A night of Freedom

What an incredible night was for the 4 of us!! Let me start from the time we meet Heidi at the pier. After warm and sincere hugs for everyone we reached the gate where surprise! They didn’t have our names in the list or as I may say they didn’t look hard for them resulting in Heidi making her workout of the day going back to the gangway to get a copy of the list. In the meantime another person took the list and found our names in it. So when Heidi arrive we were already making all the necessary things to get us inside the pier. So after short delay we were heading to the ship. Heidi was in communication with John in the walkie talkie all the time. I have to say that Heidi was very special with my kids and they hit it off from the start. I think she love them and they loved her. Ok…..so we are inside the my favorite ship now(ahh! the smell) and off to Promenade deck were we made a stop at the cafe for coffee for John( no sugar) and milshakes for everyone. There while we waited for a very nice girl from Croatia to do our milkshakes we started our conversation about everything. One of the best things about this visit is that we got to know Heidi so much more. We got to talk with her about many things. She really is perfect for John, she is special like him. Let me continue… so we got our milkshakes and coffees and we went to the Habana bar choosen place for our meeting because not many people go through there. We choose a corner and we left the big chair for John .We were there for a little while talking with Heidi like long time friends about life, about our Med cruise, about the kids about Vivi’s job and what she was studying at the University, about the blog and the bloogers.Great conversation were my kids got to join and talk about their things.One thing that was important for Viviana was the fact that when she talks about the career she has choosen in languages everyone looks at her strange and tell her, what are you going to do with that? ahh well.. Heidi didnt and she told her that she can do whatever she wanted with that, many things. Later even John told her that when she graduates if she wants a job with Carnival he would help her, that he would be there for her.Imagine what Viviana felt. John arrive you can imagine right? Talking in his raspstrawblueberry thingy with Roberto. ohhhhh wow!!! my friend!! A big huggo and he gave me the blueberry thingy to talk Roberto. It was a pleasure to talk to my friend in spanish although I dont know why I couldnt hear him well and I gave back the thingy to John telling him in spanish How does this work? It was funny. We know so much about each other that when we are together we behave like we been friends our whole lives. I feel very confortable with John.So anyway I got to talk with the famous Roberto I told him that I wish someday we will meet. I like to thank him because I later learned that he was driving John crazy the whole week reminding him about me . Thank you amazing Roberto!!.We spent like an hour and half talking ( What a blessing and a priviledge. Is this a word?) about everything, about the blog, first bloogers cruise and all of you my friends and about the bloogers cruise 2. I got info that you dont know na na na na na ………LoL He gave me permission to tell you people that as we know he is not going to be the CD and that he is only going to do the welcome show and bedtime story and that……..ta ta tan there are going to be 4 or 5 other CD’s doing what they do best. Yes! you are going to have John and 4 or 5 of their best CD’s and each one is going to do whatever thing they are most famous for. Sounds good doesnt it?? So John is going to spend more time with you and you are going to have the best entertainment. uhhhh ahhhh! Lucky you! What else we got to talk about? about Puerto Rico, places he been to eat or have a good time like Shannan’s Irish Pub and other kind of places we used to have near the port like Lucky 7 and Black Angus( That was my husband having a good chat with John so you can imagine) by this time Ken the singing Maitre D has joined us and we were having a great times with their stories about PR. We talked about Ramon the old driver who used to drive them around( You have heard about him in a previous blog while i was onboard in June and John wrote about his journey to El Yunque remember?) Ken also talked about a time in Bayamon a big house and 2 large Rotweillers and how he got into the car. We also talked about bears but Im going to let John talk about that LOL Very funny!! I couldnt believe (and I said it) that we where there. The 4 of us having this great conversation , having a great time with John , Heidi and Ken. We talked about that and how many of you are going to envy me. Think about it WOW!! Anyway my kids were having a great time also taking part of the conversation.Heidi had an eye on Cristian because when he talks is to make a very clever remarks. She noticed that from the start and with John ….. oh my God!!they have chemistry. They know how to talk with each other you should have heard them.Also it was very funny and Ed knows this I have a very strong accent because I dont practice my english so It doesnt get better so I used a lot of spanish on John and he followed me and spoke some spanish and he made fun of me.I wish you could all have been there!! John was also very interested in my kids things that was very nice. In all this time I think we got interrupted by one guest or maybe two but i only remember one of them, a lady. She asked if we were in some kind of meeting and if she wasnt interrupting( she was duh) Do you know what she said?? She asked for a plastic ship on a stick because John woke her up in the morning for the Morning show!! I looked at Heidi and she rolled her eyes. Oh my God! Can you believe this people. What a nerve!! As John was sitting back again, Viviana reminded him that he woke her up also and that she has told him she was taking a bath. Ahhh good times. So it was getting near 8:00 our time together was getting to an end but he had a last surprise for me dinner with wine at the Posh. We had previously learned with Ken that our beloved waitress from our Med cruise Tina was working at the Posh so we were thrilled!! Let me finish with John and I will write about Tina when I get back from school. So we took the great pictures in this blog and for John’s blog. We said our goodbyes but it didnt felt definitive. I thought it was going to be harder for me because I know that they are going back to Europe and that right now im not able to go to Europe in the near future and that someday soon he is going to retire. No, we are hopeful and faithful that maybe someday soon we are going to cruise again with John. He wanted me to write him an email to tell him I got home all right which I did as soon as I got back. Heidi asked John if he hasnt left anything behind and he said no.When they were leaving after our big huggos Eugenio found a case and ask them if that was John’s and it was. So in the distance John said and that is me in:…. and we shouted in the dog house. What a wonderful couple and great friends…. I have to go but there is a more and more pictures. No time for spelling mistakes I will be doing that later

