Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Maiden Voyage

After enjoying a movie with the wife tonight, I decided to start our own blog. Sort of a way to keep up with what is going on in the lives of Eric and Amber. The first one is the hardest, because how can I get you all up to speed on the last 877 days of our marriage? I suppose I’ll just start from the latest, and you can pick things up along the way. So here goes the maiden voyage…


Speaking of maiden voyages, we just got back from our first cruise. It was a Disney cruise that made berth in Cape Canaveral, FL. If you know anything about Amber’s mother, you will understand why it was a Disney cruise. Her dream is to be Mickey’s bodyguard… Whitney Houston’s Kevin Costner, if you will… and yes, I believe she will always love him.


The entire Evald family was present on this cruise, as it was a family vacation. Good times. Lots of food, lots of snorkeling, lots of water. We did a snorkeling excursion at a natural Stingray City, snorkeled on Castaway Cay (Disney’s own private island, formerly a pit-stop for drug runners), and saw plenty of ocean dwellers: rays, a turtle, Dory, starfish, lobster, and barracuda, to name a few. Please feel free to break into the first song that is already in your head at this time. Amber and I also went parasailing, which was great.


Funny story: Amber collected some shells from the beach and brought them home for her scrapbook or something. When she took them out of her suitcase, she laid them on our table and one started crawling. Turns out she brought home a tiny crab, which died shortly thereafter.


After 7 days of cruising, we set our feet back on American soil. That night, we hung out with some Floridian friends of ours, and their famous Chihuahuas (they were in Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and one of them licked my mouth). It was great seeing them again, since the last time we got to hang out was on our honeymoon, which was at Disney World (told you Amber’s mom was a fan). As we were all swapping stories, we came upon something that may or may not be an urban legend. It’s the story of a girl who has a pet snake that she lets roam free in her apartment and even sleep on her bed. As the story goes, the snake starts acting strange, not eating and stretching out next to her on the bed and the like. She calls the vet and the vet says she needs to have it put down immediately because the snake is fasting and sizing her up because it is planning to eat her. Ever heard this story? True story? Myth? Does anyone have the facts? Please let me know.


So there were a few moments I feel should get some face time in this maiden voyage of a blog. The first is an awkward encounter I had in the men’s room on the ship. I must preface this with the fact that there were only 4-5 US citizens on board as staff out of 1005. I walked into the bathroom to use the urinal, and a worker was standing by the sink. As a courteous Disney crew member would, he said hello and how are you as I stepped up to the plate. He then proceeded to ask me questions in the best English he could, which was at times difficult for me to decipher. I quickly realized he was asking me something about the teen club, to which I responded, “I’m 27.” He apologized, and told me I looked younger. Amber and I get that a lot… a girl asked her if she was 14 while we were on the boat. Anyway, the man began asking me where I was from, where I worked, what instruments I played, if I was any good at them, and so on. You may be thinking that he sounds like a kind gentleman, but need I remind you that this WHOLE TIME I am standing in front of the urinal trying to wiz? It gets a little uncomfortable when a few minutes pass and nary a drop has made it’s maiden voyage. This guy obviously doesn’t know American man law.


The second moment I want to share is something that you all have probably experienced at one point, and if not, you will. On both our flights to and from Orlando, there were screaming children in close proximity to our seats. The flight home was especially bad. The two young, out-of-control girls behind Amber and I must have thought the tray tables on the backs of our seats were complimentary drum sets, and the mother of the year next to them was equally loud and frustrating. Luckily, with about an hour left of flight, I finally heard the mother trying to explain that there were people in front of them and that they shouldn’t pound on the seats. It only took her two hours and forty minutes to realize it. The smell of cig smoke coming from her clothes was equally as frustrating. Someday, somebody will do a study and find out that cigarettes are actually bad for your health.


So that pretty much brings us to now. Our equilibriums are pretty much back to normal now, but the ship and the flights definitely threw them off. Glad to be back in the northwest, and glad to have thanksgiving in two days. I’m thankful for lots… especially for the person whose name gets mentioned most in this blog. Pictures will be coming soon from the cruise. Be patient, and keep your stick on the ice…

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

jug jiggy jug jiggy jug jiggy jug jiggy jah JAH!!! Barracuda!!!

I've heard the story of the pet snake. I think it is true, not an urban legend.

Cigarette smoke? Nobody has done a study on that yet.

Nick

Anonymous said...

Love the reference to American Man Law. Something all men should know. Thanks for the update.

Matt

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Is Amber 14? That's weird I thought she was younger. I await the next update with breathless anticipation. (That's a total lie. I plan on breathing a lot.) Was the crew mostly Slavic? On the cruise we went on everybody was from the eastern bloc. Did you eat random food at 330 in the morning? I love/hated that about the trip I went on. Loved it cause, heck ya I want a slice of pizza, some lobster tail, a bowl of ice cream, and a turkey bacon panini as a early am snack. But hated it because I was already fat and I got fatter. -Dan

Jenica said...

Most excellent blog post. Thank you for sharing a bit of your lives!! I've put you in my blog reader, so now you've got pressure to keep up the blog.

Hope things are well!

Andy said...

dude, put the link of my site on here and I'll add u to mine. We'll double our readership into the tens! see you soon unca Ewic and Awber.