Good friends are hard to find

Over the last 2 years both Paul and I have been through an interesting process with our friends. Going away for such a long period of time really shows you who is in your life on a constant basis and who is there on a situational basis.

On the ship it is especially difficult to have meaningful friendships with conflicting schedules and the transient nature of it all. The limited number of people makes it particularly difficult to have real connections with people; there are only 500 people that are on the ship all the time, of those 500 we would regularly have contact with about 250.

Can you imagine living in a town that only has 250 people? You would think you would have a friendship with everyone wouldn’t you? But it’s actually the opposite. The limited number of people means you meet less of the people you enjoy, it’s a numbers game, and there are less of them in your environment. To connect with "like minded people" you need to have mass. You need to meet lots of people to weed out the ones you are interested in.

So working on ships can often be filled with sustained periods of loneliness. It seems bizarre because you are surrounded by people 24/7 and you see the same people constantly. But the combination of conflicting schedules and the absence of a real connection leaves you with only a small group of people you can really relate to.

Most of the crew use alcohol to beat the intense loneliness that occurs on ships. It allows you to bond with others you normally wouldn’t spend 5 minutes with; it cuts through the boundaries pretty quickly and enables you to see things differently. But even this gets tired and can only last for so long before people start to get frustrated and depressed.

So when you have the rare opportunity to truly connect with people on a cruise ship, its absolutely wonderful. And if that connection lasts more than 12 days, you are truly blessed. But you know, the connection will stop at some point. The cruise ship industry is so transient, not many people can sustain this lifestyle for extended periods, so the volumes of people come.... and they go....

Recently we met the most wonderful group of people, fortunately for us we found them interesting and intriguing, we wanted to know more about them and they were the kind of people we would like to hang out with. What a surprise! Aaaannnnd! They had the same schedule as us! Woo hoo! Not only that but they even lived right near us on the ship! So the last eight weeks on the ship has been absolute heaven because we have shared some fantastic times with an awesome bunch of people. Some of the moments were fleeting, quick conversations, coffees, casual dinners. Other moments were lasting, spending the day together, long dinners, playing games or just casually hanging out and chatting.

As a result I wanted to dedicate this blog to the wonderful friends that come and go in our lives, to the people we make sincere connections with (you know who you are) and to the four wonderful people who took the ship by storm (no, not the ambassador hosts) the new Acapella group, Full Sail. So please allow me to introduce you to some of the most amazing and fabulous people we have met...Clayton, Tim, Marvin and David.

Clayton Lee is this wonderful young, energetic, passionate and genuine hearted person. His natural good looks have a pure quality to them that just makes you want to smile when you look into his eyes. He has the makings of a star, his voice is fantastic, his energy when singing is infectious and his humor binds it all together to make him hysterical to watch and a joy to be around. We were so fortunate to spend quality time with Clayton, sharing many moments from the mundane to the profound. He is a wonderful human being and we have the greatest love and admiration for him.

Tim Foust will hate me for describing him in this way but.... he is a tall, dark and handsome Texan with a smooth, sultry feel about him. Tim has this sensual way of being, he oozes into a room, he slides up to you and embraces you with his energy, its gooey, like warm just melted chocolate. His voice has the same qualities, it its truly amazing with one of the greatest ranges I have ever heard but he is most famous for his deep, deep, incomprehensible bass. We connected with Tim on such a basic level, no mess, no fuss, just folks being folks, what a joy! He is so relaxed we felt so comfortable around him and just enjoyed every moment in his presence, we hope there will be many more.

Marvin Randall is this strikingly handsome, tall, good postured guy from somewhere in the Bible belt (just like Tim and Clayton). You can tell he is a good soul the minute you meet him. He has this quality of respect, dignity and self confidence without arrogance. The attraction to Marvin was immediate, the moment he stepped onto the ship, people flocked to him (some for the wrong reasons), he is a real, up front and dignified person. You get this feeling when you are around Marvin that no matter what happens, you will be ok, it’s a kind of safe and comfortable feeling. He's got it covered. He, like the others, has an amazing voice also; our only issue with Marvin was that on the last day we discovered he had done the same course as us (Landmark) and we had a common tool to really connect with. We wish we had more time with him, we have so much to share.

Last but not least is David Baida. David is this wonderfully energetic person that somehow had his wires configured in an unusual way. David has an intensity to him that you don’t find every day, he gets worked up to a point that you think he's going to implode. We love most that David can see all this and is completely open about it, such brutal honesty; it will take him many places. David has the most amazing voice in that he can sing at such a high level and hold a note that it is incomprehensible to the layman (think along the lines of Mariah Carey). When you put his singing together with his character on stage, he is hysterically funny, he is an absolute joy to observe and listen to. We wish we had more time with David, the conversations we had with him were filled with insightful probing questions, the stuff that ordinary people don’t comprehend, he is a fascinating person.

Our friendship with these guys was so refreshing, so fulfilling, we had the best fun with them and we felt like normal human beings just hanging with their pals and doing stupid stuff. But these guys are special, they are all equally talented in their own right yet you would never know how special they are when you are in their presence, they are so grounded and so humble it’s incredible (well, maybe Tim is a little conceited :-) but hey, that’s what we liked about him! Tee hee.

So the completion of our latest contract with Crystal was surrounded in fabulous friendships and I would say wholeheartedly this was the highlight of our contract. We hope we will see them all in Australia at some point and that our family and friends back home will have the good fortune of meeting such wonderful people.

Clayton, Tim, Marvin and David, we love you guys, we miss you and can’t wait to hang out with you again. Please understand that you have a home in Australia any time you are there and we will do whatever we can to assist you if you ever want to grace our shores with your presence.

Photos from top left
No. 1 Clayton, David, Marvin & Tim (Backstage)
No. 2 David & Marvin (Clowning around backstage)
No. 3 Tim, Paul & Clayton (Climbing a rock in Boston)
No. 4 Clayton, David, Marvin & Paul (With me sound asleep)
No. 5 Tim & I (At the Boston Salsa Party... & he says he doesnt dance!)