Moon Palace Casino Day Six and Seven

Friday and Saturday whirled by in a flurry of rain, wind and ominous clouds. I also took two days off of the spa. Breakfast was the same old same old. Despite the rain, we caught a few rays while others were still sleeping. I was able to spend a longer time outside due to the cool weather and lack of sun. I still tanned due to the UV rays penetrating through the dark grey clouds.

Lunch was uninteresting as we scrounged for food at the pool grills. Drinks for both days were eh. We stuck to Caipirina. Dinner on Friday night was decent.

Spaggo

Italian food with its pasta never fails to cause my food allergies to go wild. I generally become ill and throw up. So I didn't order any pasta. (Oddly enough, CK at work always picks an Italian place when we go out. I think he's trying to send me to the hospital.) Spaggo has by far the BEST salad bar. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars. The dinner itself was not so good. I give it a 2 star. Chef Ramsey would have yelled at the chef for the lackluster Risotto. I ordered a veal stew. I received a huge leg joint.

Dinner Saturday night

We returned to Samba.  Brian over gorged himself on the salad bar.  By the time it was to eat meat, he was already full.  The beef wasn't as good tonight.  The chicken was still great.

Drink count
Brian

• 4 Caipirina on Friday
• 8 Caipirina on Saturday

Dorothy

• 4 Caipirina on Friday
• 2 Caipirina on Saturday

Magazine Count

• 2 PMI (August 2009 and September 2009) Friday
• 1 HR (June 2009) and 1 PMI (August 2008) Saturday

Moon Palace Casino Day Five

Breakfast bright and early
Still not sure why I'm awake so darn early in the morning during vacation. Seems like breakfast at the Marina Grill becomes less and less appealing, every morning. The good thing was that our waitress, Fanny, was great. Once again we received excellent service. I practiced a bit of my Spanish and Fanny misunderstood and thought I actually spoke Spanish. I quickly backpedaled with no hablo espagnol!!

Today was my rest day. No exercise. I spent about 3 hours in the hot sweltering sun by the pool. I think I burned today. I'm definitely pink and my skin is tender. Brian turned browner (is that a word?). I skipped lunch and went to the spa, just as the sky turned grey and the water started to pour out of the dark clouds. People scattered like ants away from the pool. Pussies.

Spa interlude
Today was the first day I met another person in the spa. Generally I have it all to myself with a couple of attendants watching over me. There were several of us there, but I only ended up conversing with Lynne from Newfoundland. She was surprised that an American even had a clue as to where it was located and that it was part of Canada. Yay me for representing the States positively. We went through the entire spa cycle leisurely. Her poor husband, Ted, ended up waiting a while at the Hydrotherapy pool.

Afternoon
To prevent myself from taking a nap, we went to another pool for the afternoon. Brian spied 2 little black ducklings that were so small and cute. I have to get pictures of them tomorrow. We will try to visit the other pools we haven't been to tomorrow. I will be working out tomorrow. I hope to swim more than 1/2 a mile. First we'll catch some rays while the sun is out.

Dinner
We ate at the Prime Grill tonight. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. The portion sizes were too large. A no-no from Chef Ramsey. The lamb was delicious. I don't know what type of sauce they used, it was tasty. Brian ordered the filet mignon. It was called Beef Shank or Beef Steak on the menu. He said his was delicious too. He liked the Texan Chili for soup. I enjoyed my Corn Cream. Ted and Lynne showed up at the restaurant so I was able to introduce them to Brian. The Canadians from British Columbia we met from the night before also showed up. We were thinking of heading to the Sun bar for more Caipirina. I was too tired. Brian ended up falling asleep before 8 PM. Sunbathing is just too exhausting for him.

Drink count
Brian
* 11 Caipirina

Dorothy
* 6 Caipirina

Magazine count
* 2 HR August 2008 and November 2008

Moon Palace Casino Day Four

Breakfast
The days just seem to fly by. We ate at the same Marina Grill for breakfast. We went a bit later today, closer to 8 AM. The food was eh, okay this morning. We received great service again. Our juice and coffee cups were constantly refilled. There was a little incident. While trying to get salt out, a black spider crawled on my pinkie. I didn't scream (it was a close call) but I did fling the salt shaker across the table and cringe. I shut my eyes tight while trying hard not to scream and my hand kept flinging as if the spider clung on to me. I had 3 guys come running up to me and going, "Are you okay? What happen? What is it?" I squealed, "spider!" Two of the guys tried to help me stay calm while the other one spied it on the floor and proceeded to stomp on it. Brian came back after the incident. I related my slight freaking out and he said he was amazed I didn't do a bloodcurdling scream. I too was surprised.

After breakfast, we tried the bicycles. Girls were given a prissy pink bike while guys could pick a white or black one. Next time, I'm getting a black one. After riding around a bit, we went to the 50 m pool. Brian laid out while I did laps. I warmed up with 400 m broken up in 50 m stints. I'm so out of shape. Took me between 1 minute to 1:10 to complete a 50 m. After warm up, I did 100 M, 200 M and 100 M. Those were surprisingly easier to finish. My speed increased too. My goal was to complete at least 1/2 a mile. By the end of this trip, I hope to be at 1.5 mile. I also did 200 M in kicking. Crap. That used to be my best. I still completed 50 M around 54 seconds, but I was winded. I cooled down with a bit of breast stroke.

We were going to stay at the pool a bit longer under we realized how many spiders were there. We are talking spiders on every freaking chair lounge. And they were jumping ones. Freaked me out! We went to one of the pools by our room. Biking makes traveling so much quicker.

Lunch
The wind picked up and it was interesting eating lunch at the pool side grill. I ate junk food with nachos, hot dog and fries. Brian had a double cheeseburger. Around noon, Brian said he was done because he felt burn. I checked and realized I probably was too. Off to the Hydrotherapy Spa! The spa was empty again. I did my own thing and enjoyed myself.

