Episode 17: 361 Days Until Christmas

Another great month in the books.  All or at least most of my friends know that Christmas is my favorite time of the year. This might be blasphemy but I don't look at Christmas as the birth of Jesus, even though it is, it's much more than that. "It's... it's the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we... we... we smile a little easier, we... w-w-we... we... we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be!"

Sure, Christmas is "commercialized" but that's a damn excuse!  That doesn't stop you from going out and doing something nice for someone else.  Whether it be opening the door for people passing by, giving a friend a call that you haven't seen the past year, or even just making someone smile.  It's that time of the year you put other's before yourself in hopes that you carry that through the new year.  I love Christmas.

November was a terrific month and it just rolled into December and I dare say that this Christmas has been the best Christmas I've had.  I started it off meeting with a bunch of friends and many of them are into their career's or have started a family and It's really cool to see everyone with this new found confidence as in you can tell that they've had some experiences and they've all matured in different ways. We're all growing up.

THE ULTIMATE BAR CRAWL

That following Saturday was the night of the Ultimate Bar Crawl.  I don't even know...  That day was just amazing, from beginning to end.  From bar to bar we accumulated more and more friends and finally at the last bar we just took over the entire dance floor.  I'm not going to even try to put this experience into words because you just had to be there!

THE DISC EXCHANGE

One of MANY Christmas Miracles that happened this past week was my meeting with a Lauren Mestitz.  Our story began on January 15th, 2012 when I stumbled upon a disc at an ultimate tournament called Leiout.  On the back of the disc was a name, Lauren Mestitz, and the next day I contacted Lauren through Facebook to let her know she left her disc at Leiout; to her surprise, and my own, she had never been to the tournament before, so someone must have stolen her disc and left it in Los Angeles.  Luckily she was working/living around the Chicago area and I was returning in August for the Huizenga wedding BUT I got a little distracted and forgot... for two plus years... BUT ANYWAY on December 19th I messaged her back and was determined to reunite her with her long lost disc. FINALLY on December 22nd,  I met up with her at Fair Game, a friends board game shop in Downers Grove.

This is exactly what happened.

CHRISTMAS/ CHRISTMAS EVE

Before we get into Christmas Eve I MUST mention that my brother and his girlfriend, Becca, are now ENGAGED! It has definitely been a long time coming, they have been going out for almost a decade.  For the past few years we have started going to Becca's house for Christmas Eve, before going to Christmas Eve service, and they've had the same awesome food every year; which is something I look forward too. 

After Christmas Eve service we went to pick up my mom from work but were a few hours early so we went into a break room and learned one of the board games I bought for my cousins kids, Angie and Maria, to prepare for Christmas festivities the next day.  I've bought my cousins kids presents in the past and I try to make them themed.  This year is board games.  For the younger Aiden and Andie I got them the german game Der Schwarze Pirat (The Black Pirate) and for the older Angie and Maria I got them the game Smash Up (click on the game titles to see reviews and game play if you're interested).  Once buying their games I opened and learned how to play them before giving them their presents so they could go home with something they knew how to play.

I knew when I was little the last thing I wanted to do was read, let alone read rules to a game. UGH...

This Christmas was particularly special since three cousins that we normally don't get to see brought they're families out.  I can't remember when it was the last time we've all been together.  Sure we were missing one cousin that went to Dublin but I guess that's a valid excuse.  I just hope that it becomes a new Christmas tradition.

FILM STUFF

For all the awesome stuff that has happened, I'm ready to get back to LA to get some work done.  I'm as motivated as ever; go big or go home. 

I've officially pushing straight forward with the Lyft gig since I couldn't think of any other option that would allow me to have a flexible schedule as Lyft would allow me.  I've been stalling to transfer everything to California but the more and more I think about it the more I know that this is the right decision.  I'm on the final stretch to get my car insurance (thanks to everyone for your suggestions, it's really helped a lot), I have my title and the day after I get back I have an appointment at the DMV to get my car registered or at least find out where I can register my car.  Hopefully I'll have that all done before New Years hit's so I can work that night.

