Paradigm shifts and other nonsense

Paradigm shifts and other nonsense

I just clicked on a random link and got this guys blog. I really dig his wit.

weekend

I find it more and more amazing at not only the pace of daily life, but at the speed in which it passes. It’s suddenly one day short of one month of marriage I have no idea where the time went or goes. This past weekend was no exception.

Friday evening I picked my dad up from the airport. He and Caren were just returning back from their southern Caribbean cruise and needed a ride. Their trip sounded enjoyable, unfortunately they ran into the same cool weather we experienced. After dropping them off, we headed back home and cleaned like mad in anticipation for the in-laws arrival Saturday. Their reason for the visit, the grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. Saturday afternoon, after again cleaning most of the morning, we went over to her grandparents house. They had a slideshow put together which were pictures of their wedding, family, and trips they had done early in the family history. I was mentally prepared for the worst, but surprisingly it was fairly interesting, and the two in a half hours of slides went pretty quickly. After the show, her family went out to eat and we left for the U of M to watch a gymnastics meet. The meet was ok, but we were there mostly to watch her girls who put on a little exhibition in-between the meet and award ceremony. Once that concluded, we drove over to her brother and sisters house to hang out with them and her parents, and then had her parents follow us back to our house. In the morning we met up again with her family for brunch at Dennys, and had some horrible food. Once the brunch was over, her parents said goodbye and Mel finally got her dog back. So, now our family is the two of us and a dog, a 2 year old Cocker Spaniel named Riley.

Speaking of dogs, that reminds me of a purchase that I made Friday. It’s a wireless fence for the yard. Basically you put this transmitter in your house and it make an adjustable boundary (up to a 90 foot radius in all directions) in your yard. Once the dog gets close it beeps, and if they cross the boundary they get shocked continually until they get back into the safe area. Pretty slick, and it should serve us well.

nastar

I got invited Wednesday to go skiing at “local” ski hill called Welch Village. My cousin is in a NASTAR race league and invited me along for the last race of the year. It was a pretty good time, and it was actually my very first time racing and going through gates. It was a little different for me since I’m not used to the all the technical aspects or the race skiing techniques. For a first timer, skiing on 9 year old boards that haven’t been waxed or sharpened in years… I did fairly well. My first run was tentative and slow at 26.8 seconds, and my second run was sloppier, but faster at 25.7. It got me a “silver” award which means I was about 23% slower than the number one ranked skier in the United States. It was a good time, but pretty pricy at $30 for the lift ticket and $5 to race. It also sucked driving the 50 miles each way to get there and back.

vehicle

So the vehicle situation has been figured out for the most part. I've decided I'm going to buy my dad's 2001 Mazda Tribute from him. In turn, he has decided to get a Honda Pilot. It's a good car with 50,000 miles... but better yet, I'm getting a great deal on it. So, for now I will drive that until the baby comes and then Mel will be the main driver.

Honeymoon - Day 7

We woke up today to a wonderful view of either desalinization tanks or waste treatment tanks. Either way, St. Thomas greeted us with very warm weather with the occasional 10 minute rain shower. Melissa and I again enjoyed our breakfast outside on the deck, and Melissa welcomed the food by firing her tomato over the railing at the people below. True story.
The night before one of the couples told us the walk into town was about a mile, so we decided to get some exercise and hoof it. Two and a half miles later we reached town. Lis was tired, but quite the trooper especially carrying the baby in her belly. Like most people, we were in town to shop. We started at a few different places looking for a specific piece of Lladro for my dad. As we soon found our, and too bad for my dad, the piece he was looking for is now discontinued. Soon there after Melissa had to go visit the restroom so we found a neat little bar in an alleyway that had a key to one. While there we asked the bartender for some recommendations of places to eat. He directed us to this quaint place on a second floor that overlooked the bay. We got a table next to the window which made for a very memorable lunch. Once done we walked back down the main drag to continue our shopping… and begin our purchasing. We started with buying me a Swiss Army watch to replace the one that I lost. We then got Lis a Coach wallet, then some Mac accessories, ending with getting her some Ray-Ban sunglasses. We scored some deals but still shelled out $600 more dollars that we don’t have. Oh well. It was about 3:30 and we decided to head back to the ship.
We got back and lounged on the top deck to work on our tans. While up top, another rain swept through.
Three minutes later the rain had passed which left a rainbow that circled the whole ship! We got back to the room and got ready for dinner which was great. One couple however, the oldest ones, are getting on everyone’s nerves. After dinner we went down to watch the show… on ice! The show was great, considering the ice was in rough shape. Oh, I almost forgot. Before the ice show we attended a honeymooners/anniversaries party, which had a raffle (didn’t win)… and sucked. We stayed 20 minutes, tops. After the show we again were tired and called it a day.

