Back to the Real World

Vacation, for once, was a true vacation. We kept busy and were on the go the entire time, but it was relaxing. I feel rested and refreshed getting back, which doesn't always happen anymore. It seems that everything is a rush, rush, rush to make sure that you get in everything that you want to do before it's time to go home.

This year, the Office closed up Jan 15-20 for our annual cruise, and went from Ft. Lauderdale to Key West, then to Cozumel, then to Belize, then a day at sea, then back to Ft. Lauderdale. I took B--- with me and had a really great time. We took a glass bottomed boat ride in Key West over the only coral reef in the United States. After that, we wandered around the island, went to the Key West Winery and ordered some mango and pineapple wines, and made it to the Mel Fisher Museum before it was time to board the ship.

We shopped in Cozumel and just wandered the main strip that day.

In Belize, we took a shore excursion to the Mayan ruins of Cahal Pech. I really enjoyed this, as last year, C--- and I were rained out of seeing the ruins in Costa Maya. The site is not entirely excavated, so that you can see what the location looked like before it was located, with only the upper, main portions of the temples now uncovered. The site is just a short trek into the jungle, and once you are there, you really can't see the surrounding city at all. It really feels like you are deep, deep in the jungle, when in fact, the city is just about a 5 minute walk down the path.

Our day at sea was fun. Most of the group stayed out on deck during the day, getting some sun. It was so much nicer on this ship this time around. The last time, the ship was so large, we felt like we were battling with people the entire time. The ship we were on this trip, Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas, was a smaller ship, and you could tell. There weren't so many people everywhere you went, all the time. Our weather was exceptional as well. Last year it was very windy and overcast almost the entire time, and we weren't able to get off the ship at any of the ports due to rainy weather. This year, the temperatures were in the upper 70s, low 80s the entire time, with just a light breeze. Only one morning did we have a little rain, but it was done by 9:00am.

Surprisingly, I was hit on one night, and totally missed the entire episode. A group of us were on the dance floor, and I went to look at my watch. Suddenly, this guy grabs my arm and tells me I'm not allowed to leave yet. Well, it caught me completely off guard, as this has never happened to me before. Needless to say, that's all that happened. He wandered off to rejoin his group, but kept eyeing me and smiling in my direction. I went back to our corner and continued on with the rest of the night. N--- kept telling me to go talk to him, but it's been so long since I have had anyone interested in me, I really don't know how to handle myself in that type of situation anymore, so I just let the whole thing pass by. I must have seen him another dozen times during the trip, and then at the airport leaving Ft. Lauderdale, he walked right by our taxi, as if Fate just wanted to really make sure that I knew that I let the whole experience slip right through my fingers. Sometimes, I'd really like to let R-- know exactly how badly he screwed with my head.

So that's it, my vacation in a nutshell. We had a really fantastic time, so much better than last year, and the whole Office is already discussing what we will do next year. I'm hoping for the Alaskan cruise.

Work was back to normal almost immediately. I prepared enough before we left, that I was almost ahead of myself when we got back, so it was an easy adjustment. I always expect something drastic to have happened while I'm away from the Office, but things generally move along smoothly enough. So now, while I sit at my desk, feeling slightly still like I'm sitting on the ship with a gentle rocking motion going on in my head, I readjust myself, and get back to the real world.