{"id":119,"date":"2009-03-28T17:34:20","date_gmt":"2009-03-28T22:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scatteredflurries.com\/?p=119"},"modified":"2011-07-03T15:11:34","modified_gmt":"2011-07-03T20:11:34","slug":"all-good-things%e2%80%a6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scatteredflurries.com\/?p=119","title":{"rendered":"All Good Things\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

So in all the excitement of writing about Evan\u2019s visit, I forgot to mention that there was a toga party. <\/span>Maybe because after all the excitement of Toga Keggers I-IV, regular toga parties have a hard time living up. <\/span>At any rate, it happened, and I once again sported what I believe may be a Hershfield original, the poor man\u2019s toga, in which you put one of your arms through the neckhole. <\/span>Feel free to try it sometime when you\u2019re laying around the house thinking \u201cMan, I could sure be wearing a toga right now.\u201d <\/span>Just know that the shirt may not be the same.<\/p>\n

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So on the five-day, I ventured into Grand Cayman for the first time. <\/span>It\u2019s fairly crazy that I haven\u2019t yet, but it\u2019s our show day, so I like to be fresh, plus I heard it was kind of dull. <\/span>And it was. <\/span>But I did meet up with Mike and Megan at the Daily Grind (a good little place for all your internet needs), and we went for drinks. <\/span>And now I can say I\u2019ve been there, which is probably more than most of you can say.<\/p>\n

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Then St. Patty\u2019s Day. <\/span>Good times were had, green was worn. <\/span>There was a Crew Party, nominally hosted by Second City, so we were working the bar. <\/span>I did my shift with Mike, me opening Coronas as fast as I could, him making them green. <\/span>(Though it must be said that many of them went out ungreened, as the crew is pretty international, and the rule seemed to be if you didn\u2019t know what the holiday was, you wanted your beer normal.) <\/span>My favorite decoration at the party was a Romanian leprechaun Rodney drew. <\/span>For some reason, it was a vampire, and so I suggested the name St. Vladdy. <\/span>It was so dubbed, hung on the wall for all to see, and Dragos (our local Romanian) went crazy for it and took several pictures with it.<\/p>\n

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Then in Cozumel, a group excursion. <\/span>Rodney took four of us (no Nate) to La Choza, reputedly the best Mexican food around. <\/span>This was a very big deal, because it was Rodney\u2019s first time off the ship in about sixty days. <\/span>I know. <\/span>Don\u2019t get me started.<\/p>\n

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At any rate, the food lived up to its advanced billing. <\/span>The guacamole was holy moley, the tortilla soup was decadent joy, and we had fajitas as a group, which were delish. <\/span>And Ashley played drums with the wandering mariachi band, which was very charming. <\/span>The meal done, Rodney raced back to the comfort of the ship (not to leave again until we disembark, by the looks of things.) <\/span>The rest of us went on to Playa Azur for lazy fun in the sun. <\/span>All in all, a very nice day.<\/p>\n

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It was this night that I finalized my March Madness picks for a pool run by Allen Morrison. <\/span>I essentially went with Obama\u2019s picks, as he\u2019s the decider and all, with a few variations of my own. <\/span>My big success: <\/span>for some reason, I had a feeling it would be a bad year for Mormons, and based on this, I went against Obama and successfully predicted two upsets, Texas A&M over Brigham Young and Arizona over Utah. <\/span>My big failure: I went with Obama and picked Temple to win; Jo goes there and it sounds vaguely Jewish, and while these are positives in the grand scheme, I should have known they would not augur well for basketball success. <\/span>And of course, I needed Duke to win to stay ahead of Simone Bailly, and they lost, giving her the well-earned right to be insufferable. <\/span>For that reason, I suggest everyone call them \u201cDouche\u201d for the entire off-season. <\/span>That\u2019ll learn them.<\/p>\n

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The sea days were fairly unremarkable. <\/span>I quite regrettably made what may have been the world\u2019s first too-soon Natasha Richardson joke. <\/span>Ashley and I have been, as all good Canadians do, yelling out \u201cCanadian!\u201d any time a Canadian celebrity is mentioned. <\/span>And having only briefly scanned the Globe and Mail webpage over the few days preceding, all I knew was that she\u2019d hurt herself on a bunny slope, so I\u2019d presumed it was one of those typical ridiculous Canadian news stories where we make a huge deal out of anything that happens to a celebrity while within our borders. <\/span>So anyway, we were at dinner, Nate says \u201cHey, did you hear about Natasha Richardson?\u201d and I quickly blurt out \u201cInjured in Canada!\u201d Oy! <\/span>The moral of the story, besides \u201cDon\u2019t be a sardonic asshole,\u201d seems to be \u201cDon\u2019t do topical humour if you don\u2019t know the topic.\u201d <\/span>Since I\u2019m probably incapable of the former, I\u2019m going to focus on the latter. <\/span>(Or feel guilty; it comes pretty naturally.)<\/p>\n

