Max Beckett's Journal
 
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Below are the 15 most recent journal entries recorded in Max Beckett's InsaneJournal:

    Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
    10:11 pm
    I was walking up on the top deck this afternoon, and I saw what appeared to be a father with his young daughter on his shoulders -- the girl couldn't have been older than seven or eight, I reckon. And she starts a little tune, humming first then singing all the words clearly, one that I recognize but can't quite place... then, it finally clicks.

    She's singing "Josie" by Blink-182, a song that's easily ten or twelve years, give or take. The language in it's not so bad, but the rest of the album's just chockful of sexual innuendo and curse words. The dad was bopping his head along and singing too, so it was obviously a Daddy-Daughter bonding experience.

    I can't decide if it's cool that he shared music with his kid, or it's awful that he's exposing her to that kind of material so early in life. I dunno. I suppose that's just something that you figure out when you have kids of your own. Which I don't.

    Current Mood: curious
    Friday, August 28th, 2009
    2:47 pm
    I'm fairly certain it's not just me who's been feeling like I've been hit by a bus after I finish working each night. I'm used to working long nights behind the bar, but it's just felt like things have been brutal lately. I've been in a good enough mood, haven't let Mike talk me into taking too many extra shifts. I even got to play a little prank on Dez earlier that helped lighten up the evening. But still when I finished up, my muscles were aching and my neck felt about to snap at any moment, letting my head drop onto the floor to roll around.

    Maybe there's some truth to that statement, since I woke up this morning with a splitting headache, like someone had been using my head as a soccer ball all night long.

    Probably because I haven't slept well lately at all.

    My mum emailed and asked me to phone at the next opportunity. Apparently, she didn't want to tell me in over the computer that one of my best rugby mates, Sicky Mike, was in a car wreck last weekend. He's in hospital at the moment, with a bodyful of broken bones and all sorts of other problems. I just get a bad feeling in my guts about it, which has been keeping me up at night.

    Current Mood: worried
    Current Music: Dreams Be Dreams || Jack Johnson
    Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
    8:12 pm
    I dig my toes into the sand.
    The ocean looks like a thousand diamonds strewn across a blue blanket.
    I lean against the wind, pretend that I am weightless and in this moment I am happy.

    God, I'm so happy right now. No, really. I am. Things are going great these days.

    I've spent a lot of time at the gym lately, and up on the top deck on the rock wall. It's become my new favorite place on the ship. I've sorta become friends with Henry, the guy who runs the thing, mostly because I'm there all the time. He's from New Zealand (which means his accent just isn't as cool as mine, obviously), but I don't hold that against him. We've got this goofy little joke-teasing thing going on. I call him a dirty Kiwi, he calls me a pikey Aussie, and we have a good laugh. At the end of the day, he holds my rope steady. I'm up there so much lately that I'm starting to get a funny tan line from the harness. Heh.

    I lay my head onto the sand.
    The sky resembles a backlit canopy with holes punched in it.
    I'm counting UFOs, I signal them with my lighter
    and in this moment I am happy, happy.

    Somebody tell me the good things going on in their lives right now. I'm ravenous for that kind of positive energy right about now.

    Current Mood: chipper
    Current Music: Wish You Were Here || Incubus
    Thursday, April 9th, 2009
    2:45 pm
    This might be a completely, totally irrational fear, but I'm kind of afraid to leave the ship while we're in Africa. That's stupid, isn't it? But I'm sort of always been afraid that I'll be eaten by a lion. Or snakes. There's tons of bloody snakes. I know it's a bit ridiculous, because a lot of the ports where the ship goes are touristy areas, but... I can't shake the feeling that a fully-grown lion is going to leap out from behind a McDonald's or something.
    Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
    9:36 am
    Pulling mussels from a shell.
    Okay, okay, so I've gotta post this before I burst. After months of toiling as a glorified busboy, I did it. I got the bloody promotion I've been gunning for since I took the job on this ship. I'm not a bar back any longer, friends. I'M A BARTENDER AGAIN!

    Tonight's my first shift. I picked up some of Erin's empty slots. Sad to see her go, she was one of my favorites to work under (Rayne, you know you've got that top spot, naturally!). I don't have as many hours as I'd like to this first week, but that's only because the bar schedule's already been set. Next week, I'll be full time. It's incredible.

