'05 Cruise!

I just got back from my cruise a few hours ago! It was a blast!!! I must say, Key West and Nassau kind of disappointed me. But CocoCay was soooo awesomeeee. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Day 1 (Monday) - Miami
I woke up at 3:30 AM on Monday (after going to bed at 11:30 on Sunday night), and Donny and his dad picked me up at 4:30. We met up with Megan and Jake (who were on our flight) at the airport, andur flight left at 5:55 AM (yeah, sick) for Ft. Lauderdale. Once we got there, we met up with Tyler and Jon and caught a shuttle to the Port of Miami! I was actually kind of nervous getting onto the ship. I was positive that we would turn into the next Titanic, even though I know that like, that NEVER happens anymore. I saw the lifeboats hanging off the side, and I instantly thought 'oh no. I hope there are enough for everyone.' haha like, what? I'm pretty sure they have that figured out by now. Anyway, here's our ship, the Majesty of the Seas:


Well, thats as much of it as I could fit in one picture haha. Anyway, the ship was gorgeous. And there was always something to do. The food at dinner was deliciouuuus (I literally had steak 3 of the 4 nights... oops?). The rest of the food was so-so, but there was always some place open to get food, so that was nice. At dinner, I tried a few new things... scallops (it was a scallop risotto), oxtail broth (i dont even know what that is, honestly. Even now that I've eaten it haha), and... ESCARGOT. Yes, I tried escargot. Honestly, it wasn't that bad. I don't know if I'd choose to eat it again, but I could handle eating it again. It probably helped that it was drenched in butter and garlic... mmm. Oh, and I also tried lamb... I did NOT like it. The texture was gross.

Anyway, so the first day we set sail at I believe 5 PM, so we all watched that. Then we just explored a bit and went to dinner at 8:30 (that was our dining time every night). I truly don't have any clue what we did the first night. Oops?

Day 2 (Tuesday) - Nassau
The next morning we docked in Nassau. It poured until like, noon, so that sucked. We finally got off the island and went to the straw markets (kind of claustrophobic and stressful, plus they all just sell the same stuff) and bought me some band-aids. The night before, someone knocked a heavy metal boxy trashcan onto the top of my foot and it was a REALLY deep gash and it pretty much bled for like, 2 days straight. Gross. Then we went back on the boat for awhile, collected everyone, and went to SENOR FROGS!

The bar had a GORGEOUS view... it sat out on top of the clear blue water of the Bahamas! Senor Frogs and when we played Quest (I'll get to that later) were probably the two best memories of the cruise haha. I mean... it all started when the boys bought buckets of beer, and the girls (plus jake :) ) bought something called 'The Yard' which was basically just a HUGE glass... I got the house margarita, frozen. It was DELICIOUS but it took me ages to finish. We watched a mom get drunk off her ASS and make a total fool of herself in front of her two young daughters. Sad, but also sort of hilarious. Then some employee decided to nominate Donny to participate in a chugging contest... he came in 2nd! Then the same employee created a 'Free Shot Conga Line' in which we all just... literally did a train around the bar, and at random points, employees would be waiting with a bottle of SOMETHING and they would squirt it into our mouths. I literally felt like it was the crazy college spring break I never had haha. It was insane. Then we of course had all had a biiiit to drink and ended up dancing like fools on the dance floor. Keep in mind that we were pretty much the only people dancing. Whatevs. It was SO FUN oh my gosh.

That night was our formal dinner, which was nice! We went to a laaaaame show afterwards. Donny and I left like, halfway through it because it was so dumb. It was like... a bunch of 70s songs, and it was beyond cheesy. We didn't really do a whole lot else the rest of the night, I don't think.

