't know how to do I their way-or that I'll do something wrong.  I know that I will be fine, but still, I'm a little nervous!  I'm going to be far away from friends and family (just like when I lived in Arizona-or in Florida actually) but it's not like I won't make new friends! 

Okay, this is starting to be a blog all about my worries. I better make this more cheerful!  I have a week and a half left, and I'll be in HAWAII! :)

I'm currently lounging in a hotel room, enjoying the free wireless. This morning, around 2 am (I never went to bed), my parents and I got in the car and headed for New York. I, of course, went to sleep. I sleep about half of the trip, making it a really easy car ride.  Why am I headed back to New York again? Well, not really New York city, just Albany, New York. We are only staying here tonight (after driving 14 hours, you want a rest) and then heading to Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. It's going to be a vacation where I get to take lots of pictures, and enjoy the scenery.  By the end of this trip, I will have seen almost all 51 states, excluding Hawaii (which will be soon!), Alaska and a few other states.

Anyway, I have some news!  I found out that I will be leaving October 8th, which is exciting, and a little scary because I found out yesterday, we left today, and I won't be back till October 4th.  So I only have three (or less) days to pack, shop (I got a new packing list) see people, etc. I will be a very busy lady!

Ready for a fun story? Yesterday, I went out to Waukesha to close a bank account and I had a doctor's visit (I have had lots of those recently).  After that, I went shopping at Kohls because I have to get more business casual outfits.  My friend met me there, and he decided he wanted to help me shop.  His choice of outfits for me was…interesting.  He kept picking these not so cute outfits and I was just laughing at him. He insisted he was just trying to figure out my taste, so he could from there. I'm not so sure though. I think he was covering his tracks. ha ha

Then we went to the mall, where another male friend of mine met us there.  Together, the two guys proceeded to help me pick out clothes. So imagine me running around stores, with two guys following, grabbing clothes off the racks and saying, "This would look good" and then holding blue or purple shirts up to themselves to show it off. Several clerks raised their eyebrows.  It was so funny. One of the guys even said, "You don't think they think we are…?" and then he just started laughing.

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. -Dr. Seuss

I've always been really good at buying stuff on E-bay, but I've never sold anything.  Well, as I've started packing up all the stuff in my room to put it in the attic, I've set aside some things to be sold.  These are stuff people told me probably wouldn't get me any money, but I thought I'd try it anyway.  I didn't do so well at first, (my first item sold for a .99, but it was worth much more! and I lost .25 with my second item because I didn't count on shipping being so high) but I just sold two more items, and finally, might make some money! Two other items have already been bid on, but don't end until tomorrow.  So it looks like my success with e-bay is finally starting, and now I'm on the hunt to see if I have anything else in my room to sell!

I may be off on my adventure sooner than I thought.  The Merchant's Mariner Credential that I have been waiting for arrived this weekend, and I e-mailed them I had received it this morning.  While it is not a bad thing that I have to leave early (I'm excited to be in Hawaii), I'm not sure that I'm ready yet. I have a list of things I wanted to get done before I left, and it's not completed yet!

I'm hoping that they won't be able to get me on the ship until October, which was my original departure date anyway.  I want to go the second week, as that would be perfect timing! (my parents planned a vacation with me, and I still want to go on it)

I've been looking up photos of my new home, and thought I would share them with you. Photos found on flickr and google, by looking up "Pride of America".  I did not, of course, take these photos, since I'm not on the ship yet!

Owner's room

Awesome swim area for families, singles, couples etc.

  Room with a balcony.  Looks nice, right?

This just looks so pretty!

    I heard these things are fun. I wonder if I can

        go on when guests aren't around?

Hello home!

       outdoor cafe for guests

    one of the US themed restaurants

     I showed this to my guy friend and he said,

    "I bet all the ladies will like that." lol

They put up a window that looks like a porthole.

 I enjoyed writing the other entry, and promised more if you wanted. Alisia, you are the reason I am going to do another blog entry about “little Kristine”. Thanks everyone for your fun comments!

Here is a very strange part of an entry from eighth grade Kristine…I think I was trying to be “poetic” but it just sounds really funny!

11/11/01

I wish I didn’t have to work on my homework; my very dull homework. But I must. I must do my homework. It crys out for me, it is hungry for me. I have so, so much homework. It likes me, my taste is good. My homework bites into me, taking my htoughts and them for it’s own use. I must go, my homework bites it’s next bite. (this was before all the vampire craziness-I can’t really tell you where I got the idea for this crazy analogy. I must, must ask: Is your homework biting you? Ha ha)

This entry is very interesting. I thought I would share. This was late in the year for eighth grade Kristine.

