I can't wait to get home. It's been such a long time... by the time I leave I will have been away from home more than 8 months. A few weeks ago I was asked to extend by an additional week because my replacement was not ready and I accepted, so my new sign-off date is March 6. Last week they sent another request, this time to extend 'til the end of March (once again, something to do with my replacement being delayed). I responded that it was not possible as I already have a plane ticket to join my mom in Aruba for a week starting March 12 and after 8 months away from home I am not giving that up. I have yet to hear back but hopefully they will be able to find someone else to fill in for me; I simply cannot do 9 months.
Last night we (finally) started a full ice melt in Studio B. This melt has been overdue since November but unfortunately it is difficult to schedule time to do it during 7 day cruises with so many sea days. We simply can't afford to be without a venue for ice skating and/or ice shows for 2.5 days. However we were able to work it out so that we would melt the ice on the evening of the last day of last cruise and then build the new ice over the first two days of this cruise. It is going to be a tight schedule this week. On top of the full ice make, our fleet head sound and light technician, Jeff, is going to be onboard Voyager this week. Definitely a good thing since it means we can get some maintenance and repairs done that may require a little more expertise, but it will make this week all that much more busy. In addition, the lighting designer for Ice Odyssey is expected to come sometime in the near future for a week or two to install some new lights we have onboard but cannot use them until the show has been re-designed for them. In preparation for her visit, I have been working very hard in Studio B trying to ensure that the lighting rig is in 100% working order (minus the broken lights that we are replacing).
My last few weeks are shaping up to be the busiest of my contract. I guess I'll certainly be earning my vacation now.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
My New Position
I'm now getting settled into my new job here on Voyager of the Seas as a Light Technician. All the paperwork is done, and I've also received my next contract offer. Leaving Voyager on Feb. 27 and coming back to the same ship (no surprises there) on May 1. It will be awesome to spend nearly 5 months sailing out of Venice, Italy. In fact, every port on the itinerary should be great. I'll have to try really hard not to spend all of my money in port next contract haha.
Now that I'm a light tech instead of stage staff, my duties have changed and responsibilities have increased considerably. My two main venues are Studio B (the ice rink), and the Royal Promenade (AKA the mall, the street, and whatever else guests call it the first time they see it). For the technically inclined, below is a list of fixtures in those venues (which I am responsible for repairs, maintenance, changing lamps, etc.)
Studio B
and the Vault Nightclub:
That's 112 moving fixtures that I am responsible for, plus a bunch of other lights and associated equipment which also require maintenance. It's a job that never ends, but I'm glad that I'll be coming back to this ship because it means I get to benefit from all of the work I'm doing right now when I come back. Many of these fixtures have been left for more than a year without proper maintenance and therefore I have created a new maintenance schedule for my Production Manager both to track my own maintenance work and to ensure that my replacement (for my 2 month vacation) takes on a couple of maintenance tasks as well so that I do not come back to a totally broken ship (lighting-wise).
Now, off to go work on the Vault so that I can hopefully get it back to what it looks like in the photo above... it certainly doesn't look that way right now haha.
Now that I'm a light tech instead of stage staff, my duties have changed and responsibilities have increased considerably. My two main venues are Studio B (the ice rink), and the Royal Promenade (AKA the mall, the street, and whatever else guests call it the first time they see it). For the technically inclined, below is a list of fixtures in those venues (which I am responsible for repairs, maintenance, changing lamps, etc.)
Studio B
 |
| Ice Odyssey ice show |
- 18 Lightwave Studio Color 575s
- 12 Martin MAC 500s
- 12 Lightwave Cyberlight SVs (half of which are to be replaced by MAC 700s which we already have onboard but cannot use until the show is redesigned for them in Feb.)
- 12 Martin MAC 250 washes
- 4 Martin MAC 250 entours
- about 10 data flash strobes
- 8 "9-lites" with scrollers (AKA the biggest pain in my life right now), to be replaced by Elation LED ELAR216s (also in Feb.)
- 100 or so source 4s (combination of pars and ERS)
- dimming for conventionals accomplished by about 280 ETC Sensor Dimmers in 3 racks
- 1 DF-50 Diffusion Hazer
all driven by a Wholehog 2 console... unfortunately (it's a really old system).
