You're so Vain, You Probably Think this LJ is About You

I'm back. And exhausted. While on "vacation," I spent about 1 hour relaxing and the rest of the time running around trying to round up family and check on my parents and keep the Kid and his wife company since she wanted to see and do everything on the cruise ship. Still, I'm glad I did. Now I plan on doing a whole lot of nothing this Friday and Saturday.

I've been trying to catch up on the flist and I'm almost done. It seems like some of y'all have been having a rough time and I just wanted to pass out hugs to iammine and ryoneko and also give my condolences and the biggest squeeze ever to sardonicynic. Thinking of all you ladies as I sit among my unpacked suitcases, grateful to be home and just a little disoriented.

My little one-eyed kitty Kyo nearly died while I was gone. Thank goodness JP was here - he took Kyo to the vet and cared for him so well that I could barely tell how sick he had been. The vet wasn't sure what was wrong, but apparently Kyo's digestive track just shut down. The vet gave JP some vile, all-purpose meds and somehow they seemed to work. That cat has defied the fates again and again.

I haven't uploaded any pics from the cruise, but I thought I would leave this on here - I bought a piece of artwork on the ship (I am weak when it comes to any kind of art, whether it be a cel, a painting, or a giclee print, which is what this is):



Oh noes, no more wall space!!!

I finally bought my desk at IKEA. IKEA is love, BTW. Their cafeteria is great, with words in English and Swedish painted on all the walls.

Have been moving and culling cruise photos to my hard drive FOREVER. I am just that much closer to posting them, oh joy!

I actually just wanted to pop in and say that The Astronaut Farmer is awesome! Touching and oddly sincere, it seems like a kid's movie that was made for adults. And even though I cannot STAND Billy Bob Thornton because of the "Want some candy, little girl?" vibe he gives off, I loved everything from the way the family unit was displayed to the careful use of humor and awe. Truly inspiring.

Yes, I am a total sap sometimes.

I forgot to mention it, but my parents, JP, and I are taking a cruise in a couple of weeks. Woo, much-needed and well-deserved vacation! Anyhoo, we will be gone for a week, Saturday to Saturday. I hope my parents like it - dad doesn't always do well in new situations. *crosses fingers*

And then, today, I found  out about this.  Wanna go, wanna go, wanna go!!! It happens on the day we return, but since it starts late, there is a decent chance I will make it. Assuming everything goes on schedule and they don't move the time for the event. Etc, etc. I wonder what I should bring for the mangaka to sign? Since she had a hand in the manga and anime, I guess I can bring my one douga set. *grin*

In other random news, I am waaaay behind in my DVD watching, especially anime. Netflix has been making a killing off me for the past couple of months. Pooh.

I have also been hankering to redecorate the bedroom. But that's moola I just don't have right now. Actually, it might not be too bad: I really just want to shove the dresser in the closet, replace the computer desk and night stands, and buy a new bookcase. *cough* That's almost nothing, right? If I got exactly what I wanted, I could bring it in for under $550. *swoon*

Focus, Melissa - there are toilets and cracks and dead grass to deal with first.

Um. Okay. I'm done. Night all!

More pictures, of the ports this time. The first place we stopped was Costa Maya, which is basically a small shopping center built and owned by Grand Princess. Just beyond it is...jungle. We didn't sign up for a cruise-run tour, so we shopped for a bit, snapped a couple of photos, and got back on the ship.

Belize was a different story. We spent almost all our allotted time in port. We signed up for a city tour with one of the locals at the dock. Belize City...isn't pretty. It's poor and rough-looking, and the jungle looks like it is constantly encroaching on the city. It actually reminded me a lot of the Philippines, although it didn't strike me as being very crowded. I think my favorite part was, after the tour, walking along the street where a shanty town of vendors had sprung up to entice the tourists. There was a little more local color there.

I think the eco-tourism does better here: Belize is supposed to have a killer reef. However, we contented ourselves with sightseeing and shopping. I enjoyed learning a little about the country, since I knew almost nothing about it. They have only been an independent country for 20 years and there is a mixture of African, Mestizo, Creole, and Indian blood. There is also a large Asian population (signs in Chinese everywhere) and we also saw some Menonites in their overalls and straw hats. Quite the mix!

( Costa Maya and Belize )

Only three more hours of work (tomorrow morning) and I'm free free free for another week! wOOt!