Lazy Turkeys

Lazy Turkeys

19^th May 2011

So much for getting up at 10… I ended up getting up at 12.30 before waking Stu. Lazy isn’t even the word but then again we only had 7 hours sleep. Quickly showering, Stu met me at my cabin. Along with David, Ritesh, Fede and Hernan we headed up to the Staff Mess for something to eat. 

David was on the hunt for trainers for the gym… I swear it’s an excuse not to go to the gym! Hernan and Fede were off for a wander before Fede had to go into the lab and start printing. Ritesh needed to pop to Western Union to send money home to India. We were pretty sure there was a Western Union of the way to the Turkish bar/café we use so Ritesh came with Stu and me.

Once again I spoke to the parents before they headed out. I’m starting to make a habit of getting my Mom out of bed. There’s a 7 hour time difference between us so it’s always early whenever I call. Having said that, I’m such a Goddess that my Mom is obliged to drag herself out of bed to speak to me. 

Becks sent me an essay of an email. She’s all good except for the odd bits and pieces here and there. I understand where she’s coming from. It’s a shame she’s not on the same ship as me. I miss talking to her. When things get you down, it’s good to have someone you know and trust to talk to. Even though we haven’t known each other for a long period of time, we are both on the same wave length and similar in many ways so get on really well. I’ve told her next time she’s got a problem or needs someone to talk to, to just email me and I’ll get back to her as soon as I get online. I’m really looking forward to meeting up with her in England. It’s going to be such a laugh!!

I was determined to finish my competencies and Reuben wanted them done by the end of Istanbul. I was on a failing mission. Time was running out. Stu was helping me as much as he could but there were three sections that I kept failing. With the clock ticking I was getting more and more frustrated. I needed to read through the entire "lesson" again before doing the exam but there simply wasn’t time so it’d have to wait until Naples. Rapidly packing up we headed towards the ship. The queue wasn’t anywhere near as long as we’d anticipated.

Again Stu and I ran to our cabins to shower and change into our uniform. We were meeting in the lab in 20 minutes to collect the prints for the gallery. Three bags full of prints and we were on our way to the gallery to meet the others. In two groups we took it in turns for lunch. One group went first while the other started to display and then vice versa.

We had a meeting with Reuben who asked how much we’d sold. When it comes down to selling the Get The Picture (GTP) Fabio is in first place with 4. I’m in second place with 2. Stu has started to catch me up and I’m desperate to go head-to-head with Fabio. If we sell more than 5 we get dinner for free in the guest’s dining room. Very posh! 

Reuben’s told us to push the engraved photo frames priced at $32. He gave us a rough idea on the speech. We are having a bit of a competition to see who sold the most within the night. We aren’t competitive are we!? At the end of the night, only three were sold. Rueben, Stu and I each sold one. As our prize Stu and I were given "reward cards" to take down to the Crew Office. There, we'd pick up our prize which could be anything from a $10 voucher for the internet to 10% off Johnny Rockets. 

It was all good fun, once I’m given a rough idea how to pitch. I’ll pitch and push as far as I can go… sometimes the guests put their hand in their pocket sometimes they don’t. It all goes hand in hand. You win some, you lose some.

Some people enjoy sitting around all day behind an office desk which is okay, I’ve done it before. I love the running around part of the job. The running around, competitions, incentives and selling! It’s hectic and you're running around like a headless chicken on a mission but it’s a huge part of the fun.