Day 3 (Wednesday) - CocoCay, Bahamas
I would say this was the best day, overall. I LOVED CocoCay, which is Royal Caribbean's own private island. It's tiny and cute and I love it. The unfortunate part was that it felt like it was 120 degrees outside. Note to self: Never, ever take a cruise to the Caribbean in the summer. I couldn't be out of the water for more than probably 5-10 minutes. It was that hot. I, of course, got burned... it's already pretty much gone away, which is nice. Other 05 cruisers were not so lucky, however. Donny's back is burned to a crisp, and others had various other body parts burned haha. I bought a Coco-Loco (the drink of the day on the cruise) and it was probably the most delicious drink I've ever had. I honestly had no idea what was in it (other than rum), so I just Googled it... here's what I came up with:

• 3/4 ounce dark rum
• 3/4 ounce coconut rum
• 1/2 ounce cream of coconut
• 1/2 ounce papaya nectar (optional)
• 1/2 ounce orange juice
• 1/2 ounce pineapple juice
• 1/4 ounce grenadine
• 1/2 banana (optional)

The only thing I'm confused about is that my drink had like... orange... sherbet in it or something. Whatever. It was so damn good.

Anyway, so there's that. My graduation present to Donny was one of the 'excursions' offered by Royal Caribbean... we went snorkeling in CocoCay! It was SO FUN, minus my mask kept leaking and I kept inhaling salt water. We saw a sting ray, TONS of schools of fish, and just lots of pretty, pretty fish! We also saw sea urchins... Katie found a starfish... it was just so fun! After snorkeling, we ended up having to put our lounge chairs in halfway in the water because, like I said, we literally couldn't NOT be in the water. It was fun though, and so, so relaxing. We had to go back kind of early though... Donny and I waited until the very last second to board the last boat back to our cruise ship (it was tendered further out in the ocean). That night, we went to a Newlyweds-ish game and it was just so freaking hilarious. Then we played Quest. Ohhhh, Quest.

Our group (10 of us) was group 4... and I found this description online: "Basically it's a form of a scavenger hunt - but with a twist. Points are awarded in this form - 1st person to arrive with the items gets 10 points. 2nd person - 5 points. 3rd person - 3 points. Everyone after that gets 1 point. When you arrive to the cruise director (the one on the microphone), you are to present your number and show him the items. Once that item is pronounced 'CLOSED', no more can be accepted." It started out with tame things... "I need one business card," or "I need one picture of a child." Laura, Donny, and Sam had all been on the cruise before, so they knew what a lot of them were going to be, so we came prepared haha. We were BY FAR the most intense group! I'm sure everyone else hated us. '05. Anyway, it eventually turned into like, 4 people on our team being in their underwear, boys demonstrating on other boys their favorite sexual positions, boys demonstrating on GIRLS their favorite sexual positions, girls showing tattoos and piercings in scandalous places... oh man. It was seriously one of the funniest nights of my life. I was dying of laughter. Katie just... took so many for the team haha. We saw her underwear so, so many times. She also bit a hole in Jake's sock... yeah. I dunno. hahaha. Some picture highlights:



I think it's safe to say that we absolutely dominated the game. We won with like... 70 points. The 2nd place team didn't even have 45 points. Like... absolute destruction. It was so fantastic. When they announced that we were the winners, we were SO obnoxious and like, shoved people out of our way to rush the stage and cheer and chant 'O-H' 'I-O' and oh my gosh it was just a fantastic moment.

Day 4 (Thursday) - Key West
Okay, there's basically nothing all that fun to do in Key West unless you have unlimited money and can go parasailing or something. We walked around, but it was miserable because it was so hot. Donny and I eventually ran into everyone else (minus Megan and Jake, who were off snorkeling and catamaran-ing) and went to the original Margaritaville, which was fun. Donny and I got the house margaritas and they were delishhhhhh. I guess they should be, since the place is called Margaritaville. Anyway, Donny and I were sick of it after that, so we headed back to the ship and packed, since we had to leave so early the next morning. We had our last dinner (where I had my third steak in 4 days...), and watched a decent comedy show. Then Donny and I headed to bed since we had to get up at 6 AM!

