The first time I ever went on a cruise was on one of those one day Bahamas cruises on the now defunct Discovery Cruise Line, an adventure that I quite enjoyed thanks to the company of close family and good friends despite the little time allowed to actually explore Grand Bahama Island before having to return to the ship. However, I quickly realized that this ship paled in comparison to a multiple day cruise and so, I decided to experience what a “real” cruise is like by booking an adventure on what is currently the largest cruise ship prowling the waters of this blue planet: the Allure of the Seas. Please note that this is all coming from someone who is basically a first time cruiser so a lot of stuff may be obvious (i.e.: fees charged) and redundant. Let’s begin. …
Basically, someone mentioned that high school and its various tribulations and suffering it can induce on those who aren’t popular do not reflect what the real world is like which I largely agree with. Mind you, when I was in high school there was no such thing as Myspace or Facebook or all this around the clock “connectedness” that’s now so commonplace. If I wanted to stay in touch with a friend, it was via a good old fashioned phone call on a regular telephone, sending a set of encoded numbers on a beeper, America Online and, if your 28k-56k modem could support it, perhaps a very blurry and choppy encounter via Netmeeting. My time in high school was obviously much different than what it is now. I digress.
The comment got me to thinking of when I attended my high school reunion not too long ago. I initially had no intention of going since there was only one person who I was eager to reconnect with and the chances of her being there were slim to none. After being encouraged by a former co-worker and some family, I decided I would drag my longtime friend who I happened to meet in high school along with me even though she too had little enthusiasm for the whole thing.
As the date of the reunion approached, I actually got more and more excited about the whole thing. Who would I see? Would this classmate that I’d lost touch with for so many years be there? It’d be great to maybe run into so and so.
Ultimately, my over-enthusiasm set me up for disappointment. …
I was originally going to title this first entry of 2012 “The Year of Living Anxiously” but I decided it wasn’t worth dwelling on events of the previous year that have come and gone and that I’ve thankfully overcome. I will say however that one of the best ways of dealing with uncontrollable anxiety is as simple as discussing what’s triggering the problem with your loved ones, close friends or a health professional. With that said…
This year I made it my mission to start pursuing my interests and one of the first things I’ve done is dabble in photography. I suppose it might have something to do with my passion for writing but for someone who was once very averse to even appearing in photos, I have always held a strong interest in the art despite my lack of discipline or training. I own a bunch of coffee table books from different photographers and themes including an Annie Leibovitzbook that I shelled out a lot of money for on eBay than I probably should have. I don’t actually own any sort of coffee table though. …