Beached Whale Warnings

If you get any sightings of a beached whale somewhere along the lines of Mexico, check to be sure it's not me.

I'm embarking on my first cruise ever tomorrow. I don't know why exactly I haven't been a cruise before. I seem to remember that my grandmother (my paternal one) took my cousin on several cruises and had discussed taking me when I got older--but when I got older, her cancer reoccurred, and then I got married and she died, so it never happened.

Anyway, Hubby has been attending a church for just over 18 months now. Initially I went with him (the first 2 Sundays), but then I've been on weekend shifts at work, and it's never worked out. So when the ladies of the church decided to take the cruise, Hubby decided with two of my friends that are members of the church, it was time for me to get involved and go meet some of the other ladies. I signed up, and over time, I am sad to say, my other friends that were initially going are no longer able to go. So I thought I was going to take this cruise bravely and put on my we're-all-family-of-God brave face and tackle the world with a bunch of strangers.

Fortunately, I was reviewing some of the e-mails that have come out, and have discovered that my friend K that I've known since high school is also going. So I sent her a message via her blog and we finally connected, and I'm probably going to be holding her hand the whole trip :) YAY!

The cruise leaves Texas and over the course of a bunch of days (see, I really have no clue what's going on!) we dock in two ports in Mexico--one of which is Cozumel and the other starts with a Y or something like that. I am at work now, but in just under 7 hours I'll be meeting a large portion of the group--meeting for the very first time as I don't know anybody but the pastor's wife who is graciously arranging everything--and we'll get in the church bus and a few cars and drive to...somewhere in Texas. I don't even know if we're going all the way to Galveston or not.

I'm totally panicked over what to pack (because you know that hasn't been done yet and I have 1.5 hours between work and meeting the others). I don't know what one wears on a cruise ship. I'm freaked that none of my clothes will fit. I'm pretty certain the swimsuits won't fit and I can't stop remembering Dan Rather's comments during a Presidential election and the whole Gore/Bush scandal and something about a long ride with a too small swimsuit (no, I don't know how that fits into anything in regards to the cruise but I didn't get it back then either). I'm petrified that I'm going to make a horrible impression on these women because I'm pretty sure I'll sleep and snore most of the way since I'm totally a night owl now and I don't want them to think I'm rude (the only time I've even seen some of their faces was at a quickie meeting and the pastor's wife introduced me saying that the women would know Hubby as he's always at church with other women--those women being said friends above--and there was a horrified look on one woman's face at the meeting). I'm afraid that I'll sleep all day and miss the ports and all the fun and bother my roommate (although we're trying to switch rooms so I can hang onto K with all my strength).

And my partner at work keeps telling me how brave I am to travel, and especially how she admires me going with a bunch of people I don't know because she could never do it. Little does she know I'm like a child going away for her first sleepover!

I'm pretty good about meeting new people when it's a situation I'm comfortable in, like when I go to trainings for work or when I'm doing something for the sorority or even when I was at a church that I'd been attending for several years. It's totally irrational that I'm this freaked out given that they are my sisters in Christ and that I'm very confident in who I am (it's only taken almost 29 years of life on this Earth to get there!). I'm sure it'll all be fine.

Of course, there are also things like people going missing on cruises that have been on Dateline recently that I should be worried about. So seriously, if you hear of a beached whale, make sure it's not me after I fell overboard!