I Vaguely Remember Having a Blog Before I Went on Vacation

After seven long days without phone, Internet, or meals containing fewer than three courses--I'M BA-ACK!

The cruise was great, although if I had to characterize it in just one or two words I would forgo such obvious adjectives as "fun," "relaxing," and "sunburn-arific" and instead go with "completely dissociative."  If you have never been on a cruise, then I don't think I can fully describe the extent to which you become detached from your life at home.  The ship is your world, the people you are cruising with are all you know, and your daily schedule of "lie outside, eat to the point of vomiting, take a nap, eat to the point of vomiting, watch a show, dance, sleep" requires little variation.  By the end of the cruise, even your dreams take place on the ship.  That may sound boring, but as long as you like the people you're with, it's lots of fun--just completely all-consuming.

I have slowly begun to readjust to normal life, but it is harder than you would think.  For one, I have not broken out into organized dance in over 24 hours, which is really throwing me for a loop right now.  To give you an idea of how integral organized dance is to life on a ship, let me just say that I heard the Macarena, the Cha-Cha Slide, the Electric Slide, and the Conga all while I was waiting in line just to board.  From there on out, I would say I was involved in a minimum of eight organized dance experiences per day, four of which were usually the Cupid Shuffle.  (If you have never seen anyone do the Cupid Shuffle before, you should stop by my house tonight, because I now do this dance in my sleep.) 

Below, a picture of us dancing to "Jai Ho" (from Slumdog Millionaire) one night of dinner:

Besides being unable to cope with my suddenly dance-poor existence, I am also suffering from a deep aversion to performing the basic tasks necessary to take care of myself.  I am already pretty lazy when it comes to tasks like grocery shopping, cleaning, and laundry, but right now it's ridiculous.  Did I really take care of these things myself before a week ago?  Really?  Because right now I can only seem to remember a time where I would come home from having my dinner served to me to find that my bed had been made and a towel folded to look like a monkey had been placed upon it.  Turns out this is not so much the case at home.  If I want a towel folded like a monkey, I'm the one that's got to do it.

So, to recap: cruises are fun, and life after you've returned is strange and confusing.

Comments

[m2marathon]

This sounds JUST LIKE my experience upon returning from an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica a few years ago. Prior to that I had no idea that floating around a pool on a giant yellow raft could become an all-consuming occupation. Now, I long for that raft served up with a side of 24-hour Bob Marley tunes. Sigh.

Welcome back.