Damn, I just never really get around to doing this regularly anymore but I used to have a Live Journal and there was some good content but a lot of it was nothing noteworthy.
So Shaun and I went to Vieques for a vacation. It's a little island just east of Puerto Rico. I was supposed to go last year but agreed to cancel it in order to do chemo. I'm glad I was able to do it eventually. We had a limited time to use our plane fare. That was the deal with Blue Jet. They would issue a refund but it was only good for a year so use it or lose it. Most of the vacation had already been paid for by the time we went. We stayed in a cute B&B that was owned by a lesbian couple. The only downside to it was that it was at the top of a very steep hill. Walking to the ocean was no big deal but the walk back was a killer. We intended to rent a golf cart but when we got there we found that they would only accept major credit cards. No debit cards and no cash. That was all we had on us. We ended up having to call a taxi to take us to our hotel. It ended up not being that big of a deal really but after the horrible flight delays, it was part of a bad start to the vacation. The rest went well. Speaking of flight credits, we ended up each getting a $250 credit because the trip there was such a nightmare. We ended up getting there about 6 hours late. I wish we could have experienced our first room a little longer but we ended up getting there about 2am and had to leave by 8 or 9 in the morning. That was a bit harsh.
Vieques was slow moving and gorgeous. We met a really cool couple at the B&B and they took us to some of the beaches that were farther away. I also got to do some snorkeling for the first time, thanks to them. I have no idea why I was so scared to do that for so long. It was amazing!! I saw several tropical fish, my favorite being a puffer fish. Everyone asked me if I made it puff up and no, I did not. I know that it causes stress on them to do it and just didn't feel like freaking it out just to be amused. Shaun walked around on the beach for a long time looking for shells and sea glass. He found quite a bit of cool stuff, which we brought back.
We were having a hard time finding cool gifts that were made locally but I found a few. Most of the stuff we got was from a museum in the main city... I forget the name. Some woman's name. LOL... Shaun ended up falling in love with a big photo of a sea turtle that was imprinted on metal. I told him we should get it then so now it's on our wall. It's not a painting but it's something unique that can't just be bought at a local store.
My favorite part, I think, was the bioluminescent bay. OMG it was SO AMAZING!!! I thought I wouldn't be able to do it because of my silly shoulders. Most people kayak and I thought... there's no way I am going to be able to row long term without making it suck for me and everyone else. Luckily we found a tour that uses a pontoon. Almost all the people were old and it was expensive as hell but once I went on it, I felt like it was worth it. The little organisms glow blue when they are disturbed so when the fish would swim in a burst, you could see them glowing blue in the water. I'm pretty sure I saw a manta ray a few times. I wish camera phones were high enough quality to pick up that sort of thing but they weren't. It was magical though. They said they only glow about 10% of what they used to. I'm glad I was able to witness it before they all died off.
Mostly what we did on our vacation was drink cocktails and eat yummy food. We both gained about 10 pounds that week. Totally worth it!
I was kind of scared about going because I have some ghosts of Christmas past there but it was all good. Now I have some really positive memories associated with Puerto Rico and that was kind of the point of it.
On a completely different subject, one of my old time friends came to stay with us recently. I hadn't really gotten to hang out with her in a super long time so we stayed up late several nights just chatting and catching up. In a way it was great and in a way insightful, but not like a comfortable insightful kind of way. She brought up a few things I had said to her in the past. On the positive side, it showed me just how far I've come in my own self development and I thought I was damned lucky that she stuck by me. I mean the stuff I said wasn't meant to harm but it was pretty fucking harsh. I'm glad she allowed me to rephrase what I said so it didn't come off like a cold bitch. Good grief! I could go back in time and shake myself! Tact has been a hard lesson for me to learn. I think I even surprised her a bit with how much I have calmed down over the years but I'll take that as a compliment. She is in a very hard stage in life and one that I wrestle with. On the one hand, I could totally help her out and really want to. On the other hand, as she said, it's her path to walk and her lessons to learn. She's totally right, of course, and I know this but seeing suffering and doing nothing is very hard for me. All I can really do, and all I really have permission to do, is to love her unconditionally which is pretty big for her, based on her past experiences. I can do that, no problem. She's one of the few people on the earth I see as really being a GOOD person. Not necessarily what she may describe as good but I see her as a pure soul stuck in Hell. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to know how to navigate it. She only knows how to be true to her heart and for that I love her to the moon and back. It's so rare.
There is more big stuff coming up soon but I'd rather talk about it after it's happened so bye for now!
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