kochleffel

I feel the same way, after having it in Le Bistro before the upcharge began.

My next NCL cruise will be my first at Latitudes Platinum. According to the website, the benefits include a wine tasting and a behind-the-scenes tour. Are these currently being offered? Is the capacity so limited that it's necessary to get the earliest possible check-in time and then run straight to the cruise next desk to book them?

I forgot to mention yesterday that the posts about the Dominican Republic and the photos caused me to think differently about visiting there. It appears in many cruise itineraries but I hadn't been much interested -- now, it would increase the likelihood that I'd book a cruise including it, especially if the same itinerary didn't included any of my "once is enough" ports. When I got home from D.C., the pile of mail included a very large, flat envelope with a return address of GODDARD SPACE CENTER. It took me a while to realize that it's from an online discussion group that NASA scientists to communicate with writers, artists, and teachers, and it was a prize from the December meeting, where instead of discussing science, we played word games. I didn't do well, but everyone who got at least one point received something. It's the 2023 NASA science calendar.

I would like spaghetti but won't be having any. Turkey meatballs are OK, shredded coconut is not, but coconut milk as an ingredient in curry is OK. An organization that I am obligated to support is having a trivia night this weekend, but I'm not going -- I'm very good at general trivia, not at all on music or film trivia. I'd probably like the St. Emilion. A while ago I worked with someone who was blind and took meeting notes in Braille. Her hiring coincided with a shift from typewriters and paper to computers, and she had hers fitted with a voice synthesizer. Attending a funeral at 11:30. Graveside only, but the forecast is for rain not to resume until later. It's the burial of a man who was on the board of my organization until he moved to Florida two years ago, at the age of 94. I knew that he was failing because he stopped emailing me (mostly bad) jokes.

Thanks. Time to plan, yes, but also six months of fending off demands to help find my replacement. On my birthday I gave some thought to want I want to do after retiring, but not about the time from now until then. I just know that that's not it.

With the exception of this thread, everyone on the Internet seems to be quarreling with everyone else today. Is it just because of diets, gym visits, and Dry January, or is something else going on?

Amen.

The worst I've experienced was between NYC and Halifax. The first morning out, every conversation I overheard included the word Dramamine. Every one. Later that day, there was a loud noise, more a crack than a crash, as the bow pitched down so sharply that water washed over deck 14. I'm not prone to motion sickness, but at times I was afraid of falling. More recently, on one of the Alaska state ferries, the purser announced that everyone should go immediately to wherever they wanted to be on the ship and stay there for the next hour, and take motion-sickness medication if they typically needed it. I was already comfortable in a lounge and stayed where I was seated.

I just signed the letter making my retirement official. It doesn't take effect until June 30; I had to do it now to prevent an automatic renewal of my contract.

I had this happen once on another cruise line, when sharing a large table, but it developed partly because some people ordered two starters and one person ordered two mains. A dining manager confirmed that their service protocol was not to serve anyone the next course until every dish from the previous course has been cleared away, and to serve double orders sequentially, not together. He also said that servers are supposed to ask if anyone wants to get to a show, and are allowed to expedite service for that. If ours did, they only asked one person and assumed that the response was for the whole table. I suggested that at tables for more than about four, the question be asked all the way around (or along).

I agree completely. Bacon anything isn't going to work for me unless it can be made with turkey bacon. Kosher turkey bacon is completely feasible, but does not exist here -- the kosher providers are afraid of the public reaction (i.e., boycotts) that would be assured if they were to make it. I'll skip the cocktail but the champagne would be welcome. I may have celebrated an early Festival of Sleep last week: my first night at the hotel in Arlington, I slept for more than 12 hours. So Humiliation Day is really Humility Day? Rabbinic literature praises Moses from the Book of Exodus for meekness, which is close to humility, and young students have a problem with it -- they don't consider meekness a virtue. Yesterday I set up a spreadsheet for the Spanish Farewell. Unfortunately, I set the security wrong and the first person who tried to add to it had to request permission. I don't know how well it will be utilized, because most of the roll call activity is in a thread for the combined Ancient Empires and Spanish Farewell itinerary, and people who have booked that way may not acknowledge that the Spanish Farewell is also bookable by itself. In that thread, people keep saying that they need a spreadsheet, but no one has actually created one. I almost invited one or two other solo passengers on the NCL Bermuda cruise to by my guest for my Platinum dinners, but then it occurred to me that the offer might be accepted by someone I would find obnoxious.

Good grief!

That seems likely. Or they search after the fact for places to leave negative comments. I've never gone on a cruise without learning about the ship and cruise line, but I'm the sort of person who prepares, or overprepares, for things.

Wow. On other cruise lines where I've had a beverage package, the room card had no indication; it just rang up as $0.00.

BTW, discussions of how light or heavy to pack often go astray with defensive posts arguing in favor of one or the other. It is not a matter of personal virtue to pack light, nor is it a virtue to pack heavy. It's only a matter of convenience and preferred style. Unless you are on a Rick Steves tour, whatever way you choose to pack is the right way for you. For a 14-day cruise this fall, I will probably take a 28-inch rolling duffel, which has to be checked for air travel, an international-size carry-on that can ride on the rolling bag, and a personal item with a shoulder strap. The itinerary doesn't involve any extremes of climate and I could manage with less, but I don't really want to.

