In preparation for a cruise...

I have to go on a Caribbean cruise.

You are thinking, “Why does she have to go on a cruise? Shouldn’t she want to go?”

The answer is: Yes. Yes, I want to go to the Caribbean. There are worse fates than death (just kidding).

Actually, I’m excited to go. I could use a break. My body desperately needs some rest and relaxation. I haven’t had a vacation since January. I deserve some time off. If it’s on a cruise ship somewhere in the Caribbean, all the better.

So, what’s up with the “I have to go on a Caribbean cruise” additude, anyway?

Well, let me start off by saying that I was only originally going on this cruise because of a destination wedding. Trevor’s brother was getting married barefoot-on-a-beach style in George Town, Grand Cayman. Please note the emphasis on the word “was”. Yeah, the happy couple is no longer quite so “happy”. Actually, they are not-so-much a “couple”, either.

This isn’t the first time the two have called off their engagement. It happened last summer as well. So, while I wish I could say that I was surprised, I wasn’t in the least. In fact, as much as I like Trevor’s brother and his almost-bride, I really think that this is all for the best. They both have a lot to work out as a couple as well as individually before saying “I do”.

But I digress…back to the cruise.

As you might have gathered by now, I’m still going despite the fact that the wedding has been called-off. This, honestly, has more to do with the fact that the wedding was cancelled less than a month before the ship was scheduled to set sail than anything else. For anyone who has ever gone on a cruise before, it is very, very difficult to get your money back if you have to cancel for any reason (even with “Cruise Insurance” might I add). In actuality, had we chosen to withdraw, we would have lost over 70% of the total cost of the cruise per person. “Cruise Insurance” only covers illness or death – not couples breaking off their wedding engagement. Thus, the question became “to cruise or not to cruise”. In the end, cruising won out (mainly because none of us are rich enough to be okay with losing 70% of all that money and getting nothing in return except another week in Dallas, at work and miserable. That was most definitely not an option).

You might have noticed that I used the word “we”. Yeah, I’m not going on this cruise by myself (are you kidding?! I’m way too much of an introvert for cruising solo to ever be an option). Trevor is also going, and so is my mother. When we all first booked the cruise, Trevor and I decided to share rooms with our respective mothers. From an economic standpoint, it just made sense. Plus, since Trevor’s mother had never met any of her almost-in-laws, we both thought that having my mother along would help Trevor’s mother relax and feel more comfortable (Trevor’s mother and mine have known each other for years now). Obviously, since Trevor and I are not married, the two of us sharing a single cabin wasn’t a viable alternative – especially with so many “moms” running around. Therefore, it was decided that I’d bunk with my mother, and he’d bunk with his.

Then, the wedding was cancelled and Trevor’s mother had to pull out of the cruise altogether. See, her husband was unable to go on the cruise in the first place because of an important work-related conflict in Las Vegas the same week. Trevor’s step-dad has been working on a HUGE deal to build a new hotel/casino on The Strip for years now. Plans to announce the project have been scheduled for the same week as the almost-wedding since before the almost-wedding was announced. Hence, the reason that Trevor’s mom needed a roommate on the cruise.

However, since the wedding has been called-off, Trevor’s mother has decided that she needs to be by her husband’s side in Las Vegas (perfectly understandable given the circumstances). This leaves Trevor, my mom and I headed for the Caribbean.

Now, it should be mentioned that we have no idea if any of Trevor’s brother’s almost-bride’s family will also be on the cruise. In theory, the almost-bride herself could still be on board. Wouldn’t that be interesting…?

Anyway, just so everyone knows, I’ll be leaving sometime in the near future for approximately one week. I won’t tell you when, but I’m sure that people like AMSTAFF will be able to figure it out (mainly because she reads RR’s BLOG regularly, and RR has a tendency to comment on those few incidences when I’m out of the office and she’s not. I, on the other hand, have a tendency to not comment when RR’s out of the office. This is because, in general, I am too bitter that she’s on vacation and I am still at work. Take last week, for example. I was a very bitter person…thank goodness she is back now!).

People like Katie (a.k.a. my stalker) might notice my absence, but chances are she would just think that I was ignoring her again. Poor Katie (she'd probably be right).