This is my new motto, I love it! It's Tuesday morning and I have decided that barring anything jarring happening in my life I will only be posting new blogs once or twice a week. Life is so kind to me that it doesn't change much from one day to another, so I don't have too much to report. Again if anything crazy happens, well you will be the first to know.

That meeting last week with the treatment center went very well for job number two. They have agreed to use us, which would be great except as of six o'clock last night we were completely full. That doesn't mean much, been there before and it rarely lasts long until someone decides to move on for whatever reason. We shall see.

So the parental units and I are waiting to hear about our idea for the next cruise. You didn't rally think I could stay on dry land too long before planning out the next great adventure did you? More will be revealed.

Tonight I have what I consider a great honor on tap. I am speaking at a meeting tonight. This isn't just any chance to speak at a meeting either, it's at the clubhouse I went to five nights a week while I was getting sober. I am actually kinda nervous about this, but it will be what it's supposed to be, it always will be what it's supposed to be. Life in Gods world works like that!

That's about all I got for ya today, talk with you folks soon. Here's hoping all your faces have smiles


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Happy Monday

You know this used to be my favorite day of the week, till my work schedule changed. Now its just another work day. Well I took a week off from blogging after the cruise, and boy oh boy have I been busy. I needed to shape up a few things around job number two as I put something into the works for them. I have a tour happening there this afternoon from a local treatment center that is looking to build a relationship with a sober living community. If all goes well my marketing will be complete as this deal would keep us at capacity pretty much all the time. I also have a new venture in the works that if it works out I will be running a group or two for these folks. As you know I am going to school to become a counselor, well when I was speaking to them about the tour they mentioned this need of theirs. It's my hope to close both deals today, but more will be revealed.

This is going to be a very busy week for me. This meeting today, work tonight, school tomorrow and Thursday, and the fern house on Wednesday. I also need to squeeze in a few other things but I am so tired I can't think of what. My body clock is completely screwed up. Every time I go on vacation I go through this. I am unfortunately a graveyard shift guy, but cruise ships are not. Therefore it took me two days into vacation to get used to waking up in the morning, and now I'm back for over a week and I can't sleep during the day yet. I will get back into the rhythm, but it will probably take another week or so.

Well that's about it for now, I have lost my train of thought. I will update you all on how the meeting goes today, after I try getting a few hours sleep.

Here's hoping all your faces have smiles!


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Carnival Glory pictures part three

Ok, this edition is the second half of the cruise...San Juan, Grand Turk and the return into Miami at daybreak.











































In this last one, I think is one of my best with the commercial airliner flying through the image of the Carnival Valor's smokestack. I will put one more post together for you of a different sunrise that I thought was even better


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Carnival Glory pictures part two, the sun rises on a new day

There is nothing I can think of more peaceful than watching the sun rise over the horizon. I thought I would share one with you. Just remember you can NOT stare directly into any picture as it will make you go blind!


































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Carnival Glory pictures part one

Ok I am going to condense this into three more posts, which means most of three hundred pictures won't be published right now...this is sail away day, half moon cay, and St Thomas.
















































Part two will be the second half, and part three is planned to chronicle two sunrises that I photographed. That one is really more for a certain photographer niece of mine.

That's it for now, here's hoping all your faces have smiles!

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Carnival Glory afterwards (stalking other guests)

As promised, here are the pictures and videos that should make you just say....what were they thinking.




The formal tie dye, sexy!

And they say white men have no rhythm.....HA!







Note: if your ass is as large as the moon, wrapping gold gingly things around it does not make these pants ok! EVER!

I must apologize, I could not get the camera out of my pocket fast enough to capture the image of the six foot six guy with a mullet second knuckle deep in the nostril, I will have to be faster next time.

That's about it for now, sail away pictures either later tonight or tomorrow morning...here's hoping all your faces have smiles!


