Today was hectic. I woke up late (11am, but only because we regained an hour overnight by leaving the Alaska time zone) and ran upstairs to the Lido deck to catch my favorite muesli before it was taken away. Afterward I came back to the room, where J was still sleeping, and took a brief nap. I noticed the disembarkation talk was at 1:00, so I set a wakeup call for 12:40. When the call came, J was gone, and I went to the talk.

To make a long and whiny story short, I worked for the next three hours. The interpreter coordinator was there for most of it and became keenly aware that J was slacking off. Later in the day, I was involved in conversations that included the words “no professional boundaries.” I was told that my interpreting was fine but not great, and I received an apology for a lack of specific feedback.

Anyway, I ended up going to Victoria with a bunch of deaf passengers and M, my co-terp. I actually had a rather nice time walking around and shopping; I bought a few things, mostly for myself. I was supposed to meet up with someone, but I had no money for a pay phone and I couldn’t find one anyway that wasn’t occupied by ship crew members calling home. We had extra time before going back to the ship but we were done so we just caught the bus back. There was a little social gathering of the deaf passengers around 1am but I realized I was not one of the cool people so I walked away sadly without saying goodbye.

It was a positive experience overall, but I’m glad the cruise is over. I’m tired.

My day in Ketchikan was very nice. We were a bit late arriving because we’d been late departing from Haines yesterday. But I disembarked, learned no single kayaks could be used, and followed the guide down the main drag to the little marina. I didn’t bother mimicking the stroke the guide demonstrated, and once somebody volunteered to be my partner, I hopped in the back cockpit of a Wilderness Systems Northstar. Early on I noticed the guy in front of me was trying to help steer by doing multiple strokes on one side. I counseled him on it; not only does the person in the back seat steer, but I had control of the rudder! The guide overheard and agreed with me 100%. We paddled across the channel as seaplanes landed over our heads - it was a fairly noisy paddle the whole time. After spotting some bald eagles (which I didn’t know are no longer endangered), we paddled around an island and into Whiskey Cove itself. It was at this point that I started wanting to chop off my partner’s head with my paddle.

The current was not strong, but if one stopped paddling, one would drift a little bit. I had already endured the guy freaking out anytime we got near another kayak (even though the guide said early on not to worry about it), so what he said next almost made me want to see if he could do a wet exit. The guide was paddling lazily, so he drifted a bit, and we bumped him lightly. The guy actually turned around and said “Nice steering” to me, sarcastically, implying that I couldn’t do the job. I was so annoyed that I didn’t say anything for a few moments, and then I finally said “do consider that it wasn’t my fault.” Which he ignored, of course.

So after looking at an abandoned research boat and some starfish, we headed back to port. The whole way I had to steer not only to follow our route, but to avoid hitting anybody else, which meant I was doing more steering than sightseeing. At the final channel crossing, we were to aim for a tower on the opposite shore. I got us across the main shipping lanes (which I guess would actually be called the runway there) with the bow dead-on for the tower, and then I let us go a bit in the direction we’d end up going anyway. Also, once we were mostly across, the guide told us to aim for the rocks (that is, get as close to the shoreline as possible). So we pulled up at about a 45° angle to the tower, and quite a few yards away (but toward where we’d eventually have to go). What does my lovely partner do? He points to the tower and says I should “steer us over there.” I said something about being okay where we were, and I left it at that. We were almost back and then I could leave him behind. Which I did.

Once back on the streets of Ketchikan, I was accosted by a passenger who’d seen my RSVP name tag and apparently thought I was able to give some bonus prize to him. (I later found out this had to do with the RSViP frequent traveler program.) I shook him off and went to do the last of my Alaska shopping. I’d heard Ketchikan described as the Disneyland of Alaska, but I think Skagway fits that better. I rather liked Ketchikan, actually, even if I only saw it briefly. Before going back on board I bought a bit of rum which J helped me smuggle in with no problems.

After a late lunch, I interpreted for the “dating game” and the final round of bingo. The last prize was over $8400, and it all went to one very lucky guy! In the evening, M and I interpreted for the very funny Paul J. Williams. He’s a professional comedian and I liked him much better than Leslie Jordan. After his performance was the much-ballyhooed leather party. I hadn’t brought any leather so with my blue jeans and silver pumps I wore my ABW shirt. When asked where my leather was, I pointed out that ABW is the largest gay leather organization (might have made that up…) and so my shirt counted. After that I had the previously-described encounter with misogyny, and then I went to bed. (If I’ve used the word misogyny a lot this week, there’s a reason for that. Paul Williams was great though - he encouraged gay men to be friends with lesbians, and to support us and breast cancer the way we supported them and AIDS so many years ago.)

