Sunday 10/12, We woke up around 8 and laid in bed forever talking and laughing. He got up and went to get coffee and a paper and when he got back I got out my AD to show him a bracelet I loved and he liked it too and said if he had the money he would buy it for me. We continued looking at the mag and talked about what we liked about each house or space. Finally we got up after having a mini-argument about Angelina Jolie and used our separate bathrooms. He came in and apologized and I said I wasn't mad anymore. We left around 11 and drove down to Ballard, parked and walked up to where Eric works while I told him why I got angry that morning and that it was because he sounded ignorant and ridiculous and he agreed and apologized again so it was fine. At Eric's establishment I tried to peer in then lost my nerve about going in to say hi so we bagged it and I texted GO telling him we were in the market walking around. He texted back and we met as we were walking toward the Loft. We decided to eat there because the food's good and football was on, per Eric’s request. We snagged a good table and started talking, though some of it was difficult to hear because of the cheering and yelling from fellow patrons. We ordered and continued talking well after we'd finished our meals. Around 2:30 Eric and I busted out of there with promises of Eric and Schuyler joining him for a Timber Wolves game. It was cute. We went next door to ok ok for a few minutes and checked out the stuff there and I loved the Mother Earth hands and could have taken one home had I not bought this ring. We walked back to the car and headed to look at some open houses when I spotted Eric on the corner so I pulled over and waited for him to cross the street then got out and said "Hey!" and he was surprised and we hugged then I did introductions and he seemed really out of it but we talked for a few minutes anyway and I offered to give him a ride but he was close to home so we said bye and took off in search of signs. We stopped at Besalu and got treats (lemon cookie for me) and continued on our way. We saw three houses and one was clearly our favorite. We headed home a little after 4 and stopped at the store for salad stuff and at home Eric whipped it up and put it in the fridge then we watched SatC then got up and headed over to Mom's for dinner. I called Grandma but she'd already eaten so we went straight to Mom's. Dinner was ready so I called Kay-See to see where she was and in the meantime we talked in the kitchen and dished up salad. When she arrived we ate dinner and talked and Eric broke down all his stuff for everyone and Mom asked a lot of questions and we talked until 8. The three of us took off and Eric expressed well-wishes to K as she walked up the driveway and off we went with Eric reminding me it was our 7 month anniversary. At home we had some blueberry cobbler and watched more SatC then showered and got in bed. We talked for a long time and went to sleep.
Saturday 10/11, Eric left early and I went back to sleep and ignored a call from Susan because I was still tired. Fell back asleep but had nightmares then woke up at 9:20 and called S back and made plans to meet at her place. I took a shower and got ready, ate some breakfast and headed out the door. It was beautiful and sunny. At Susan's she gave me some mags and the new Dandy Warhols to burn then we headed on our downtown descent on foot. We went to H&M and Old Navy in search of ear muffs but came up empty handed. We went to Specialties for movie snacks and I got the "healthy" cookie and we bought tickets (Nick and Norah) and headed up after Susan dropper her quiche on the floor. The theater was pretty empty and we laughed through a lot of the previews. We both liked the movie then headed downtown in search of food. We passed Kay-See and Gina in the street and gabbed for a little while, continued on to the donut stand where Susan's blue hair bf was working. When we got up to the front he said he'd give her any damn thing she wanted then gave us an extra donut and thanked us "ladies" as we left. We went downstairs to explore and Susan got a fortune that made us laugh then back up for some hombow. We walked with our respective pork purchases to the park and ate them in the sun. We headed up the big hill and started back in the direction of Susan's but stopped at Ross to check out the shoes. Nothing purchased and continued walking up checking out shops on Pine that I've never seen, then up to Everyday Music where I said I wasn't allowed to buy anything but bought the White Rabbits album anyway. We continued walking and made it back to Susan's and I took off and felt good that we'd done so much walking. I drove home and turned up the heat and put on LotR and got all my bills out and started organizing which took me a few hours and I took a couple breaks to talk to Mom, Kay-See and Susan and to text Eric to see how he was doing. I got a lot done but still have more to go since I hadn't done my filing since late January. Oops. I did some online stuff after watching three discs and listened to music and he finally arrived at 11 and was exhausted and vented to me for 20 minutes or so about the process of the convention. We went upstairs and showered and got into a nice warm bed and messed around for a long time and went to bed happy and cuddling.
Friday 10/10, I got off work a little early and went home to do some cleaning and prepping for Kay-See to come over. I talked to Susan for a while about our plans for the next day then Auntie and Grandma. K arrived a little after 7 and I started steaming the veggies, got the pizza pastries going and broke out the rest of the food. We started gabbing and eating immediately. We were in the kitchen for a long time talking and eventually went in the living room after we'd massacred our makeshift buffet. We talked on the couch for a long time and eventually cut into the blueberry cobbler and paired it with some cookies and cream ice cream. The conversation lightened by the time Eric arrived around 11 and K went home leaving all the rest of the dessert for me. We both showered and climbed into bed and soon went to sleep.
