2010 - Day Thirty Seven...

Today, the tiara found its’ way to Jana, a wonderful colleague who has been a volunteer at the Board of REALTORS® for several years. She and her family are all on the cruise, and I have really enjoyed being able to sit with them every now and then. Jana arrived for the morning class, and I know I had my subject. I am hoping that Jana will volunteer for the Grievance Committee when we get back to business next week, we can always use good, interested and engaged colleagues to sit on that very important committee. Thanks for wearing the tiara today, Jana!

Okay, I am ready to be home. This day at sea is really just kind of anti-climactic. I attended Mark’s last course this morning, a GREAT class covering FHA guidelines, and all the programs that are available through FHA. He is a WONDERFUL INSTRUCTOR, and I am glad I finally had the opportunity to take his classes. I am a little bit on Education Overload right now, five classes in three days, with some cruising and sight-seeing thrown in the middle. BUT, if they do another MCE cruise, I will most likely sign up for it again. It really is fun, and I am enjoying the chance to get to know many of my colleagues better.

This is a photo of the monkey I referenced in the post last night. He is still hanging there in the corner, keeping a watch over me. Earlier in the day, the captain came on and said we could expect eight-foot seas later in the day, but so far, it has not been an uncomfortable ride. It is a little bit choppier than the previous five or six days, but nothing worth hurling over; no reason to lose your lunch or anything like that.

At lunch today, we went down to the optional seating restaurant and had a nice (kind of) lunch. It was a better setting than the cafeteria style offerings on the Lido Deck (where I am stationed), but the food was really not that great. Shara had a broiled fish, and it was BAD…she thinks it had sat out somewhere. Needless to say, she sent it back. We all had a nice bowl of minestrone, and that was really good. My tuna fish sandwich was described on the menu by someone who obviously had a background in real estate. It sounded a LOT better than it really was!

I have already started packing up my stuff. I got all my class room type things packed in one suitcase, and got all the rum cakes in there as well. Later on I will pack the other stuff, hopefully not including anything that I will desperately need in the morning. I expect I will set the bags out in the hall at about 10 o’clock tonight, and try to get a good night’s sleep. I just got off the phone a few minutes ago with Jody, and I am really ready to be home. I told him I would call him back once I got on the highway heading away from Galveston. I hope to be home sometime between 1 and 3 o’clock tomorrow. I am also looking forward to finishing my book on CD. I only have about a CD-and-a half to go, so I am looking forward to seeing how it ends.

Just as I was going down to dinner tonight, a Harry Potter movie was coming on the television set. Not much of a challenge; dinner it was. Again, I am very thankful for the dinner companions I was grouped with. A wonderful bunch of folks, and I had a really good time with them all week long. This is a photo of the ‘ladies of the table’ and I look forward to working with them in the near future. Dinner tonight was not comparable to the dinner we had last night at the steak house on ship. I may never be able to order a prime rib dinner again; I do not know if there will ever be another prime rib dinner that could compare. I am ready to go home now, but I will miss the folks that I have spent the last week with. I am ready to go again.

I am pretty much packed and will put my bags outside the door in just a few minutes. I hope I have not packed anything I will need in the morning, but if I have, well, too bad. I look forward to being on shore again, but I am not looking forward to the chaos that will be the debarkation tomorrow morning. I expect I will survive it with no REAL issues, and I hope I will have the patience I need to be calm.

Deeds, Changes, Kindnesses, Actions, Whirled Peas, FUN!