Please indulge me in a bit of self-righteousness and indignancy as I continue to challenge the femme invisibility barrier.

I’d heard a few days ago that someone had complained that J and I were not lesbians. Of course we thought that was silly, but we weren’t sure who had said it, as the information seemed to have gone through a long grapevine. That night at dinner one of the deaf men I was eating with asked me if I was a lesbian. I said yes and he seemed fine with that. The question nagged at me though, until tonight. It was toward the end of the cruise, I was chatting with a deaf guy and his hearing boyfriend at the leather party, and I told them about this trange question. They were surprised by that, and we talked about it for a few moments. And then who should walk up but the guy I suspected all along. Now, this guy is a hearing interpreter from Baltimore; I did not know him before the cruise. He walked up, said hello, and then we had this exchange:

Him: Can I ask you a personal question?
Me: Sure. (knowing what’s coming)
Him: Are you a lesbian?
Me: Yes. (conversation was in ASL; I used an emphatic form of yes)
Him: Are you in a relationship?
Me: Yes, for seven years.
Him: How nice for you. Do you have a picture of your partner?
Me: Uh, not on me, no.
Deaf guy: Do you have a picture of your boyfriend?
Him: Well, he’s here. I can bring him over.
Me: She’s not here because she’s already going on a cruise this month with her mom, blah blah blah.

So then he went off, and the deaf guy, his boyfriend, and I marveled at the guy’s balls that he asked me such a thing to my face. I was miffed, but we talked about things like narrow-mindedness and interpreter ethics. I finally decided I was going to go, and I said goodbye to my friends. On the way out, though, I decided I was going to give the guy a big fuck you.

At first I went to the computer cafe to search for the guy’s email address. I didn’t find it, so I went to Flickr, found a suitable picture and printed it, then logged off. The total cost was $2.65 for this. Now, the picture I’d chosen was specific. It has me and A standing with Teddy, International Mr. Deaf Leather 2004, between us. Perfect. So I took it back downstairs to the party. (By the way, I did have a rum and coke in me at this point.) I couldn’t find the guy at first, but I ended up telling a couploe of other deaf people why I was looking for him. I also told M, the male terp, who mentioned that he’s been getting asked all week if J & I are straight. (At least five times, by hearing people but not the guy I was after.)

Finally the nice deaf guy spotted the guy dancing far away. I couldn’t see him, so the deaf guy offered to take the printout over to him. After a few minutes he returned and said “I showed it to him. He knows the guy in the middle [Teddy]. You’re safe!”

So I felt pretty good. But I still can’t fathom the question. Femme lesbians do exist, dammit! Just because 99% of the lesbians on this cruise are (sometimes soft) butch does not mean femme dykes are a straight man’s fantasy? (I think he might have been jealous that he didn’t get my job but rather had to pay to be there.)

Sometimes I am amazed at how much sign language I know. I think this is mostly influenced by outsiders - people who see that we are communicating, but don’t understand. I am amazed that I get through meetings and such - amazed that my clients understand me. It’s all very odd.

This morning I woke up at 6am and had breakfast on the Lido deck. I had planned to eat in the dining room but it wasn’t ready when I was. I went inside anyway and gave my dinner order to a supervisor, then left for my trip. We were docked in Haines, but our excursion left from Skagway, so we had to take a “fast ferry” across the water. It wasn’t too fast, though - it took us an hour even though the trip isn’t supposed to be more than 15 miles. (By the way, the reason we needed to dock in Haines was that the Skagway port was filled with the Serenade of the Seas, the Coral Princess, the Norwegian Star, and the Norwegian Spirit.) I saw all of my deaf clients on the ferry, but four of them got separated from me. Once we boarded the railcar, I went from car to car looking for them to no avail. So I only interpreted for six clients instead of ten. I feel bad that they missed out on the narration, but I’m an interpreter, not a babysitter! And anyway, they could have come looking for me!

