As Departure Nears, Sleep Deprivation Occurs...

It is 3:14am, and for some reason, I am feeling compelled to post something right now.  I am sitting on my bed watching Gladiator, and I cannot help but remember how this all started.  

Friday Afternoon, May 16, 2008:

I was sitting in my cubicle; it was just another regular long day at the office when my phone rang.  It was Lesley Tascon calling from Suman Entertainment, a small booking agency based in Miami that deals mostly with getting musicians/bands work at sea.  Lesley mentioned there were a couple contracts available with the Cunard Line, and after viewing the itineraries, I knew that I had been presented with an amazing opportunity.  After about a week of back-and-forth emailing with Lesley and Michael Suman, the head of the agency, I finally got the call the morning of May 22nd that Cunard was going to hire me.  I couldn't help but jump for joy when I hung up the phone.  I ran to the nearest person in the office and while still shaking exclaimed, I GOT THE JOB.  I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!  

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It is interesting to look back at the very beginning of the prologue to this journey, especially when I am so close to actually writing Chapter 1.  I am about 48 hours away from touching seeing Europe for the first time in over a decade, and quite frankly, I really do not know what to expect.  I am still in retention of the mentality that if I get to see Venice, the Parthenon, and the Coliseum, everything else will be an added bonus.