20041218-cruise-friends-memories Part 3

[ohiominnie]

Well, I took the bull by the horns and called myself. Talked to a wonderful CM named Claudia Janette who chatted away with me. Her brother/SIL and their kids live in Mobile, AL, but evacuated to the SIL's mother's house. She seemed concerned about their house. Couldn't believe there was yet ANOTHER tropical storm coming into the Bahamas. Anywho.....

We're in for 4:15 at LTT. Party of 8 because my MIL and her dh MAY be joining us that evening. Trying to organize a party of 8 isn't any fun.

 

[WVMD]

It was funny when I called - had a great CM - couldn't spell her name if I tried - anyways - when she found out we were on the Holiday cruise - she told me about surprising her son with a trip. Fell asleep in the car as they left Orlando - woke up when they arrived at the ship..... This is the Disney service I'm used to....

Virgil

 

[Dancind]

Sounds like you almost have enough to take over part of the LTT! Sorry we can't help, we are late arrivers too. I can just see the kids dragging you guys out of there, while you're still trying to talk.

Jim, I would have never guessed! Does Sharon know you shared that little tidbit? I'll be at most of the cooking demos too. Went to one on the Celebrity cruise and it was one of the more entertaining events I attended. I would think DCL's would be good too.

Gail, I think we've switched to Southern Elegance too. Hoping your ride will show up isn't good enough. I think I used Tiffany in August, they were very good and punctual, and that was the day after Hurricane Charley. They always have someone answering the phones, too.

 

[ohiominnie]

Originally posted by Dancind
Hoping your ride will show up isn't good enough. I think I used Tiffany in August,

We've used Florida Town Cars and Tiffany Town Cars. We've had family use Florida Town Cars. Both were good, both were punctual, but Florida was a bit better. Tiffany employees were just not as friendly. One went the wrong way taking us back to the airport and then did a U-ey onto Disney landscaping! And then it seemed he was dozing off while he drove. Head kept bobbing and eyes would close. YIKES!

 

[justmestace]

Boy do I hate being in a different time zone! You guys have all the fun in the mornings!!

Lynda....I've been trying to do some research on excursions (outside of DCL) that would be suitable. The bad news is that they are terribly expensive. And I've only found mention of one trip (in Antigua, I believe) that was great at accomodating someone who needed assistance. Andthat one had to be booked by an entire group.....private charter. I'm trying! Have you looked at Ohiominnie's post on the main board? Some people have no sense of humor whatsoever. Thanks, Virgil for defending Lynda!

Dee.....got you down for a notepad!
And you are all very welcome! No problem!!

I want to be there when Lisa and Dee start kicking at eachother....just to see what the CM's do about it........

Megan and I took the DIS advice and used FL Tours for our transport last time. They were fabulous. Even after we missed our plane and everything....I already have them booked for Christmas.
I know a few people who had a real problem with Happy Limo. Not so happy, now.

I was thinking about the "lady" parking in the handicap spot....I knew Lynda would have the best advice. I LOVE the one about giving her her own spot, and then having someone else park in it.
On the whole, it's best not to confront these people yourself. The don't get it, they never will. The school needs to get tough with her, or the authorities, or the mom of the little gal in the wheelchair. What a gracious woman she must be.....if my child needed the room to get her in the car, I think the wheelchair would be "accidentally" scratching and bumping the rude woman's car! Then if she wanted to start something, the police could be called in.... don't get me started on this one.

Getting another cup of coffee, and calming myself down.

 

[videogal1]

Originally posted by videogal1


This is a serious problem everywhere and those existing on the low end of the food chain are just stupid enough to wait until it really impacts them personally...sort of like a little kid...huh?

I have many stories of my encounters with handi-space thieves...If I told them all we'd all be snoozing at the keyboard but, in the interests of page count I'll mention two...
1.
One fine day I loaned my handi-plated truck to my former fullback boyfriend, who made a brief trip to the nearby market and where do you think this burning hunk of love parked? Just as I was rolling into the lot in my little Honda I spied him taking the very last handi-space. My disposition was not the best that day and, when I got through parking many rows away I stalked up to the truck (he was listening to the final strains of his favorite Eagles hit) and created the biggest domestic violence (verbal) scene ever perpetrated in that parking lot...
WHATDOYOUTHINKYOUAREDOING?? I shouted...YOUARENOTHANDICAPPEDANDYOUMAYNOTPARKHERE.
GETOUTOFMYTRUCKIMMEDIATELY!!!
and on and on. One of my more inspired monologues. He escaped to the store and I drove the truck home. HA! I returned for the car later.....Jerk.
The relationship ended with a whimper several years later but he never did that again and I can only wonder how many passersby got a lesson that day.....??