Day 5 (Friday) - Miami
We arrived back in Miami this morning to a beautiful sunrise. We were up early to take advantage of the 'Express' checkout or something... turned out to be not worth it at all, since we ended up sitting on Royal Caribbean's shuttle to Ft. Lauderdale for an HOUR. Omg it was the most annoying thing in the world. Luckily we got to the airport on time and got home with no problems.

I'm sorry this is the longest post of all time. Summary: the cruise was awesome, ridiculously hot, tons of fun, relaxing for the most part, and I hope I can do it again soon :)

CRUISE.

My cruise in the Bahamas begins TOMORROW! I can.not.wait. I've never been on a cruise, so I'm super excited. We'll be stopping in Nassau, Coco Cay, and Key West. yaaaaaaaayyyyy. :) The only bad thing is that our flight leaves at like, 6 AM tomorrow morning. Nasty.

Donny's graduation was yesterday morning. It was cooler than Miami's. Meh. Anyway, it was nice to see him graduate! I did have to get up at 5 AM to get to OU, though, haha. That was a bummer. But I drove down to Athens with his sister, and it was fun to chat with her and learn more about her.

We got back to Westerville, I had some yummy steak with my parents, and then I headed back over to Donny's. When I got there, his entire family was at the next door neighbor's high school graduation party. ALL of the adults were drunk. It was slightly hilarious. This one woman kept yelling at me to buy Bonine instead of Dramamine for the cruise, and that taking one of those and a Pepcid AC before drinking would lessen the effects of alcohol while on the cruise haha. She also informed us that eating a peanut butter (sans the jelly) sandwich before going to business meetings (she claims that ALL business meetings "inevitably end in drinking" hahaha) will also prevent hangovers. And the host kept giving Donny's dad shots and it was hysterical. Oh my.

Donny's parents gave me my graduation present... a Coach umbrella :) :) IT IS SO CUTE. I have wanted one of these FOREVER... and she didn't even know! I feel like she has developed a great sense of my tastes haha. First the cute Vera Bradley makeup bag and wristlet for Christmas... now this... props to her.

Time to get ready for dinner. I'll have cruise updates in a week!

Rollerblading

Yesterday I decided to bust out my rollerblades and give them another shot. They were going to be my path to fitness last summer, until I forgot to wear high enough socks, and I soon received such intense cuts that I still have scars. So the rollerblades were quickly forgotten for the rest of the summer. HOWEVER. I have decided to bring them back. I went yesterday and this morning with my sister, who claims she never learned how to skate when she was little. This is a bold-faced lie. Anyway, it's kind of nice going with her, because I get little breaks when I have to wait for her to catch up hahah. Plus, that way, when I start back up again, I'm using more muscle. See how it all works out so nicely? Anyway, my butt and hips and thighs are totally feeling it, and I'm so pumped. I just looked online at how many calories I burn doing this... it's like, more than running. And I hate running. So... yay for that. This is also a much cheaper alternative to joining the gym, which I was contemplating doing. It's still a possibility, but so far, this is working out great. And I don't work until 10 this summer, so I can get up, get in some exercise, then get to work. Perfect.

Ohh, the eye doctor.

What my house currently contains: a bruised, vicodin-riddled mother, a pukey sister, a father who just purchased an andrea bocelli cd on a whim and is now listening to it non-stop, and two very, very unnaturally studious other siblings. It is a very weird time in my household.