Thursday 10/9, I went to the store after work to load up on groceries and for my buffet-style get together with Kay-See the next night. When I got home I called Susan and she came over. We sat in the living room and talked and I got a fire going. I had some steamed veggies and picked at the chicken Eric made then hoped it wouldn't ruin his soup aspirations. We continued talking until about 9 then she left and I called Eric back and we talked for a while then I probably just got ready for bed and maybe read my Architectural Digest.
Wednesday 10/8, I felt much better but still took precautions to ensure I stayed feeling good. After work I took it easy again (ie – was very lazy) and laid on the couch and flipped through Architectural Digest and watched ANTM. I ate way too much for dinner and talked to Dad for a long time and Eric then after ANTM Eric again after he called me Chris Rock and told me to watch the sea lion special and how they’re all dying because herring is over fished and yet again we’re leaving a big stamp on this planet that says “Fuck you nature! We hope you choke!” It makes me sad. I read for a while before bed.
Tuesday 10/7, I woke up with my neck hurting very badly so I called and left a voicemail that I wouldn’t be in for a while and went back to sleep. After work I went home and hunkered down on the couch and read some gossip and talked to Eric and ate oatmeal. I put on Ocean’s 12 and went through one of my new Architectural Digests then K called to tell me that Bethany saw LPC at her birthing class with a girl which means he’s either having another kid or he’s accompanying a friend. I watched tv downstairs for a long time and just relaxed until like 10 then went to bed.
Monday 10/6, I got up at 6:40 to go to Customs in the library and there was one couple ahead of me and we talked a little but they mostly bitched about the cruise and healthcare. Soon the customs guy came in and I was pissed because duty was due when I had asked specifically if it was and David said no. So my total was $90 and I had to call K because I sure as hell didn’t have it and she rushed down and gave it to me. I got back to the room late and threw everything remaining in my bag but apparently forgot my powder. We rushed down to the sixth floor and found her parents and waited. I called Dad to see if he could pick me up and he could so I started freaking out when we didn’t get off right away. Finally we did and had no problems and we split up after saying our goodbyes and waited across the street. Dad pulled over and this dumb bitch started yelling at us so I hoisted my bag up and totally pulled something in my neck. It started hurting on the ride home and got progressively worse as the day went on. At the house I showed Mom the ring, grabbed my keys and rushed home. I showered, got ready for our meeting and ate some breakfast and was off. I got off late and found Eric at my house and he had been working (hung the mirror, replaced the screws on the main floor bathroom door so it doesn’t swing anymore and finished painting the entryway) and just got out of the shower. I told him my neck was hurting and about the meeting and showed him my ring and other new purchases. He started dinner and we talked more in my room and downstairs while I put my clothes away and cleaned up. I waited on the couch while Eric kept dinner going and my neck was killing me but Eric brought me ice and water and tended to me like the sick-y I was. We watched some SatC and ate dinner and it was so good. He roasted a whole chicken, made rice pilaf, pan-fried carrots with honey and topped it all off with homemade gravy and mixed together it was all delicious. I ate a ton. Then I ate a ton of thin mints. Then we went upstairs where I did more chores and we got ready for bed and went to sleep after talking for a while.
Sunday 10/5, We woke up not as early since we knew we wouldn’t have much to see in Nanaimo. We got semi-ready and headed up to breakfast where I loaded up on fiber-friendly breakfast items and we talked with Luis about his going home to Lima then sat down. K found her parents but we sat by ourselves. While she was gone Luis came over and gave me his email and said he would send me a beautiful picture from his home. It was really sweet and K and I agreed to see how many email addresses we could get that day and that our first target would be Fith. We went back to our room and finished getting ready and started the process of tendering. We got our number and boarded and got to sit upstairs but next to the married couple with the cute husband but the wife’s ring wasn’t very good so we felt better about it. On our way off the dock I got a picture with the Mounties then up to the craft fair. Nothing of much interest so we continued into town and found the cutest little shops and cafes. We stopped in a couple and found Mickey and Noodles and some yummy candles and furnishings. We went across the street to another cute little shop where I got a mouse doorstop and a card for Eric then down the street to a clothing shop but didn’t buy anything and eventually found the shop the girl had recommended but it was closed. We walked to the drug store where we cleaned up. I found goat’s milk soap (yes!), more Nivea and lemon organic shampoo! And Campinos! I got a bag of strawberry and peach. We headed back to that shop and it was open so we perused for a long time especially the tons of cute necklaces. We made our way up to the Old Quarter where we looked in various shops and eventually headed back down the hill to the ship. We had to wait in line for a while to tender and finally made it back to the ship and up to get lunch. We had a lot of the Asian fare plus I had a salad and some bread and cheese but not too much dessert. K’s parents joined us at the end and took off not too long after and we headed to the pool to read. We hung for a while then headed back to our room where we both read then took naps. I woke up and K left to go martini tasting and I continued to lounge and look at mags, pack and shower. When she returned I turned on Titanic and she was like “Are we really watching this?” which I thought was hilarious. Why the hell would they show Titanic and Poseidon back to back on a cruise? We both got ready and planned to go see David and the ring. We sauntered up and he immediately went to the case and got it out when he saw us coming (Karl snuck up and whispered “Just do it!”) and