The train ride was actually really cool. I took bunch of pictures, and some of them might even come out okay! We had really great weather; our bus driver (between the ferry and the train) said it was the nicest day Skagway had seen in three weeks! We passed a number of notable sights, for which I interpreted the narration - although most of the time it was goofy stories like gold-seeking gophers and gold lotion that would make gold stick to you if you rubbed it on your naked body and then rolled on the ground! And of course, the people who made the most money from the Alaskan gold rush were not the prospectors - but rather merchants who helped keep them supplied during their adventure.

The trip back down from the summit was only marginally less interesting than the way up. I managed to snap a picture of the Class VI rapids along the Skagway River, and as we pulled into the depot I finally saw some wildlife - a little squirrel. Apparently there are animals in the area, but for the most part the five trains running simultaneously scare them away from the tracks.

Back in Skagway proper (total tourist village) I only had half an hour to look around before I had to catch the bus back to the ferry. I managed to grab gifts for A and my mom. Now I’m actually on the ferry, and I am so tired.

Oh, by the way, there’s a fair bit of misogyny on this cruise. Apparently a deaf person complained that RSVP had hired straight interpreters, so I had to suffer the indignity of being asked by the terp coordinator “you guys are lesbians, right?” I have also gotten some weird looks from many other passengers, and I heard someone express outright disgust at Amy Armstrong’s song about pussy - which she does totally tongue in cheek anyway. So all the misogyny gets me down a bit, or at least annoyed.

Today was another sea day even though our “destination” was listed as Hubbard Glacier. After breakfast I went to a presentation by a native Yaakwdaat tribesman (you can find his home an a map by looking for the Anglicized word Yakutat), which was short but interesting. I sat where deaf people would notice me if they came in, but nobody showed so I just enjoyed the talk. My next stop was the bow of the ship, where many passengers were already gawking at the glacier. I took a few photos, but taking many would have been pointless because it looked pretty similar all the way across. I heard some of the naturalist’s comments; the ice we were looking at was 150 years old (!) and 300 feet were above the water with another 250 feet below the waterline. Someone took my picture for me, and then one of the deaf clients took my picture, too. When I went back inside, the crew member who had been offering pea soup was gone, so I went to the Lido deck and had some hot chocolate.

I took a little nap, and then at 1:30 I went to the main auditorium to watch the rehearsal of Rockin’ Road, the medley performed by the Oosterdam’s singers and dancers. I can’t remember what I did after that! Oh yes, I did interpret bingo again. Apparently the prize on Thursday may be between $6,000 and $10,000!! Perhaps I should buy a card for that.

I had dinner on my own on the Lido deck and I rehearsed my set of songs for the show. I changed into a nice top and trousers and put on some eye makeup and lipstick. I was nervous before the show began, but as soon as the music started I really got into it! I interpreted Old Time Rock & Roll/Burning Love, Drift Away, Southern Nights (as a pre-recorded segue), Tennessee Waltz, Georgia On My Mind, Sweet Home Alabama, You Needed Me, Wild Wild West (segue), King of the Road, and Born to Be Wild. The only one I didn’t know and couldn’t memorize in time was Sweet Home Alabama, but J knew it and she gave me feeds throughout the verses. When I was done and I sat down I felt really good! I’m not a good musical interpreter but I think I did an awesome job - I moved to the beat, I signed well, etc. I went to bed early (well, after midnight technically) because I had to get up at 6am to interpret an excursion!

(PS: I made it into the Whiskey Cove Kayaking trip in Ketchikan!)

My afternoon was fine; I did a lot of shopping. I covered most of the main tourist drag in Juneau at least twice, and bought gifts for almost everybody. I highly suspect I won’t have time or inclination to shop in Haines because I’ll be working there, and I don’t want to plan to shop in Ketchikan just in case I do get onto a kayaking trip. I was surprised to find the stores closest to the pier in Juneau had the best prices.

When I got back I was feeling antisocial, so I had dinner delivered so I wouldn’t have to eat around other people. Afterward I interpreted for the very funny Amy Armstrong; I struggled a lot in the beginning but after I took a break (during which M replaced me) I got more into the groove. I think tonight I will probably stay in. I have a bottle of hard lemonade I could work on. Maybe I will peek in at the PJ party briefly, we’ll see. I don’t especially care to see lots of men in their underwear.

Oh, another think that bothers me about J is how often she gloats about having lost 42 pounds recently. Yes, it’s an awesome achievement. Yes, she looks great. But I’d rather not hear about it five times a day.

