I'm back, in several ways.
First of all, let me plug "Back in the Game," a new ABC comedy. It's baseball themed, sort of. I like it a lot and I think you should check it out. If you don't like it, sorry I wasted some of your time. But you might :)
Secondly, I'm back in the country. Lindsay was in FSU's marching band this semester, and they went on a cruise last week. I got to go too! We left Tampa on Saturday, then spent half of Monday at Grand Cayman and all of Tuesday at Cozumel, Mexico. I was not impressed with how Americanized both places were. I guess I was hoping for a little more authenticity and a little less merchandising. That's not to say we didn't have fun, though. We found a cozy little beach in Grand Cayman and swam for a bit. It wasn't 7-mile Beach, and in that respect Lindsay was a bit disappointed. There were all kinds of coral and sea urchins that could have made for bad times. Most of the group we were with just kinda sat in the tide rather than swimming. It rained in Cozumel, but that didn't affect our snorkeling excursion much. We had to do the beginner's snorkeling because you can't do most excursions if you're pregn--
Oh yeah. I'll interject here. Lindsay is pregnant again! I remember telling her that I didn't want to try again for a while, at least until after the cruise, but that lasted all of a week and a half apparently. Our newest creation is currently eleven weeks, and she isn't bleeding at all. When we told the new nurse about the problems we had the first time, she suggested that a healthy fetus would have likely survived the incident that we think killed it.
The first one was not likely to survive in the first place, and what could have been a minor hiccup ended up being the end. It's kinda callous, but that can be seen as evolution in action. It makes me feel better to think of it like that, because even if we did perform an action that led directly to the miscarriage, it was going to happen eventually. If it's going to happen, the earlier the better.
We had an ultrasound two weeks ago. The baby's heart was at 174bpm, and it moved while we were looking at it! That was pretty sweet. We go back in about two weeks I think. Bless her heart, Lindsay is a trooper. She is experiencing real pregnancy symptoms, like morning sickness and a nearly insatiable appetite. I'd gladly share some of her burden in that respect if I could, but I can't. I can be there right by her side the whole time (and I will), but I'll never know what it's really like. My enthusiasm is more tempered than it was in September, but it's there, believe me :D
So, uh... back to snorkeling. It was pretty cool. Afterward, we got some authentic burritos. That's right: burritos, made by Mexicans, in Mexico! And let me tell you what, those were damn fine burritos. A little expensive, but very good. One thing I noticed about Cozumel from riding in the taxi to the snorkeling place is that their soda products are way cheaper. Coke 3 liter bottles were two for 56.50 or so. The dollar is worth about thirteen Pesos, so that's six liters of Coke for $4.20 or so. I jump on cans of my favorite beverages (Pepsi Throwback and Cranberry Sierra Mist) when they're a quarter apiece, over twice the price per ounce of this Coke. And it's 3-liter bottles, which you can't get around here anymore.
But even Coke isn't the prevalent beverage of this tale. Alcohol EVERYWHERE! The ship (Carnival Paradise) had a duty free shop with soooo much alcohol, including Hennessey Pure White, which I'd never heard of before. Bottles were 2/$70, but we didn't have that kind of money. We also couldn't afford this, but they had one. There was also a 4.5 liter of Johnnie Walker Black Label for $175. It was pretty ridiculous. The Grand Cayman shop had a bottle of Hennessey XO for $165. I had a shot of it on the boat Sunday and Monday night at around $15 each with tip. I felt bad about the first one after getting the second one because it went with my $28 Monte Cristo Open Eagle-- a fabulous Cuban cigar. I'm not an aficionado or anyhting, but I've been know to smoke the super occasional cigar. I think hanging out with the small group of us that smoked cigars nightly was my favorite part of the trip. We also hung out in Serenity, the 21+ back deck of the boat. Sometimes the wind was crazy, but I had a lot of fun just hanging out. And no, Lindsay was not with me when I was smoking, but she did come down to the back deck.
It's interesting that a lot of the people we went with have said it was their trip of a lifetime. I remember my life changing trip. Going to the 2001 National Collegiate Honors Council gathering in Chicago. Everybody hears that you can do anything you want, but just hearing that isn't enough. Chicago made possibilities more tangible for me. Maybe it's the difference between knowing you can do something and believing it. I had a lot of fun on this cruise, don't get me wrong. It's just that I find different things about it to be more important to me.