he said I could wear it to dinner if I wanted, but I declined saying it would just be too painful and broke it to him that I’d decided against the big purchase because I just couldn’t justify it. I told him if it were a grand cheaper I’d do it then he informed me that it was actually $500 less than I thought it was and I had a whole new dilemma on my hands. We had 20 minutes until dinner and he would be closed after dinner so I had to make up my mind quickly. We went back to the room so I could get the appropriate cards and went back up and he said if I bought it he would knock another $60 off, told me I could go into the perfume shop and pick out a fragrance and he’d take us out for drinks later. I was sold. K went over with me and I picked out the first one I spritzed, Marc Jacobs’ Daisy. It smelled fruity like pears (like me!) so I got that one then David started the process. I put it on, we told David we’d see him later and headed down to the front desk to finish the process. We saw Gap Tooth down there and him and his gf were looking at the ring from afar and all the people making a fuss over it. Soon we headed up to the Gentleman’s Club where Karl was tasting scotches and Judy and I decided to go down to dinner and showed E and H the ring and they made a big fuss over it too and Ed wanted to take pictures of it and they said keep it above the table and reach for everything with that hand. We had a nice last dinner (Coq a Vin) and gorged on desserts. We said our goodbyes and headed back to the room where I got a message with instructions for the next day then a call saying everything went through fine with my credit card. I changed quickly then called David and decided to meet in the café in the middle of the ship with live guitar music. We headed up and found him and he told us to order whatever we wanted and as much as we wanted. I got the virgin special (ha!) and we sat and talked and learned all about the cruise culture and the craziness of it. The waiter from Jamaica kept looking us up and down (K liked it) but the one we had our eyes on was the guitar player from Texas who played STP, Beatles, Clapton and other wonderful songs. David left for a while then came back and since it was getting late we called it a night and thanked him and got kisses and said we’d find him on facebook and went back to our room. We got ready, set our alarms and went to bed. It was probably 1:00.
Saturday 10/4, K set her alarm so that we wouldn't sleep too late and we got up and ready and looked out the window and saw we were in port and went up to breakfast. We got all the usual breakfast items and joined the grown ups. We explained to K's parents what the ring looked like and Ed continued to laugh but they vowed to find it after K drew a picture of it. We went back to the room and got ready to go into Victoria and as we descended we saw huge dolphin and moose figures and we had our pictures taken with them and they were hilarious. Especially since the photographer was yelling "Get lucky, get lucky! Hug the dolphin" so we did. We bought our tickets and boarded and had a short ride to the Empress. We were dropped off and hit the hotel first and used the bathroom and looked in the shops, especially the jewelry. We went back out and hit the little boutique where K found a sweater she loved so she put in hold and off we went. We found the mall and went to Dynamite or something and cleaned up. I got a ton of stuff. We perused some more and went to Jacob where I got some more stuff then outside because it was nice and sunny. We found a little drug store, picked up some Nivea and continued walking then it started raining and we found our way back to the bus. We rode it back and went up to lunch and found the parents and loaded up on food. I had a salad and panini and planned to go back into Victoria but it started raining like crazy so we decided to stay put and hang. K and her Mom went and worked out and I went up to the Navigator Club with my wedding mag and ipod and hunkered down there for a good hour, reading and lounging. I went by the spa but didn't see K so went back to our room and found K who wasn't able to find me upstairs. We grabbed our reading materials and went up to the pool. We sat at a table and read and watched people then snagged some loungers and continued to read and picked out our favorite wedding dresses. I decided to go down to the room and K wanted to stay upstairs for our departure. I read my magazine and showered in preparation for the evening's events. K came down and got ready too and off we went to see David and my favorite ring. He let me try it on again and we admired it up close and from afar then went and found the parents in one of the theaters for the comedy act of Bubbles. Or was it Noodles? It was fairly PG but a couple parts had me dying with K sitting next to her Dad. He bought us all a drink and I got the virgin special of the night. Heh. It was a pretty good show and K and I both noted that there was no way Noodles was wearing underwear because it was ALL OVER THE PLACE. We giggled incessantly. After the show we took off and looked at the jewelry again and David let me put the ring on again. We also perused the pashminas and the watches and cheaper rings. We did some running around and eventually found our way down to dinner and were the first ones there. I had a delicious spinach turnover that was probably the best thing I'd had yet, then a caprese salad and for my main I did rice, grilled chicken and steamed veggies. Tonight K tried one of Karl’s snails, again for bragging rights. Then a story about a suckling pic and squid prepared in it’s own ink and a couple funny comments by me. For dessert I think K and I shared like three desserts and Hildegard ordered more ice cream for me. We finished around 10:30 again and asked the adults if they'd go up with us and see if they could find the ring so we all trekked up and sure enough they found it without any problems after our description. They had me model it and all agreed that I should get it. I told David I needed to think about it more. We left and went to check out K's watch and I found more dolphin jewelry for K. She bought the watch and a fun pink ring then we went down to our room to get ready for the White Night Party. I changed and talked about swinging by to see if David was going to go but then K thought it was weird so we didn't and just went straight up to the NC. We started dancing right away because it was good music and Fith was going crazy to "Ladies Night" and singing all the words. Suddenly out of nowhere K's Mom is yelling and dancing with us and both of us screamed and started jumping up and down. It was fun. She danced out there for a while with us and Ed took pictures of us waving and dancing. We hung with them for a bit then I went back out to dance and this girl was all drunk and like "He-ayyyyyyy!" and grabbed my hand and started dancing with me and I just laughed. K joined me and her parents left and I told her what the girl did and she said it didn't surprise her and laughed. We sat out for a long time because the songs sucked but finally went back out when a good one came and danced to a few more and scoped out the Jim look-alike and eventually ditched out and went back to our room talking and laughing. We got ready for bed, read a bit then turned out the lights.