    I'm on duty tomorrow. Tonight, I'm at the Duck & Dog and I'm celebrating. Who's with me?
    Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
    11:20 pm

    So, I got asked the other day about what it was that I think I'd like to do someday. Did I have any dreams? You know, I always thought that I was doing pretty well for myself. My life is going pretty well, aside from the fact that I'd rather be tending bar than picking up after the drunks around the Duck & Dog. I'll spare you all the rant about how I've got too much experience bartending to be wasting my talent hanging onto a bus tub. But really? Ever since I was at Uni, I let any ideas of becoming an academic slip to the wayside. I'd never be smart enough to finish school, and what was I gonna be anyway? A doctor or something? That's a laugh. But I learned to love what I do from a woman who loved what she did. Stella loved every second of being a bartender, and I grabbed ahold of that fire and made it mine.

    But what do I want to do with myself? Do I want to get out there, do more things?  I haven't really thought about it. I mean, I work in a bar and I'm on a boat that travels around the world. I don't really know, but I took my guitar out to Xiamen and did some busking... which was something I'd never really done before.

    I played mostly Beatles songs on my guitar. Apparently those guys were big in China, too. I guess it's really not that hard to understand. And I guess the busking wasn't too bold or way out there. It wasn't any big dream or anything all that exciting -- but it was something new and something different, and I liked it.



    Current Mood: awake
    Current Music: Flathead || The Fratellis
    Thursday, January 29th, 2009
    9:45 am

    Being in Australia was great, but I'm glad we've left Sydney at last. Because I was starting to run into people I'd prefer to never see again in my life. People from my Uni days who've moved out of Lismore and Byron and moved down to the Big City to get Big City jobs. Now, don't get me wrong, I love tending bar. I love working in the bar, even though it's not my job  to actually pour drinks at present. But how the hell does anybody get off telling me that I'm still stuck in a juvenile state because I don't wear a bloody suit and tie to work every day. I'm a Working Class Hero in the John Lennon sense of the words (maybe even in the Green Day cover version sense of the words, for that matter).

    [Blocked from Emma.]
    A few of those people were females. 'Ex-girlfriends' might not be the right way to describe them. 'Women I've slept with' is probably a more accurate description. I didn't want a thing to do with them, but they were just as flirty as ever. I think I even pissed off Emilie 'cause I wouldn't go back to hers with her. I don't get it. I mean, we had a brief thing, what, five or so years back? Fuck me, it's been longer than that. I was still at Uni, so it was closer to ten. God, I'm an old bastard. But I was surprised she remembered my face, let alone my name and that we were together once. She was a rugger groupie.
    [/Blocked.]

    It's never good to forget where you come from, where your roots are and all that. I don't think I could. I mean, I'll always be an Aussie and I'll never deny it. But I'd rather appreciate my great home nation from a distance, I reckon.



    Current Mood: blah
    Current Music: Working Class Hero || John Lennon
    Thursday, January 8th, 2009
    5:01 pm
    A weekend in Sydney! God, I can't wait. Isn't it a bit silly to be so excited to be headed someplace familiar, when you get on a ship looking for a new adventure? I dunno, but I don't go back to Australia as often as I'd like to. I've been mostly in America for the last five years or so.

    I've already decided to drag Emma to Bondi Beach on Saturday, but she can't possibly hog me the whole weekend. I requested it off, so I'm free the weekend to explore.

    C'mon, now. There's gotta be somebody who wants to go surfing or catch a rugby match. Or, for the bold, we could walk across the arch of the Harbour Bridge. Don't worry, they strap you into a harness. It's perfectly safe, and wicked awesome.

    Just saying, everyone. You've got a tour guide ready and willing to show off Australia. It'll be cooler than anything you saw in stinking New Zealand, I can guarantee you that.

    Current Mood: excited
    Friday, January 2nd, 2009
    12:22 am

    I just got an email from my mum. Apparently, Steph looked online at the ship's itinerary and she knows we're headed to Sydney soon. She told me that they're gonna fly down and meet me during one of our days at port.

    God. Damn. I was really, really hoping that I could've snuck through unnoticed. It's been a few years since I've spent any kind of time with either of them.

    But, I've gotta say this -- I've been dying for a Toohey's. All this American beer is making me want to hurl. My only options are American Beer or crazy thick dark beer you have to practically chew. I just want some good ol' Aussie beer, dammit. I'll even settle for some Four X if it's all I can get.