I ended up taking a Siesta this afternoon. I passed out for 2 hours. I keep saying, sunbathing is exhausting. Belly Dancing was canceled again!

Dinner
Tao - quasi Japanese food. I think they were trying for Hibachi food. I give it a 2 star out of 5. The food was overcooked and bland. Thank goodness I ordered a side of salmon sashimi. The fried tempura banana was cold and soggy. Gross. I'd go back only to try the Chinese food. We'll see how it goes.


Drink count
Brian
* 2 Presidente
* 4 Caipirina

Dorothy
* 5 Caipirina

Magazine count
1 HR mag April 2009

Moon Palace Casino Day Three

Woke up at 7:30 AM again. Breakfast at the same Marina Grill. This morning, the food was a bit different. I liked the egg white ham and cheese omelet. The lox were delicious. Of course, the one day they have it, no capers! Sigh. Still, the service was good. They came back over and over again to offer juice and coffee refills. Watermelon juice today! It is good to be up early and have the restaurant to ourselves. We were done with breakfast in record time and headed to our first pool of the day.

Lagoon Pool
This surrounds Samba. Not sure what Einstein thought it was good to surround a restaurant. Let me give you a hint. One of the sides has the garbage . . . and with my Wolverine nose, it wasn't pleasant. The lazy river was very cold when we first entered with our floaties. With the sun beating down on us, it felt good. We went around five times. Then it was off to the Hydrotherapy Spa again!

Hydrotherapy Spa
Today, the spa routine was a bit different. The ice room was swapped with the mud room. This actually made more sense. Regardless, I still thought of girls wrestling when I put the mud on. This time, I thought of naked girls wrestling. Odd how the mind just wanders.

Lunch
We ate at Soda for lunch. It was supposed to be Sushi. I give it a 2 1/2 star out of 5. Brian said it didn't deserve a 1 because the food wasn't spoiled. The sushi rolls were in a cube shape. The Dragon and Rainbow rolls were odd. Nothing I've ever had before; of course I have been spoiled with great sushi in Houston. Then we went to the pizza place for take out. There was no take out option, but Brian has learned from the master. He asked what it would take for him to order a pizza to go. Daniel, the host, hemmed and hawwed and then caved so quickly. Brian got his pizza to go. The Napoleon? All I know is that the anchovies were super salty. I thought about the kitties and how much they would like it. I ate a couple slices and could feel my body scream out for water to balance the salt intake.

Afternoon Pool
We spent the afternoon at two different pools. Brian liked Ramon's drinks so we headed back to the Hammock pool. Brian's Margarita was pretty much just all Don Julio Tequila. I had 3 White Russians. We headed on to a pool right by our room. It was deserted, just like every pool we've been to so far. I fell asleep. Sunbathing is exhausting, I guess.

Belly Dancing!
Right, so no belly dancing tonight. I went to the class at 6 only to find no instructor. I'll try again tomorrow. I'm starting to think that they have no classes. I guess I could always just use the exercise equipment. We have recording the gym on our to do list.

Dinner
Mexican restaurant tonight. I give it a 3 star. The presentation was good. The nachos were good. The baby shark turnover was a disappointment. Of the 3 turnovers, only one of them had what they said was shark. It wasn't any shark that I've ever had. The Gringas was dry. Brian's chicken was okay. He liked the taco. I had a Caipirina. I'm not sure what is in it, but it was tasty. Hit me gradually.

Drink Count for the day

Brian
* 1 rum and coke
* 1 Margarita
* 3 Presidente

Dorothy
* 3 White Russians
* 2 Caipirina
* 1 Coffee with Bailey and Hazlenut liquor

Dorothy's Magazine
* 1 PMI
* 1 HR

Moon Palace Casino Day Two Continued

Day two is at a close. After my last post, I went to the Hydrotherapy Spa which is free at the value of $58 per visit. And apparently, I needed a reservation which I didn't know. Oops. I just waltzed right in and blinked my eyes in confusion.

This is the mother of all spas. IT IS HUGE. I started in the steam room infused with scent of eucalyptus. After 5 minutes (yes, I wore my stop watch), I couldn't take the heat. Even though the spa guide would come for me in 10 minutes, I went to the next station all by myself. Rule breaker!! I went into the shower where there were 3 levels of 6 jets. One hit my calf first, then my waist, then my chest. Finally, a flat showerhead waterfalled copious water on me. I am going to try and sneak my underwater camera to take photos.

The spa guide found me and took me to the sauna. It was great. I was all alone. Hot and peaceful. 1/2 way through, a new spa guide brought in a cool drink in a champagne flute. Next stop was the Brazilian mud room. I think that is what she said. All I understood was the mud. She gave me a coconut shell filled with light brown liquidity stuff. She motioned that I should apply all over my body, just not on my face. She then pointed to the curved seated area for me to relax in the "mud" steam room. After that, I was to shower in the stall within the steam room. (This is the second steam room of the day) She indicated that she'd be back for me in 10 minutes. Before I slathered some unknown liquid all over me, I sniffed it. It didn't have much scent. I shrugged and coated my body in the brown stuff. Then I thought about girls in bikinis wrestling in it. Snicker.

The next station was a 3 minute ice room. It feel like a frozen meat locker and there were ice shavings to rub all over the body and face. Kind of odd but pleasant. After that, I went to the jacuzzi room. I went into a foot jacuzzi and the water was so hot I think I scalded the bottoms of my feet. Yikes. So I went into the lukewarm tub instead.

Finally, I ended up in the hydrotherapy pool. It was relaxing. Up until then, there were only women. I thought this section was also all women. Good thing I didn't take off my bikini. I was about to when a few men walked by. Oops.

I went back to the hotel room to find Brian. They fixed our water YAY! We spent the afternoon by the cold beach and the pool right outside our building. Freezing my butt off, we scampered back into the hotel room and turned on our two person jacuzzi tub. After about 30 minutes, we dressed for dinner at Samba.