Friday 10/3, I got in to work early. I received two texts in the morning, one from Eric, the other from Eric. Hmm. The first said to take the morning off and go to his and he would tell me a little ole lie. I texted back that he was ridiculous and that we should meet up for lunch the next week. The other from my bf which was a sweet farewell text. I worked until noon and got everything done that needed to be and headed out for work errands then the DMV for tabs then called Kay-See and Mom and said I was on my way. At Mom's we hopped right in the car and off we went to K's. We picked her up and drove down to the water talking about the debate and K does a spot on impression of Palin and it surprised me she wasn't impressed by her and thought she dodged questions. Alright! At least she's honest. We talked about how K didn't read the email instructions from her Mom and it was a running joke for the rest of the trip. Mom dropped us in front of the terminal and we started our adventure of checking in. First we got rid of our luggage then outside and into another terminal to wait in line to go through the metal detectors and up to wait in line to check in. We were laughing and scoping out the cute guy situation and also the cookies that were nearby. We checked in and nabbed a cookie then it was up the gangway to wait in another line to have our picture taken for our sea pass. I got double chinned big time, but I wasn't the only one. We asked which floor the buffet was on and made our way up quickly and found Kay-See's parents instantly. We grabbed trays and made our way around and it was f-ing huge. I loaded up on some things and so did K and went back to the table where I met Judy and Karl who are K's parents' friends. We ate and ate then rounded up desserts and ate more. We marveled at the view of Seattle from our table in the window. It was amazing. We watched the traffic on the viaduct for a while. Eventually we decided to take a little tour and ended by the indoor pool and pizza bar and out onto the deck to take in the view on that end. We walked by the spa and down to our room, which was bigger than I expected, but our luggage hadn't arrived yet. I sat on the couch and read the little newsletter they print for you for each day of the cruise and K kind of listened. Soon our luggage showed up so we both unpacked a little and set out for exploring. Our favorite was the Navigator Club with 20 foot glass windows all the way around plus there were some cute guys in there. We had to do the life jacket and life boat drill that took a half hour and was totally useless because you couldn't hear anything, but produced some hilarious pictures of us. After that and a bit more running around we went back down to the indoor pool and waited to take off and celebrated with pizza! I talked for a long time with Karl about art and Ed made us laugh asking questions about the police boat escorting us out and it not moving, despite the wake behind it. We stayed there for a long time as we cruised out then decided to do more exploring. We went back to the room and talked for a long time about sex and relationships and licking the perineum and laughed hysterically until K's parents called and said they could hear us laughing through the wall. I swore and hoped they hadn't heard our convo. Eventually it was time to get ready for the late dinner and I did a fashion show and K helped me decide on my long shorts, purple shirt, snake skin heels and a little cardigan. We went up to see if the shops had opened yet and they hadn't so we looked in the windows at all the jewelry and other goods and did some more walking and when we returned they had opened. We looked at diamonds and rings and other jewelry and I asked K which she would pick for husband wedding rings and told her I would buy her the diamond dolphin pendent. We went next door to another little boutique and were ooh-ing and ahh-ing at all the beautiful jewelry when a cute little guy came in and asked how we were doing and all that. We made our way to the other side and hit the jackpot. He let us try on all these rings and we found one that was the most beautiful and I wanted it. I heard the price and thought it was reasonable but definitely more than I wanted to spend on a ring for myself. It fit perfectly though and I've never seen a ring like it. I tried it on multiple times. We told David (British, ooh!) we'd be back the next day to look at it again and headed down to dinner. Standing in line to get in we found our picture from the first day and were laughing because you could see the cookie in my mouth. We perused the menu again and met our waiters and Ed starting speaking Tagalog to get special perks and it totally worked. I ordered the quail and it was ok but the appetizer and salad were good and the desserts were good as well. During dinner we told them about the ring and the gold-y and rainbow-y-ness of it and the Dads laughed. I got a couple zingers in there and people were laughing so that was hilarious. K tried a bite of Karl’s frog legs, purely for bragging rights. After dinner I think we went back to the room to get ready to go to the Navigator Club where they were doing a latin thing and we mostly just watched and scoped out hot beard guy and the pussys at the end of the bar. This other guy hit on us unfortunately and asked if we were journalists and we told him no and tried to be polite and shook his hand when he left. We went back to the room at like midnight maybe and read before bed.