On top of that, I can't decide about my new contacts. I have a very hard time going to the eye doctor. I just... get stressed about my answers. "Is 1 better... or 2? ... One? ... or two?" OH MY GOSH. I DONT KNOW. THEY LOOK THE SAME. I always get nervous about whether I'm really answering correctly. Because my prescriptions never end up looking quite as good as I know they could be. And when I said something about it today, he re-checked me and said they were right. We'll see. At least it's an improvement over my OLD optometrist, of whom many of you have heard. He was probably the meanest, crotchety-est old man in the world. He was SO MEAN to me. I cried on two separate occasions in his office. He insulted pretty much every member of my family to their faces. And, on top of that, he just didn't really know what he was talking about. I had my first appointment with the NEW optometrist today and it was like, lightyears better. First, he didn't yell at me or make me cry. Second, he actually showed an interest in what I'm doing with my life. Third, he was SO careful and just showed me that he really wanted to get it right. My old optometrist once forgot to test me for glaucoma... admitted this to my face, and then told me it was "probably fine" and made me leave without getting tested. Somehow I feel as though that would never happen with this man. Like, when I told him that my new prescription still felt a little funny, he completely retested me. Like, THAT gives me confidence. That makes me feel so, so much better. At least he cares.

I ALSO found out from this appointment that my prescription is completely wrong, thanks to Mr. Crotchety Old Man. I'm THREE STEPS TOO HIGH in my right eye, and ONE step too high in my left. I'm sorry, but there is just absolutely no excuse for that. That's ABSURD. No wonder I was getting headaches. Also, I apparently have astigmatism. WHO KNEW. I always knew I had a tiny bit one in one eye, but this doctor has informed me that I have fairly developed astigmatism in both eyes. Um, good to know. He told me that my vision problems are partially due to this, which has never been treated before. He gave me trial contacts that treat the astigmatism (at the lower prescription which I should have been on all the time), and my vision is completely the same, if not better. Which tells me that all along, my eye troubles have NOT been due to worsening eyes, but to the astigmatism instead. Like, if I can get along with a prescription that is THREE steps lower in one eye, but one that also treats astigmatism... um... yeah. Shoulda been on that YEARS ago. Ugh.

So anyway, I still don't know how I feel about these contacts. Contacts that treat astigmatisms have a specific "up" and "down", so they have to be in place all the time, whereas regular contacts can just kinda spin around and it's fine. So that feels very weird to me... I keep blinking a lot. And I've developed a slight headache, but I think that's just because I'm not used to this prescription or these contacts. Hopefully this all works out.

Another thoughtful thing this doctor did was give me a new solution that is supposed to help with allergies. Like, seriously, I don't know why this doctor is infinitely nicer than the other guy. But he is, and it's great. He's Donny's optometrist, and Donny recommended that my family see him, and it was such a great decision. YAY finding new doctors! YAY abandoning old horrible doctors!

Now that I've spent 15 minutes typing up stuff about my eyes I'm sure you don't care about... my mom had kidney-stone-procedure-ish stuff done today, and she's recuperating. She's in a lot of pain, but I think the Vicodin is definitely helping when it's not wearing off. While she and my dad were at the clinic, I got a call saying my little sister was puking at school, and that I had to pick her up. Me + puking do NOT go well together, so I was a little worried, but she was done puking by the time I got there, thank goodness. It was SO weird to go back to my middle school, though. It's been so long since I've been in there. Looks the same, though. My sister's best friend who helped her to the bathroom mysteriously ALSO puked later in the day, so I dunno what's going on there.

My dad asked me for a book to read while he was waiting at the clinic for my mom to be done with her procedure. How embarrassing when your dad comes to you for a history book. I know that's what he wanted. How even MORE embarrassing when you're able to offer him approximately 15 books on the Nazis, and pretty much nothing else. He ended up going with one about the Black Death... ohhhh, how happy and cheery my preferred line of literature is.

Agenda for the rest of the night: tend to mother's needs, avoid pukey sister even though she's not puking anymore, perhaps read some more, and perhaps watch Rachel's Getting Married (my new Netflix). I'm excited.

Emily Post

After lunch today, we stopped by The Book Loft in German Village. I noticed a book on the shelves that I've had on MY bookshelves for a long time, but have never gotten around to reading, and that is the biography of Emily Post. She was (and probably still is) the most popular etiquette expert in the US throughout the early to mid 1900s. I've been reading it pretty much nonstop since I got home. I don't know why other people's lives fascinate me so much, but they do. She grew up extremely privileged (her father became a very famous architect, and her mother's family was in railroads)... she attended a private girls' school, had a debutante ball, and everything else that basically went along with being a rich girl in the late 1800s. I just think things like that are SO INTERESTING. Which is why this book will probably consume the better part of my weekend.

