day 69 – at sea

day 69 – at sea

i wish we could have stayed in singapore a few more days!  what a great city!  we have three sea days ahead of us to cross the bay of bengal and sail the indian ocean around the southern tip of india up to cochin.  i am getting very excited to see india – i only know one person who has even been there, and i have no idea what to expect except that it is hot, there is a lot of poverty, tons of people, and has a reputation for being a bit dirty and dusty if not raining… bob and i went to see the on-board travel lecturer speak about the port and explain the must-know and must-see aspects of the port.  this will hopefully help us make the most of our one day there.  every destination left on this world voyage is a new adventure, and i am so particularly glad to go to these places with bob (glad also that he is big and tall and strong; it’s like having a husband and a bodyguard all in one)!

my theme tonight was “guilty pleasures,” a repeat from first half, which features songs about things like smoking, drinking, fooling around… i had a good crowd, and was happy to see my pal on board, brianna with her fella.  i bought them a drink and they stayed for a bit.  can’t wait to get a chance to really catch up with her one of these days…

i decided, for myself, that today may be the last day i do breakfast upstairs for the rest of this voyage… i don’t usually do breakfast but once a week or so, but since bob is here, i’ve made an effort to go more often.  it is rather challenging, however, at this stage of the cruise when everyone knows everyone and wants to stop and chat with you (as your eggs get cold…).  i also don’t feel real chirpy and cheery before i’ve had a coffee, and to have to be nice and polite and answer people when they speak to you several or even many times first thing in the day is getting to be difficult… it is better if i don’t emerge in the public areas ‘til i am truly ready to be a nice person, say, around 11:30 or so.  people here really are 99% nice, it’s me that is morning conversation challenged!  it’s good to know your limitations, and on a voyage of this length, one must live preventively and save some goodwill in reserve for that last push, particularly when we reach the last few weeks… i always like to ‘spike the landing’ of each voyage and leave people with a good feeling… so patience with myself and others is paramount, and there is a bit of strategy in mapping out one’s day to be able to genuinely deliver the goods each night and preserve some serenity and silent spaces and off-by-yourself time each day – this way you can live and work with and entertain the people you all share this giant tin can with out in the middle of nowhere so much of the time without causing any problems… the world clearly has enough of those!  bob and i like to think that even the small act of just being happy and in love and taking that energy wherever we go is like our own personal peace movement and in our own tiny way offers something good to help balance the force…  peace, di