I’m having lunch now in Juneau and I figured this would be a good time to write about my feelings rather than just what’s been happening. I feel quite comfortable around pretty much all of the deaf clients, but I don’t really around my co-terps. It’s mostly just J, really. She is an extremely assertive person, probably bordering on aggressive. She dominates all conversations and I get the feeling that she always has to be right. She also has very strong opinions about the role of an interpreter, and she won’t accept that any way but her way is allowable. I am tempted to let the interpreter coordinator know that not all terps are as angry and aggressive as J. I am just trying my best to get through this week. I know I don’t have to be friends with her, and I certainly won’t be. She admits that she bonds better with guys so maybe that is why she is so buddy-buddy with M, the other terp. Of course it helps (them) that they are also both smokers, and I make up excuses to leave when they light up. (If they were both drinkers, I could stick around and just order a soda or something, but something like smoke I can’t stick around for.) I think M has been pretty nice to me though; he complimented me last night on both my earrings and my dress. J is just so aggressive I can’t stand it.

I miss A a lot. I know she misses me too, but she has lovies around her and I am all out on my own. I feel lonely a lot of the time. If I had the opportunity to interpret on a cruise again, I’m not sure I would. It’s just not enjoyable without her. If she could come with me I would do it, but the chances of that seem slim. When I didn’t order a drink at the party last night, one of the deaf guys asked me why. I said it was because I was saving for when I could go on vacation with my partner, and that seemed to be an acceptable answer. Yeah, I think if the opportunity should come up to do this again, I might not take it, and I won’t seek the opportunity out either.

To my great dismay, the “Glacier View Sea Kayaking” trip in Juneau was canceled. Instead I took the $2-all-day shuttle into town (the Radiance of the Seas beat us to the downtown dock) and I am just wandering around. I am presently sitting in the Triangle Club, where for $3.50 I got a rum and diet coke (small but strong) and 20 minutes of free internet time. I have already walked through the entire tourist area and a little bit beyond; I called home and left a message and also called my mom and spoke to her briefly. I think I have to pay for roaming out here but I told home they could call me back if they were so inclined. They’re four hours ahead of me now! I have poked my head into the main tourist shops and a few smaller, more specialized shops; I haven’t bought anything yet because I figured I’d comparison shop. I saw several things I think I would like to get, particularly an Italian charm with the Alaskan flag. I am probably not going to bother going back to the ship for lunch even though it would be cheaper (given that food is free on board), because it would be too much hassle to get back down to the lower dock and then back up to buy stuff. So I am just going to eat up here in town; there’s a McDonald’s and a Subway plus other spots like the Red Dog Saloon and the El Sombrero Mexican Restaurant. There isn’t a whole lot to do really…so I’m not sure what I’ll do all day.

I was really upset about kayaking getting canceled, but I had them put me on the list for any kayaking in Ketchikan. I can’t do anything in Haines/Skagway because that’s when I’m interpreting, but I’ve decided that money is no object anymore - I just want to paddle in Alaska! If the only space that opens up is the expensive one, so be it.

Today was the boring day at sea. There isn’t much to see along the Inland Passage - much of the day was water to the horizon, with a few hilly islands off to starboard. We saw other ships following the same route; I assume one was the Diamond Princess. I don’t remember much of what we did in the morning…I got breakfast in the Lido. Oh, and I bought a $10 sport watch - unfortunately the alarm is very quiet so it may not be much help! The battery of the first one died as I was setting the time, so I brought it back and they let me exchange it. I also got an Oosterdam shotglass, and later in the day I got a couple of boxes of kahlua-filled chocolates. I suppose it would be friendly to share a box with the other terps, but I’m saving them for family.

Oh! Before I forget again! First, this ship’s stabilizers suck. It’s a much more tippy ride than the Galaxy, where we barely felt any movement. Second, the elevators keep making me laugh. When the doors open, a voice announces the deck number and name. Every time we stop at Deck 6, the Upper Verandah deck, it sounds like it says “a burger on the deck!” It makes me laugh.

At 2:00 we went to a party hosted by someone from Cruise Critic. I felt a bit silly being so young but everybody was really nice. The cabin - 4185 - was really astonishing! The host gave me the fake fur stole he’d brought for me to wear with my dress, and someone else had brought “Lickalottapuss” t-shirts from Spencer Gifts for J and I. At 3:00 I interpreted the first session of bingo, which was a lot of fun! The prizes were huge - one guy got $800!