Saturday 10/11, Eric left early and I went back to sleep and ignored a call from Susan because I was still tired. Fell back asleep but had nightmares then woke up at 9:20 and called S back and made plans to meet at her place. I took a shower and got ready, ate some breakfast and headed out the door. It was beautiful and sunny. At Susan's she gave me some mags and the new Dandy Warhols to burn then we headed on our downtown descent on foot. We went to H&M and Old Navy in search of ear muffs but came up empty handed. We went to Specialties for movie snacks and I got the "healthy" cookie and we bought tickets (Nick and Norah) and headed up after Susan dropper her quiche on the floor. The theater was pretty empty and we laughed through a lot of the previews. We both liked the movie then headed downtown in search of food. We passed Kay-See and Gina in the street and gabbed for a little while, continued on to the donut stand where Susan's blue hair bf was working. When we got up to the front he said he'd give her any damn thing she wanted then gave us an extra donut and thanked us "ladies" as we left. We went downstairs to explore and Susan got a fortune that made us laugh then back up for some hombow. We walked with our respective pork purchases to the park and ate them in the sun. We headed up the big hill and started back in the direction of Susan's but stopped at Ross to check out the shoes. Nothing purchased and continued walking up checking out shops on Pine that I've never seen, then up to Everyday Music where I said I wasn't allowed to buy anything but bought the White Rabbits album anyway. We continued walking and made it back to Susan's and I took off and felt good that we'd done so much walking. I drove home and turned up the heat and put on LotR and got all my bills out and started organizing which took me a few hours and I took a couple breaks to talk to Mom, Kay-See and Susan and to text Eric to see how he was doing. I got a lot done but still have more to go since I hadn't done my filing since late January. Oops. I did some online stuff after watching three discs and listened to music and he finally arrived at 11 and was exhausted and vented to me for 20 minutes or so about the process of the convention. We went upstairs and showered and got into a nice warm bed and messed around for a long time and went to bed happy and cuddling.
Friday 10/10, I got off work a little early and went home to do some cleaning and prepping for Kay-See to come over. I talked to Susan for a while about our plans for the next day then Auntie and Grandma. K arrived a little after 7 and I started steaming the veggies, got the pizza pastries going and broke out the rest of the food. We started gabbing and eating immediately. We were in the kitchen for a long time talking and eventually went in the living room after we'd massacred our makeshift buffet. We talked on the couch for a long time and eventually cut into the blueberry cobbler and paired it with some cookies and cream ice cream. The conversation lightened by the time Eric arrived around 11 and K went home leaving all the rest of the dessert for me. We both showered and climbed into bed and soon went to sleep.
Thursday 10/9, I went to the store after work to load up on groceries and for my buffet-style get together with Kay-See the next night. When I got home I called Susan and she came over. We sat in the living room and talked and I got a fire going. I had some steamed veggies and picked at the chicken Eric made then hoped it wouldn't ruin his soup aspirations. We continued talking until about 9 then she left and I called Eric back and we talked for a while then I probably just got ready for bed and maybe read my Architectural Digest.
Wednesday 10/8, I felt much better but still took precautions to ensure I stayed feeling good. After work I took it easy again (ie – was very lazy) and laid on the couch and flipped through Architectural Digest and watched ANTM. I ate way too much for dinner and talked to Dad for a long time and Eric then after ANTM Eric again after he called me Chris Rock and told me to watch the sea lion special and how they’re all dying because herring is over fished and yet again we’re leaving a big stamp on this planet that says “Fuck you nature! We hope you choke!” It makes me sad. I read for a while before bed.
