Well, I just got back from a wonderful cruise on the Carnival Conquest. This was my first time on a ship over 100,000 tons (110,000, to be specific), and I have to say that it is a truly magnificent piece of engineering. I really can't describe how huge it was! Of course, the trip itself was fun, though being surrounded by great food 24/7 was a little too much temptation for me to handle. And we took one of my brother's friends with us who had never even left the country...seeing the wonder he had for it all was a rejuvenation I hadn't expected. It brought back a lot of memories, from times when traveling was something new and exciting, and not just a distraction from the tedium of work.

And though it was fun, I'm glad to be home...and I'm glad that there's only one more trip on the horizon (though granted, that will be the biggest one of my life so far: moving away from home). I've spent the better part of the summer traveling, and have visited four foreign countries in the space of one summer. And it's sorta hard to describe, but in all the hustle and bustle, travel has lost its allure. I've reached the point where I'm just content to settle down and take things slowly. Someday I'll probably want to go back to Europe and the tropics and revisit old stomping grounds, but for the first time in my life I have zero desire to leave home for a while. Weird.

Meh...I get philosophical when I'm tired, and this probably isn't a good thing. Writing continues...the romance of the cruise inspired some new ideas, and they may be finding their way to paper. But hey...this is summer...things are supposed to go slowly!

Cheers!

~Teufelwolf