Honeymoon - Day 6

Today we woke up to knocking on the door. It was 9am and room service had arrived. We stumbled out of bed and opened the door to our first day at sea. The weather was wonderful as we enjoyed some omelets in style on the balcony. We got ready for the day and put on our swimsuits to try to catch some sun on the deck. We laid out for a bit before we decided to stop for lunch. We grabbed our coupon book and went to Johnny Rockets, a 1960’s throw back restaurant on one of the upper decks. The food was marginal and the malt I ordered was maybe the worst ever. We finished up and decided to head back to the room to change into some clothes so we could go ice skating. We got to the rink and signed the release forms before getting some skates to play on. The skate options were bleak, and almost all of them were figure skates. It was a little weird negotiating the tow pick, but Melissa skated like a champ and we enjoyed our 10 minutes carving up the 30x30 foot rink. With the skating behind us we sat around in the room until 2:30 when we decided to catch the Hughes Brothers, a musical act out of Branson Missouri. Their act was fun and comedic, well worth the hour out of our day. The show however went a little long, so our wine tasting plans got canned and we spend the rest of the afternoon hanging out. Dinner rolled around and we went to the main dining room for dinner. The food was great as usual and after dinner we swung by the “welcome back” party for repeat cruisers. The average age was well over 50 and we felt very out of place. We adjourned early and killed time until the evening’s entertainment Brad Cummings, a ventriloquist, began. His act was very original and to my surprise kept everyone entertained the full hour. After the show we once again felt 70 years old and called it an early night.

Honeymoon - Day 5

Today we woke up to the phone going off at 8am. It was room service. My phone sitting bedside still read 6am and must not have changed time zones. Room service arrived and we opened the balcony door to eat overlooking Nassau. The weather however was chilly and a tad windy so we decided to eat our breakfast in the room. We finished eating and left the ship for an excursion of sailing and snorkeling. The wind on the pier was fierce and made it so cold Lis had do re-board and go get her sweatshirt! After a short hike down the dock we got to our boat. She was a twin hill 40’ cat with one main. The rest of the people on board were mostly older (50’s-60’s) or small families in their mid to late 30’s. After a 45 minute sail to the outer rim of the harbor we donned our gear and began the fun. For Melissa, she was a little cold, but once we started taking some pictures she seemed to really have fun. Unfortunately, with the wind being high and cloud cover in the sky only big fish were out and the colors were very muted. Lis had a blast though and now seems to be ready to step up to SCUBA! After an hour or so we got back onto the boat and we pleasure cruised back enjoying the free punch and listening to some 90’s music. We got back onto the ship and broke for lunch. After lunch at the Windjammer we decided to test the water in the hot tubs on the main deck. The tub was nice and large but for some reason they kept the temp low, around 95. We decided to get out and head back to the room. We took an hour and a half nap and once we woke went up to the High Notes club to write and relax. Dinner time soon arrived and we got back to the room to change into our formal wear. We got dressed and had a “pro” photographer take some pictures of us… which later turned out to show us we are overweight. Dinner was long and I hit the wall and became exhausted. I managed to hang on through and accompany Los to the 9pm Broadway show. The show was good and above par for cruising standards. The evening drew long and we made one last stop at the Café Promenade for a quick snack. 11pm rolled around and we called it a night.

