12 Days of the Diamond Princess and beyond!

It's been a month since I have updated my blog. I have been busy riding the wave of these travels and haven't spent much down time until now. I am currently in Bangkok, Thailand. I am going to be here for a month total. My next plan was to go to Egypt to see the ancient pyramids and other monuments. Over the last few days a political upheaval and civil unrest has broken out and  US citizens there are doing their best to get out of Egypt. The US government is making special arrangements to get them out, but word about this operation isn't traveling very fast there. The Egyptian government has shut down communications and the internet, therefore those Americans trapped in Egypt may not even be aware of the efforts to get them out. It will be interesting to see how these events unfold in the days and months ahead.


Everything ██is█████ ████ ████fine ███ █ ████ love. ████ █████ the ███ Egypt ███ ████ government ██


My cruise was amazing. It was the first cruise I have ever been on. It was aboard the Princess Diamond Cruise. A thousand foot long ship that carries 3,000 passengers and about 1,100 crew. Pure luxury and beautiful sites. This was an Abraham-Hicks cruise, (The Teachings of Abraham) Click to learn more. Seven hundred plus group of like minded, positive, inspired, tuned-in, turned on, tapped in, conscious creators & manifestors all together on one luxury cruise liner. It was fantastic. We played, laughed, cried, and all grew together in a beautiful harmonious, synergistic, and energetic way. It was amazing. 


After my embarkation I felt a little sad because I had left behind an amazing adventure and an amazing people in Auckland, New Zealand, which by the way may be in running for friendliest place on Earth. I was also sad because I was in a state of confusion about my past lover. When I left Chicago we had a beautiful time together and to quote him directly, he "has come down from that high" and was back to being himself again....whatever that means. I guess it means he was back to his old pattern. No longer in deep appreciation, or being his authentic self, and his eagerness had passed.  I was still riding my high, well, because that's who I am, a Happy, Fabulous, and a Lover of a person. I'm thankful that this is who I am....


Here I was left with this wet blanket on me, all the while having the time of my life. My energy was split. Do I stay or do I go. Do I pursue my lover or do I not... The truth is I had no choice in the matter. Life was moving forward and at a rapid pace, about 40 knots to be exact, and whether my lover or I would ever be together was in short, irrelevant (to quote Abraham). As was the daunting concept of what to do with my life after my adventure abroad. It was all irrelevant. One of my concerns was that my heart was in two places (with my lover) and (gaining closer over my lover). Does any of this sound familiar to you? 


My only job, my only purpose, my only responsibility was and is to feel good, connect with my source, and to relax about life. In doing this I resonate with my fabulous self that I have come to know and love. That's it. Everything else is irrelevant. That's what I learned on this cruise. If I were to sum it all up. I learned this lesson on a much deeper level than just the intellectual. I learned it experientially. It was a tipping point experience. My energy has shifted. This lesson can be applied to all things in my life. The lover, the bank account, the business, the career, health, fears, it all becomes irrelevant and what shines through is the relationship that I have with my self and that I control what I can, and that is my happiness. I look back on my life, it has been in those times that I have been most relaxed and that things have worked out best for me. Yes it has taken a practice and a discipline, in those times life has unfolded in the most beautiful and perfect way, and much more fabulous than I could try to do with action and force.


It's like when you have a perfect day. Everything just flows naturally. The perfect people show up and it seems no work at all. In fact it feels like play. Natural and delightful play time. That's what this cruise became. We toured gorgeous New Zealand. Saw the Fjords. Ate like kings and queens. And partied non stop. We had our workshops with Abraham and we grew together in the beauty of the truth of our freedom to be creators in our world, each of us a powerhouse. Though the weather wasn't always perfect and there were times when the exaggerated movement of the ship would remind us we were on the ocean, it was perfect, relaxed, and flowing.






It was the longest 12 days of my life and I mean that in a very good way. Time just seemed to stand still.  My first real adventure off the ship was in Dunedin, NZ. A group of friends and I were walking down the port and I heard someone yell "Dustin!". It was a couple of my fellow "Abrahamsters" that I had sat with the day before in the workshop. They were in a shifty van that said "Personalized Tours" on it. Our tour guide was a true local with a very dry and unfilitered sense of humor. She was cynical about her city but yet in way you could feel her true love for it. We joined the group and it would end up being the most fabulous day. It was filled with crazy weather that consisted of all four seasons, high winds, hail and beautiful sun. Lots of laugher and the most delicous fried fresh blue cod and chips that were out of this world. It really was the best fish and chips I have ever had. 