Samba

This was the Brazilian restaurant. The lamb was okay. The beef was the best. I also liked the chicken. Who knew chicken could be so flavourful? The salad bar was pretty slim. I have it all on video and will post later. Our waitress, Santa, she was great. We'll have to go back.

Drink count for the day - Brian - 6 lipsticks, 3 Presidente. Dorothy - 1 Bailey, 3 sips of a terrible lipstick, 1 passion fruit cocktail (I have no idea what was in it) and 2 sips of Jack and coke. Turns out, Jack taste bad. This is a good sign. It means I'm not stressed. Only when I'm stressed does Jack taste soooo goooddd. Brian says I need to drink more, my money's worth.

UPDATE:
1 PM magazine

First Vacation in 2010 - February 28-March 15 - Day 2

We are at the Moon Palace Casino in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Sunday, the flight down and arrival
The flight in on Sunday was uneventful. We were upgraded to First class which was awesome. We enjoyed our perks. Brian had 1 Margarita on the flight down. I had 3 Baileys in my coffee. With a direct flight, it was wonderful. The breakfast was actually not too bad. Omelet, potatoes and sausage. The fruit bowl of kiwi, cantaloupe, grapes and pineapple were tasty. Brian gave me his fruit bowl and I gave him my potatoes. The croissants were okay. The 8:43 AM ET Flight landed in Punta Cana at 1:30 PM AT. It was smooth the entire way.

We breezed through customs and found our bags. There were several very annoying baggage hustlers trying to take our bags. They kept saying VIP thinking that they could trick us out of money and take us maybe 300 feet to the real VIP transportation company. We found the VIP rep only to find our names missing. :( But they still put us on a shuttle and we went to our hotel.

Upon arrival, we were quickly ushered into check-in. We were greeted but a harried woman who was dealing with an angry couple ahead of us. The registration desk looked crowded. Surprisingly, there was an opening and we went straight to Maquiel (pronounced Michael). He was a sweet young man and checked us in very quickly. He confirmed we have a 1 king bed with a jacuzzi tub and an OCEAN VIEW! Woohoo! I was happy. Brian was reserved and said we should wait until we get to the room.

We made it to our room, on the 4th floor (several steps) and found a GORGEOUS room with a beautiful view. The white on sand neutral colours were very appealing and soothing to me. I immediately unpacked and settled in. The bathroom is huge and great. We noticed on travel advisor that people nit-picked the place. Upon careful inspection, we noticed that some of the marble counter tops were cracked and the patching was not the best. There were poorly taped drywall seams on the corners where two walls joined. But honestly, who the hell cares? Those who nit-picky like that are either into construction or they are just plain negative people.

Aurora, our "hostess" was pretty cool. She tried to get us to listen to timeshare which would have taken 90 minutes. We said no. The vouchers were not appealing. I wanted a $400 spa voucher. With just 2 $75 ones, that was worthless to me. Unfortunately at 4 PM, my body didn't take well to the change in the climate. I broke out in very painful hives that caused my right eye to swell slightly shut. I looked deformed. The right side of my body was covered in large red welts. Not really itchy, just painful.

We had an early dinner at the Lucca International Buffet. It was French night. No hare or cornish hen. There weren't even French green beans. I didn't think it was particularly French. Still, the food was tasty. Brian loved the potatoes. I liked the wild rice. The mango they have was SOO GOOD. Nectar of the gods! Brian rushed me back to the hotel room trying to convince me to take a pill for my hives. I put it off to take a shower.

This is when we encountered our first problem. No cold water and low hot water pressure. It was difficult to shower. I finally took my pill and rested in bed, reading. At quarter to 9, I was couldn't keep my eyes open and passed out. Brian did the same.

Day two - Bright and early

We woke up at 7 and meandered until we found the Marina Grill. Breakfast was good. It was not 5 star quality, but I'd give it 3 stars. The hash browns were so tasty. The omelet station was good. We experienced good service. I didn't have to do much, the servers kept asking if I wanted something to drink. Brian went to go find another cup of coffee, only to have the server stop by and ask if I wanted coffee. snicker. The couple behind us received poor service. They wanted someone to take their drink orders and they finally gave up (after 5 minutes) and demanded someone serve them.

By 8:30 we were at the first pool we wanted to try. It was the hammock pool. Brian enjoyed the hammock while I did laps at the 25 yard pool. I'm out of shape. 45 minutes later, I left the pool and sat in a lounge chair, reading my PMI magazine. I brought about 20 lbs worth of SHRM and PMI magazines to get through. So far, I finished 1 HR and 1 PM magazine on the plan. I have finished my 2nd PM magazine.

Drink tally for Sunday - Brian 3 Presidente and 1 nasty white one (2 sips). Dorothy - none.

What happen to rest of 2008 and 2009?

I started the new year and decided to work on my blog this year. It's already March 1 and this is my first blog. Sigh. So much for blogging every month. 2008 finished with a blur in Cincinnati OH. I changed to a new division within the company I work for which brought me into the Global side of the house. I ended up working in Houston for 7 months in the Energy corridor. I finished the rest of 2009 working remotely from home or flying to San Jose California for my new client.

In Fall 2008 I started school full time along with working full time. This has cut into my free time considerably. I am working on my MBA with two concentrations - International Business and Organizational Leadership. No surprise that I'm going to go for two and still graduate in 2010. Crazy me. So far school has been great. I have learned quite a bit and kept my grades acceptable at an A+ or A. At the writing of this blog, I have completed 12 classes, waived 1 and have 5 more classes to go. WOOHOO! This Spring 2010, I will have 1 class in Global Dimensions. It should be interesting. I hear Dr. White is a blast.

You don’t get respect, you earn it!

