sail away

i'm leaving for the birthday cruise on friday and i have a few items on my prayer list:

1. that i can get enough work done here today that i can relax and actually enjoy said vacation without freaking out about everything i did not finish before i left and the Kilimanjaro of work that will await me when i return.

2. that i will not get air/sea/whatever sick. or the cruiseboat food poisoning. or pass out at any point.

3. that these ginormous zits on my chin will miraculously disappear (am i allowed to pray for something like that? i mean, really. there's a war and people are starving and my mom is dying and i'm actually contemplating asking the Lord of the universe to do something about my adult acne?)

4. that i would give up feeling guilty about going on the trip, spending the money, not donating it all someplace or socking it away in my savings account or even using it for something i need. it's paid for, now i need to get over the plague of self doubt.

5. to really use this cruise as the '2009 Reboot' that T and i discussed last night. we've decided that we'd actually like to use this break from our reality to reflect and write and talk about the goals and disciplines we want to see grow in our lives, and even though we're 2 months into the year, we'd like to hit "control/alt/delete" on 2009 so far and come back from the Reboot with new perspective and be calmer and more focused on the truly important things.

clearly, like smooth skin and cruise boat drinking.

=)

this is the first year that i can remember since i have remembered having a birthday that i am almost completely unaffected by the actual BIRTHDAYness of it. i'll be 31. no party, no toasts to me with my friends at a shi-shi dinner, no running around telling everyone it's my birthday.

ok, maybe i will do some of that on the trip. maybe i can wrangle some free stuff? who knows. but maybe it's indicative of the fact that the AGE creeping up is less and less terrifying?

and, on a side note, i will confess right now to a distractingly amusing mini *crush* on our IT guy who is helping me repair and restore my craptacular laptop. he is adorable. smart and funny and totally capable and there is something irresistable about that. in a totally platonic, work appropriate sort of way. if "i could eat him for breakfast" is work appropriate???

anyway, i digress. better get back to work!