2/21/02

I found out today that my sub bus driver is also our librarian. I really think it’s weird, because the bus lady is mean, and our librarian (same person) is nice. It’s like there are two sides to her. (hmmm…maybe she is bi-polar? Or she feels bus drivers need to be mean? All those kids walking around when you are driving-just makes one want to scream, right? Or maybe it’s all the screaming, throwing, pushing, and kicking that happen on my bus. I know we had the “nightmare” route. Everyone dreaded riding the bus, because the older kids beat us up, and the younger kids wouldn’t stop talking. No, I wasn’t one of the younger kids!)

2/24/02

The funniest thing just happened at my friend Amanda’s house. We are sleeping over at her house and we put Kara’s pillow in the freezer! She can’t find it and no one is telling her what happened! Hee hee! (so I wasn’t always a goody-two-shoes. Ha ha)

On the next four pages, we did the longest Mash I have EVER seen. Do you remember that game? It was so much “hoping for a good life”. I always tried to put down “toilet cleaner”, “garbage man” and “clown” for people’s job choices. I thought I was so funny. I taught my kids in Florida how to do MASH, since they had never heard of it! They informed me that they taught everyone at school-that was one of the greatest things about teaching those kids-you could pass on skills we learned in school that “died” as the kids below us grew up. Sad. I think living in the 90’s was awesome, and it’s so sad that little kids now will never understand what a typewriter is, why we still have video tapes and cassette players, and what it was like to live without a cell phone, computer, and video games. There was such a thing as going outside and climbing trees, hanging upside down on the monkey bars, and running around on that spinning thing that got banned from playgrounds. I love my computers and technology (everyone knows this!) but I can still appreciate the childhood I had without them!

This is a little sad, but it has a great point at the end.

“I’ll never really be the person I long to be. I’ll always be…plain Kristine, a.k.a. “Kermet” or “shrimp”. Some people go through life always being “on top” and “popular”. Me? While I wish I was either, I am none.

Let me explain. My name is Kristine and I am 13. I am 4’7, which is short for someone in 8^th grade. At least, that is, at my school. People always make fun of me because of my looks, hair, size, and voice. Yes, my voice. Just because my voice is “different”, they make fun of me. Even my parents and brothers make fun of me. They may think they are kidding, it doesn’t make me feel good.

My one true friend is my dog Daisey Lou. She can’t make fun of me, and I know that she will always be a good friend. I love my dog, and think she is the best!

So you see, I will never be perfect or pretty. I will be me. You don’t have to be special to be yourself.” (I was the shortest one in my grade, so I always got picked on for that, and wearing glasses. Sometimes I wrote about all that, but I want this blog to be funny, not serious and sad. But I wanted you to see that I didn’t grow too much between eighth grade and now. Haha)

Here is a fun story from when I was little:

My house has three floors, and the basement was always the “scariest” to me. I would go downstairs during the day, but at nighttime, I was convinced that the monsters were going to come out and eat me! If my parents asked me to grab 

something from their room (originally, their bedroom was in the basement 

until my dad added on to the house), I would RACE down the stairs, grab whatever it was, and literally crawl up the stairs as fast as I could. Why did I crawl? I had some strange belief that I was faster if I was crawling…or maybe I just had tripped too many times before. Anyway, this went on for a long time…probably till I was seven or maybe even eight. My house can be really creepy at night, and especially when you don’t know someone is in the shadows. I think my brother learned of my fear, because one day I went downstairs in a hurry, to grab my mom’s watch on her nightstand. I was so freaked that I dropped the watch on the ground. I dug around in the dark trying to find it, and my brother took this opportunity to hid behind the door. I found the watch, turned around and raced to go back up the stairs. Nick jumped out at me and I yelled bloody murder. I flew up the stairs yelling that there was a monster in the house! I hadn’t realized it was Nick because it was still dark in the room, and my fear made me believe it was some scary man! Not to say my brother isn’t scary… My mom had to calm me down, and my brother was really proud of himself. One day, one day, I will get him back!

I had such a great time making fun of my younger self that I have decided to devote another blog entry to it. This one is going to be a riot, I can promise you that. Because…*drum roll please* I discovered my diary entries, old notes, and funny love letters…from when I was really little (and older). Some of them are super lame, we will just skip those, and some are personal (no way am I sharing those) but some are just funny!