In 1978, Rodney Dangerfield burst onto the comedy scene claiming he “got no respect.” That theme earned him millions of laughs, and millions of dollars. The reason is the theme resonated with his audience, many of whom also got no respect. No respect from their employer, family members, or customers. Rodney was their champion, their anti-hero.

How respected are you?
How respectful are you?
How well do you believe you command the respect of others?

Respect is not defined in a dictionary. It’s intangible. It’s a feeling. And it’s an earned position. Contrary to popular belief, bosses do not command respect; they earn respect. And bosses who do not earn the respect of their people, have a high employee turnover rate and wonder why.

Respect is earned by words, and by actions. Things like keeping your promises or proactively providing service. Things like becoming more personally involved with the success of your customer, or taking responsibility when responsibility is not really yours.

It’s the extra effort. It’s the extra mile. It’s the extra measure of sincere effort that you put into your dialogue or your process. Others can sense that you care about them, and will respect that effort. Very few people will actually say, “I respect you.” Rather, they will do things that prove their respect without ever having to say the word. Things like placing an order, placing a second order, or giving you a referral. Even things like taking your phone call, or returning your phone call, show respect.

One of the keys to respect is the word personal. How personal are you in your actions? How personal are you in your communication? The more personal you are with others, the more respect you will earn.

But there is a secret to respect. If you master this secret you will be able to create respectful atmospheres in any environment you encounter. The secret is: In order to earn the respect of others, you must first respect yourself.

This means you have to have confidence in yourself. You have to like what you do. You have to be willing to serve. You have to like yourself. And you have to love yourself. Like and love are two separate issues. You may like yourself for how you look, or how you sell, or how you communicate, but you love yourself for who you are, what you believe in, and what or who you seek to become.

Loving yourself gives you the ultimate opportunity to respect yourself. I’m not saying that you have to be a goody two-shoes, I’m certainly not, and I have a TON of respect for myself. What it means is doing the right things for yourself, taking the right actions for yourself, and loving yourself enough that its evident when you enter a room, evident that your expressions come as much from your heart as they do from your mind, and the same with your actions.

I challenge you to spend one day in retrospect. Take a flip chart and begin to document all the good things that you’ve done for yourself, and all the good things that you’ve done for others. Be real enough with yourself to admit what you like about yourself, and what you love about yourself.

Then document what you need to change about yourself that will make you better and stronger. Maybe your self-respect suffers from the way you see yourself in the mirror, or some of the personal choices that you make. Maybe it’s your environment. But whatever it is, if you don’t acknowledge it, you will never be able to change it or enhance it. You’ll never be able to grow in earning respect from others until you grow in respecting yourself.

One of the most interesting parts of respect is there’s no measuring tool, there’s no “How much do you respect me?” Respect begins with an opportunity, and ends with reality. You can only get it by earning it, and it can only grow slowly over time.

The secret is easy. Do the right thing all the time and respect will be yours. Say the right words, take the right actions, and believe in your heart that you’re doing the best you can do -- for yourself first, and for others second.

Hellacious weekend

This weekend sucked. I spent the entire time auditing payroll files to ensure that deductions came out and to ensure my team was on top of auditing. I also spent hours on Microsoft project plans, looking at the predecessor and duration. Resource calendars...

There is only 1 thing I have to say after this weekend. Check out the Mp3 in my facebook. It is the Queen of the Crime Council.

Back in Cinci

Back in Cinci and it is cold. 53 degrees in August is kind of odd. I am on the 20th floor this week. 2006. I have never been in this room. I have to borrow someone's camera because the room is wild. They did a specific design as a test and then decided they didn't like it. So now it is the only room with a very old antique type look.

I have to update my past few months here in Cinci. It has been very bad for allergies. Back in April, the pollen was so bad that it covered everything in a film of yellow dust.

May was not that much better

It's been 4 months!

Work has picked up and I just haven't been blogging. Lots of new things going on. I am now on Facebook. Sigh. Didn't think I would ever do it, but Brian convinced me and now I am addicted.

I have also finished my certifications for Search & Recovery and Underwater Navigation for my Master Scuba Diving Certification. I am re-certified for my PMP. I need to seriously buckle down and study my CPP. I also need to start earning CEU for my PHR. That will be up in another 2 years. I have my book for Nitrox certification. I am not sure when Brian and I can take that exam. Lastly, I start school in September for my MBA. I hope I can do it all.

I am still travelling back and forth to Cinci for work. I will be doing so through September and maybe parts of October. By then, I should be on another project.

The only places I have been to in the past few months are OH and IL. Gilboa in Findlay OH is not the place for a fun time. At least it isn't for me. I don't enjoy cold dry suit diving. 49 degrees is too cold for me. I went to Champaign IL a few weeks ago when I went to visit Alice at her new home. I got to see Jane too before she moved to Georgia. She is the only Li sister to move so far away from home and into the Deep South. The rest of us are Northern gals.

I hope to keep this updated a bit more than I have been.

Day Nine - Tulum

B here. So it's the end of day nine and D is semi-passed out at the moment. Too much Thai Lounge for her, and it's good to let her know I can still out drink her. ;)

Today started out getting up at 7:30 and heading to breakfast at Momonohana. The last 8 days it has been extremely windy. There has been a steady 20-30mph wind coming off the ocean every day. This has been a very good thing because it kept you cool when it was 90 degrees and it kept all manner of flying bugs away. This morning, no wind. It was calm and soooo hot. We then got on a bus and and headed for Tulum. Tulum is an ancient Mayan city about 30 min south of where we are. It was "discovered"in the '70s and was an bunch of ruins that was overgrown by the jungle. It's 600 meters by 300 meters and housed about 200 people in it's heyday. It's an important archeological site and has been 50% restored. A couple of cool features are that on april 29 the sun rises at 6:30am and shines thru this little stone table looking thing. And then on the summer soltice, June 21, the sun shines thru a hole in the wall of another building. Fascinating, huh? Oh, and I mentioned no wind. It was dripping sweat hot here. D will post pictures of our trip here when she's sobered up.