Yes. I've traveled a lot with only carry-on luggage (although sometimes I checked a bag, especially if connecting through two other airports). If only one climate is involved, or the second climate is for a limited time and not too extreme, it's possible to travel for any length of time with clothing for only about four days, including what you're wearing. For two climates, it would be much harder, although I've done it for one day at high altitude in the Alps, or starting and ending a warm-climate trip in a cold one, with a packable down-alternative vest to wear under a windbreaker.

I was just reading about a Viking Ocean ship that has been unable to dock at Australian ports for six days so far because of "biofoul": a suspected toxic organism on the hull. Australia now allows having it scraped off by divers; in the past, the ship would have been permanently denied docking in Australian ports until it had been to drydock. I've been on one cruise that couldn't dock at Bermuda for two consecutive days (and Bermuda was the only port), and on others that missed ports, and there is always some restlessness among the passengers, but also some degree of understanding, especially when it's a safety issue. On the Bermuda Triangle cruise, almost everyone had the beverage package, which allowed for self-medication, sometimes too much. It must be much worse at six days, and on a premium line where passengers have paid more and have higher expectations. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/02/world/australia/biofoul-cruise-ship.html

A while ago I saw "reduced salt" Spam in the supermarket. This seemed to be entirely contrary to the concept of Spam. Shouldn't they have introduced extra-salt Spam? The four basic food groups, however, are sugar, fat, salt, and preservatives. I have the misfortune of being a gregarious introvert: I like being with and talking with people, but it wears me out and I need a longer time alone to recuperate. Sokol Blosser Evolution Pinot Noir was the wine on October 7. I think that I mentioned having worked with one of the owners ca. 1980. Acupuncture this afternoon, changed from Wednesday because of a funeral right before my original appointment.

I always pack crazy glue now, after having to search it out in a Mallorcan hill village to put the frames of my glasses back together. (If you ever need to do this, it's called Crazy Glue in Spain.) Since then I've used it aboard ship to seal a cut on my hand that bled through bandages.

Here's another interesting story from Buffalo, about a man who broke into a school and rescued about two dozen people who were stranded. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/12/31/buffalo-blizzard-jay-withey-rescue-school/

Before Christmas, several of my Christian clergy friends were discussing what their churches would do on Christmas morning; in general it seems that people would rather attend church on Christmas eve than on Christmas morning, even if the morning is Sunday. One pastor said that his church would have a breakfast with hymns, but no actual church service. Well, for today, another announced that his church would be completely closed. It's not one that teaches temperance, if that has any bearing.

Rabbit, rabbit. (When I say this to the Junior Cat, she looks around as if asking "Where? Where?") No hangover -- only two glasses of champagne last night and those were fairly early. The meal suggestion would be possible, but if making at home would require a vegan substitute for either the chicken or the cheese. I'm looking for a recipe combining squash (!), black-eyed peas, and greens, but the squash is the only one of the three that I actually have.

I remember his posts in several different forums. We seemed to agree on various topics. Happy 7th day of Christmas, 6th day of Kwanzaa, and 13th day of Hanukkah (there is no such thing). I self-tested before going to the synagogue this morning; it was really too soon, but I didn't want to miss a liturgy class after the morning service. Years ago I tried to persuade my doctor that I suffered from a champagne deficiency, but she insisted that there was no such disorder, and wouldn't prescribe it for me. She had graduated from the Harvard medical school so there was no point in arguing. I've put a bottle of Israeli champagne in the refrigerator (doesn't matter to me that it's from Israel, but it has been around for about five years). I'm not sure that I could afford Veuve Clicquot, or even find it here. I'd be pleased with basil-crusted veal but dinner will actually be salmon, with broccoli if it's still fresh enough to use (purchased before I went to Washington). I thought I might have to dash out to a store this evening to buy bread, an unpleasant thought because I don't like to drive anywhere after dark on NYE, but came home from the synagogue with half a dozen bagels that were left over.

I got home just after 5:00 p.m. yesterday. The Junior Cat had a lot to say and none of it sounded complimentary. Driving back was not as difficult but was, if anything, more annoying: gas stations that didn't sell gas (is their business lottery tickets, or meth?), restaurants that closed just as I arrived (no staff), the worst coffee I've ever tasted, including NCL's. However, it was 50° and I got my car washed in Harrisburg. On Monday it had gotten so coated in slush that, in the hotel garage, I couldn't recognize it; it appeared to be battleship grey instead of electric blue. My luggage did not get lost, which would be really alarming in a car trip. For my last two international trips, because it would be harder to buy replacement clothes abroad, I've carried an international-size carry-on bag (slightly smaller than the maximum allowed on domestic airlines) instead of just a so-called personal item. For the Spanish Farewell next year, I'll use it as one of two bags to check on the outbound flight, and then carry it for the return flight from FLL, where I'll be able to check only one. If you can get to Washington before March 26, "Called to Create: Black Artists of the American South" is well worth seeing at the National Gallery. https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2022/called-to-create.html

There's a reason for not using lima beans: they require a long growing season, so might not ripen in northern New England. Cranberry beans are ready to eat as fresh shell beans in 60 days, or for drying in 85, but traditionally are eaten as fresh shell beans.