I also am almost done with my demo reel.  I really need one or two more different scenes for me to post it online before I start fully committing to submitting myself for auditions. See you soon LA.

Brainstorm With Me!

The last time we left off on my epic journey I was becoming a Lyft driver in hopes that it would free up my days for auditions.  WELL THROW THAT OUT THE WINDOW!  They're telling me I'll need to change my license plate and car insurance to California, which is understandable.  At first my insurance company said Lyft shouldn't have a problem with it since I don't own the title to my car, my dad does but I digress.

On the bright side I started working with an actual production company!  I'm still on-call with them so I don't have an actual schedule, but at least I have my foot in the door.

My acting career has progressed next to nil.  I've been working on my reel but I have yet to finish it.  I have plenty of scenes for it but probably not the range I was hoping for.  I believe if I shoot just one more scene I'll be ready to release my demo reel and start submitting myself for work again in January.


In other news this past week we shot and got our Christmas cards printed! Here's our teaser:

I actually just finished filling them all out so they're all ready to be mailed.  Maybe you'll be getting yours in the mail soon!

I'm also extremely excited to head back home for the Holidays.  I'll be back in Illinois from December 16th- December 30th.  During that time I hope to get ready for 2015 and plan out exactly what I want out of the year and how to get it.  Any suggestions or brainstorming with me is extremely encouraged because I think I need help bouncing idea's off of other people.

A Blog of THANKS

WOAH it's been almost a whole 2 months since my last blog post, THAT IS TERRRRRRRRRIBLE!

I can't help but talk about this month because it has been non-stop action.  This month I've been really focusing on what I need to do to promote myself better so I filmed a few scenes for a reel but I feel like I need more variety to show more of my "range".  With the scenes I shot I feel a little dull.  I need to show more of my "bouncing off the walls" part of me which is how I usually am.

If you want to know how awesome my month has been just look at my instagram:  DonAMacatangay

Here's a little teaser:
http://instagram.com/p/vHcyARFE3J/?modal=true

As of right now I've been scheming to see what I need to do to have my money last me as long as possible.  I've finally decided to become a Lyft driver and try to work nights as I go on audition or work on set during the day.  Since auditions and working on set aren't a for sure thing Lyft will be a flexible job that will allow me to work whenever I please. MEH, I think it's a good idea.

Every Thanksgiving I usually think of the people that have done acts of random kindness for me.  Something people don't know I do is that I try to keep a list of those acts.  This list goes back to college.

Angie Yang - helped with my run club logo in college
Kevin McPherson - covered 2013 One Love One Beach entry fee
Goat - covered 2012 Beach league
C-Note - Covered 2012 Beach League jersey
Licious - covered 2013 Beach League and jersey
Kate and Matt Shaff - offering help whenever I can to see me succeed
Alex and Eileen - Allowed me to stay at their home as I was homeless for a few months and then let me store my stuff there until I returned.
Tony Hightower - spoke with him on the phone for a while about health insurance and Obama care when I was turning 26.  He was a representative for Obama Care and he went out of his way to help me on the phone that day.
Scott and Julie Hill - Allowed me to stay at their home in Seattle before and after the boat gig
Levi Seif -Allowed me to stay at his home in Seattle before the boat gig
Joanna Whitney, DK, Mandee Mallonee, Kwok, Stephen Guerin - helped me on my resume as I reached out to production companies for work
Adam Leene - random film advice and support
Lindsay McDowell - Helping me with my reel, offered me support and straight up encouragement
Tom Becker - being so willing to act in all the scenes I've asked him for

Parents - don't get me started.

There just has to be more and I'm sorry if I forgot you but HEY, I'm human and I forget to write things down unfortunately.  It's just great to look back and see that people support you.  Doesn't matter how small or big, because just the act alone helps you push forward, and in case you do fall back you'll have someone to catch you on the way down but at the same time not taking those sacrifices for granted.  I'm a lucky guy so I give thanks and hopefully someday I can make it up to these people and let them know that their sacrifices were not in vain.

First Month Down

CLICK HERE to see my Hawaii trip late August in this sweet album!!