Afterward I got ready for dinner, which meant putting on my dress. I actually felt like I looked pretty good. The other two terps were late to the captain’s champagne reception, heh. So I started, which was fine with me. We went to dinner but the other two terps decided they didn’t want to eat (and would rather go smoke) so I sat with a nice older deaf couple. The fruit cup was boring, the raspberry soup was really good, the main dish (asparagus something) was good, and the cheesecake - supposedly low-fat - was fine but not superb.

Gosh, I can’t remember what happened next - I am pretty tired. I did go to the black and white party (btw, the ship is overwhelmingly Caucasian) and I even danced. I got my picture taken (by one of the professional photographers) with a group of deaf people, so I might get that. If my formal picture came out okay, I’ll buy that too. Tomorrow is Juneau and I am kayaking, yay!

Oh yeah, I also broke my room key! At first I was accusing my roommate of locking the door, but it turned out that having the key card next to my magnetic RSVP nametag broke it. I apologized to my roommate and she was understanding; I got a new card at the front desk. I have warned a few other RSVP staff to be careful with their cards and nametags!

Here I am aboard the Oosterdam. (It’s “oh” like “toast.”) It is far too late for me - 11:30pm, and I think I’m still jet-lagged. I think I will just tell everything in chronological order. Oh, except first I will mention that I forgot a timepiece other than my Sidekick, dammit. I suspect they have them in the shops so I will get one when they open in the morning.

So the morning did not go well when it started with the car being 30 minutes late and then getting us lost - what kind of professional driver doesn’t know which streets will be one-way? We finally made it to Port 30 (where the Diamond Princess was also docked) and fortunately managed to get priority boarding. We couldn’t access our rooms yet so we got drinks, I had a Long Island Iced Tea. We met a few of the deaf people, one of whom I recognized; I think I saw him around at the NTC a few months back. I went to inquire at the front desk about emergency pagers for the terps, while my two co-terps went to meet the stage manager. Their mission was successful; mine resulted in a promise of a voicemail. Eventually I did succeed in getting just one pager, so we are going to take turns with it. Unfortunately I had to put my name down for the $75 security deposit!

Our bags arrived in our room shortly before 5pm; mine were actually there before J’s. (She’s my roommate and the other female interpreter, the male terp is M.) I forgot to write about the muster drill, it was fine except that the crew kept insisting we were on the wrong side. We waved most of them off, but one tried to challenge me so I assured him we were in the right place; if I’d been more snarky I’d have added a “dammit bitch” on there. On the way back from the drill I tried to figure out where I knew another deaf person from; turns out I recognize him from the leather events I’ve interpreted in DC.

The bon voyage party was okay, I guess. The three of us were together and when the two of them lit up cigarettes I said I was going to get a soda. I waited until I figured they were done smoking, but when I went back they were gone. So I hung out alone for a bit, and I picked up an inflatable pink flamingo drink holder and a really awesome inflatable pink poodle! I made plans with a couple of deaf people to meet them at dinner and I went to get dressed nicely. J showed up when I was almost ready, so I waited while she got ready and we went together; I found the deaf people and we ate with them. My appetizer was off the main menu, it was a tiny fruit salad. I finally got a vegetarian menu brought to me and I ordered tofu stroganoff which turned out to be delightful! I had a vanilla ice cream cup for dessert with cut-up mango on it. Afterward I wandered back toward the main auditorium for the show. On the way I checked my Sidekick for the time and found two e-mails from my mom! I didn’t realize I had a signal at all. (Oh, I did get to talk to A - fortunately I had a signal when she called to return my voicemail! I wanted to talk to her forever, I miss her terribly.) I had time, so I answered my mom’s emails before going to the main auditorium.

I wanted to be first to interpret but the huge auditorium freaked me out and I did a rotten job! (It doesn’t help that the host talks incredibly fast.) Fortunately afterward I chatted with the two deaf women, one of whom was my ASL teacher at Gallaudet, and I’d met the other one once there too! They’re very cute together. We found a bar and lounge and got drinks; this time I had an apple martini. Afterward we came back to the room and I waited around while J got ready to go party. And now I’m ready for bed.

Quick note on William Rehnquist - it’s too bad he wasn’t the one who retired a few months back, because now they have to figure out someone else. Okay, bed now!