 

[justmestace]

I'm starting to sound like GaRry....more coffee!!


I get to go do something FUN tonight!! I'm going with my friend to a Gold Canyon Candle party. They make the best candles...and right here in Arizona. You can buy them online now though. They actually smell as they are burning, which most candles don't. They are a little expensive....but so worth it. The ones in the jars burn all the way down to nothing, so you get your money's worth.
Since we can't have candles in the staterooms, I'm bringing some of their car air fresheners to hang.

Reading everyone's bios over again is fun. We have a really interesting group. Most of us are all around the same age. Linda and I are married to the "old dudes"...but young at heart. And the kids are all around the same ages too.

I was excited when I looked at my calendar and knew that I could make our breakfast reservations for the GF on sailing day.....now that I can make my excursion ressies, I'm really excited! Whoo hoo!

Lynda, I don't know about this Pirate excursion, but we did one in Bonaire.....the pirate ship was anchored out in the water, and we took one of those rubber boats out to it and had to climb a ladder to get on the ship. After a few rum punches, I climbed out on the mast head and did the Titanic imitation......and I'm afraid of heights.
When we got off the ship, it was dark...we had gone out to see the Green Flash (it does exist, we saw it).......my DH had had a few drinks, and almost climbed off the ship without the help of the ladder! He would have missed the rubber dinghy by a mile.

I agree with you about DCL and their excursions......they advertise the accessible rooms, and the special chairs at CC...but make no mention of any other excursions. I know that all of the islands that we've been to do not take any measures for the handicapped.....and I guess DCL can't control that. But you would think that they could work with some of their vendors......I guess we need to start a letter-writing campaign.

Dokie okie.....better go write those paychecks!

Have a great day all! I'll be checking in at some point later on....

Stacey

 

[justmestace]

I forgot.....I placed the order for the notepads.....
there are six more left......speak now or forever hold your peace.

I'll bring all of them with me, so if there are extras, you can still get one then.

Stacey

 

[kpros]

Ok - I will do my part in the march to 10,000

Ken - will be 50 in Nov. - I'm a CPA and I work for the County Superintendent of Schools Office in Ventura. My department monitors school district fiscal issues for all the districts in Ventura County. We also process the payroll for all school employees in Ventura County. Right now I'm spending all my free time training for a charity (Arthritis Foundation) bike ride from San Francisco to LA during the first week in October.

Shari (DW) - will be 47 in Oct. - She is also a CPA and specializes in auditing school districts. We first met at a school business conference.

Staci (DD) - will be 13 one week before the cruise. She is in 8th grade. She is into Karate and Anime. She is in Girl Scouts and participates in our local Girl Scout Mariners program also.

Shari and I are also doing the Fl or CA repo in May. Staci is a little upset that she doesn't get to go. But this will be our first alone vacation (if you can call it alone - my mother and sister and Shari's brother are going also).

This will be our 4th DCL cruise. 4 day Magic in 1999, 7 day Eastern in 2001, 7 day Western in 2003.

Ken

 

[videogal1]

Originally posted by videogal1
I have many stories of my encounters with handi-space thieves...If I told them all we'd all be snoozing at the keyboard but, in the interests of page count I'll mention two...
2.

In that same parking lot used to be a Mail.....store that I needed to do business with one pretty day and I whipped my truck into the narrowest of handi-spaces left when the driver of the auto parked next to me had decided to take as much parking real estate he was allowed PLUS exactly 1/2 of what would have been the only available handi-space next to him. I noticed by the license plate that he was from a nearby state, the inhabitants of which are stereotypically not noted for higher learning... After smothering the outrage I was feeling because, sadly, the guy's car was in such poor shape that if I cratered his door with my heavy-duty rubber-reinforced door edge it would never show, I marched off to the Mail store. Strangely enough, there was an out of state jerk and his jerk girlfriend waiting to finish their out-of-state postal duties (I overheard). After a loud and very pointedly hostile exchange during which he offered that he had left 1/2 of the handi-space empty I reminded him that VERY few people who have disabilities are able or likely to drive half a car he stalked off to move it...only, I think, because he lost the argument in such an embarassingly public way, and, because, during the encounter, found that the lady waiting on him was a friend of mine and she wasn't going to complete the transaction until he did.

