Ya, Mon!

WOW - Jamaica was so much fun! Aside from being solicited for sex and drugs from the moment we stepped into the airport terminal after our flight (literally!), it was the best place ever for vacation. Let me take you through my days:



Thursday: Arrived in the luscious island of Jamaica. Checked into the Sandals Inn and thus began the endless pampering that would follow in the week ahead. By tomorrow, most everyone will know our names! We spent the day getting to know the people, the place, the drink selections...


Friday: Michelle & I went on the Chukka Ultimate Kayak & Canopy tour. We kayaked (and I was so not good at it that the tour guide was stuck to me like glue!) down to a landing where we stopped and climbed (hiked, felt like we were going to die before we got there) to the first of three zip-line platforms. Michelle very graciously allowed me to go first (yeah, thanks!) and off I went. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, maybe because I held onto the line too hard and therefore stopped myself short of the next platform. I had to pull myself to the platform and decided the next time that I would hold onto the line from my waist to the suspension cable to keep myself from breaking too hard. That worked out well because I made it to the next landing, but I spun around since I was not as skilled as our guides. The last line was easy - I was a pro by then! I only spun once or twice and made it to the platform no problem, mon. Then we walked back down to our kayaks and continued on our way. By the end of the tour I was given some more wiggle room to kayak and I ended up off course more than a few times because of it. If you go to Jamaica, this tour is DEFINITELY worth it. The guides made an great tour exceptional.

Saturday: We took an all-day trip to Negril. We learned a lot about the history of the island and saw some "famous homes." Of course, there was duty free shopping and "name that tune" games on the bus. Our tour guide rocked - I feel like I'm saying that a lot, but darn it, it's the truth! We went on a glass bottom boat tour, and I enjoyed the baileys on ice at the swim up bar emensely. Oh, then there were the hammocks were I partook in a nap (um, hello, did you read what I did yesterday?!?!). The best part of the day? Watching the sunset after an evening of cliff jumping. That's right - I jumped off a cliff in a very literal sense! Michelle & I were the only girls that jumped (earning the respect of all the men, of course) but hey, we have always been the kind set a new standard. You know what, I think she made me go first again here too! If I didn't know any better I would think she was trying to get rid of me. Oh well, it was an absolute blast and made me feel 16 again. I can use that kind of fun more often in my life.

Sunday: We did another trip today. It became pretty obvious pretty quickly that scheduling back-to-back trips was not our smartest move. Fortunately, this was a short tour. Not to disappoint, however, the day got off with a bang. The bus - it forgot us. So we made a mad dash onto our boat tour through the dock at Margaritaville. This would be the only time we stepped into the original Jimmy Buffett hot spot, but we got a picture of the lizard to prove it. After jumping onto the boat we headed out to sea. Well, not really, we just went a little ways out where we stopped for a submarine experience and saw lots of Sargeant Majors and some sea urchins. It was pretty neat, but not worth the money. Then there was the snorkeling. Yes, there was snorkeling. Now, ask me if we knew there would be snorkeling. That's right - the answer is no. Did that stop us from snorkeling? Right again - nope! It was lots of fun snorkeling for my first time in clothing. Hey, you've got to live a little!

Monday: Thank the scheduling gods, there were no tours scheduled today! YIPPEE!! We filled the day with pool volleyball and sand volleyball, games and drinking. What a wonderful day. I even got some hammock time that was just divine.

Tuesday: We snorkeled today as well, but this time we had swimsuits. Snorkeling is so much fun. Other than that, we had a great dinner and fun group dance lessons at Mo Bay. Then we went back home and danced some more. Wow, I could get used to this! Too bad this is our last night here.

Wednesday: Last day in Jamaica. Very sad. We swam, had a last drink, and said our goodbyes. Farewell Jamaica, you will be missed but not forgotten!

Jamaica

YAY! I'm so excited! In a few days I will be hopping on a plane and taking a much awaited trip to the Caribbean. Ah, the sun, the sand, the ocean - does life get any better than that? Yes, as a matter of fact it does, the drinks are included! Oh yeah baby, I will be drinking myself silly on this trip - and hopefully drinking enough water to keep myself hydrated! I'm pretty much packed, a miracle for me since I am a closet procrastinator, but my suitcases sit mostly full awaiting a few last minute items.

There are some weird things about this trip though. I am going to a couples resort with my best friend Michelle, her husband Pete, and their good friend Jason, whom I am getting to know better and is pretty cool. Since this is a couples only resort (the company we are going through also has family resorts, but I'll be darned if I'm going to be around other people's children when I am not taking mine - seriously!)I will be sharing a room with Jason. It's going to be pretty interesting to share a bed (because again, this is a COUPLES resort, so it's not like they have rooms with two double beds available!) with someone I am not romantically involved with, or a family member, or hell, a good friend of the same sex.

I wonder if I should order extra pillows and build a barrier between us like Debra Messing did in that movie where she hires a male escort to go with her to a wedding. Not so much to protect me from Jason, but to protect him from me! I mean normally I am pretty conservative, but tequila tends to... well, there are songs about tequila for a reason!

Did I mention I plan to drink like a fish?

Dying before you Die

There are days I wonder what I was thinking when I made the decision to leave my job in December of 2006 after almost 9 years. For 7 of those 9 years I loved my job emphatically. For 8 of those 9 years I was undecided if I still loved it or not. For the last year it was torture on my soul and my body and I had been feeling like I needed to get out.

It was hard, hard to leave behind a well paying job for someone without a college degree; hard to uproot my son and move in with extended family; hard to leave behind my self-sufficient lifestyle until I could get on my feet in a new place; hard to go back to school at the age of 30.

So I was watching an Oprah rerun today that focused on happiness. The psychologist on there made an observation that really hit home for me - it is possible to die before you die. In the context of the show, where they had just featured a woman who took a 90% cut in pay as she hit 30 because she was not happy at her job anymore (hello, can we say BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!) it made perfect sense to me. My soul was indeed dying at my job, and my body was following.

The last year at my job was the worst physically for me that I can remember. Constant back pain (a residual problem after my 2000 head-on collision), increased blood sugar levels, acid reflux, and a gall bladder that wasn't even working anymore, just to name a few. The gall bladder went in November, I resigned from my job in December. In June I visited my general practitioner and to my great joy, my blood sugar average was the best it had been in years. Yes, I was indeed dying before I died.

I still question some of my choices; some I think were made a bit hastily. I do not question my decision to resign, however. It's been a hard road, but my spirit and my body are in a better place now than they were last year at this time.

Right now I'm choosing to live, and at my core, live happily.