The most interesting thing for me about the Mayan is their calendar and knowledge of astronomy. Did you know that the Mayan calendar begins in 3041 BC and is 100% accurate right up until it ends on December 23, 2012? What the heck is going to happen that day? There are a lot of theories (just google that day), one of them being that we will cross over the galactic equator and the north and south poles will reverse. Another is that all 9 planets will be in alignment. Another is that the world will end. Happy thoughts, everyone.

We then headed back towards the hotel and did the obligatory stop at the roadside jyp joint for all your souvenir needs. The looked the freakin bus so we couldn't get back on until the stop was over. Spending no money, we got back on the bus, headed home and got back at 2pm. Swimsuits on, lotion up and out to the pool.

We were in the pool from 2 until 4. It clouded up (the first time since we got here) and actually got chilly. We headed back to the room. D wanted to use the jacuzzi. We did, and apparently when it drained it must have leaked into the room below. Not our problem. Bwahahaha.

Ate dinner at the Argentine steak house. D ate salad and appetizers, I had a ribeye. It's was OK except for one tough part on the top. Cut it all off and I was good to go. Ended the evening with a trip to the Thai Lounge again. I did the tour of Mexico Tequila shot tasting cycle. No Cuervo, thank you very much. 1800 - ick. Sauza, pretty good. Don Julio respisado - good. Don Julio blanco - The WINNER!

My total for the day:
1 Corona - $2 in Tulum. Made my gut burn.
4 Mohitos
4 Tequila shots
1 Tornado

D:
1 Tornado
1 Boom Boom Tequila shot
2 Shitty Cough medicine shots
1 Mohito
1 Peach Liquor/ Cranberry juice drink
1/2 Jack and Pepsi

Tomorrow is a stress free relaxing day for me. D wants to get up and do yoga at 8, work out at 9, do the sauna at 10. Wake me up when you're back.

Mexico Day Six, Seven and Eight

Six through Eight went by in a blur. Day Six, Thursday, I tried hard to make it to the cross current class and Salsa. Okay, I lied, I didn't try at all. Thursday was a quick sun bathing by the pool in the morning followed by a nice steam room in the free spa. I then took a 3 hours siesta. Boy was I tired. I don't know what happened. Poor B had to entertain himself. For dinner, we went to the Oriental Place - Momonohana. Right. . . what does that mean in Japanese? I read the Japanese/Chinese characters and it said Jumping Flower. The sushi was okay. We didn't order from the entree section at all. We ordered all sashimi. There was only tuna and salmon. The eel was missing the BBQ sauce. I asked for masago. He insisted that it was salmon roe. I insisted that masago was flying fish roe. Regardless, I ordered items that were not on the menu. Poor bugger. I told him it was bad to have an Asian in an Asian restaurant.

We didn't have much to drink. I had a scuba diving on Friday so I had to cut back on drinking. I had 1 drink that was close to Port. Brian had 1 beer and 4 Mojitos.

Brian Total: 5. Cumulative 30
1 Beer
4 Mojitos

Dorothy Total 1. Cumulative 18
1 Port (moonshine)

Day Seven:

We wake up early for the "early diving" trip. I get to Momonohana for breakfast. I know it will be a long day diving at Cozumel even though I am assured we will be back by 1:30 PM. Whatever. I pack my salmon crossiants and some bread w/ cheese and meats. I also bag some green grapes and a pear. I know better than to go diving w/o food inbetween dives. At 8:15 am we are off to Playa del Carmen to meet at Senior Frog's for Aqua World. We are supposed to meet the guide at 9:30 AM. We get there at 8:35. We waste time for a while. I am not thrilled, but I am going with the flow. B would be proud. At 10 AM we finally get on the bloody ferry to get to Cozumel. From there we have to take another boat to where Aqua World has its shop. We don't get to the dive site until after noon! BLOODY HELL. What kind of a freaking morning dive is this? The dive master gives us the intro about the dive site. "Buenos Dias!" I yell back, "Buenos Tartas!" He looks at his watch and I answer, "Yup, it's after noon. Vamos!!!" (Getting a project manager off the schedule is a bad thing, especially a drill sergent like myself.)

We finally get into the bloody water. The Wall dive wasn't bad. Saw a turtle and a HUGE eel that was purple and green. Never seen one like that before. The second dive was pretty shallow. The dive master made a mistake. He said we are to come up at 700 PSI or 40 minutes. He should have said 700 PSI or 40 minutes, which ever comes FIRST. The current dive was pretty strong. I was pushed almost into a nurse shark. We saw a HUGE lobster that had to be about 10 lbs. I also saw a Ray and some baby spotted drum. The green eel that was pointed out was also quite amazing. The dive master tried to get me out of the water at 40 minutes. I was having nothing to do with that. He said 700 PSI. I was still at 2000 PSI when he said to go up. He finally got pissed and made me get out of the water at 1400 PSI. I still had 700 to go! That would have lasted me at least another 25 minutes in the 40 ft shallow water.

All in all, it was fun going diving which Chuck and Kerri. Diving with an ex-Navy seal is fun. Especially when he tells me he was born in '58 and I exclaim, "You are as old as my Dad!" (Which is totally untrue. My dad is younger. Just kidding. . .)

Back to the hotel, it is freaking 6 PM. I am not thrilled. I get to the room and B is waiting. I shower and tell him about the trip. We are then off to el Greco, the Mediterranean restaurant. I loved it. B didn't like it. He had a steak that was medium rare but was like a shoe sole. I had a great oyster mushroom appetizer. I loved it so much that I asked for a second one. The duck was fabulous! Loved it. Dessert was disappointing cuz I thought I was going to get coffee ice cream. I got coconut instead. Yuck.

Went to see Jose at the Thai Lounge. There was a very puffed up guy we dubbed "Lex Luther". What an arrogant prick. I had 2 moonshine specials and B had 4 Mojitos.