It's been a little more then a month since moving into the new apartment.  Besides unemployment it's been great.  Looking for a job has been a challenge and continues to be.  I guess I'm technically not unemployed since I work very part time at Art Zone and I'm on call with a production company that has me e-mail them weekly to see whether or not they have work for me but as of yet I haven't gotten any work from them.  The first 2-3 weeks of September I avidly applied to production companies.  Since acquiring the "job" at the production company I have been working on my acting resume and keeping in contact with my commercial agent.  I've also been working on putting together my acting reel to better help with finding auditions.

The last few days I've been losing focus.  I hope after writing this blog it steers me in the right direction.  I need to keep on pushing forward applying to production companies, finding leads, calling my agent, submitting to casting calls, finding appropriate scripts for my reel/memorizing the scripts I have thus far, and running consistently every morning.  I am almost done with editing the Palatine Cross Country Documentary I've been working on for the past couple years.  I want to finish it ASAP.

Family Portrait

This past weekend we had our housewarming party and damn it, we know how to throw a party.  I wished I danced more but I found something better to do.  Next time, I'll dance more.

So here's to blogging, working out, and keeping focused more consistently.

Oh, I have a date this Thursday.  Wish me luck, eh?

Later Days,
Don

Tribute

The first two weeks back from camp have been going a bit too well.  My future roommates and I decided on August 6th on what apartment we wanted.  August 8th we passed the credit check and  August 14th we submitted our signed lease. We all start moving in August 31st.

The moment when my roommates seemed set on the apartment, August 6th, I decided to start looking for a full-time job.  On the way to brunch I found myself in the middle of a movie set so I decide to talk up a production assistant to see how he likes his job, how much he get's paid, how does he start off and a bunch of other questions.  Finally I tell him, "Hey man, I should probably get going, I don't want to get you in trouble" and then he say's, "Oh yea, but you should definitely apply and make sure to drop my name.  My dad is sort of the boss."  The moment I get home I immediately look up the company and compare his name with the presidents, so it seemed like it checks out.  I finally submitted my resume on August 14th after having a few friends take a look at my resume (Thank you Joanna and Stephen!).  I'm also still researching and looking up companies. Below you can check out my resume and let me know what you think.  (I took out my address, phone number, and e-mail under my name.  I also took out my references as well for their privacy and my own)

What's also been on my mind is the passing of Robin Williams and why it's affecting me.  Most of the time when celebrities pass I always think, "that's too bad" but there is no real reason for me to mourn them.  I didn't know them personally so why should I?  Even though that fact stayed true with Robin Williams, he had something more.  From when I was little Robin Williams was in all my favorite movies and his demeanor projected the fact that he knew people and especially children. He wasn't afraid to do what was necessary to make people smile.  Maybe that's why I have no shame acting like a goof ball.

Growing up at family parties you would always find me shy in the corner with my brother doing nothing.  When I was in high school I started to notice the same thing occur at our family parties but with other kids.  I would always take it upon myself to play with all the kids and get them acquainted and then get on with greeting guests.  You could say I liked to get the ball rolling so everyone would have a great time.  I bring that same enthusiasm when I work at the Art Zone.

Another thing that struck me about Robin Williams is something I learned from acting classes.  What helps me get into "character" is using instances out of my own life and choosing someone that I know to "speak the lines to".  If you look back at some of the heart felt speeches Robin has spoken, they seem so real.  Since he was dealing with depression I can't help but think that it helped him get into character.  I just can't get over the fact that someone who makes so many people happy could be that depressed and it hurts to know that.  Once again I don't know Mr. Williams personally so I don't know what he was going through, I only know what the media tells me.  I wish I could have met him myself.

Back in LALA

This blog I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking and after this week I'll be back to  my consistent 1 blog a week!

July 7th I started my drive back to Los Angeles and made my return to Denver, CO. I end up crashing at my friend Dennis' place.

Nessi made it to 100,000 miles!

The morning of July 8th I drove out to Copper Mountain to meet up with more friends then made my way out to Salt Lake City to stay with my cousin Peter.  I take a detour through the mountains on the 9 to the 40 for a more scenic route.  I had no phone reception on the entire drive so luckily I had no car trouble along the way.