To be continue……..
Ok Im back!!! let me continue with our visit to the Carnival Freedom. After a brief visit to the bathroom we went to the Posh Dinning room. There was Ken waiting for us and he told us that he was going to check if he could seat us with Tina. He came back to take us to our table but Tina came out to meet us half way.She couldnt believe it.Oh my God!! what special moment!! it was a celebration. We all started screaming Tina!! Ken had told her but just by his description she couldnt remember us but when she saw us… that was another thing she oppened her arms and we started the hugging and kissing.Everyone was looking at us.Thats good so everyone sees what kind of relationship you can develop with this employees. They are the heart of the ship. She couldnt believe it. First I want to tell you that Tina is everything Carnival wants their employees to be. She is perfect in every sense. In our cruise in June we were 10 people on the table.She was excellent with the kids and with the older people in the table.She was caring, funny, sweet.We had many good waiters but none equals Tina.We were all so happy we couldnt stop smiling. Dinner was a celebration. Viviana was so thrilled that she called her cousins the ones that went on the cruise with us. They couldnt believe we were at the Posh dinning with Tina. We put Tina to the phone. My brother in law talked with her and one of my nieces they started remembering many moments that we had with Tina on our cruise.Tina was very happy she keep telling us that we made her day. Dinner was with wine and all that uhhhhhhhhhhh!! Everything was good. when she brought the bread we remembered how good it was warm, fresh.Ahhh!!I had the chicken noddle soup and the Filet Mignon. Tina came asking if everything was ok. I look at her and I told her excellent as always.. During the course of the dinner Tina came many times to speak to us she remembered everything about each other and she was joking with Cristian as she used to do in the Med.She always brought him the menu for dessert even though she knew what he was going to have and they always did a show about it always ending in Cristian asking for chocolate melting cake. This time was just the same. It was a pleasure looking at them. Like no time has passed.We couldnt believe it. It was a pleasure eating our melting cakes again……. we enjoyed every bit of it.Then came the time for goodbyes again. Again a big manifestation of love from both parts. She hang on to my kids resulting in teary eyes . We said beautiful words to each other. We will meet again someday, sometime like we did yesterday.She is going on the Splendor also.( Im crying now ok?) When we left the dinning room we didnt saw Ken to say Thank you but later we saw him outside the dinning room and we went to talk to him. We say thank you and talked about Tina.He said that he couldnt wait to read John’s blog about our meeting.He is waiting to see what he is going to say about the Grizzly rotweisler. You have to ask John about that if he doesnt talk about it on the blog.Ask him about puertorrican bears on the rain forest LOL.I didnt make fun of him it was Ken. Clear ? Love you John!! LOL After that we went to have our memory trip around the ship.We went everywhere.We were all very excited as you can see our happy faces on the pictures. We got out at 10:30.For a couple of hours we forgot about everything that we been through in the last few months we were back on The Freedom with John and Tina everything was well.
Thank you dear friend for that. I hope that we continue to be friends for many years. You did it again. You made us feel at home. We are going to continue to be hopeful and pray for a miracle so we can be again on the perfect ship, on the perfect place with the perfect crew John, Heidi, Tina and Ken. It would be a dream the Splendor.

