Archive for July, 2008

OK, so we just got back from a fun filled trip we call our honeymoon. We had a blast!! We went to Barbados for three fun filled nights at a All-Inclusive resort called Almond Casuarina Beach Resort. Then we jumped on a very small plane and went to an Island in the Grenadines called Palm Island. We stayed there for three nights then went back to Casuarina for one last night of fun. It was a lot of traveling but it was all worth it.

It all started the moment the wedding ended…

After a fake Grand Exit, Priscilla and I turned around and made our way back to the reception. We just didn’t want the fun to end. Our original plan was to leave the reception at 10pm and make our way directly to my parents rented condo in Atlantic Station to change clothes and grab our suitcases. Then, we were to get back into the limo and it was going to take us to the Atlanta Hilton Airport Hotel for one quick night of sleep before we flew the next morning to Barbados.

That all did end up happening, but only after a few more shots and a whole bunch more goodbyes we finally made our way to the Hilton. Our first stop, McDonald’s. Yep, we had barely eaten at the reception, so we figured we had dieted long enough. (or at least Priscilla did) The limo ride was long and treacherous, but we finally made it to the McDonald’s and we were on our way. The Hilton Hotel was very nice, yet we only stayed in it for about 3 hours. We woke up the next day at 6am and made our way to our 9am flight to Barbados. Our true adventure would soon begin.

No delays brought us to Barbados at 3:30pm. We were already exhausted, but right away things looked interesting. They drive on the other side of the road here? We had no idea. I guess Barbados was a English Colony at one point, thus the reversal in driving directions. It was also extremely hot and humid. It makes Atlanta seem like Norway in the fall. Anyway, we waited for our cab and got on the road. Only a 10 minute drive down the street and we were there. It was called Almond Casuarina Beach Resort. Our Travel Agent June had told us that Casuarina had recently been through extensive renovations, so we really had no idea what to expect. It was incredible. Lush greenery throughout the resort. Odd looking pigeons, doves and lizards were scattered throughout the vegetation. It was a Resort in a jungle.

Anyway, as we waited for our room we enjoyed some interesting Rum Punch Cocktails. The fifteen minute wait became an hour, but we finally got a room and we were on our way. ( the staff here was still new ) Our room was very cool. It was all white with a great view of the pool and the garden jungle. It had a great air conditioning unit, a giant King Sized bed and a 42 inch flat screen TV. We got our bearings and made our way to dinner.

As we made our way around the resort, we noticed that nothing was labeled. There were bars, and restaurants, different pools, and shops, but we had no idea which were which. We finally made our way to the Waves Restaurant for our 6:30pm dinner reservation. The food was good, but we noticed the service wasn’t that great. We had our choice of appetizer, entree and dessert. Everything was included, along with the drinks. Awesome! After a romantic walk on the beach, we made our way to our room and went to bed.

The next day we woke up and went to breakfast which consisted of a buffet of fake eggs, real eggs, hash browns and a lot of other things. All in all it was really good, though the service was never that great at Almond. We then went to the resorts orientation which lets you know about how everything works and the other things to do around the island. We signed up for a Catamaran Boat ride which included snorkeling with the turtles and a ship wreck. We also signed up for a night out in Barbados at Harbor Lights “The Islands most popular, tropical & trendy night spots!!” It was a beach front night club that included dinner, drinks and live entertainment. After orientation, we made our way to the beach to catch some rays.

The next night we had our Harbor night Extravaganza. It was fun. We got on a bus and went 15 minutes down the road to little spot right on the beach. There were a lot of young people and the vibe was popping. We ate steak and fish and saw dancing guys on stilts and fire blowers. We saw this chick limbo under a stick that was literally 6 inches from the floor and on fire. It was pretty cool. Then after the show was finished and trying to get drunk, we made our way back to Almond. We were tired.