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Carnival Glory day seven

Well it's currently 11:30pm on Saturday night and the last full day of the cruise is coming to a close. As I write this I am sitting in the piano bar listening to some great music trying to make the most of the rest time on this gorgeous ship. Today was a sea day and according to the position chart we are about fifty miles from Miami. In all the trip will have been approximately 1800 nautical miles and the we were once at a point where the ocean was 47000 feet deep(just over eight miles). The seas finally calmed down today, the last two days were pretty rough seas. This has been a magnificent vacation, the only sad part is it has to end. I would love to spend another week on this ship before she moves up to New York for the summer.

Tomorrow will come soon enough and I will drive the parental units home before I go to laundry world (wow vacation ends that abruptly?) then it's back to work on Monday. Over the next few days I will be posting several days worth of pictures here, as well as a full album on Facebook. I will start with the stalking that I did as that will amuse most of you, but one in particular. I want to thank all of you for joining me here for this journey, next time you should come with!

That's it for now, here's hoping all your faces have smiles!


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Carnival Glory day six

Is that really right? That means just one more day left...buggers. Today was Grand Turk, to quote the comedian from the other night... If that's Grand Turk I would hate to see how small regular Turk is. It is a small island just eight miles long and at it's widest about a half mile wide. I never left the port area as it was just too hot to care. The port is beautiful, built by Carnival and when they build a port area, they do it right! I had fresh conch fritters for lunch at Jimmy Buffet's margaritaville. They also have this wave machine called the flow rider which was fun to watch people fall and face plant themselves.

It is now about time to go to the show although I don't know how they are going to perform. The dancers in their high heels dancing as the ship is bouncing like a kid on a water bed. Should be interesting. The last two nights the seas have been a little high, so much so I had to break down and put on a sea sick patch. That's about it for now as I need to leave for the show. I will check in with y'all tomorrow. Here's hoping all your faces have smiles!


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Carnival Glory day five

Today was San Juan, Puerto Rico! It was overcast in the morning but that did not deter me. The parental units didn't seem to want to get out of bed so I ventured off on my own. As I left the ship my plan was to take a cab to the fort that guards the harbor, plans changed. I decided to take a bus tour that took us through new and old San Juan. It was a great decision, I loved the tour. We stopped several times and got off the bus to take pictures. The tour started at the port and went into new San Juan. My favorite part of that was the capital building, the architecture is amazing. Every piece of the building is marble including the partitions in the restroom. The ceiling was hand painted marking the history of this amazing city.

Old San Juan is equally impressive. An island city half of which is modern and the other half the buildings are from the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Most have been renovated but did not loose their old world feeling. The fortresses were equally impressive. You can see time has taken it's toll on parts, but I imagine it will be another five centuries until they fade away. They just don't build em like that anymore.

We did dinner on the lido deck tonight and then went to a comedy show. The comedian Hal Spear was good but I was just too tired. I am off to bed early tonight.

That's about it for now. Here's hoping all your faces have smiles!


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Carnival Glory day four

Well to day was an absolutely amazing day. Our stop was at the incredible island of St Thomas. If I were to ever pick a place to die I think that's the one. The bay was filled with sail boats and surrounded on three sides by near straight rises to a thousand feet of just the most beautiful small mountain. The sarge and I had planned to take the cable car to paradise point, but the thing was not wheelchair accessible so we took a taxi up there. The cab driver was pretty cool and he took those mountain curves on a sixty degree grade like a pro. I personally don't think I would want to drive them. We didn't stay up there long, just long enough to take some great pictures of Charlotte Amalie harbor and all the surrounding area. After that the cab driver took us to the downtown straw market. From there we decided to walk (with sarge on the scooter) back to the ship. A one mile walk through the waterfront area. After that I definitely needed a nap! And so thats what I did.