I'm also responsible for Royal Promenade lighting:
 |
| The Royal Promenade on Country Western night |
- 12 Martin MAC 600s
- 12 Martin MAC 250 Entours
- 4 Martin MAC 500s
- 4 Martin MAC 250 washes
- 8 Chauvet Colorado1 LED wash lights
- about 20 Source 4 ERS and PARs
- 1 rack of ETC sensor dimmers
- 3 DF-50 Diffusion Hazers
and the Vault Nightclub:
 |
| The Vault |
- 12 Martin Mania SCX700
- 4 Martin Mania SCX500
- 8 Martin Smart MAC
That's 112 moving fixtures that I am responsible for, plus a bunch of other lights and associated equipment which also require maintenance. It's a job that never ends, but I'm glad that I'll be coming back to this ship because it means I get to benefit from all of the work I'm doing right now when I come back. Many of these fixtures have been left for more than a year without proper maintenance and therefore I have created a new maintenance schedule for my Production Manager both to track my own maintenance work and to ensure that my replacement (for my 2 month vacation) takes on a couple of maintenance tasks as well so that I do not come back to a totally broken ship (lighting-wise).
Now, off to go work on the Vault so that I can hopefully get it back to what it looks like in the photo above... it certainly doesn't look that way right now haha.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Surprise! You're a light tech.
These past few weeks have been quite eventful. First, we had 2 very successful cruises over Christmas and New Year's, with especially high praise regarding the new year's eve festivities. All of us on the "black shirt" (production) team worked like crazy (I was up until 5am on new year's eve programming the lighting for that evening). We filled 2 25' balloon drops, 2 50' balloon drops, and installed rigging for a mirror ball drop in the "occulus" skylight above the promenade, with another 500 or so balloons placed around it. The countdown was quite spectacular and I was impressed that everything went off without a single glitch that evening. Some people had their doubts but we pulled it off and everyone loved it. I will try to post a few photos soon.
On another note, I had some interesting news on Saturday night. The Studio B lighting technician resigned from the company at about 9pm that evening, to depart the ship the following day in Galveston. I had a brief meeting with the 2 production managers, who informed me that I would be officially placed in the position on a temporary basis until I after I had my interview. From that point I had a few hours to gain whatever additional knowledge I would need from the departing light tech in order to take on the position, and that was that. The next day (Sunday), I was no longer a stage staff. It has been great to be able to finally take on the position that I have been training and waiting so long for. It was all truly worth it, and I am quite a bit happier with my job now. Since then I have been doing my best to assess the maintenance needs of Studio B and the Royal Promenade and I believe I have everything sorted out now, so I can continue to tackle maintenance projects over the coming week.
Today I had my interview with Amy and Paul from shoreside. It was somewhat brief, I think they asked me about 5 questions pertaining entirely to my experience in lighting fixtures and control, both on and off the ship (but mostly on). They have said to expect an official answer either tomorrow or early next week as of course this is an unusual situation I am in on Voyager right now, and obviously they would want to make sure a qualified person is filling the position. If the decision is made to promote me, I think it is quite likely that I will be simply converted to a permanent light tech (instead of temp) and kept on this ship until the end of my contract. Conveniently, the last day of my contract is the exact same day as the previous light tech's sign-off date, so I think this will all work out quite smoothly. Certainly much easier than moving to another ship for my last 2 months of this contract.
I moved into my new single cabin yesterday (exactly the same layout as my old one but with the bunk beds ripped out and replaced with a double bed). It feels good to be doing what I've been training for years to do. I also have to admit that there are parts about being a stage staff that I won't miss if I get the permanent light tech job.
Update Jan.7:
Just got the news that I passed the interview have been accepted for the position. :)
On another note, I had some interesting news on Saturday night. The Studio B lighting technician resigned from the company at about 9pm that evening, to depart the ship the following day in Galveston. I had a brief meeting with the 2 production managers, who informed me that I would be officially placed in the position on a temporary basis until I after I had my interview. From that point I had a few hours to gain whatever additional knowledge I would need from the departing light tech in order to take on the position, and that was that. The next day (Sunday), I was no longer a stage staff. It has been great to be able to finally take on the position that I have been training and waiting so long for. It was all truly worth it, and I am quite a bit happier with my job now. Since then I have been doing my best to assess the maintenance needs of Studio B and the Royal Promenade and I believe I have everything sorted out now, so I can continue to tackle maintenance projects over the coming week.