Monday, 9/11/99

Poison Ivy! Help! My eyes are red and people are looking at me. I hope that it goes away very fast because it looks so bad I could just die. I don't know what to do. I think that I look like a car just ran over me. I guess that all I have to say.

(if a car ran over me, I think I would look a lot worse than just having red all over my face. But I really did hate that poison oak, which I mention is what it is in the next entry. I also say that I had to stay home from school. Then I argue with myself over whether it's better to be well or get away from homework for a bit)

Monday, 11:59 pm (Apparently I wanted to point out that it was almost midnight and I was still up)

Dear Diary, (yes, I wrote to a "diary"; all the cool kids were doing it!)

I feel funny. You see, we went and got me ready at school. I'm going to be a 7th grader. Not that sounds and feels funny. I don't feel right. I've always been a sixth grader, it seems. Now I'm a seventh grader. Does that sound funny or am I going mental?

(Dear 6th/7th grade self; Yes, you are gong "mental". You do realize that you weren't always in 'sixth' grade, right? You went through 6 other grades before that, since we include Pre-school)

A week later…this is my favorite entry so far!

Later

Eek! I think I just got away from Nick. I snuck up to his room to spy on him and see if he was doing anything and I heard him singing and he was looking at a picture. Does he have a girlfriend? Will my brother be up at night calling girls and then come down in the morning wearing boxers and sing a love song? Will he leave at night and pick up girls? I wonder if he's even old enough to date? This is so weird. What was that picture of?

(hee hee! I was such an annoying little sister-I always wanted to be Harriet the Spy. I watched that movie a little too much. But my house always had secret passageways which really helped with the whole spying thing. :) And I have a feeling I must have just seen some kind of movie where the brother walked around in his boxers…because my brother never did this, but that was the first thing I was worried about! It's sad I never mention who the picture was…and singing? My brother doesn't sing…)

I promised you all funny love notes, so here is one. I received this note in my locker Freshman year of high school. At that point in time, I was partially interested in a certain boy at the school. So when I received this note, I immediately thought it had to be from him. HA! Turns out my "friends" thought it would be a funny joke to ask a guy they knew to write me the note and stick it in my locker. Now it makes for a funny story! (the guy wasn't the best writer, so I'm adding in his actual mistakes)

"Dear, Kristine

All these feelings have been building up. I Just needed to tell you. I think we have been friends for awhile. the first time I saw you. I swear, I fell in love. You have no idea how often I've been thinking of you. I think we should do something together once. I don't care if you don't want to be my Glf. I Just want to be with you. I love how your hair is so colorful! You may not think so, but I think you are so beactiful. Since I feel so uncomfortable about this letter, I cannot tell you my name. But I will give you clues it is me throughout the day, during school.

Love,

X"

("Your hair is so colorful" Gag! I thought it was "so cute" because I desperately thought it was that one guy. Then I got smart *thank heavens* and figured it had to be a joke. So I spent the rest of the day guessing who the prankster was. They ended up telling me, laughing and everything. I was so mad. Now I am just really happy that I can write better than the guy who wrote this letter)

As some of you probably know, I'm not really the best at come-backs. I kind of just take the insult and let it roll off me, or come up with some stupid comment back that just makes everyone else laugh. During my Freshmen year of college, I found that people were pretty mean, almost worse than middle school (and middle school was pure torture), so I printed off a bunch of "comebacks" and highlighted my favorites. I was convinced that I could memorize them and then spout them off at the right moment. Instead, I either messed them up, so they just sounded highly amusing, or I waited until long after the insult had been said, because I finally remembered it, and then everyone just stared at me. "You couldn't think of that earlier, Kristine?" Ha! Well, here are my favorites from the list…

"Lets play house. You be the door and I'll slam you."

"We know that you would go to the end of the world for us. But would you stay there?"

"There are several people in this world that I find obnoxious and you are all of them."

"You're a good example of why some animals eat their young."

"You sound like you are in a good mood. Who did you bug today?"

"People clap when they see you-their hands over their eyes or ears."

"Keep talking. I always yawn when I'm interested."

"You've got the perfect weapon against muggers-your face."

"Anybody who told you to be yourself simply couldn't have given you worse advice…"

"Does your head float because of its emptiness?"

