PRE POST: CURRENT Source photo courtesy of Y. Alston, 2017 *As of this post, Aruba is officially over, and in the past. My timing was spot on, because as of next week, I will be out for the count. I do not anticipate that I will post during this time. Recovery time for my surgery is around 6 weeks, and my only true goal will be to focus on that only. After surgery, I have major plans, and getting back to 100% is paramount. This recovery time will not be only physical. It will

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016 During this entire trip, this is the only morning, besides the day I return home, that I had to be serious about obeying the alarm clock. This is also the only morning thus far that there was not a bagel somewhere in my hand with a coffee. Because of the time, and the fact that I would be fed on the ship, trying to run out for a breakfast sandwich seemed like a waste. When I purchased the ticket for the cruise, I was told that I was to go to Pelica

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016 Song "Lost and Found," courtesy of Shafiq Husayn, feat. Bilal and Jimetta Rose, 2009 Most days, when I wake up,Monday through Friday, it is with a scowl. Scowl at the alarm clock for disrupting that final hour of the best sleep ever, scowl for reminding me that I have to get somewhere by a certain time, and lately a scowl for rebooting all the thoughts that I had finally managed to quiet. While I have been on my “life sabbatical,” when the alarm c

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2016 It was already Tuesday, and I was nervously recounting the days remaining for this trip. I didn’t feel like I had been there long, but I also felt that I had all the time in the world, and I knew that couldn’t be right. TUESDAY- WEDNESDAY- THURSDAY- leaving FRIDAY. Ok. 3 full days. I snoozed a few times, and then realized I was fooling myself. Eventually I got out of bed, looking forward to another day of blue skies, and even bluer, azure waters. An

MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2016 Although I loosely set my alarm clock, I woke up feeling pretty refreshed. I do not know how it is possible for a bed to feel that much more comfortable than your own, pillows and sheets included. If my bed felt like this, I could conquer the world every morning. Well, except for Mondays. Whenever I experience this supreme comfort at hotels, I tend to try to find a way to recreate it at home but I come up short. I would go to a store and take each pl