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The other \u201cevent\u201d of the sea days is I finally started taking advantage of the spa. <\/span>After 10 p.m., the spa is open to crew only, so we can go down there and hot tub, sauna, steam, etc., all away from passengers\u2019 prying eyes. <\/span>On the one hand, I\u2019m kind of an idiot for not having done this all along. <\/span>On the other, I was somewhat consciously saving it, and I\u2019m glad I did. <\/span>I can tell it\u2019s the kind of thing I would have tired of, but having saved it, it\u2019s a fun little ritual that I\u2019ll probably do every few days until we leave. <\/span>I must say, nothing brings the mind into focus like going from the hot tub into the plunge pool (which is a nice cold, not a crazy ice cold.) <\/span>And I should probably take a shvitz, if only because I like saying \u201cshvitz.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Then a pretty laid back day in Miami. <\/span>I did manage to buy a pair of drumsticks, figuring to take advantage of having both a good teacher available in Rodney and regular access to a drum set in the Crew Bar. <\/span>Thus far, I\u2019ve only actually used the drum set once, but I\u2019ve been puttering around in the room fairly often; my paradiddling is coming along nicely, thank you for asking. <\/span>I also made a point of downloading a fair number of podcasts to while away the remaining hours: CBC Radio 3 for music (it\u2019s an excellent podcast, enjoy it now before Stephen Harper successfully makes Canadian culture illegal), The Sound of Young America for my pop culture needs (thank you, Kevin Lee), and Stop Podcasting Yourself for the occasional sound of familiar voices. <\/span>All good stuff thus far. <\/span>I also procured some Gaelic Storm, who I missed during Ships \u2018n Dip but everyone\u2019s been raving about, and they have not disappointed. <\/span>Check \u2018em out, folks!<\/p>\n

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That night, dinner at Azura, where we were introduced to Serpe, a guest of Megan\u2019s. <\/span>(She is technically a Megan too, but due to our Megan\u2019s seniority, she gets the last name treatment.) <\/span>She\u2019s delightful, and it\u2019s been very enjoyable to watch the Megans finish each other\u2019s thoughts the way old friends can.<\/p>\n

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The first sea day, we got a tour of the engine room. <\/span>It was hot, it was loud, it was neato! <\/span>I can\u2019t say I know substantially more about how things work than when I went in (it was pretty loud), but what I did learn was fascinating, and the scale of the operation is impressive. <\/span>To prove this, here is a picture:<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Oh, and those are earplugs, though if you thought my ears were bleeding, you wouldn\u2019t be far off.<\/p>\n

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The next day was Samana, where I did the Mangrove Exploration by Kayak excursion. <\/span>It was one of those excursions where you feel like you\u2019re being rushed the whole time, but I do like me some caves and mangroves. <\/span>Of course, the rum was flowing pretty hard and heavy on the way back, which got the passengers all riled up and interfered with my well-intentioned plan to nod off. <\/span>Ah well.<\/p>\n

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Then the shows, and a retreat to Crew Bar, where I suffered the first pangs of premature nostalgia. <\/span>There\u2019s a lot I\u2019m looking forward to about coming home, but I am going to miss these people and this life. <\/span>But \u2018tis better to have lived and lost\u2026<\/p>\n

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In Tortola, we once again faced the where-to-take-a-guest dilemma of Virgin Gorda vs. Brewer\u2019s Bay, and once again, we opted for the latter. <\/span>This time, there was not even an attempt at snorkeling, but the upside was that we had, for my first time this cruise, huge waves! <\/span>Happy, happy, joy, joy! <\/span>I don\u2019t know if they were huge to wave-knowing folk, but well over our heads at any rate. <\/span>I alternated between trying to stand up to them and trying to ride them, and both provided great entertainment. <\/span>One particularly good wave drove me backwards, planting my shoulders into the sand ridge and flipping my body over, an experience that ended with the most public display of my junk since my bris. <\/span>But damned if I didn\u2019t keep going back for more.<\/p>\n

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We then retreated to Pusser\u2019s for lunch, we being Megan, Serpe, Mike, and myself. <\/span>I can\u2019t say the food was bad, because it was certainly tasty, but Serpe bit into a chunk of wood in one of her conch fritters, and digestion problems from my curried chicken roti forced a fairly hasty retreat to the ship. <\/span>A somewhat inauspicious end to one of my favorite ports, but oh, those waves!<\/p>\n

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That night, I ended up having an unintended dinner with JAR Fran, unintended in the sense that we both just happened to be at the Garden Caf\u00e9 alone at the same time. <\/span>It was interesting, because most of the people you meet on ships you only interact with in group settings, and it was fun because she\u2019s young enough that you can actually track her growth as a person from when we first got onboard to now. <\/span>As previously mentioned, nostalgia has kicked in.<\/p>\n

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In Antigua, I did a Kayak and Snorkel Adventure. <\/span>The snorkeling was somewhat underwhelming, but fearing I might not get another chance, I polished off the remaining film on Evan\u2019s underwater camera. <\/span>(You\u2019ll develop them and you\u2019ll like it, Stinkpot!) <\/span>And I did get a single kayak, which was fun.<\/p>\n

