I'm flying to the ship in about 5 hours! I'll talk to you all later when I'm on the high seas!

Jenn

When you've got a paid account, you should update it more! So I shall make a conscious effort to post more often. Not that you guys really care, but if I'm paying for it, it just makes sense. :)

Well, the last few days of my vacation are upon me. In three days, I will be out of the chilly climate of...Texas...and back to the warm, humid sun of the Caribbean/Central America/Mexico. Yes, that's right folks, I am heading back to the ship. To the Maasdam this time (this will make it my third time aboard the most awesome little ship in the fleet), and I am quite excited about it. I'll have friends there! Yay!

Anyway. I'll be there from January 8 to May 14. If any of you happen to be in Ft Lauderdale, Aruba, Costa Rica, Huatulco (Mexico), Acapulco (Mexico), Cabo San Lucas (Mexico), San Diego, Puerto Vallarta (Mexico), Puerto Chiapas (Mexico), Guatemala, Panama, Columbia, Tortola, St. Barts, Martinique, Barbados, Grenada, Bonaire, or Curacao at the same time as me, I'd be happy to see you!!!

To see which dates I'll be in each place, see here.

So, last night I went and saw Sherlock Holmes. I liked the movie, but can someone please tell me how Lord Whats-his-face and the Irene Adler chick were able to run through the sewers under Parliament and randomly pop back out on Tower Bridge 20 seconds later? Because that's just silly talk. Parliament and Tower Bridge are three miles apart. It would take the fastest runner in the world nearly ten minutes to make it there...and they'd probably be kind of out of breath (and in the movie they weren't, really). I understand that movies fast-forward certain things, but it was all a little too simultaneous to be accurate. It's like they ignored half the Thames and pretended that Tower Bridge was like one bridge over from Westminster Bridge.

Mini-sorta-rant over.

Next order of business. Tonight my mom wants to have my birthday dinner (haha my mom called to ask about it right as I typed that). My birthday is at the end of January, but since I leave on Friday my mom wants to do it today. She keeps asking me where I want to eat. Hell if I know. I don't want to go into Humble because who wants to get into mall traffic? The only thing I can really think of is the barbecue place right down the street. I'll probably ask for that, actually. And she keeps bugging me about what I want for a birthday present. I dunno. Give me money and I'm good.

In other news, I really miss my college buddies! Hugs to all of you who still read my journal. You're all frakking awesome. In a multitude of splendiferous ways. Why the hell do you all live 1000 miles away from me?!?!

Okay. I'm about done. I need to go get a shower. Thursday I'm going to have a special shower day. Since I'll be heading to the nice tropical areas in a few days, I must shave my legs. Thurs day will be that day. :) I'm looking forward to warmer weather. Then maybe my lips will stop chapping so much. Bah.

BYE! Will talk to you guys later.

Jenn

So I completely suck at updating things over break... Sorry.

A couple months ago I thought I might start one of those photo-a-day projects but I never really kept up with it, but now that it's 2010 I'm going to try again. ( Picture no. 1 )

Hooray, post no. 1 down!

Okay, I'm going to sleep.

Happy New Year, everyone!!!

Hope it treats you nicely. :)

Jenn

2009 is a year that will forever be ingrained in my memory. So much has happened to me this year: great things, horrible things, and things that simply leave me uncertain. When I sit down and think about this past year, my feelings are somehow a mixture of deep sorrow and sublime happiness.

I remember January, turning 24, sitting around the table in the restaurant where my sister worked. My mother, her boyfriend, my sister, my two best friends and their families were there with me, welcoming me into my new year. We had a good time that night, and when it came time to go back home, I remember feeling elated and enthusiastic about what the year would bring me.

I remember February, making Valentine's Day cards with the kids on the ship, and then watching as they gave them to their parents. The kids were all sticky with glue and had bits of sequins stuck in their hair as they watched their parents read the cards, and that combined with the little grins on their faces made them unbearably cute...even if it were for just that moment in time.

I remember March, painting shamrocks on the kids' faces and then onto my own before setting out on a ship-wide leprechaun gold scavenger hunt, amused by the looks on the other passengers' faces as my little army of 3-12 year-olds passed them by, decked out in green.

I remember April, getting a phone call from my cousin telling me my father had passed away. I couldn't help thinking that I was horrible, that while my daddy was taking his last breaths, I'd been sipping margaritas on a beach in the middle of the Bahamas. But then there were my friends, who crowded around me in support, refusing to leave my side until the moment I stepped off the ship to go to the airport. They made me feel better, and to this day, I cherish them for that.

I remember May, dealing with all the paperwork in the aftermath of my dad's death, and still not being able to cry. But there was Ryan, who called me every single day, and during that time I stopped thinking of him as my ex-boyfriend from college, and instead as one of the best friends I've ever had, as a person I'd grown to love and care for very deeply.