"All day I thought of you…I was at the zoo."

"Brains aren't everything. In fact, in your case, they're nothing."

"I never forget a face. But in your case, I'll make an exception."

Hmm, well that's all for now. Hee hee. I think I'll add some more in the next posting if you guys like them. :)

I've noticed that by the time you are 23, more than 3/4's of your friends are either in a serious relationship, have kids, are engaged, married, or married with kids. And then there are the 1/4 who are like you-single (or maybe casually dating), exploring the world, and clearly not willing to settle down yet. Since I have yet to have that-"can't eat, can't sleep, can't breathe" relationship, I often wonder if I am "behind" in my life. I've had several conversations in the past couple weeks with people who remind me that I really should be looking for someone in the near future, but never to put a "time-limit" on yourself either.

As I posted on my Facebook today, "People keep saying that love is in every corner……gosh! maybe i’m moving in circles." It just seems strange to me that so many people have to comment on my lack of a relationship. It really wouldn't bother me so much-if they stopped commenting! For example, my grandma called me a couple days ago. She says that she's really excited I am going on a cruise ship, that I'm so lucky and blessed and it's going to provide me great memories for the future, blah blah. (okay, it was really nice to hear but for the sake of the story, I don't need to type everything she said) Then I comment that I stumbled across a future co-worker's blog. (I was googling for what to bring on a cruise ship) "He has some really great pictures of the ship," I said. "Oh, I am so happy to hear you say 'he'. Is he cute? Think you'll like him?" Really, Grandma? She is always on the case about boys, her and my mother.

So anyway, the purpose of this update was because I came across something interesting today while "cleaning" my room. (I'm really getting rid of stuff, and "destroying" my room since it's all being put into boxes for storage) When my friends and I were in middle school, we had a teacher who asked us to design a board game much like the game of life. We were to put where we planned to be for "The Next 15 or More Years of My Life". The funny thing is that I really haven't followed much of that plan. Let's see…

"Start"

"Pass eighth grade and go to high school" *completed! ha ha*

"Pass my freshman year with good grades too" *completed, honor roll*

"Pass tenth grade" *really, these "plans" where easy, ha ha

"Begin applying for scholarships and pass my Junior year *FAIL! I did pass my Junior year, stop gasping, I just didn't apply for scholarships…I didn't really qualify for many

"Began applying at colleges and checking them out" *Well, I did this backwards. I should have put my "plan" up on my wall! Instead, I applied to 9 colleges, got into all of them, and then decided maybe I should visit a few in person instead of looking at them online…Fail!

"Big Moment! Important event: Graduate from High School." (I guess I assumed I passed Senior year to graduate High School. ha ha I was a smart kid!)

"Get accepted to a college" (9 colleges is pretty good, right?)

"Go to college for four years and work at a bookstore in free time." *FAIL! I did go to college for four years, and I even held 4 jobs at once, but none of them included working in a bookstore… (Timber-lee, computer lab, Resident Assistant, Sports Information Photographer, Royal Purple Photographer, Registrar's Office, internship, etc. Hmmm…I think I did pretty good anyway!)

"Big Moment! Important Event! Graduate from college!" (This is really funny. I spelled "collage" so I got points taken off. ha ha, I spelled High School right, but failed college apparently)

"Work at a bookstore and write books in free time." (I was really into this idea of working at a bookstore. I never even considered that in high school or college. I did work at a library this past year, does that count?)

"Meet someone and begin to date him." (I've dated some people, but I don't think they are this "someone" due to the next thing on the list. Also, this is the first time I mention dating someone, so I guess my 8th grade self decided I'd fall in love with the first person I dated. ha ha! What a joke!)

"He proposes and I accept." (did he see this and know that was the next step for him to take? lol)

"Begin to plan for wedding, set a date, decide where to live, etc…" (well…yeah, not there yet, that's for sure)

"Big Moment! Important Event! Get Married" (aw, this is cute, I made a little "Just Married" sign under it.)

"Continue to write books, while husband works." (apparently my husband is the "big bread winner" as my writing books doesn't make money? Well, don't worry, this is probably not going to happen, although I would still like to write a book one day…)

"Find out that I'm "pageant". Continue to write books." (another spelling error; well that's to be expected, I am one of the worst spellers; I wonder if I was writing this books while my belly is huge)

"Pick a room to put baby in. Paint it and buy all the stuff we'll need." (little 8th grade self, very smart idea…)

"Have a baby shower." (am I throwing this or is someone else? It'd probably be more fun is someone threw it for me…)

"Think of names for the baby." (I was really into the name "Dawn" when I was kid. I'm sure this was at the top of my list.)