Brian Total 10 Cumulative 40
5 Margaratas
5 Mojitos

Dorothy total 2 Cumulative 20

Day 8 - Hump day. Only 6 more days left! :(
We spent the day at the pool. Finally we can tolerate sun again. Well, at least B can. I am burnt and peeling. I look like a molting lizard. Quite gross. I end up going to the free spa again. Since no one was there, I went sans clothing. I didn't know that you had to go avec clothing. Oh well. I happily enjoyed the steam room, ice shower and the sauna. I intend to go back tomorrow.

The afternoon was fun w/ Karen, Kerri and Rhonda. Rhonda was quite into the cups. We had fun joking about Chuck. B turned more brown. I shedded more. Dinner was at the Italian place. The food was okay. The service was amazing. Our server was the best. He noticed I didn't like my entree and immediately asked what I liked. He brought me stuff that was not on the menu. Geez. I am so demanding. Poor bugger. We tipped him well.

We went to the Thai lounge again. Saw our good buddies Bob and Gypsy. They are a HOOT from South Carolina. Love them. We went to the Andromeda to watch Chuck sing. He did the Beatles song, "Hey Jude". He was pretty good. We were hoping to get him in a dress and watch him sing "It's raining men." The dance club was not fun for us. The music was okay. The Karaoke was bad. I got into an argument with a guy from NY. Go figure. He kept talking about me loud enough so I went to him and was right into his face. I was ready to beat the shit out of him. He wanted to argue w/ B but backed off and apologized. Still, I was roaring to go. I wanted to knee him then give him an upper cut to the face and then knee him again and then slam my elbow right into the back of his neck and then give him a good left and right hook. B held me back. Bummer. I really wanted to hurt the little mo-fo. I really wanted to stamp down and crush his you know what underneath my foot. Never piss off a 150 lb Chinese woman. She'll hurt you!

We back to the Thai lounge and finished off the evening w/ Jose the best bartender.

Brian Total 16 Cumulative 56
9 Margaratas
5 Mojitos
1 shot of Frangelica
1 shot of something nasty

Dorothy Total 8 Cummulative 28
1 Strawberry Daquiri
5 Mojitos
1 shot of Frangelica
1 shot of something nasty
Tomorrow - TULUM!

Mexico Night Five

Wednesday night is the Fire Show. I figured that it wouldn't be too much since it is just a resort with some very corny shows so far. So we went late. BIG mistake. Next week, we go early and sit up front! There was one woman there that was CALIENTA! Holy cow was she hot. Her outfit showed off her amazing abs. She wore a back mask over her lower part of the face. The guys were all very hot. They had amazing bodies and boy were they good with fire. The other female did a ring of fire as a hoola hoop! WTF! I was completely amazed. I got a few pictures that were okay. Take a look.

Mexico Day Five

We went on the 90 minute not "time share" tour. We put our timer on and let them know that I had only 90 minutes because I did have something scheduled at 10 AM which was true. So at 8:25 AM we showed up at the designated spot and off we went. Our guide was Raul. He was a very lovely gentleman in a suit who was so very sweet. He was very personable and if I had the money, I would have done it. The deal was 2 free weeks, 2 weeks at $1750 and 2 free airline tixs. This would also include a spa voucher for $500. We would have to purchase 50 weeks as a member for $6000. It really wasn't bad at all. We just couldn't afford it at this time. Especially since we have our vacations planned out for the next 3 years. Brian hates being locked into something. And I hate not getting a good deal. I explained that I was the stingy one who has issues spending money. I felt we spent a lot coming here but it was the most we could afford since we are short on funds.

Raul was very surprised at our price. We spent $4600 for the all inclusive 2 weeks. This included all the food and drinks and unlimited tours. Our plane tixs were only $300 each since we booked in July of 07. Our rate was actually better than what some of the members could get. I read the fine print for the free massage that members receive. It is only a 25 minute massage. With knots like mine, 25 minutes is nothing. I need at least 90 minutes. Generally at home, I go for 120 minutes, semi-monthly.

True to Raul's word, we were in and out in 1 hour and 19 minutes. They knew we wouldn't purchase. They were still very gracious and nice. We received the abbreviated tour since we had been on the premises for a while. Here are some of the pictures.

We once again spent the day indoors to allow for healing. I worked out on the tread mill for 35 minutes. Then I stretched and did some biceps/triceps/back and lats. I completed by 11 AM which was when the fitball class started. I figured it would be kind of easy like the Yoga class from yesterday. NO it was NOT. I thought 1/2 way through the class that it was a big mistake. I barely got through the class. This is now two days in a row I have exercised for 2 hours or more. Yesterday, I swam about 1.5 miles for a bit over an hour. Then I went to Yoga.

Tomorrow, I hope to make it to the salsa cardio class and the cross current training. Salsa is at noon to 1. Water workout is 2 to 3. If I go to Yoga again, it is from 4-5. We'll see how much I can do in one day. Plus it will be our first day back into the water.

Brian Drink total: 3 Cumulative: 25

3 Margaritas

Dorothy Drink total: 0 Cumulative: 17

Mexico Day Three and Four

Day three was a wash. Looks like Day four will be a wash too. We got BURNED!? What Asian gets burned in the sun? Bloody hell it hurts. I don't like being burned. I haven't ever been burned like this before. I even used the 50 SPF. I applied it a couple times in a day. Apparently the sun is much stronger here in April than in November. I look like a freaking lobster. And of course, I have NO aloe Vera. I am pretty irritated. Poor Brian's feet got burned and they swelled up. WTF?

Well, it's to the indoor pool and total cover up. Since I haven't been really burned before, I had to look up the ways to fix it on the web. Thank god for the computer and the Internet. We are badly burned enough that it is difficult to move around. We had to cancel our trip to Ex-Balam and Valloid. Very annoying. I have to reschedule for next week. Thank goodness we have a 2 week vacation.

