Wednesday December 29th, 2010 - Roatan, Honduras Quite often I’ll work way harder on my days off than I do when I’m actually working. I did exactly that today, but still found time to have some fun in the sun. The weather here in Honduras is picture perfect, and with everyone stuck in snow back home, I savored it. Nothing stimulates high quality creative thinking like a brisk walk in the sunshine while my skull bakes the kinks and glitches out of my schemes. The blood pumps and the sweat flows, and I’m free to let my imagination wander to Uranus and beyond. It‘s invigorating. Today was the first time I did any wandering at this port. There’s a fantastic beach here, even though I’m not a huge beach person. It’s stunning to look at from above, and there’s a ski lift sky glider type ride that ship employees get to ride for free so that‘s what I did. It couldn’t have been a better day to do it. The scenery was spectacular, and I sat back to relax and let the ideas flow. I’ve got all kinds of irons in all kinds of fires, but the biggest thing I need is organization. If I don’t get myself a plan of action, none of it will ever fly. That’s not good or bad, it just is. I’ve spent years farting around with all kinds of things that have been all over the board. If I keep doing what I’ve been doing, I’ll eventually run out of gas and not have gone anywhere. Journeys don’t go in circles, but that’s what I did. I have a heaping helping of life’s hard earned experience on my plate, and I can use that as currency to advance myself to where I want to go. I’m actually not all that far from that place, and it’s very exciting. I’ve got all the ingredients, now I have to let the cake bake. Some things I’ve done off and on and half ass, and I’ve seen results. If I can reboot a bit and make some relatively minor adjustments, I think my quality of life will skyrocket in a very short period of time. I’m excited about 2011, because I’m hoping for some breaks. One thing I caught a break with was someone telling me about a seafood restaurant here called Gio’s. WOW. I can’t remember having a better meal for a better price anywhere on the planet at anytime. This is where most of the seafood shipped to the States is caught. The meal I had today was world class. I had a giant crab, two lobster tails and shrimp, all for about $30. They served Coke in the glass bottles and the dining room was a deck right out over the Gulf of Mexico. A more perfect setting could not be imagined. It was stellar. The salad dressing was homemade, fresh and delicious, and there was an exotic looking deeply tanned sexpot with an amazing pair of fresh ripe massive mangoes that were trying to escape from her halter top sitting right across from me. I would have paid to see those. The cab ride there and back was $20, but it was very educational. We passed all parts of town, from the gold coast to the gutter and I got to see how both sides live. It was typical of the countries I’ve seen in the region and once again it reminded me how good I have it. The cab driver was my age, and was going to wait for me while I ate. I invited him in to share the meal, and there was plenty there for both of us and still some left over. He loved every bite, and we had a great conversation. He filled me in on a lot of the country’s facts. Here’s a poor bastard my age driving a ratty cab to feed his five kids. He said I was his first fare of the day and I believe him. The economy has been hit pretty hard down around these parts, and business is down for everyone. I could tell the guy was grateful for work. He told me his father sired thirty-two kids. Yeowza. THIRTY-TWO! Granted, it wasn’t all with one woman, but that’s a pretty lofty number. What did he do, play in the NBA? It blew my mind when he told me that, but he swore it’s true. He said his father died several years ago as did his mother. He’s out there slugging it out trying to feed his own family. Buying the guy lunch was the least I could do. Actually, all I did was share the giant one I already had. That’s the way to live this life, and we both had a fabulous meal and I got a chance to learn about Honduras while I sat there soaking in all kinds of gorgeous scenery. We both rode home in his cab stuffed, and I managed to make it back to the ship with a half hour to spare. I knew I was cutting it close, but this was worth it. I’d definitely return, but next time I’ll try to find others to bring along. It’s too special of a place to go alone. This really has been a groundbreaking year. I worked cruise ships for the very first time and got to see a whole lot of sexy places I’d only heard about and others I hadn’t. I never heard of Roatan, Honduras before this year, and I’m usually pretty good with geography. I checked my email when I got back to my cabin and was pleasantly surprised to learn I have more bookings into the new year. I hadn’t heard from the booker and had no idea if I would be asked back or not. I could have lived with getting torched, but it’s nice to have a chance to keep the money flowing into 2011. I’m thrilled to have a chance to come back. Actually, I’ll be on some ships I haven’t done before. That’s always an adventure, but it doesn’t intimidate me at all at this point. At first, the whole thing was overwhelming, but now its just another ship. I know what to expect and I’ll go there and give them my best. The money is much appreciated, but this is never going to be the end all, be all of what I do. I’m hoping we can work out a nice arrangement where I can pick out the weeks I want each year, and make it a win/win. Even if I do, I’m not going to let my land contacts fade. In fact, I need to make more of them. Lots more. I am painfully lacking in the business side of show business and I’m going to do something about it. I could blame it on my ex business partner for a while, because he did my marketing. But that was long ago now. Even he didn’t take it to the level it needed to be. I know I can improve tenfold on this and it’s got to be a huge part of my focus for 2011. I’m funny enough, now I have to sell myself for real money rather than work for two bit road twits. I’ve earned my stripes.
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