So, Alas, I write this thing- my blog- my journal- my "I'll keep y'allz informed through the internet" thing.
As some of you know, and many might not know, I finally got a job that actually uses my collegiate and graduate training- I am a singer on Holland America Cruise Line. Now, as those of you who have had cruise gigs know, working on a cruise line is awesome in the way that we've all dreamed about as musicians- room and board paid, a weekly stipend, and regular performance. What makes this gig particularly galactic is the beautiful ship itself, which is more yacht-like than cruisey and the itinerary, which, for the purpose of keeping you in "blog-spense" (see how I did that?!?!) will be revealed as I go along. Those of you a bit more info-impatient, well, you can find anything on the web. Word? Word.
Officially, I have been on my new home, the ms ROTTERDAM since May 17th, 2011 and have much to write about. But blogs must be succinct and I have much to catch up on. So, I'll start before the journey began by talking about what I affectionately called "The Resurrection Insurrection"- my going away party.
WARNING- this entry will not be short, so there!
We churched it out on April 24th, 2011- which was Easter. It also was the date in which, fifteen years prior, I decided to stop lying to/about myself and be openly gay, or, the date known as "JJ Gay Day" (titled by my good friend Benubi). It was therefore, the perfect day for a gathering. After all, Easter is all about triumvirate/three-in-one goodness and I was celebrating my own sort of rebirth.
You see, I had been dealing with many huge personal losses in 2010- the death of my father (which occured in 2007, but is still difficult), the loss of many relationships, including a romantic one, and a near collapse of my finances. Sometimes bad things come in threes, and those losses stung quite deeply. But, as they say, you take the good you take the bad- and it all gave me serious perspective on living and letting go.
It was a long battle, but the victory surely required a celebration. And, the celebration had to be GRAND.
The party would therefore be a pot-luck. With my beautiful, zany mother providing gumbo, cornbread, and a lemon-raspberry tart and I smoking a turkey. The undertaking for a smoked turkey was painstaking and awesome and painstakingly awesome. First, the smoker had to be primed by getting it to optimum temperature and keeping it that way for 2 hours. Then, I had to soak the turkey in a brine- a fragrant goulash of black peppercorns, garlic, thyme, salt, pink salt (which helps seal in the juices even more), sugar, water, and bay leaves. There had to be enough to cover the bird, so I had to make 4 gallons of the stuff (brewed on the stove) and throw it all in a cooler outside for 24 hours, making sure the brine remained cold while the turkey sealed its juices. Then, after washing off the salt, drying the turkey and keeping it in the fridge for 12 hours more, it arose from the frost a pristine white, cleansed of its penchant for dryness.
My good friend Nick came over Easter morning to assist with this endeavor as he had smoked meats before, and honestly, I've never seen someone whose whole being fired up at the mention of smoked meats like Nick. We came down the back stair, and I realized I had forgotten something inside so I tried to open the door, but it was locked. Nick had closed it behind us and locked us out. And my keys and my cell phone were inside. And the front door buzzer didn't work, so there was very little chance to wake up Meredith, who was allowing the party to happen at her place (where I was also a temporary roommate). Fortunately, Bagel (Meredith's dog) and her aching cuteness had made the journey outside with us. Her bark+my ingenuity= plan.
I took Bagel's tennis ball and threw it at Meredith's window, hoping it would wake her. The action of the ball throwing made Bagel excited, who told me, in no uncertain terms, that it was now time to throw it in her direction and she wasn't shutting up until I did. This, of course, I thought would work to my advantage, but, no response from Meredith. Finally, we looked next door where some gentlemen were working on a ladder. As they say, ask and you shall receive- soon I was shimmying up a ladder to Meredith's window. I knocked, gingerly- of course not normally what one would do un-slumber a person, but I didn't want to freak her out.
"Yes?" she said.
"It's Jason", I said.
"Hey baby!" she said, and we proceeded to have a conversation as if we had just met for coffee.
After a few minutes, she wondered "what are you doing outside of my window?"
"I was locked out and I was trying to get your attention with a ball and Bagel, so now I'm on a ladder."
"Oh! I wondered why Bagel was barking, but figured she'd stop sooner or later." She got up, got me in, and the party set-up continued.
Mom and my step-dad Mark arrived in the afternoon, as did my friends Benubi and Chris, and before I knew it, the rest of the congregation was arriving with their own culinary offerings. So much food!! and ALLL of it heavenly. But, the piece de resistance, the turkey, was absolutely divine- it arose from the smoker looking like a Norman Rockwell painting. Its entrance to the dining room literally caused gasps. And the turkey was so juicy it sho nuff did cause a revival. All were gorged, and all were happy.
The party began to wind down around 10pm, but my friends and I couldn't resist a night at Mary's Attic so a few of us headed over and sang our hallelujahs at karaoke. And the best part? We went back to the apartment afterwards and grubbed some more- that's right, even the party itself resurrected! Meredith testified on guitar, the rest of us shouted our approvals, and we proceeded to hoover up the rest of the food with our mouths. Revelry done, we passed out in our respective beds.
It was the best party I could have asked for. There were many other people that I wished could have made it, but the people that were there were definitely supposed to be there. Each and everyone that came contributed to a night of perfection. From the bottom of my filled heart, I thank you all for coming.You all helped to create a send off that surpassed my wildest dreams.
