13days on and one day off....
so i finally have time to post the craziness that has been the past week, when the vip dudes came we couldn't have our normal days off, and i also changed my day to be with melina so that equalled me working a hell of a long time straight. now, it is super hard to try to unwind because i have been in "pleasing mode" for 13 days straight. anyways, first off, henri, the pres, bought the bar team a bottle of champagne and toasted us being the best bar team he's seen in awhile. as well, the other vips were very pleased with how everything ran, and therefore antonio is happy. i actually have never seen him this happy. henri also finished his very upscale visit that began with redcarpet arrivals via boats and champagne to drinking merlot out of plastic cups at 4am in our g.o. room with the whole bar team (unfortunately the camera with the pictures was stolen two days after but luckily we had shown them to everyone including antonio who couldnt' stop laughing). so needless to say it was a memorable visit for all of us.
antonio also keeps calling melina and i his dream team so he's trying to keep us here by propositioning us to do our instructor class on the island and stay for the summer season (not going to happen but it's nice to have your ass kissed every once and awhile) so he's trying to make our lives super easy now, no set ups or arrivals for at least a week. plus all the diving he can provide for us by making our schedules the way we like them. it's nice to feel needed and appreciated, finally. i also have gained the nickname bossy kate because behind the bar i have been appointed the assistant when the managers are not there so i find myself delegating, which i actually have no problem with and luckily the other bargirls and guys find it funny rather than frustrating.
so anyways it is my day off today, melina and i went diving, vis was unreal and they were super chill dives, our friend geoff did his first ever dive which is always exciting to see, and i now have my 35th under my belt and going strong. c.lee (our rescue instructor) told us that those were our last two recreational dives and from here on out it is all about rescue and divemaster, which i am really excited about, and slightly anxious. tonight we don our new clothes we purchased and head out of the club for dins and then watch a movie and have a chill night. sweet sweet day off.
sorry for the length of time between posts hopefully this one fills you guys in a bit more. i miss you guys but cannot wait for march 3rd when my MOM is coming to visit!!!!! so excited.
love you.
rescue divers commence!
ok so the last couple of days have been pretty chill, they are hitting up some pretty sick music at the bar and we're all really starting to get into the groove of the work. this week is intense because the owner of clubmed and 4 other VIPs are coming to the village from wednesday to friday and basically we have been told "if you make any mistakes, you will be killed" but luckily we take that with a grain of salt and just keep doing what we're doing. what really thrilled me is that my day off was spent doing my rescue diver with melina where we did a series of scenarios combined with practising tows and equipment removal. we have two more sessions and four dives and then we're complete and then onto divemaster. i'm pretty motivated and i think everyone appreciates that on the scuba team. when i'm on the boat i help out and want to learn everything i can. i even found a friend in the kitchen who is from venezuela and who is going to help me brush up my espanol. so much to do in seemingly so little time, it is already january17th!
no really, i'm still here....
ok so i am going to have to try to recount the first ten days of 2007 because this is the first time i have had a moment to do so. i worked new years which ended up being a little depressing because i was unable to see a lot of what the club did to celebrate but at the same time i was an integral part to it going well so i can feel good that i helped make it happen. there was a huge cocktail followed by a lighting ceremony and a huge water fountain made by the scuba team in the pool, plus lots of bottles of champagne. everyone seemed to have an amazing time. jeff came back which was a bit of a startling situation in the middle of my shift but its good to have him back and diving. since then it was rocky, the fall out from having two solid weeks without time for myself made me wonder if this is the place for me. i had no time to call my family or even breathe it sometimes felt like. but luckily my boss has seen that and has switched my day off to thursdays so i can hang out with my bestfriend here, melina, and work on our rescue diver. after losing sight of why i am here, i realized that all i want is to dive, chillout, learn french and gain some really great friends. and i believe i am accomplishing those goals. i also had my mid season evaluation and was told i was the most consistant bartender, and the communication between antonio and i has improved immensely which is very important for me.
basically i am not here to be friends with everyone and i am not here for drama which i'm not going to go too far into but it has followed me lately and i came here to escape such problems not endure them. so luckily my new room, and roommate are amazing, i have my four walls to help me remain sane. i also have some people that i really care about and luckily some great gm's to drown out the jaded go's.
today's diving was great except everyone (except me) got sick on the boat, because of the huge swells, but the eagle ray, the reefsharks, the baracudas and the hogfish (my faves) all made it worth it.
i'll try to keep up a bit better. i think the roughest part is over.