Yipee!!

Im going to the Carnival Freedom on Monday!!!! Yeah! I was waiting for the details at what hour,place, etc. John wrote me an email today telling me to be there at 6:00. It was a funny coincidence, noooo really was the intervention of my evil crew friends.Even if I read all their emails I dont always comment because Im not going on the Bloogers cruise and I dont have anything to say. Elaine missed me and wrote asking about me.She said that I must be getting ready to go to the Freedom on Monday. I reply to her message telling her that I was getting ready but that I wasnt completely sure because John hasnt told me about an hour or anything.Voila!! Not 2 minutes and I have an email from John, LOL Another hat for the CD physic… LOL No, really ,I have forgotten that this email list has direct connection with John.At first I thought it was Roberto later I learned that John received 4 email reminding him.ED and Kevin also wrote to John. I think I was the only one that didnt have John’s email.Thats our family we always take care of each other…………Love you all!!! I will write a full report with pictures on Monday.

So what’s new?

Nothing.. oh yes now the washing machine is broken. That I cant live without, I wash almost every day. I only have 2 uniforms for work and Cristian have only 3 and no drying machine so I must wash almost every day. So I am not happy about that. About Facebook nobody has talked about it for 2 days, thank God, but the people on middle school have not taken them out from Facebook.I dont care they were the ones that didnt like it. It cant understand why had to take them out and they dont.ahhhhh! anyway end of it. I think the teachers of my faculty need a vacation soon or someone is going to get hurt there are some people seriously mad with each other.So if we dont get a vacation soon this is going to explode.We had been under a lot of stress lately. Well today is Saturday and Im supposed to go visit the Freedom on Monday. This time John asked for our names and told me he was goin to get the passes. The last time he answered my comment he told that it was still up. So I have hope even if he hasnt gave me details like time, place etc. I got to retouch my gray hair today for the pictures im going to take. I dont want to look older.If it becomes a reality im going to tell you all about it. Tomorrow Viviana wants to go shopping so we are going to do that and also I am going to the hospital to see my uncle with my parents. He is doin fine now but he stayed a little longer on intensive care because he had fever and he got a transfussion because low hemoglobin. Well I have to go now ,I have to get my clothes at my brother in law, fix my hair and do lesson plans.

Facebook Saga continues

The saga continues……and it got worse! I cant believe that this is happening after a “spiritual’ retirement.This morning I went to my supervisor office to tell her that i took out the pictures ( all of them) but that I didnt understand why all this has happened because there was no one from the middle school in my pictures.I told her that even one of the teachers of the Middle school had pictures of everyone( I mean everyone) also on Facebook.I asked where this was really coming from.She told me that the Middle school supervisor has heard on the faculty room of the Middle school about this.I told her that they also have pictures. Then she called the other supervisor and told her that we took out the pics to say to the others to take their photos also.She got mad with me because I have told other teachers about this(In a moment that I was mad).She told me that I have to keep my mouth shut. Ok….Very worried I got back to work told the others not to say anything more about Facebook.But I was told from one of my friends that this info was of public domain since yesterday and that someone from other department have asked her about all this. So why blame me??? Everyone knows this already. And to my surprise on the afternoon one of the other teachers started to talk about this in the Faculty.Surprise I asked her who told you that? you know what was her answer? My supervisor. I hope all this ends here.I never had problems with anyone and i dont need more problems at this time of my life. I hope tomorrow no one talks about this.End of discussion.From everything we learn. Trust few.