I remember June, running away to England to get away from the intense pain I felt back in Texas. My escape to another country turned out to be one of the best months of my life, and I got to spend it all with sevarina, who transitioned from the good friend I'd only met once to a lifelong friend I'll meet up with time and time again.

I remember July, stepping back onto a ship for the first time since my father had died, and finally finally having a proper cry about it in the middle of the night after watching a particularly sad movie. The brick wall that had been encapsulating my heart tumbled down, leaving a massive, jagged, raw hole in its wake.

I remember August, secluding myself from the rest of my fellow crew members, and refusing to allow them to get close to me...even those I'd been especially close to on other ships. My depression was at its peak in this month, and I was crying nearly every single day, missing my dad so much I could hardly bear it.

I remember September, stepping onto a new ship and feeling as if I were gaining fresh air in my lungs. I made new friends, began laughing and smiling again, and was beginning to feel better about the world.

I remember October, running around the ship on Halloween with a 4 year-old Welsh girl called Eva swinging on my and my co-worker Anna's hands as we collected candy from other crew members. We danced in the Ocean Bar as the boys dedicated each song to Eva, and then we paraded back up to the kids' area, our bag spilling with candy as Eva handed out all the types she didn't like to random passengers.

I remember November, flying off to Australia and accomplishing one of my life goals to see every continent before the age of 25. While there I held koalas, petted kangaroos, drove a car on the left side of the road, Zorbed down a hill, and finally met up with awaywithpixies, who I absolutely adore.

I remember December, staying home with family for Christmas for the first time in three years, having all sorts of fun with my cousins before finally breaking down into tears the day after Christmas in front of my mom and sister...and then kicking them out and refusing to go to dinner with them so they couldn't see me cry anymore.

I look forward to 2010, and I genuinely hope it yields the same types of adventures 2009 gave me, minus the tragedies. I look forward to doing things I've never done before, seeing places I've never seen before, meeting new people, and keeping close to those I already know. I know the year will not go perfectly because they never do, but I do hope in this year I'll finally figure out my life, and go ahead and get on with it. As of now the majority of 2010 will be spent on ships, but I hope that by 2011 I'll be able to find a change...maybe teach English in Korea, au pair in France, head off to work for Club Med at some tropical resort, go to grad school for travel writing...Let's just hope 2010 helps me choose what I decide to do in 2011.

Maybe this could be considered a New Years resolution of sorts, although I prefer to not think of it that way. Rather, 2010 will be the first year of the rest of my life, and I need to make the most of it so that I can do the things I ultimately decide to do.

Here's hoping.

Goodbye, 2009...I am both relieved and sad to see you go.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
Saw all 7 continents. Visited places I hadn't been to yet.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't tend to make resolutions. They never get done.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Probably someone, but I'm having a bit of a brain fart right now.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes.

5. What countries did you visit?
Antarctica, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, multiple islands in the Caribbean, England, Scotland, Wales, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Estonia, Russia, Germany, Mexico, and Australia.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
One real boyfriend rather than multiple friends-with-benefits/guys I shouldn't be getting busy with.

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
April 22, but I don't want to get into it because it's sad.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Seeing all 7 continents before the age of 25.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I suck at saving money, it seems.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Not really.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My trips to the UK and Australia

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
The people on the Maasdam back in April.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
No one's, really.

14. Where did most of your money go?
To other countries.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Lots of things. Seeing new places, spending time with friends, having sex...that sort of thing.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Don't know.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? sadder
ii. thinner or fatter? thinner
iii. richer or poorer? about the same.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
spend more time with certain people.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
I spent too much moneys.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Already had Christmas. Spent it in Tennessee with family.

21. What was the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in 2009?
Getting super drunk in the captain's room on the Zaandam...

22. Did you fall in love in 2009?
No...but what else is new?

23. How many one-night stands?
Hahaha. Ummm...let's think...three.

24. What were your favorite TV programs?
Supernatural, Lost, Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Skins, some other shows.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I'm not much of a hater.

26. What was the best book you read?
I haven't finished it yet, but the Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
My friend Hugh's band. They're great.

28. What did you want and get?
To see all 7 continents.

29. What did you want and not get?
Lots of money...but that could be because I suck at saving.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Hell if I know.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I was 24 and I spent it in the restaurant my sister worked in with family and friends.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Travel.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Same as it's always been. Comfy stuff.

34. What kept you sane?
Was I ever sane?

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Always Charlie Hunnam.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
I stay away from political issues.

37. Who did you miss?
my dad.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Most new people are the best when I meet them...haha.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
Spend as much time as you can with people you love because you never know when they'll be taken from you.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"Don't stop believing..." AND NO, NOT BECAUSE OF GLEE. I've never even seen that show.

MERRY BELATED CHRISTMAS!!!

And if you don't celebrate Christmas, then Happy Holidays. :)

Peace out.

Jenn