The next day around 3pm we had our Catamaran Boat ride cruise thingy. This was awesome. We took another bus through downtown Barbados to the main harbor. We got on a Catamaran and were on our way. We snorkeled with the turtles and saw our sunken ship. We even got to pet the turtles and I saw a giant sting ray. It was cool.

On Wednesday, we checked out and made our way to the airport once again. We took a short flight on a 19 passenger plane that took us to another island called Union Island which is part of the Grenadine Islands. We then took a small boat to Palm Island. Palm island is a resort on a island all it’s own. It looked like paradise. They greeted us with blended cocktails the moment we got off the boat. We had lunch and went to our rooms. It was hot as shit, but very cool. On the way to our room, we noticed a full sized Iguana on our path. It quickly scurried up a tree. We learned they were everywhere on the island just chillin’ and living off the vegetation around the island. Very cool.

Our room was very quaint. It had a mosquito net hanging above the bed, a small air conditioning unit next to the bed, a stocked mini-fridge and NO TV. It was hot as shit in the room, but I figured we were safe with the air conditioning unit. The rooms were open air rooms, so there were no glass windows, only shutters. You left these open all day to try to get some air flow through the place, but it only barely worked. The air conditioning didn’t do a thing. The first night was rough for both me and Priscilla, but we made due.

The food on Palm Island was great. The service was awesome, and the scenery was incredible. It was just hot as balls. (did I mention that?) There were only 30 guest at the resort so we had plenty of privacy. We hung out on the beach most of the time. They had bikes that were free to ride, so we did that and took them to a small trail on the other side of the island called the The Iguana Nature Trail. We saw plenty of wild iguana and hermit crabs. The view from the top of the mountain was unmatched on the island. It was hot as balls.

The next day we chilled on the beach and took advantage of their off shore snorkeling. It was fun, you just swim around a dock and there are tons of fish just hanging out around this 100 yard reef. We saw plenty of fish and a funky eel too.

That night we slept better because we put bug spray on right before we went to bed and ditched the mosquito net. We also bought some Benadryl from the island store which didn’t hurt.

We made plenty of friends on Palm Island including a family from Beaufort, South Carolina. How strange is that? Beaufort is the small town where Priscilla’s parents live.

On Saturday we got back on our Island Jumping plane and headed back to Almond in Barbados for one last night. We got as much sun as we could before we had to come home on Sunday. I think we were both ready to come home. It had been a crazy three weeks. After its said and done, we had a great time. I had to take Monday off just to recharge. ( and write this )

So on the eve of the day my two good friends got engaged, and one week away from my own wedding, I had to ask myself something. What is marriage? I mean really? Is it at all necessary? Does it have to happen in your life to make you happy? Some people seem to jump at it the first chance they get. Some people seem to have no plans at all to even consider it. There are the people that can’t seem to keep a girlfriend/boyfriend, yet they claim they want a family. Then there are those people that want it so bad, but they have no idea how to get it. Is it really all that it’s cracked up to be?

In my office there are several different types of people. Some have kids. Some have wives. Some have both. Some have girlfriends and some have finances. They all seem to have their own unique perspective on marriage and whether it is something to avoid or something to jump at. Most of the time it’s the divorced ones that pretty much tell me to run away. The ones with wives seem very satisfied with their lives. And the ones with kids have no regrets at all, but they do seem to lean on the fact that they love their kids when things get rough at home.

It seems to me that marriage in general was created by the society we live in today. (Shit, the Mormons can have multiple wives and they get their own planet when they die.) Marriage is something we made for society to be in control. To create structure and community. Honestly, it seems to be working. Now, I have nothing against the whole concept, I’m just wondering what it is.

It seems like to me that most marriages have plenty of ups and downs throughout their long tenure. So is marriage a rope? Is it those big black cast iron chains tied tight around you? Does it completely cut you off from your old self, only to leave you chained to someone else for the rest of your life, never to be the same again? Is it tied so tight that when those chains get thrown too hard up and down they break? I think, to an extent, marriage does tie you together. But not in a bad way. The key is to leave the chains a little loose, so when you get some momentum on the big roller coaster of Ups and Downs, you don’t break apart. I think it does tie you to someone else for the rest of your existence, but in that, it creates a new being altogether. A new you. A new her. Together.