                       
We even high jacked a tour at the Oleveston Mansion. It was a paid tour. We just didn't go inside. We ran around the gardens, the greenhouse, used their bathroom, and smelled the lavender. One of my cohorts even ate a few of the sugar snap peas out of the garden, which, were way over mature. Really she was helping them out. When we first came up the driveway we saw a fleet of vintage luxury limousines and someone said "Oh, the Hicks are here" as in the Hicks of Abraham-Hicks Publications. It was Esther and Jerry and their entourage. For a brief moment I felt that I wanted to be in that entourage and riding in the fleet of limos. And I delighted in the idea. 


One of my cohorts had said at the beginning of the day that if she didn't see seals that she would be "devastated". This was not the tour to see the Albatrose and the Seals. It was the Town and Country Personalized tour, seals were not part of the deal. For guaranteed seals we would need to drive about an hour drive outside of Dunedin. Our guide had said she had seen some seals by her house and in fact her neighbors tiny dog was snatched up by one of the seals just the other day and taken for a swim in the seals mouth. Miraculously the little dog survived the adventure unscathed and with its life. 




Would you believe that not only did we find seals, but we found a Mother and her pup nursing and sunning on the beach. The joy and the magic of the moment was felt by the group. It was as if our tour guide and staged the whole thing. Those seals were totally cool about us being there. Taking photos and videos the whole time and just reeling with excitement. Later that day as we floated away we saw a beautiful rainbow. For the remainder of our cruise we were followed by three Albatross. Omens.

A friend that I made on the cruise was a playful type. When I met her she was wearing devil horns and her friend was wearing a princess tierra. That's how we met actually, I called out to her and her friend as we were descending the stairs for our emergency drill that I was jealous of her tierra and wanted to know how I could get one. We hit it off right away and talked all through the emergency information. She sent me off on a scavenger hunt. Not the traditional scavenger hunt by any means. I was sent on this hunt alone and it was a search for people that would have clues for my next link in the chain. During my pursuit of clue gathering  I was forced to get on my knees and beg, give a foot massage, run around and quack like a duck, and sing Kenny Roger's song the Gambler. My final clue brought me back to my new friend where I sang her "You are my Sunshine". I received my prize. A bottle of Penal Noir (no not a typo), her book, and yes the princess Tierra. Which I did wear for the rest of the night. I was crowned the Princess of the Diamond Princess. A proper title. I had gone from Miss America in New Zealand to The Princess on my cruise. I think I'm getting accustomed to being given fabulous feminin nick names :)

All in all we went to Taurunga, Christchurch, and Donedin New Zealand, cruised through the Fjords of New Zealand aka The Marlborough Sounds, Tazmania, Melbourne, and eventually disembarked in Sydney, Australia. We spent 12 days at sea and in port. Ate 12 fabulous fine dinners, and spent 12 hours with Abraham and made friendships that will last a lifetime. Not too shabby and definitely a good return on investment. Most importantly I made peace with my past and also with my future that I could relax and enjoy the moment and prioritize what is really important, my relationship with me. 

Getting 3,000 people off of a ship and through customs is a bit of an ordeal. They organized us by groups. I, through some act of fait, ended up in the pink group. How appropriate. As I meandered my way through the drama of the customs process I found myself exiting out to the wharf what is known as "Circular Quay". Little did I know this would become a popular destination for me in the next two weeks ahead.


Outside I ran into a group of ladies that I had befriended at the nightly LGBT gatherings on the ship and also fellow "Abrahamsters". They said "Dustin where are you going?" and before I could answer they told me to put my bags in their rental car. I had been abducted by three lesbians. It was no worry to me. We had already spent days together on the ship and tour Tasmania and Melbourne together. We tooled around Sydney, had some bad seafood, and one of them told me stories of their childhood growing up there. We even drove by her childhood home, which wasn't far from where I would be staying. 


I would be staying in Caringbah, NSW. A far out suburb from Sydney. In retrospect I wish I would have found somewhere to stay a little closer to the city, but the price was right and it was only a forty minuet train ride to the heart of Sydney. I was staying with a nice gay couple. An older caucasion and his significantly younger malaysian partner. They were wonderful to me, went far beyond the responsibility of host or landlord. It was very important to him that I experience Sydney. I was a lazy tourist at this point. To be honest the cruise took it out of me. I partied harder than usual and every other day was at port and was an adventure. I laid kind of low for the first couple of days. Still made it to the Opera Bar at the Sydney Opera house and to Vintage on the rocks, a Portuguese Tapas place and share some paella and a seafood pizza. Yum, and the owner is a gorgeous gorgeous man too :)


I made it into the city very often and made it down to the famously gay Oxford Street. Rainbow flags were everywhere. I even attended a "Fruits in Suits" event. It was heaven. Beautifully dressed, attractive, professional gay men. I had to pinch myself to be sure it was real. From my neck of the woods if you see a homosexual in a suit it's probably for the gay prom. I was also in heaven at Midnight Shift, a bar that attracts mainly bad vodka and asians. I'm what they call sticky rice, an asian who likes asian. Actually I like attractive men, some happen to be asian. I fell in love with Sydney because of the men. Between the fruits in suits and the beautiful gayasians at Midnight Shift I thought I had died and gone to gay heaven. 