Tuesday 10/7, I woke up with my neck hurting very badly so I called and left a voicemail that I wouldn’t be in for a while and went back to sleep. After work I went home and hunkered down on the couch and read some gossip and talked to Eric and ate oatmeal. I put on Ocean’s 12 and went through one of my new Architectural Digests then K called to tell me that Bethany saw LPC at her birthing class with a girl which means he’s either having another kid or he’s accompanying a friend. I watched tv downstairs for a long time and just relaxed until like 10 then went to bed.
Monday 10/6, I got up at 6:40 to go to Customs in the library and there was one couple ahead of me and we talked a little but they mostly bitched about the cruise and healthcare. Soon the customs guy came in and I was pissed because duty was due when I had asked specifically if it was and David said no. So my total was $90 and I had to call K because I sure as hell didn’t have it and she rushed down and gave it to me. I got back to the room late and threw everything remaining in my bag but apparently forgot my powder. We rushed down to the sixth floor and found her parents and waited. I called Dad to see if he could pick me up and he could so I started freaking out when we didn’t get off right away. Finally we did and had no problems and we split up after saying our goodbyes and waited across the street. Dad pulled over and this dumb bitch started yelling at us so I hoisted my bag up and totally pulled something in my neck. It started hurting on the ride home and got progressively worse as the day went on. At the house I showed Mom the ring, grabbed my keys and rushed home. I showered, got ready for our meeting and ate some breakfast and was off. I got off late and found Eric at my house and he had been working (hung the mirror, replaced the screws on the main floor bathroom door so it doesn’t swing anymore and finished painting the entryway) and just got out of the shower. I told him my neck was hurting and about the meeting and showed him my ring and other new purchases. He started dinner and we talked more in my room and downstairs while I put my clothes away and cleaned up. I waited on the couch while Eric kept dinner going and my neck was killing me but Eric brought me ice and water and tended to me like the sick-y I was. We watched some SatC and ate dinner and it was so good. He roasted a whole chicken, made rice pilaf, pan-fried carrots with honey and topped it all off with homemade gravy and mixed together it was all delicious. I ate a ton. Then I ate a ton of thin mints. Then we went upstairs where I did more chores and we got ready for bed and went to sleep after talking for a while.
Sunday 10/5, We woke up not as early since we knew we wouldn’t have much to see in Nanaimo. We got semi-ready and headed up to breakfast where I loaded up on fiber-friendly breakfast items and we talked with Luis about his going home to Lima then sat down. K found her parents but we sat by ourselves. While she was gone Luis came over and gave me his email and said he would send me a beautiful picture from his home. It was really sweet and K and I agreed to see how many email addresses we could get that day and that our first target would be Fith. We went back to our room and finished getting ready and started the process of tendering. We got our number and boarded and got to sit upstairs but next to the married couple with the cute husband but the wife’s ring wasn’t very good so we felt better about it. On our way off the dock I got a picture with the Mounties then up to the craft fair. Nothing of much interest so we continued into town and found the cutest little shops and cafes. We stopped in a couple and found Mickey and Noodles and some yummy candles and furnishings. We went across the street to another cute little shop where I got a mouse doorstop and a card for Eric then down the street to a clothing shop but didn’t buy anything and eventually found the shop the girl had recommended but it was closed. We walked to the drug store where we cleaned up. I found goat’s milk soap (yes!), more Nivea and lemon organic shampoo! And Campinos! I got a bag of strawberry and peach. We headed back to that shop and it was open so we perused for a long time especially the tons of cute necklaces. We made our way up to the Old Quarter where we looked in various shops and eventually headed back down the hill to the ship. We had to wait in line for a while to tender and finally made it back to the ship and up to get lunch. We had a lot of the Asian fare plus I had a salad and some bread and cheese but not too much dessert. K’s parents joined us at the end and took off not too long after and we headed to the pool to read. We hung for a while then headed back to our room where we both read then took naps. I woke up and K left to go martini tasting and I continued to lounge and look at mags, pack and shower. When she returned I turned on Titanic and she was like “Are we really watching this?” which I thought was hilarious. Why the hell would they show Titanic and Poseidon back to back on a cruise? We both got ready and planned to go see David and the ring. We sauntered up and he immediately went to the case and got it out when he saw us coming (Karl snuck up and whispered “Just do it!”) and he said I could wear it to dinner if I wanted, but I declined saying it would just be too painful and broke it to him that I’d decided against the big purchase because I just couldn’t justify it. I told him if it were a grand cheaper I’d do it then he informed me that it was actually $500 less than I thought it was and I had a whole new dilemma on my hands. We had 20 minutes until dinner and he would be closed after dinner so I had to make up my mind quickly. We went back to the room so I could get the appropriate cards and went back up and he said if I bought it he would knock another $60 off, told me I could go into the perfume shop and pick out a fragrance and he’d take us out for drinks later. I was sold. K went over with me and I picked out the first one I spritzed, Marc Jacobs’ Daisy. It smelled fruity like pears (like me!) so I got that one then David started the process. I put it on, we told David we’d see him later and headed down to the front desk to finish the process. We saw Gap Tooth down there and him and his gf were looking at the ring from afar and all the people making a fuss over it. Soon we headed up to the Gentleman’s Club where Karl was tasting scotches and Judy and I decided to go down to dinner and showed E and H the ring and they made a big fuss over it too and Ed wanted to take pictures of it and they said keep it above the table and reach for everything with that hand. We had a nice last dinner (Coq a Vin) and gorged on desserts. We said our goodbyes and headed back to the room where I got a message with instructions for the next day then a call saying everything went through fine with my credit card. I changed quickly then called David and decided to meet in the café in the middle of the ship with live guitar music. We headed up and found him and he told us to order whatever we wanted and as much as we wanted. I got the virgin special (ha!) and we sat and talked and learned all about the cruise culture and the craziness of it. The waiter from Jamaica kept looking us up and down (K liked it) but the one we had our eyes on was the guitar player from Texas who played STP, Beatles, Clapton and other wonderful songs. David left for a while then came back and since it was getting late we called it a night and thanked him and got kisses and said we’d find him on facebook and went back to our room. We got ready, set our alarms and went to bed. It was probably 1:00.