Honeymoon - Day 4

The alarm on my phone seemed to go off way too early at 8:30am. We got up and I finished packing while Melissa and her onboard little one grabbed a quick bite to eat. 10am rolled around and we were off to Miami! The first part of the drive through the keys was smoother and seemingly faster than the first. Traffic was lighter and the speeds for the most part were slightly over the posted. We caught an early lunch at the McDonalds drive through and continued our trek. We hit mainland right on time and were 20 miles from Miami when the sky turned black. Traffic slowed to under 15mph at stretches as the rain let loose. The roads also seemed to not be able to dissipate the rain as it pooled up which made me wonder if they even had storm sewers. We got to Enterprise rental and unloaded our stuff onto the shuttle, which got us a cab at the airport. $24 got us both to the Miami seaport to check in. Our ship, Voyager of the Seas, at first gaze is an amazing engineering marvel. 15 stories tall and accommodations for 2500 guests. We got onboard and went straight to our room, 7320, a room with our own private balcony. When we opened the door Melissa was surprised as I purchased some “congratulations” and “honeymoon” decorations. It was a perfect site to see! :)We decided fist to check out the ship. We walked most of the decks and got back to our room in time for the lovely muster drill. Once we finished mustering we got ready for our first dinner in the main dining hall. Our table was on the middle floor, table #449. We got seated with 3 other couples, one from Finland (late 30’s), one from Ohio (60’s), and one from New Hampshire (50’s). It was a little awkward being the youngest by almost half at the table but the conversations was pleasant. After dinner we shot over to the main theater to get “the welcome” and listen to a not so funny comedian. His shtick was a cheap Jon Lovitz style blended with plagiarized material. He was a classic bomb and the worst cruise act I’ve seen. His act finally ended and we headed back to the room for an early night since we had an early morning in Nassau. Mel – “Today was the first full day that the baby moved all day and night. Very active!”

Honeymoon - Day 3

Today was our latest morning yet. We rolled out of bed at 10am and found the day to be warm and sunny. For breakfast we again decided to try the hotels food and order off the menu.Eggs Benedict for me and an everything omelet for Lis. Our service was very poor and the food was bad which started the day off with a bad taste in our mouth, no pun intended. We decided to head back into town on this last day in Key West to finish shopping and sightseeing.Our concierge recommended this place called the Turtles Kraals for lunch, which turned out to be nothing short of excellent.We got to a table overlooking the marina with a good people watching boardwalk. The Cuban mix was excellent as was Melissa’s mahi-mahi sandwich. Once full we walked down to the aquarium and singed ourselves up for a tour. We had 20 minutes to kill so we walked to Mallory Square to view the cruise ship that was docked on the pier. We got back to the Key West aquarium and got the feeding tour.It was better than I remember except for the outside talk being closed due to renovations. From there we walked down Duval Street and found me some new shades. My feet again were starting to hurt so we headed back towards the shuttle pickup. We dropped into one final store while en route, the Key West Lime Shoppe. We ate some famous key lime pie and drank some lime lemonade, both of which were yummy. We got back to the hotel, took a breather, and then took the car to the Hickory House for dinner. This place was off the beaten path and a locals only hotspot. The ambiance was fantastic, tourism free and as luck would have it, live jazz on the deck. The food was well worth the price and the meal was a great end to a great day and the conclusion of our Key West adventure. We got back to the hotel and decided to call it an early night as we have an early departure time to make it to Miami International by 2pm… what a trip so far!