People here are still bitter from the 96-97 and 97-98 seasons... awesome

I end up leaving Salt Lake City on July 11th because I wanted to explore the city more.  I really liked what I saw of Salt Lake City.  I can actually see myself living there.  On the way to LA I take a detour to drive on the 12.  It's supposed to be one of the most scenic drives in the United States. It didn't disappoint.  (Video will come later)

July 11th I arrive back in LA just until Sunday morning.  Saturday July 12th I attend Joanna's Birthday bar crawl scavenger hunt.  It was obviously a good time. The first bar we went to had a refrigerator door as it's front door for crying out loud!

July 13th I return to camp as a counselor for my second year.  The first two weeks were rough.  It was hard getting anything done just because of how long it took to get all the kids' attention. Luckily I took a weekend to play at HatsHopsHucks as a stress reliever. It was a terrific weekend of great ultimate, great food, and great friends.

My 3rd and final week of camp turned out to be the best I've ever had.  This week we also had a group fly in from Japan so it was awesome talking to them about anime and manga.  On top of that all the boy's in my cabin LISTENED! That allowed us to get a lot of activities in.  Take a look at some of the projects we did below and some pictures of the group!

 

Last years Commercial

You could say this is how I left camp.

Episode 11: Return of the Don

Length: 140 feet
Crew: 33
Hold Capacity: 280 metric tons

Where to begin... where to begin?!  If you've spoken to me you probably know it was a tough 2.5 months (March 31 - June 10th).  First I'll describe my work and then I'll get into the real story.

SHORT SUMMARY OF MY WORK RESPONSIBILITIES:
I was a processor on the boat; meaning that I was always downstairs in the factory and the only time I would go on deck would be during my pee breaks. Yes, I peed off the side of the boat and it was glorious.

It was an assembly line in the factory.  Once we caught the fish, the deck hands put as much as they could into our live tanks; while the remaining fish would sit on our deck until we needed to refill.  From there the fish are taken onto a belt to be sorted and unwanted fish are thrown away, back into the ocean.

Fish Kept:

• Yellow Fin Sole
• Rock Sole
• Flat Head Sole
• Rex Sole
• Alaska Plaice
• Pacific Cod
• Pollock
• Arrowtooth Flounder
• Greenland Turbot

Once they leave our live tanks they are taken to the head cutter and then gutted (depending on the fish we would have people gutting them after the head cutter). From there they are sorted/separated into sizes where they are packed into 50 lb. trays and once fully packed they are thrown onto a belt to another individual who takes them into a freezer (full freezer = 100+ of the 50 lb. trays and it takes a 3 hour wait until the fish are done freezing).  There are 5 freezers so we empty a freezer approximately every 45 minutes.  On the boat we called these "freezer breaks".  When we empty the freezer we place the cases back onto the the belt where it's taken to someone who takes the frozen block of fish from the tray, bag it up, and then they are thrown down into the freezer hold.

When emptying a freezer most of the focus is toward unloading a freezer so we have to work quickly because if we don't then the longer we keep new fish from coming into the factory.  This applied to every job on the "assembly line".  For example,  If the head cutters aren't fast enough the packers have no fish to pack thus slowing down the freezer breaks because they have no fish to put into the freezers and so on.  So the job was extremely fast paced and you were always trying to move as fast as you could or we would get behind.  I mostly worked at packing and helping with the freezer breaks but I got to do it all.

Top bunk is mine.

My typical work schedule:
11PM wake up and eat
12AM start shift
4AM 10 minute food break/ pee break
8AM 30 minute breakfast
12PM 10 minute food break/ pee break
4PM or 4:30PM (depending if we are behind) go eat shower and sleep
REPEAT

To the right is where I slept, all the way on the top.  It was only 2.5 feet from my bed to the ceiling so whenever I woke up I had to watch my head.

The factory is always working so while we go to sleep another shift comes on.  We have 2 shifts staggered working at all times and 3 shifts in total working on the boat.