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In Barbados, I finally got an excursion that I\u2019ve been signing up for for weeks, the trip to Harrison\u2019s Cave. <\/span>It was kind of sad to miss my last Boatyard (nostalgia!), but it was pretty spectacular. <\/span>Here\u2019s a picture:<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Notes on the picture: <\/span>I actually turned off the red-eye reduction just before this picture was taken, because it was taking too long for pictures of the cave itself, and then someone asked me if I wanted my picture taken. <\/span>Murphy\u2019s Law. <\/span>And the drops all over my shirt that look like stains are actually from water dropping from the roof of the cave. <\/span>So stop with the judging already. <\/span>(Although if you were inclined to judge, you might notice that I need new shorts, as, since the weight loss, my shorts often tend to slip below my belt. <\/span>I smell another shopping spree!)<\/p>\n

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That night, I discovered that the \u201cfour crew maximum can sit together in the Garden Caf\u00e9\u201d rule was apparently being enforced. <\/span>I mention it only because it\u2019s irritating, especially with me being all nostalgic. <\/span>Plus the rules don\u2019t apply to Second City (as guest performers), but we count against other people. <\/span>In other words, if there were four crew members eating together and I was to join them, they could lose their privileges but I wouldn\u2019t. <\/span>It seems silly to me, but no one\u2019s putting me in charge of anything, and since I have nothing to lose, it\u2019s not really my place to play Rosa Parks. <\/span>But maybe Norma Rae\u2026we\u2019ll see if I can come up with a catchy protest slogan in time\u2026<\/p>\n

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In St. Lucia, I did the Horseback Beach Adventure excursion. <\/span>Somewhat disappointing, but hey, time on a horse! <\/span>His name was Smoky, and his pace makes me think the name may be because of a pack-a-day habit. <\/span>In case he finds himself missing me, here\u2019s a picture to show him:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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That night, we had our improv shows. <\/span>They went pretty well: Mike picked me up and spun me around in a dance number for what may have been the last time (more on this later), and in what was generally a strong 1,001 Blanks for me, I found out the hard way that Canadians are apparently the only ones who use the phrase \u201chomo milk.\u201d <\/span>Live and learn.<\/p>\n

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The next day, I was teaching the workshop with Nate (me leading, he had the previous one we did together.) <\/span>I was waiting for him to show up, and he ended up arriving just before it was to start, delayed because Mike had apparently broken his foot (a self-diagnosis that was later confirmed.) <\/span>He\u2019d been playing soccer up on the sports deck when strong-man JAR Massimo stepped on his foot. <\/span>It is a major bummer, of course, but Mike is handling it with usual aplomb, and we are waiting for Miami to get him to a hospital and find out exactly what the prognosis is. <\/span>And on the plus side, if he was Smoky\u2026<\/p>\n

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The workshop was fun. <\/span>The new thing I introduced was Animal Characters, which there wasn\u2019t much time for, but as with all the times we give passengers character exercises, there were big laughs, many of the horrified variety. <\/span>But for my last workshop onboard, a fun one to go out on.<\/p>\n

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That night, I went out for drinks at Star Bar with Annelise, a JAR from France (ooh la la!) <\/span>It was very nice, as I enjoy her company greatly, and what better way to ring in a birthday than dressed to the nines with a beautiful lady? <\/span>That\u2019s right, the big 3-2. <\/span>I\u2019m still not a big one for birthdays, as it seems to me that celebrating your birth is something best left to emperors and the like, but when on a cruise\u2026Festivities planned for tonight include a group excursion to see Cirque Bijou, a sushi dinner, and a late-night improv jam. <\/span>And at some point, I will hold my breath until someone peels me a grape.<\/p>\n

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And now, I leave you with some vaguely racist comments I heard passengers say over the last cruise:<\/p>\n

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In Samana: (to a guide who really didn\u2019t) \u201cHey, you look like Barack Obama!\u201d<\/p>\n

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In Barbados: (in response to a guide talking about the national sports of BARBADOS) \u201cWhat about your bobsled team?\u201d<\/p>\n

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In St. Lucia: (to a guide talking about school uniforms being mandatory throughout the country (and to be fair, this one may have been strictly ageist)): \u201cI wish we had that. <\/span>Maybe then we wouldn\u2019t have the problems we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vive le difference!<\/span>< >< ><–><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So in all the excitement of writing about Evan\u2019s visit, I forgot to mention that there was a toga party. Maybe because after all the excitement of Toga Keggers I-IV, regular toga parties have a hard time living up. At any rate, it happened, and I once again sported what I believe may be a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scatteredflurries.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scatteredflurries.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scatteredflurries.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scatteredflurries.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scatteredflurries.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=119"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/scatteredflurries.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":388,"href":"https:\/\/scatteredflurries.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119\/revisions\/388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scatteredflurries.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scatteredflurries.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scatteredflurries.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}