3 Years??? Really, I'm that bad of a blogger!

Yes I actually am! Ok, where to start. I think I worked 3 more contract on 3 different ships. As of my last update, I left to go to my 3rd ship, which was the Jewel of the Seas around Thanksgiving and was there until the middle of January 2009. I got to experience more of the Caribbean including the Panama Canal. From there I went to the Adventure of the Seas that was actually ported in San Juan, PR and still experience more of the Caribbean. While I was on the Adventure, I got scuba certified and have since only done a few dives, I am looking forward to more dives.

After I got home in June of 2009, I decided to take some time off of ships to spend time with my family. I then accepted a position as the Audio Engineer/Production manager for a christian trio called "Beyond the Ashes". Through them, I got a lot more experience in a lot of different venues/churches which gave me lots of experience learning how to EQ the sound system each and every time we set it up.

Around Thanksgiving of 2009 my sister had called and told me that my dad was in the hospital and discovered that he had had a heart attack and come to find out, probably had it a week or so earlier. I spent as much time as I could up with my mom and dad while still touring with Beyond the Ashes. A little before Christmas, my mom had called again to let me know they were on their way back to the hospital. Come to find out, the medicine they had him on had caused his blood to thin out way too much and when he would check his blood sugar, his blood was not clotting. Christmas Eve, Seth(my son) was able to go to the waiting room on my dad's floor and my dad came out to see Seth. Seth didn't really like seeing his grampy looking like he was in pain. Christmas morning, my dad had a really bad night and ended up having a 3 hour nose bleed. Over the course of the day, we had several different issues and they were really worried that because his blood was so thin and he basically had no platelets, that he could potentially start bleeding on the brain. He eventually did start bleeding on the brain and we had to make a major decision. My dad ended up dying around 530 Christmas night.

2010 wasn't very eventful(at least not that I remember). Continued traveling with Beyond the Ashes and "Living the Dream"

In Jan, 2011, I decided that I needed to go back on the ships for a little bit to be able to pay my bills and support my family a little more. I then had my next contract on board the Liberty of the Seas. We started out in Miami and I saw even more of the Caribbean, at the beginning of April we repositioned over to Barcelona Spain and got to see Spain, France, and Italy. It was a great experience but I missed my family.

Now, through this whole process, I had been applying for my "dream job" every 6 months or so. Finally, around the middle of July, I had gotten the call I had been waiting on for 3+ years. Disney called and wanted an interview. I had several interviews and then by the end of July they had offered me a position as an entertainment tech with the Walt Disney World Resort. I signed off of the Liberty on Aug 14 and went almost directly up to see my new nephew that was born at the end of March. He is such a really cool kid. Less than 2 weeks after leaving the ship, I was moving to Orlando, FL to start my dream job at Disney. I started at Disney the end of Aug. and am currently working at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.

I hope to be more regular at updating everyone.

Rick

Back from my first contract!

Well, I got back late Monday night from my first contract with Royal Caribbean aboard the Sovereign of the Seas for 2 months and then on the Majesty of the Seas for 2 months. On both ships I was able to visit our private island of CoCo Cay in the Bahamas. It is part of the Berry Islands and is located about halfway between Nassau and Freeport. We also visited Nassau and Key West, FL. I was able to meet people from all over the world and made some really great friends. 

Both ships gave me some really great experiences, but now I am ready for a new set of experiences. I will leave on Nov. 27 and will join the Jewel of the Seas in Miami, FL. We will be on 10 and 11 day cruises to the Panama Canal and will visit other ports such as our private destination of Labadee Haiti, Columbia, Costa Rica, Panama, Aruba, and Grand Cayman. I am looking forward to the next step and hope that this awesome journey continues.

Carpe Diem

I just realized it has been way to long since my last post. I have come to realize that over the last year or so, 98% of my experience has been more volunteer based and not paid professional experience. Because of that knowledge, I have decided to accept a position in the secular world to acheive that experience. I still firmly believe that God is still working in my life and will control the direction of my life. I also believe that if I am not heading in the right direction, God will provide me with the job he wants me to have in a church.

As of this moment, I am doing the small mountain of paperwork to be employed by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. They have offered me a position as a lead audio tech on one of their floating cities. I am excited about the possibilities this will bring but am also nervous about leaving my family behind. I am still very interested in any church audio/tech position that may come open but I feel that with this experience, more opportunities will open up for me.

As always, keep me and my family in your prayers and thank you for your prayers and guidance in my life this far. I will also try to keep bloging when I can and keep everyone updated as to where I am and have been since previous blogs.

Just Another Fork In The Road

Well, God must really have a big plan for me and my journey. I did finally hear back from the church in Dalton and they feel that their needs are different from my gifts and abilities. As somewhat generic as that sounds, I am getting too used to hearing it. Even some of the smaller churches trying to be a big church are telling me similar things. Why won’t somebody give me a chance? 

Anyway, I do have another opportunity at a church in Charleston, SC. I have been through a phone interview with them and am waiting for the creative arts guy to talk with the senior pastor(who just got back from Israel last week). 

I just ask everybody to keep praying for me and my family as we travel on this journey together.

Agape’

Rick