Everyone coming onto the boat signs a 69 day agreement to stay on the boat.  If you were to break that agreement you would have to pay for everything they've provided to get you there (e.i. flights, room and board, and food so whatever money you earned from working minus ≈$2000).

STORY TIME:

On March 30th myself and four other men, all having fishing experience not including myself, flew from Seattle to Anchorage, AK then from there we took off to Dutch Harbor, AK in a 30-36 passenger plane.  For those plane enthusiasts at home, it was a Saab 340.  The plane was puny with the propellers so loud that you couldn't hear yourself think and it was required that you wear ear plugs.  The flight had magnificent sights of snow peaked mountains and frozen waters.  Once we landed in Dutch Harbor we had a good nights sleep and a warm meal before boarding the boat the next morning.

March 31st we boarded the Rebecca-Irene and waited patiently for the rest of the crew to finish their offload.  The crew consisted of a wide range of nationalities such as African,  Mexican, Taiwanese and Samoan men.  Most of the crew were from those countries and only 5 Americans out of a 30 person crew.  All these guys we're HUGE and I was definitely the smallest guy working downstairs.  During the offload I helped Juan, the cook, with dishes since I had time to spare.  Then out of no where a bald eagle flew into our galley.  From wall to stove and straight into the television.  The magnificent bird was flying in a manic path for several minutes until it was led out by one of my crew mates.  If you don't believe me check out the video:

The moment we started steaming from Dutch Harbor is when I began to feel it, seasickness.  I ran to the bathroom as quickly as possible and arrived at a sink just in time to regurgitate what I had for lunch earlier that day.  Oh but don't worry because once was not enough.  I took a few minutes of break and continued with another upchuck of old food.  Oh happy day.  One of my goal's for this job was to not vomit more than three times and there I was dry heaving after my second time in barely a few hours.

Once we started catching fish I luckily only had 4 hours left of my 16.5 hour shift.  The entire shift I was gutting and fish would come at a seemingly insane speed of 2-3 fish per SECOND; YES, per second.  After my short shift I was exhausted leaving me with next to no confidence; I reeked of fish and cigarettes where I could barely eat due to my seasickness so I went to bed weak, nauseous, and starving. 

What I wake up to every morning...

When I awoke I come to find that one of my crew mates that came aboard the same time as I decided to quit not even half way through his shift.  He explained that the work was “too hard”.  What was I to think?  A man with 2 years of fishing experience quitting barely into his first shift and there I was with no fishing experience on the verge to go into my second shift.  I continued that trip (1 week at sea) seasick and fatigued waist up.  I would go to sleep with my hands and arms numb from the days work and worse when I woke up.  It would take about 1-2 hours of work to shake off the numbness.  That first week was the worse week of my life and it wasn't because of what was stated above but how isolated I felt.  All but one person talked to me on the boat and encouraged me that first week.  16.5 a day for one week  almost no one spoke to me. I was alone feeling this pain alone driving me to the brink of insanity.

Sleep for my first weeks seemed to go by in seconds and terrific dream's, so wonderful that they left me depressed the moment I woke up because of the realization of where I actually was. Nightmares would follow and not just nightmares but the most traumatic nightmares I've come to know.  One dream that settled at the back of my mind was one where I was a translucent body watching over my family.  I watched my parents die in that dream and I awoke sobbing choking on my own tears.  In a nutshell, that was the variety of dreams I had my first week.

Lau

The first time we docked on land Lau, the crew mate that was my biggest supporter that encouraged me with reckless abandonment from the beginning to end, allowed me to borrow his cell phone to call home.  I was reluctant to call but Lau insisted that I call because he said hearing a familiar voice can go a long way, and he was right.  The moment I heard my parents voices I started weeping like a little toddler, relieved that his parents were well.  They seemingly had no idea and assumed that I was having a grand old time.  At that moment I thought it would be best to keep it that way because worrying my parents was the last thing I wanted to do.  The conversation was short but meant the world to me.  After I had gotten off the phone, crying was out of my control.  I found myself running to a bathroom stall to hide my weeping from my crew mates but I couldn't have been more relieved.  I sat in that stall crying for at least 10 minutes.