Today I had my interview with Amy and Paul from shoreside. It was somewhat brief, I think they asked me about 5 questions pertaining entirely to my experience in lighting fixtures and control, both on and off the ship (but mostly on). They have said to expect an official answer either tomorrow or early next week as of course this is an unusual situation I am in on Voyager right now, and obviously they would want to make sure a qualified person is filling the position. If the decision is made to promote me, I think it is quite likely that I will be simply converted to a permanent light tech (instead of temp) and kept on this ship until the end of my contract. Conveniently, the last day of my contract is the exact same day as the previous light tech's sign-off date, so I think this will all work out quite smoothly. Certainly much easier than moving to another ship for my last 2 months of this contract.
I moved into my new single cabin yesterday (exactly the same layout as my old one but with the bunk beds ripped out and replaced with a double bed). It feels good to be doing what I've been training for years to do. I also have to admit that there are parts about being a stage staff that I won't miss if I get the permanent light tech job.
Update Jan.7:
Just got the news that I passed the interview have been accepted for the position. :)
Monday, December 20, 2010
Interview? Please?
Alright so I think I just made it through the last step before getting an interview. This month has been very hectic with cast install going on and even though I have been doing a lot of work, the theatre PM has been very busy and therefore I didn't want to bother him about my promotion 'til it was done. Now that it is, it sounds like we'll be able to get the cruise director to sign off today and hopefully e-mail the paperwork out to the Miami office tomorrow. What remains uncertain is whether the people in charge of the interviewing are still in the office tomorrow or if they have started their vacation(s) already. All that I'm hoping is that I have this interview and a final yes/no by December 31. I had made it a personal goal to get promoted within 2010 and it looks like I might just barely make it-- as long as there is indeed still someone in the office to do the interview.
In the meanwhile, I'm sure I've mentioned before that it can be very difficult being away from family during the holiday season. However, the black shirt team on Voyager has made it a lot easier. We have been doing lots of Christmas decorating and also a secret Santa (with very late notice, I might add). I also bought some decorations for my cabin at walmart 2 weeks ago which has helped a lot. I recall on Explorer last year we did next to nothing for Christmas and it seemed to just come and go all in one day, and that one day we worked non-stop so I barely even remember what happened.
Anyway I guess my next post will be post-interview (at least I certainly hope so!) and I'm hoping I'll have some good news to share.
In the meanwhile, I'm sure I've mentioned before that it can be very difficult being away from family during the holiday season. However, the black shirt team on Voyager has made it a lot easier. We have been doing lots of Christmas decorating and also a secret Santa (with very late notice, I might add). I also bought some decorations for my cabin at walmart 2 weeks ago which has helped a lot. I recall on Explorer last year we did next to nothing for Christmas and it seemed to just come and go all in one day, and that one day we worked non-stop so I barely even remember what happened.
Anyway I guess my next post will be post-interview (at least I certainly hope so!) and I'm hoping I'll have some good news to share.
Friday, December 3, 2010
The Next Step
Glad to be back in the Caribbean. It's so much more familiar.
This upcoming cruise will be the beginning of production cast install. The current cast had their final shows last night (and I worked backstage for those shows because we are short 2 production staff this week). It seems the second half of my contract is destined to be totally busy from beginning to end.
In other news, I have now been signed off on by one of our PMs, Darwin, for my lighting interview. The next step is to approach the cruise director and get his signatures as well, then I will qualify for an interview. Unfortunately this CD has only been on the ship since the end of the crossing and therefore I haven't been able to demonstrate my lighting abilities to him as yet. Hopefully I will have an opportunity soon.
We did have 2 major lighting maintenance sessions over the past 2 days. We took down all of the Martin MAC 600s and Coloram II scrollers for a thorough deep cleaning. This is in preparation for the upcoming cast install. All technicians and stage staff participated in this and we got a lot of work done. There were several repairs to be done as well since it looks like the prior theatre light technician had not done a lot of preventative maintenance other than changing lamps.
This upcoming cruise will be the beginning of production cast install. The current cast had their final shows last night (and I worked backstage for those shows because we are short 2 production staff this week). It seems the second half of my contract is destined to be totally busy from beginning to end.
In other news, I have now been signed off on by one of our PMs, Darwin, for my lighting interview. The next step is to approach the cruise director and get his signatures as well, then I will qualify for an interview. Unfortunately this CD has only been on the ship since the end of the crossing and therefore I haven't been able to demonstrate my lighting abilities to him as yet. Hopefully I will have an opportunity soon.