I did a 9k bush walk, traveled to the blue mountains and celebrated Australia day. A drunken part aboriginie hear me wishing my friends a "Happy Australia Day!" and he corrected me by telling me that it was aptly named "Invasion Day". Unlike the US's Fourth of July celebration marking the day that the US won its independence from Great Britain, Australia Day is the day that Captain Cook landed near to where I was staying in, Cronulla, just south of Sydney. 


This is when the corruption of the Abroringinies began by the white man. The story is the same as all cultures that were destroyed. It involves wars, plagues, looting, converting, and just an absolute desecration of culture. There is one strange detail that went on as late as 1970 and that is what is known as the "stolen generation". Where the children of the aborignies were taken in geniocide to abolish the race all together. Since that time the government of Australia has made a formal apology and have give the Aboriginies huge benefits. From what I understand these benefits, though on paper look very very generous really just enable their impoverishment, alcoholism, drug abuse, and deterioration of their culture. Any of this sound familiar to you.


Australia is a beautiful country that is richly diverse and a wonderful place. Sydney is a beautiful city with a large and vastly populated gay community. A day will come when I return. It was a wonderful place to relax and to enjoy and to party. 

Brillant but messy New Years celebration in Auckland NZ!

 When I was at my Christmas party I heard some of the guys talking about their plans. One of them was the previous manager of the local gay bar called "Family" and he was invited to an exclusive private party at the Hilton Penthouse by the owner of Family. I chimed in that I "needed" to be at the party. He said "Sorry Love, it's invite only."
I said "Oh, but I'd love to go! Is there anything that you can do?" 
"I don't think so....it's invite only" he reiterated.
"Just tell them that I'm from America, and kind of a big deal, and that I need to be there" I said neurotically.


One of the guys chimed in and said "Yes! Just tell him that Miss America is coming!" That has become my nickname here in New Zealand. Miss America. Fitting actually. Fabulous, neurotic, extremely outgoing, and I have a lovely wave. That was that. He said he would try.


My brawny malaysian invited me to a Barbecue at his place with a bunch of guys that I had met over the last few weeks that I was here. The plan was to have drinks and dinner there, and then walk down to the Family bar closer to midnight. The day before New Year's I texted my contact for the posh private party. No response. I thought damn, it didn't come through. How strange because I'm so good at manifesting what it is I desire. But I did what any good manifestor would do, I made peace about it, relaxed and knew in the deepest part of myself that it would work out.


Then on New Year's Eve day I decided I would give it one more shot and sent a text to my contact. He responded with a sincere apology and regrets that I would not be attending. Then the miracle happened. I received a text saying "Good News you're in meet me at the Hilton at 9PM." I was very excited but thought 9PM? Too early. And I wanted to hang out at the Barbecue for a bit with my friends. I decided I would show up a bit late to the Hilton, hang out for a bit at my friends and then cab it down there. I texted my contact and let him know I was running behind. He called a while later and asked how long I would be. I was just getting changed and ready so I told a little white lie and said I was waiting on a cab and would be there shortly.


The Hilton is on the viaduct in the harbor in Auckland. The taxi was weaving between idiot drivers and idiot pedestrians. We rolled all the way down to the end near the water and he dropped me off. My contact for the party met me at the elevator and with security card in hand unlocked the elevator and pressed the top floor penthouse button. I knew I was in for a good time.


The elevator opened directly inside the suite. It was a monstrous 5,000 sq foot penthouse that took up the entire top floor. It was beautiful to say the least. The views were stunning. Windows and balconies all the way around. You could see out over the ocean and on the other side over the city center. It was totally pimp.

I had a good pre-buzz going on and these gents were about to make me transform into fully buzzed. Something I usually avoid at all costs because it vanquishes any hope of maintaining my fabulousness and transforms it into disastrous behavior and situations. But it was New Year's...right? They were pouring Veuve Cliquot like it was water and there was an open bar. It was an intimate party, which felt strange in such a ginormous place. 


