ricoleeee

Started: March 23 approx. noon
Ended: March 28 approx. 6:30 (Central DST)

The name of the cruise liner is Ecstasy. No illegal substances were consumed during the course of the week. By me, at least.

Monday, March 17
So Monday, around 34 people met at the Ivy School around 5:45 in the morning - mostly asleep. I had actually slept during the day on Sunday, and got up around 8:00 at night and just stayed up, so napping on the bus was pertinent. Needless to say, the six hour drive to Galveston was pretty quiet.

We got there around noon, and set up for the waitings. Waiting in line to board the ship was pretty stupid, too, but at least we only had to worry about our carry ons and not our luggage. Before we even got onto the ship the photographers were trying to make money right away - there was this big tropical-looking setup and a super Filipino guy would tell everyone to “stanonthelizzad!” (agh, you just need to hear how Raymond says it).

Entering this ship was just going into the Grand Atrium - it was pretty quiet at first, since it was relatively empty. The cleaning crew was still fixing up from the last batch of cruisers, but we found our cabin just fine. Of course, this greatly delayed luggage loading. Still, it was still pretty early (there was a lunch buffet on the ship) and the ship itself wasn’t scheduled to go until around 4:30.

So, Daniel, Frank and I explored the ship, even though most everything was closed. We were walking up towards the gym, and for some reason we stopped just before we actually reached the floor. The gym guy or whatever beckoned to us, “You guys don’t have to stop, you can come!” So we finished the walk and he said, “You’re allowed to come up here…except you, no muscles allowed. Ha, ha, just kidding.”

This gave birth to ceaseless taunting that equated Daniel to muscles. It also gave birth to Daniel’s man-fan club. More on this later.

The lifeboat drill was lame - I couldn’t hear or see anything. It wasn’t long after that that our luggage had arrived, so I quickly changed and went to dinner. By that time, the boat started moving - but it looked pretty gray and disgusting out the window, because that’s just how Texas waters roll. My assigned table was with may cabin (Ms. DuBois and Kaitlyn) and Mrs. Booth and co. There was pleasant small talk and chit chat - the dinner itself was great.

After dinner I just wandered around the boat by myself, taking a couple pictures…

The atrium on the first night, while the lights still astounded me.

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It has just occurred to me that I haven’t posted anything relatively uplifting in a while. So here.

There is this cake that currently sits in our kitchen. It tastes really good.

I forgot to mention how fun the New Year’s party was. It wasn’t. But I didn’t realize until then how much I had missed Julie and Paolo. It was nice to see them.

Not to mimic Marcel Proust, but it seems an appropriate title.

Where to begin? 2007 was just like any year. What with the twelve months and the school and the vacations. I can’t say right now if I’ve really changed, but I would like to think that over the course of the past two years, I’ve grown up. Matured. There is no indication of this, but it’s a thought. I used to think I was more mature than many of my peers, but I see now that I still have a lot to learn about life. I guess I understand now, why my parents and my doctors told me that I was trying to grow up too fast. And as a result, my emotional maturity is significantly low.

I’ve always felt like I’ve had to prove my intelligence to others, but lately I’ve encountered people who do the same. And goddamn they’re pretentious. I hate to think of myself like that.

It’s such a shame, too, that I’ve become less sociable. Sometimes, I don’t think others can see it, but I do. Throughout the year I’ve lost so much respect for people I once held in high regard; it’s rather disappointing. As if I’m not indecisive enough, I really doubt my judgment now. Trust, as well. I thought I was careful with it before, but apparently not careful enough.

In the past new years, I never understood the hype of a new year. Nothing changes. The demons, the dilemmas, and the ghosts of 2007, and even 2006 and beyond that are going to follow us. We’re just lying to ourselves when we think that a fresh calendar and the traditional New Years resolutions give us any sort of rebirth. I still feel that way.

But I’m turning eighteen this year and to be perfectly honest, in spite of having wanting this to come, I’m scared shitless. Because there is an inherit knowledge that I’ll fuck up royally.

In any case, happy new year and I hope yours is infinitely better than mine.