Past that dreadful week, I had more and more coworkers speaking to me.  The longer I lasted the more respect I earned.  I even had crew mates encouraging me to eat to gain more “power”.  I once let fatigue get to me and that ended with my right index finger getting smashed between a 50 lb. case and a metal pole during a freezer break.  That finger became a quick reminder to shut out fatigue.

Most asked question's in this order: 

1. Are you married?  
2. Do you have a girlfriend? 
3. Are you gay?

Key phrases: 

• EYYYYY!! 
• WHAT DA FAAHHHHHCK? 
• No good!
• You need to eat so you get power

Rico

The boat had many characters as you can imagine.  I didn't get along with everyone right away and some I never got along with but we were able to tolerate each other's existence.  One guy would start a statement with  “Amigo” whenever I did something wrong and to help me relax I just thought of this scene:

There was another guy who I can best describe as a Taiwanese Santa Claus who was jolly to me and seemingly had a personal vendetta with everyone else.  I found out later that that's how he jokes around with the rest of the crew and the reason why he didn't act that way with me was because I was new.  It really was a hilarious site to behold.  

Another guy would find any opportunity to scare the living hell out of me whenever I slipped into a day dream, which happened a lot.  Maybe everyone was a little crazy on the boat seeing that a good number of guys had felony charges against them.

April 21st: I'm starting to grow these lumps on my arms. My coworkers tell me they're called "biceps",  I just hope it's treatable.

With each new week the work became more tolerable; the numbness in my arms and hands became a normal feeling with the help of Rico. Rico pushed me to get faster, stronger, and more efficient. As for my dreams, instead of having traumatic ones they just turned into dreams about me working.  The only thing that got tougher was listening to mariachi music.  I'm sorry if it offends someone BUT COME ON!  They played only mariachi music for my first two weeks before someone decided to start playing different music, thank god.  Some of the songs made me literally laugh out loud.  For example:

When these came on I couldn't help myself from laughing or from singing.  Keep in mind that these are from playlists from guys on the boat.  These are manly men and then "Let it Go" comes on?!? You have to admit that's hilarious stuff.

I tribute a lot of my best work to Michael Jackson.  Whenever his songs came on I just got fired up.

I also started taking my breaks out on the deck to get some fresh air and just look out into the ocean.  One night I remember the water was so calm there wasn't a ripple in sight and a full moon that left a trail of light from the horizon to the back of our boat, I was mesmerized by the sight.  As summer approached daylight would last longer and longer so during breaks I would be able to see the horizon or even mountains in the distance.  It was a nice reminder of how small we really are.

Tua 

As the halfway mark of my contract approached coworkers warned me of the new foreman that would board our ship.  There was even a rumor that he threw a guy off a bridge for no particular reason and I wasn't ready to find out if it was true or not but Tua sounded uncompromising, stubborn and blunt.  According to the current foreman, Mau, I was going to have a rough time if I didn't pick-up the pace.  At the same time he knew that I was working my ass off, and he let me know that, but I had to continue to get better.  On top of that our boat was planning to not dock on land for an entire month, meaning no rest.  Instead of offloading on land we would offload onto another boat as seen below.

Mau

The first time I met Tua he took me to the side to talk to me personally and told me, “I heard you're slow as hell but I want to see that PINOY POWER, SO LET'S GO!”  The man spoke in yell and I couldn't be anymore intimidated.  I found out that Tua actually liked me.  He loved my effort and he seemed to watch over me the remainder of my contract.  He was probably my biggest supporter behind Lau and I couldn't thank him enough for the impact he had on me.

Nicknames:

• Pacquiáo 
• Pino 
• Ron (There used to be a guy that worked on the boat years ago named Ron Macatangay. They said I looked like him so I'm pretty sure he's my evil twin)

The month long trip turned out to be my best work and it went by in a flash. By the end, everyone on the boat seemed happy including myself and especially the guys going home once we docked.  We were all working harder for each other. During freezer breaks guys were talking trash and racing between the guys filling and emptying freezers to the guys breaking cases,wrapping and throwing down fish into the freezer hold.  It was the first time work was actually becoming fun.  I only took part in two of the races and they were awesome.

