Shipboard relationships are funny things. There\u2019s always one group of people you end up getting close to, one group of people you end up spending almost all your time with. You would think that that would be your actual team, and sometimes it is, but often times your social circle has nothing whatsoever to do with the people you actually work with.<\/p>\n
For me, the last two ships, that social circle has consisted of the cast. The contract before that, it was the tech team. This contract though, it\u2019s been the musicians. Most likely this is because I\u2019ve grown up around musicians (I mean, I came home from the hospital to a 16 piece band rehearsing in my living room) and \u2013 with the exception of fellow actors \u2013 I\u2019m probably more comfortable around them than any other group of people. I understand them, and I can almost<\/em> speak their language. I can at least comprehend their language.<\/p>\n I also know how annoying they can be, and sometimes I forget to take as good as I give. Out of practice I suspect.<\/p>\n I was born an only child. I always wanted a sister, I was lucky, over the course of my life I\u2019ve found two. I never ever<\/em> wanted a brother, yet for the duration of this contract I seem to have acquired not one, but two.<\/p>\n Sitting around the late-night dinner table last night (I\u2019m going to gain 10lbs from this contract just from eating too many carbs at night, I swear), I mentioned that I was thinking of bringing my regular swing dance partner on board for an evening.\u00a0 This prompted the following:<\/p>\n Do we still have that chart of In The Mood<\/em>?<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t even look up from my pizza, and the response was out of my mouth before<\/em> the band leader could answer.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t do In The Mood without a twelve-piece, or at least a ten.<\/em><\/p>\n And I can feel said band leader looking at me from across the table. I finally look up from my pizza and shrug.<\/p>\n What can I say, I\u2019m a traditionalist.<\/em><\/p>\n At this point I realize I\u2019m in trouble, because I\u2019m bookended. Band leader\u2019s on one end of the table, and the pianist is at the other, drummer\u2019s sitting across from me, and they\u2019re all looking at me. Eventually Amras just rolls his eyes and says in his most sarcastic voice,<\/p>\n Well, I guess we <\/em>won\u2019t pull out that chart then, since our <\/em>Librarian seems to know better than us<\/em><\/p>\n Hey! You remember that your \u2018Librarian\u2019 comes from a musician family and actually has some grounds to know what she\u2019s talking about! Don\u2019t you <\/em>ever call me \u2018just\u2019 a librarian.<\/em><\/p>\n Spar. Spar. Parry. Parry.<\/p>\n And eventually I snap.<\/p>\n Geeze! Shut up both of you! I swear, you\u2019re like the two brothers I NEVER WANTED!!<\/em><\/p>\n So just in case you were wondering when I talk about being a shipboard family, I mean the aggravating parts of family too. We bicker like family.<\/p>\n It\u2019s strange, two of our party band members have debarked as of Saturday, and while the replacements are excellent, I don\u2019t feel as at ease with them yet. As I said last night, I know who my people are, and while my closest friend on the ship just insists that I have to just continue being myself and I\u2019ll eventually feel at ease with the full band again \u2013 it still feels strange to have two people that aren\u2019t<\/em> the pair I\u2019m used to up on that stage.<\/p>\n And when they played Lean On Me<\/em> last night, it gave me the tiniest little wrench, because for the last month and a half that song has been a trio (our old sax player sang, so she always took a verse), and it felt weird to be minus that voice.<\/p>\n At any rate yes\u2026we are family. Completely an totally dysfunctional, but family none-the-less.<\/p>\n (And since both of you read this, I still argue that I was right \u2013 I\u2019ll admit that it is playable <\/em>with a smaller number of musicians, but it doesn\u2019t<\/em> sound as good without a brass section. So there)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Shipboard relationships are funny things. There\u2019s always one group of people you end up getting close to, one group of people you end up spending almost all your time with. You would think that that would be your actual team, … Continue reading