We did have 2 major lighting maintenance sessions over the past 2 days. We took down all of the Martin MAC 600s and Coloram II scrollers for a thorough deep cleaning. This is in preparation for the upcoming cast install. All technicians and stage staff participated in this and we got a lot of work done. There were several repairs to be done as well since it looks like the prior theatre light technician had not done a lot of preventative maintenance other than changing lamps.
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Crossing
Well, here we are, halfway across the Atlantic. Nothing in sight but water and sky for miles. This actually doesn't bother me, and I've cruised from San Diego to Hawaii with my family before, so being at sea for days is nothing new to me.
It sure has been a busy cruise so far though. With something going on during virtually every moment of every day in Studio B, we have been working much harder than usual. I am still spending every possible moment doing lighting work in hopes that when the usual Studio B Production Manager comes back, I will be ready to get an interview set up.
It's weird not knowing when this contract will end. If I go by my original projected sign-off date, I'll be leaving at the end of January. However I did request to extend until the end of February and therefore it could be a month longer if that request was actually processed. Then there's the possibility that I get and pass my lighting tech interview during the month of December and they need to transfer me to another ship and extend my contract a bit more. So right now I don't even know if I'm halfway through or not.
Only time will tell, I'm sure I'll have at least some really good news in the coming weeks.
It sure has been a busy cruise so far though. With something going on during virtually every moment of every day in Studio B, we have been working much harder than usual. I am still spending every possible moment doing lighting work in hopes that when the usual Studio B Production Manager comes back, I will be ready to get an interview set up.
It's weird not knowing when this contract will end. If I go by my original projected sign-off date, I'll be leaving at the end of January. However I did request to extend until the end of February and therefore it could be a month longer if that request was actually processed. Then there's the possibility that I get and pass my lighting tech interview during the month of December and they need to transfer me to another ship and extend my contract a bit more. So right now I don't even know if I'm halfway through or not.
Only time will tell, I'm sure I'll have at least some really good news in the coming weeks.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Finally getting to do some lighting work
After a frustrating year of trying to find a light tech willing to help me out with my lighting promotion (aside from Eric on Serenade), my time has finally come. The new Light tech (and Head Sound & Light tech) in the La Scala theatre, Tennessee, has been very helpful to me as well as Thomas, a stage staff who is quite skilled in sound. Last night, I fully programmed and operated lights for a headliner show for the first time and Thomas ran sound. Both shows went quite smoothly aside from the house lights malfunctioning during both shows (not due to any error on my part). It was great to be given an opportunity to show that I actually can do what I've been saying I can. I've been told I am welcome to do any repairs that are needed as well... so that will allow me to demonstrate the other half of light tech skill requirements: maintenance.
Since Rey was promoted, he was to be transferred to the Vision of the Seas, so he left on Sunday. Unfortunately, due to a visa problem, he ended up having to go home (for now) instead of to his new ship. We didn't get a replacement stage staff for him and it appears we may not get one for a while (possibly . Thomas transferred from Studio B to the theatre when another SS departed and we got one replacement SS in Studio B, Hine. So for now Hine and I are the only Stage Staff in Studio B. It'll be a little more work but really the only big pain is that the duty rotation will be every other week instead of every three weeks.
Just over 2 weeks left until the crossing. I have seen the tentative schedule for the crossing to Galveston and there will be a LOT of activities going on in Studio B. We will be very busy. Somewhat dreading the 6 sea day stretch when we will not be seeing any land at all.
Since Rey was promoted, he was to be transferred to the Vision of the Seas, so he left on Sunday. Unfortunately, due to a visa problem, he ended up having to go home (for now) instead of to his new ship. We didn't get a replacement stage staff for him and it appears we may not get one for a while (possibly . Thomas transferred from Studio B to the theatre when another SS departed and we got one replacement SS in Studio B, Hine. So for now Hine and I are the only Stage Staff in Studio B. It'll be a little more work but really the only big pain is that the duty rotation will be every other week instead of every three weeks.
Just over 2 weeks left until the crossing. I have seen the tentative schedule for the crossing to Galveston and there will be a LOT of activities going on in Studio B. We will be very busy. Somewhat dreading the 6 sea day stretch when we will not be seeing any land at all.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