Rain gear

My last trip was probably the easiest and slowest of them all.  The only worry on this trip was the potential delay we would have at Dutch Harbor, AK due to a volcano stalling all the flights back to Anchorage, AK but fortunately we didn't have to wait long to get back.  Once we got back to the office in Seattle they asked me if I would come back for another contract and I politely said, “I don't know, I'll probably take a break... forever.”  Don't worry it got a laugh.

I've never done anything this hard in my life and I'm proud of myself for pushing through and finishing what I started.  I just hope that the money I raised will help me be more successful following my dreams come August when I make my return to Los Angeles.

June 4th: while peeing off the deck I witness something amazing.  An orca jumps out of the water.  Then I realize that I'm peeing on an Orca.  I instantly feel terrible but still amazed at the same time. This is not that time....

Before     162 lbs                                                   After                                            6/18/14       148 lbs

Injuries sustained on the boat:
Week 1: My finger got caught in between a 50lb. case of fish and a hard place. (It's growing off as we speak.)
Week 1-4:  Strained back, middle finger nails started to tear off from gutting fish
Week 4-now: sprained wrists and thumbs
*Only vomited twice on the trip!  The first day would be my first and last time I did.

Freezer hold Don

Sleepless In Seattle

The last week at home was relaxing and well deserved.  Caught up on The Walking Dead from episode 1,  I got to see another side of TAbel,  Kotecki is single again,  Shane is still bald,  Serena still looks weird  with facial hair to me, I saw Katie drunk, Kerry still gives me a hard time for good reason,  Teleport is a grown-up, Steeeve is researching houses, Reynolds has lent me an "inspiring" book about living on a whale ship, and my family is still fun-sized.

Yesterday I flew into Seattle, WA and was shown the best hospitality I've ever experienced.  Levi skipped out early from work to pick me up from the airport, brought me to the famous Pike Place (including the gum wall, the salmon toss, and the first Starbucks EVER), the Fremont Troll, and the boat house from Sleepless In Seattle.  He did all of this without hesitation.  I had no idea what I was doing and Levi seemingly had all of this planned out,  I couldn't have asked for a better host.  Now I sit at a library writing this blog.

 Tomorrow I have to go see my employer and then I'll probably end up camping at the airport until my flight Saturday morning to Alaska.  While I'm on the boat I hope to post every week but who know's how the internet is set up on the boat.  They told me I'll at least have gmail and I might get internet reception whenever we dock at Dutch Harbor.  I doubt I'll be able to post anymore of my blogs on my facebook and possibly I won't be able to post anymore blogs but I hope I'm wrong.  I've packed a few books to keep me occupied during down time and I hope to be writing in my notebook whenever an idea pops into my head.  PLEASE feel free to comment on this post and future posts, it's always nice knowing that people read what I write.

AWESOME HOSTS CONTINUED...(3/29/14)
I now sit at the airport in Seattle because I find out at the meeting, I had Friday that we would be leaving Sunday morning instead of Saturday. After the meeting I put out some other messages to Fridays on Facebook to have me find a place to stay at last night. Fortunately to some great friends they found me a place to stay at Scott and Julie's (thanks Licious! And to Kwok, Alex, Chuck and anyone else that looked for a place for me to stay!) . Once again terrific hosts! They gave me a bed to sleep in, offered to pick me up wherever I was, gave me beer/food, cooked for me, drive me to te airport(just now) and let me play the xbox 1. Yea, I'm flippin' spoiled.  My flight leaves at 6am and I had to be at the airport at 4am so I figured it would be best to sleep over.

Don Macatangay

F/T REBECCA IRENE

c/o North Pacific Fuel

P.O. Box 920088

Dutch Harbor, AK  99692

(LETTERS AND POSTCARDS WOULD DEFINITELY BRING A SMILE TO MY FACE!... OR EVEN A FLASH DRIVE CONTAINING THE SERIES FINALE OF HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER!!!!!)