 

[videogal1]

9931 and TOP !!!

Originally posted by justmestace


Lynda....I've been trying to do some research on excursions (outside of DCL) that would be suitable. The bad news is that they are terribly expensive.

Have you looked at Ohiominnie's post on the main board? Some people have no sense of humor whatsoever. Thanks, Virgil for defending Lynda!


I was thinking about the "lady" parking in the handicap spot....I knew Lynda would have the best advice. I LOVE the one about giving her her own spot, and then having someone else park in it.

Thank you for your research assistance!
Priceless!

Yes, best to avoid confrontations in parking lots. I occasionally wade in but only if the offender looks stupid rather than mean.

Well, no, I haven't read anything the Min might have written to my detriment but considering the fact that I took a nibble out of MarkRG last week, I'm not surprised.
I know all of us on the boards do our best to help people and mostly answer questions from our hearts and experience but you know as well as I do that advice and opinions are worth what you pay for them. If we try to temper our responses with humor, or whatever, we have to take the risk of becoming the butt of someone else's humor...and thanks, V, You're my guy......

I think, for the peace of the cruise, I'll try to skip the main board today....time to get horizontal again, anyway.....

 

[tkd lisa]

Should have clarified that this daycare is on our base. I could call the base police. I think they'd be more likely to come quickly than the normal police. This mom is a Navy Commander, and most of the people who use the base daycare are enlisted, so I think she's been pushing the envelope since her "rank" means she's so important. I guess you can tell I really don't like her. Our daycare has a rule that all kids have to wear shoes with closed toes and heels. No sandals or clogs allowed. Last year, DD wanted to wear her dressy sandals when she dressed up. I wouldn't let her, and made her carry them in her backpack so she could change at school. When I picked her up at daycare, she had the sandals on. I asked her why she hadn't changed, and she said "Anastasia wears flip flops every day". I checked to be sure the daycare hadn't changed their policy, and told DD that I didn't care what Anastasia wore, I wasn't Anatastasia's mother! The rule is there for a reason, and my kids are following it!

Given that I'm not anywhere in this person's chain of command, I think I will discuss this with her the next time I see it. She's not going to pull a knife on me or anything. She'll probably just be nasty. I just wanted to see what other people thought of the whole thing to be sure I wasn't overreacting. I really like this little girl. She's always smiling everytime I see her. Her dad's stationed down in Norfolk now, and mom kept the girls up here so they didn't have to start a new school. So the mom's all alone most of the week until dad makes it home on the weekend. She certainly doesn't need the aggravation.

 

[videogal1]

Originally posted by tkd lisa
This mom is a Navy Commander, and most of the people who use the base daycare are enlisted, so I think she's been pushing the envelope since her "rank" means she's so important.

Ahhh, a true case of leading by example, representing the spirit of democracy, the devil made me do it. What BS. I have often found this kind of evidence that the world is built upside down....All the A-holes are on top....

Supervisors love me.....

Fluff isn't the only thing I'm the Queen of.....

 

[DVC4US]

Happy Thursday Everyone!!!

Well, it looks like the panhandle of FL took a big hit. I haven't heard from any of the relatives yet, and I just keep getting "all circuits are busy" when I try to call. I am sure they are okay but it is nerve racking not knowing. On the news the Mayor of Mobile, AL keeps saying they dodged a big one and I keep thinking, well someone got hit hard and I am afraid it is Pensacola Beach and Destin. There is a restuarant on the beach in Destin called "The Back Porch" and it is no more than 50-60 yards from the Gulf(if that) and I am wondering if it took a big hit from the waves. I have been seeing pictures of Grand Cayman and it looks really bad there. I really want to call Capt. Marvins and the jewerly store we shopped at to see how they fared but I am afraid I won't be able to get through. I think I will try later today.

