Blue Hole - June 19, 2006

Well, Joesph informs me it's been a week since my last blog, so here goes.

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Not much to report, actually. We went to the Blue Hole last week in Jamaica, which was fun and interesting to say the least.

Blue Hole is a local hang out, not well known to tourists at all. In fact, I'm not sure how we even found out about it. (Monster Matt from Youth Staff was our original tip-off) It's so secret, some taxi drivers won't even take tourists there. So all in all, considering the Jamaican gurellas and machete-welding robbers waiting in the treetops, Blue Hole wasn't such a safe idea to begin with.

So we all naturally jumped at the chance to go.

I put it up on my Excursions board outside my room, since I'm now known as the Excursions girl for the cast, and ten, count them, TEN people waited outside my door that morning. We all piled into a bribed taxi van together and headed into the jungle.

The bus drive was interesting, since they drive on the "wrong" side of the road to us Americans, (Who have arbitrarily decided that whatever WE do is right, and everyone else is backwards....) It was also crazy becuase our driver would whip around corners like no one was coming the opposite way, even though he didn't know that for a fact...

Then we turned in the jungle and onto dirt roads. Gareth was having little fits in the back from nervousness, and it didn't help when random Jamaicans started to chase the bus, knowning we were going to Blue Hole and wanting to make a quick buck being our 'tour guides.' Our bus driver actually let one of them on the bus for a ride and I thought Gareth was going to pass out.

Xavier and Jerry, two musicians, and my best friend Anglea went two weeks before and loved it, so they were our unofficial guides for the day. (And thank goodness we were there, because the bus driver missed the entrance to the secret location! And he was a local!)

We arrived to a glorious scene: A perfectly crystal blue hole of water with waterfalls tumbling into it from all sides, jungle trees and vines creeping in from all sides framing the perfect picture. Above one of the waterfalls were two rope swings, and we all took turns flipping and falling off the waterfall, whooping and hollering all over the place. (Generally being the idiots we are...)

Then, our guides decided to take most of us up to the "BIG" waterfalls... but I really like the idea of leaving all of our stuff alone in the Jamaican jungle, so Angela and I stayed behind, with Ryan staying as our 'muscle' too. (Anglea and I are intimidating, to be sure, but a six-foot Newfie bridge officer is good backup for us anyway....)

We layed out in the running water and sun for a little, girl-talking while Ryan slept (He works a terrible 4 am- 8 am shift), then Angela and I waded upstream a bit and found a fun whirlpool-ride that would sweep us around a bend of rocks at an alarming speed.

Danger + Speed = Fun, apparently.

When the group came back, they had a fresh batch of scars to show us from the "BIG" waterfalls. Everyone jumped off a thirty foot waterfall, but Mike was the only one to jump off the 75 ft. fall.

So all in all, a great day.

(Right, a great day... great idea for pretty much the ENTIRE revue cast to go jumping off waterfalls the day before a show....

Rock on Broadway was the next night!

Hilarious....)

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Maybe I should change the name on my board to Selena's Super DANGEROUS Excursions... (Ltd, of course)

A demand granted... - June 11, 2006

Well, it's offical. I love blogging. I love that people like my blogging. I love you people.... but here's a true fan....

"I'm obsessed with reading your blog. You write well. It's also a lifestyle I would never lead (seeing as I'm a guy, never been on a cruise, and dance like Elaine Benes from 'Seinfeld').

Thanks,
Joseph"

Hi Joseph. This one's for you.

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Cozumel. A hot day in Mexico.

To set the scene, Ryan, Katie (new Girl 2 singer and roomie) and I are walking down the sweltering streets of Cozumel. Katie suggests a cute resturant down the street from the pier. So off we go.

Or so we think...

We walk for a while, and since Cozumel is devastated from the hurricanes of last year (or Hummer-canes, as Gilligan would say) there is construction going on everywhere.

And what comes with construction but construction workers?

And their cat calls....

(It's like they've never seen a woman before?!?!)

So we hear it all.

"Hey bonita chica!"
"Hey pretty girls!"
"What are you doing toniiiight?"
"Hey beautiful!"

Ryan is getting more and more upset... every guy who calls gets an eyeful from our six-foot friend and officer on the bridge, Ryan.

But Katie and I blissfully ignore the Construction-Worker-Cavemen calling us. We immerse ourselves in some useful girl talk of our boyfriend (by me) and boys who would like to be boyfriends (by her).

Then, cars and scooters get into the game.

-Honk Honk-0
"Hey American girls!"
-Honk Honk-
"Hey pretty!"
-Honk Honk-

Ryan by now is FUMING. He's ready to punch out every other Mexican construction worker who stops working to check us out and every driver slowing down to honk at us...

...when....

-Honk Honk-

- BAM!!!!!!!!!!!! -

A scooter, honking at us, rams in to the back of a van.

The two guys on the scooter are not in good shape. One crawls across the sidewalk in front of us grabbing his knee....

Katie and I are confused and try to help this poor guy out, until Ryan points out to us that it was US that caused this hideous scene.

"US???" I ask, incredulously.....

"Yeah!" Ryan replies. And adds to the driver of the scooter "Next time, keep your eyes on the road, eh?"

Turns out, these poor gents were honking at us, and rammed into a bus...

And that's the day I learned I could stop traffic.

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Fin.

(For Joseph.... and everyone else....)

One down, two to go... - June 2, 2006

I've done it.

Well, part of it, at least.

The whole point of this job was to save money, right? (Well that, dance, dive, and have fun... but whatever)

Well, because of my injury (and my lack of will power to say "no" to any shore excursion that anyone thinks of...) I haven't saved much money.

BUT- I did do one great thing.

I paid off one of my three credit cards.

WOO HOO!

Ok, so it was the $300 one, and I still have two others with slightly bigger balances, but you gotta celebrate something, right?

Well, to celebrate, I'm getting a new laptop.

haha, yes. You read right.

I sold mine. (It was possessed by the devil or some evil spirit that liked to crash it anyway. I sold it for a really nice price to a guy on board) And now I'm getting a cute new 12 inch Apple Powerbook in two weeks.

How's THAT for a celebration? (I celebrate saving by spending.... hmmm)