Honeymoon - Day 2

We awoke at 9:30 in the morning in darkness thanks to the heavy curtain covering the patio glass door. We got up and headed down for a nice continental breakfast which turned out to be less “free” than we were told. We decided on eating outside on this crisp and overcast Thursday morning. The food was OK and we hit up our favorite person, the concierge, to get her opinion of what to do for the day.She recommended taking the Old Town Trolley Tour and pointed out a few places of interest off the beaten path. We went back up to our room to freshen up before heading down to the lobby… only to miss the shuttle by one minute. After a moment of disbelief and confusion as to how we mismanaged out time, we decided to drive downtown and spend the $8 on all-day parking. The lot was dirt and patrolled by a man who proclaimed to be almost 56, a runaway at 14, and from Michigan City… but it could’ve been his a.m. mickey talking. We walked the couple of blocks to the trolley station and go aboard. The tour was interesting, better than I remember years ago. Our first stop where we got off had the lighthouse, Hemingway House, and a small French boutique, Besame Mucho, where I picked up the journal and Lis got some Bohemian chocolate. Our next stop on the trolley took us to the southernmost point in the USA which seemed VERY cleaned up from what I could remember.
We suddenly realized that it was 2pm and that we were hungry. We decided to stop for a bite to eat at this place across from the trolley stop that looked OK. Dinner Shores was the name of this wonderful gem that we believe now would and should be closed or burned to the ground by the health department. It took me three sets of silverware to find a fork without crusted on food and the food was low grade at best. We excused ourselves and continued the tour. Our last stop was Mallory Square. It was here where we did a bit of shopping. We got some post cards for friends and family and even bought, signed and mailed a coconut to the Rogers clan. Melissa then developed a sweet tooth and wanted to eat a cookie the size of her face.We both got our fill quick and decided to finish the tour. Once complete we walked back to the car and drove back to the hotel to clean up for dinner. 6 o’clock quickly came and we caught the shuttle to Pisces, a highly recommended seafood place for dinner. Melissa got the yellowtail snapper and I got the teriyaki glazed salmon. We split an app of pink shrimp and after $110 concluded that this may have been the best meal, ever. Dinner finished up at 7:45 and we walked back into town to catch the shuttle. The walk was nice and soothing, minus the blister that formed. We got back to the room only to realize I had left my hat at the restaurant! Once more we drove back to town to get the hat… and to make an ice cream stop. Once back in room 440 we again caught a move and called it a day/night.

Honeymoon - Day 1

The alarm went off at 5:20am and we rose from bed only after snoozing it once. A quick shower for Melissa and some last minute packing and we were waiting for JPN to arrive. 15 minutes later at quarter after 6 he showed and we loaded ourselves into his new Lexus SUV. We got to MSP International at 6:45 and got our tickets to Miami via Chicago. We had an 8am departure which was slightly delayed (5-10 minutes) due to the nights snowfall of 4-6". The plane got deiced and we were underway. We arrived into Chicago with no major issues and Melissa grabbed a snack at McDonalds. We boarded our second and final leg to Miami and again had a dull flight. We arrived in sunny Miami and strolled down to the baggage claim. From there we walked over to the rental car counters and told Melissa that we were going to get a car for 3 days. We caught an enterprise shuttle and picked up our ’06 Dodge Stratus. We loaded up and headed out for Key West. Melissa slept for most of the 3 hour drive while I did my best at being patient driving 45mph behind slow traffic in stretches. US1 took us to Key West where we checked into the Doubletree. I paid for the hotel using 90,000 HHonors points… to which they upgraded our room to a Jr. Suite and have us free breakfast vouchers.The room is nice and clean, on the 4th (top) floor overlooking the pool. Inside the room are 2 queen beds and a mini bar with an outside private balcony.It could only nicer if we had an ocean view. :( After taking to the concierge, (who I might add is phenomenal and has recommended outstanding points of interest!) we took the hotel shuttle into town for dinner at Alonzo’s, an oyster bar on the water (boat yard). Melissa had the pasta special and I had a seafood mix special, both of which were fantastic. Lis had 2 n/a drinks and I had a lime daq the I left a $100 bill and we left to check out the town. We decided to look for a bathing suit for me since we couldn’t find mine (presumably lost from a previous trip). We asked around and found a non-tourist shop, ego, that sells quality clothing instead of the typical touristy junk. We found me a suit and then I realized I had forgotten to pack sandals! Oops!I found a nice brown pair and Melissa grabbed some to. $150 later and we were on our way back to the hotel. Once back we decided to watch a movie on TV and then call it a night. In all, a long day (5:30am central – 12:30am eastern) 5 hours of flying and 3 hours of driving. Yes, we slept well.