    Oh, an if anyone wants to surf when we hit Oz, lemme know. I've got a guy at Bondi Beach who'll give discounted rentals on longboards, rashies, boardies, anything you want, plus sunscreen and all.



    Current Music: Golden Skans || The Klaxons
    Thursday, December 11th, 2008
    10:53 pm

    Thank god for Hawaii and being able to walk around in a hoodie and boardies again when I'm off duty. Seriously. The snow was cool alright, but I think it's safe to say that I won't miss it too much. I'm still not warmed back up completely. Seriously. I know that makes me a bit of a puss, but it's the truth.

    I did get to walk around in LA a bit -- that was pretty awesome. Saw the new Baz Luhrmann film, Australia -- it was pretty impressive, a bit long though. And a chick flick, mostly. But how could I resist? I feel like I've been losing touch with the great land of Oz lately. But I guess we're headed that way in January? I heard that we're going there, but not where we were hitting specifically. That'll be a fun adventure.

    Hey, Miss Amaretto Sour -- have you managed to find your room on this big ol' brand new ship?

    Sunday, November 30th, 2008
    9:43 am
    So, here's something I don't get -- hillbillies and hicks and rednecks.

    Honestly, I think I know what they are. I mean, they're a typically American thing, sure... but I don't get it. I don't relate to it, and I don't really see the appeal.

    This guy down the hall is the biggest Kid Rock fan in the world, and I think his music kind of makes me wish I could have my teeth pulled instead. He's screechy and he has that... long greasy Jesus hair. I've heard that people think he's some kind of hillbilly rock god, and that ladies think he's attractive. Maybe it's just that I'm a guy and I don't make too much of a habit of checking out other guys, or maybe it's some weird American thing, but... I can't see the appeal.
    Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
    7:08 pm
    I kind of dig this whole 'dressing up for Halloween' thing. It's not something we really do where I'm from. In fact, my mum was kind of scared by the fact that people did it in other places. She was afraid that some teenager in a mask was going to mug her on the way to Woolworth's. Never happened, thankfully... but she never let me wear any sort of masks.

    So here's the problem. Since I'm new at this Halloween thing, which is the better option -- funny or scary?

    I think I'm getting used to the way things are going around this ship. Of course, just when I think I can find my way around, this corridor decorating business happens. Any visual landmarks I established have been covered up by false cobwebs.
    Tuesday, October 21st, 2008
    12:42 pm

    I'm pretty sure I'm losing my charms.

    I know I'm a fairly decent-looking human being, and up until recently, I figured myself to be a pretty charming guy. But lately, everything I've attempted just seems to fall flat. It chips away at a man's ego, yanno? I'm not looking for anything in particular, except for a little bit of attention. It's nice when you flirt with someone, to feel like they'll flirt back.

    Hasn't happened since I was the one pouring the drinks. And even then, it's always been wasted folks.  Lately, I've been spending so much time in the back, that I haven't even had drunk girls throwing themselves at me.

    Okay, stopping now. I'm not going to let my personality or self-worth be determined by the number of 'comesexme' eyes I get in any particular evening. I'm still fairly new to the ship. I'm getting my bearings. I'm not looking for anything serious.

    Maybe I need to just take my life a whole lot less seriously. Ease up a bit, Mate. You'll be fine.

    Monday, October 6th, 2008
    9:57 am
    So. I'm still not sure why I gave up near-tenure at the pub for this job. Maybe I just wanted to get away from town for awhile, get out and see things before I get old and crusty. I guess it's not a huge change of scenery. I'm still here, I'm still behind a bar, where I feel most comfortable.

    I think the upcoming gay and lesbian cruise will be a pretty cute sight. Probably plenty of guys flirting with me. Guess I'll have to break their hearts. Sorry, mate. Yes, I'm available, but I'm very, very straight.

    Eh. I'll lead them on if it'll improve the tips.

    Even though my specific position isn't to tend bar, I hope I'll still get to do more than reset the kegs and bring out fresh bottles. A man with my experience is capable of doing so much more than making sure there are enough nuts and napkins. I'm a fountain of knowledge and experience here. Just hope my coworkers don't let that potential go to waste.

    Current Mood: blank
    Current Music: Sewn || The Feeling
    Wednesday, October 1st, 2008
    11:23 am
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