Cruisin'

I firmly believe that we all need something to look forward to, even if it's just the end of the workweek. Sometimes I drown in my Monday, knowing that the end of the workweek is five, six, or even seven days away. Anyway, Josh often laughs at me because I live by countdowns, i.e., number of days till I graduate nursing school, number of days till our anniversary, those type of things. I haven't actually had a countdown in awhile. I think the last one was probably the countdown till I took my boards... hmm. Anyway, I have a new reason to count down, and boy am I excited!

Josh and I were trying to think of something particularly fun to do for vacation this year, seeing how this is the end of a particulary full year. The changes over the past twelve months have all been great, and I mean that to be read both as in size and in wonder. We have talked about going on a cruise before, and we've looked into the all-inclusive resorts that they seem to have everywhere south of Florida. Lots of our friends have done both, either on a honeymoon or on a special vacation, and we had heard mixed reviews. We looked into both options, doing the typical Joshua standard of at least six hours of internet research per choice before coming to any kind of conclusion as to what we want to do. Well, we picked: we're going on a cruise! I am looking forward to the idea of leaving for a vacation that will sort of take care of itself; it is considered all-inclusive at its base price, and we can add any number of excursions or special foods that we like. We fly into California on March 13 and sail for Acapulco, Mexico the following day. This is by far the most exotic thing we have ever done!

I am excited. I'm excited for vacation, to take a plane ride with my Joshua, to go to California, to go on a cruise! Josh and I have never flown anywhere, neither of us has been to California, and we've definitely never been on a cruise ship. My mind is already weeks ahead, pondering passports and luggage, cruising clothing and tipping etiquette. Scared of the possibility of seasickness. I can feel the excitement well up in my throat, and as I'm sitting here thinking about it a thought of work in the morning will occasionally creep in... and it has nearly no effect on my blessed lightheartedness.

This is what I mean about having something to look forward to. Like a magnet of North Pole strength, it pulls me right through the long days on South Tower 3.

That's, um, sixty-five days to go...............................................




PS - Any experienced cruisers out there? We were wondering how frequently and how much you tip the servicepeople. We've heard some people say they wait till the end of the week and leave a large tip, and others say they tipped every meal. How much do you tip at a time? Our travel agency suggested a figure we should spend on total tips for the entire week, but that doesn't help in dividing it out!