Life's Drama

Yes, life has been one drama after another since I returned from my European trip. First there was the dermatologist appointment where I had 14 precancer places frozen or cut off my face. I was a mass of bandaids. Then there was the info that the tooth I broke off in Bruges would need a $1500 crown and then...the information that I was being laid off due to lack of funding. That was the most traumatic of all! I love my job and the people I work with and the school and the kids. What a loss that was and I tried to hold on to the belief that better was to come. But as I face my hardest birthay yet, I was unsure what would be in store for me. And then I wrecked my car, an accident with a big cement pole in a parking garage that left my car front hanging off, light and all. The body shop bolted things together until I could get it in to be fixed. The verdict I came to was to get out of town. Travel is my solace and my escape from reality and it was just about time for that escape the universe was telling me.

I decided on Tuesday I needed a trip and started looking at cruises. Found out that since I am a travel agent there are some great deals out there so the first plan was to fly to London and cruise to Iceland. Then a friend said, "Really, with the erupting volcano?" Duh Mitzi, I thought! No need for more drama in my life so even though it would have been a fabulous trip and I know people who were also taking it, I decided that the stress, or worry about the potential stress would be too much at this point in life. So what about heading the opposite direction? That would be Alaska and it sounded like just the thing for me...drifting amongst the beauty of the Alaskan mountains. So on Wednesday I quickly booked a cruise that left on Sunday, or so I thought...I booked myself on the wrong ship, on the wrong day. I wondered why everyone on the blog was writing about the Saturday departure and woke up at 2AM on Thursday morning and thought maybe all those people weren't wrong and I was...and yes, I was on the wrong ship! So United airlines was great about changing my flight so I would be leaving early Saturday morning in time to be on the ship as it sailed away. I informed work that I would be finishing up on Friday rather than on Tuesday and frantically prepared for the trip.

Friday was my final day of my wonderful job but when I woke up that morning I had a feeling of peace, was it the upcoming cruise or something else? I realized that I would have my job, I just belong at this school and I couldn't imagine how or when but knew it was right. At lunch the principal saw me and asked me to walk with her and she nonchalantly said they had figured out how to put a salary together to keep me but I would be working part of the time in Northglenn for the new school and part of the time creating our integrated units for the corporation, a perfect job for me! Similar to what I've been doing, but no simple stuff, time to use my brain to create! I was shocked and wanted to cry at the good news! It is a long drive now but I will be with a lot of the nicest people and will still be spending time at the Aurora school so I will get to see my friends there too. Perfect!!

So now my mental health survival cruise had just turned into a celebration cruise, 24 hours after I booked it and less than 24 hours until I embarked on my journey! Yes, life does hold some wonderful surprises and when I get back I will begin work again!

This trip is so nice, sailing away on Princess is such a comfortable experience for me. There seems to be a lot of first time cruisers on this trip and I've chatted with some very nice people. Lots of stories to share but time is expensive and limited on this computer so some will have to wait.

My favorite is the conversation I had with the young man in the Princess Captain's Club office. They had me down as a new passenger, probably because of the last minute booking I made as a travel agent so I was meeting with him to clear things up. He is from Romania and no one was there so I asked him about Count Dracula and Transylvania and that was the start to the most interesting conversation. He is from Translyvania so knows all the legends about werewolfs and blood sucking vampires there. I love hearing these stories firsthand, a thrill of travel for me! So there was this real man who was Count Vladidraca, well something like that, and he didn't live in Transylvania, but in one of the other 3 kingdoms. He was bloodthirsty and said to have drank the blood of his enemies...a legend? Hearing the history and the stories he'd been told and knowing that garlic would repel all the evil from one who lived it was fascinating to me. Draka means devil in Romanian so Bram Stoker took the facts and legends and blended them and set it in Transylvania. He told me that the version done by Frank Ford Coppala was the most authentic story of it he has seen. Yep, guess that is on my list of movies to see now! I then of course had to ask him about the incredible stew I had at the Budapest Christmas market and then was told all kinds of stories about the stews he and his mother make, many with onions and paprika but with different flavors. It was a wonderful conversation and as people started waiting in line I left, but with the intent to go back and visit. He said he loved talking to me and sharing things about life in Transylvania, and what fun for me.

Yes the world is filled with interesting people and I intend to meet as many as possible, and all the while I will treasure this time to float and think and decompress from the last few months of pressure! Bram's fine, Meli is fine and now so is mom!

Sailing, sailing.....