Far

It's been difficult to get back into the real-world mode after taking a week-long vacation, but--after resolving an IP address conflict and thus enabling Internet access once again--I have more or less caught up on Facebook, emails, and blog posts. I'm not really sure where to begin, except I guess at the beginning.

Last week I was madly reading Gaiman's American Gods which I finished minutes before we left for the airport. I enjoyed the novel though I think that Gaiman's genius--to call it that--lies more in storytelling than perhaps in writing itself which I think makes him more suited to comics and short stories than epic novels. Nevertheless, there are genuinely wonderful passages from the book. I did want to share this chapter epigraph which is by Agnes Repplier from Times and Tendencies and which has been stuck in my mind for the last week or so: "America has invested her religion as well as her morality in sound income-paying securities. She has adopted the unassailable position of a nation blessed because it deserves to be blessed; and her sons, whatever other theologies they may affect or disregard, subscribe unreservedly to this national creed." And that struck me as being very true.

On the cruise I continued the reading frenzy I have lately been on, and both started and finished Bret Easton Ellis's Less Than Zero and Alexandra Fuller's Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, which we are discussing for book club. As I began Fuller's memoir I had some misgivings despite her delightful appearance in Minneapolis. Once she began a more or less chronological account of her life (more than a few chapters in), it was interesting and her mother is a startling character but it's not exactly Out of Africa. I'm still trying to figure out what to talk about. Less Than Zero was a small, spare novel that was thoroughly disturbing and vintage Easton Ellis. I still have not finished Revolutionary Road but I'm making progress, and I now need to decide which book from my summer reading list to tackle next.

To prepare for the cruise I downloaded Regina Spektor's album Soviet Kitsch--I needed more/new music for vacation--which I actually enjoy more than Begin to Hope though "Samson" is one of my favorite songs ever. Favorites from Kitsch include "Us" and "Somedays." I am now listening to her latest release Far on NPR in its entirety. I enjoy it so far and will probably purchase it sometime soon. Oh, and on an entirely unrelated side-note Battlestar Galactica Season 4.5 is released on July 28th--happy fraking birthday to me!

So, the cruise, (and pictures will be uploaded on Facebook sometime), we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale close to midnight local time and it was quite warm and very humid--which was to be a recurring weather situation throughout--which requires the constant reapplication of deodorant. Also, our ship sailed out of Miami but it was cheaper to fly to Ft. Lauderdale which in case you didn't know is less than twenty minutes away from Miami. In fact it's a bit difficult to tell which skyline belongs to which city (well, that might be a touch dramatic). Anyway, Miami is huge and beautiful just like in Dexter (aside from serial killers and gore). Our ship was the Carnival Valor and much to my surprise I enjoyed this Carnival ship much more than the Royal Caribbean (our staterooms were bigger) we had been on last, though to be fair the Valor is a much newer ship. The only disappointing item was that the food wasn't quite as good. I mean it was still very good, but there was no life-changing chicken stuffed with peppers and prosciutto or a delightful baked onion and gruyere appetizer.

Cruises are fun but I've realized that the kind of vacation I enjoy involves checking into a local boutique hotel (with a fantastic bathroom) in the middle of a vibrant city center full of great restaurants, cocktail lounges, cafes, museums, theatres, and local shops. And if I am to be at sea, I think I would prefer a private yacht with a fully stocked bar complete with a chef or caterer. But that's just me. Nevertheless, the cruise was quite fun and it's all-inclusive, aside from shore excursions and beverages, so that's rather nice. On a related note, cruises are more fun if you drink, but also much more expensive. I've also learned that cruises are not for single people unless they are flirty and adventurous (which I am not) or accompanied by a gaggle of their single friends (which I was not). Other cruising notes--bring along a wristwatch; ports-of-call can be soul-crushing in their touristy tackiness; sleeping on a cruise ship is better than sleeping anywhere else since the interior cabins are pitch-black and the subtle rocking of the ocean acts like a cradle--it does make waking up rather difficult though.

Our first port-of-call was Grand Cayman where we travelled to "Stingray City" which is a sandbar full of these intriguing creatures and everyone gets to kiss and feed the stingrays. We also did some snorkeling and no matter how careful one is, one will inevitably get a mouthful of salt water which is not pleasant. Afterward, we ended up eating at the Hard Rock Cafe there--how typically tourist. Next, we visited Roatan which is the largest island off of Honduras's coast. Here we took a two-mile zip line through the jungle which was actually fun. The next day we visited Belize which was probably the most destitute of all the places we visited. We visited some Mayan ruins which was somewhat interesting, and then we were supposed to go cave tubing. However, it had been raining hard for the last several days (in Belize and not on us, thankfully) and so the river was dangerously high and the caves had been closed. So instead we drove all over Belize and ended up at the zoo were we saw indigenous animals such as leopards and eagles and monkeys and got bitten by angry ants.

Our final port was also my favorite--Key West in the good ol' US of A. Key West, besides being bloody hot and humid, is the southernmost point in the United States, and is a party island that marries the Caribbean with New Orleans, especially in regards to is colonial architecture. There are bars everywhere on this rather small island; it also features its own gay and lesbian visitor center, which sadly I did not visit. We found the Harry S. Truman White House, Mile Marker 0 of US Highway 1, the Southernmost Point of the island (90 Miles to Cuba!), and ate conch fritters. We also saw the aquarium where I petted a nurse shark. And then I personally visited Papa's (Hemingway) House. This is where he lived with Pauline and wrote a vast amount of his work including A Farewell to Arms, To Have and Have Not, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," and "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber." The house is gorgeous as are the grounds which include a swimming pool and are home to the forty to fifty cats which are all descendants of the cats Hemingway bred. I then walked up Duval Street stopping for a Papa Double (a relative of the daiquiri) which was more sour than I would have liked. But I also stopped at the Blond Giraffe to get a slice of Key Lime Pie--on a stick! It was frozen and dipped in chocolate which made it a chocolate-covered, KeyLime popsicle and it was delicious! I'm now obsessed with Key Lime pie. And then we sailed back to Miami and disembarked and made our way back to Ft. Lauderdale to discover our flight to JFK had been delayed by seven hours, so instead we changed our flight and stopped over in Atlanta instead.

If I go on a cruise again, I think I would prefer sailing to the Eastern Caribbean--to the Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. John's, Barbados, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago--you get the picture.

So now I'm back to regular life wondering where exactly June went--I was only gone for one week! But I'm glad that it's finally sunny and warm here in Utah. I saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button again and continue to assert that it is a gorgeous and heartbreaking movie. And as much as I love Cate Blanchett, my favorite part is his affair with Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton) in Russia which is deliciously romantic. By the way, Tilda Swinton is also the best two minutes of Prince Caspian aside from Regina Spektor's song "The Call," of course. But now I must find housing in Seattle (Kristen, I need you!), and I got a registration packet in my inbox which I need to take a look at. But I've been suffering with a bout of ennui lately and don't want to deal with that now. In fact, I'm wondering if I can hire someone to earn my MA for me. Once I'm there, it'll be good I know, but it's the getting there that's hard. Oh well, c'est la vie.

And finally, sasquatches son de verdad y son muy extranos!


P.S. If you haven't seen the premiere of Nurse Jackie you need to see it. It's wonderful and hilarious. I believe you can download it on iTunes or see it at sho.com. Also, I just wanted to mention that To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf is the greatest summer book ever penned--in case you're looking for a suggestion.