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06/12/2008: ""

My alarm went off at 4:45 am. I got up and showered, packed up my suitcase and computer and drove to the airport. My first flight was to Dallas where I met my connecting flight to Cabo San Lucas. In most ports, I would be getting a cab or shuttle at the airport, but in Cabo, there is a ride waiting for me to take me out to the sea port. When I get to the sea port I have to take a tender boat from the shore to the ship (no big pier in Cabo).
Getting off of the tender boat, the handle to my suitcase came off. I had some really expensive luggage for about six months, it broke. Now I am using very cheap luggage which also lasts about six months. I will be able to finish this trip with no handle on my suitcase, but when I get home, I am going to Walmart for another cheap one.
When I sign onto the ship I go to the MSA (I believe it stands for 'master of staff administration') to drop off my passport and fill out some paperwork that must be filled out whenever you sign onto a ship. They also give me my cabin key. The Elation is the first Carnival ship I ever worked when it was out of Galveston. Now, it sails out of San Diego. I'm staying it the same cabin I stayed in that first time. I'm a very different comic than I was then, but the ship hasn't changed much. The crowds are different here, too. They are very much a west coast crowd so the California jokes that I usually only do when I'm in California clubs came out tonight.
When I got to my cabin it was about noon on the ship (2pm houston time). I unpacked, filled out my expense re-imbursement forms and had a quick lunch at the staff mess.
After lunch it was back to my cabin where I layed a towel down on the floor to do a little push-up/crunch workout. I had two shows tonight, one at 7:00 and one at 8:45. It was just me tonight doing the variet show so it was about fifty minutes of stand-up and juggling each show. This is the type of show I believe I do best and what I want to do on every ship.
After a little nap, I got ready for the show and headed backstage to warm up a little. The first show was a smaller crowd for ships. After spending the day in Cabo San Lucas it is tough to fill up the theater for a 7:00 pm show. There were about 400 people making the theater just under half full on this 'fantasy class ship.' The crowd took a little warming up, but they really came around and were very good for me. I felt like the first show I was on and did my show the way that I want to do it. Everything felt smooth and the show moved fast. Between shows I went back to my cabin to air out my shirt and towel off a little. I spent thirty minutes watching 'Celebrity Circus' which is a great way to rest your brain.
The crowd for the 8:45 show was hot. The theater was pretty full and they seemed 'fed and ready'. I didn't feel like I was as sharp onstage for the second show, but it was still a really good show. I let the crowd set the pace early on instead of the other way around, but we all eventually fell into step. I also juggled much better during the first show.
After the shows I headed back to my cabin to change clothes and went up to the crew bar to have a few drinks with the sound and light techs and a couple of social hosts that I have worked with on other ships. After about two hours I headed down to the midnight buffet for my dinner. I just can't eat too soon before a seven pm show so lunch was my last meal. I was also very tired at this point and after a few drinks it is hard to tell whether you need food or sleep or both. I made myself a veal sandwich on wheat bread.
That is it. This is a typical travel day into two shows. Tomorrow night I have an R-rated midnight show where I get to do my club stand-up act for the same folks who saw me tonight.