Saturday 10/4, K set her alarm so that we wouldn't sleep too late and we got up and ready and looked out the window and saw we were in port and went up to breakfast. We got all the usual breakfast items and joined the grown ups. We explained to K's parents what the ring looked like and Ed continued to laugh but they vowed to find it after K drew a picture of it. We went back to the room and got ready to go into Victoria and as we descended we saw huge dolphin and moose figures and we had our pictures taken with them and they were hilarious. Especially since the photographer was yelling "Get lucky, get lucky! Hug the dolphin" so we did. We bought our tickets and boarded and had a short ride to the Empress. We were dropped off and hit the hotel first and used the bathroom and looked in the shops, especially the jewelry. We went back out and hit the little boutique where K found a sweater she loved so she put in hold and off we went. We found the mall and went to Dynamite or something and cleaned up. I got a ton of stuff. We perused some more and went to Jacob where I got some more stuff then outside because it was nice and sunny. We found a little drug store, picked up some Nivea and continued walking then it started raining and we found our way back to the bus. We rode it back and went up to lunch and found the parents and loaded up on food. I had a salad and panini and planned to go back into Victoria but it started raining like crazy so we decided to stay put and hang. K and her Mom went and worked out and I went up to the Navigator Club with my wedding mag and ipod and hunkered down there for a good hour, reading and lounging. I went by the spa but didn't see K so went back to our room and found K who wasn't able to find me upstairs. We grabbed our reading materials and went up to the pool. We sat at a table and read and watched people then snagged some loungers and continued to read and picked out our favorite wedding dresses. I decided to go down to the room and K wanted to stay upstairs for our departure. I read my magazine and showered in preparation for the evening's events. K came down and got ready too and off we went to see David and my favorite ring. He let me try it on again and we admired it up close and from afar then went and found the parents in one of the theaters for the comedy act of Bubbles. Or was it Noodles? It was fairly PG but a couple parts had me dying with K sitting next to her Dad. He bought us all a drink and I got the virgin special of the night. Heh. It was a pretty good show and K and I both noted that there was no way Noodles was wearing underwear because it was ALL OVER THE PLACE. We giggled incessantly. After the show we took off and looked at the jewelry again and David let me put the ring on again. We also perused the pashminas and the watches and cheaper rings. We did some running around and eventually found our way down to dinner and were the first ones there. I had a delicious spinach turnover that was probably the best thing I'd had yet, then a caprese salad and for my main I did rice, grilled chicken and steamed veggies. Tonight K tried one of Karl’s snails, again for bragging rights. Then a story about a suckling pic and squid prepared in it’s own ink and a couple funny comments by me. For dessert I think K and I shared like three desserts and Hildegard ordered more ice cream for me. We finished around 10:30 again and asked the adults if they'd go up with us and see if they could find the ring so we all trekked up and sure enough they found it without any problems after our description. They had me model it and all agreed that I should get it. I told David I needed to think about it more. We left and went to check out K's watch and I found more dolphin jewelry for K. She bought the watch and a fun pink ring then we went down to our room to get ready for the White Night Party. I changed and talked about swinging by to see if David was going to go but then K thought it was weird so we didn't and just went straight up to the NC. We started dancing right away because it was good music and Fith was going crazy to "Ladies Night" and singing all the words. Suddenly out of nowhere K's Mom is yelling and dancing with us and both of us screamed and started jumping up and down. It was fun. She danced out there for a while with us and Ed took pictures of us waving and dancing. We hung with them for a bit then I went back out to dance and this girl was all drunk and like "He-ayyyyyyy!" and grabbed my hand and started dancing with me and I just laughed. K joined me and her parents left and I told her what the girl did and she said it didn't surprise her and laughed. We sat out for a long time because the songs sucked but finally went back out when a good one came and danced to a few more and scoped out the Jim look-alike and eventually ditched out and went back to our room talking and laughing. We got ready for bed, read a bit then turned out the lights.