"Big Moment! Important Event! Baby is born!" (I never mention if it's a girl or a boy. Sad.)

"Pick a name for the baby." (I thought we did this earlier? Maybe we didn't know the sex of the baby, so we picked it after it was born.)

"Take care of baby. Write books at night." (I'm still into writing those books. How many have I written at this point? Do I just write them or do they actually get published?)

"Baby's First Birthday" (why isn't this a "Big Moment!"?)

"Big Moment! Book is Published and Sells." (well, that answers several questions. My book is more important than baby, sorry baby, and apparently none of the other books were published or sold. Sad.)

"Find out that I'm 'pageant' again." (really couldn't spell that word! ha ha. And apparently, I was really busy! Geez, two kids so quickly after each other?)

"Began to plan to take care of new baby. Watch other child." (wow, that's harsh. I'm so excited about the new baby, that's it now the "other child")

"Another book is published." (is this an old one or one I was at some point working on?)

"Think of names for new baby." (I guess naming this child was really on my mind)

"Big Moment! Important Event! Baby is Born!" (now I have two kids…and after that, I stopped writing about my life. So if that was 15 years from when I finished eighth grade, I would be…28!)

So I guess that means that I am a little "ahead" of my 8th grade self's mind…and a little behind. I have dated more than my eighth grade self planned…but I'm not married as soon as my 8th grade self imagined. (apparently, that should have come right after college ended…well, technically, I did graduate only a year ago…) It's just really funny to see what we think is going to happen when we are young…and what really happens.

I hope you enjoyed reading what I think are funny comments about my silly 8th grade self. As for my earlier thoughts on dating life, well, it's more funny than anything else. My little 8th grade self was very into being married and that I should be married soon after finishing college. However, now that I've grown up, that just isn't the biggest goal right now. While most of the people in my age range are following my 8th grade plans, I've learned that I need to do some more exploring before I settle down. I want to travel! I want to see more things, meet new and interesting people! There is so much more to life than just getting married! Not that there is anything wrong with that, but sometimes it bothers me that people like to mention how I'm not married, all the time.

They often say to me: "Don't worry there are lots of fish in the sea" as though I'm upset about it. I often haven't even mentioned it at all! I have to remember that they feel sorry for me. However, they don't really need to because I am going to sea, and I'm sure there will be lots of men there. And not having a boyfriend, I can flirt with whoever I want, and it's going to be awesome! :)

Chicago! The Windy City! I just spent three days in Chicago, and after a while, it just got to be too much. Maybe it was the fact that it was my parents and me, and they were getting really stressed out with the transportation to all the different sites. (bus or metro? or do we walk?) We purchased the 'Go Chicago' card, so it was a lot less expensive, but we had to get everywhere before 5:30, which was a problem when we didn't start getting anywhere until 1:00pm, because of driving down there (we drove back home every night), then taking transportation (about an hour) to where we were going. I'm happy it's over, lol.

Yesterday, I had lasik surgery done on my eyes. I've been wearing glasses since fifth grade, contacts since end of Freshmen year of college (I was too scared to touch my eye before that). It's really strange to think I will never have to wake up and grab my glasses, or poke my eyes trying to get my contacts out. Life is going to be so much easy now that I won't have to explain why my eye is red (contact bothering me) or worrying that I look "ugly" in my glasses. *Relief* Thank you for lasik! The surgery was actually really easy-I was so stressed about it, but then I just went in, they had me lay down on the chair, gave me a stuffed animal to hold, put me under the laser, and that was that. I didn't feel a thing thanks to some really cool eye drops! And now I can see! Amazing!