Tina - we are going an the AM pirate cruise. Is DCL allowing us to make reservations for excursions at 90 days if we are paid? I thought this was the new policy and only affected those we made reservations after 9/8/04. If that is so I will call and pay in full and then make my reservations.

BTW - when I was talking to my contact in inventory control(it sounds like I really know someone) I asked her about our cruise and she told me it was sold out. Even just for 2 people with no kids it is showing sold out right now. It's going to be a full ship.

Dee - we are up to sitting together if everyone wants to, or sitting near each other. Just let me know. We have discussed before about having a mini-DIS meet at MVMCP but we have not developed a plan yet. Maybe when it gets closer we can find a meeting place.

LeiLani

 

[scuba diver]

Originally posted by tkd lisa
Jim, I didn't know your son had a black belt? I'm assuming the twd is tae kwon do? I know that GaRry and his family are back in class. It turned out one of the students from their school had competed at nationals right before my DH. We can have a big TKD party!!

Yes, Matt has been doing tae kwon do for three years now. He has another testing this weekend so I think that puts him half way to his second degree. He wants to start the leadership training, but we are holding off on that until we get a semester of high school under our belt, which may take a while given the hurricanes.

Matt is going to Fall Nationals in Orlando in October. Anyone else going?

 

[scuba diver]

Originally posted by ohiominnie
I didn't realize your dd was only 10. We've got a good group of 9-10-11-12 yr olds on this cruise. My KT turned 10 in July. If Lisa is an emailer, maybe she'd like to email KT a bit before the cruise.

The other thing I forgot to mention about Lisa (and Matt) is that they are hugh Michigan and Michgan State fans. I didn't want to inflame all those Buckey fans, but you need to know who will be hanging out with your kids.

 

[ohiominnie]

Originally posted by videogal1
Well, no, I haven't read anything the Min might have written to my detriment but considering the fact that I took a nibble out of MarkRG last week, I'm not surprised.

The "Min" didn't write anything to you detriment. The "Min" was looking for helpful advice on the clubs policy of closing to new kids. It's truly a concern of mine because I do have a night owl who would be crushed to find out she couldn't enter a club. When my kids get crushed, I do too. The "Min" also has a bit of trouble interpreting if people are serious or just kidding when only given printed words. A lot is lost when one cannot see body language or hear the tone of voice in which something was said. I appreciate when people use or (wink) or or some other sort of indication that it was indeed a joke. Being the member of several education boards where people take serious offense if your values do not match theirs, I'm aware that there are differences of opinion on nearly every topic involving child rearing. What works for one person may or may not work for another. I do value the input, though, of people who have also raised children and have BTDT.
So, deepest apologies if in fact you took my response as a slam on you. It was not intended.

 

[ohiominnie]

Originally posted by scuba diver
The other thing I forgot to mention about Lisa (and Matt) is that they are hugh Michigan and Michgan State fans. I didn't want to inflame all those Buckey fans, but you need to know who will be hanging out with your kids.

Oh, in THAT case!! Thanks for the warning. I'll have to pack extra Buckeye tee-shirts for my kids.
I'll apologize in advance if you hear my kids break out in some goofy song slamming the "state up north." (sorry, can't say the name of the state--football season has started and I'd owe 25 cents!)

 

[scuba diver]

Originally posted by Dancind
Jim, I would have never guessed! Does Sharon know you shared that little tidbit? I'll be at most of the cooking demos too. Went to one on the Celebrity cruise and it was one of the more entertaining events I attended. I would think DCL's would be good too.

Most people don't guess it. It has something to do with my grey hair.

I have done all the cooking demos on the DCL and they are fun. I get Sharon to go just so I can have her wine.

One day on last year's Christmas cruise I had a late breakfast, then did the cooking demo at 10 am, went immediately to the Palo's brunch and ate 3 plates of crab legs and had some more wine, then went to the 2 pm wine tasting. By the time I went to dinner, I had hit the food wall and could not eat any more. The server was very upset that I would not try anything and not give him an "excellant" rating. I'm going to try and pace myself better this year (doubt that will happen).

 

[WDWLVR]

Originally posted by videogal1
Well, no, I haven't read anything the Min might have written to my detriment but considering the fact that I took a nibble out of MarkRG last week, I'm not surprised.

Lynda - where and why were you nibbling my DH?