happy new year everyone.

my 2 week vacation is complete and man oh man, it felt like the longest trip ever. the cruise was fun... we got an upgrade to a suite and got really spoiled. i learned some indonesian ("tree-ma-ka-si" means thank you) as well as acquired a new fondness for craps and video poker (the only two games i didn't lose money on). and then the disneyworld portion was cool too, i guess. i'm sure it would've been a lot cooler if i was a little kid. and if it weren't so damn crowded. and if it also weren't a total overdose on the family fun time.

anyway, i'm back and if anyone is interested, here is a run down on where i went and what i did:
- dec 20: landed in tampa. met my cousins, aunt and uncle, boarded cruise ship and explored our VIP accomodations.
- dec 21: key west, florida. it was cold. walked around the town, bought some stuff and visited ernest hemingway's house to get some culture in.
- dec 22: at sea. my dad and my cousin geoff bonded over sports. i fell asleep on the deck, catching some sun.
- dec 23: belize city, belize. visited the mayan ruin of tunantunich (pronounced chu-nan-chu-nitch). climbed lots of stairs, saw cool view.
- dec 24: santo tomas de castilla, guatemala. went on an eco-adventure hike over these super high and super long suspension bridges like those ones you see in movies. learned about nature, ate some trees (literally), learned about plants you could eat, drink, smoke and all kinds of crazy things. kayaked. got really dark. practiced my espanol. (guatamala was my favorite stop. gotta visit there again.)
- dec 25: costa maya, mexico. went on a jeep safari. learned my dad can still drive stick shift like the jeepney driver he once was. laid out on a really nice beach. got more dark. practiced more espanol. oh and it was christmas. weird.
- dec 26: at sea. the boat was rocking a lot. it was cold again. we stayed inside and played scrabble.. twice. woohoo.
- dec 27: back on land. said goodbye to my relatives and drove with my parents to our ghetto hotel in orlando. checked out downtown disney for dinner.
- dec 28: animal kingdom and epcot. walked for 12 hours. saw animals -- both real and fake. saw some fireworks at epcot. rode some rides.
- dec 29: epcot and mgm studios. walked again for 12 hours. rode more rides.
- dec 30: disney quest at downtown disney. got dizzy riding some virtual rides.
- dec 31: mgm studios and magic kingdom. overwhelmed with the massive amounts of humanity flocking the theme parks. smuggled ourselves into magic kingdom when it was closed because they were "full to capacity". walked some more. rode whatever rides we could stand waiting in line for. saw an amazing fireworks show at midnight. fought through crowds on our way back to the car.
- jan 1: back to tampa. learned to hate the florida road system -- every exit off the freeway is another freeway. ridiculous. spent forever at the airport. was SO relieved to be home at last.

and that was that. my vacation. overall, it was exhausting... especially since i was sick the entire time (still am sick, too). we kept waking up at the crack of dawn, walking miles upon miles, and then staying up late. i think i need a vacation from my vacation.