exhausted does not even begin to explain.....
so things here are crazy. people are getting fed up easily and wanting to quit. luckily, i am not one of these people, i'm still super happy to be here. actually, me and this guy geoff from australia have started putting together ideas for a business plan for the possibility for an adventure company which has been my dream forever. i'm really excited by the prospect of having future plans with some of these amazing people that are here. as i was saying there are really busy days, but good days, it has been sunny for a week straight. i have also been diving a few times, seeing sharks and gaining more nicknames about my air consumption. tomorrow is new years and we work for a million hours but it will be a blast, i'm getting my day off switched to thursdays so that i can dive with melina, my new roommate as of a couple weeks from now, and then we can take part in excursions together. fantastic. i wish i had more interesting things to tell but i haven't really had enough time to explore this past week and find out new things, just basically i have set up shop at the bar and even have a change of clothes there because i barely ever make it back to my room. the rescue diver book keeps getting read, i am on chapter two and going strong. i am really looking forward to having that under my belt. i'm at 25 dives so far on my way to 60, as soon as the holidays are over i will be able to get 9 or12 dives a week. and thank goodness for not getting sick.
merry merry to all.
so it is christmas here and it is unbelievebly surreal. last night was an incredible night. yesterday i woke up and watched as my bar manager antonio came in dressed as santa by boat with his two elves by his side which, against the ocean and sand, is a sight in itself. we then spent the entire afternoon working on our tans and setting up the largest cocktail of the year. it was breathtaking. luckily pictures were taken (with other people's cameras because i fail when it comes to being prepared lately) so i will post them when i get them. there were ice sculptures, champagne fountains, sails, snowflakes, and of course, my mom's eggnog which went faster than any other drink. not suprised. we dined on lobster, caviar, foie gras and oysters. and had the busiest night thus far at the bar. luckily we were thanked by both david and antonio at one point by drinking to the bar team with a bottle of veuve and a bottle of moet. the wee hours came quickly and i hit the sack around 5am, exhausted. it was kind of sad to see everyone being able to party and us serving them their party juice but at the same time we were happy to be hanging out together behind the bar and enjoying ourselves. i was told by one of the assistant managers, after a long venting session, that i have potential to move forward and up. i dont' think it is something i ever want to do but i apprciate the comment especially after a night of long hard work. today, i will try to put time on my phone and get in touch with the fam, and then work tonight until 1. i am looking forward to wednesday. oh ps. jeff is coming back to work here as a scuba instructor on dec. 30th. very random
diving el solo......
so yesterday was a bit of a struggle, i got up at 7 after closing and went diving with clubmed without my faithful companion jeff, needless to say i was beyond spoiled when diving with an instructor. i dove with two guys, one man who had 500 dives but sucks back air like its going out of style but a super sweet man, and then a newyorker. the first thing he says to me is "hi i'm marty, you're a bartender right? you guys don't give a rats ass about the people on the other side of the bar do you?" to which i replied "good morning to you too". after about twenty minutes of discussion (me, cursing the hour boat ride to the dive site) i finally said you're a newyorker right? he said, oh the accent right? right.....the accent.
anyways he freaked out underwater and i came up from both dives with 3/4 of a tank of air but while i was down there it was beautiful, raining on the surface and calm and relaxing underneath. i was happy i went.
after a full day of sleep and working the close shift, today i am getting ready for our secret santa and staff party as well as my coyote ugly dance. that is slowly getting better. slowly.
off to work and make some eggnog.
the past couple of days......