Well, I have to take drops every hour and I'm supposed to go to bed early, so I guess that means this is it. I got an update on my cruise-I have to wait 2-4 weeks for my card to come, and when that does, whenever they have a spot open for me, I'm going to leave. Wow. I can't believe that I could be leaving soon for Hawaii! I'm excited, but a little nervous. Hmm….that reminds me of how I felt before the lasik surgery. Hopefully it will be just as painless getting used to working on a cruise ship? :)

The hot sand beneath your feet, the smell of palm trees and tropical plants in the air, the warm breeze floating around you, the sound of the waves roaring towards you…

I never thought it would be possible, but in about three months, I will be sailing the seas of Hawaii, taking pictures of passengers on a Norwegian cruise ship. About 5 months ago, I was a AmeriCorps member living in Florida, helping to teach literacy to people in the Palm Beach area of Florida. My parents came down to visit me from Wisconsin, and we took a three night cruise to the Bahamas. I loved it! Exploring the boat was AMAZING, and everyone seemed so happy and relaxed! My dad loved the food, and my mom loved the shows at night-we all had a great time. My mom casually mentioned that maybe I should look into being a photographer on a cruise ship, since I love taking pictures and had been looking into becoming a professional. She was joking, but I took her serious and started looking into the idea.

I graduated college a year ago, from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. I majored in Advertising, and my minor was in Multi-media. While in school, I took pictures for the Royal Purple (student newspaper) and for the sports teams to put on their website. I took two photography classes, and learned how to use a studio. I have also done a couple weddings, some engagement photos, and many portraits for my friends. However, I wasn't sure if that was ENOUGH experience to get a job on a cruise ship, but I decided to try anyway.

The first thing I did was to explore the Internet, hoping to find out HOW to apply. I discovered many websites that talked about the pros and cons of working on a cruise ship. Many asked if you loved to travel-which of course I do. Others asked if you could live in a confined area for 5-9 months without coming home. I lived in the dorms as an RA for three years, and I worked at camps for about 6 years total. I also lived in a barn for a whole summer (yes, my room was an actual "stall" for horses). Yes, I decided, I could defiantly live on a cruise ship.

After learning about the many reasons you should or shouldn't get a job on a cruise ship, I still hadn't discovered HOW to apply. Finally, at about midnight, I landed on a Yahoo Answers page. Many people feel that Yahoo Answers isn't "legit" but I find that it can be very helpful! The user who answered the question said that some companies outsource from "Ocean Images" or "Image" but a few cruise ships hire directly, and you can just apply from their website under "Careers".

The next day, I enlisted my friend Tiffany to help me with my resume. She agreed to help me with the wording of my resume, but I needed to figure out what jobs I wanted on my resume, and what to write. That, I will admit, was my biggest struggle. I mapped out what I wanted my resume to look like (since I'm a designer, that was my favorite part) and spent lots of time on that. After a while, I realized I was going to have to finally put some words on the resume. Promoting myself? I just wasn't sure how to go about doing that-we are taught not to brag about ourselves, and that is just what you are supposed to do on a resume! It took about three weeks, but with the help of two Tiffanys, a couple friends back home, and my roommates, I finally finished my resume. Tiffany took my picture (if you are applying for a job on a cruise ship, always include your picture, so they can see your smiling, "professional" self) and I included a special page, which had my photography and quotes from my references.

Let me say one thing: It's hard enough to create a resume, but figuring out what to say in a cover letter is tough! Do you butter the person up (oh, your company is so great, etc.) or just brag about yourself? (I'm really great, you need me!) I learned that you should do both-make them feel great about themselves (after all, if they weren't awesome, why would you want to work for them?) and then explain why, since they are so great, they need you? (you are so great, but I will help you become even better!) Make sure to promote what you have to offer, not just what YOU will get out of the job. (if you give me this job, I'll get to travel the world!)

I guess I did a good job on my resume, because while sitting in an airport waiting to go home to Wisconsin for my best friend's wedding, I got an e-mail offering me an interview from Norwegian. I had just applied to them only a week or so before, so I was extremely surprised. We set up a meeting via Skype for the next week, and I went home super excited. A couple days later, "Ocean Images" also asked me to set up an interview. Flash forward to the Norwegian interview: imagine someone freaking out and that was me. I had never done a Skype interview before, and I had no idea what to expect. The interview went great-I loved the people who interviewed me and hoped I would soon get to work with them. I was a little worried I might have smiled too much during the interview, and my friend commented that she had heard a couple "ums" when she walked past my office, but I still had a good feeling about the interview. The next week, I got the offer! When I let "Ocean Images" know that I would not be interviewing with them, they were super nice and wished me well. Therefore, I highly recommend working for them as well if you are looking for a job.

I must say, I really love the people at Norwegian. They are so nice-very friendly and I can't wait to work for them! This year is going to be AMAZING and I can't wait to share with you my adventures, thoughts and of course, PICTURES! So stay tuned for more exciting news as I prepare for my adventure at sea!

Click here for a sample of my photography.