There's a whole lot more I could talk about (like the food), but I'm tired and want to go to bed. Maybe later. Merry Christmas everyone!
Secondly, I'm back in the country. Lindsay was in FSU's marching band this semester, and they went on a cruise last week. I got to go too! We left Tampa on Saturday, then spent half of Monday at Grand Cayman and all of Tuesday at Cozumel, Mexico. I was not impressed with how Americanized both places were. I guess I was hoping for a little more authenticity and a little less merchandising. That's not to say we didn't have fun, though. We found a cozy little beach in Grand Cayman and swam for a bit. It wasn't 7-mile Beach, and in that respect Lindsay was a bit disappointed. There were all kinds of coral and sea urchins that could have made for bad times. Most of the group we were with just kinda sat in the tide rather than swimming. It rained in Cozumel, but that didn't affect our snorkeling excursion much. We had to do the beginner's snorkeling because you can't do most excursions if you're pregn--
Oh yeah. I'll interject here. Lindsay is pregnant again! I remember telling her that I didn't want to try again for a while, at least until after the cruise, but that lasted all of a week and a half apparently. Our newest creation is currently eleven weeks, and she isn't bleeding at all. When we told the new nurse about the problems we had the first time, she suggested that a healthy fetus would have likely survived the incident that we think killed it.
The first one was not likely to survive in the first place, and what could have been a minor hiccup ended up being the end. It's kinda callous, but that can be seen as evolution in action. It makes me feel better to think of it like that, because even if we did perform an action that led directly to the miscarriage, it was going to happen eventually. If it's going to happen, the earlier the better.
We had an ultrasound two weeks ago. The baby's heart was at 174bpm, and it moved while we were looking at it! That was pretty sweet. We go back in about two weeks I think. Bless her heart, Lindsay is a trooper. She is experiencing real pregnancy symptoms, like morning sickness and a nearly insatiable appetite. I'd gladly share some of her burden in that respect if I could, but I can't. I can be there right by her side the whole time (and I will), but I'll never know what it's really like. My enthusiasm is more tempered than it was in September, but it's there, believe me :D
So, uh... back to snorkeling. It was pretty cool. Afterward, we got some authentic burritos. That's right: burritos, made by Mexicans, in Mexico! And let me tell you what, those were damn fine burritos. A little expensive, but very good. One thing I noticed about Cozumel from riding in the taxi to the snorkeling place is that their soda products are way cheaper. Coke 3 liter bottles were two for 56.50 or so. The dollar is worth about thirteen Pesos, so that's six liters of Coke for $4.20 or so. I jump on cans of my favorite beverages (Pepsi Throwback and Cranberry Sierra Mist) when they're a quarter apiece, over twice the price per ounce of this Coke. And it's 3-liter bottles, which you can't get around here anymore.
But even Coke isn't the prevalent beverage of this tale. Alcohol EVERYWHERE! The ship (Carnival Paradise) had a duty free shop with soooo much alcohol, including Hennessey Pure White, which I'd never heard of before. Bottles were 2/$70, but we didn't have that kind of money. We also couldn't afford this, but they had one. There was also a 4.5 liter of Johnnie Walker Black Label for $175. It was pretty ridiculous. The Grand Cayman shop had a bottle of Hennessey XO for $165. I had a shot of it on the boat Sunday and Monday night at around $15 each with tip. I felt bad about the first one after getting the second one because it went with my $28 Monte Cristo Open Eagle-- a fabulous Cuban cigar. I'm not an aficionado or anyhting, but I've been know to smoke the super occasional cigar. I think hanging out with the small group of us that smoked cigars nightly was my favorite part of the trip. We also hung out in Serenity, the 21+ back deck of the boat. Sometimes the wind was crazy, but I had a lot of fun just hanging out. And no, Lindsay was not with me when I was smoking, but she did come down to the back deck.
It's interesting that a lot of the people we went with have said it was their trip of a lifetime. I remember my life changing trip. Going to the 2001 National Collegiate Honors Council gathering in Chicago. Everybody hears that you can do anything you want, but just hearing that isn't enough. Chicago made possibilities more tangible for me. Maybe it's the difference between knowing you can do something and believing it. I had a lot of fun on this cruise, don't get me wrong. It's just that I find different things about it to be more important to me.
There's a whole lot more I could talk about (like the food), but I'm tired and want to go to bed. Maybe later. Merry Christmas everyone!