Friday 10/3, I got in to work early. I received two texts in the morning, one from Eric, the other from Eric. Hmm. The first said to take the morning off and go to his and he would tell me a little ole lie. I texted back that he was ridiculous and that we should meet up for lunch the next week. The other from my bf which was a sweet farewell text. I worked until noon and got everything done that needed to be and headed out for work errands then the DMV for tabs then called Kay-See and Mom and said I was on my way. At Mom's we hopped right in the car and off we went to K's. We picked her up and drove down to the water talking about the debate and K does a spot on impression of Palin and it surprised me she wasn't impressed by her and thought she dodged questions. Alright! At least she's honest. We talked about how K didn't read the email instructions from her Mom and it was a running joke for the rest of the trip. Mom dropped us in front of the terminal and we started our adventure of checking in. First we got rid of our luggage then outside and into another terminal to wait in line to go through the metal detectors and up to wait in line to check in. We were laughing and scoping out the cute guy situation and also the cookies that were nearby. We checked in and nabbed a cookie then it was up the gangway to wait in another line to have our picture taken for our sea pass. I got double chinned big time, but I wasn't the only one. We asked which floor the buffet was on and made our way up quickly and found Kay-See's parents instantly. We grabbed trays and made our way around and it was f-ing huge. I loaded up on some things and so did K and went back to the table where I met Judy and Karl who are K's parents' friends. We ate and ate then rounded up desserts and ate more. We marveled at the view of Seattle from our table in the window. It was amazing. We watched the traffic on the viaduct for a while. Eventually we decided to take a little tour and ended by the indoor pool and pizza bar and out onto the deck to take in the view on that end. We walked by the spa and down to our room, which was bigger than I expected, but our luggage hadn't arrived yet. I sat on the couch and read the little newsletter they print for you for each day of the cruise and K kind of listened. Soon our luggage showed up so we both unpacked a little and set out for exploring. Our favorite was the Navigator Club with 20 foot glass windows all the way around plus there were some cute guys in there. We had to do the life jacket and life boat drill that took a half hour and was totally useless because you couldn't hear anything, but produced some hilarious pictures of us. After that and a bit more running around we went back down to the indoor pool and waited to take off and celebrated with pizza! I talked for a long time with Karl about art and Ed made us laugh asking questions about the police boat escorting us out and it not moving, despite the wake behind it. We stayed there for a long time as we cruised out then decided to do more exploring. We went back to the room and talked for a long time about sex and relationships and licking the perineum and laughed hysterically until K's parents called and said they could hear us laughing through the wall. I swore and hoped they hadn't heard our convo. Eventually it was time to get ready for the late dinner and I did a fashion show and K helped me decide on my long shorts, purple shirt, snake skin heels and a little cardigan. We went up to see if the shops had opened yet and they hadn't so we looked in the windows at all the jewelry and other goods and did some more walking and when we returned they had opened. We looked at diamonds and rings and other jewelry and I asked K which she would pick for husband wedding rings and told her I would buy her the diamond dolphin pendent. We went next door to another little boutique and were ooh-ing and ahh-ing at all the beautiful jewelry when a cute little guy came in and asked how we were doing and all that. We made our way to the other side and hit the jackpot. He let us try on all these rings and we found one that was the most beautiful and I wanted it. I heard the price and thought it was reasonable but definitely more than I wanted to spend on a ring for myself. It fit perfectly though and I've never seen a ring like it. I tried it on multiple times. We told David (British, ooh!) we'd be back the next day to look at it again and headed down to dinner. Standing in line to get in we found our picture from the first day and were laughing because you could see the cookie in my mouth. We perused the menu again and met our waiters and Ed starting speaking Tagalog to get special perks and it totally worked. I ordered the quail and it was ok but the appetizer and salad were good and the desserts were good as well. During dinner we told them about the ring and the gold-y and rainbow-y-ness of it and the Dads laughed. I got a couple zingers in there and people were laughing so that was hilarious. K tried a bite of Karl’s frog legs, purely for bragging rights. After dinner I think we went back to the room to get ready to go to the Navigator Club where they were doing a latin thing and we mostly just watched and scoped out hot beard guy and the pussys at the end of the bar. This other guy hit on us unfortunately and asked if we were journalists and we told him no and tried to be polite and shook his hand when he left. We went back to the room at like midnight maybe and read before bed.
posted by Karrah at 8:35 PM
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