Dinner tonight was amazing, we went to the steak house.... I highly recommend if you ever sail with carnival you MUST do that at least one night. Tonight's menu was Lobster Bisque, New England Crab Cake, and Maine Lobster tails (I got that knowing the parental units couldn't finish their steak which made it a surf and turf). This was followed by gingerbread ice cream (WOW). Tonight there aren't any shows that interest any of us so the parental units are up on the lido watching a movie on the big screen and I will be doing what I like....blackjack.

I know I promised some video today, but the Internet is so slow it will not upload. I will post it and a bunch of pictures as soon as we get back. That's it for now, here's hoping all your faces have smiles!

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Carnival Glory day three (part two)

Day three was another magnificent day. This was a sea day which usually means big lines for everything, but I managed to avoid them all! After lunch I managed to squeeze in a nice nap followed by a session of blackjack in the casino (more on this in a moment).

It was formal night which means everyone dons there best suit for dinner. So what would I do, well of course I put on my nicest pair of sweat pants and a nice shirt and we had dinner away from the crowd on the lido deck. After dinner we had about an hour before the show so I went to the casino for another session of blackjack (more on this in a moment). The show was absolutely lovely, a Vegas style revue called "Living in America". The theater was very warm, ok it was freaking Africa hot in there. So much so that I had to walk out once into the lobby to cool off.

When he show ended we had about an hour until the comedy show I wanted to see, so I stopped in the casino for a session of blackjack (more on this in a moment). The comedy show was Allyn Ball again tonight and he made me laugh so hard my head hurt. We are now waiting for room service to deliver my cheesecake fix.

For my friends waiting for some stalking, I mean images of the fun people on the ship, I promise tomorrow while we are in St Thomas I will post a video that should make you smile.

Now back to this blackjack thing...... I have been playing in only fifteen or twenty minute sessions, and doing pretty well. So far I am up $190. To steal a line from Allyn Ball's show... It's like some strange lady I never met showing me her hooters, won't change my life...but it makes me smile.

Well that's about it for now, have a great day folks and I will talk to ya soon!


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Carnival Glory day three

Ok folks, this is not the main post of the day. I have a funny story, at least it made me laugh so I though I would check in real quick.

I got up early this morning, 5:30 to be exact and I can't explain why as I was in the casino till 1:30 am last night. Well I took a stroll to the lido and was relaxing, watching the sun rise. At 7:00 the breakfast buffet opened so I decided to grab a bite. I go through the buffet line and find a table near the window and I am just minding my own business eating breakfast, when I decide to stop minding my own business.

Four people stop at a table next to mine and put their bags down. It is quite obviously two parents a daughter and her husband or boyfriend. These folks are apparently also cruising with another couple as dad asked if they were coming to join them. The daughter announced no they were not they ordered room service. At this point the mother, we shall call her Matilda (probably not her real name, she just reminded me of a Matilda) who is from the quaint little community of asshole (not sure if that is in Alabama or Mississippi) announces that she wanted to order room service and stay in this morning, she just didn't want to tip anyone else.

Now people, please do not get me wrong.... I love the south. The people, the customs, especially the accent. BUT if you live in a double wide and keep your mother in law in a single wide out back (no actual offense to people who live in trailers... It's for the effect), AND you can't afford a two dollar tip for the room service attendant, then maybe, just maybe you should not spend a years salary on cruise tickets!

Well that's my story this morning, I will be back tonight with a full post....after a huge nap!


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Carnival Glory day two

Welcome back everyone! Today was Half Moon Cay, Bahamas and it was a lovely day. The comedian on the ship called this island just a beach Bahamas, and that's pretty accurate. I really want to tell you all about this beautiful tropical paradise and how much fun I had on the island....but I didn't get off the ship. From the balcony you could easily see the entire island and there just wasn't anything there for me.

While the ship was empty we took advantage and enjoyed the peace and quiet. I also managed to take a great nap and now I can say I am rested from working this past weekend.