Couldn't even get out of bed this morning. Yesterday was worst. We did soak in the tub w/ the jets since the web said water absorption through baths would help. I have been drinking water a lot and avoiding alcohol until I get rid of this freaking pink skin. I look horrible in pink.

Dinner last night was okay. We went to La Hacienda. The lamb I ordered tasted like beef brisket. I didn't like it so much. Brian enjoyed his meal. Apparently, the guacamole that came with the fresh chips was very tasty. Tasted a bit greasy and gross to me. He said it was soooo yummy and fresh. I just nodded and tried not to gag. Guess I still don't like avocados.

We stopped in the Thai Lounge where there are beds. Yup, there are beds for people to lay in. I'll have pictures uploaded later on it. We did lay in one to have pictures taken. I just remember the last time I went to a club which had beds in it. When I wanted to lay in one for a picture, my friends jerked me back up and asked, "Do you really want to lay in that? You do know we are here during gay night, right? And with black sheets, you can't really tell if it is clean or not. You don't know if that damp spot is from a spilled drink or not." From that point on, I have been pretty leery of sitting in beds in a club.

Anyhow, not much drinking went on for Day 3.

Brian Total 3 Cumulative 21
1 Beer
2 Moijito

Dorothy total 2 Cumulative 12
1 Chocolate Martini
1 Moijito

Drinking for Day 4.

Brian Total 1 Cumulative 22
1 Beer

Dorothy total 5 Cumulative 17
4 Tres Coronas (some kind of moonshine port)
1 FooFoo red drink with lots of vodka

Mexico Day two

Woke up this morning feeling like I slept the entire morning way. It was only 8:30 AM. We were out by the pool by 8:45. We decided to go to the South end and work our way up. We never made it up to the North. We found a great location where we could be in the water on a lounge chair. We staked out the place with our towels, shoes and magazines. I was extremely territorial. No one was going to get my spot! There were many open places. We are not sure why they say that there is no where to sit. It was dead until about 10 AM when more people showed up. (The pool bar opened.)

We met a huge gaggle of women from Iowa. They were all 50 and celebrating their birthdays together. They were wild and fun women. The stories they told of their time a the bars in Playa del Carmen were great. One woman received a lap dance from 2 boys at the same time. They were in their early 20s and they felt this 50 year old up and stuck their faces and body all over her. She was excited to tell us that they felt her boobs and stuck their face and you know what right in her crotch. Yes, apparently you can get drunk before noon.

The two that we spent quite a bit of time talking to were Chuck and Karen. Chuck is a Sicilian/Italian guy living in Wisconsin. He is originally from Chicago. Karen is Irish German. Chuck is the cook at his restaurant. Karen is the bartender. They are a hoot! Chuck is ex-navy seal. Yummy. I knew I should have brought my dive log and my dive computer, just in case! Darnit! At least I have my dive card. He has convinced me to go diving with him and his buddy Kerri this week @ Cozumel. Brian will stay with Karen and Carey's gf Rhonda at the hotel. I can hardly wait. It will probably be expensive since my regulator is at home too. ARRGH! I kept looking at them and thinking, hmm, should I? I guess I should have.

We finally left the pool @ 5 PM. I totally forgot to take the first day picture of before the sun. Now it is a bit too late. I am still going to take a picture, but it isn't the same. I discovered that early in the morning, the iguana are all out and about. They let you get really close too. I will be taking pictures tomorrow.

The birds are nasty and crazy here. The seagulls and these loud screaming black birds will fight you over your food. MINE! MINE! MINE! They steal food off your plate and dive bomb you. While there were lots of activities at the pool - volleyball, games, singing and trivia, Brian and I ignored them all in favour of relaxing by the pool. It was very soothing. Brian is completely relaxed now. I am slowly unwinding. I am still wound pretty tight. I try to relax with my magazines. I brought 12 lbs of magazines ~ 24 of them . I am determined to get through every one of them. I will save 2 for the plane ride home. Which leaves me with 22 of them. I read 1 on the plane and got rid of it. That leaves me with 21. If I average about 2 magazines a day, I will finish them all off. I already read 2 today ~ 19 left. I read the Sept 2007 PMI and the February 2008 HR. I hope to be caught up with all my PMI and SHRM ones by the time I leave.

For dining, we did not eat breakfast. We slipped into Mundaco for coffee and juice. Lunch was cheese burgers and nachos. Nothing that good. We drank a bit. I was easier on the alcohol. Brian pounded them. They have Don Guillo Tequila? I don't know how to spell it. Brian had Margaritas all day.

Brian Drinks Total 11 Cumulative 18
11 Margaritas

Dorothy Drinks Total 7 Cumulative 10
4 Strawberry Daiquiris
2 Khaluha and Franagelica
1 Mocha ice with Franangelica

Day One in Mexico

We arrived safe and sound. We started off the day very well. The limo picked us up ahead of schedule. We went through security w/o a hitch. Getting on the plane from DTW to Cleveland was easy. We pushed from the gate early! We get to the runway - bad news - Cleveland airport had shut down. No incoming or outgoing traffic. This was due to fog. The pilot said he would give us an update in 1 hour! We would miss our connection. I start to get irritated. Brian prayed that I didn't lose my temper. If only Continental didn't change our 6 AM flight to a 7 AM flight, giving us a 45 minute layover instead of a 1 hours and 45 minute layover. Fortunately, the entire plane is trying to get to the Cancun flight.

We land into Cleveland at 8:35. I think, drat, even if the connecting plane is delayed and we can get there in time, what about our luggage? I have Brian take off and run towards the gate. I had a gate side check in so I plodded along behind him. We get there at 9 AM. The plane's door is still open and we make it onto the plane. The others trying to get to Cancun on our flight have also made it and they see their luggage. Brian is relieved and believes are luggage is fine too.

