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Best Part of My Job

In the kid’s club, we all have fun nicknames.  Mine happens to be Rockstar.  It is nearly impossible to have a bad day when you walk across the pool and a little kid screams, “HEY ROCKSTAR!”

I just have to make sure it doesn’t go to my head.

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Winds Gotten Colder

The weather in the Bahamas has turned much cooler since Hurricane Matthew.  We’ve had rainy, windy, cold days where I can bust out my rain jacket and feel like I belong.  Honestly I sometimes took out my rain jacket simply because I couldn’t legitimately wear it otherwise so I’d force it.  “Oh is that a sprinkle? I best put on my slicker.” When in reality a camel spit on my face. Who am I kidding, if a camel spit on my face it would have been a downpour and I would have put my boots on.

Anywho, I’m now able to wear my jacket for real and claim that the weather has turned cold.  Naturally I say it’s cold while I’m wearing shorts and then people make some sort of snarky comment, “Yeah, cold for the Bahamas” or just “HA”.  I lived in the desert for three years, there was no cold, there was no gusty wind, there were no rainy days, just hot hot hot.  So when I say it’s cold, it’s cold gosh darn it. Regardless of my choice of bottoms.

This brings me around (finally, I know) to my point, which is that I have come to thrive on the sunshine.  Most of the time I would lounge around on my purple, sort of comfy but also sort of a let down of a sofa feeling bad about spending the day lounging on the sofa.  “I should be out, I should be doing something!” Granted that something probably would have been indoors because let’s face it, it’s the desert.  We all know that we are conditioned to believe that when it’s sunny we must be outside and when it’s rainy, it’s finally socially acceptable to lounge inside.  I think it’s time we break that mold.  When it’s sunny, it’s a-okay to sit inside and eat chips off your chest while watching Netflix and finding leftover cheesecake under the couch.  And when it’s rainy, you can be active, you can adventure, you can do life changing things!

Unless you’re me.  I cannot.  I cannot be active when it rains.  The sunshine has spoiled me and when it’s not shining, I’m not shining.  I mean of course I still wear my upbeat, sparkling personality but all I want to do is curl up under my covers. I rarely needed to curl up in my bed in Dubai because it was hot, you would sweat.  No one wants sweaty sheets so I’d keep to the purple couch.  But now, it’s cold (reference back if you don’t believe me) and I can’t fight it, I have no strength against the wind and the rain.  I want to embrace it and then sleep.  And sleep and sleep.

I’m going to avoid being in my room and just live in the gym instead. But not work out.  Just lie on the floor in workout clothes and look like I’m doing some bomb ass yoga workout.  Sorted.

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Don't Rock the Boat

In the past few weeks, our little lady(ship) has passed through some stormy, stormy waters. First we had Hurricane Matthew, which we thankfully bypassed for the most part and had some beautiful sunny days. In preparation for the storm, they closed and bolted all the portholes on deck one. It was a dark few days in cabin 1872. Our four day cruise got extended to a five day cruise, meaning supplies, including fresh water, started to run low. We had to drop the guests in Fort Lauderdale instead of Port Canaveral and soon after the portholes were reopened. Alas, it may have been to soon for us to see the sunlight again. The same night the windows were opened we got some large waves. The ship was bopping around more than I had ever seen it. Some 3-meter waves made everything rattle and bounce around. I remember waking up in the middle of the night thinking, "Why aren't we in port yet? This is awful. Is something wrong?" The waves continued for the next few days. Sea sickness bags were attached to the stairwells. Waves of swirling, seawater would fill our porthole, making it look as if we were looking into a washing machine. When you walked down the hallway, everyone would move to one side at exactly the same time and exactly the same amount. My legs felt as if they were filled with lead, slowing my walking speed, and then releasing in an instant. (I assume this is what returning to gravity after space is like. Thus, I don't like space.) I'm still waiting for the waves to get ironed out completely and to back to smooth sailing. Meanwhile, I'll keep my vomit bag close by and let the ocean rock me to sleep.

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Cruise Ship Tip

Bring your swim suit in your carry on when you board. Odds are your stateroom (and luggage) won't be available for a few hours and you'll most likely want to hit the pool as soon as you smell the sunscreen and salt water.

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Reasons for living abroad.

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Today I got sneezed on.

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The Day to Day

A consistent day to day schedule doesn't really exist here. I find out my schedule for the next day the night before and it's never the same. Monday at 4 pm I could be taking kids to dinner, standing in Splash Away Bay, helping families do registration for Adventure Ocean, or napping. As of now, I love the inconsistency. My favorite task yet has been Dancing Under the Stars, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like if you added the words "on the pool deck". There is a big pool party one night of the cruise and we get to be up with the dancers and the cruise director's staff leading the dances. Pretty much paid to dance. Dance and sweat. Now I know what everyone is wondering, how is my precious sleep cycle? Well kids, I think I'm growing up. I end up going out to hang out with friends after work at midnight and sometimes I function on only 6 hours of sleep. (gasp) Don't worry though, when I have the chance to sleep in, I still like to reach mass capacity of 8-9 hours. I just don't want to miss anything with my sleeping. Thanks FOMO for keeping me awake into the early morning hours.

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Welcome to the ship!

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Morning mist.  Wisconsin, July 2015.

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Morning.  Wisconsin, July 2015.

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Temple of Hatshepsut, Luxor, Egypt.  March, 2015.

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The desert comes right down to greet the Nile and disappears into green. 

Aswan, Egypt. March, 2015.

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Al Marmoum Camel Racetrack, Dubai.  April, 2015.

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Temple of Karnak. Luxor, Egypt, 2015.

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Al Marmoum Camel Racetrack, Dubai. April, 2015.

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Aswan Botanical Garden. Egypt, 2015.

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Abra across the Dubai Creek, UAE.  December, 2013.