Cruising. Chapter 5: Time is on my side

I have always been a person that likes to give myself more than enough time. I plan backwards when there's an obligation i've got to get to. For example, say I had to be at a gig at a bar downtown at 6:00pm and you asked if we could meet for coffee that morning. in my mind, this is how i would plan...

okay, 6:00. That means i've gotta be downtown looking for parking by 5:15, which means i'm gonna have to leave my house by 5:00...to be ready to roll by 5, I've gotta be home and showering by 4:00, which means if i wanna go swimming, i've got to leave the pool by 3:45...so to give myself enough time in the sun i'll want to be at the pool by no later than 1:30, which means i'll have to get all my errands done by 12:45 so i can have enough time to get home, change, put sunscreen on and get  to the pool...but to get my errands done by 12:30, that means i've gotta leave my house at 10 to start the errands, because of all the driving...10:30 tops. SO...since jazzercise is from 9-10, i guess i can't meet you for coffee.
How about next week?

Neurotic? Perhaps.

I'm exaggerating a bit (because anyone who knows me knows that i'd never pass up my morning coffee and crossword), but you get the idea.

Well...on the ship, I keep forgetting that my gig is not downtown, it's right up the stairs and less than a 30 second walk away. I forget that the mess (cafeteria/cafe/eatery) is even closer than that. I forget that to run my errands, i've never got to go farther than 50 yards in any given direction. I forget that to go to the bar or the pool or the gym or the doctor i don't have to factor in drive time.

It's nuts. I'm actually still adjusting and in that process, giving myself way too much time.
It's kind of cool, just different.

The long and short of it is that i've got time to kill. I've got lots of time....lots and lots of time...that i've never had before and it's giving me the opportunity to do a lot of self evaluation, soul searching, writing, thinking, catching up with me, relaxing with my thoughts.

Scary, but good.
So how are you spending your time these days? Is there any room to relax? to slow down? Hell, it took me getting on a ship to realize that's what i needed.
So take it easy...take a break. I think this cruise is making me realize that we've got more time than we think we've got, so let's enjoy it, shall we?

Till next time,
Allegrasings