We depart when people finally understand that they have to be seated before the flight can take off. Bloody inexperienced travellers. The flight attendants were so patient and nice. "Ma'am, ma'am, please take your seat so we can leave. Sir, please sit down and buckle up. Yes Sir, you do need to have your seat belt fastened." I wanted to say, "Get your ass in the chair and buckle up now." The plane ride was long and uneventful. We took the long way to avoid bad weather. The pilot kept saying there was turbulence. It was nothing. Some people were still freaked out by little movements. Wimps.

Going through customs was super fast. There was NO wait and the guy checking our passports was Speedy Gonzalez. We were through in less than 1 minute. Picking up our luggage was easy too. The only part that slowed us down was Brian pushing the button and it turned Red. He then had to have his bags searched.

We went by all the time share folks and found our ride to the hotel. Franco the driver was loco. There were 3 other couples on the van with us. They were dropped off first to Rio Tequila ~ Playa del Carmen. We arrived at Aventura Spa Palace around 2:30 PM Mexico time. They haven't gone through Daylight savings yet so they were 2 hours behind EDT.

Check in was easy and we got the room Brian wanted. We are in the middle, on the second floor. The room has a great ocean side view. We also have the hammock he wants. The place is newly remodeled with the electronic safe and a flat screen TV. The shower is amazing. The fridge was fully stocked and the best part was the alcohol dispenser.

Our tally for Drinks so far today:

Brian - Total 7

1 DosXX

4 Miami Vices (Pina Colada and Strawberry Daiquiri)

1 Rum and Coke

1 Margarita

Dorothy - Total 3

1 Mojito

1 Strawberry daiquiri

1 Screwdriver (Terrible, wanted a Fuzzy Navel and got it confused)

We spent the afternoon and evening exploring the property. took forever, but I finally found the 25 meter pool. It was disappointing. It was no lap pool. The Yoga hut was pretty nifty. The obstacle course was a joke. The lagoon was very nice. I was amazed at how nice the water was and how many little fish were swimming around.

We had lunch and dinner at the same place. I will have to write more about it later in a dining post. We wanted to make it to the Thai lounge ~ martini bar. Too bad I was tired. I wanted to use the jacuzzi tub, but ended up crashing.

So far, the Resort has lived up to its hype. Tomorrow, it's pool exploration.

And we are off to Mexico!

Hello good people stuck in dreary Midwestern weather. For those who are in the Southern states, bllppttt. It was cold in Michigan today. I had hoped to have a relaxing day getting my last items packed, my personal financials in order, clean the house, cross check my packing inventory spreadsheet and then go to bed. Unfortunately, the day did not pan out that way. Lots of hot issues on the day that I am not supposed to be working. Fortunately, most of them were sent off to the appropriate parties or they were resolved by me. Lost 6 hours of my day.

Good news, 1 more sleep until Mexico! I am so excited. I could say that I was so excited that I couldn't sleep but that would be a lie. I can't wait to get all my to do list done so that I can sleep. I am so tired. Then off we go tomorrow morning. The cab better not be late, or they are going to have a bad day too.

I am nervous about the 45 minute layover in Cleveland. Darn airlines switching our times and flights so that we have a connection that is barely feasible. I checked with Dee F. and Jose who both indicated that the 45 minutes would be fine for my luggage. For me . . it would be another story. I am praying for a good and smooth ride.

The best news of the day was my acceptance email from University of Michigan. I will be starting my MBA this fall. We'll see how long it takes. The next updates will either be an angry rant from the airport or a happy gleeful one in Mexico. Let's all hope for the latter situation. As anyone who knows me . . . angry me is a very difficult me to be around.

Golden Lamb

Went to the Golden Lamb in Lebanon KY. For some reason I thought I was still in OH. The food was more meat and potatoes. Not my style. I had the leg of lamb which did not come as a leg of lamb. It came as slices of lamb meat. It was kind of odd. It wasn't bad. I would rate it a 3 out of 5 stars. The salad I chose based upon my lunch partner's suggestion was quite good. It was a cottage cheese salad with a ring o pineapple topped with a celery seed dressing. I was surprised how tasty it was.

The restaurant was also a bed and breakfast. They were very proud that 12 US presidents have stayed there. They have presidential rooms roped off and on display. I didn't look at all the rooms. What I saw, I really didn't want to stay in. The only one that looked nice from the 4 I saw was Bush's room. I kept feeling like I was in an old western movie. There were "antique" items in cabinets and book cases everywhere. Many of the figurines were in the shape of . . . you guessed it, a lamb. I almost felt a bit claustrophobic because I was afraid that I would bump into something fragile. Fortunately, I knocked nothing over.

The main point of the lunch was to go by the Exotica store across the street. No, it wasn't a stripper club. It was a jewelry store. It was crammed full of unique jewelry. The jewelry wasn't really my style because there were no dragons. I did see a very lovely dolphin toe ring. The find of the day was my silver band necklace that my dragon/phoenix slide on to. It was reasonably priced @ $40. I bought it with glee.

I had a lovely chat with my lunch date on the drive there and back. We have similar tastes and view points. It was wonderful to get out of the office and have a relaxing meal away. Hope to meet up w/ my lunch date again in the future.

Returning back to the office earlier than planned, I still decided to stay late. Got back to the Hyatt late and forced myself to work out. I hate running. I got on the bloody treadmill and jogged (wogged) more than I speed walked. Afterwards, I wanted to go to the corner market. Unfortunately it was CLOSED! They closed at 7 pm. They had a lot of alcohol in there. So next time, I know to stop there on the way back from work. I did pass by a store I had no idea was there. I can't believe I never saw it. It is store made popular by L. Flint.

Yup, the notorious Mr. Flint. They card you to get in! Who carries their id around all the time? I didn't expect to find a store like this literally right next to the hotel. I don't know how many times I have gone down this street and NEVER seen it. I don't know how I could have missed it. Oh well. Saved for another adventure. 4 more nights until Mexico!