I had a good time and met some fabulous guys. There were several plastics and misfits aboard the Queen Hilton Penthouse. One guy that I made out (remember disastrous situations from before) was wearing basketball shorts and a collared shirt. He was remarkably pretty but a hot mess none the less. I was told after my make out session that he was a ''rent boy" aka gay for pay. Well I got mine for free, not that I would have paid for that under any conditions. Guess I was still on the fabulous side of my drunkenness at that point.


Then came the vodka and red bull. Oops (picture innocent smile) and it was on. Usually I avoid mixing alcohols i.e. fine french champagne and vodka. But it's New Year's right? Then the fireworks over the harbor started. An elitest view that was only shared by the Rich and Famous, their underlings, and fabulous leeches like me. The fireworks, from what I remember, were amazingly vivid. It was if you could reach out and touch them.


After the fireworks my phone started vibrating with notifications that my group was at the infamous Family bar, owned by my Hilton Host. I decided to depart. I was trying to go down to have the door man get me a taxi, but he told me that would be near impossible and that I should either walk or wait it out till later. I decided to go back up to the party but the elevator was locked, I was confused and drunk. I walked out into the street. I found a lone taxi that was unoccupied. I asked him politely if he was waiting on someone and he said he was. Then I asked him how much it would cost for me to get take his taxi to "k road" where Family was located. He said "no man, I'm waiting for someone." with an indian accent.
I said "40 dollars?"
He shook his head.
"Sixty?.....a hundred?"
He reluctantly starred at me and nodded his head yes. I said "Well how much then?"
He said sixty.
I rationalized this expense as realistic because it was literally impossible to get a cab at that time and I hadn't spent a single dollar all night, and wasn't planning on drinking any more that night. After all it was only forty-ish US dollars anyway.


We weaved through the drama that was the New Year's crowd down on the viaduct and arrived sometime later at the Family bar. When I arrived at the door I said to the door man "Hey I was just at Wayne's party at the Hilton mind if I skip the line." He looked at me as if I was some kind of fast talking scam artist. In response I said "Seriously man I was just at his private party at the Penthouse, can you take care of me?" (Scandalous name dropping manipulative drunken bitch~all fabulousness has disappeared).

Finally he wrapped my wrist with a pink bracelet no cover charge and shoved me into the party, which by the way sucked. It was wall to wall with... well the lyrics from David Guetta's song sexy bitch " I'm trying to find the words to describe this girl without being disrespectful.... " come to mind, with mostly bitch and a splash of sexy. 


Dominating the dance floor can make you friends, and on a night like New Years Eve it can also make some enemies. A lot of people were having fun with me and dancing their little asses off, but there always has to be one bad apple. This little 12 year old twinkie decided he was going to edge me off the dance floor so I booty bumped him off the stage. I'm glad I didn't hurt the little thing, but he was pissed. (Proof that fabulousness and grace had left me and the evil of alcohol had taken over.) I exited and met up with my friends. This seedy bar has two floor. I made my way to the subterranean level aka the basement that was filled with fog and perspiration and just general shadiness. The air was so thick down there it seemed to take my buzz, which at this point was at saturation, to the level of black out. It was no bueno. General sensory overload, nausea, & fatigue plagued me. I went out side to get some fresh air. 


Family bar is located on "K road" the shortened version of Karangahape Road. It's slightly shady and lined with bars and adult shops and intersects with the more respectable and famous Ponsoby Rd. This community is well off and most houses are in the NZD$1mm range. It's classy with beautiful cafes, boutique shopping, and very nice restaurants. Excuse me, I digress. I shared a bench outside of the Family bar and all types of people were out. It was a fun, mostly drunk crowd, and I was feeling somewhat fabulous again and very friendly. I went on to spanking cute people and kissing girls on the mouth, wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

After making another round through the bar I decided to go home, but not before stopping at a Kebab place and getting a snack with hot chili's. I hailed a cab and went home to pass out. 


The next day I went with some friends to Piah beach. Piah has black sand and is beautifully situated in gorgeous rock formations. This beach has a reputation for having extremely dangerous rip tides carrying weary swimmers away without chance of rescue. My Malaysian friend and I rode the waves and found it to be the most healing experience for our extreme hangovers. 


This year I have made no resolutions, only to continue to find my happiness in life and follow the guidelines when it comes to drinking. No blacking out, no puking, and maintaining my fabulousness under all circumstances. All rules that I violated on the very first day of the year. There are 364 days to go and I think I have a good chance at maintaining my contract with myself. Happy New Year! Here's to living a fabulous life filled with happiness, love, celebration, and all that your heart desires!