Fun Ship 2008, etc.

Ok, ok. I am now in the running for worst blogger ever. Bizarley is giving me a run for my money, that's right I am putting you on shout, for least posts in 2008. In my defense, I have been excessively lazy lately.

Anyhoo, I will try to be better and actually have many posts in mind. I have been keeping a list, right next to my list of topics for charades. First and foremost I want to say, seriously go buy Jbux's book. It is a great book, funny, well-written, appropriate mix of angst and resolution of angst, and I went to her very crowded book signing in NYC and saw first hand that she is big time. Crazy to think that she once wiped a booger on me.

Now onto the topic of this post. A few weeks ago, I went on vacation - first to New Orleans and then on to a Carnival Cruise to Mexico. I had never been on a cruise before and most likely, will never be on one again.

Please note that I had a blast with the people I was traveling with. Once we realized that the things you can do during a "fun day at sea" are eat, gamble, drink, eat, eat, eat, enter a hairiest chest contest, feel sick, eat, and make fun of people, we settled in to make the most of it. And we did. Justsomeguy made it to the finals of a blackjack tourney, Young D made it to the finals of a slot tourney, justsomeguys sister and my sister both won rounds of bingo (those old ladies were so jealous), and H and I generally were big losers, but whatever. I won at the 24 hour pizza bar.

Some observations re: cruises -
- When you pay a total of $409 for a 5 day vacation, you should not be surprised when the person boarding the boat in front of you is wearing a shirt that says "Let's flip a coin: Heads I get Tail, Tail I get Head."
- On captain's night, people are hella fancy. I mean, they rent tuxes, get their hair did, don as many sequins as humanly possible, and go to THE EXACT SAME PLACE, SAME TABLE AS THEY ATE EVERY OTHER MEAL. Bizarre.
- People apparently love to have their pictures taken by "professional" photographers in front of various pull down screens. Sometimes holding a rose and looking wistfully into the distance, sometimes with a person dressed as a Mayan Indian, sometimes with the whole family standing on the stairs, sorority style. Then all the pictures are put up for the whole cruise to view and purchase. My sister tried to take a picture of the displays, but got in trouble. In fact, she had to delete the picture she took. Tough security on the funship.
- Towel animals (see above), do not make the cruise better.
- Mexico was pretty fun. We spent the day at the beach and that is how I like to spend my time. The picture looks like a corona ad. Unfortunately, we had to get back on that damn boat to get home.
- The best thing about the cruise, besides my companions, was the butter. Seriously, I have never had more delicious butter. I would have taken some off the ship if not for (1) customs and (2) what the hell would I do with packets of butter while traveling home?

For more on cruises and disillusionment, I suggest reading David Foster Wallace's "A Supposedly Fun Thing I Would Never Do Again."

Alright, I came to work at 7 a.m. because I am so busy, and this is what I am doing. More posts to come - here is a preview - Elmo, self-awareness, and more bachelorette antics.