so times have been needless to say good. i have been working day shifts lately and have been really enjoying the early nights. well ending at 1am instead of 4am. it has allowed me the option to dive, unfortunately the weather has been really shitty and they haven't been going out. but luckily on my day off, jeff took me to west caicos again and the clouds parted and it definitely rivaled last week. this week there were not as many sharks but i found weight belt which i dropped into the blue at 150ft and watched it fall to where it would eventually end at 6000ft and i would be the last person to ever touch it. kinda cool when you think about it. i'm really going to miss diving on that side of the island, it is so different than with clubmed if for nothing else its nice to dive on a boat where everyone isn't asking me what my favourite drink to make is. anyways i've been hearing from a lot of friends back home and it is so fantastic to hear that everyone is doing so well and is happy and healthy. i still can't believe it is almost christmas though i have been elected to make the eggnog for the bar (including a lot of rum i assume) which should bring some of the christmas spirit. however, it is strange to see a christmas tree with a beach and turquoise ocean behind it. so the day off went off without a hitch but the day after, being last night, was a really horrible shift, basically based on the fact that the new boys are not getting any faster and i basically need to pick up their slack which is not easy when you have forty drinks to make all at once. it is easy to make mistakes, and i made one, a big one regarding a bottle of black label moet. anyways i have to bite the bullet, like i did with a plane ticket in europe, and realize that it is what it is and it is only money. regardless today is a new day. i work during the day getting me off at 12 which is amazing. jeff leaves tomorrow which will be weird because we've become really good friends and it has been nice to dive with an instructor. he keeps reminding me of of how shallow i will have to dive from now on because most people are not very good on air consumption. crap.
i think that's all for now, i'm off to work and try to wake up a bit.
enjoy yourselves.
k
the best day off yet....
so yesterday i woke up after 3 hours of sleep, took a shot of espresso and was off to west caicos where its a much calmer place to dive and did a two tank dive with jeff where we saw the most beautiful coral i have ever seen in my life, the sharks circled us but other than that it was virtually the most relaxed i have been in a long time. very zen, which may explain my freakish air consumption control. we saw rays and turtles and basically all aquatic life you'd want to see while diving. the viso wasn't as good as it apparently usually is but i will have time to be able to go back again and again, within reason since the dives are around 200 bucks. this time it was free. i then went to hemingways for dinner and had a rare seared tuna with great wine, much different than the usual fare. and after a bit of dancing and enjoying the night life i turned in around 6am to rise again at 10 for my shift at 11. and now i start again. i love these days though. because i finish at 1 and get a great night sleep in. tomorrow i go to beaches and enjoy the freedom of being at another resort where no one knows who i am. sometimes the nametag can be a curse instead of a blessing.
it's who you know.....
so yesterday i had a really great chat i had with jeff, my new found ex chief of scuba friend who lets me vent to him on occasion allowing me the opprotunity to get both an outside and inside perspective on situations. after the enlightening conversation, he scored us two seats on the diveboat in the afternoon (a rarity here, and somewhat of a payback journey) we went on a two tank dive which was amazing. the coral combined with the barracuda and sharks was unbelieveable. he was also really cool to take me and compliment me on my comfort in the water (i use at least 500psi less than him on every dive). i have realized that i need to do it more, and as such we are going to west caicos tomorrow where the water is calm and the viso is really excellent. i have been promised eagle rays and sharks, excitement is, needless to say, building. we also are eating out of the village which will be a novelty to be served and eat something a bit different.
however, tonight i must prepare for my coyote ugly dance, choreographed no less, that will have me up on stage dancing my heart out to unbelievable by fyc. very upscale.
we have another new guy sami who starts tonight, i'm really looking forward to our little family growing and me loving the girls a bit more each day.
so now, i am off to train, set up for tonight, learn the dance, grab the beach for an hour, work at six and go to bed at dawn, again.
the island life is rough.
the life of a vampire....
so many people say that the life of a bartender is much like a vampire. and i totally am getting that. i find myself lurking around the village at 5am and then people don't usually see me until the next evening (mainly because i am very stealth in my daily duties so as to be able to finish what i want to accomplish in the day and not get roped into extras). life is good though. i keep telling myself that la vie des isle es durer (or something like that) mais c'est bien. in the past couple of nights we've had some characters at the bar, such as the billionaire who drinks 23anos rum which is the best rum that you can buy and lets the bar staff sample it. mmm seriously smooth. our new barman has come, matt, who is from good ol' stouffville ontario where i have some good friends who he also knows (such is being canadian). it's nice having new blood, new excited blood, since i find my spirit being broken every couple nights by my boss which takes the experience down a couple notches. regardless, today i go on an afternoon dive with some ex go's and get a two tank dive in before my shift. i'm slightly apprehensive due to the fact that it has been awhile since i have dove but i'm sure with an ex chief of scuba by my side, all will be well.
off to do some laundry, catch some rays and rest up for the dive.
i miss you all, love,
kate