What a day aahhhhhhhhhh

Strange day……a after a long and peaceful weekend I have expected to have a better day today….Wrong!! More work! I have to make a full report of the Convention , I have to plan field day, social work,make exams etc, etc, etc. At lunch I sit down at the computer, to read the blog, very sad blog. I wanted to cry!! Why?? It is hard and very difficult.No words.Just sorrow for this people.After that I go to take the kid to music at the hall my Superior took me aside to ask me if I had put pictures of the retirement on Facebook.Yes I did !!! And?? My friends are in them and I have tag only the ones that wanted me too.She told me that the superior at the Middle school had told her that someone from there saw them and was not happy that I have to take them out. ??????????Who is this person in the Middle school?? I dont remember anyone from there in my pictures but I have to wait till i got home because there is no facebook at school.Who was this person coming out now?? At Christmas I have put pictures of our party with drinks in hands and nobody said nothing. Who is behind all this??
I told this to many of my friends all were furious. High treason. High motives. I got home inmediately to the pictures.Surprise surprise!! No one from the Middle school is in my pictures. I took all the pictures that had someone who might be guilty but not all.lets see what happens Im going to ask my superior. Keep you posted.
My parents are here. My uncle my father’s younger brother is having heart surgery tomorrow.Same place, Same Doctor Angel. He is going to be fine, I know…….
The mistery of the facebook pictures continues……………….

In retirement but not for long

Hi!!!!!!!! Im back!!!!Back from a short retirement on the mountains of Aguas Buenas were is cold, yes cold (75 to 65 more or less).At one time I was hiding from the cold in my room. Laugh, it serious for me.:) I got me to seriously think of all the winter apparel im going to wear in Utah next April.Aguas Buenas is a town in the mountains right next to my town Guaynabo so is not far.I have never gone before to that place.So there i was alone at 6:30 in the afternoon (it was getting dark) with a remote idea where i was headed.I didnt know it was so far into the mountains so at one time I got scared and was ready to go back. Imagine deep into the mountains getting dark , very narrow roads.But I got there against my will not happy because i didnt get to spend the long weekend with my family. The place is beautiful and confortable.They have houses with 4 rooms with 2 or 3 beds in each floor. I got to share my room with one of the other third grade teachers but the first night I got the room for me because she has a sick child to take care of . She was back for the second night. We were up until late an we have to wake up at 6:45 in the morning.We really had a good time.It makes us realize that we are not the only ones with poblems . It really got me near other teachers that I dont really talk much, we stayed until late talking about everything in different rooms.We also had a talent show on Saturday night were we got to make an act in a very short time.It really was funnyand creative. The elementary school(my group) was the best one.The bad thing is that I got home to do all my weekend shores in less time.ahhhhh!!
It seems that Im going to see John this Monday.This time he asked for the names of the people going for him to get the passes.One more week to go.

A very looooong week

its going to be a long week, way to long. I have to go to a spriritual retirement this weekend. From this Friday at 6:30pm until Sunday at 12. You have to stay up late get up very early in the morning. Its like working and with the same people. So Im going to be working 2 weeks in a row and with so many other things that I have to do.I dont want to go!!!!!!!!!! Why are they making me go??? Im going to fell trapped and with no computer. Doesnt this people know im addicted? This should be voluntary. Im tired, very tired.Im glad that last night I took the time to go for a stroll around Old San Juan. We walked a lot.We got to watch the sunset at El Paseo La Princesa and it is beautiful!Also we stayed at the bench in front of my ship and got to watch the long line to get in.Cruise directors fault. LOL We joked a lot about it.No really everyone was doing the line patiently I didnt hear any complaints.After that we did go to a very good place for dinner it is called Mojitos and I got a biftec encebollado with rice and beans and Eugenio got Empanada.It was excellent!!!!!! For dessert I got coconut flan. There were many people from the ship there.Everybody was having a good time and eating our food.We wished that John and Heidi would be there with us.Eugenio joked about the bad words in spanish he is going to teach John for the next time he has a close encounter with a difficult guest or object.I hope we get to do this on the ship our out. Im glad Eugenio and I took the time to do this, a little time for ourselves.

