<walks over to the computer and wipes the dust off the DIS>
Oh, hi there! Long time, no see
Well, some good news and some bad news to report regarding the month of November. Since I always ask for the bad news first, that is the order in which I shall report it.
Bad news: I did not run my half marathon.
Now, before you say to yourself and thats bad news WHY? Because 13.1 miles of brick road on a humid Florida morning sounds more like a punishment to me
.. understand that I trained for this race up until the week before, and I was so proud of the progress I had made. And then? The stupid sheath around my stupid tibialis anterior had to go and stupidly get inflamed. Making it painful to run. Or walk. Or go down steps. Or, pretty much have a lower leg. It is doing a bit better now, but I need to do some serious icing, massage and stretching before I attempt to hit the pavement again. I tried to console myself on the elliptical this afternoon, but it wasnt the same.
And now, the good news: I finished my novel. Insert mad cheering here. The way that it happened went like this: my husband came home on Thursday evening, and I greeted him at the door with something like loveyoucanttalkwritingbye and I retreated back into my hole where I hunched over my keyboard and pounded out my last 1000 words. When I finished, I did a final word count. 50,023. SWEET! I stood up, looked around the office (which was littered with scraps of paper and tea mugs and snack wrappers and a sleeping dog), and yelled to Lionel that I was done. As far as I was concerned, I had just won the Nobel Prize.
Now, it isnt REALLY finished yet. I still need to edit it and make a few little tweaks here and there. But maybe, just maybe, you can see a zweihund original coming to a Borders near you! In, like, 2080, because thats probably how long it will take to be accepted by a publisher. Ill be 105. Alright.
So, its back to real life, which means finishing this TR from a vacation that took place two months ago. I need a drink and a snack. Be right back.
Ok. I have opted for some Buckingham Palace Garden Party blend tea, accompanied by some Publix brand marshmallow delight, which is being eaten straight out of the container. Because me? I ooze class.
I believe last time we left our geek trio, they were at the movies. What I might have failed to mention is that once we were actually on our way to the theatre, we realized that the movie time conflicted with the Pirate Map pickup time for tomorrows
Castaway Cay treasure hunt. The solution was obvious to the girls: send the boy. Lionel sighed, and did his manly duty. That, along with having someone on hand at all times in case there happens to be a spider in the shower are the main reasons that I got married. Oh, and you know. Hes cute and funny, blah blah blah.
So as we watched Remy make his narrow escape from the crazy French shotgun grannys kitchen, Lionel was at Wavebands trying to convince the activities director to let him have the map without sitting through the spiel. It must have worked, because he climbed over the back of the seat and sat next to me shortly thereafter, map in hand.
Post movie, we dressed for dinner at Tritons. It was Pirate Night! Arrrrr. As we were getting dressed, Lionel and I argued over which menu we would be ordering from: regular Tritons fare, or Pirate fare? Naturally, being the DIS-conscious lady that I am, I knew the answer was Tritons on a three-day cruise. Thinking back, I should have made a bet. I guess I was still a little loopy from the post-sauna alcohol. As we headed down for our meal, we wondered what kind of table we would be at and who we were about to meet. Remember, the first night we had dinner at Palo. So currently? No one at our table knows we even exist.
In the dining room, we were amused to find ourselves jammed in the corner by the porthole at the SAME EXACT TABLE we had for the first cruise we took. We hated that table then, and we still do. If you ever want to be at Tritons, but not feel like you are at Tritons? Then this is the table for you. If you want the photographers to completely ignore you all night, even when you wave at them with your pirate bandana? Then this is most definitely the table for you. Yes, we were three people at the unloved 8-top. But? We had an awesome server who totally made up for it. Its a real shame I cant remember her name.
You see? I am terrible with names. TERRIBLE. You could name your child elephant nostril, which is a name that I should be able to remember, so I will not write it down, because who could forget a name like elephant nostril? And then, ten minutes later, Im the idiot calling your child oh, hey
..you
Anyhow, she was lovely.
So lovely, in fact, that she almost had a heart attack when I ordered the stack of vegetables.
You are at TRITONS? And you order VEGETABLES?????
I tried to justify myself by saying things like but I like vegetables and I was inspired by Remy but she would have none of it. In the end, she only agreed to bring me the tower of rabbit food if I agreed to try something else on the menu. Which? I have also forgotten the name of. Silly Erica, you write all of this stuff down and you forget to include the details! Anyhow, Sarah took a very unflattering photo of me and the elusive main course:
I have a tiny head, and a huge torso.....and a stack of vegetables!
By the way, it was delicious.
During our meal, we were joined by couple and friend number two, who had a striking number of things in common with us:
a) they were sharing a cabin, a married couple and a good friend
b) they had also dined at Palo last night
c) they were geeks too!
Yes, we talked about Dr. Who and pirates alllllll night, which prompted us to ask why they were in their formals and not some pirate gear? Instantly, we had caused a fight. The married couple stared at one another.
HE said this was FORMAL night.
Oh, uh
..it isnt.
In a flash, she was gone. She returned moments later in a full-on pirate wench outfit that rivaled what we have seen in the movies. One by one, they did a quick change into amazing pirate gear. Suddenly the little skull and crossbones t-shirt paired with a bandana that I had brought from home seemed so insufficient. And then? They announced that her mother had made these costumes for their
..
Ok, you all have to get ready for this, because some of you? Will think this is awesome. Some more of you? Will think these people are the weirdest crazies who ever walked onto a Disney boat.
Yes, readers, they had these costumes made for their
PIRATE WEDDING.
To which of course I can say nothing, because we have friends who dress up in Civil War costumes and re-enact battles, not to mention the couple that had the Renaissance wedding. So really, whats a little pirate wedding when you are amongst geeks? Besides, the outfits were fantastic. I cant believe I didnt take a picture. I guess I was too distracted by my stack of vegetables.
After dinner, we popped up to the Pirate Party, to which we were the last three people on the boat to arrive. Since we always stand on the port side, we opted for starboard for this party. I have to say, the addition of the jumbo screen makes the party even better its brighter out, and you can see everything going on onstage no matter where you are standing. The show was fun, as usual. Whenever you can see Stitch dressed as a pirate, you know its going to be a good time.
You! Get me a rum runner, now!
And then? The moment we had all been waiting for: fireworks!
I always try to imagine what this display must look like to people on that little Carnival boat that always seems to be floating not too far from the Wonder. Because from the Wonder? It feels like the most special place on Earth. Except when you have inadvertently stood RIGHT BEHIND A GIANT POLE.
Ah, well. Im sure the parts blocked by the giant white beam were lovely as well. None of my fireworks photos came out anyhow.
After dinner, Sarah headed back to the room and Lionel and I settled in with the intention of watching Pirates II out on the deck. It seemed like the ultimate for me. Pirates? On a giant screen? In the middle of a boat? Which is in the middle of the Caribbean? Awesome!
I am a pirate IN the Caribbean.....savvy?
Well, we made it approximately as far as when Jack got his jar of dirt before we started to nod off. Not to be party poopers, but the bed seemed like it would be far more comfortable than sleeping on those deck chairs, which are the old style
..now, had the family pool been full of the same loungers you will find at the Quiet Cove? We might have woken up at down, drool running down our cheeks and cricks in our necks. As it stood, we opted to head back to the room. Where we slept soundly, until approximately 6 am. When the whirring noises began.
Up next: treasure hunts and giant connect four!
CONGRATS! 