So I guess that’s what marriage is. Or at least that’s what it is to me. It’s a bond between me and Priscilla forever. It’s not ropes or chains. It’s a promise to always work it out. No matter what.

All this talk about life reminded me of one of my favorite quotes.

“Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suite on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life… ”

-Trainspotting

Yep, I know a ferret. Her name is Alice and she is named after the infamous woman from wonderland. She is a simple creature that has an unimaginable desire to get into everything. She is simple, but needs to know everything at all times. Unless, that is, she is sleeping. Then, she has no cares in the world.

The truth is, ferrets are great pets. They have an oder that some people may not like, but honestly I can care less. I have to admit though, I do have a wife that is so anal about keeping the house clean and smell free, I hardly notice. She sleeps in her three foot high cage most of the day and comes out to play about four hours a day.

Alice spends most of her time awake searching through our newly acquired wedding gifts and following us around. Most of the time we will find her curled up in a ball on Priscilla’s lap for a late night nap. She enjoys stealing anything shiny and playing with her best friend Winnie (our cat), plus enjoying the occasional visit from her fellow ferret college Levi.

So the wedding is only 12 days away and things are actually looking under control. We had a fun filled 4th of July weekend with our whole day off at work printing and organizing. Very relaxing. But we did save enough energy for Saturday when we did Shoot the Hooch which is a Rafting trip down the Chattahoochee River in the heart of Atlanta. It was a scene right out of “Deliverance.” It was a fun day of drinking, sunning, and floating. Mostly drinking. My Buddy Matt and I were the Captains and our new friend Vinnie was the first mate. Priscilla, Holly, Meghann and Serena made up the Starboard side and our little friend Alcohol took the Port.

The day started smoothly. Matt and I were rowing diligently only to find that we were the slowest ones one the river. We figured out we had brought more cans than we originally thought we had, so we were a little weighed down. Anyway, we did our best to avoid all and any large logs, trees, and rocks. The thing we did try to hit, though, was the large amount of giant piles of “Riverweed”. This stuff looked identical to seaweed, yet it wasn’t. It grew in huge bushes underwater all along the river. At times they were so big, they would jut out of the water to make small islands of nastiness. So of coarse, when the girls were in the water to pee, we would head straight for them. It was pretty hilarious.

After they got over it, the girls decided to wear the “Riverweed” as hats and necklaces. They looked incredible. They then decided to through it all over each other in a game of “Who can through the most nastiness over each other?” They are beautiful girls. Anyway, about half way through, Priscilla decided that her fun was over and went to sleep. When I asked if she was ok, she simply replied,”no, I want to go home.” She was fine.

Soon there after, Meghann, Holly and Serena met some boy toys on inter tubes to play with. They all jumped ship and grabbed hold of their new friends, as we took off down the river. Meghann wasn’t satisfied with her man, so she decided to comeback to the boat and take a nap with Priscilla.

Continuing down the river, we came across a very tall rock with a hand full of more young guys jumping off the rock respectively. Meghann wook up quickly and decided that she was going to jump. Matt, Vinnie and I thought it wasn’t such a great idea considering that Meghann had recently been passed out drunk on our boat. She was pretty persistent. I guess when Meghann wants her way, she gets it. She leaped out of the boat. We preyed.

I got to give her props though. She did it. Not even any bleeding.

So after Meg got her fix, we were on our way. Priscilla soon woke up and was feeling much better. Still no signs of our friends Holly and Serena. At this point, we gave up on them and figured they could take care of themselves.

Originally thought to be a 4 hour tour, this trip turned into a 6 hour adventure. We finally made it back home and a hour later guess who shows up? They had gotten a much needed ride from their new friends. It was a long day but we all made it safe and sound.