Dinner tonight was fabulous, I had french onion soup, chicken quesadilla, and seafood pasta. We skipped desert so we could save room for late night cheesecake which I am waiting for right now. The comedy show was great Alyn Ball was the comic and he is one funny guy. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

Well that's about it for now....talk to ya tomorrow!


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Carnival Glory...day one

Well hey there folks, as I write this we are about thirty miles northwest of miami on the magnificent Carnival Glory. I am completely whooped right now as I worked last night with the kiddies and drove straight to the port. That means minus a one hour nap before the ship sailed I have been going for about thirty hours straight. The only reason I woke up from said nap was the sardine drill, I mean the safety briefing. When they called us for the safety briefing we, of course went immediately. This was not bright as the briefing does not start until every last drunk licks the last drop of mai-tai out of the glass and then argues with the bartenders about why they have to stop serving alcohol long enough for the officers to explain how to climb into the life boats. This was a twenty minute wait for a ten minute briefing.

After that fiasco the ship set sail and things started looking up. Dinner was fabulous... Tomato soup, caesar salad, fried chicken and creme brûlée! After dinner I went to the blackjack table and immediately went up. I quit up about twenty five bucks, to be continued tomorrow! Our cabin is a bit small for the three of us and it is a challenge with the parental units scooters. I am glad I'm here as I'm not sure they could manage those things on their own. I am going to call it an early night as my favorite past time is watching the sunrise from the lido deck.

Well that's about all for now, I will check in with you all from half moon cay in the Bahamas tomorrow. Here's hoping all your faces have smiles! Mine does

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Two days and counting

And who could forget


Yup it's just two days away and if you can't tell, I'm pretty darn excited! I just finished packing my suitcase meaning I only need to pack my carry on bag and hit the port.

So yesterday in the early morning hours I got to prove exactly how freaking clumsy I can be. I walked onto the front porch, which is tiled, to find it was raining. Well I slipped on the wet tile, bounced off one of my patio chairs, into the screen, and onto the tile landing on my left shoulder. I guess I was lucky the the screen caught my head keeping my three brain cells safe. My roommate came running outside at the sound and I was laying there moaning. He is a nursing student which is good. As soon as he stopped laughing at me he was able to help me up and he applied a hot pack. For those of you who just got mad he was laughing, don't. If the roles were reversed, and when I came outside I didn't see any kind of spurty blood shooting about I would have pulled a muscle in my abdomen laughing at him. Just the type of relationship we have.

He suggested that I go get an x-ray so I did. I went to the emergency room and there I sat for two hours. They x-rayed my shoulder and the doctor told me he didn't see any fractures. He added that the fractures don't always show up until it starts to heal so if the pain gets worse to come back. His diagnosis was a probable bruised shoulder....that never had a bruise on it. You would think after fourteen years of college a doctor would be a smart person, but my pasty white skinned shoulder with no black or blue patches is bruised...brilliant! At least he will get to keep wearing his really cool white jacket and drive his seven series BMW home.

So I am supposed to wear this stupid sling for a couple days. You might have guessed by how much typing I did for this post I am not currently wearing said stupid sling. It makes my neck hurt worst than the shoulder feels without it, so I made a judgement call.... My unbruised shoulder is just bruised so I don't need it. Valet, can you bring my BMW up please?

Well I guess that's about it for now. Here's hoping all your faces have smiles, mine will between grimaces!


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Mission accomplished

Today is the day to hang this banner, it was a little early....but job done! Anyone else think that furry little bastard should be buried under the new world trade center buildings? Well given my choice that's where I think he should spend the next few millennia!

There have been several things on Facebook that I saw that just disturbed me. Many think this battle is far from over, and they are right. Where ever people are, an evil person can be. I think the lesson here is don't screw with us. We will bankrupt our nation and many like it to pay for the right to hunt them down, and will not rest until we meet that goal. Just my twisted perspective.

Oh and a note for that furry bastard, here's your virgins


Have a great day everyone!


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