Focus

Things are a little crazy. A little? a lot…. I got so many things on my mind that I almost lost it. No it wasn’t my mind(but It was close) it was my purse! First let me clarify that i am the only one in my family besides my mom and maybe one of my brothers who isnt absent minded. This is very strong in my family, the Hurst’s are very famous for this and the stories dont end.But lately I have so many things on my mind, that i am doing some things that are not normal in me, like the day that I took my kids to computer when i wasnt supposed to. Anyway on Saturday night we went to Plaza las Americas our largest shopping mall.I wanted to buy an out fit for the the Private schools convention taking place on Friday. I was very happy because i found two outfits and a pair of high heels uuuu aaa. Its been a long time since I bought something for me and I was even happier when even 10 pound heavier my pants are size 6 and the shirts are small.YES! Although I cant really believe it because everybody knows Old Navy clothes is bigger but anyway close enough. Anyway back to the purse, so after that i went to the food court and had a pizza and went with Viviana to see some shoes at Bakers while we were there one of my shoes broke I kneel down to fix it and i put my purse down in a table.I fix the shoe and I went out without my purse.I continue window shopping until the shoe broke again. This time I sit down and then realize I didnt have my purse. I went crazy inside were my Id’s, checkbook, ATM,new cell everything!! I went back to all the stores I been,to the food court to security and police office to fill a complaint.
Not ready to give up I went back to Bakers and then I saw the purse right beside others like it was for sale.Nobody notice my purse because I originally bought it there.I was very scare Thank God nothing was stolen.This week is San Valentin, the convention on Friday and that same day at 6:30 I have to be in Agua Buenas for a Spiritual retirement until Sunday.Oh yes. we have to go,its a requirement. no choice.I dont want to go!! its like working for 2 straight weeks.The last time I felt trapped i needed air. Who is going to do things at my house, laundry , cleaning, take Viviana to work?? That they dont understand. I will have no computer for 2 days!! That is going to hurt LOL Tomorrow my ship is in port again, maybe im going for a stroll with my husband.I need fresh air and a good laugh. Do you think our friend John will be available?

A very emotional birthday video

Oh my God! I didnt know I was going to have this reaction! I got the video of John’s birthday party today thanks to Laura who send it to me.First I want to tell you that I am very proud of being part of this group.You made me cry! It is so special!
It made me think of what we have become.It made me think of my bad times and how you all help get me through . Kathie you made me cry again remembering those days prior to our cruise in June when Jeff was ill and the day that we did the meeting with John on the cruise y I remember it like it was yesterday.Im lucky I got to share that with you. I wish I could have been on that party with you all. I know I belong there but In a way I was.I saw when John got my phone call.Thank you Elaine and thank you Laura for sending me this video it is a treasure for me. I got very emotional really you are all a blessing to me.I was so moved that I just wrote a letter to John on facebook. I needed to tell him how much this that he created means to me. You all have been a a lit bit of sunshine in my dark days.There is a sticker that i have wanted to send John on facebook. Everytime i see it reminds me of John and many of you. Its says: You are the only one who can me laugh when I dont even want to smile.
God has a reason for everything and I know he wanted us right were we are.

I got my own Thingys

Yes I know, I did rotate the picture but… it keeps showing this way so its staying this way, I give up .I got my own thingys!! Yay!!Thanks to Bee who mailed them to me.Bee Im going to start calling you the Empress of tape. WOW!! You know how to get a package secure.I tried to open the package when I got out of the post office. Really tried…. it had tape everywhere!! So imagine me at the parking inside the car trying desperately to open the package.Because I wanted to see what was inside and I couldnt wait the 5 minutes it took me to get home.Patience is not my thing, guilty.Love everything . Thanks to everyone who got to donate something for me, Bee and Sarge,Lois, Sandy, Stephanie and Big Ed. A big huggo!!!!!!