Through reading today and discovering the Book Loft, I've renewed my love for books. I don't know why I haven't read in so long, but it's pretty silly. I honestly (this is not an exaggeration) have at least 15 books I have purchased and have not read. Most of them are pretty daunting... I'd say almost all are 500+ page books about Nazis haha. Yet another area of history I find fascinating. ANYWAY, I have so much to read and I fully plan on finishing the majority of those books this summer. Hopefully the slow early summer at the call center will allow me to get some headway on that. I can't forget re-reading the entire Harry Potter series in time for the new movie, either... yikes.

My mom's "procedure" (I don't know what to call it, since it's not technically surgery) is tomorrow, so just keep her in your thoughts :) I know she's really nervous about it, just because she's never had any sort of procedure/surgery/major medical issue before, but she will be fine.

Also... I'm sad that Thursdays no longer include watching the Office. They need to just go ahead and start the new season. ALSO. The SVU finale was INCREDIBLE. That's all I'll say.

Off to read more about Emily Post :)

Just kidding about going to Cincinnati on Friday... my mom is having kidney surgery on Thursday, and it sounds like she'll be pretty sore for a long time, and I'm the only one that will be around on Friday to take care of her most of the day, so I'm staying home. Kinda bummed, but it's my family, so there's no second thought there. And there will be more Reds games :)

Also, I have come to the conclusion that I need to throw away roughly half the stuff in my room. It's impossible, but I have to start somewhere. There's no way any of this will fit in my new apartment.

Upcoming events

Tonight is the Law & Order SVU finale. We don't even need to get into how excited I am for that. But seriously, Mariska Hargitay is absolutely beautiful. If I could look like anyone, it would be her... and maybe also Reese Witherspoon.


In other news... other upcoming events:
Tomorrow: lunch in German Village with... people? Haha I don't even know who is going yet.
Friday-Saturday: going to Cincinnati for a Reds game and quality friend time!!
Monday-Wednesday: getting re-trained at the call center! YAY MONEY.
Saturday: Donny's (and the rest of OU's!) graduation!!!
Sunday: Opening the '05 time capsule!!! What am I most excited about? Opening the bottles of wine that have been in there for four years haha.
Monday: oh you know. Leaving for our cruise in the Bahamas (!!!!!)
Other June events: Laura's cookout, Donny's graduation party, and FIREWORKS at Kiley's!

My only concern about all of this is money. I just took a LARGE sum of money out of savings to pay off my ridiculous purchases on my credit card. I'm extremely ashamed of all of this and I am sick of spending money I don't have... especially when I'm supposed to be SAVING money for my rent this year. Not to mention the $15,000 in debt I'll have in a year.

Nonetheless, I'm excited for everything to come. This summer has been a blast so far, and I can't wait for it to continue! I'm excited for more Westerville friends to come home so that we can all hang out!

I bought my OSU football tickets and I am BEYOND excited. When I went online to buy them yesterday, I was seriously so nervous that my heart was beating audibly. It was THUMPING. Aaaand I got them. For a measly $170... vomit.

Two things I do not like about OSU so far:
1. The prices for everything. I know this isn't really a fair comparison, but I didn't have to pay for anything at Miami. I didn't have to pay NEARLY as much for a parking pass, I didn't have to pay for ANY sporting events... sigh.
2. I am already feeling like just another number at OSU. I NEVER felt that way at Miami. I never slipped through the cracks at Miami, and that's already happened at OSU and I haven't even started yet!

Anyway. I'm off to eat lunch and maybe read some HP in celebration of the upcoming movie (slash... I have to re-read so that I remember what actually will be happening in the movie)... and then bumming around until my sister's softball game! AND THEN SVU. YAYYYYY.